“I thought you were back, but I didn’t know you were with my wife.”
When Carl spoke with a stiff look on his face, a smile faded away from Roy and Sienna’s faces. Carl tried to speak as naturally as possible, but his tone contained uncomfortable feelings.
“Roy, I know you’ve been acquainted with my wife Sienna for a long time. Can I hear how you two got close? I’m just curious. The empress, who had no acquaintance in the capital, and you, the priest of the Holy Empire, somehow came to know. As far as I know, the empress did not believe in the goddess of the earth until she came to the capital.”
Roy smiled at Carl’s words and said, “Of course. It was probably the first time Sienna came to the capital. We haven’t known each other for a long time, but…”
As Roy’s story seemed to be getting longer, Carl suggested, “If you have time, why don’t we have a meal and talk?”
Roy glanced at Sienna. Sienna nodded as she watched the men’s conversation with a stiff look. Roy, who took it as a sign of permission, replied that he would share the meal with Carl.
“What a coincidence!”
“Yes, indeed. If Sienna hadn’t shown up then, I would have been in the arms of the goddess, not here now. Ah! Please forgive me for calling the name of the Empress. Since I serve the goddess of the earth…”
“That’s fine. I know priests don’t call believer’s family names, they call them by individual names. The Empress is also a believer in the goddess of the earth.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Carl was interested in the story of Sienna and Roy’s first meeting. About the connection that began with Sienna saving Roy from a jumping horse.
Sienna looked at Carl with a stiff look on her face. Carl listened intently to Roy and interacted, but she could tell that Carl was now trying to hide his discomfort.
Although he had such a small change of expression, Sienna could read Carl’s subtle expression. It was something she came to know because she had cared about every little thing related to him for a long time in the past.
That expression with eyes wide open like now. He seemed to be listening to the story well, but that was the look of pretending to be listening interestingly. When he listened to a story with that look on his face, he had tens of thousands of thoughts in his head.
In the past, he used to have that look on his face when he listened to Sienna before their relationship became completely messed up. She felt bad because she remembered the foolish past when she thought it was fun telling him her story and talked about everything, even the stupid ones.
Sienna felt sick and put down her fork and knife and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
“Lady Sienna, do you feel sick? Come to think of it, you didn’t really like ricain, did you? Would you like this instead?”
Roy held out to her a plate of ricain-free food, a type of spice that smells similar to curry. Carl’s forehead was wrinkled. At this time, he could not hide his feelings, so he showed his face.
“You don’t like ricain?”
“Because it has a strong scent.”
Sienna did not realize that she didn’t like ricain. Thinking back, whenever she ate a dish with a mix of ricain, she frowned one eye or pushed the food to one side naturally. It was amazing that Roy recognized it.
Sienna thanked Roy for his consideration and at the same time, didn’t like seeing how Carl frowned. She thought that the reason why he felt uncomfortable was because he handed over a plate containing Roy’s food.
Roy, of course, was not bound by the laws of the imperial family and the nobility. His behavior came naturally because he changed plates when he ate at the temple or ate from several dishes using one tableware.
Carl grew up in the imperial family, so he might not understand. But he looked so dissatisfied. Sienna, who thought Carl was looking down on Roy, glanced down at Carl and said to Roy.
“You don’t have to worry about it because I just don’t have much appetite today.”
“Oh, you don’t feel well? If you don’t mind, I’ll give you a blessing…”
He looked at Carl and said, “Haha, it’s never like the power of treatment. It’s literally a blessing, so it’s not really better to be sick, but it’s something that can temporarily make you feel better… I never have the power of treatment.”
Roy was frightened and was trying to talk out of his way. His power was an important secret to conceal. But Sienna and Carl, already aware of his abilities, didn’t care much.
“It’s okay. It’s because I’m just tired. I’ll feel better if I rest.”
Roy looked sad when she refused.
“I also have the blessing to relieve fatigue…”
“It’s all right.”
“You must need more rest than a blessing. I think you’re getting tired because you moved to the palace and changed people as you became the empress. I think we should stop eating here.”
Roy said, startled by Carl’s words.
“I think I’ve taken away the Emperor’s and Lady Sienna’s time. Now that I’ve finished eating, I have to go back.”
“No, you can stay longer…”
“I’ll see you again next time. Your Holiness is very interested in Lady Sienna. Oh! He’s interested in the Emperor, too. So I think I’ll be back on another errand soon. I’ll see you then.”
Roy once again asked Siena, before he left, if she would accept a blessing prayer.
“Why don’t you take it? I’d like to see the priest’s blessing up close, too. Would you please offer Sienna a blessing to wash away the fatigue?”
At Carl’s words, Roy explained, swinging his arms.
“It’s not as fancy as your Majesty thinks it would be. You’ll wonder what it is after you see it! There’s no shiny powders or lights. But if you don’t mind…”
“It’s all right. The priest’s blessing is not a clown’s play, so it doesn’t matter what it looks like.”
“Then could you give me your hand here, Lady Sienna?”
Roy stood facing Sienna, holding her hand, closed her eyes, muttered a prayer, and opened his eyes. Then he kissed her forehead.
At the same time that Sienna opened her eyes in amazement, Carl reached out and pulled her toward him. Sienna fell in the arms of Carl who had a puzzled look. Both Sienna’s hands were still held by Roy.
It is true that blessings were better invoked when physically touching the blessed person, but the kiss on the forehead was not an essential element of blessing. Roy accidentally acted as he had usually done when treating children, but it was not the right thing to do to a wife in front of her husband. Embarrassed by his actions, Roy asked Carl.
“Shall I pray to the Emperor for his blessing?”
“That would be fine. You’re tired from heavy work these days, too.”
Sienna thought Roy kissing her forehead was a necessary part of blessing. Because She’s always seen what he does to his children. So she encouraged Carl to actively be blessed by Roy, so she could see the embarrassed look on Carl when he received a kiss on his forehead.
Carl refused with a stiff look.
“That’s alright. I’d like to experience the benefits of the blessing in person, but I’m not happy to be kissed by a man.”
“Ah… …that’s…that’s true.”
The bewildered look of Roy was showing that his kiss on Sienna’s forehead had nothing to do with the prayer of blessing. Carl felt worse.
“Then I’ll be going now.”
Roy left the living room in a hurry.
After he left, a chill of air flowed between Carl and Sienna. Sienna said to Carl in a prickly voice.
“If you didn’t want to, you should not have invited him for a meal.”
“What?”
Carl asked back as if he was dumbfounded.
“I am saying, you didn’t have to face Roy with such an uncomfortable face.”
“Huh?!”
The moment Sienna turned around and was about to leave the seat, Carl grabbed her arm.
“Now I’m understanding what it means to go speechless when one is too dumbfounded. I don’t know who’s angry with whom right now.”
Turning around and looking up at Carl, she still looked full of discontent.
“You don’t know how much consideration I’ve given you today.”
“Thank you for not directly reprimanding Mr. Roy for his manners.”
She sounded totally ungrateful.
“No. I never cared about the priest’s manners. I wouldn’t care if he had eaten on his hands. I wasn’t happy but I wasn’t angry when my servant told me that you and priest Roy were crying, hugging like old lovers.”
Sienna looked surprised at his words. She didn’t know the words spread so fast.
As she always said to Hain, there were many ears and eyes in the castle. Even though it was misleading enough, Sienna didn’t think it would be a problem.
“I laughed and listened to him throughout the meal even when he told me your story that I didn’t even know. Even when he handed you a plate of his own food, I held it in. Even though it was definitely an act to take issue with.”
Sienna shut her mouth. Though she was offended by Carl’s disapproving look, he endured much anger today, as he said.
“Even when the stupid priest kissed your forehead under the pretext of a blessing prayer, I said nothing. It’s not because I’m madly stupid and believe that his kiss is really necessary for prayer, nor because of my relationship with the f*cking Holy Empire.”
Carl turned around, leaving Sienna’s arm from his grip. He didn’t want to look angry at her. He spoke in a self-help voice.
“If I raise a question to the priest, this will become official. Then your behavior could also be criticized so I pretended I didn’t see anything.”
Carl managed to swallow the words, ‘I wanted to cut his throat off on the spot.’
Even if he had cut Roy’s throat, the Holy Empire wouldn’t have raised the issue easily. ‘How dare you kiss the queen’s forehead in front of the emperor?’
Even if Roy was a priest with the power of treatment, this was an indescribable problem. Moreover, Carl would not be a problem at all because he did not officially know that Roy was born with the power of treatment. On the face, Roy just came as an envoy and Carl punished a priest who mocked the empress of the Leipsden Empire.
At Carl’s words, Sienna lowered her head.
Although she was pleased to meet Roy after a long time, she was the one in the position of the empress. It was Sienna, not Carl, who crossed the line today.
Carl said before she brought up her apologies.
“I have a lot of work to do, so I’m not sure if I can stop by here tonight. Don’t wait and go to bed first.”
Carl said so and then turned back without hesitation and went out the door. Looking at his drooping shoulders, Sienna lowered her head again in an apologetic mood.