Chapter 566: The Lonely Saintess (I)
The Captain had a bad feeling that something was wrong, but he couldn’t figure out what it was, especially since the Temple Maiden had forbidden him from checking on the Saintess inside.
The Grand Duke of Vior was the first to leave the confession room. He didn’t even spare Edmund a glance, treating him as if he were nothing more than a dog.
A few moments later, the Saintess finally stepped out of the room. She had changed into a fresh robe, but she looked completely drained, as though she had gone through something far more exhausting than simply listening to someone’s confession.
"Your Holiness, is everything alright?" the Captain asked with concern.
[Did she really only listen to the Duke’s sins?]
[Why do I keep feeling like the Duke did something terrible to her?]
[I don’t like this feeling,] Edmund thought bitterly. [It makes me want to know everything about her.]
What feeling?
At that moment, Primrose realized that since the day they first met, he had always paid attention to her, not in a creepy way, but simply by watching her from afar.
In just a few days, he had learned exactly what time she woke up, when she went to bed, and could even tell whether she was having a good day or not.
To be honest, it was surprising, considering the Saintess rarely showed any emotion. But Primrose guessed that even in this timeline, Edmund had already recognized her as his mate.
His actions only made Primrose feel even sadder because he resembled her husband so much. He didn’t say much, but he always did his best to take care of her without expecting anything in return.
Returning to his question, the Saintess slowly nodded before giving him a faint smile. "Listening to the officials confess their sins is a very heavy burden," she said softly. Taking a slow breath, she added, "But I’ve gotten used to it."
[She doesn’t look like she’s gotten used to it at all.] Edmund thought, his suspicion only growing stronger. [What kind of sins did the Grand Duke confess to leave even the Saintess looking this exhausted?]
A moment later, the Saintess lowered her eyes, breaking eye contact with him. "I don’t have any more duties today," she said. "I’ll be returning to my chamber."
She added, "If you also wish to rest, you may ask another soldier to stand guard outside my bedroom for the rest of the day."
She said nothing else after that. Quietly, she walked past the Captain without any intention of telling him what the Grand Duke had done to her.
After all, no one could guarantee that the Captain wouldn’t do the same thing to her if he learned about the private confession.
The Saintess had asked the highest authority for help before—the King of Sorex—but instead of helping her, he became one of the nightmares that would probably never leave her mind for eternity.
Because of that, the Saintess had learned to stay silent. No matter how much pain she suffered, it was still better than creating even more nightmares for herself.
Even though this was only a fragment of the past, Primrose couldn’t stop the frustration building inside her.
The only thing she could do was watch the nightmare unfold before her, yet she couldn’t do anything to help the Saintess or save herself.
How could someone endure a life like this for so many years?
How could the Saintess hold back every tear, even when her entire body ached and her heart had been broken over and over again?
At that moment, Primrose realized that being able to cry without feeling guilty was a privilege.
Unlike her in the future, the Saintess couldn’t cry freely. Every tear she shed only brought more backlash or even harsher punishment.
The men who tormented her in the name of the Gods enjoyed seeing her break. They wanted to see her cry. They wanted to hear her beg.
So, little by little, the Saintess taught herself not to cry anymore.
She learned to swallow every tear, no matter how much pain she was in.
She learned to silence her own voice, even when all she wanted to do was scream.
The only thing the Saintess could do to comfort herself after going through such a painful experience was sit silently on the floor of her balcony and look up at the star-filled night sky.
She had no one to hold her, no one to wrap her in a comforting hug or tell her that everything would be alright.
Because of that, she pulled her knees to her chest and hugged herself instead.
With slow, gentle movements, she patted her own back, as if she were trying to comfort herself or soothe the dry wounds that still covered it.
She had planned to stay on the balcony by herself until sunrise, just like she always did. But to her surprise, something was different that night.
Several flower stems suddenly landed through the gaps in her balcony railing, one after another.
The Saintess blinked in confusion. She carefully picked up one of the flowers, gently brushing her fingers over its soft petals.
She tilted her head, her brows knitting together in confusion. No one had ever thrown flowers onto her balcony before. She loved flowers, but she couldn’t help wondering who had sent them. What if they were from someone she didn’t want to accept them from... like the Cardinal?
After a moment of hesitation, she slowly crawled toward the edge of the balcony and carefully peeked over it.
To her surprise, the Captain was standing on one of the large stone statues attached to the outer wall of the temple. One hand was gripping the stone to keep his balance. When their eyes met, he gave her an awkward smile.
"I’m sorry if I startled you, Your Holiness," he said quietly. "I couldn’t exactly come through your front door."
The Saintess stared at him in disbelief. "Captain... what are you doing there? It’s dangerous."
He let out a small chuckle. "I’ll be fine."
The Saintess lowered her eyes to the flowers in her hands before looking back at him. "Did you throw these?"