Episode 12.

With a sullen face, I continued to pat the sobbing Crown Prince's shoulder.

Meanwhile, my gaze kept shifting back to the cheese-colored cat hovering nearby. The slightly translucent feline was currently rubbing affectionately against my leg, flicking its tail. As its soft, spectral fur brushed against my calf, the corners of my mouth twitched upward before I knew it.

"You should pass on now, too."

When I reached down and tickled the cat's forehead with my finger, it let out a small meow and immediately scrambled up my arm to perch on my shoulder.

"Uwaah……!"

It was so big and heavy that my head snapped downward involuntarily.

The cat, whose bulky body suddenly shrank down to a manageable size, leaned against the side of my head and purred happily.

"Are you really not going to pass on?"

I felt weird, as if I had suddenly been chosen by a stray cat off the street.

"Who on earth have you been talking to this whole time?"

Looking around at the empty air, the Crown Prince finally pulled himself together, staring at me with anxious, red-rimmed eyes.

But perhaps thanks to the effect of the completed system quest, which gave my apparent nonsense unquestionable credibility, he didn't press the matter further.

The cat's tail lightly hit my shoulder, and a loud purring song hummed directly in my ear.

Perhaps because it had finally grown quiet inside the wrecked bedchamber, the sound of knocking echoed from the corridor. A few maids hesitantly pushed the heavy doors open and bowed their heads nervously.

I instinctively realized that it was time for me to leave.

But I had something important to say before I left.

"Your Highness."

"……"

"You must periodically refill your holy power. Do you understand?"

He quietly nodded. As if trying to ventilate the stuffy room, he walked over and threw open the tall glass window. The corners of his eyes curved softly as the fresh breeze hit his face.

The pages of the books left on his desk began turning in the wind. The shredded documents and feathers scattered on the floor suddenly soared into the air, fluttering gracefully before drifting back down.

Through the floating debris, the Crown Prince looked completely devoid of the sharp, feral edge he possessed when I first saw him.

He stood with an upright posture, a natural smile spreading across his relieved face. His features, which had been nothing but gloomy and terrifying until now, finally bloomed with life. His eyes, which had looked like stagnant, rotting blood moments ago, now sparkled and shone beautifully like polished rubies.

"I'll come visit you," the Crown Prince said in a soft, beautiful voice. "You saved me, after all."

"……!"

How embarrassing, why would you say something like that?

I gave a half-hearted nod and quickly left the room, guided away by the maids.

If he hadn't been constantly possessed by ghosts, if he had been allowed to live a normal life, he probably wouldn't have gone as far as becoming a bloodthirsty tyrant.

"If we get closer, he won't think about killing me when we grow up, right?" I mumbled to myself.

A few days had passed since I returned to the temple.

An involuntary chuckle escaped me.

Unbothered by my annoyed reaction, the sound of the fountain pen aggressively scribbling on paper didn't stop.

At first glance, it might seem weird that I was glaring so harshly at someone working hard on their paperwork, but…

"Hmm?"

The Crown Prince, who elegantly lifted his teacup and took a sip, tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

"Your Highness."

"Yeah, tell me."

His arrogant attitude of resting his chin on his hand while looking down at me was detestable. It was obvious that even though he definitely disliked me before, he fully intended to use me to the bone since I had proven to be even a little bit useful.

"This is my room, though."

"Yeah."

"It's not good manners to stay in a lady's room for this long."

"Hmm?"

The Crown Prince shrugged, took off the reading glasses he was wearing, and placed them neatly on the desk. Leaning back against the plush sofa, he grinned, showing all his teeth.

"What if I lose my mind again while I'm away from the Saintess?"

I didn't even have time to adjust to his drastically changed attitude. It was like a seven-year-old was suddenly acting all high and mighty like an adult.

But I knew the truth. I knew that he was a person who would mercilessly cut off anyone who wasn't useful to him. He was the person who was destined to kill Diane Irene. Me.

"You'll be fine for a while," I insisted.

"……I don't want to."

"Pardon?"

"It's the first time in my entire life my mind has been this clear. You're the first person to do that."

"……"

Surprisingly, I could understand that desperate feeling.

The moment the Holy Knight Commander burst through the orphanage door was still vivid in my mind. I probably would never forget that scene for the rest of my life.

"Then you aren't going to kill me, right?"

"……?"

Did he hear me wrong? He blinked slowly. His red ruby-like eyes, which hadn't darkened with madness yet, sparkled roundly in confusion.

"Why would I ever kill the Saintess?"

I unintentionally let out a breath I had been holding tight in my chest. "Phew!"

He picked at his ear and chuckled, as if he had just heard something utterly absurd. "Why would you worry about that? I'm actually a very well-behaved and kind royalty. ……Really."

Seeing him suddenly trail off, it seemed he was well aware of the horrific rumors circulating about himself. And yet, knowing that, he was still being this brazen. What a bold little Crown Prince.

The unfortunate Crown Prince who had been consumed by madness every day and couldn't even live a normal life. Now that his holy power was being replenished periodically, it should be difficult for him to be possessed again.

Mission accomplished, hehe!

"I believe you," I said firmly. "Because you promised back then."

"Huh?"

"I asked you not to kill me as a price for curing you, didn't I?"

He muttered blankly, "So that wasn't a dream."

"Pardon?"

"You were so…… never mind!"

Suddenly, his face turned as red as a ripe apple. No matter how I looked at him right now, he didn't look like someone who would become a tyrant in the future. He was just a shy little boy.

He must have been sleeping well these past few days. He had no dark circles under his eyes, and his eyelashes were somehow longer than mine. In a word, he was as beautiful as an intricately carved doll from a master workshop.

Feeling grumpy for no reason, I pouted my lips and looked away.

"You only need to replenish your holy power once a week, so please leave now."

"Shouldn't we do it more often? What if I get weird again?"

"Then I'll just visit you again―"

"No."

It was a firm, unwavering voice. Startled, I looked at him, and the Crown Prince sighed with a face somehow full of deep, adult-like fatigue. What did he have to worry about so much to be acting like an old man?

"I can't go back to that state anymore. I don't even have enough time to restore my ruined image."

I suppose life in the Imperial Palace wasn't all comfortable, either.

"There are many nobles who look upon me unfavorably," Damian explained quietly. "While I'm sane, His Majesty the Emperor plans to clean them all out."

Unable to offer any political advice, I just nodded my head and stood up.

The Crown Prince also shot up! The heavy chair pushed back, making a screeching sound against the floor. His cheeks seemed slightly flushed again for some reason.

I looked up at him—who was a solid two hand-spans taller than me—and let out a deep sigh.

Then, he reached out and lightly pinched my cheek.

"Why is a little kid sighing like this?"

"……"

He was treating me completely like a baby. You're a baby yourself! It felt totally unfair. I swatted his hand away and grabbed both of his wrists with my cheeks puffed out in annoyance.

As if reading my mind, the Crown Prince grinned and subtly pulled his hands away from my grasp.

"More importantly, Saintess."

"What."

"Oh dear. To answer the Crown Prince's call so rudely."

And yet, his giggling seemed really strange.

However, seeing that the status window didn't pop up with a warning, it really seemed like this was just his original personality. This is ridiculous, really!

"Do you even know my name?" Damian asked.

"……Your Highness doesn't know mine, either."

"Diane."

My eyes went wide at his sudden, casual call. I felt my heart drop with a heavy thump.

"Diane Irene, right?"

"Oh." Hesitating, I mumbled softly, "I'm sorry."

Because I had been completely cut off from the world in that orphanage until recently, it was only natural that I didn't know the Crown Prince's name. Still, feeling embarrassed for no reason, my ears burned. They must have turned bright red.

He wouldn't know my grim circumstances, but I felt embarrassed nonetheless.

"It's Damian."

Damian smiled brightly and finally allowed me to hold his hands tight.

"Please remember it, Saintess."

"……Yes."

The moment I closed my eyes to begin infusing the holy power, a suspicious thought occurred to me, and I coyly opened my mouth again.

"Did you happen to do a background check on me?"

"……!"

"I knew it."

When I shook my head from side to side in disappointment, Damian bit his lip. Seeing his ruby eyes waver nervously, it really seemed to be true.

Caught red-handed, you punk!

"I apologize for not telling you in advance," Damian rushed to explain. "But since you were the first person to ever cure me―"

"I get it."

True, it was strange that he knew my full name when I hadn't even told him yet. And on the other hand, it made far less sense for the Imperial Family not to know the exact identity of someone who had been allowed into the Crown Prince's bedchamber.

I just felt a little bad, that was all.

But Damian in front of me was suddenly walking on eggshells. It was like watching a large, vicious hunting dog subtly lowering its tail for fear of being scolded by its tiny owner.

It didn't feel real at all that the Crown Prince of the Empire cared so much about my opinion—someone who was nothing more than a beggar orphan until a few days ago.

"From now on, I'll just ask you directly," Damian promised. "We have gotten a little closer, haven't we?"

"Have we?"

Damian quickly shut his mouth.

Shut it and just take your holy power.