The emperor slowly closed his eyes after ntioning the Thorne Family.
A quiet sigh escaped his mouth as old mories surfaced inside his mind one after another.
Their youngest son, Crypian Thorne, was already inside the capital.
Thinking about it now, the emperor felt their plans had probably started much earlier than he realized.
Years ago, the Thorne Family had approached him regarding Cecilia. At the ti, he did not think badly of the proposal.
The Thornes held great influence inside the empire, and Crypian himself was already well known among the younger nobles.
Because of that, the emperor had agreed to discuss the matter further.
Of course, Cecilia’s opinion mattered greatly to him, so he told the Thorne Family they would wait for her answer before making anything official.
Then the Saint Trial happened.
The emperor slowly opened his eyes again and looked toward the blindfolded young man sitting nearby.
After returning from the trial, Cecilia had completely changed.
At first she only ntioned the saint from ti to ti. Then gradually, almost every conversation sohow returned to him.
So days she spoke about how kind he was. Other days she talked about how gentle his voice sounded during prayers.
Once, she spent nearly an hour explaining how "graceful" he looked while eating bread.
The emperor still rembered sitting there in silence wondering how soone could possibly eat bread gracefully.
anwhile, the saint himself looked completely unaware of everything happening around him.
The emperor could tell long ago that Uriel held no such feelings toward Cecilia. The saint treated everyone kindly, but most of his attention remained focused on church duties and the people under his care.
To make matters even more troubleso, saints were forbidden from forming physical relationships.
Even so, Cecilia still beca attached to him and eventually insisted on becoming his attendant.
Naturally, the talks with the Thorne Family quietly ended after that.
Then only a few days ago, shortly after news of the emperor’s illness spread across the empire, the Thornes suddenly sent an envoy to the capital.
Crypian himself.
One of the heirs of the Thorne Family personally appearing during such timing naturally drew attention.
Especially now that the Thornes openly supported Sebastian.
At first, the emperor found their actions sowhat strange.
But after thinking about it longer, he realized it was actually very normal for them.
The Thorne Family had always cared greatly about power and influence.
Supporting the first prince during such an uncertain ti was exactly the kind of decision they would make.
A soft cough escaped the emperor before he slowly pushed those thoughts aside.
Then his tired gaze moved toward Cecilia and Uriel once more.
"You two should get so rest," he said gently. "You traveled a long way just to co here."
"My apologies, Your Majesty," Uriel replied with a calm smile, "but I cannot stay for much longer."
The saint rested both hands peacefully on his lap while speaking.
"As you already know, the church still requires my presence for many duties. If Cecilia wishes to remain here longer, she may stay, but I must return soon."
The emperor slowly nodded. "I understand. Only you truly know how difficult those responsibilities must be."
Then his gaze shifted toward Cecilia.
"Please continue taking care of my daughter."
The mont those words entered the room, Cecilia’s cheeks imdiately beca slightly red.
"Father..."
Uriel smiled warmly. "Of course. She is my attendant after all, so I will naturally do my best to take care of her."
As he spoke, he stretched his hand forward for a handshake.
Unfortunately, his hand stopped sowhere near the emperor’s stomach instead.
The room beca quiet. Even the servants near the walls awkwardly lowered their heads.
The emperor looked down at the misplaced hand before slowly looking back at Uriel’s calm face.
"...My hand is a little higher."
"Ah."
Without looking embarrassed at all, Uriel calmly adjusted his hand upward until he finally grabbed the emperor’s actual hand.
"My apologies," he said peacefully. "I wished to confirm whether Your Majesty remained healthy."
"You nearly confird my intestines instead."
Cecilia imdiately covered her face. "Please pretend this man is holy."
"I am trying," the emperor replied with a weak laugh.
After shaking the emperor’s hand, Uriel slowly stood up from his chair.
Then, with complete confidence, he turned toward the wrong direction entirely.
"Cecil," he said calmly, "could you please call soone to guide outside?"
The mont he took a step forward, he nearly walked directly into a large flower vase standing nearby.
Cecilia hurriedly stood up and grabbed his sleeve before the holy saint accidentally destroyed royal property.
"I will guide you."
Uriel nodded calmly as though nothing unusual had almost happened.
Before leaving, Cecilia turned back toward the emperor once more. The worry inside her blue eyes softened slightly as she looked at him.
"Father, I will visit again soon," she said gently. "So until then, please take care of yourself properly, alright?"
The emperor smiled warmly at her. "Hoh hoh... understood, my lady."
Then after a brief pause, his voice dropped to a whisper.
"Though if I survive long enough, I believe I deserve a grandchild as a reward."
"FATHER!"
*******
"Cecilia, I apologize for bringing you away so suddenly."
Uriel’s calm voice echoed softly inside the moving carriage.
Outside, the roads of the Holy Empire stretched endlessly beneath the evening sky while the carriage steadily traveled toward Solmire City.
The golden light of the setting sun occasionally entered through the curtains whenever the wind pushed them aside.
Inside the carriage, the atmosphere felt much quieter compared to the royal castle earlier.
Cecilia sat across from Uriel while lightly holding the edge of her dress.
Originally, she had no intention of leaving so soon.
Her father’s condition was unstable, and she wanted to remain beside him longer.
However, shortly after Uriel left the emperor’s chamber, he secretly sent her a transmission saying he had sothing extrely important to discuss with her privately.
Because of that, she changed her plans and followed him.
"What did you wish to talk about?" Cecilia asked quietly.
Uriel leaned slightly against the side of the carriage and let out a soft breath.
Though the white blindfold still covered his eyes peacefully, his face tilted toward the open window beside him as the cool wind entered the carriage.
Honestly, he could not see anything at all.
Still, the breeze felt refreshing.
"You see..." he began slowly, "when your father ntioned that the youngest son of the Thorne Family had arrived at the capital and was supporting the first prince, I used my Mind’s Eye to investigate the matter further."
Hearing this, Cecilia’s expression imdiately beca serious.
She knew very well how frightening Uriel’s abilities were.
If he had asked her to leave despite the emperor lying sick on his bed, then whatever he discovered was likely extrely important.
Uriel folded his hands calmly as his voice beca slightly heavier.
"I already held so suspicions before this. I t His Majesty only a few months ago, and at that ti he was perfectly healthy. Yet only a few months later, he suddenly beca gravely ill."
The saint slowly shook his head.
"The timing felt strange to , so I attempted a divination."
Cecilia leaned slightly forward.
"And what did you find?"
"Mmm."
Uriel nodded calmly.
In reality, almost everything he was saying right now was half truth mixed together with complete nonsense.
Well...
Not entirely nonsense.
Most of the information actually ca from his main body’s mories.
The mont that thought appeared in his mind, Uriel suddenly felt slightly embarrassed.
Father....No....Main body.
Calling his own main body "father" still felt extrely strange for so reason.
A small cough escaped his mouth as he quickly pushed those thoughts away.
anwhile, Cecilia quietly waited for him to continue, completely unaware that the holy saint beside her was currently losing a battle against his own thoughts.
"The Thorne Family is watching the Holy Empire closely," Uriel continued in a quieter voice.
"They already possess strong connections within Auranel, and now they seek greater influence here as well."
Then he slowly raised one finger dramatically. Unfortunately....
The finger pointed toward the completely wrong direction.
It almost touched the carriage wall.
Cecilia silently grabbed his wrist and redirected it forward.
"Ah. Thank you."
Uriel continued speaking as though nothing had happened. "This ti, however, their goals are much larger."
Cecilia’s brows slowly furrowed.
She already understood that the Thorne Family supported her elder brother, but honestly speaking, that alone was not shocking.
Powerful families constantly involved themselves in matters regarding succession and influence.
Because of that, she quietly asked, "Do they have another motive?"
"Yes."Uriel nodded.
Then he confidently turned toward her.
Unfortunately, he turned too far and ended up facing the carriage door instead.
"You see..."
Cecilia silently reached forward again and grabbed his chin before turning his face toward her properly.
"Ah. Thank you once more." The saint remained completely calm.
"So what I discovered during my divination," he continued mysteriously, "is that if your brother ascends the throne..."
His voice slowly beca heavier.
"...the Holy Empire will eventually fall into ruin."
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