Chapter 17
The opening round of the hunting tournament had begun, and since the Colosseum was open, Diego was already halfway insane.
It was strange enough that Ariadne hadn’t arrived on time as promised.
To him, she was not the type to speak nonsense.
If she was desperate enough to come to him for help, it had to be a very serious situation.
She wasn’t the kind of person who would waste such a rare opportunity.
“So… Ariadne still hasn’t arrived?”
Irritated, Diego was already scolding his poor aide for the umpteenth time.
After all this time, she had come to him first.
Even after ignoring him for three years…
And yet she didn’t show up at the meeting place?
Something had definitely happened.
His animal instincts told him so. That uneasy feeling had never been wrong.
So Diego became anxious.
He couldn’t just sit still.
“I have to go to the Saint.”
“…Understood.”
Diego, who rarely moved on his own, took the lead, surprising his aide Hanok, who quickly followed.
Hanok had never seen his lord move with such speed and decisiveness.
It was very different from how he used to be, always slow and lazy whenever the Emperor gave orders.
They headed quickly toward Ashley’s location.
The count who first noticed Diego arrived to meet him with an uneasy expression.
No one liked him much, given the rumors about him.
Especially the count, who was sensitive to shifts in power while watching the Emperor carefully.
But Diego didn’t care about such things.
“Where is Ariadne?”
Without even properly greeting him, Diego went straight to the point. The count chuckled.
“She will come.”
“She’s being sought everywhere, huh… impressive…”
It was Ashley. Her tone was clearly mocking.
She could not tolerate the attention that Ariadne, her older sister, had been getting lately.
She had even heard that Canin, the foreign prince, was following Ariadne around. And now Diego too. Ashley looked away irritably.
“It’s strange that both of you are here, but Ariadne isn’t.”
Diego raised an eyebrow.
“Well… my sister has been wandering off lately. She’s probably somewhere else causing trouble.”
Ashley spoke casually, spreading the recent rumors about Ariadne, clearly in a mocking manner.
Diego frowned.
“So you speak as if you know something, Saint.”
He passed by the count and went straight to Ashley.
Diego’s tall, strong shadow loomed over the seated Ashley.
He looked quite threatening up close.
Diego was not the type to like someone just because they were revered as a Saint.
He simply acted according to whether he liked someone or not. He didn’t intend to flatter or please Ashley.
Looking down at her, Ashley instinctively avoided his gaze.
She had been the one to secretly block Ariadne from entering.
But she hadn’t expected Diego to make such a fuss.
“Ignore my sister, Your Highness.”
“Which makes me want to pay even more attention, Saint.”
Diego’s teasing only made Ashley angrier.
“Then go look for her yourself. She’s probably mixed in with the commoners somewhere.”
“You’ll have to take responsibility for that, Saint.”
Diego restrained the urge to hit Ashley and quickly went outside.
He was more concerned about what might have happened to Ariadne than scolding the Saint.
“Damn it.”
He searched the Colosseum like crazy.
But the place was ridiculously large, and the crowd was huge.
Hanok, seeing Diego so passionate for the first time, also searched for Ariadne more diligently.
And finally, when they found her…
“Ari!”
It was after she had been stabbed by a drunk man.
“That woman… she doesn’t even realize she’s been stabbed!”
Diego pushed through the crowd toward Ariadne.
She was smiling as if saving the Crown Prince was some great accomplishment.
Diego muttered irritably.
“Likes troublemakers… what kind of troublemaker gets stabbed for someone and still smiles? Damn it!”
He managed to catch the collapsing Ariadne.
She had lost a lot of blood.
“Ari…!”
Seeing her faint in his arms, Diego felt his head spin.
The Crown Prince blending in with commoners was a huge event.
Some of the people around him were seriously punished for the chaos at the opening.
The Emperor was furious about it.
It was unforgivable that he had secretly disguised himself among commoners and got caught by both Ariadne and Diego.
If he hadn’t been discovered, it might have been fine, but now everyone knew.
The nobles would likely gossip about it for some time.
It was certainly not good for the Crown Prince, who already had a weak support base.
On the other hand, Ariadne, who had been stabbed instead, was being treated with the Emperor’s utmost care.
Her room was crowded with visitors every day.
Canin, Ian, and even Diego came so often the floor was worn down.
When Ariadne woke up, even the Emperor himself had come to see her.
“The Crown Prince owes you a huge debt. You risked yourself for him?”
“….”
Ariadne was a little embarrassed by the unexpected special treatment.
“Ah…”
“After hearing this, I finally believe what Prince Rodram said.”
Ariadne paused to think about what the Emperor meant, but soon realized.
It was the same story Canin had told when he first arrived at the palace—he had been saved by Ariadne. The Emperor finally believed it.
It was strange to receive such attention after being treated poorly all this time, but Ariadne didn’t want to miss the opportunity.
She was also curious who had tried to block her from entering the nobles’ Colosseum.
“By the way, Your Majesty.”
“Oh? Go ahead.”
“The knights’ discipline seems very weak. They didn’t even recognize the Crown Prince or me. Isn’t that so?”
“Hmm… I will apologize for that… but…”
The Emperor made a peculiar expression.
“I hear it was by the Saint’s order that you weren’t allowed in? Did you two fight?”
The Emperor had already investigated everything.
“….”
Ariadne laughed quietly, thinking she had guessed as much.
It was exactly as she expected.
“I also heard there was some kind of suicide incident?”
“Yes.”
“I want to hear more about that. How could the Saint even think of such a thing?”
The Emperor usually had little interest in the Saint’s private life or rumors.
But Ariadne’s situation had sparked his curiosity.
He was planning to have Canin send Ariadne to his country in exchange for Northern Empire technology.
He intended to take good care of her.
To do so, he needed to understand why the Saint and Ariadne had a falling out.
“That… I’m not sure I should explain…”
To make the story more interesting, Ashley should probably be involved.
Ariadne calmly looked at the Emperor and continued.
“Your Majesty, I have a request.”
The Emperor’s face brightened for the first time in a while.
“Anything! Tell me! You saved Canin, and even our Crown Prince. I will grant anything.”
Ariadne smiled and said confidently.
“I hope you recover quickly.”
“Oh! Right! Shall I call the palace healer?”
The Emperor fussed as if he were doing a great favor.
But Ariadne, smiling boldly, seemed not satisfied with just a palace healer.
“Rather than the palace healer…”
“Ah. Then who would you want instead?”
The Emperor showed he was ready to grant anything.
“Yes. How about if Ashley, the Saint, uses her healing power for me?”
Ariadne smiled. Everyone present was shocked.
She was determined not to let Ashley get away with her petty trick to block her.
Ariadne’s plan to leave had failed because of that, so Ashley would have to pay the price.
It was obvious how much it would bruise Ashley’s pride to use her healing power for Ariadne.
So Ariadne asked as if making a request.
“Receiving healing from the Saint… would not be allowed for me, right?”
The Emperor’s eyes widened in surprise. He was slightly startled, then commanded the Saint to come over.
