|| ᴀ ꜱᴀɪɴᴛ ᴡʜᴏ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀᴅᴏᴘᴛᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ɢʀᴀɴᴅ ᴅᴜᴋᴇ || ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴇᴛᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ꜱɪᴅᴇ ꜱᴛᴏʀɪᴇꜱ ||

Chapters 126-130

Episode 126: Spread the Word (III)

"That won't happen."

"But..."

"Sir Paras has already left the temple. Give up your hopes for the temple."

"It's not just because of the temple. For the sake of peace in the empire, we will continue to need the protection of Espitos."

Esther knew that the protection of Espitos meant the barrier that spread across the empire.

But even if it was selfish, she did not want to sacrifice her hard-earned life for others any more.

"I will only protect those who are important to me."

"You won't be able to turn away. I can tell just by today's incident. If the barrier is broken, those precious people will be in danger too."

"I'm going to leave now."

Esther started walking again, pretending not to hear Paras.

She could sense him bowing deeply behind her, but she left the greenhouse without looking back.

As soon as she came out, she saw Dennis' face. It appeared he was waiting for her to finish her business.

"Brother Dennis."

Esther's expression, which had turned dark for a moment, brightened again.

"There's no need to listen to that. Let's not bear too heavy a burden."

"Yes. Let's go home."

Esther erased Paras' words from her head. She just wanted to go back to her most comfortable home as soon as possible.

On the way home, they happened to meet Deheen and they moved into a single carriage.

Deheen sat down next to Esther, who seemed exhausted, and lent her his shoulder.

"Where did you go and what did you do?"

"I helped decide which books to put in the library. I chose based on what I read."

Dennis knew more about books than anyone, so there was nothing to worry about.

"What about you, Esther?"

"I healed people. I also allowed holy flowers to grow."

With a proud expression, Esther looked down at her hands, which had healed so many people.

"You have suffered. You must be very tired."

"It's okay... Dad, rather than that..."

"Huh?"

Deheen read the concern in Esther's voice. He turned his head, giving her his full attention.

"Among the people I treated today, there's someone with an infectious disease."

Esther told Deheen everything about the letter she received from Noah and about the man she treated today.

Listening quietly, Deheen's expression gradually grew serious, and a sigh leaked out of his lips.

"I'm afraid your responsibilities will increase."

"Nothing will change."

Esther answered boldly, digging deeper into Deheen's shoulder. The sturdy Deheen was just right to lean on.

"The timing is not good."

The combination of the epidemic and the temple's closure was something Deheen hadn't foreseen. It was already expected that public sentiment would become vicious.