After returning to the Imperial Palace, Theodore remained cloistered in the imperial office.
As if he were a workaholic, he’d even found and done things Marquis Otis Marigold hadn't even asked him to do.
"Anything else?"
"What?"
"I asked if there was anything else that needed to be done."
Like a person trying to escape reality, Theodore searched for work like crazy.
Eventually, Otis, who had been watching this for a few days, finally opened his mouth for the first time.
"What the hell are you doing? Did something happen recently?"
‘The day he went to visit the Duke of Estella with my daughter. Theodore changed from that day on.’
However, his daughter and second son seemed too happy to presume something negative had happened there.
They were the opposite of Theodore.
"Did something happen during your visit to the duke?"
Otis asked with a hint of skepticism.
But when he saw Theodore's reaction, Otis realized that he had got it right.
Specifically, when the pen in Theodore's hand bent sharply at a 90-degree angle.
"Nothing happened."
Otis did not believe it.
"What happened?"
"Nothing..."
Theodore subtly looked upward as if he were thinking about something while talking.
His focus gradually became blurred.
But it was only for a moment before Theodore jumped out of his seat.
"…… I'm going to go walk for a while."
Otis didn't stop him, who was rapidly leaving to go for a walk.
Rather, he urged him to take that walk.
‘He’s done with today's work and doesn’t have anything else to do anyway.’
"Have a good walk."
So, Theodore left the office after saying goodbye to Otis.
It was his first walk in a few days.
As a result, when he left out, he didn't know where to go.
In the end, Theodore began to go wherever his feet took him.
"…… I have a headache."
It was an outing meant to chase away distracting thoughts.
But the more he walked, the more caught up in various thoughts he became.
In the end, Theodore continued to walk without even paying attention to what direction he was heading in.
Something else was occupying his thoughts instead.
"Rosenta..."
Again and again, he remembered Enoch’s words and Rosenta’s face.
And that ridiculous black cloth he called a leash.
"Dammit."
Those passing by could hear Theodore’s cursing and hurriedly moved away.
But Theodore didn’t even notice that people were even there.
His head was too full of Rosenta-related thoughts.
Theodore continuously walked and, without even realizing it, arrived at a destination.
"This is…"
It was a location rife with meaning for Theodore in many ways.
It was where Yura fell.
And it was also the place where he picked flowers for Rosenta for the first time.
"It's been a long time since I've been in this flower garden."
Since the restoration of the pit is still in full swing, I haven’t been able to visit this place.
[t/n: the pit/hole that formed when Yura landed.]
As he looked around, his memories of that time came back to him for a moment.
His brow became very furrowed.
Theodore quickly took his eyes off the pit.
He started to head back.
However, as he turned his head, he noticed the purple geraniums in the flower garden.
His golden eyes, which had recently cooled as though they had lost their motivation, shone warmly again.
He thought of Rosenta.
"What the hell is this?"
Theodore pressed down on his chest, which was beating fiercely. He touched the side of his eyes which kept bending.
Then he closed his eyes.
He wasn’t trying to think of anything specifically, but Rosenta's face came to mind more clearly.
"It's weird. It's really weird."
He knew it now.
That he didn't think of Rosenta as just a friend.
But he still couldn't admit it.
"I..."
For the first time, Theodore tried to give a name to those feelings with his words.
Yura's voice was heard in the distance.
"Your Majesty!"
The calm, sunlit golden hair began to rise on end.
Theodore saw Yura.
Yura then ran towards Theodore with a tremendous jump as if even more pleased.
She ran so fast that it seemed like she was going to land in Theodore's arms. Like their first meeting.
"Your Majesty! I..."
As expected, Yura's body was flung forward because she couldn't manage the acceleration.
But Theodore did not catch Yura.
"Oh my god!"
Yura screamed and fell into a patch of soil that was in front of a bed of flowers.
As a result, her sky-blue dress was covered with dirt.
Yura's face became tearful.
At the same time, she didn't think about getting up and, instead, just glanced at Theodore.
"Hng, Your Majesty..."
But Theodore was cold.
"The dampness of the ground will only make your clothes dirtier. Get up, Saint."
At no point did he reach out or try to help Yura.
He just looked down.
Everyone in the flower garden opened their eyes wide at the sight.
It was because of Theodore's current demeanor, which had changed so much in just a few days.
In the past, he looked at her like a man in love, but now it was no different from the way he looked at others.
"Your Majesty?"
"Stand up. Are you so weak that you’re unable to get up from something like this?"
No. It was harsher now.
His tone and expression clearly communicated distance. He was indifferent.
And it was Yura who felt it most clearly.
Yura wore a shocked expression.
Nevertheless, Theodore didn’t even look at her properly.
Soon, he turned his head and even showed his back to Yura.
‘Even though I'm still sitting on the floor.’
"You clearly intend to take your time looking at the flower garden. Then I'll go somewhere else."
Yura felt humiliated.
She’d come to see Theodore, and he just left her.
On top of that, there were even people waiting for her, who was left alone. They clicked their tongues in pity.
***
Although the Holy Land was said to be closed off, aristocrats who supported them were allowed entry.
Instead, they were restricted to specific locations. They always had to follow a guide when they visited.
Usually, it was common for a trainee to be assigned as a guide.
However, Conitel, who had just become pope, showed other priests a very unconventional sight.
"Pope, how could the representative of our Holy Father…"
"That's all the more reason why I have to show myself more. I'll try to make time to meet the congregants this way occasionally."
Shaking off the priests who stopped him, Conitel went to meet a devotee whom he would guide.
The congregant was an old woman.
"It's nice to meet you."
The old woman greeted Conitel in a very polite manner.
But they remained silent once greetings were exchanged.
Conitel didn’t introduce anything even though he was supposed to be a guide.
They only quietly looked over the Holy Land.
They only began to speak again once they entered the prayer room at the end of the tour.
The old woman spoke out of the blue.
"He said to tell the saint to return here."
As rude as it sounded, Conitel was not at all offended.
Rather, they spoke casually while observing the stone statues of Rouge like old men.
"To return here..."
"The plan went awry. I don't know what happened, but he said this was certain."
For the first time, the old woman took her eyes off the table and turned to Conitel.
Her brown eyes landed on him.
"The clever child is acting as a hindrance to the plan."
Contrary to the tone of what she said, the old woman smiled. She smiled as if she missed someone but was wary.
Then, she said very calmly,
"That's why he said he was going to change the plan. If he can't be possessed, he's going to break him."
"…… that's too dangerous. If we touch the emperor prematurely……"
Conitel hesitated.
No matter how strong the Holy Land was, the Helios Empire was overwhelming in terms of military power.
If there was any disagreement with the empire, he might be forced to resign so shortly after becoming pope.
Therefore, Conitel could not exactly claim to be happy.
"We'll go with the plan we set, but the only difference is that we remove the saint from the empire."
The old woman went on as if Conitel's opinion did not matter.
She stared straight into his blue eyes.
"And it is only when the emperor's reputation falls to rock bottom that the Holy Land makes a move."
Conitel knew.
Now that the charm was lifted, it was best to do what the old woman said.
Most of all, it was a new plan that ‘he’ had set up, and it must have already been prepared.
But even with that in mind, Conitel couldn’t give a clear answer.
‘I've been getting more and more concerned for myself.’
Normally, the more one has, the more cautious a person's behavior and way of thinking becomes.
And that was the case here.
"Pope."
Did she notice Conitel’s hesitation? The old woman's demeanor had changed.
She smiled eerily and offered something to Conitel.
The torn-off hem of a garment that was so small that it could be held in one hand.
It was covered with blood.
"This is what the Pope was wearing when he died. We did this for you…"
Conitel's smile mercilessly collapsed. The corners of his mouth dropped in terror.
Both eyes shook without stopping.
The old woman smiled contentedly at the sight.
Then she gave him a warning.
"Be careful, as long as you have a contract with him, if you break it, it will cause you a great deal of pain."
[t/n: is this Emma? Also, didn’t Rosenta’s dad die in the same/similar way as the pope?]