The duke and duchess of Illion left the capital.

“Ha….”

Helios was relieved that he had kept Diana’s crown princess status safe, but he could not help but point out the way Diana had already turned her back completely.

He took a heavy step to the Lily Palace. Diana was seen taking care of the garden plants.

Recognizing his presence, she straightened her back.

“Heli…”

Helios smiled and sat down in a nearby chair.

“Did you hear the news? Kael left with his wife for the manor of Attica. He said he wanted to focus on the internal affairs of the manor for a while.”

“Oh….”

 Diana lost all her strength. At last he’s gone. He was telling the truth that his wife was more precious.

“What do you think? I feel like he left in such a hurry because of you.”

“Why are you looking at me like that when you know everything?”

Diana was sick of Helios’ way of speaking.

“Just say what you want to say and go back. If your purpose is not to play with me.”

He shrugged shoulders.

“Tomorrow, I will officially acknowledge at the state council that your divine power no longer exists.”

“!”

Diana’s face turned pale. However, she also knew that it was meaningless to speak up anymore.

“Well, that’s not going to make a big difference in your daily life. We all know anyway.”

“…”

Diana bowed her head. The first justification of those who claimed the abdication was the absence of divine power. Their logic was that she may have become crown princess because of the fact that she had God’s power.

Her rebuttal that she only became his wife by dating the crown prince enthusiastically did not exert any strength in the face of the already extinguished love.

Frankly, she couldn’t understand why Helios had stopped her from being deposed of.

“Why did you block it? It also affects Kael.”

“Hmm.”

“I expected Hestia to be vehemently opposed. Did you want to split the two? Did you think that you could take Hestia?”

At her growing sharpness, Helios laughed out loud.

  “Ha ha, Diana. Why are you so angry? I know you’ve confessed your love to Kael a couple of times.”

“!”

He slowly pulled back his laughter.

“I’ll be honest with you. I protected you for both personal and public reasons. For public reasons first.”

A cold tone.

“If the status of the royal family can be freely determined by the pressure of the nobility, the imperial power in itself is as endangered as it was during the Duke Orcus. That’s why Kaelus accepted my persuasion.”

“…”

“Next time, I’ll give you a personal reason. I was afraid that after you were deposed, if you were free without a husband, you would bother Kael even more. Didn’t you cling to him a few times already? Even though I’m a good husband.”

“…!”

“And one more thing.”

Helios smoothed his chin awkwardly.

“We might make up one day. I still think you are the most beautiful woman in this empire.”

“…now…”

She was not thrilled at all with such words. Diana thought Helios was so shameless.

He continued seriously, looking at her sea-colored eyes.

“Do you know why Hestia accepted Kaelus’ decision?”

“…”

“Because her real purpose is not to bring you down. She wants you to sincerely reflect on yourself. To respect the worldview of people who have lived in a different environment than you without criticizing anyone for their narrow-minded ideas.”

Helios sympathized with Hestia’s philosophy of conflict with Diana. Her flexible mindset was an invaluable asset from life that anyone who had lived only a flat life could never learn.

“I want you to be a true saintess. A real saintess, recognized by everyone in the world, regardless of whether she’s a noble or a commoner.”

The title of a saint won by heart, not by special power.

Not as a special being, but someone who lives in a special way even though they are equal.

It would be hard to achieve right now for Diana, but as Helios told Hestia, wouldn’t it be possible if the years were built on her true nature?

God may still have a special affection for her. No, not only for her, but for all the creatures created by God.

Therefore…

“I hope you don’t miss your chance, Diana. I’ll work hard, too.”

Everyone is given a chance to turn back.

That is God’s blessing to man.

~~~~

The emperor sat on a warm sunny terrace and thought quietly.

“Kaelus ended up…”

As the reason of his subjects, Kaelus told the emperor that he would protect Diana’s throne. And his authority was able to quell at once the demands of the aristocracy like bees.

The loyalist, who devoted generously to the peace of the empire, left behind many of the tasks that still needed him for a moment and left for the most important thing in his life.

Helios later informed the emperor of his determination to tell the world the truth about Diana’s power.

“Phew….”

He, who cared about Diana as much as a daughter, wanted to keep her straight and pure nature away from the waves of the world. The imperial palace was an environment in which it could be done according to her actions.

The emperor admitted that trying to protect her like a greenhouse plant was a big mistake.

“I should have told you more… I’m sorry, Diana.”

He didn’t know that his son and his wife were almost on the verge of bankruptcy. But he couldn’t be hasty in taking sides with either side. Because both of them are precious children to him.

The marital problems had to be solved first between the couple. The emperor himself could not have intervened recklessly.

However, he wanted Helios to be more generous to Diana. It was Diana, who lived only in the temple all her life until she entered the imperial palace. He thought he couldn’t expect too much from Diana, who had not even learned the wider world.

“But was it too much? The people will not wait long enough for the crown princess to have time to learn.”

The world is so cruel that it is not so merciful to young people who are just learning it. The excuse for waiting doesn’t work because she’s still clumsy.

Even while they don’t know what’s what yet, the world pushes them to prove their qualifications quickly and show their proper abilities.

If Diana had more time and space, she would not have been so driven. In a way, her situation of having to stand on the public’s judgment table less than two years after they got married is too harsh.

So the emperor could not give up Diana. At least he had to give her a second chance to make up for this clumsiness.

“Difficulties make people more mature. Please get over this crisis wisely.”

Next time I’ll prove her qualities even better than before.

A desperate wind, quietly carried in the wind.

~~~~

Countess Erinnis sighed long after receiving a letter from Hestia.

“Ha… The duke must have persuaded the duchess quite hard. Was your first love that precious?”

This is how people who are not aware of the deep-seated situation between Kaelus and Hestia responded. No matter how much the couple who were formed by politics respected each other, they talked about not being able to overcome the memories of his first love.

Most of the reasons why the two left imperial city in a hurry were speculation that Kaelus blocked Hestia because he was afraid that she would actively participate in Diana’s abdication.

Erinnis also read Hestia’s letter and guessed that there would be such a hidden situation.

“The duchess shouldn’t have been so heartbroken, but…”

She clicked her tongue briefly. Soon afterwards, she recalled Diana and snorted.

“Well, you may have put out the fire by engaging the duke in a dirty way, but it will be even more formidable in the future. You are a daughter of a commoner who has not learned anything.”

This discussion of the abdication of the committee has been dampened by this, but opportunities can come again at any time.

She vowed not to miss another opportunity again.

“If I don’t prepare for it, I can never hold onto it even if I get a chance. We’ll see who’s more persistent and desperate, crown princess.”

If I wait, I’ll get a chance.

The victory at that time will be for those who are more thoroughly prepared.

~~~~

The imperial city, who left Kaelus and Hestia, was noisy for a while with various stories about the two. But not long after, social circles soon moved on to a different topic, as usual.

People have become accustomed to the absence of the duke and his wife. Hestia, who was occasionally on the side of the Countess Erinnis, was glad to report her safety on the occasion.

To the lost saint, the world no longer offered blind praise. The same was true of the temple. People did not take their eyes off the cold surveillance of human organizations that are no longer holy.

At the request of numerous people, the temple was eventually forced to disclose its accounting books and property lists. Naturally, there was a lot of  backlash. But just as much, it had become more transparent.

The demand for change caused by Hestia continued steadily without cooling down thanks to the efforts of those who followed. Some continued the fight of Hestia in their respective ways, with pure justice and some with political ends.

The bottom line was, after all, that society was changing.

That was the most important fact.