BDBM | Chapter 3

“I’m sorry, Mother. Please don’t lock me in the small room. Tenev is sorry for throwing up.”

The trembling, clear voice was much more effective than any scream. In an instant, the air froze.

After a brief silence, a priest asked in a trembling voice. “Ah, Agi-nim, what is a ‘small room’?”

“Under the branch… Ugh!” Ivyor immediately clamped her hand over Tenev’s mouth to stop her from answering bluntly. Then, with a smile, she furrowed her brows, looking a bit troubled.

“Ah, this child. She only said there was a teddy bear alone in the room, and now we’re talking about locking her up. Where did she learn such cruel things?”

With that playful remark, the priests awkwardly began to laugh along.

But the priests weren’t fools. The child had apologized. Twice, in fact.

‘There must be some reason for this.’ A sense of pity for Agi-nim naturally arose.

They had abandoned her, never casting a shadow, and suddenly showed up, bringing up the mistakes of the sick child. Without hearing about how the precious one, who would one day lead the Holy Kingdom, had grown, it was clear enough to see.

The priests exchanged glances, still holding awkward smiles.

‘Maybe…’

‘Perhaps we misunderstood.’

Agi-nim wasn’t trying to avoid the Marchioness. It was because she was scared and afraid, and she wanted to cut ties with her.

“Uh, Madam. Agi-nim’s meal time is approaching. It would be best to let her go now.”

One of the priests cautiously stepped forward, but Ivyor spun around as though she was about to snatch Tenev away.

“You’re preventing a mother and child from spending time together? The people of the Holy Land are truly cruel!”

It seemed even more cruel to leave Agi-nim alone with her, but the priest kept those thoughts to himself.

Still, seeing Tenev, her mouth still shut, the priest couldn’t remain silent. Especially since Agi-nim was gazing at her, her eyes shining as if asking for help!

Of course, Tenev’s true feelings were closer to, ‘Yeah, do it. Do more.’

…But.

The last time, she had tried to get away from Ivyor, dropping hints that she was going to leave, but was swiftly outsmarted by the naive priests. So, Tenev quickly switched strategies.

‘Maybe it’s better to put my biological mother in front as a choice for the opposition faction.’

Ivyor’s intentions were transparent. And through her memories, Tenev had a rough idea of how she would move.

Now that the choice to not bring her to the Holy Land had fallen apart, using Ivyor would likely be an easier countermeasure than risking unexpected moves from the opposition.

‘If things go well, I can even reel in the opposition factions, like pulling sweet potatoes from the ground.’

Ivyor’s argument with the priests had devolved into a childish squabble about whether they would spend time alone together or not.

Tenev, listening to the noise indifferently, suddenly felt a large hand grab her and lift her up.

“Wah?!”

Without thinking, Tenev let out a strange sound, but quickly clamped her mouth shut. Instead, Ivyor, who had lost her daughter, shouted.

“What is this nonsense?!”

“It seems that Agi-nim is uncomfortable.”

The person who spoke bluntly, still holding Tenev up like a doll, was one of the two remaining Paladins.

‘Hmm. This is unexpected.’

Unlike the other Paladins or priests, he had never spoken to Tenev before. He always stayed in the background, observing like an ancient oak tree, and never interfered.

“Ah.”

Ivyor finally seemed to understand and smirked.

“You taught her that strange way of speaking, didn’t you?”

“Agi-nim…” The Paladin tried to deny it, but Ivyor wasn’t the type to listen to others.

“Put the child down. I’ll take care of her as her mother until we depart, so don’t interfere.”

“…You should forget that relationship, Marchioness.”

“What? Even if you’re from the Holy Land, how can you so easily forget blood relations?”

“The principle is as such. Moreover, if we bring up blood ties, you would not be in a position to speak to me so disrespectfully.”

“What…” Ivyor furrowed her brows at the confusing words, but then quickly stepped back.

“Wait… Are you… Prince Estram Flambe?”

Black hair, purple eyes. A typical feature of the imperial family. Ivyor had assumed all the attendants from the Holy Land were from there.

She had heard rumors that the second son of the Grand Duke of Flambe had risen to the rank of Grand Paladin at such a young age, though she hadn’t realized it was him.

Just as there were archbishops and bishops under the archbishop, the Paladins had a similar hierarchy, with the highest-ranking being the Grand Paladin, right below the Grand Commander.

‘Everyone had been disappointed that the child wasn’t waking up, but it turns out she’s highly regarded.’

With a sudden realization, Ivyor’s eyes sparkled. But, just as quickly, she wiped her smile away, bracing herself for what was to come.

“Well, at least the child has someone to help her. But I won’t be stopped from going to the Holy Land. I have someone waiting for me.”

Her tone was so confident that Tenev’s ears perked up.

‘What? What line did she cross to be so bold?’

But Ivyor didn’t say more and quickly turned to leave. Watching her retreating figure, Tenev’s golden eyes darkened to the point of resembling amber.

‘This is troublesome.’

With the original Tenev’s memories, it was clear who had bothered her, but what she truly needed—like who Ivyor was meeting or what connections she had—remained a mystery.

However, the day of leaving for the Holy Land was drawing near. And based on the situation, it seemed she had failed to sway the priests to distance herself from Ivyor.

‘This is the end of the line.’

Ivyor, relying on memories she absorbed without effort.

The people of the Holy Land were pitying Tenev, who closed her eyes with a faint smile.

The energy rising from her chest slowly spread through her entire body, invigorating her from head to toe.

From her chest to her navel, from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, the warm, refreshing energy flowed gently, making her feel lighter than ever, both in body and mind.

If she were to describe it, it felt like the clear skies of a summer day with low humidity.

‘This must be the divine power.’

The original Tenev had a large vessel, but she was always told she lacked divine power, making her unsuitable to be the Holy King’s successor.

However, the divine power within her body now was anything but small.

The problem was that it was scattered throughout her body. It was like rice spilling out of a sack instead of being contained.

Luckily, through breathing exercises, the divine power began to move, and as she repeated the meditation, the scattered energy began to gather, like a magnet pulling the pieces back together.

“Good thing the choice was right.” Tenev murmured as she gathered the energy, knowing that the priests would come soon.

After regaining her consciousness, she had been practicing the meditation every morning and evening.

It had become a habit over her lifetime, but no matter how much she sat in a leader’s position, if she didn’t have the strength, no one would respect her.

‘Especially now, I have no one to rely on.’

However, unless she consumed a legendary elixir, it would be impossible to build up internal energy in such a short time.

So, she had chosen to focus on the faint divine power, and luckily, it worked out.

Knock knock.

“Agi-nim, are you awake?”

“Come in.” Tenev replied as she loosened her posture.

Although it was right after sunrise, so she should have been tired, her voice didn’t carry any signs of exhaustion, thanks to the meditation.

She woke up early because she still had some blocked meridians, and the meditation took a long time.

Even when she was Jin Danye, she had gone through this. The realization was already engraved in her mind, and while she could forcefully open the blocked pathways, she chose to gradually expand them.

‘There’s a stage where I can show a brilliant, colorful display.’

Wait for it, Holy Land folks.

As Tenev fired up her determination, thinking of the archbishops who would try to test her, the door opened, and a familiar priest entered. She quickly put on a smile.

“Good morning, Shelly.”

Her slightly off pronunciation made it sound wrong, but Priest Shelly smiled brightly.

Despite her serious expression, Shelly’s playful lips were so cute that Tenev almost wished she could change her name to Shelly.

“It’s an honor that you still remember my name, Agi-nim.”

“I remember everyone’s names.”

The names of Grand Paladin Estram, Senior Knight Tybee, Senior Priestess Shelly, Verde, and Mari.

After meeting Ivyor in the garden, she had learned Estram’s name, so it was only right to confirm the others as well.

“You’re truly sharp.”

Memorizing just five names wasn’t anything to make a fuss over. Tenev thought indifferently.

‘Back in the day, I memorized entire martial arts books and mental techniques!’

At the same time, her lips curved upward slightly.