Somehow, The Saintess Needs To Die - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The Crown Prince of the Holy Empire and the Saintess fell in love – it was fated, but not allowed.

The shrine sent a delegation to formally protest to the imperial family, and the Emperor, furious, deprived the Crown Prince of his right to succession to the throne.

“What a shame, how dare the Crown Prince of the Holy Empire covet the messenger of God!”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, this empire will soon be mine. Is there anyone on this land I won’t have?”

“No, you have no right to rule this country. You’ll be expelled as the Crown Prince.”

“Then, I have no choice.”

In the end, the Crown Prince is urged to make a decision.

Crown Prince Elickasar Mickhena Tiflis II took the throne by cutting off his father’s head with his own hands. Laughing at everyone’s opposition, he welcomed Saintess Rodante as his queen. None of the delegations who came from the temple returned alive.

Their wedding was the most grandiose event in the history of the Mickhena Empire, wiping out the blood from a few people. In the end, Elickasar became the Emperor who made the empire the most prosperous, and the cold-blooded tyrant who committed the great tyranny.

It wasn’t fate, but it was willingly accepted.

The Saintess, no, Rodante who will become the Empress tonight asks, “Your Majesty, don’t you regret it?”

She was afraid of the bloodstains cast on the road in front of the man she loves. Her choice was to only believe in her love and forsake God in the end.

Elickasar put his hand on her cheek and whispered in a faraway voice, “I don’t know about that. How can I convey my sincerity to you?”

“…….”

“So Rodante, do you dare doubt my love is a burden?”

“… I dare not.”

Eventually, Rodante closes her eyes. Her sticky, wrinkled eyelids were never wet with tears – happiness comes even when your eyes are dry.

(T/N: ‘happiness comes even when your eyes are dry’ means that you can be happy even without shedding ‘tears of joy’.)

The night crushed the two into one. Elickasar’s dark hair and Rodante’s fragrant hair; his noble golden eyes and her blue eyes slowly became one. Only the shaking, rough exhales replaced the cries.

“Haa…….”

“Rodante.”

“Your Majesty…….”

No, they can’t turn back this inevitable fate, but it was love.

“I was always afraid that you would disappear.”

“Don’t worry, from now on I will always live by your side, Your Majesty.”

“Forever?”

“Yes, forever.”

“I like it, And if possible, I would like to have a contract with the devil to have those words etched in your soul.”

“Ah…… You must have already forgotten that I was once a saint…….”

Rodante wished that this love would never change. She couldn’t pray to God now, but she kept hoping.

But love changes, and people regret it.

* * * * * *

“Your Majesty!”

Clang! Rodante threw away the tray she was holding and ran to Elickasar.

“You came, Rodante……”

Staggered, Elickasar stood in the middle of the room and was about to collapse. He tried to hold onto the table, but his body was unable to overcome the gravity. He slid down while clutching the table cloth. Thud! The tablecloth tangled. Vases, teapots, and silver candle holders rolled around the floor.

Forgetting her dignity as Empress, Rodante sat down on the floor, pulling Elickasar’s head onto her thighs.

“What on earth is this, Your Majesty……? Please wake up!”

“It’s okay, Rodante.”

Elickasar’s blue lips vomited dark red blood as he called her. But still, his voice was extremely calm.

“It’s poison.”

“Poison… A-anyone outside……! Doctor, call the doctor!” Startled, Rodante shouted to the people outside, but Elickasar only shook his head.

“It’s no use. They are all dead.”

“…… Your Majesty, don’t tell me……?”

“That’s right, I killed them – with my own hands.”

“…….”

Rodante’s quivering and twitching lips instantly shut up. At the same time, Elickasar groaned and vomited a handful of blood again. He must’ve drunk the poison himself.

His golden eyes, which become hazier, turned to Rodante. “Now, are you ready to grant my wish?”

“…….”

“Rodante.”

He called out, but Rodante didn’t answer. No, she couldn’t; she was trembling. She could feel his pulse getting weaker, and if she left him like this, he would die. Rodante had to choose. She had to admit; in the end, she had no choice but to answer.

“Yes… Your Majesty.”

She closed her eyes tightly, “I… I will grant Your Majesty’s wish.”

She knew that the man she loved was no longer there – Elickasar, her cruel sweet lover……

He changed his mind, and the reason why their love had ended was simple. No matter how much he waited, no heir was born. And it was clear that no matter how many years had passed, there would be no offspring coming from Empress Rodante. Suddenly, the whole country was infested with ghastly rumors.

Gizena has cursed you – you’ll probably never see an heir in your lifetime!

Yes, they are cursed – by none other than the God they had forsaken.

「“Rodante, I want to turn back time.”

“That is impossible, Your Majesty.”

“No, you can.”」

The saint who received the oracle had the ability to return to the desired time once in her lifetime. Only Elickasar knew that. Rodante loved him so much that she divulged her heavenly powers.

「“I’m unable to. I don’t want to!”」

Rodante turned down Elickasar’s request, even though he became furious every time.

「“Are you sure you won’t grant my wish? Even if I said I will kill you?!”」

Rodante’s answer was always the same.

「“Yes, I’d rather you kill me and ask God for forgiveness. Another way to reverse time is to make another choice, and the Providence says that you can’t keep a spilled water clean.”

(T/N: a. Providence is having the protective care of God or nature as a spiritual power.
b. ‘You can’t keep a spilled water clean’ means that when you do something, it is irreversible and that you should be prepared for its consequences. It’s the same idiom as ‘you can’t unscramble an egg’.)

“Providence and choice – I like it. I won’t regret it later.”」

Elickasar then piled the corpses of people in front of Rodante. The Emperor’s Guard Captain, the Imperial Chief Alchemist, the Emperor’s younger brother, and all of his companions. They were all people Rodante had cherished. Rodante fell on her knees in front of Elickasar, drenched in grief.

「“I am regretting that Your Majesty committed suicide as soon as you cut off His Majesty’s (the former Emperor) throat…….”

“That’s right Rodante, you’re finally doing something called regret.”

“I couldn’t leave a man who committed a crime because of myself. That is my fault.”

“No, the reason you couldn’t leave me is because of your love, and I believe in your love.”

“…….”」

It wasn’t fate, but it was love. Elickasar recounted it brutally.

「“Rodante, there were so many things that I had lost because of the wrong choices I made in my days. If you really love me, you must grant my wish.”」

What he really wanted was to return to the past, and he brutally took advantage of Rodante’s love, drinking poison in front of her.

“All right, let’s go back to the time before we met.” Rodante said while looking down at the dying Elickasar.

She grabbed Elickasar’s cheeks with both of her hands, made clear eye contact, and slowly brought their lips together. The smell of fishy blood and the bitter taste of poison rushed in. The price of turning back time was her life – suicide. Is it really the power of God to bestow a new life by voluntarily dying?

She parted their lips after a while, whispering in both love and hatred, “Only one of us can remember our past life, and I’m going to try to erase my memory while saving your memory, Your Majesty.”

“…… I’m thankful.”

Elickasar looked up at her. His eyes were so obscure.

Rodante bit her lips. Her throat was already sore. It was painful enduring through the pain just to turn back on their love; To completely erase her existence in his life. That sadness and emptiness led Rodante to death more quickly. But before she died, she had a message to convey.

“If you have conscience Your Majesty,” Rodante said, “If you have a conscience, don’t pretend that you know me in the next life; Even if you die and become a ghost, don’t even come near my shadow.”

“…….”

“Promise me. This is my first and last request to Your Majesty.”

Please listen to this…… Rodante closed her eyes, and didn’t them open again.

“…….”

But why? Elickasar stared at her, forcing his eyes to open, which he should have closed earlier. Still not understand her intentions, he died with eyes wide open.

Finally, the Emperor and Empress of the Empire died – the tyrant and the saintess of betrayal died.

Because of love – just because of love.

The time started to turn back now, no, they were turning back.

At that moment, a being appeared from the empty space and time stopped.

“Wasn’t that so easy, Rodante?”

The ‘being’ in the shape of a human, with beautiful silver hair that wasn’t like anyone in this world, suddenly put a hand on Elickasar’s forehead. Slide. A huge sphere of light was sucked out. It was the bell of memory that Rodante had given to Elickasar.

“Every game should be fair.”

With a small smile, he began to cut the memory bubble into thousands of pieces. He tore and shattered the memories of Rodante and Elickasar. Suddenly, only a few of them were scattered haphazardly in the air and left to seep into their foreheads, and after a moment’s contemplation, the other thousands fell onto their hands, lips, hearts, knees, and ankles. Then he shoved what was left in his pocket.

“Then…… I look forward to it.”

That was the last goodbye.

The being then disappeared into the void – out of nowhere, as if it never existed in the first place.

Then time began to turn again.

And now, it was all a future that hasn’t happened yet.