TLNTAAM Chapter 6

So You Want More

He turned around slowly, still smiling.

"Please, spare yourself the futile resistance and rest well. I'll see you again tonight."

The king walked out in nothing but his robe, unhurried. I listened to the sound of soldiers' spears parting and watched his retreating back, then looked at Seraphie, then back at the door.

'I have a rough sense of what's happening here.'

This scene was from Bound Bird.

The captured saint begs the king to let her go. The king, who cannot relinquish the one person who makes his pain disappear, refuses.

'Though Nina wasn't in this scene originally…'

It was an important scene from early in the novel. So why was Nina here?

'This is. Awkward.'

Seraphie's tears fell as she looked at me. I opened and closed my mouth. I wasn't sure what to say. Novel-Nina would have found this woman genuinely pitiable—I just found it uncomfortable.

"Nina."

Tears slid one by one down Seraphie's cheek.

"Yes."

"I'm the Sacred."

Seraphie's green eyes shimmered with moisture.

"I shouldn't be here. I'm supposed to be beside the sick. Why does that man abduct me and lock me in here. I don't belong to anyone…"

I had nothing to say, so I said nothing. Seraphie didn't seem to want an answer from Nina anyway.

'Well. From Seraphie's perspective, that's perfectly reasonable.'

Seraphie was the Sacred, and the Sacred belonged to God. She was more exalted than any king in any nation—the only authority above her was the Pope, at most.

"I—I—"

She wept without stopping. I had no choice. I ran to the table and filled a glass.

"I have to get out of here…"

I looked toward the door the king had passed through. The curtains were drawn, but the tips of soldiers' spears stuck out from beneath them.

'There will be guards two and three layers deep.'

How exactly was she planning to leave? I understood the feeling. But the possibility was close to zero. I held out the glass. Seraphie managed a single sip.

I felt sorry. It just didn't reach me.

It felt distant, like something happening very far away to someone else.

Bringing water. It struck me that this might be all Nina was ever able to do.

The king walked at his leisure. Maids swarmed behind him with things to drape over him, but he raised a hand and waved them off.

The air against bare skin felt good. A freshness he hadn't experienced in a very long time.

"That maid. She had a pleasant feeling."

He thought of the maid he'd been touching until a moment ago. The bewilderment filling those wide eyes had been so entertaining he'd held on longer on purpose.

"Unexpected. Pleasant."

A girl with divine power felt good to touch. Every other divine power aside from the Sacred's had been unpleasant—but Nina Cage was different. Whether it was because the pain had already subsided when he made contact, he wasn't sure. But touching her skin had produced something almost cool and clear.

"I'll be able to touch her again."

Someone hearing that could easily misunderstand. The king smiled and caught the eye of the maid he trusted most. Sabina came quickly.

"Is the child a spy from the order?"

"It's uncertain. It appears the cathedral only asked her to write letters home."

"Coded messages?"

"I'll need to look into it—but Nina Cage seemed to know nothing. In fact, she…"

Sabina paused and considered her next words. What came before was strictly necessary. What came after felt uncomfortably like advocacy.

"Why are you stopping?"

"She simply seemed to want to settle in well here. She mentioned she was in danger of being sold as an adopted daughter if she remained with the cathedral."

It was too personal a detail for an official report to a king. Sabina bowed her head slightly, apologetic.

"You've taken a liking to her? If Sabina approves, that rabbit must have something to her."

The maid whose private feelings had been seen through went red. She'd climbed to head maid by purging herself of personal attachments—and here the king had caught her.

But it was true. Sabina had taken a liking to Nina Cage. The girl was bad at hiding her expressions. You could see her thinking—and the innocence of her not realizing how transparent she was had been rather endearing.

"It's fine, Sabina. I trust you. And—"

The king looked at his own hand. He thought of the small girl who had attacked her task of cleaning the back of his hand with such desperate focus.

"I also found her pleasant. That coolness."

Each time her fingers had moved across his skin, something clear and cool had transferred. Since becoming king and wielding his mana, nothing had existed but the burning agony—this was a sensation he'd forgotten he could feel. That was why he'd kept touching her skin deliberately.

"It would be a waste to kill her."

The king curled his fingers slightly. He'd barely acquired the Sacred who erased his pain entirely, and now a girl who gave him this coolness had arrived. The latter was far weaker in comparison, but more of a good thing was still more of a good thing. The situation was very pleasing.

"Increase surveillance."

"Yes. I'll assign additional personnel."

"She might get up to something out of loneliness, so put some suitable people near her too."

"Nina Cage has an easy temperament—she'll befriend anyone you give her."

The king nodded at Sabina.

"You really have taken a liking to her, Sabina."

"Yes. Forgive me, but—I have. The child appeared quite sharp. I reviewed the report afterward, and it was satisfactory. There is, however, one thing currently troubling me."

"Go on."

"Why does Nina Cage's divine power feel pleasant to Your Majesty?"

The king lowered his eyes and considered. It was genuinely strange. Mana and divine power conflicted as a rule. He'd met many priests and monks who used divine power to manage his pain, and not one of them had felt anything but unpleasant.

"Indeed. The Sacred is one thing—but Nina Cage is unexpected."

"Might she have some particular ability?"

"I'll have Dio look into it. He'll be delighted to have something to study."

Sabina bowed her understanding and withdrew.

The king walked down the corridor, retracing the sensation of contact with Nina Cage. Something clear and cool had clung pleasantly to his fingertips. The skin itself had felt good too. Still a child—the texture had been soft and yielding.

And then, for no particular reason, he thought of those flustered eyes.

White-gold hair. Red irises. When Dio had kept rabbits for research in the old days, they'd been that exact color.

'Like them.'

The way she'd pushed away the hand touching her was exactly like those rabbits.

'The Sacred is dangerous—she needs protection. But a rabbit, I'd want to carry around anywhere.'

Would she twitch her ears and scramble away if he held her? The king smiled and kept walking. Somehow, he thought the small girl could kick him as hard as she could with her back legs and it wouldn't hurt much at all.

＊＊＊

There was a Sacred.

A divine proxy who could heal the sick.

There was a king.

A man whose power no pope could defy—a man who suffered every day from the side effects of his mana.

One day, the king abducted the Sacred.

He thought: a Sacred who heals all illness should be able to erase my pain too.

The moment he touched her, his pain vanished as though it had never been. With the pain gone, the king built a great cage and locked the Sacred inside it. He couldn't afford to lose her now.

＊＊＊

'That was the story of Bound Bird.'

And then they fell in love, and souls and bodies entwined. Very on-brand for a TL novel—lots of scenes, high ratings. Lee Hwayun hadn't stockpiled it during the sale for nothing.

'It was decent. A solid read.'

Pages had turned easily, time had passed well.

I shook my head. My thoughts were tangled, but I wanted to be present for this moment. I fixed my attention on the plate in front of me. A white, round plate. On it: mashed potatoes, white bread, and sliced fruit.

I couldn't believe this spread was breakfast.

'The food here is genuinely exceptional.'

I put a spoonful of potato in my mouth and broke into a smile. After a childhood of plain salted boiled potatoes, the mashed potatoes from the castle kitchen were something else entirely.

'Butter. Herbs. I can taste both.'

The spices alone were worlds away from a rural orphanage. I was deep into my mashed potatoes when laughter reached me. I glanced up carefully.

Two maids were watching me, smiling. Not mockingly—at least, it didn't look that way.

"You eat with such enjoyment. Want some of mine?"

The maid sitting at the same table offered. I scratched my cheek shyly and held out my plate. She laughed again, loudly, and ladled some of her mashed potatoes onto it.

'She gave me food. An actual good person. Real.'

I thanked her and got a warm eat plenty in return. Were these women angels? I tried to eat as neatly as possible while watching them.

"This is the most delicious thing I've ever had."

"Oh? Really?"

"Yesterday was also the first time I'd ever eaten until I was actually full. At the orphanage, salted boiled potatoes counted as a good meal."

Not a lie. In Nina's memories, most meals were thin gruel. How she'd survived on that was something of a miracle.

Poor Nina. I'm eating well on your behalf now.

'Though I really do miss kimchi…'

Someday, when I have some breathing room, I won't manage kimchi, but maybe dongchimi at least. I smiled to myself, imagining future-me ordering Freckles to peel radishes. Would they even have the right kind of jar to bury here?

"Oh! So that's why you eat with such joy."

"Good thing you ended up working at the castle. What's your name?"

I introduced myself gladly to these angels.

"Nina. May I ask your names as well?"

The two maids covered their mouths and laughed between themselves.

"Such formal language—you don't need to be so proper. I'm Lara. I work in the sewing room."

"I'm Jousie. Mostly garden maintenance. What do you do?"

Would they dislike me if I told them? Well, I couldn't lie about it.

"I'm assigned as the lady's tasting maid."

Please don't hold it against me. I'm begging. Angels.

My hope was dashed immediately.

"Oh my. The lady—do you mean her?"

Lara's eyes lit up as she looked at me. I'd seen that look before, as Lee Hwayun.

"The one His Majesty has completely lost his head over? Have you seen His Majesty up close by any chance?"

"What does the lady look like? Is she as beautiful as they say?"

"What are the inner chambers like?"

The look in the eyes of friends who were devoted to a particular idol. They came at me like hawks who'd spotted prey.

"His Majesty—is he handsome up close?"

"Did you get to hear his voice nearby?"

"What's the relationship between you and the lady?"

I couldn't answer everything at once. I finished chewing and swallowing my mashed potatoes and started with what I could manage.

"His Majesty is—genuinely, extraordinarily handsome."

"Oh oh oh oh oh!"

"The lady is breathtakingly beautiful as well. The two of them together look like a masterwork by the world's greatest painter."

"Really, truly?"

These two angelic maids sat with their spoons frozen mid-air and both hands pressed to their cheeks. They were absolutely precious.

"The lady's complexion is like fine porcelain. Through the sheer layers of her garments you can just make out her wrist—and the line where her fingers meet that wrist is so exquisite I can't describe it properly."

The dining hall went quiet. I lowered my voice slightly.

"And His Majesty—truly, genuinely handsome. Every time he pushes back that long flowing hair over his shoulder, the world seems to pause. His beauty is the kind that makes birds forget to flap their wings, and flowers hesitate before opening."

Lara set down her spoon and grabbed my hand. Tell me more, that grip said. I nodded slightly and continued.

"Have you heard his voice?"

Lara shook her head. Jousie nodded.

"It's low, and there's nothing in the world quite like it. If I were the wealthiest person alive—if I owned all the gold in existence—I would give half of it away for the privilege of hearing that voice whisper in my ear."

Translator Rant:

I have to agree with Sabina, this girl has a way with words. Love it.