The whitish-yellow glow was still surging throughout my body. Every nook and cranny was filled to the brim with holy power. No one is supposed to know about my possibility of being a Saintess except for the High Priest.

It's not really a possibility now, isn't it? It's real. I was able to calm down a bit, but the holy power was still raging. If I push Damien away, would it push him back even further than when I was trying to save Donna? Could it create a hole in the wall?

"Please," I begged. "Please don't be my enemy."

I'm afraid of causing harm to others. That's not something that I'm used to. Usually, I try to find ways to get myself out of a one-sided situation so that my anger doesn't get anyone caught in the crossfire. Of course, this wasn't the case growing up, but eventually, I've learned to fear what could happen over what is happening now.

Tears are pouring down my cheeks in rapid succession. They're not stopping anytime soon.

Damien still had me wrapped in his arms. He didn't say anything for a while. Then he took one hand and placed it behind my head, pulling me closer to his chest. I can feel his heartbeat beating rapidly.

"I wouldn't dream of being an enemy to a Saintess," he whispered. "You're scarier than I ever will be."

He then laid his chin on top of my head, "Yes, I'm a relative to the king. His youngest brother, to be precise. We're not close. I simply carry out orders, and he leaves me alone."

As he spoke, my holy power slowly began to recede back into my body. Somehow, listening to his voice and heartbeat at the same time was calming.

"He's afraid that one day I'll steal the throne from him, so instead of pressuring me to get married, he pressures me into battles and infiltration missions," Damien explains. "He doesn't want me to have an heir. Once I die off, he would give the Silvercrest Dukedom to one of his own supporters."

"So once you hold the Silvercrest name, you hold the hearts of the people," I finished.

He smirked, "You're ignorant to politics, but you catch on quickly."

"So I've been told."

I decided to not push him away. Instead, I was able to free my arms and reciprocate the hug. I felt him flinching in surprise.

"It sounds to me like you're beating around the bush," I said. "Just say that you hate the king, too."

Damien said nothing. Instead, we both sat there, hugging each other for a while. I'm used to doing things like this, but I guess Damien was getting a little uncomfortable.

I decided to tease him for a bit, "Damien. It's a cute name."

I felt his hand on my head get hot and a little clammy.

Aww, he's blushing.

For someone who likes to banter, he's such a virgin when it comes to this level of intimacy. Then again, I have experience and know how to get to a man's heart.

I pulled away from him, smiling and wiping away the excess tears from my puffy eyes. He turned away from me, pink showing on his cheeks and all. I decided to mess around with him a bit more.

"Dinner should be done soon, yes?" I asked. "How about we have dinner served here in your office instead? This way, you don't have to worry about keeping up your appearances."

This made him blush more. I giggled silently.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea," he whispered.

I blinked, "Pardon?"

Through his blushing, he looked me in the eyes. Amethyst met indigo. It was very seductive.

What type of courage sprung up in him?

I started turning red, too, "P-Pardon?"

I've done many things in my original body, but I've never done anything in Fantasia's. Is he going to want to…you know…

Damien flicked my forehead, "S-Stop thinking like that! I just need to continue this conversation. If we go downstairs now, I'll have to answer Bryant about your crying spell. I don't feel like dealing with his nagging right now."

I held onto my forehead. It didn't really hurt. He was right, though. My eyes were extremely puffy from all the crying. I could tell just from the touch.

Right on cue, a knock comes at the door, "Your grace, dinner is served."

"Bryant, this conversation is taking longer than I thought. Bring the meal up here instead and enjoy the rest with the others downstairs," Damien called out.

"As you wish, your grace," Bryant said.

I could hear Bryant's footsteps disappearing as he walked away. I have never heard his footsteps coming, though. Has he overheard our conversation?

—

Bryant was making his way downstairs from Damien's office. When he was far away enough, he stifled his laughter.

Looks like the conversation is going well. I hope everything turns out okay.

Bryant was already aware of Damien’s plans and was keeping watch to make sure no one else would abruptly come up and eavesdrop on his conversation. Only the knights and the head butler know about Fantasia being a Saintess.

To think that his grace's brother, the king himself, would be so foolish as to turn a blind eye to the mistreatment of a foreign noblewoman who just so happens to be one of his wives, and she's a Saintess? Goddess Diana is one scary entity.

He made it to the dining room, where the maid and servants were lined up.

"Change of plans," Bryant clapped his hands. "Set up a cart and fill it with as many scrumptious foods as possible. I will deliver it to his grace. Please feel free to eat once that is done."

Their faces lit up when they realized the Duke wasn't coming down with the royal concubine. They were tense to make sure not to make a single mistake. Now, they seem relaxed and talking amongst themselves. Bryant sighed.

"Maybe if we had a young master or lady around, the atmosphere would be less tense," Bryant whispered to himself.

He chuckled to himself again after overhearing the conversation between Damien and Fantasia, who were getting closer to one another.

"Hmm…maybe that day is right around the corner."

—

Bryant came back with a large array of food on a cart. He spread everything out for both of us and quickly left the room so we could finish our conversation. It was a diverse spread. Normally, I'm given soup and bread and call it a day. There's actual meat.

Damien grabs a plate and puts food on my plate for me, "You were staring at the duck. I figured you may want some."

"That's a duck? I've never had duck before," I said.

"Here, try some."

He placed the plate in front of me. Donna's crash course in etiquette taught me about table manners. Damien might laugh at me. Oh well.

I grab a fork and a knife and start cutting the duck into little pieces and put a piece in my mouth. It was savory and gamey. Spices exploded with every chew. I had to close my eyes. Pretty sure I was smiling like an idiot.

Damien watched my reaction and gave a small smile, "So, continuing with the conversation, I want to confirm that we're on the same page."

I was stuffing pieces of duck in my face hole when he began talking, but I nodded. He looked like he was holding in his laugh after seeing my chipmunk-like face.

Damien held out a napkin and slowly wiped around my mouth, "We both have a distaste for the king, and you no longer want to be married to him. However, in order to keep the peace between the two nations, you have to be a part of the royal family in some way, shape, or form."

I finally swallowed the duck, "So you want to be the replacement?"

"I don't think replacement is the right word, but yes. Since you'll be a Saintess, you have to divorce anyway."

I put the fork down, "Why so?"

"The church has to approve of a wedding between the Saintess and who would be fit for her. Of course, the goddess has the last say in the matter."

Damien placed the napkin down on my side and retreated back, "Since you need to be married for peace anyway, it doesn't matter if it's between the king or me. It would be faster, however, to reach out to the goddess for her opinion on the matter."

"So, would this be considered contractual?" I asked.

"That's also up to the goddess. She can even say that you don't need to be married and just stay as a Saintess of the people," Damien explained, taking a bite out of his food. "The main goal is to keep you far away from the king. Once he catches wind that you're a Saintess, he'll try to put pressure on the church to keep the marriage between the two of you."

"But at the end of the day, Goddess Diana has the final say."

"My brother will find a way to try to screw you over to obtain what he desires most. Goddess Diana has the final say, yes, but she can't touch our world while a Saintess is born. That means he may try to win you over with sweet nothings and promises that should've been kept from the very beginning."

Damien took another bite out of his food, "If he knew that you were a Saintess, you wouldn't be in danger. Once a Saintess gets killed, the nation responsible gets cursed until the next Saintess appears."

Curses? That sounds merciful for a goddess. Then again, I'm not even sure what kind of goddess — Goddess Diana is. That's still a mystery for me.

"Before you can even get married, you'll have to go through a couple of years of church services and training to make better use of your holy powers. Until then, we can keep in touch and make it seem as if I've been smitten by you."

This sounds great and all, but I feel as though there's something that I'm missing here. Damien makes it sound as if he's doing more than just screwing over his older brother. I stood up from my side of the table and sat down next to him.

He was taken aback when I cupped my hand to his ear. I slowly leaned in and whispered, "Are you trying to overthrow the king?"