Chapter 18
News of the Saint spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the continent in a remarkably short time. Before Mios could react, the level of unrest among the populace had spiraled out of control.
Wakako traveled by sea, then by land, arriving in the capital of Mios twelve days later.
The identities of the mercenaries were shrouded in secrecy, even from their own citizens. Therefore, only after entering the royal palace did she remove her disguise.
The Queen was already waiting for her.
The Queen of Mios was not yet forty years old, an age considered ideal for a monarch to achieve great accomplishments.
The Crown Princess, the Queen’s eldest daughter, possessed exceptional talent. Doctors had long predicted that she would blossom into an outstanding Alpha. Precocious from a young age, she often accompanied the Queen during council meetings, listening attentively.
Today’s meeting with Wakako was no different. The Crown Princess sat beside the Queen, her posture impeccable, exuding an air of authority that belied her young age.
There was a story behind this.
The Queen had initially intended to marry Saint Miki, but the Saint’s vow of chastity prevented her from bearing heirs. Therefore, the Queen had taken a concubine early on, who bore her children.
After the Saint’s untimely death, the Queen elevated the concubine to the position of Queen Consort and named her eldest daughter as Crown Princess.
Wakako bowed deeply. “Your Majesty, Your Highness. I apologize for my appearance. My journey back was hasty, and I haven’t had the opportunity to bathe and change.”
The Queen’s smile was warm and inviting. She shook her head dismissively and offered Wakako a seat. “Lady Kitagawa, you’ve traveled a long way and endured much hardship. Please, rise.”
Wakako had once been a servant of the Saionji household and should have carried the family’s surname, but after the events five years ago, the Saionji name had become a taboo.
At that time, Hua Yumu, on Miki’s behalf, had removed Wakako from her servant status, but still needed to give her a respectable background.
The second daughter of the Kitagawa clan was the one who had initially brought Wakako home. As shrewd merchants, having a mercenary in their family would elevate their status. They were more than happy to oblige, and thus, Wakako adopted the Kitagawa surname publicly.
The Queen, who valued talent, had tacitly approved of this arrangement.
“Lady Kitagawa,” the Crown Princess also nodded respectfully, displaying perfect manners.
Wakako took a small sip of water and proceeded to recount her experiences and observations during her journey.
Of course, certain details were strictly forbidden to mention in the Queen’s presence. She merely explained that she had been accidentally captured in the Eagle Kingdom’s royal palace but had later seized an opportunity to escape and, by sheer luck, encountered the Saint.
“Later, during the wedding of a noble from the Hyman family, the Saint revealed herself. In the chaos, I got separated from Senior Sister. An unexpected heat cycle kept me from completing the mission, so I stayed hidden in the royal city, using the ritual as a chance to gather information.”
Then came the news of the Eagle Kingdom’s intention to wage war against Mios.
At this point, Wakako bowed to the Queen again. As she pursed her lips, the dimples on her cheeks became faintly visible.
“I have failed the Queen’s trust. I am deeply ashamed.”
The Queen sighed deeply but offered no words of reproach. “Lady Kitagawa, there is no need to blame yourself. The situation was unforeseen, and encountering the Saint’s pheromones must have caused you great discomfort.”
Her voice was gentle, but then she abruptly changed the subject. “Lady Kitagawa, you saw the Saint, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I know of your extraordinary strength and combat power, Lady Kitagawa. But even so, it seems unlikely you could emerge unscathed from an enemy palace. Did the Saint secretly protect you?”
Wakako knew she couldn’t hide this truth. She could have returned alive without the Saint’s intervention, but the extent of her injuries would have been severe.
She lowered her head. “Yes.”
The Saint was her former master, a fact the Queen was aware of.
The Queen pondered for a moment. “Please be honest, Lady Kitagawa. Has Saint Miki decided to pledge her allegiance to the Eagle Kingdom?”
Wakako wanted to say “yes,” but the words caught in her throat.
She hesitated, ultimately choosing not to answer the question directly. “The Saint’s freedom is restricted. She is under strict surveillance by the Eagle Kingdom’s ruler. The traitor Saionji Saburo has become a favored advisor. The rest… remains uncertain.”
The Queen frowned at this news, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, the Crown Princess, unable to contain herself, joined the conversation. “If the Saint still values old friendships so much, perhaps if Lady Kitagawa had the chance to persuade her…”
“That’s enough, Tsukiyo.” The Queen unexpectedly interrupted, clearly not wanting to pursue this topic further. “Lady Kitagawa must be tired from her journey. Let’s end here for today.”
The Crown Princess’s name was Tsukiyo, meaning “graceful as the moon.” Though she didn’t understand the Queen’s intention, she obediently fell silent.
The Queen gestured, and a servant brought forth a token. “For now, Lady Kitagawa, I’d like you to step away from mercenary duties. I have another task for you.”
Even mercenaries needed prior permission to enter the palace. This token granted Wakako unrestricted access, allowing her to come and go without prior notice.
“I wish to entrust Tsukiyo to your care, Lady Kitagawa. Please instruct her for a while.”
This statement stunned not only Wakako but the Crown Princess as well. As a mercenary, all Wakako could teach were skills with weapons.
While a worthy heir should indeed build physical strength, it seemed excessive to have a battle-hardened mercenary teach potentially lethal skills.
But since it was the Queen’s command, Wakako had no reason to disobey. She bowed and replied, “Yes.”
***
Half a month after the ritual ceremony, the Eagle Kingdom launched a surprise attack on a small border town belonging to Mios.
Mios had received timely intelligence and anticipated the attack, preparing their defenses in advance.
However, the enemy’s morale was high, fueled by the widespread news of the Saint’s presence. They pushed back the Mios forces, and the battle quickly reached a stalemate.
The forces on both sides were relatively small, making it a minor skirmish in terms of scale. However, the Eagle Kingdom had already seized the moral high ground by invoking the Saint’s name, claiming that Mios had angered God. If Mios were to lose this battle, it would crush their already wavering morale.
The Queen took this matter seriously, secretly dispatching numerous mercenaries to reinforce the front lines. Only Wakako remained in the capital, tasked with training the Crown Princess Tsukiyo in fighting.
Wakako assumed this was due to the Queen’s wavering trust in her.
Yet, the Queen had insisted on a formal apprenticeship ceremony between Tsukiyo and Wakako, an honor not bestowed upon previous instructors.
Unable to make sense of it, Wakako pushed these thoughts aside, focusing solely on teaching the Crown Princess.
Tsukiyo was ten years old, raised with meticulous care and possessing noble royal blood. Her foundation was good, but in Wakako’s eyes, she was still as weak as an ant.
Wakako adjusted Tsukiyo’s bow-drawing posture, touching a spot near her shoulder. “Apply more force here, but don’t move your body. Aim with your eyes…”
Her instructions were slow and repeated several times, followed by a personal demonstration.
In Wakako’s hands, the bow responded effortlessly, as if it weighed nothing. She loosed an arrow almost without aiming, hitting the bullseye a hundred paces away.
A loose strand of hair fell across her cheek as she raised her chin, the picture of composure.
Tsukiyo stared at that refined profile, momentarily lost in thought, as though she could see that same face stained with the blood of enemies.
She quickly shook off the distraction and refocused on her practice, but no matter how hard she tried, she still couldn’t master the proper stance, let alone shoot an arrow correctly.
The Crown Princess, accustomed to excellence and holding herself in high regard, this was the first time Tsukiyo had faced such a blow to her confidence. Feeling deeply ashamed, she set down the bow and spoke up, “Master Kitagawa, please punish me.”
“Punish?” Wakako blinked in surprise, then gave Tsukiyo an encouraging pat on the shoulder. “You’ve only just begun your training. It’s natural to struggle at first. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”
Tsukiyo lowered her head, her voice dejected. “Master, when you were my age, you must have been far more capable than I am now.”
Wakako shook her head. “Not at all.”
A bright smile spread across her face. “When I was your age, I couldn’t even read.”
“Huh?” Tsukiyo gasped. In the Crown Princess’s understanding, literacy education should begin at the age of three. “Did you learn eventually, Master?”
Wakako winked playfully. “Of course. I started late, struggled a lot, but I still learned.”
This gave Tsukiyo a great deal of encouragement. She regained her confidence and returned to her practice.
As Wakako watched the Crown Princess’s youthful face, her thoughts drifted back to six or seven years ago, triggered by the word “punishment.”
At that time, she was even more clumsy than Tsukiyo was now when it came to learning how to read.
…
Back then, the steward of the Saionji household taught the servants basic literacy, such as the clan’s name and the family head’s name. However, most servants came from impoverished backgrounds and had long passed the age for traditional education, so picking it up was hard for them.
Wakako was no exception. After several attempts with the steward, she failed to memorize a single character and promptly gave up.
That was, until the day Miki discovered she was illiterate.
By then, the Saint had blossomed into a young woman, her body beginning to emit the faint, natural fragrance that only Omegas possessed.
“I will teach you myself from now on,” Miki declared after a moment of contemplation. “Reading, writing, painting—you must learn them all.”
Wakako didn’t understand. “Why?”
In her mind, she was merely a bodyguard. What difference did literacy make as long as she excelled in fighting? Time spent on reading and writing could be better utilized honing her combat skills.
But Miki didn’t explain further. She simply instructed Wakako to attend her lessons regularly and even assigned her homework.
Wakako knew she lacked talent in this area. Whenever she picked up a book, she felt nothing but frustration. Each character seemed like a wriggling tadpole, swimming before her eyes but refusing to enter her mind.
Coincidentally, the Saint was occupied with other matters during that period and couldn’t supervise her daily. Wakako took advantage of this and slacked off.
It wasn’t exactly laziness, as she kept herself busy with training and other tasks when she wasn’t supposed to be studying.
However, she had neglected the homework Miki had left for her.
When the Saint finally had time to check on her progress, Wakako could only lower her head in shame. The stack of practice papers remained blank, and the books showed no signs of being read.
Miki glanced down. “You didn’t do it?”
“No,” Wakako blinked, lowering her voice as she admitted her mistake.
She had spent so much time at the Saint’s side that she knew Miki’s patience with her was high, and she had never overstepped her bounds before. This was the first time.
Surely the Saint wouldn’t be angry, right?
“Why?” Miki asked calmly.
Thinking she had escaped the worst, Wakako let out a breath of relief and honestly shared her thoughts
“I’m just a guard, not a noble lady like you, Lady Saint,” she murmured. “As long as I can protect you, why should I waste time learning these things…”
Before she could finish, Miki suddenly threw the teacup on the table onto the floor, shattering it with a loud crash.
The porcelain shattered along with the scalding tea, splattering onto Miki’s white robe and leaving her bare feet red and swollen.
Wakako was stunned. She rushed forward to check on her master’s injuries, but Miki’s voice stopped her. “Don’t touch me.”
What was happening?
Miki had never spoken to her in this tone before…
The Saint’s eyes were cold and filled with anger. “If you don’t want to learn, then get out of the Saionji household. Don’t stay by my side.”
A mix of confusion and hurt swirled in Wakako’s heart.
She knew she was wrong for not following her master’s instructions, but how had it escalated to the point of being told to leave the Saionji household?
Her heart ached as she knelt on the ground, biting her lip and looking up at Miki. “I know I was wrong… Please let me tend to your foot first…”
But Miki stepped onto the floor barefoot.
The shattered porcelain immediately cut into the Saint’s soles, leaving trails of blood.
Yet, she ignored the pain, her chest rising and falling slightly as she stared at Wakako with an impassive expression. “Do you only want to be a servant?”
Wakako was bewildered, responding cautiously, “But I am your servant…”
“You are now. But will you always be? Are you content to live your entire life as a servant?”
Wakako didn’t understand what Miki was trying to say. She just said pitifully, “But I want to spend my whole life by your side, protecting you.”
She had no parents, no other attachments. All she desired was to serve the Saint.
Miki paused for a moment.
Then she said, “No.”
Wakako looked up and saw that Miki’s eyes were red, tears streaming down uncontrollably.
Even in tears, the Saint was breathtakingly beautiful.
“You were born without pain sensation, a one-in-a-million talent. You’re meant to be a mercenary.” Miki’s voice remained calm. “But talent alone is not enough. You must learn to read, to write, to master many skills.”
Wakako had heard of the mercenaries, the Queen’s personal guard, undefeated in battle. But it seemed so distant, so far removed from her own reality. “How could I possibly become a mercenary…?”
“Why couldn’t you?”
Picking up a willow branch that had been freshly cut that morning, Miki took a deep breath and struck Wakako with it.
Despite using all her strength, the delicate Saint’s blows were light, barely making a sound.
Only Wakako could feel it. A stinging, burning sensation on her bottom, painful and itchy.
This was a unique punishment, one that only her master could inflict.
Miki struck her countless times, asking with a barely noticeable choke in her voice, “Are you disobeying your master?”
The Saint’s tears seemed to fall onto Wakako’s face. “Or do you no longer want to recognize me as your master?”
It was the harshest punishment Wakako had ever received. Her bottom was swollen for three days, making it difficult to sit.
After that, she never dared disobey Miki’s orders again, diligently studying reading and writing. Despite her clumsiness, she eventually learned.
In truth, Wakako was grateful for Miki’s actions back then. Without Miki forcing her to learn, she might still be an illiterate lowly servant. How could she have become a mercenary otherwise?
But what remained a secret was that it was also the first time she had been completely aroused in Miki’s presence.
From then on, whenever she went into heat, the image of her master, a cold beauty wielding a willow branch, would fill her mind. Just the thought of it would push her over the edge.
Was she broken beyond repair?