"Kerin, what the hell did you do to the general? And more importantly, did you tell him the truth about yourself?"
Rucia asked as she walked into the room.
She had passed a dazed general on her way here but had no idea what made him act that way.
The only thing she could think about was her brother's stupidity. He must have said something unnecessary to cause this situation.
She wanted to scold Kerin, but her brother already seemed to be in a defeated mood. He looked gloomy, and his eyes also looked dead.
"Rucia, I am a bad man. I scared Meria away, but I did not mean to. What am I going to do now?"
Rucia sighed and, with a saint's patience, decided to ask the question again.
"Kerin, did you tell him about your curse or not? You spent a whole day with him, so surely you had the time to do so."
Rucia asked, but Kerin just sighed in defeat once more.
"I wanted to tell him, but the situation did not allow it. First, he was in pre-heat, so I needed to help him. And before I realised what happened, I took the medicine, and Meria passed out and-"
"So, simply, you could not tell him this time either. Are you an idiot? How long do you think you can keep this act up?"
Rucia asked while clutching her aching head.
"I will keep this up if I need to. I am a little glad that I did not tell Kerin the truth. This way, he will not put himself into unnecessary risk in the future for me."
Kerin sounded certain, and his stupidity caused Rucia to sigh.
'It seems like my cousin knows Meria well but not well enough to know that his loyalty extends further than Kerin's existence.'
"Also, Rucia, we need to start preparing now. I wanted to let those rats squirm a little longer, but I guess they no longer leave me with a choice but to go after them."
Rucia shivered when she noticed the familiar glint in her brother's eyes.
Kerin was angry, and he was ready to hunt some prey down.
His targets would only know what hit them once it was too late.
...
'Stupid, careless, irresponsible. How could I be swayed by my emotions and do something to a kid? I should be ashamed of myself. I cannot redeem myself.'
Meria's face reddened as he ran through the temple's hallway.
His mind was occupied, so he doubted he would notice if he encountered someone familiar.
So, he was shocked when his hand was grabbed by a familiar hand, and he was pulled back into a muscular chest.
Beautiful red hair fell on top of his shoulder, and the scent of an alpha filled the air.
"General Meria, where do you think you are going? You are my knight now, right? So, you need to accompany me."
Meria turned around as soon as he heard the Saintess's voice.
That tall form scared him, and Meria reminded him that he was in the temple and was here to do a job.
"S-Saintess? What are you doing here? More importantly, is it alright for you to wander around like this? What if something happened to you?"
Meria quickly remembered that he was here to do a job.
Just because he had a pre-heat did not mean he was off the hook.
'I cannot let this incident reach anyone's ears. The noble council will use this to find faults in me. I cannot let Father and Emperor Kerin's name down.'
Meria was too tense, causing the Saintess to sigh in agitation.
"General Meria, I did not mean to startle you. Also, you need to relax a little bit. I am your ally, so there is no need to be on edge around me, alright? We will spend much time together, so I hope we become close soon."
The Saintess was almost in Meria's bubble, causing Meria to try to pull back.
He could not show his discomfort clearly on his face since it would breach his duty, but he did not want the Saintess in his boundaries either.
Thankfully, the Saintess realised this as well and quickly pulled back.
"Saintess, it is unsafe for you to wander around like this. Here, allow me to escort you back to your room."
Meria held his hand out, waiting for the Saintess to take it.
But the alpha continued to look at him with a bashful expression.
'Oh! Did I hurt the Saintess's pride with my actions? I did not mean to do that. I am used to thinking of the Saintess as an omega that I subconsciously acted that part.'
"Saintess, I apologies-"
"You know what, General Meria, I think I changed my mind. I want you to accompany me to my next meeting, but I also want you to do me a favour. You won't deny me this favour, right?"
The Saintess asked with a huge smile on her face.
Meria's instincts yelled at him to get away, but the Saintess had a tight grip on his arm.
That disturbing smile on the Saintess's face also told Meria that he could not escape her.
"S-Saintess, how can I help you out?"
These words caused the Saintess's smile to widen even more.
But this was all Meria could ask in this current situation.
He was like a fly caught in the spider's web, and the only way out was to participate in whatever trick the Saintess had up her sleeves.
"It's nice to see a young and responsible guard be assigned to me. And don't look so nervous, General Meria. I will not make you do something too terrible. I just want to have some fun with you. Meena, I have him with me. Gather other girls and meet me shortly in my room. We need everyone's expert assistance."
Meria felt his heart skip a beat when he heard these words.
He was suddenly scared for his life, and he did not even know why.
But looking at that huge smile on the Saintess's face, Meria knew he was in for some hard times ahead.