Grant Me Your Grace

‘Now, the blood price.’

A throbbing pain brought Dahlia back to reality. She cleared her mind of unnecessary thoughts and approached Hissin.

Each step closer made her unnecessarily nervous. Her heart was beating more and more clearly, unlike her mind, which was muddled with thoughts.

Finally, standing before Hissin, Dahlia raised her gaze. His red eyes remained fixed on her like a servant obeying his master.

“Hands.”

She forced the first word out of her sore throat. Hissin raised a brief eyebrow and offered her his hand without argument.

Taking his large, firm hand, she felt the pain in her throat ebb away. 

Dahlia breathed in deeply, as if the slightest bit of relief was enough to make her breath easier.

But it wasn’t enough to hold his hand, as the pain that had been dissipating soon became stagnant again, like a stream blocked by a wall. 

No matter how hard she tried to squeeze her hand, the effect remained the same.

Dahlia’s eyes darted from side to side, trying to figure out what to do.

“Do you need more of me, Your Majesty?”

In the moonlight, Hissin’s red eyes bathed her in a deep glow. He looked as if he knew something.

Surely he’d noticed that the red spot on her left arm had disappeared, and even if he had, there was no way this man, who knew nothing of divine power, could know what it meant.

‘But if he doesn’t know, that doesn’t explain why he kissed the red spot right away.’

That was the day I was too nervous to ask the reason for the kiss.

That day, Hissin was not even surprised to see the red spot. Instead, he kissed the spot naturally, like someone who knew what he was doing.

As if it wasn’t the first time.

Once the pain was gone, rational thought became possible. Releasing Hissin’s hand, Dahlia took a step back. 

Then, with eyes full of wariness, she asked, “What… what do you know?”

I should have asked earlier, but I’d been so focused on ridding myself of the blood price that I hadn’t thought about the underlying problem.

Hissin glanced at Dahlia, who had pulled away from him. 

There was no embarrassment, no hint of trying to hide something, just a pure question, ‘Why would the Princess behave like that?’

“Answer me, what do you know.”

Dahlia’s voice grew a little sharper. 

At her questioning tone, Hissin let out a low breath. He closed and opened his eyes, his gaze deepening.

“Your curse.”

Dahlia’s eyes trembled slightly, ‘No way, did this man really know the true wielder of the divine power?’

She thought to herself, ‘It can’t be, there is no one who knows I am the Goddess’s Chosen who would reveal this secret to the Gift.’

The secret of the Divine Power was a matter that would cause great repercussions in the country of Baran, no matter whose mouth it came from.

Even if it was the Gift of God, no. Even a Gift of the Gods would not be able to reveal such a secret, that would betray the will of the Gods.

Dahlia grew more distraught by the unanswered question, wondering if he had simply seen the red spots on her body and connected them to the rumored curse.

Meanwhile, Hissin grabbed her hand again. She quickly tried to yank it away, but the man was one step ahead of her, pressing in deeply.

“And that in that curse, I am the only one who can save you.”

The man who’d pushed mine between his fingers stroked it slowly with his splayed thumb. The insignificant sensation felt like a feather tickling my heart.

Breath, until it didn’t hurt anymore.

“What does that mean…”

“Your Highness already knows,” Hissin said, staring deeply into Dahlia’s eyes.

“That I can take away your pain.”

Dahlia’s eyes widened.

Since I was the one suffering the pain, it was only natural to assume that Hissin had something to do with the disappearance of the blood price.

At best, all he could see was a red spot, and only those who knew the Blood Price knew that it caused pain.

‘Even if it was a gift from the gods, they wouldn’t have given it away…’

He must have read the doubt in Dahlia’s eyes. Hissin smiled wryly.

“I thought you wanted to let me know.”

The man gestured to the pot of Lewisia by the window. 

Dahlia’s eyes widened in confusion, already convinced that he was sure she had sent him Lewisia.

‘It couldn’t be Hovan. He would never do that.’

“How…”

I trailed off in confusion, and Hissin’s almond-shaped eyes narrowed.

“I saw the water lily, the mark of the Princess, carved into the bottom of the pot.”

I’d been so focused on the flower that I didn’t even remember what the pot looked like.

Most of my things in the palace had water lilies engraved on them, but I hadn’t realized that the pots I kept outside had them.

Moreover, even if he did learn the meaning of the flower, I thought he would only know that the spots were gone, not that the pain was gone.

Hissin didn’t wait for her confusion and spoke in a sweet voice.

“I am pleased. I didn’t think Her Highness would send me those flowers.”

Hissin’s red eyes half-hid behind his lids. 

Dahlia, momentarily captivated by the innocence of his smile, realized she’d been staring at him too hard, and looked back to the floor.

“I didn’t send it to you, it’s just, I thought it might bring a little comfort to some of the faithful who are suffering…”

A long rambling lie came out of her lips in embarrassment.

Feeling like an irritable adolescent girl, she couldn’t understand why she’d sent the potted plant in hopes that Hissin would see it, and now she was pretending it wasn’t meant for him.

Still, Dahlia didn’t want to go back to the palace and be found out thinking about him alone. No, she didn’t want to be caught.

Because there was something even more personal behind it.

“Is that so?”

But it was futile, I could tell by the smile on Hissin’s face.

“They say the flowers are angel tears and healing.”

Hissin twirled Dahlia’s long hair in his hands. 

As he kissed the end of it, he looked like a holy angel pledging obedience to a goddess.

Slowly lifting her gaze, Hissin caught Dahlia’s gaze.

“Have I, Your Highness, become an angel’s tear for you?”

The noise faded, the temple dissipated, the world vanished, and only Hissin occupied Dahlia’s world. 

His eyes, so deep and red that even the darkness of the night could not hide them, captured Dahlia’s attention.

“…I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Dahlia tugged at her hair. But it was no use. The corners of Hissin’s mouth curled upward.

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t. I do not.”

“Are you sure you don’t need me?”

As much as his smile softened, his gaze intensified.

“I do need you.”

The way his eyes slowly squeezed the breath from her lungs made it impossible for her to speak. 

It was as if an invisible vine had wrapped itself around her ankles and wrapped itself around her neck.

Dahlia forced herself to speak, “Are you expecting me to believe you?”

He continued, his face devoid of falsehood.

“How do I explain that it just came into my head naturally?”

His dark eyes traveled to Dahlia’s lips, hidden beneath the veil.

“That I am the only hope for your pain.”

The words left Dahlia speechless as she heard them. Her mind flashed back to the day she first manifested her divine power.

“I am here for you, Your Highness.”

Hissin lifted Dahlia’s clasped hand and kissed it. An unfamiliar warmth flared over the back of her hand.

“So use me.”

His arm wrapped around Dahlia’s waist. 

Their bodies pressed together for a moment, and Dahlia sucked in her breath. Her vision blurred as she realized what was pressed firmly against her lower stomach.

Reflexively, she pushed at his shoulders, but there was never enough strength to push away the huge, hard body.

“Nothing is impossible for me in the temple.”

The pain that had been lingering suddenly began to lessen again, perhaps due to the increased contact with Hissin. 

Apparently, the deeper the contact, the faster the pain disappeared.

When she realized this, her instinct to get out of the pain quickly clashed fiercely with her reason to preserve her dignity as a princess.

“I…”

Dahlia tried to take a step back, but Hissin pulled her deeper, preventing her from opening even a small gap.

“This, perhaps, is the Goddess’s will.”

The sweet temptation whispered in her ear, tugging at her fragile mind. Dahlia bit her lower lip hard.

“By nature, all creatures, not just humans, are made to pursue desire.”

Even if he didn’t say it, I knew what would happen if I nodded here. 

Probably the same as last time, when Hissin kissed the red spot.

“Just as it is… quite natural for me to be in heat for you.”

From lips to neck.

And a little more intimate down there.

How dare she lewdly expose herself to a man who was neither husband nor lover in a sacred temple.

‘But… I don’t want to feel the pain anymore.’

The pain that had been stabbing at her throat faded as she felt Hissin’s solid body against hers. 

Dahlia lifted her trembling eyes to look at Hissin.

The moon was hidden by clouds. No one was watching, and in front of her was the only one who could end the terrible pain.

The only key is to remove the excruciating torture.

A God-given gift.

The gap between her lips slowly widened. The pupils of her troubled eyes suddenly lit up with a single light.

Watching those eyes, right in front of him, Hissin asked, “Do you want to use me?”

A question that already knew the answer to tickled his ears.

“…Yes.”

Dahlia nodded dejectedly.