Chapter 42
What exactly is His Majesty thinking…?
Isaac had served as Theodore’s chief aide for one year.
He had spent a full ten years working inside the Imperial Palace.
The young Theodore he’d first met in his own youth had grown into a fully mature man.
Meanwhile, Isaac himself was now in his mid-thirties, old enough that the lean physique of his younger days was beginning to soften.
Throughout all those years…
He had watched Theodore.
He knew Theodore despised the Temple and wanted nothing more than to overturn this world.
He also knew Theodore had never welcomed the existence of the Saintess.
But that was all.
Theodore rarely spoke about himself.
Even after spending ten years together, Isaac still didn’t know that Theodore’s younger sibling had died sixteen years earlier, leaving him with a trauma that had never healed.
…Could it be…? Is he interested in her?
Naturally, Isaac’s thoughts wandered toward the simplest explanation.
He’s never even had a first love. Maybe that interest is coming out as irritation. Children are like that, aren’t they?
The thought actually warmed Isaac’s heart.
Although Theodore terrified him and he hated having such a frightening superior, Isaac genuinely cared about him.
He pitied the lonely child who had grown up inside the Imperial Palace under countless watchful eyes.
More than anything…
He wanted Theodore to be happy.
So even someone who hated women that much can finally experience spring… Well, the Saintess certainly is beautiful. She seems warm-hearted too… Is that his type?
“What?”
Theodore frowned as he noticed Isaac staring.
“Your Majesty… if there’s someone you’ve become interested in, I’d recommend approaching her as gently as possible.”
“…Isaac?”
Theodore’s face filled with disbelief.
They’d been discussing the secret vault one moment, and now Isaac had suddenly veered into complete nonsense.
“You naturally come across as rather intimidating, Your Majesty. If you act as you normally do, she’ll just be frightened.”
“Isaac.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Isaac’s eyes sparkled.
For some reason…
Just looking at his face made Theodore irrationally irritated.
“Don’t talk absur—”
“My deepest apologies!”
Isaac immediately bowed.
He had an exceptional talent for sensing Theodore’s anger before it fully surfaced.
Besides, unless a subordinate had done something truly incompetent, Theodore rarely continued scolding someone after they’d apologized.
“…Hah.”
Unable to berate someone who had already admitted fault, Theodore simply sighed and returned to the main topic.
“The important part is what’s inside. You handled everything carefully so the High Priest won’t discover we’ve found it?”
“Yes. We located it and left immediately. We also made inquiries nearby. Apparently, a woman around the High Priest’s age visits from time to time.”
“…I see.”
It really existed.
The stain on the High Priest’s reputation that Theodore himself had never uncovered…
Actually existed.
In the end…
Working together with the Saintess had become reality.
“Leave the report and go.”
“Yes, sir.”
Theodore dismissed Isaac.
The way Isaac kept sneaking glances at him didn’t feel like he was gauging his mood anymore.
It felt like he was imagining something absurd.
And that somehow irritated Theodore.
Sensing the oppressive atmosphere immediately, Isaac withdrew.
Silence settled over the room.
If the secret vault hadn’t been there… I intended to end this partnership.
Theodore fell into thought.
Why is she… so irritating?
This should have been something to celebrate.
Yet he couldn’t bring himself to enjoy it.
She was an extraordinarily troublesome woman.
She had been like that ever since he’d met her at the Marchioness’s birthday banquet.
Before that meeting, Theodore had investigated the epidemic she’d mentioned, determined to uncover the truth.
But too much time had already passed.
He found nothing.
That failure had soured his mood.
The memories of the epidemic resurfaced, making him hypersensitive.
After that, Theodore had assumed seeing the Saintess would only make him angrier.
He acknowledged Isaac’s point that she was useful.
He needed the information about the secret vault.
So he’d cooperate with her.
Even so…
He had expected that sooner or later he’d lose his temper with her.
After all…
She had touched the deepest wound of his past.
“No, I… I thought you were about to fall.”
“She… was worried about me?”
Me?
She dared worry about me?
Why had she stretched out that tiny hand?
She wasn’t nearly strong enough to catch his massive body.
Jumping down from a tree wasn’t even particularly dangerous.
Yet she’d reached out instinctively.
That was the moment everything deflated.
The irritation she’d caused over the previous days suddenly disappeared.
He’d still intended to say what needed saying, so he’d continued speaking while watching her reaction.
Then—
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
Sorry?
She had looked genuinely apologetic.
As though she knew he’d been upset the entire time.
As though she somehow understood she’d touched an old trauma.
From her perspective…
She’d had nothing to apologize for.
She had merely told him what she knew because she didn’t want to keep it hidden.
And yet…
She apologized.
And then there was this.
“I just thought… traveling all that way must have been difficult for you.”
When I asked why… worrying about something like that was the last answer I expected.
When had someone last worried about him that much?
Probably…
When he was around ten years old.
After that…
He’d grown up quickly.
Strong enough to solve every problem himself.
She’s an incredibly troublesome woman.
More than that…
Sometimes it even felt as though the Saintess pitied him.
As though he weren’t the Emperor…
But simply an ordinary person.
“Tch.”
Theodore clicked his tongue.
His thoughts drifted to their most recent meeting.
That time had genuinely startled him.
She’d wandered in and out of the room alone before suddenly leaning out the window.
At first he’d ignored it.
But she kept leaning farther…
Until it looked like she would fall at any moment.
People who believe in gods… why are they all the same?
The confusion he felt toward the Saintess instantly sank into something much deeper.
His parents’ faces appeared vividly in his mind.
Once, they had prayed with near-mad devotion.
He remembered his mother climbing onto an altar, insisting that if it was what the gods desired, she would gladly offer herself as a sacrifice.
Why are they all… so willing to sacrifice themselves?
Closing his eyes, Theodore leaned back in his chair.
Ever since meeting the Saintess…
He had grown increasingly exhausted.
Logically…
He knew she was helping him accomplish his goals.
Even so…
Theodore wanted to push her away.
* * *
Today was the first day of the regular worship service Kaiden had arranged.
“Shall we go?”
Surrounded by the guardian gods’ protection, with the bracelet’s gentle warmth constantly flowing through me…
After several days of proper rest, I finally felt refreshed enough to head out.
Maybe because I’d done this twice already…
Sneaking out unnoticed and making my way to Kaiden’s house wasn’t difficult anymore.
“Saintess!”
“Big Sister!”
The moment I stepped down from the hired carriage, Kaiden and Lizzy welcomed me warmly.
“Hello, Young Master. Lizzy! Have you been well?”
Lizzy’s complexion looked even healthier than before.
She was wearing a tiny cream-colored dress…
Is she… a wingless little angel?
That was honestly my first thought.
I had to desperately keep myself from saying it out loud.
It hardly suited the dignity of the Saintess.
“Oh my goodness! That dress looks absolutely adorable on you! How can you be this cute?”
I couldn’t restrain my excitement.
Lizzy smiled shyly.
“Hehe. Mommy picked it out.”
“Oh, Lady Berardi did? Speaking of which… how is her health?”
Kaiden’s wife had apparently been bedridden for a long time after Lizzy disappeared.
Even after Lizzy returned, she’d needed time to recover, so I’d never actually met her.
“Thanks to you, she’s completely recovered, Saintess.”
I’d asked Kaiden…
But the answer came from behind him.
“Oh!”
A beautiful woman stood there.
Though slightly thin, she radiated vitality.
Judging by Kaiden’s proud smile…
This had to be the wife I’d only heard about.
“You’ve recovered!”
I greeted her happily.
“I’m Bianca Berardi. Saintess, it’s such a pleasure to meet you.”
Bianca walked over and clasped both my hands tightly.
It wasn’t the usual reserved greeting of the nobility.
She looked at me the way someone would look at their savior.
Gratitude.
Admiration.
Joy.
Seeing all those emotions made my heart ache a little.
“It’s wonderful to meet you too.”
I smiled and squeezed her hands in return.
“Goodness…”
Bianca beamed.
It wasn’t simply kindness.
There was something almost… passionate in her eyes.
“You’re even more adorable in person!”
“Pardon?”
“I never imagined the Saintess I’d only heard about would be this beautiful and this cute! Oh my goodness! You and Lizzy could pass for sisters—”
“Bianca.”
Kaiden quickly stopped his wife before she got too carried away.
Hearing his voice, Bianca seemed to regain her composure.
“Ahem… I simply meant I’m delighted to meet you! Hoho. I’m actually your very first fan.”
“Your… first fan?”
Was that an official title?
Did I somehow have a fan club now?
My mind was spinning.
“I’m the one who came up with the idea for The Saintess’s Daily Life.”
“Ah.”
That.
I’d wondered why Kaiden had chosen such a bold approach.
So it had actually been Bianca’s idea.
[Bianca has remarkable creativity. She seems like someone who’ll be a tremendous asset.]
Agatha quietly commented.
She was right.
Someone capable of thinking up ideas like that would certainly be helpful.
But…
“My goal was to let everyone know how wonderful the Saintess is! I just couldn’t keep someone as amazing as you to myself!”
…It was a little overwhelming.
“Th-Thank you very much for thinking so highly of me.”
I laughed awkwardly.
I was getting embarrassed and desperately wanted to escape the conversation.
Fortunately, Kaiden and Lizzy stepped in and guided Bianca away before leading me toward the newly completed chapel.
“…Wow.”
That was all I could say.
Though small, it possessed an elegance that the Grand Temple completely lacked.
You could see the care that had gone into every detail.
The white marble chapel contained almost no color of its own.
Instead, brilliant streams of light poured through the stained-glass windows, bathing everything in vibrant hues.
That alone made the place feel sacred.
The carefully carved statues…
The altar…
The kneeling benches before it…
Eight life-sized statues of the guardian gods lined the walls, arranged in groups of four.
[This place… I like it much better than the Grand Temple. You can feel the sincerity that went into building it.]
The altar stood at the front.
Several sofas had been arranged toward the back.
And there…
“Welcome, Saintess.”
People were waiting for me.
There are my meals.
Smiling to myself, I instinctively checked the bag containing all the tools I’d brought.
“It’s wonderful to see you all, my fellow believers.”
