“Both of you, travel safely. Let me know once you’ve arrived.”
“Well, I’ll get there right away anyway. If you’d like, Your Highness the Crown Princess, I can transport you as well.”
“No, thank you. The people I came with need to travel together, too. I can’t just take the easy way out on my own.”
“Didn’t you already take the easy way here by yourself?”
“Th-That’s because I had to come with Sir Theo!”
It was an ordinary morning, a day after Theo’s Academy acceptance results had been announced.
Iris and Estelle were now preparing to leave for the Academy, and from the moment they were about to depart, the atmosphere had already become lively and chaotic.
“Oh my. And why exactly was it so necessary to come with Sir Theo? He could have come on his own just fine…”
“Alright, both of you, that’s enough. Aren’t you leaving yet? There are people waiting behind you. Estelle, drop it already.”
What had started as awkward attempts at using formal speech when they argued had now turned into perfectly fluent and formal verbal sparring matches.
Watching the scene, Theo could only let out a bitter smile.
As expected, the destruction ending won’t let me off that easily.
When they had first started using formal speech, it had been awkward, and they would end up stopping mid-argument. Watching that, Theo had briefly wondered if they might find a way to get along more easily. But the scene playing out in front of him seemed to mock that very thought, as if to say he shouldn’t even entertain such ideas. He could only smile wryly.
“Well then, let’s have Estelle leave first.”
“Hmph, fine. If Sir Theo says so, I have no choice. See you later.”
Swish—
In an instant, Estelle disappeared without a trace.
At the same time, Theo’s smartphone vibrated with a message notification.
[I’ve arrived safely, Sir Theo! Would you like me to give you a tour of my room in the Holy Empire?]
True to her energetic and bubbly nature, Estelle had attached a photo to her message.
The image showed a room so lavishly decorated that it was hard to imagine that she had ever spent time in a humble country home. The pure whites and blues of the room blended perfectly and the room was exuding pure elegance and luxury.
“A room tour, huh? I am a little curious.”
But Iris had not yet departed, and Theo still needed to see her off, so he decided to postpone the idea for later.
[Maybe later. I’ll come to see it for myself.]
Theo replied without much thought since he knew that as their relationship developed, a visit to the Holy Empire would probably become an inevitable event. But unbeknownst to him, Estelle’s heart began to race at his casual words; though this was a little secret she kept to herself.
“Well then, Iris, travel safely.”
“Yes, Sir Theo. With the academy starting soon, I suppose the next time we meet will be there.”
“Could you drop the ‘Sir’ and just call me Theo?”
“I’m afraid that’s going to be a little difficult.”
The stern expression Iris had shown Estelle was nowhere to be seen as she smiled brightly. Watching her, Theo let out a sigh.
“Well then, maybe I should call you both Lady Iris and Lady Estelle as well.”
“Oh, don’t be silly. Just speak comfortably. Estelle and I talk this way because it’s what we’re used to.”
Theo found it strange that people of such high status like them preferred to call him by the “Sir” title, but since it was time to see Iris off, he didn’t press further.
“I’ll send a message when I arrive. Should I expect a reply?”
“Of course! I’ll reply, so just make sure you get there safely.”
The distance from the Deir Viscounty to the Imperial Capital was considerable, but as a member of the imperial family, Iris would likely use an imperial highway, which would allow her to arrive in no time.
Once the car carrying her and several others following behind had departed, the lively household finally returned to silence.
“Phew, it really has been a noisy six months.”
Even as he said it, his gaze lingered on Iris’s car as it disappeared into the distance. His eyes betrayed a hint of regret.
***
After returning to the Holy Empire, Estelle didn’t bother meeting anyone. Instead, she simply lay quietly on her bed.
“Saintess, you’ve returned.”
“Oh, Bessie. Hello. It’s been a while.”
The braided-haired young girl who had entered to clean the empty room bowed politely to Estelle.
Her name was Bessie. Estelle’s personal maid who was three years younger than her.
It was common practice for a personal maid to be older than the person she served, but Bessie was an exception. Estelle had personally chosen her to be her personal maid.
“So? Nothing happened while I was away?”
Bessie was one of the very few people Estelle could truly call her own in the Holy Empire.
“…His Holiness is very angry.”
It was to be expected.
After all, she had left without a word, secretly entered an enemy country, ignored all attempts at communication, and disregarded every message sent to her.
Estelle found it more surprising that he hadn’t come after her in person.
Well, if I were still in the Holy Empire, he would’ve come straight to me. But he probably doesn’t want to set foot in enemy territory himself.
On top of that, it wasn’t as if he could openly announce that he had come to retrieve a runaway Saintess. Nor could he use some other pretext to visit before the peace treaty was finalized; it would have been too awkward.
“He has ordered that you be brought back immediately.”
“Tell him I’m not going.”
“I already told him that would likely be your answer….”
Estelle smiled and thought to herself how Bessie was an incredibly bold maid.
“You really said that to him?”
“Yes. I know your personality, and so does His Holiness.”
“And what did he say?”
“He told me to bring you back no matter what.”
Seeing Bessie sigh lightly, Estelle realized that this time there was really no way to avoid it.
Most problems could be resolved at her discretion, but when the highest authority in the Holy Empire was angry enough to summon the Saintess, it wasn’t something she could simply brush aside.
“Alright. I’d been thinking I should go at least once anyway. You’ve done well, Bessie.”
“Then, shall we prepare a fresh outfit—”
“No need~! What’s the point of dressing up? I’ll just go like this! See you later!”
Traditionally, she would have had to travel with her personal maid and a retinue of attendants in tow, but Estelle hated such displays of authority.
As a result, she often traveled alone without notifying her maids.
Knock, knock.
“I’m coming in.”
Even when entering the office of the Pope, who occupied the highest seat of power, she didn’t wait for permission. She simply flung the door open.
“Why did you call for me?”
“…Do you really not know why, Saintess?”
“Nope. Did I do something wrong?”
Estelle shrugged her shoulders and answered. The Pope took a deep breath to suppress his rising irritation before continuing.
“Why did you go to the Ermunt Empire?”
“You already had people tailing me, so I’m sure you’ve figured out the gist of it, haven’t you?”
“…I won’t ask twice. Answer me, Saintess.”
As the atmosphere grew more tense, Estelle noticed the paladins standing nearby looking uncomfortable and at a loss for what to do. She let out a deep sigh and finally spoke.
“I went to teach magic. You know, training disciples? Ever heard of it?”
“Are you saying the Saintess herself went to personally teach ordinary magic, not even divine magic?”
Every word from the Pope’s mouth was sharp and bristling. His expression was strained as if he was ready to explode at any moment.
The widely shared image of a benevolent and kind Pope was nothing but a facade.
The side he revealed in the privacy of his office was his true self, and it was far from gentle.
“Associating with such lowly beings who don’t even believe in God is an affront to the Lord!”
Though the Pope’s divine power was far less than that of Saintess Estelle, his unwavering faith in God had carried him to his position as the head of the church.
“So, Your Holiness entered into a peace treaty with those ‘lowly beings’? Did you do that to anger God as well?”
Though she knew she was clearly in the wrong, Estelle showed no sign of remorse and stubbornly spoke back when an object narrowly grazed past her face.
A wooden clock that had been sitting on the Pope’s desk flew dangerously close past her face.
“…There you go again. Call me back when you’ve calmed down.”
“Where do you think you’re going, Saintess!”
Creaaak—Bang!
From behind her came angry shouts and the sounds of someone raging like a mad dog, but Estelle simply stuck her tongue out in the direction of the Pope’s office, made a mocking gesture, and returned to her room as if she had no intention of going back.
“Bessie, what’s wrong with the Pope this time? Why’s he acting like a mad dog?”
“Ah, apparently, a critical article about His Holiness was posted online recently. It said something along the lines of how he was weaker than the saintess and sitting in such a position…”
Estelle sighed as she realized the Pope, who usually didn’t bother her unless she caused serious trouble, was merely lashing out because he was upset about being compared to her.
“Ugh, when do I get to enroll at the academy? I want to hang out with Theo!”
“Saintess, in any case, I think it’s best if you lie low until your academy enrollment.”
“Ugh, fine. I have no intention of stepping outside anyway, so don’t worry.”
In any case, Estelle felt there wasn’t much fun to be had unless she was going to see Theo or teasing Iris.
What is this feeling, anyway?
Before, going out had been her sole source of having fun, and her greatest joy had been outwitting or irritating the Pope. But now, those things felt utterly meaningless, as if she couldn’t care less about them anymore.
She simply wanted to visit the kind and warm Theo or see Iris, who reacted so amusingly to even the slightest provocation, almost like a cat.
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