Althea: The Legendary Saintess [Shoujo]

Since that day, Althea had been visiting the secret place frequently, consulting with Prince Siegfried, and learning martial arts and studying. Thanks to that, she was able to achieve average grades in subjects she struggled with before, such as economics, arithmetic, and foreign languages, in the exams before the summer vacation. With the additional points from winning the Tournament, Althea ranked 12th in her year.

Knowing that economics and arithmetic had been disastrous for her before entering school, her older brother, Regalus helped her study before the exams. He was amazed at how much her grades improved, but still displayed his usual doting affection, saying, "That's my sister Althea for you."

By the way, the rankings of her friends were as follows: Kaera was 7th, Julia was 11th, and Laila was 21st.

Then, as summer vacation arrived, the friends made promises for the break and each went back home.

"Laila, I want to make some sweets. Can you teach me?"

One day, when her friends had gone back home and she had some free time, Althea said to Laila.

Of course, Althea planned to return to the Monclair territory, but this was during the two days she had to wait in the dormitory until Regalus finished his business.

"Sweets, you say?"

"Yes, the baked goods that Lady Julia made before. Laila, remember when she made them last time? I want to give them to my brothers as a thank-you."

"That would be no problem... If Lord Regalus knew that Lady Althea made them herself, he would surely be delighted."

Saying so, Laila surprisingly smiled.

And so, the two of them began making sweets.

It was their first time making baked goods, but with Laila's careful guidance, they managed to shape them somehow, and now they were baking them in the oven. As long as they didn't mess up the timing, they should turn out well.

"Thank you for your hard work, Lady Althea. Would you like to have some tea?"

When they had finished for the moment, Laila brewed some tea.

"Thank you, Laila."

After taking a sip of tea, Althea sighed and continued, "Making sweets is hard, but it was more fun than I thought. I understand why Lady Julia said it was a change of pace. When the vacation is over, let's make them together."

"I'm sure Lady Julia would be delighted as well."

While enjoying their cozy conversation, time passed, and it seemed that the sweets were baked.

"All we need to do now is let them cool. When they're ready, let's deliver them to my brothers. They said they would be at the training ground today..."

After confirming that the baked goods had cooled, they wrapped them lightly, and Althea and Laila headed to the training ground at the north end of the school.

When they arrived near the training ground, they saw a familiar face.

"... Lady Tornitos?"

Althea called out, and Erica, surprised, let out a strange noise.

"Eek?! W-What is it?! Sneaking up on me from behind like that, it's so improper, you know?!"

"If I startled you, I apologize. But... what are you doing here?"

"It's nothing at all. I was just taking a walk and ended up here while thinking about something... I definitely didn't come to check on anything."

"...Check on something..."

"I-I'm telling you, that's not it! ...Anyway, never mind me. What about you? What are you doing?"

"I'm looking for my brother... He said he would be here in the morning..."

"Althea?"

As they were talking, Regalus appeared. Behind him were the Suoro brothers, who were also student representatives.

"Oh, it's my little sister."

"Huh? Erica's here too. Do you two know each other?"

With surprising friendliness, Regalus calmed them down.

"Kaito, Soire, could you guys quiet down for a bit?... Sorry. Althea, who is this young lady?"

"Ah... This is Lady Erica Tornitos."

"Ah~ The daughter of Minister Tornitos... It's my first time meeting you directly. I'm Regalus Monclair. And I want to thank you once again for taking care of my sister during the Explorer's Tournament."

With graceful movements, Regalus greeted them, and for a moment, Erica, who seemed to be entranced, hurriedly returned the greeting.

"... Thank you very much for your kindness. I am Erica Tornitos. I have heard of the esteemed name of the Monclair family. It is an honor to meet you."

Indeed, as someone who boasted of herself as the "King's... Consort... Candidate...," her manners were beautiful.

"I'm Kaito Suoro. And this is—"

"Soire Suoro. We're twins. Nice to meet you."

Though it seemed unnecessary to break the tension, the twins greeted them without being asked.

"We didn't ask you two. Oh well. But Althea, is this your first time meeting them?"

Erica interjected. Perhaps because they were in the same year, they were having quite a casual conversation.

"No, I've greeted her once after the entrance ceremony. But allow me to do so again... I am Althea Monclair. I look forward to getting to know you better from now on."

While maintaining her ladylike demeanor, Althea greeted them.

Compared to Erica, she still seemed a bit stiff, but her manners had become much smoother compared to when she was in the territory. Regalus thought this might be thanks to the etiquette classes at the academy, and as he pondered this, Althea, looking embarrassed, handed him the lightly wrapped baked goods.

"Since it's my first time making them, they might not look perfect... But I did taste-test them properly."

After briefly looking between the bag handed to him and Althea, Regalus beamed with a smile and said, "Thank you," as he accepted them.

"Oh, I wish I could have homemade treats from my little sister too. Senior Regalus, share them with me!"

"Me too, me too."

While pressing against Regalus's back, Kaito and Soire said.

"Quiet down, I said I won't share if I don't want to. This is Althea's first time making them. I'll be the one eating them."

Watching his rare sight of his noisy brother in front of him, Althea smiled fondly, then heard Siegfried's voice from afar.

"Regalus, where are you? I need to discuss something—"

"Yeah, coming. ...Althea, I'll gladly take these. Be careful on your way home later. Miss Tornitos, excuse us. ...Let's go."

Called by Siegfried, Regalus patted Althea's head, then bowed to Erica before leaving with the Suoro brothers.

"...It's been more hectic than I thought..."

As she watched their retreating figures, Althea muttered.

"Yes, indeed... By the way... what is Miss Tornitos doing here?"

Quietly standing behind, Laila whispered to Althea, noticing Erica grumbling beside her.

"Hehe, I must have been struck by her brother's smile. He smiled so happily. But... no, I mustn't be swayed. My prince... but..."

And she kept going round in circles.

"Um... Miss Tornitos, we'll excuse ourselves first."

With that, Althea and Laila left the scene.

---

That night, Regalus visited Althea's room.

"Althea, those baked goods were delicious. I made sure to give one to Sieg as well. By the way, did you put something in those baked goods?"

Althea tilted her head, looking at Laila, then answered, "No."

"I see... I felt a bit lighter after eating them, so I thought you might have put some recovery herbs in them, since Sieg felt the same way. But I guess not."

"...Ah."

"Huh? Did you put something in after all?"

"No, it's not that I put anything... I just practiced an initial healing spell while kneading the dough."

"So, you're saying magic is imbued in the sweets?"

"When we were making the sweets, Lady Julia said, 'Become delicious,' so I chanted 'Become delicious' once with her. But that's not possible, right?"

"Well, it might not be entirely wrong..."

With that, Regalus fell silent, then after a moment of thought,

"Let's check when we get back. My duties as student representative will be over by noon tomorrow, and we'll leave the day after tomorrow morning. So, make sure to prepare by tomorrow."

With that, he returned to his dormitory.

And as planned, two days later in the morning, Althea and Laila, along with Regalus and Jean, left Holy Sacrament Academy and set off for the Monclair territory.