chapter 13
13 – secret friend
Feria forcibly calmed down her bewildered mind at the frantic turn of events.
It is true that he had definitely advised the prince to refine his clothing.
But… … Can I really say that I earnestly asked for it?
─『I guess I was just pretending! That gaze must have been full of evil thoughts!”
He answered absolutely no to Her Highness’s harsh reprimand.
However, a corner of my heart felt like it was sinking.
In fact, couldn’t he just need an excuse that he made his own statement?
Wasn’t he secretly harboring a desire to look sideways at Prince Regid’s inner flesh like Her Highness’s secret heart?
‘I, I… The escort knight is disqualified… .’
A deep sense of remorse and shame flooded into my heart.
At that time, when Feria became infinitely smaller in front of Her Highness, the Crown Princess… .
Surprisingly, it was the prince again who stepped up for her.
─『Stop it. Sir Peria did nothing wrong.』
In a way, it is a disgraceful situation in which the escort knight is protected by the escort target.
But even so, Feria couldn’t move as if her feet were stuck to the ground.
I could only look at his back with trembling eyes.
─『Sir Peria is ‘my own knight’ who has already sworn an oath to me.』
‘ah… Ahh… Prince… sir… .’
Feria repeated the words Prince Regid said and engraved them in her heart.
Your own article… Your own article… .
Yes, I am a knight only for Prince Regid… .
What followed was even more astonishing.
To cover up the flaws of the pathetic escort knights, His Highness the Noble Prince directly decides victory or defeat with the opposing knights.
‘Is the prince’s psionic state at that level? ?!’
Through conversations with Her Highness, the Crown Princess, I learned that she had recently crossed the realm.
‘Is someone like me really qualified to serve as an escort knight?’
It hasn’t been long since she’s been by her side, but the more she gets to know the lord she comes to serve, the more she realizes that he is a very radiant and noble being.
Feria’s mind, wandering without a place to go in such a complicated mind, exploded with a bang starting from the scene that unfolded at the end.
‘… !!’
Prince Regid wrapped his sister around the waist of Her Highness, the Crown Princess, and held her close to her body.
She gulped involuntarily as she stared at the scene in front of her.
‘Ho, is this normal for the other siblings?’
With only a younger sister and no friends, Feria, who was ignorant about the circumstances of siblings in other families, involuntarily came up with a question.
‘Does everyone actually do this at home?’
For some reason, I feel like I’m peeping at a scene that I shouldn’t have seen. Heat rose up in his face.
“ah… Ahh… Re… Gide… .”
“Don’t look away.”
“Uh, uh… .”
A command given in a low voice.
Her Highness, the crown princess, stiffened like a rabbit caught in a trap.
Then, occasionally shaking faintly, he just looked up at Prince Regid in front of him with watery eyes.
Peria looked away slightly as she felt her body heat up.
She peeked at the other knights who served Her Highness the Crown Princess.
“… … .”
“… gulp.”
The girls also stood still, blushing, as if overwhelmed by the sight in front of them.
That gaze could not be separated from the two siblings of the imperial family.
I couldn’t tell what it was, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the scene for 10 minutes… No, it was only after about 20 minutes that it slowly showed its end.
Prince Regid, who had been staring at each other in silence, whispered to Her Highness the Crown Princess in a small voice.
“Have you regretted it now?”
“eww… yes… .”
Squeak.
When the prince released His Highness, the escort knights hurriedly approached and helped her as her legs were weak.
Soon, Prince Regid and Her Highness the Crown Princess started a conversation about something.
However, Feria, who seemed to be about to explode from the sight of a moment ago, heard nothing.
‘If it wasn’t for me… His Highness Regid shouldn’t have done that… .’
Complex emotions, burning remorse, and burning pain assaulted her heart.
Peria sneaked a peek at Prince Regid.
Before I knew it, the two siblings were smiling lightly and chatting normally, as if they had never fought.
It’s something to celebrate.
It was clear that the two members of the royal family, brother and sister, were on good terms, something that even the knights of the imperial family should rejoice and celebrate.
But… As Feria stared at the two of them getting closer, for some reason, a corner of her chest felt as if it had been pierced by a thorn.
throb… .
She bowed her head and clenched her fists.
A few strands of black hair flowed down her head, tickling her tears.
For some reason, I felt like a drop of tear would flow from the feeling that the prince had suddenly moved away from me.
* * *
With the wisdom of a brother and sister, he succeeded in dealing with his sister without any major problems.
Sister Irene decided to take responsibility for cleaning up the broken villa.
‘If you think about it, it’s natural that all of this happened because of my sister.’
After that, I moved towards the next schedule scheduled for today.
dodo dodo.
I ask the little maid Nia, who follows with small steps next to me.
“Nia, where is the cardinal now?”
“Please wait in the waiting room for 30 minutes. I don’t know why, but I heard you’re restless because your body is sweet?”
“Hmm… .”
He had declared that he would serve the goddess’s oracle to all continents.
But to be honest, I didn’t know much about the goddess.
As for the church, I only know approximate information.
‘I was busy playing during the last round, and then I was taken to the Sky Tower right away.’
Presenting myself as a product on the continent is as planned.
However, I didn’t expect that the media would make it public like this in connection with the Goddess Church.
‘Honestly, I don’t know much about the doctrine… .’
In fact, until now, the cardinal had asked for a meeting several times.
In the meantime, I’ve been avoiding it with a bad heart… In the end, I had no choice but to make an appointment to meet today.
click.
I entered the reception room through the door that Nia opened.
The person waiting inside hurriedly stood up at my appearance.
—Cardinal Marilyn.
A beautiful woman with blue hair, her curvaceous body was gently wrapped in a white robe.
In her left hand, she cherishes the scriptures of the Goddess Order.
When I declared that I would risk my body at the last government meeting, it was the cardinal of the Goddess Order that showed the most intense reaction.
I greeted her first.
“Nice to meet you, Cardinal. It’s called Ragged Kazidum. First of all, I apologize for delaying our meeting—”
No matter how imperial the empire was, caution was needed when dealing with high-ranking priests who dealt with divinity.
The Goddess Church is a religion that boasts enormous power on the continent.
In addition, they even enshrine a real goddess.
No matter how high and enormous a human’s power is, its light is bound to fade compared to the brilliance of the goddess in the sky.
Cardinal Marilyn hurriedly shook her head with a pure religious smile.
“Oh, no. I’m sorry that I kept pressing on the busy person.”
She even rose to the high priesthood of cardinal at this young age.
‘Perhaps even inside the church, he’s taking an elite course.’
She was like that, but her voice was clear and pure, and her eyes were sparkling.
After a brief exchange of clichéd greetings, we got to the main point.
“Cardinal, the reason why you insisted on seeing this insensitive body… ?”
“… … .”
Cardinal Marilyn was silent for a moment, then glanced at Feria, who was serving as an escort driver behind me, and at the little maid, Nia, to one side.
She spoke to me in a low voice.
“I… If possible, I’d like to talk to the prince alone… .”
“You mean alone?”
After tilting my head for a moment, I nodded my head calmly.
“It doesn’t matter. Then sit down for a while—”
“It’s not possible!!”
“yes?”
Suddenly, Feria, the escort knight, intervened between me and Cardinal Marilyn.
To be precise, it looked like he was trying to hide me behind his back from Cardinal Marilyn.
Cardinal Marilyn said with an expressionless face.
“What is this?”
creepy… . When I heard the cardinal’s voice, goose bumps inadvertently ran down my spine.
The cardinal’s voice, which had been so naive and soft a moment ago, became cold and sharp like the blade of an ax in the middle of winter.
‘What is this again? Why are you suddenly changing?’
Feria, the escort knight, and Cardinal Marilyn began exchanging sharp words.
“It’s not possible! You cannot leave the prince of the imperial family alone with an ‘illegitimate woman’!”
“Did you just insult me! I am a priest who serves the goddess!”
The cardinal protested, burning twin wicks in his eyes.
It was as if the expected meal time was interrupted by an uninvited guest.
“No matter how clergy you are, in the end, a woman is a woman! We have to block the possibility of a scandal by any chance of being alone with the male prince!”
“What, what?! How can you look at me and say such nonsense!!”
I watched the two argue for a while.
‘Why is Peria suddenly so nervous… Oh, that’s right.’
It seems that discipline has been put in because Irene’s older sister pointed out her attitude towards work.
‘But this is a bit of an overreaction.’
I intervened between the two and settled the situation.
“Sir Peria, leave it at that. Anyway, isn’t it rude to say that to the priest of the goddess?”
“Legid-sama… .”
“Go out for a while and wait at the door.”
“That, like that!”
Feria stared at me with eyes like an abandoned puppy.
She’s a stiff female knight who seems difficult to talk to on the outside, but today, for some reason, she looks more pitiful.
At that moment, Cardinal Marilyn smiled lightly, holding her hand to her mouth.
“Whoops… . I have to have an important talk with the owner, so it would be appreciated if the ‘lower people’ went out for a while.”
“profit… .”
I hurriedly sent Feria, who was hesitant, and sent Nia, who was on one side, along.
Just the two of us, Cardinal Marilyn, sat face to face in the audience room.
“Cardinal. What do you want to convey by saying this? .”
She, who was sitting on the sofa across from me, leaned forward and took my hand with both hands.
‘Why are you holding hands?’
she asked in a whisper.
“Prince Regid. Have you not felt the divine power lately?”
Divine power, what do you mean?
Cardinal Marilyn’s eyes were twinkling and shining with pressure.
back. Her hand, which was holding mine, became stronger.
It hurts a bit honestly.
“Cardinal. For now, this hand… .”
“ah! sorry. I inadvertently lost my reason.”
what did you lose?
Anyway, the answer to the question was answered.
“It’s divine power… I’ve never felt it. Why are you looking for that in me, a man?”
The divine power of the Goddess Church could only be used by female priests and female paladins.
‘Of course, even men sometimes use it.’
Very rarely, men who have passed the strict examination of the goddess appear, perhaps one or two in a hundred years.
And all such people, without exception, were crowned as great men whose names were listed on a page in the history books or ‘saints’ listed in the religious scriptures.
There was such a background, but out of the blue, the Cardinal of the Goddess Church asked me if I felt divine power.
Cardinal Marilyn opened her mouth in a firm tone.
“At the conference hall where the last government meeting was held, I was convinced. Prince Regid is the lumber of a new saint who will emerge in this chaotic time.”
“… … .”
This woman is a bit out of her mind… ?
I frowned and shook my head.
“Thank you for your words, but honestly, it’s burdensome.”
Wow!
Cardinal Marilyn leaned forward and grabbed my hand again, which she had removed earlier.
“Legid-sama, absolutely not! My senses have never gone wrong from the time I worked as the Heretic Inquisitor until now!”
Heretic Inquisitor… ?
“Please visit the Temple of the Emperor soon. Together with me, we pray together in front of the statue of the goddess.”
“well… .”
“The Goddess will surely want that too.”
Let’s do our best to pray together, Cardinal Marilyn smiled.
Then she blushed a little and spoke further.
“And if you have any concerns, you can go to confession. I’ll take care of it myself… .”
“You mean confession? I have no particular worries.”
She shook her head with a face that couldn’t be.
“Everyone has things like trivial worries and guilt piled up in their hearts. Prince Regid must have had a lot of things accumulated inside of him in this stuffy imperial palace.”
It’s not a worry, but it’s a little frustrating, of course.
“You are free to tell me about your painful inner feelings to me in our <Confession Room for Two>.”
Cardinal Marilyn sat close to me with a flushed face.
Her breathing was somehow rough.
“I am the prince… … … Rain, I will be your secret friend.”