Taming the Evil Saintess

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Ophelia and Emily completely took over the Grand Assembly Hall of the Imperial Palace. To be honest, it wasn’t just a takeover; they kicked out the administrators who were cleaning up the ruins inside and occupied the place.

Who would dare refuse the demands of a Hero, a Saintess, and an Archmage to surrender the Assembly Hall? It was a robbery under the guise of authority.

The reason was that if you’re going to give a grand speech, you need an appropriate venue or something like that.

Thus, the Assembly Hall.

Bang! Without hesitation, Ophelia banged on the podium inside the hall, her round glasses sliding down her prominent nose.

“Anyway, we are the Angel of Love connecting the two knights.”

“Ohhh!”

Emily chimed in cheerfully.

In contrast, I wore a slightly frowning expression. Isn’t Ophelia’s face too malicious to be Cupid? If she were a little devil, I might agree, but Ophelia didn’t seem to resemble an Angel of Love even as a flattery.

“Sure, I get that Albrecht and Cecilia have feelings for each other, but is there really a reason for us to step in?”

“Of course there is!”

Ophelia’s firm assertion made me frown even more.

“What reason?”

“It’s fun!”

“….”

Noticing my unimpressed expression, Ophelia hurriedly added.

“W-Well, if we don’t help, those two will just keep drawing parallel lines forever!”

“Well, that’s true.”

Albrecht and Cecilia didn’t seem to be the type good with romance, even for flattery. Especially since, ever since Cecilia started dating Ophelia, she seemed to avoid me.

The idea of her having a normal relationship with Albrecht was absurd.

“Okay, fine. I’m onboard with this. But I just have one question.”

“What is it?”

“Why am I being dragged into this?”

“Who else would do it if not you?”

“Erwin?”

“He’s way too loose-lipped.”

That wasn’t wrong.

While I inwardly accepted this, Ophelia pointed at me.

“And you have experience too. So shouldn’t you assist me as an advisor?”

“My experience in romance is basically just with you, Ophelia.”

“….”

Ophelia’s previously straightened finger bent a little. Emily watched them with a big smile.

Seeing Ophelia losing her patience, she slammed the table again.

“Anyway! This is a strategy meeting! Let’s think about how we can get those two together!”

Under Ophelia’s insistence, the strategy meeting commenced. Emily raised her hand with a big grin.

“Me, me!”

“Emily, do you have a good idea?”

“How about locking the door from the outside? A locked room is the best device in a romance novel! Inside, they can have secret conversations and, by the way, enjoy some body language too!”

It’s a good idea.

Even back on Earth, it was quite a famous cliché.

But I had to keep this scenario in mind.

“But wouldn’t they just pick the lock and come out?”

“Hmm….”

If Albrecht and Cecilia weren’t knights who transcended the bounds of humanity, that would have been a good idea. Those two would probably kick down the door if locked.

They might as well smash the door to pieces.

“Before anything else, let me ask one thing. Do you have proof that they definitely like each other?”

“I already told you. I saw her smile at his sleeping face!”

“What else?”

“Lady Cecilia kept showing signs that she was mindful of Mr. Albrecht! Like covering him with a blanket while he was sleeping or fixing his messy hair! And just look at that expression! A woman’s intuition tells me! There’s definitely love there!”

Emily’s eyes sparkled as she vouched.

Listening carefully, I cautiously opened my mouth.

“Sorry for saying this, but….”

Ophelia and Emily glared at me.

Ignoring their stares, I continued.

“Isn’t that just Cecilia’s feelings confirmed, not Albrecht’s?”

“….”

It seemed like I struck a chord. Ophelia’s mouth gaped, while Emily let out a little sigh.

If Emily was to be believed, Cecilia clearly had feelings for Albrecht. But what about Albrecht? Given he was swamped with mountains of work, it was unlikely any girl would catch his eye, and even if he did have feelings, his personality would likely prevent him from expressing it.

In the end, it seemed we were all pondering how to share something that wasn’t even offered to us. Perhaps not thinking of that was the reason why Ophelia’s expression briefly showed confusion. But of course, this was Ophelia we were talking about. Instead of simply accepting the situation, she whipped up a storm.

“…That doesn’t matter at all!”

“I think it’s pretty important.”

“What matters is the girl’s feelings! What do you know!”

“Right!”

In the end, my opinion was drowned by the majority.

“And if a beauty like Lady Cecilia likes him, then the man should just throw himself at her!”

“Right! Just take it….”

What Ophelia was about to say made her cheeks flush pink.

“Anyway! That’s that!”

“Hmm….”

With them so adamant, I had no choice but to go along.

I sighed softly.

Ophelia’s expression contorted.

“And what about you?!”

“What about me?”

“Don’t just sit there! Give your opinion already!”

Ophelia snarled, and after a short contemplation, I finally said something reasonable.

“How about we seek advice from a veteran?”

“…A veteran? Me?”

“Who else could it be?”

“Erwin?”

“Do you really want to ask someone who broke our building after consulting with him? Do we want to level the Imperial Palace again?”

Ophelia became a silent statue.

“Who could it be?”

In the Hero’s party, there was only one married man.

“How about asking the Golden Lion?”

“…Ah!”

Ophelia quickly seemed to understand.

She really was an easy woman.

*

In the end, Ophelia left to seek advice from Azar, and the Assembly Hall fell into silence. Given that Ophelia had claimed the hall all for herself, the silence felt just as large as the space itself.

How did I end up getting involved in such things?

Normally, I would have pulled away and let them enjoy their time, but there was a reason I couldn’t do that.

“Hehe. Isn’t it fun? Two of the continent’s greatest warriors turned into lovers.”

“True.”

“It’s not quite as good as a Hero and a Saintess!”

“Haha….”

Emily Barried leaned back in her chair, rocking it back and forth.

Master Eldarian had passed away a week ago, yet Emily remained as she always was.

Not that it meant Emily felt no emotion about Eldarian’s death. I just hoped that even in this childish play, Emily could find a moment to breathe.

“….”

Seeing me respond tepidly, Emily lost interest and slumped back into her chair.

I subtly eyed her and decided to speak up.

“Emily, are you really okay?”

When I asked cautiously, Emily brought her previously cheery expression back.

Her lips were shaped in a smile, but her eyes remained indifferent.

“Yeah. I’m okay.”

With that, Emily rolled up her sleeves, exposing the mark etched on her arm.

“To be honest… at first, I thought about just cutting off my arm.”

“….”

“Don’t make that face. It was just for a moment.”

Emily flashed a mischievous grin.

“If Master hadn’t returned to save me, I might have cut it off. A one-armed mage. Isn’t that unique?”

“…Hmm.”

“But that would be an insult to Master who passed away, right? Whether I was a subjected experiment or if he implanted the mark, in the end, Master really cared about me.”

It was clear that Eldarian had cherished Emily like a daughter.

That evidence was right here with me.

“…Emily, take this.”

I handed over the teleportation scroll I had received from Eldarian not long ago. When Emily saw the precious item emerge from my possession, her eyes went wide, but upon seeing the mark of the Archmage on the scroll, a bittersweet smile appeared on her face.

“Master Eldarian gave this to me.”

“Yep. It’s for teleportation. It’s the magic he was intensely researching.”

Accepting the scroll with care, Emily nodded her head.

“Whatever it may be, Master Eldarian treasured you.”

“I know. I think that’s enough for me.”

Emily continued speaking rather calmly.

“Just like how you cherished the Saintess to escape the Cathedral.”

“…Why is that suddenly brought up?”

My blushing face rubbed the wrong way as I scratched my cheek, and Emily chuckled.

“Honestly, I thought it was really romantic when you guys escaped to Shadowhold for the first time.”

“Did you now?”

Romantic.

To Emily back then, it might have seemed like a love escape.

“Yeah. That’s when I started buying romance novels.”

“….”

Emily beamed at me.

“In that sense, we’re all romantics.”

“….”

The conclusion was quite a stretch, but coming from Emily, who touted herself as the greatest romantic, I couldn’t help but agree.

“Looks like it.”

I chuckled softly.

Emily did the same.