Chapter 119
"Princess Tsetsilia!"
At the sound of someone calling her, Tsetsilia slowly lifted her eyelids.
In the pale moonlight, Lionel's face came into view, his thick brows drawn tightly together as he gazed at her with concern.
"...Ah, so I couldn't die."
The moment she murmured, Lionel's face as he looked down at her twisted in pain.
Who was the guilt welling up in her chest for?
Her grandfather, whose expectations she had failed to meet; Mia, who had died protecting her without knowing the truth; and Lionel, who was worried about her—Tsetsilia felt so sorry, so anguished, and so miserable toward them all that she wanted to die.
"...I'm sorry, Prince Lionel... I..."
"I'm sorry!"
Lionel's deep voice cut off Tsetsilia's faint apology.
Tsetsilia's tear-filled eyes widened. Why was Lionel apologizing? He had done nothing wrong.
With the utmost care, as if handling a glass ornament, Lionel lowered Tsetsilia to her feet. Then he faced her directly and bowed deeply.
"I should have realized sooner that the thought of being engaged to me had tormented you this much... This happened before, too, and yet I... I should have..."
At Lionel's words, Tsetsilia's mouth fell open.
It was only natural, really. Lionel knew nothing of what she was going through. If Tsetsilia had jumped to her death, he could only assume she hated the idea of their engagement.
In fact, Kaspar Hütter, the 〈Dream Mage〉, had schemed to make those around them think just that.
Desperate to clear up this misunderstanding, Tsetsilia opened her mouth.
"That's not it! I... I love you!"
This time, it was Lionel's turn to gape.
Tsetsilia pressed both hands to her blazing cheeks and lowered her gaze to her feet.
After this incident, it would be difficult to keep hiding the truth any longer. If so, rather than have someone else tell Lionel, she wanted to tell him herself.
That was the utmost pride an imperial princess could manage.
"...Prince Lionel. I was rejected by the 〈Mirror of Bern〉. The contract was made, and I bear its mark... but the mirror still won't accept my magic."
She was afraid to see disappointment spread across Lionel's face.
Even so, Tsetsilia raised her head, clasped her hands before her chest as if in prayer, and looked straight at Lionel as she spoke.
"I cannot use the 〈Mirror of Bern〉 in an emergency, so I am not fit to be a saint and have no value as a hostage. Worse, as long as I live, no new saint can be chosen... I am a blight who ought to die."
Acknowledging her position all over again made Tsetsilia want to die.
She was not only worthless, but a blight who did nothing but trouble her grandfather. She had not the slightest reason to live, and yet she was afraid to die, so she had survived.
...At the cost of so many lives.
Lionel started to say something to Tsetsilia, who was nothing but a blight, then hastily covered his mouth with his hand.
Lionel's thick brows twitched as he struggled with something.
He would start to speak, groan, then open his mouth again, shake his head, and groan once more.
After a long internal struggle, Lionel opened his mouth with a resigned expression.
"Princess Tsetsilia. Knowing your position and your troubles, I still couldn't help having a personal thought. I ask you to forgive me for saying it."
"...?"
Before the bewildered Tsetsilia, Lionel spoke awkwardly, with an expression of deep remorse.
"I heard the 〈Mirror of Bern〉 possesses tremendous power, but that its wielder pays for it with their lifespan... So when I learned you couldn't use it, I... I found myself thinking, 'Thank goodness.'"
Tsetsilia's eyes widened, and she was speechless.
Since she could remember, Tsetsilia had been raised to be a saint. To her, the option of not using the 〈Mirror of Bern〉 in an emergency simply did not exist.
Everyone assumed that when the time came, Tsetsilia would naturally give her life to the mirror.
No one around Tsetsilia had ever been glad that the mirror rejected her.
"I'm sorry. For you, who were raised to be a saint, not being able to use the mirror must be deeply frustrating... And yet when I learned there was no danger of the mirror taking your life, I felt relieved."
Lionel's brow furrowed deeply. He seemed to be in genuine turmoil.
This man worried about Tsetsilia as a matter of course.
He did not take her life or her will lightly.
(This man is too kind...)
Before she knew it, tears were streaming down Tsetsilia's face.
As Tsetsilia sobbed, Lionel flailed his thick arms in a panic.
(What can I do for this kind man?)
All Tsetsilia possessed, despite having nothing exceptional about her, was the contract mark and title of a saint.
And so, Tsetsilia made up her mind.
(...Lady Silent Witch, please lend me your courage.)
Monica Everett, the 〈Silent Witch〉, had said:
If you treat your own feelings carelessly, you'll end up treating the kindness someone shows you carelessly, too.
(If I keep putting myself down, thinking I'm not worthy, I'll end up rejecting this man's kindness.)
Tsetsilia wanted to repay Lionel's kindness.
And she wanted to stand tall and say... "I love you."
"...Lionel-sama, I know I'm being presumptuous, but I have a request."
"Y-yes?"
"If you will allow me to live... I wish to devote my life to the Kingdom of Ridill and my Empire."
Come on, be brave, Tsetsilia.
She told herself this inwardly and continued.
"For that purpose... would you take me as your wife, as a saint?"
Lionel's eyes widened slightly as he looked at Tsetsilia.
She was confessing after admitting that she possessed none of a saint's powers. Tsetsilia thought she was being incredibly brazen.
Even so, Tsetsilia wanted to stay by Lionel's side. She wanted to support him. She wanted a future where she could stand proudly beside him.
"If my being a saint can bring peace, then I will continue to act as a saint, a symbol of peace between our two countries, until the day I die. I will devote my entire life to this country, so that no emergency requiring the 〈Mirror of Bern〉 ever comes to pass."
The marriage of the Empire's saint and the Kingdom of Ridill's First Prince would become a symbol of peace between the two countries.
Above all, as long as Tsetsilia lived, the Empire could not use its strongest shield, the 〈Mirror of Bern〉, and the mirror would pose no threat to the Kingdom of Ridill.
As her brother had said, Tsetsilia did have value as a hostage.
"...So I ask you to let me become your wife, even while keeping this lie between us."
Would the sincere Lionel allow a lying saint to become his wife?
Tsetsilia's heart pounded with anxiety.
Lionel looked stunned for a while, but eventually straightened his posture and spoke formally.
"Princess Tsetsilia. I accept your resolve. In that case, I will support you with all my strength and do everything I can for the prosperity of the Kingdom of Ridill and the Empire."
He said this with a stern expression, then relaxed his stiff manner and scratched at his blond hair, looking a little embarrassed.
"I've always been told I'm impulsive and lack caution. My friend used to scold me endlessly, saying, 'You stupid gorilla, use your head!'"
How could anyone say something so rude to this kind prince?!
As Tsetsilia stared with wide eyes, Lionel lowered his thick brows and narrowed his eyes nostalgically.
"So having someone as cautious and wise as you by my side is a great comfort. That's right... In a situation like this, that guy would say it's a matter of putting the right person in the right place."
With that, Lionel smiled, showing his white teeth.
Tsetsilia was neither cautious nor wise. She was simply a coward.
Even so, if this man saw her that way, then she wanted to become someone worthy of it.
For now, that was what she thought.
＊ ＊ ＊
"...Achoo!"
Louis Miller, the 〈Barrier Mage〉, sneezed softly and rubbed his arms.
The maid's uniform was made of thick fabric, but even so, he wanted a coat if he was going to be outside on a spring night.
Once he reached somewhere more secluded, he'd leave the area using flight magic.
The people on the scene—especially his peers—would probably be busy to death cleaning up this mess, but Louis's top priority right now was, above all, to change clothes.
The timid 〈Silent Witch〉 probably wouldn't tell anyone if he threatened her, but Louis would rather die than let his younger colleague see him in such an embarrassing state.
Ordinarily, the best choice for this kind of infiltration would be his contracted spirit, Lin. But Louis had reasons for not wanting Lin to get too close to the palace staff. That was why he'd gone undercover himself in this unwilling getup.
(That 〈Dream Mage〉... what a vile thing to do.)
Louis wrinkled his nose, as if the mere memory of it disgusted him.
The 〈Dream Mage〉's method of driving Tsetsilia to attempt suicide had, in short, touched a nerve with Louis.
Louis knew how devastated his friend had been when his fiancée tried to take her own life, and how much he had blamed himself.
(Just how devastated that guy was back then...)
Ah, just remembering it made him furious. He should've punched him once or twice... As he clenched and unclenched his fists, a man appeared from behind a tree ahead.
As Louis stood there speechless, the man held out a white flower and slicked back his bangs with a theatrical gesture.
"Hey there, young lady with the lovely glasses. What luck to meet someone like you on such a beautiful moonlit night. How fortunate I am... Pfft."
"..."
"Heh... Hahaha! Ahahahahahaha!"
The blond man—Einhart Berger—pointed at Louis, his handsome face contorted beyond recognition as he wheezed with laughter.
"What the hell are you doing? Louis Miller-chan, the 〈Barrier Mage〉, twenty-nine years old (with wife and kids)!"
"..."
Louis wanted to die from the bottom of his heart. Of course, if he died, he was taking the idiot in front of him with him.
The aforementioned idiot puffed out his chest and said smugly:
"Man, when I saw you as soon as I got to the palace, I seriously thought I was going to laugh myself to death."
"...You noticed me as soon as you arrived?"
"Don't underestimate a royal guard's powers of observation."
Einhart looked proud of himself, but knowing him, he'd probably spotted Louis while making the rounds and hitting on every woman in the palace.
Louis suppressed the violent emotions welling up within him—specifically, murderous intent, murderous intent, and more murderous intent—and put on the expression of a reasonable adult.
"Einhart. I'd like to erase your memories, but in my country, memory alteration through mental interference magic is treated as a semi-forbidden art. I can't use it for personal reasons."
"Oh, I'm relieved you still have some reason and common sense left."
"So..."
Louis broke off, closed the distance in an instant, and grabbed Einhart's face in his hand.
Then the beautiful maid (wife and kids) declared with a smile far too sunny for the occasion:
"I'll smash your head against a wall until your memories are gone."
"Aaargh! Stop! If my face gets scarred, every woman in the country will be heartbroken!"
With enough strength to pulverize an apple, Louis squeezed Einhart's skull until it creaked.
When Einhart's face turned ashen, Louis snorted and released him.
"...I'd like to say that, but you still have the important job of cleaning up this mess. I'll let you live for now."
"You... that's something a villain would say... Anyway, you help with the cleanup too, one of the Seven Sages."
"Yes, of course. As soon as I change clothes."
Louis was oddly meticulous about things, so he'd applied his makeup carefully to complete his maid's appearance. As a result, his face felt unbearably itchy beneath the unfamiliar makeup.
As Louis grew irritable, eager to wipe off the makeup, Einhart shrugged as if to say, "Good grief."
"Man, I was thinking we'd show Lionel your outfit, lighten the mood, and then throw him a little party to cheer him up. But things sure got out of hand."
Louis arched a slender brow, thinking, "So you were up to something stupid as usual."
From the bottom of his heart, he wanted to crack that man's skull, but they needed someone to clean up the mess.
Especially this time, they had to proceed carefully to avoid worsening relations between the Kingdom of Ridill and the Empire.
"I heard a little of the exchange between Princess Tsetsilia and Lionel. Apparently, Princess Tsetsilia can't use the 〈Mirror of Bern〉?"
"Yeah, that surprised me too. Man, what a shock."
Einhart's tone was surprisingly casual. He didn't seem disappointed in Princess Tsetsilia at all. His nonchalant attitude was so carefree that Louis could almost suspect he already knew the whole story.
As an Imperial, shouldn't he have more of a reaction...? But that was how this man always was. Despite being a royal guard, he had a somewhat detached attitude toward his country's royals.
Einhart rarely spoke about his family, but his was one of the Empire's most prestigious houses—one of the four ducal houses that chose the emperor. He must have his share of complicated circumstances and conflicted feelings.
(Well, I don't care about this man's feelings or circumstances.)
Honestly, Louis wasn't interested in Einhart's emotions in the slightest.
He merely tolerated his presence because Einhart was truly grateful to Lionel for saving his life.
More than anything, his connections to the Empire's Royal Guard were often useful.
Whether he was aware of Louis's ulterior motives or not, Einhart muttered in his usual tone:
"I wonder if His Majesty saw this coming, too. If so, he really cares about his little sister."
"...What do you mean?"
Einhart grinned and twirled the white flower in his hand.
"Isn't it obvious? If she marries into the Kingdom of Ridill, Princess Tsetsilia will be safer than anywhere else."
If Tsetsilia died, a new saint might be born in the Empire, and the Kingdom of Ridill might once again find itself at odds with the 〈Mirror of Bern〉. For that reason, the Kingdom of Ridill would protect Tsetsilia with all its might.
The other countries that considered the 〈Mirror of Bern〉 a threat had no reason to target Tsetsilia either, since the current situation—with her separated from the mirror—was ideal.
Right now, the only people who wanted Tsetsilia dead were a faction within the Empire that wanted to install a new saint.
But if Tsetsilia became another country's queen, they couldn't make a careless move against her.
"Our country's in a hell of a mess right now, and there's trouble brewing everywhere. You can even hear a few voices calling for independence out in the provinces."
"So the Black Lion Emperor sent Princess Tsetsilia to the Kingdom of Ridill to keep her safe?"
"If that were all there was to it, it'd be a nice story. But knowing His Majesty, I'm sure he carefully weighed the costs and benefits, too."
As Einhart said, the Black Lion Emperor was shrewd. He hadn't acted solely out of affection for his sister.
(More than anything, the fact that he specifically named Lady Silent Witch-dono as her guard... there's something fishy about it.)
That was why Louis had tossed aside his relaxing vacation and gone undercover like this. He never expected to stumble upon an attempted assassination of Tsetsilia, though.
While Louis pondered, Einhart rolled his shoulders with a series of cracks and stretched.
"Well then. I hate to do it, but I guess it's time to get to work. Once everything's taken care of, let's have a party at your place. Introduce me to your lovely wife and your daughter Leonora."
"Go home, womanizer."
At Louis's merciless reply, Einhart lifted the corners of his mouth into a nasty grin.
"By the way, where I'm from, there's this lovely custom of naming kids after people you admire, giving them names that sound similar."
"Huh, never heard of that."
"I wonder whose name little Leonora was named after?"
"I've never heard of any such custom."
"Similar, but not exactly similar, and yet if you think about it, it is similar. That's so like you, isn't it?"
"Dunno. Get to work, you delinquent knight."
Louis kicked Einhart in the rear, and Einhart laughed as he shot back:
"You don't get to say that, delinquent mage."