Chapter 7
“I’ll be waiting in this room, so call me if you need anything.”
“If all goes as planned, the Saint will be staying at the castle, so I doubt my family will have any part to play, but...”
“No, it’d be helpful if you stayed nearby in case anything happens. With your Skill, you can get at least some sense of the Saint’s emotions, right?”
“You’re overestimating Emotion Sight. It only shows me through colors whether someone is angry or troubled. It’s not that impressive a Skill.”
I said, activating my Skill as I looked up at Theodor’s face. I saw yellow-green and pale green lights.
(Trust in me, and anxiety about the summoning ritual, huh...)
“It’ll be all right. I’m sure it’ll go well.”
I stood up from the sofa and gave his shoulder a light pat. The tension drained from Theodor’s stiff shoulders, and he left the room with the mages who had come to escort him.
The door closed. I let my fixed smile drop and sank deep into the sofa.
(A Saint summoning, huh...
...How ridiculous.)
It had been six months since my grandmother, the previous Saint, passed away. Unable to purify the magical energy, monsters were still multiplying.
(Just because no one is being born with the Purification Skill, what good does it do to abduct someone from another world?
Who would be stupid enough to be dragged to another world out of nowhere and just say, “Okay, understood,” and go along with it?)
As I thought that, I remembered the role I’d been entrusted with and scoffed.
(Ah, right. It was our job to make the Saint look like a fool...)
I, the heir to the Ashford ducal house; Theodor, the first prince; Edgardo, the Knight Commander’s son; and Sylvain, the king’s younger brother.
We were all offerings prepared for the Saint.
Put bluntly, we were meant to seduce her so that she would choose to stay in this country of her own accord and use her power for its sake.
(...I hope the Saint takes a liking to someone like Theodor.)
As I sat there thinking, one of the mages rushed into the room in a panic.
“Lord Julius, during the summoning ritual, besides the Saint, there was one other—”
◇
(The Saint’s emotions are red, dark blue, and green, huh?)
The colors floating around the Saint I met in the room were anger, despair, and fear. Well, that was about what I’d expected.
There was another secret about this Skill, one I’d only told a select few. That was...
“I don’t care about this Saint business! Just send me and this girl back already!!”
'I don’t get it! This is kidnapping!! What is this place?!'
—The ability to hear powerful inner thoughts.
Even Theodor, the prince, and the king himself knew nothing about this.
The Saint didn’t hide her true feelings at all and displayed them openly. She was probably straightforward and not good at playing political games.
(And then, the other girl in question...)
She was a petite girl with black hair, perhaps around fifteen.
She had sharp eyes with a lot of white showing, but surprisingly, she said very little and quietly watched things unfold.
When I used my Emotion Sight Skill, I saw pale green and pale yellow-green lights.
(...Anxiety and acceptance? No anger... She’s anxious, but accepting the situation?
Despite her appearance, maybe this girl was the calculating one, the type who knew how to handle herself...)
As I watched, thinking she must have nerves of steel, the girl seemed lost in thought, her head bowed slightly as the light of anxiety grew stronger.
And then her complexion gradually worsened.
When I instinctively called out to her, she gave me a forced smile...
'I’m scared, so scared...! I have nothing. How could I ever be happy like this...?!'
—Her anguished cry from the depths of her heart felt like a blow to the head.
(...Calculating? Not at all. This girl has simply resigned herself to being unhappy...!)
Unlike the Saint, she had no way to negotiate, so she had no choice but to bear her anxiety alone and accept the situation.
Before I knew it, my body had moved on its own.
“...Don’t worry.”
I tightly grasped her trembling little hand and sincerely wanted to help this powerless girl—Riko.
◇
'Don’t you dare lay a hand on Riko, you lolicon bastard!!'
“...”
(This Skill really isn’t very useful after all...)
At least I knew the Saint had a poor impression of me.
After parting ways with Theodor and the two girls, we set off by carriage for the Ashford estate.
Riko looked around the carriage curiously. Her black hair and sharp eyes reminded me of a cat I used to have.
(I’ll take her in at the Ashford estate first and give her an education... Riko is one of the few people with a Holy attribute, so it would be best to marry her into a noble family. Given their ages, eighteen-year-old Edgardo seems the closest match, but...)
When someone with a Holy attribute marries into a family, a child with the power of purification is occasionally born.
For that reason, the kingdom puts a great deal of effort into protecting and managing people with a Holy attribute, but...
When I activated my Skill, colors of anxiety and pensiveness still hovered around Riko.
(...If possible... I want to erase those unsettling colors from this girl myself.)
That was probably a feeling of protectiveness, or something along those lines.
As I pointed out landmarks visible through the window and told her about the city, Riko nodded with a serious expression, but she seemed to be enjoying herself inside. I could hear exclamations like 'Wow!' and 'This is amazing!'
I couldn’t help smiling.
I hadn’t realized it earlier because she’d been so depressed, but Riko seemed to let her inner thoughts come through strongly when things were normal.
'...My butt...'
(Hm...?)
I tilted my head inwardly at the sudden words.
'My butt hurts...!'
“—Pfft...!”
“...Is something wrong, Julius-san?”
“N-no, it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
I covered my mouth with my left hand, trying to hide the laugh that had slipped out.
Riko looked a little puzzled, then fidgeted as she adjusted how she was sitting.
(I see, she isn’t used to riding in carriages... Next time, I should bring extra cushions...)
I’d thought this Skill, which was always active, was inconvenient, but if it let me hear such a cute voice, it wasn’t so bad after all. I let a faint smile touch my lips.