Chapter 30 - Natalya Visits
Chapter 30 - Natalya Visits
The news that Edric was injured naturally reached Nataliya in the North as well.
Nataliya wanted to continue her activities in the Northern Knights, and Edric, respecting her choice, had remained in the North.
A beautiful romance, the kind seen in novels, where they respected each other's lives and continued their love through letters.
Nataliya was thoroughly enjoying such a romantic relationship with Edric.
To her, the news that Edric was injured was enough to paralyze her reason.
"Edric is injured? And his side was torn by the fangs of a Dead King worshiper?"
Nataliya was also well aware of the horror of the Dead King worshipers, the empire's main enemy.
Upon hearing the news, Nataliya felt as if Edric's injury was entirely her fault.
If she had been by his side, she might have been able to protect him.
Thinking that her beloved fiancé might be groaning in pain, Nataliya's vision went dark, and she hurriedly took action.
She semi-forcibly obtained permission from her father, the Grand Duke, and rode non-stop to the Capital with a minimal escort.
Arriving at Edric's house in the Capital, she ignored the servants' attempts to stop her and headed straight to the bedroom where Edric was.
The moment she kicked open the bedroom door... the scene unfolding before her eyes was completely different from what she had imagined.
"......Edric?"
Edric lying on the bed with his shirt off, and some white-clad woman collapsed on his chest, face flushed.
Nataliya's sapphire-like eyes froze in real-time, just like the eternal snows of the North.
At that moment, the devil inside Nataliya whispered.
'Draw the <Frost Sword>. Freeze the whole bed and smash it to pieces.'
The angel inside Nataliya admonished her.
'No. If you use that skill, the mansion will collapse. It's cleaner to just cut them down with a sword.'
Just as Nataliya was about to give in to the devil's whisper and use the Frost Sword, causing her blade to gradually freeze over, a voice came from behind.
"Saintess-nim! Is the treatment finished?"
"...Treatment?"
At the words of Cale the nun, Nataliya roughly grasped the situation and deactivated her skill.
It was a moment that could have ended in a catastrophe.
A while later, in the second drawing room, a bit away from the living room.
Nataliya, Saintess Azelia, and I, now fully dressed, sat facing each other in a triangular formation.
The air was still below minus 30 degrees.
"...So, you're saying you slipped by mistake while treating Edric's wound, Saintess-nim?"
"That's right!"
"That's right!"
Nataliya asked with her arms crossed.
Nataliya's gaze was emitting a cold chill, as if to say she would freeze anyone who lied.
It's cold... It wasn't even this cold in the North.
Azelia nodded repeatedly and said.
"I just happened to slip... I... I'm sorry!"
Hearing Azelia's words, Nataliya's killing intent subsided a little.
Nataliya relaxed her expression, offered a calm smile, bowed her head, and said.
"I, too, apologize for showing a lack of emotional control. Saintess-nim."
"Oh... no, it's okay."
Nataliya, whose expression had returned to that of a Grand Duke's daughter from the North, spoke politely to Azelia.
"Let me introduce myself formally. I am Nataliya Lyudmila, Captain of the 7th Division of the Volkov Knights, who protect the North."
"Ah... I'm Azelia Wisp. It's nice to meet you."
The two finished their introductions.
Just as the air was about to become awkward again, Azelia asked cautiously.
"Um... if you don't mind me asking, what is your relationship?"
Azelia said, looking at me and Nataliya.
Should I be the one to say it... Just as I was agonizing over it, Nataliya spoke immediately.
"I am Edric's fiancée."
"F-fiancée!?"
"Yes, that is correct. Saintess-nim."
Azelia's eyes trembled as if she were genuinely shocked.
It was the kind of expression one would have upon hearing something unbelievable.
... Is me being engaged such an unbelievable thing?
Feeling a bit sad, I drank some tea to soothe my insides.
"Th-then, have you two... done that sort of thing as well?"
"Pffft!! Cough! Cough!"
That... that sort of thing?
I ended up choking on my tea at the unimaginable words coming from the mouth of Azelia, the Saintess.
Nataliya carefully wiped my mouth with a handkerchief.
Swipe- swipe-
"Honestly, be careful, Edric. I told you to be careful even when coughing when you're sick."
"Th-thank you, Nataliya."
Nataliya wiped my mouth and clothes as if to show off to Azelia.
However, I had spilled so much that my clothes were a mess.
"Your clothes are too wet, Edric. It would be best to go to your room and change."
"Y-yeah, you're right. Then, Azelia, I'll be back in a moment after I change."
"Ah... yes! Please go ahead, Edric-nim."
I left the room for a moment to change my clothes.
But... is it okay to leave those two alone?
I hope nothing big happens...
"... Saintess-nim, you asked about my relationship with Edric, didn't you?"
Seeing that Edric had disappeared, Nataliya looked at Azelia and said.
Azelia's face turned red as she remembered the absurd question she had asked.
"Ah! Th-that!? It just came out of nowhere! Please forget it."
"No, it's fine. Hmm... we haven't done 'that sort of thing' yet, but we have kissed."
"Y-you kissed?"
Nataliya said, recalling the kiss she had shared with Edric.
At those words, Azelia began to let her imagination run wild.
A kiss... lip-locking... Edric-nim and Nataliya-nim's lips...
"Yes, Edric's lips were softer and sweeter than I thought."
"Sw-sweeter!?"
"Yes, we had eaten apples before kissing."
"I-I see."
Azelia couldn't keep her composure at the romantic story of others, something she had never heard in her life.
It breaks my heart that Nataliya-nim and Edric-nim are engaged.
But I'm curious about what their romance is like.
Could I be like that too?
No! She is a Saintess; she shouldn't be interested in such stories!
As countless thoughts collided like that, Azelia's head became very flushed and chaotic.
She hurriedly drank cold water to cool down her heated head.
"Saintess-nim... by any chance, do you love Edric?"
"Pffft! Y-yes!?"
Azelia spat out the cold water she was drinking.
Fortunately, the water didn't splash onto Nataliya, who had dodged in advance, and Azelia's clothes didn't get too wet either.
Nataliya quietly handed a handkerchief to Azelia.
"Please use this..."
"Thank you."
Azelia wiped her mouth with the handkerchief Nataliya gave her and looked at Nataliya.
Beautiful blue hair like snowflakes and features like a snow goddess... and the chest, which was the biggest difference between them... Azelia had heard it from Cale too.
That men like large breasts.
On top of that, even this consideration for others... She was a woman far more suited to be Edric's partner than herself.
"I know even without you saying it. That you, Saintess-nim, have feelings for Edric."
"Th-that is!?"
"Am I wrong?"
"... You're right."
For the first time, Azelia cursed the Saintess's blessing that prevented her from lying.
Having painfully admitted to Nataliya's words, Azelia bowed her head.
"I'm sorry... Nataliya-nim."
"Yes? Why are you apologizing, Saintess-nim?"
"Edric-nim is Nataliya-nim's fiancé. But... I'm sorry for harboring such feelings...."
Azelia was truly embarrassed.
That she, a Saintess, would covet another woman's man...
Even if a Saintess could marry, it wasn't ethically good.
However, at Azelia's words, Nataliya tilted her head with a question mark over her head.
"Saintess-nim... there is no need to apologize."
"Yes?"
"A good man is bound to have many women follow him. The women of the North understand that."
"You... understand that?"
"Yes, as long as you don't hide it."
A medieval fantasy era where emperors and nobles exist.
It wasn't that there were no wives and concubines, but that didn't mean everyone understood it.
However, at Nataliya's words, saying so casually that an affair was fine, Azelia felt like her brain had stopped working.
It's fine as long as you don't hide it... What on earth is the North like?
To Azelia, who was thinking that, Nataliya said calmly.
"Yes, especially if it's a man like Edric who sacrifices himself for others, there will be even more."
"That's right... Edric-nim doesn't take care of himself enough."
Azelia recalled how Edric had taken the risk of being assassinated by nobles to become their ally for her sake.
Thinking that perhaps Nataliya had also become engaged because she was drawn to that aspect of Edric, she felt a sense of closeness to her.
"That's why... when I found out that you, Saintess-nim, were treating Edric, I could feel relieved."
"Nataliya-nim..."
Azelia felt the same anguish in Nataliya's expression as she had felt herself.
It was the same expression she had when she heard the news that Edric was injured.
Nataliya said, taking Azelia's hand.
"Saintess-nim... wouldn't you like to protect Edric together?"
"Yes! Edric-nim!?"
"Yes... if it were just me, it would be difficult to protect Edric. But if I'm with you, Saintess-nim... if we combine our strength... I think it's possible."
"Together... Edric-nim..."
The words to protect Edric together were too sweet for Azelia.
If she were to get close to Edric on her own, it would be an affair.
But if it's with the permission and cooperation of his fiancée, it's a legitimate relationship.
Azelia said, clasping Nataliya's hand.
"I understand. Nataliya-nim... I will also contribute my strength to protect Edric-nim."
"Thank you. Saintess-nim."
"Please call me Azelia, Nataliya-nim."
"Yes... Azelia."
While the two were holding hands and solidifying their resolve, the door opened and Edric, having changed his clothes, arrived.
What he saw was Azelia and Nataliya, who seemed to have resolved something while holding hands at some point.
"Uh... did something happen between you two?"
"It's a secret."
"It's a secret."
The two said to me as if they had planned it.
It seemed like something had been discussed while I was away.
What is it... what did they talk about?
One thing was certain: the look in their eyes as they stared at me was like the eyes of snakes eyeing their prey.