The One Who Stays by Your Side When It's Hardest #5
“……Ah.”
Leni woke without a nightmare for the first time in a long while. It was truly astonishing.
It had been a happy dream.
She couldn’t quite remember what it was about. The moment she opened her eyes it had already slipped away, yet the happiness lingered, warm and certain.
Her mind felt cleansed—clear and sharp—as if something heavy had been washed clean. Through the window drifted the rich, abundant scent of autumn.
Wrapped in that perfect happiness, Leni rose from the bed and stood.
But something was wrong.
“Hm? Priest…?”
Judging by the sun’s position, the hour when Emil usually came to wake her had already passed.
Normally a nightmare roused her before he could, but today she had slept late after a pleasant dream.
Why hadn’t he come?
Perhaps he had seen her sleeping later than usual—which was rare—and decided not to disturb her?
With that question in mind, she called for a maid.
The maid who answered, as always, could not fully hide her disgust when responding to Leni’s summons. Yet the moment she stepped inside the room, her expression turned puzzled.
“Oh… My lady. Today the smell…”
She stopped abruptly, as though the words had caught in her throat.
To say there was no smell today was to admit there usually was one. She had simply bitten her tongue.
But Leni felt a quiet joy at those unfinished words.
It was proof that Emil had not lied.
“…There’s no smell?”
“Ah, yes, my lady. None at all.”
It was exactly as Emil had said.
The nightmares that tormented her, the headaches that crushed her skull, the constant stench that clung to her skin—they had all vanished.
“I see…”
When Leni offered a faint smile, the maid looked even more startled than before.
Only then did Leni realize she had not smiled once since arriving in Iredain.
That priest had given her smile back to her. No amount of gratitude could ever be enough.
“Um, my lady… has something happened?”
The maid, unable to hide her bewilderment, asked a question she would never have dared before.
Leni simply shook her head.
“It’s nothing… Where is the priest? He didn’t come today?”
“No, it is strange. None of the other maids have seen him either… No one in the castle has laid eyes on him.”
Had he never come at all?
A sudden, ominous thought gripped Leni.
All the exclusive priests assigned to her had left Iredain after roughly a month because of the curse. At the time she hadn’t cared, but… what if they hadn’t left of their own will? What if Alon had disposed of them?
It’s possible… God, Priest.
“My lady?”
“…I need to go out.”
“Pardon?”
Leni pushed past the maid and left the room.
She so rarely stepped outside that the maid stared after her in open shock, but Leni had no attention to spare.
“My lady?”
Even now, Emil might be dying. Or perhaps he was already dead.
If that were true…
I will never forgive Alon Ricgard. Never!
She had never paid close attention to the layout of Iredain Castle beyond the day she was first handed over, yet finding Alon Ricgard was not difficult.
He always conducted his affairs from the highest tower.
“…!”
Her breath gave out quickly as she ran. After years spent shut inside her room, it was only natural.
She was barefoot, having not even put on proper shoes, and wore only a thin chemise. The late-autumn wind cut coldly against her skin.
Still, Leni ran.
She ignored every servant who gaped at her with wide eyes and kept running.
“Alon Ricgard!”
When she finally reached the lord’s office, she shoved the door open so violently it nearly slammed against the wall.
Beyond it stood Alon Ricgard… and Emil.
“Lady Leni?”
Both men stared at her in astonishment.
It was understandable. She had burst in barefoot, still in her nightclothes, practically kicking down the door of the lord’s private study.
“What brings you here, my lady?”
“Haa… ha… well… the priest wasn’t there, so I thought something might have happened…”
Leni answered, cheeks burning with embarrassment.
At that moment Alon spoke.
“It really doesn’t smell at all.”
“I told you so, Lord.”
Emil approached Leni with graceful steps.
“Lady Leni. Goodness, you ran all the way here? Without even shoes?”
“Ah… I’m sorry.”
“You needn’t apologize to me. Please, come inside first.”
Smiling gently, Emil guided the breathless girl into the room and closed the door behind them.
Alon spoke at once, as though he had been waiting.
“I was just about to send for you, Leni. Did this priest truly cure you? That… affliction of yours?”
“Lord, a priest never lies.”
“Well, in all my years I’ve seen more than one who did. So be silent, Priest.”
Alon stroked his beard as he continued.
“Is what this priest says true? Did he really cure your illness? How?”
“…Yes. Priest Emil… cured me. With holy water and… various other methods…”
At the memory of those “various methods,” heat flooded her face again. Alon didn’t notice.
“Truly astonishing. No one has ever managed it before… Holy water, you say.”
“Indeed. However, the effect is not permanent. I must remain at the lady’s side and continue assisting with her treatment.”
“In other words, you must become Leni’s permanent exclusive priest, eat Iredain’s meat and eggs, drink its milk and wine, and receive silver and gold as salary? Hm. It sounds far too convenient—for you alone.”
“Yes. But it is the truth.”
Alon glared at Emil with clear displeasure, yet Emil merely shrugged.
“Ah, blessed are those who believe without seeing. Now that you have seen with your own eyes, will you believe?”
“…Yes. I believe.”
“Thank you.”
Leni finally understood the situation.
It seemed Alon Ricgard had grown suspicious that Emil remained unaffected by the curse. Emil must have confessed that he had treated Leni’s affliction.
She could understand why Alon found it hard to believe. Even she herself still struggled to accept it completely…
“I should take my leave now. The sun has already climbed quite high.”
“Very well. Go.”
Emil bowed deeply to Alon with impeccable courtesy, then turned toward the door.
As he passed Leni, he gently stroked her hair and smiled.
“I’ll be going now, my lady. Shall we return together? Or did you have business with the lord?”
“Ah, no. Then let’s go back togeth—”
But something caught Leni’s eye.
Red marks circled Emil’s wrist.
Winding, serpentine bruises—the unmistakable trace of rope.
“…!”
Leni was no fool.
In an instant she pieced together what must have happened during the early morning hours.
Alon had seized Emil. He had probably tried to kill him. But when Emil spoke of the curse, he had been spared.
Fury surged through her like wildfire.
She had always known the disgusting things Alon did. She simply hadn’t cared. They had never been her concern.
But this…
This she could not forgive.
“…No, Priest. You go back first. I have something to say to the lord.”
“As you wish.”
Emil gave her a bright, gentle smile and turned away.
That pure, radiant smile he always wore slipped into Leni’s heart like a blade.
“What is it, Leni? And stop calling me ‘lord’—call me Father…”
“Shut your mouth, Alon Ricgard.”
Leni closed the door and spoke in a voice cold enough to freeze blood.
Alon stiffened for a moment, then opened his mouth.
“…Why are you behaving this way, Princess?”
“I’m going to ask you some questions now. You will answer every one of them honestly. If you lie, you die. I will kill you.”
It was not an empty threat.
Leni’s curse had not vanished completely. If it flared again and she showed it to Alon, she could end his life.
“Understood. Ask your questions.”
“What did you do to Priest Emil?”
“What do you mean, what did I do? I simply summoned him to ask a few questions…”
“Don’t waste my time, Alon.”
Leni’s eyes narrowed into sharp, dangerous slits.
“You tried to kill Priest Emil. Isn’t that right?”
“That is…”
“Answer me!”
Alon scratched at his beard, visibly annoyed.
“Yes, that is correct. But it was for your sake, Princess. Every priest who has served you met the same fate. I simply removed them before they could spread troublesome rumors.”
“So you tried to kill Priest Emil as well?”
“Yes. However, I found it suspicious that the curse showed no effect on him. When I questioned him, I learned he could truly cure it. In the end, everything worked out well.”
What a repulsive man.
He spoke without the slightest trace of shame. That made it even more sickening.
“…There were marks on Priest Emil’s wrist.”
“I merely had him bound for a short time.”
Leni ground her teeth.
“Listen carefully, Alon Ricgard. Whatever disgusting things you do is none of my concern. I have no interest. But do not lay a hand on Priest Emil. I swear on the name of Esterien—if you harm even a single hair on his head, I will kill you. Remember that.”
“I will remember, Princess Irenie.”
Irenie.
Alon deliberately used her true name. Perhaps to prove his sincerity.
“I’m leaving.”
Leni turned away.
“Princess. May I ask one thing?”
“…What?”
“Do you fancy that priest?”
Leni glared at him.
Alon closed his mouth for a moment, then spoke again.
“Never mind. I misspoke. You may go.”