The One Who Would Save Me Even at the Cost of Their Life #9
“I’m sorry for shouting at you earlier, Roen. There wasn’t time to explain things calmly…”
Emil offered an awkward apology.
“Not at all. It concerned a curse, so it was only natural. If anything, I’m grateful. Besides…”
Roen answered with a serious expression.
“Even the way you shouted so fiercely was magnificent. My heart fluttered for a moment.”
“…Roen, I see you really are Sir Neil’s sister. You certainly share his fondness for jokes.”
“I wasn’t joking, though…”
“—Roen, go to bed now. Aren’t you tired?”
Leni spoke with a hint of displeasure.
Roen bowed her head at once.
“Oh dear, how rude of me, Your Highness. Then I shall leave you two to enjoy some private time together.”
She offered a faint smile and left the room.
“Roen… saying strange things again.”
“She claims she isn’t, but it seems she does take after her brother Sir Neil in certain ways.”
Emil shrugged.
“I’ll take my leave as well.”
At that moment, Leni called out to him.
“Ah, Priest…”
“Yes?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Leni seemed to hesitate.
In truth, he wanted to ignore her and crawl into bed, but…
The demonic energy had built up enough to give her nightmares.
That fact weighed on his mind.
He had clearly purged the demonic energy only a short while ago.
According to Pidea, the symptoms shouldn’t return for another one to two weeks.
The fact that it had already accumulated again meant…
Either Pidea’s prediction was wrong, or the stress has been severe enough to replenish it this quickly.
It wasn’t difficult to understand.
After all, her life had been threatened only a few days ago.
It would have been strange if the child hadn’t been under extreme stress.
“Your Highness. Would you like to talk for a moment?”
“Um… is that okay? Aren’t you tired?”
“Well, it seems sleep has fled me entirely. If you don’t mind, I’d like to borrow a little of your time.”
Emil sat casually on the edge of the bed and gently steered the conversation forward.
“Your Highness. Would you care to play a game?”
“A game?”
“Yes. When I think about it, there are still quite a few things we don’t know about each other. Let’s take this chance to learn.”
He had called it a game to spark her interest, but in essence he was asking her to open up.
After all, most stress stemmed from keeping one’s problems hidden.
“That’s a game?”
“Rather than simply talking, we’ll try to guess facts about one another. For example… Your Highness weighs eighty pounds and fourteen ounces. Correct?”
“Ugh, that’s right. How did you know…?”
“Goodness, I didn’t actually expect to be right. In any case, that’s how the game works. Of course, it can’t be something everyone already knows. And if you guess wrong, the penalty is revealing one secret. Do you understand?”
Leni nodded.
“Very well. Since I guessed correctly, it’s Your Highness’s turn.”
“Um, Priest, your age is twenty-two. Right?”
“I’m twenty-six. You were wrong.”
“Huh, Priest… you’re that old? I’m only fourteen…”
Leni’s expression suddenly grew gloomy.
But she quickly shook her head.
“Well… a twelve-year difference isn’t…”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing.”
Leni pouted, lips pushed out.
Emil chuckled and reminded her.
“Yes, so please share one secret.”
After a moment of shy hesitation, Leni spoke.
“I have a short tongue. When I was little I couldn’t pronounce my name properly and would say ‘Irenie-Irenie.’”
“What an adorable secret. Then… Your Highness is two inches short of five feet. Correct?”
“…There really isn’t anything you don’t know.”
“I know everything about you, Your Highness. Now it’s your turn again.”
Leni hesitated for a long time before opening her mouth.
“Hey… Priest. You’ve regretted becoming my priest ever since you took the position. Right…?”
The moment she said it, the air in the room grew heavy.
When he looked at Leni, she was staring at the floor, clutching her clothes tightly in both hands.
“Your Highness, that isn’t really guessing…”
“Answer me. Priest. Please.”
A sigh escaped him.
So that’s what she’s been worrying about.
“Yes, it’s correct.”
“…Ugh.”
At his answer, Leni looked ready to cry. But Emil continued.
“However, I regret it for my own sake.”
Leni lifted her head.
“Your Highness, I’m a pathetic, selfish man. The reason I cured your curse was for myself. Curing it would raise my own value. That was the calculation I made. Because of that, you ended up being kidnapped.”
Emil began to speak with a sincerity that felt foreign even to him.
“It was the same on the day we went to see the sea. I made a gamble based on the shallow belief that Alon Ricgard wouldn’t be able to harm you. But in the end, it nearly brought you harm.”
“That’s not true. Priest, that’s…”
“Even if I had done nothing, your sister would have punished the traitor, and Sir Neil would have come to rescue you.”
He had said too much.
But every word was true.
If only he had become Daisy’s personal priest instead.
If he had, his heart wouldn’t feel this heavy.
He would have continued sleeping with Cately as always, collecting gold coins, and catering to her daughter’s whims… but now he could no longer do that.
“No. Priest… that’s absolutely not true.”
Yet Leni denied his words.
“If it weren’t for you, Priest, I would have had nightmares again tomorrow. Even after returning to Myrdin I wouldn’t have been able to look my sister in the eye, and I would have had to live my life stinking of rot. You saved me from that. You solved my curse. Even if it wasn’t for my sake… you are still my savior.”
He had no words to answer her.
That’s not it.
I only saw you as a tool for my advancement.
At first he had treated her as an unavoidable necessity to remain in Iredain, and once he learned she was a princess he had simply clung to her dreaming of wealth and glory.
That was all it had been… or so he told himself. It wasn’t. It wasn’t like that.
But even if he said so, this princess would not care. Of that he was certain.
“Then it’s fine. Anyway, your answer was correct, right? Now it’s your turn, Priest.”
“…I see. Then, following Your Highness’s example, I’ll ask something strange as well. You like me, Your Highness. Correct?”
“Yes.”
Emil had asked it playfully,
but Leni looked straight into his eyes and answered.
“I like you. So much. I like you too much, Priest.”
Her boldness left even Emil flustered.
He suddenly regretted asking such a pointless question.
You pathetic fool. What answer were you even hoping for? It’s not as if you didn’t know she felt that way toward you.
After all, Leni—who carried demonic energy—could not help but feel drawn to Emil, who housed a demon.
Hadn’t he heard that from Pidea?
“It is an honor beyond my worth.”
“No, I didn’t say it because I wanted thanks.”
When he glanced at her, Leni’s face had turned slightly red.
“It’s just… that’s how I really feel. I wanted you to know.”
Good heavens, that face…
Why had he said something like that?
Why?
Had he wanted to hear her say she loved him that badly? Was he so starved for affection?
What a miserably pathetic bastard I am. If Pidea saw this, she’d laugh until her stomach split.
“Then it’s my turn again, Priest.”
“Yes.”
“You have been intimate with Lady Cately. Correct?”
Leni dropped another shocking question.
Emil inwardly admired his own acting ability for not turning pale.
Why on earth had he started this game?
He had clearly intended to lead the conversation with something like ‘Your Highness has been troubled lately, haven’t you?’ and gently guide her into a counseling session…
“Your Highness, why would you think that?”
“Is it true?”
“It is not!”
“Really…?”
“Yes.”
Leni tilted her head.
She looked suspicious.
“Why would you even think such a thing?”
“Last time when we were looking for flowers, you said you’d prefer a more adult gift and started rubbing against me. Roen told me that means ‘that.’ Isn’t it true?”
It was not untrue.
In fact, she had seen through it perfectly.
Cately, Roen, those damned women. What exactly have you been telling a child?
“Priest, you’ve never slept with that woman?”
“Your Highness, a priest cannot have relations with women. You know that, don’t you?”
Emil maintained a perfectly calm facade.
Leni kept pressing.
“Then why would she say something like that?”
“I wouldn’t know. Perhaps Lady Cately is interested in me?”
“If that woman said she wanted to sleep with you, would you do it?”
“You know that would never happen.”
Wait—why was he making excuses right now?
Anyone listening would think he had been caught cheating.
“But that woman last time also…”
“Ah! Your Highness, that’s right! Would you perhaps like to take a walk together tomorrow?”
Leni frowned.
“A walk?”
“Yes, a walk. I heard from Sir Neil that around the time of the jousting tournament, he plans to take you and escape. He’ll bring troops in advance to keep Alon Ricgard from getting any strange ideas. Isn’t that correct?”
“Yes, but what does that have to do with…”
“Then we should familiarize ourselves with the layout of Iredain Castle beforehand. So that we won’t be in danger if something happens. Don’t you agree?”
Leni thought for a moment, then nodded.
“That makes sense.”
“Good. Then you should sleep now so you won’t be tired tomorrow. I’ll take my leave as well. Please rest, Your Highness!”
Emil practically fled, throwing the door open and stepping out with all the momentum he could muster.
He had the strange sensation that the back of his head was burning, but he ignored it.
Honestly, that damned woman.
What exactly was she telling a child?
It was obvious she had said those things out of jealousy toward Leni.
It seemed a little education was in order.
Emil walked back to his room, pondering what kind of punishment he should give Cately.