The Painter on the Hill
A familiar face… Someone I'd seen not long ago, and given the shocking sight I'd witnessed then, it was a face I couldn't forget. Beside her stood a green-haired boy as well.
For a moment I feared the other man might be there too — that insufferable prince — and my body went rigid. Fortunately, only the two of them were coming up this way.
I let out a sigh of relief. As long as it wasn't that damned prince, I could live with it.
The pink-haired young woman spotted us, left the green-haired boy where he stood, and came trotting over.
"Hello, Priest. This is our third time meeting, isn't it?"
Third time…? I turned my head and found Maximilian frowning. He'd met this woman three times already?
She was an Academy student.
Still, opportunities to cross paths had existed. The first would have been in Wizheim, at the temple. When the Academy delegation had come through, we'd been lodging there ourselves, so a chance encounter was possible. And the other place — that viscount's territory, where we'd ended up staying far longer than planned because of me. They could have run into each other there as well.
He'd gone out alone on what he called scouting runs more than once. Maybe that was when…
When Maximilian tried to ignore her, the green-haired boy strode forward and barked at him.
"You! Why won't you return her greeting?"
It had the air of righteous indignation — but to us, it was nothing but a nuisance.
We weren't even acquaintances. Did we really have to answer every hello thrown our way? The whole thing was absurd.
"It's fine, Raimund."
"Mia."
"I'm sorry."
The girl called Mia offered Maximilian a sweet little smile of apology. Was she putting on an act…? My expression soured on its own. Still, with other people present, I held myself in check as best I could.
"Aren't you an Academy student? What are you doing here?"
The Academy delegation should already have passed through this village. There was no reason for a student from that party to still be lingering here.
"No particular reason?"
Mia gave a foxlike smile. It was thoroughly unpleasant. What kind of relationship did she have with Maximilian to act like this? Judging by his reaction, they weren't anything to each other at all… Her behavior made no sense whatsoever.
"Hmph. A few students dropping out of the group doesn't cause any problems anyway."
It was the green-haired boy who answered.
He had a point. As long as it wasn't a prince, a handful of missing students probably wouldn't raise any alarms.
"Heh heh. The view is lovely here, isn't it?"
Whether she was oblivious or simply shameless, Mia clung to Maximilian with sticky persistence.
He glanced sideways, then gave a small nod.
Well, the scenery was genuinely nice…
I wanted to leave that instant. But walking off without a reason would have been awkward, and doing so carelessly risked drawing their anger.
The girl herself was fine. Her bearing, her speech, her clothes — she was clearly no noble. The problem was the green-haired boy.
Starting with his clothes, then the ring on his left hand, the bracelet on his right arm, the necklace, the gems glittering even on his belt, and the lavishly ornamented sword at his hip — every last piece of him screamed nobility.
There was no question about it.
He was dressed even more extravagantly than Maximilian had been back in his baronial days.
Baron rank at the absolute minimum.
And thinking back to the other nobles who'd been clustered around the girl before — a man who moved in that company, combined with everything Maximilian had told me about the Academy, put him at a similar level for certain.
Count at the least. Duke at the most…
What a headache…
"So what is your purpose here?"
There was an edge of irritation in Maximilian's voice. The boy called Raimund was glaring right back at him. The air between them was one spark away from catching fire…
"No particular reason? Actually, I've been painting."
The girl pulled out a drawing board and held it forward. Thanks to that, I got a look at what was on it too.
It was a painting, no question. A canvas sketch done in what looked like pencil, and the skill on display was remarkable. I turned my head slightly to compare it with the landscape beside us.
It was as though she'd lifted the village scenery and set it down on the page exactly as it was…
Even someone as ignorant of the arts as I was had no choice but to call it a high-caliber piece of work.
A painting fine enough that even Maximilian held his breath to take it in.
"Mia, hurry up and finish it."
"Shall I?"
Apparently satisfied, the girl spun on her heel, plopped herself down on the ground, and quietly went back to working on the canvas.
"Hmph. Getting to look at Mia's painting for free — you two are lucky."
The green-haired boy clearly resented it. Hard to blame him, if we'd interrupted what was supposed to be a private outing for the two of them.
"My apologies."
Maximilian bowed his head. I caught the corner of Mia's mouth curling up ever so slightly.
"Then would you at least tell me your name?"
Something about this felt off… deeply off. But I had no grounds to stop him.
"Maximilian."
"What brings you here, Priest Maximilian?"
She used his name as if it were the most natural thing in the world and carried the conversation forward just as smoothly. The whole performance was far too practiced.
Had she reeled in any number of men with that same act? If she could handle the consequences herself, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but…
More than that, the way she painted… I felt like I'd seen that technique somewhere before…
A past life? But I had no art knowledge worth comparing. For all I knew, this world simply had the same methods.
"Priest?"
"We're on our way to the temple in the capital."
"Wow, so you've been assigned to the capital?"
"No."
Mia tilted her head in a way that was almost endearing. Even to my eyes — eyes that had once belonged to a man — her looks and mannerisms came off as charming.
"Is that so?"
"You seem rather well informed about temple affairs."
The moment Maximilian finished speaking, the boy called Raimund stepped in and shoved him.
"What do you think you're asking Mia?"
Truly a short-tempered one. Maximilian made no move to retaliate, simply absorbing the push in silence.
"I'm fine, Raimund."
"But Mia…"
"I'm from a temple orphanage, you see. So I've picked up a few things here and there."
Her expression was calm, but her eyes were full of quiet melancholy. When a woman showed that kind of vulnerability, it stirred a man's protective instincts and bred goodwill. Whether she was calculating it or it simply came naturally, she was a dangerous woman.
Wherever women like her went, trouble involving men was never far behind.
They might mind their manners in front of her — but the moment she looked away? They'd scheme and brawl over who got to claim her.
Getting involved would bring nothing good.
Unfortunately, Maximilian already seemed to have entered her radar. His looks were exceptional, true enough — but was she really that free with her affections?
It wasn't Maximilian's fault… it was that shameless girl Mia's — and yet it still irritated me.
"I see…"
"Yes. The bishop said I had exceptional potential and asked if I'd like to attend the Academy."
So she'd entered the Academy under the temple's patronage?
Aigoo… Maybe I ought to have a word once we reached the Order. Their chosen candidate currently had a rather complicated web of male relationships? The moment any of those men fought and someone got hurt — or worse, killed — the Order could find itself under scrutiny.
People could claim the Church had planted her to sow discord…
"Well, I suppose it's none of my business."
I'd thought it, but it was the worst-case scenario taken to an extreme. Surely things wouldn't escalate that far. I kept a little distance and watched the three of them talk.
Broadly speaking, Maximilian was trying to extract information from the pair.
Mia kept tossing out self-absorbed questions that put him in mildly awkward positions.
Raimund, for his part, strained to stay in Mia's good graces while doing everything he could to keep the newly interesting Maximilian in check.
It was irritating and somehow funny at the same time.
"Ah, the sun's gone down so quickly."
Mia sounded genuinely disappointed.
"Have you finished the painting?"
"Mm. I'm not all that happy with it, though."
Not happy with a painting that well done…
"Well then, Priest Maximilian — I'll see you next time in the capital."
Smiling, the girl started down the hill.
Maximilian and I watched her go in silence.
"Maximilian?"
I stepped closer and spoke to him.
"Mm…"
"What are you thinking about?"
"I was thinking about the young woman named Mia."
Had he fallen for her? Had that fox act actually worked on him?
A strange anger started to rise in me.
"She's the sort of woman who could set the entire social season ablaze."
"I-Is that so?"
His answer was so different from what I'd expected that I was caught off guard.
"Yes. That green-haired boy is high nobility as well. Once I heard the name, I recognized it."
"Is he dangerous?"
"Dangerous? Yes, he would be."
If Maximilian's memory was correct, the boy bore the surname Dietrich.
"So his full name would be Raimund von Dietrich?"
"Yes. Of the Dietrich Marquisate, most likely."
The Dietrich Marquisate was a house renowned for producing exceptional mages, or so I'd heard.
"They hold a magic tower in the capital, which gives them considerable influence."
A family that kept a magic tower in place of a territorial domain — wealthy, capable, and well connected.
Truly a matter that had nothing to do with me.
"That's worrying."
I only hoped we wouldn't get tangled up in whatever storm that girl Mia was about to kick up…
We decided to head back before the sun set completely.
On the way down the hill, I asked something that had been nagging at me.
"More importantly — when did you meet her?"
Maximilian showed no embarrassment at all. He explained with a perfectly open expression.
"The first time was at the temple in Wizheim."
He said they'd crossed paths when the three of them had returned from an outing and were heading to their respective rooms.
"That was also when I learned of the prince's existence."
Mia and the prince had seemed unusually close, and because Mia and I looked alike, he'd seen the potential for dangerous complications. So that was why he'd been so careful?
And his prediction had landed squarely on the mark — I'd run into the prince twice and come out the worse for it both times.
"The next was in Stein Territory."
He'd run into her while fetching sand on an errand for me.
"That time I had the errand to attend to, and there was no other man with her, so I more or less brushed her off."
And yet they'd crossed paths again now.
From her perspective, it might have felt like destiny.
The truth was, running into the same person this many times was genuinely rare. The world was vast. It wasn't as though they'd kept bumping into each other in one small city — meeting across completely different places was the kind of coincidence you almost never saw.
"Be careful. That woman seems to have her sights set on you."
"Yes."
"Well, she was rather charming in her own way. You might have taken a liking to her."
"Not in the slightest."
Maximilian's answer was firm.
"I…!"
A desperate look crossed his face as he started to say something, then he seemed to give up and let his hand fall.
"Never mind."
I had no idea what he'd been about to tell me.
But compared to that girl Mia, our Sister Mary was far prettier and far more capable.
Mary would make a far better baron's wife than that girl with flowers for brains.
And yet I didn't want to see that either.