A Saintess's Caretaker
I fetched the wheelchair from the corner of the quiet, lonely room and carefully helped Yulia into it. Then I began pushing her slowly from behind.
"···Thank you."
"It's nothing."
Yulia, dressed in her patient gown, shyly lowered her head. It seemed that receiving this kind of attentive care was unfamiliar to her after spending so long as the Saintess's escort. If Arie saw this, she'd tease her mercilessly...?
Anyway, I wheeled Yulia out of the hospital room, and several priests who recognized her bowed their heads in greeting.
"Oh! Lady Yulia? Are you feeling any better?"
"Yes, thank you for your concern."
"Are you going out for some fresh air?"
"My condition has improved a little, so..."
"It seems your divine power has finally started listening to you!"
"Ah, I'm not entirely sure about that..."
Yulia answered each question one by one as they poured in. She spoke in her usual cold, rigid tone, yet the priests continued chatting with her in a friendly manner, clearly accustomed to it. It was a sight I had never seen at the Academy, and I couldn't help but feel a little surprised. Aside from peculiar people like Elisha, most students found Yulia difficult to approach... Perhaps because the people here at the Holy See had known her for a long time, none of them showed any sign of hesitation.
It seemed the reason Arie and Yulia hadn't ended up as socially crippled as Hestia was thanks to them.
Worried that I might be making them uncomfortable, I recalled the lonely Hestia who could barely speak to others, and gave the priests a meaningful look.
"Haha, everyone? I understand you're happy to see her, but Yulia still needs her rest."
"Ah, we're sorry. Lady Yulia..."
"We didn't realize..."
"It's alright. No need to worry."
Only then did the priests, seemingly noticing how Yulia had been suffering under their barrage of questions, apologize to her repeatedly. Yulia reassured them with gentle words that it was fine. In moments like these, a small smile would have been far more effective at making people back off... What a shame.
"Um... This gentleman looks unfamiliar. Who might he be...?"
Just when I thought we could slip away quietly, one of the priests finally questioned my identity. It was my mistake for keeping my power suppression weak, assuming no one here would pay me any attention.
"Ah, this person is..."
"Nice to meet you. I'm an Academy student tasked with caring for Yulia."
"I see, from the Academy..."
When I introduced myself in a suitably vague but respectable way, the priests nodded in understanding. As expected, claiming to be an Academy student was the best move in situations like this. While the people around me were all extraordinary, a regular Academy student still carried significant weight. And since even the Holy Kingdom respected that status, there was nothing more to say.
"Why...?"
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
"No, it's not that..."
However, unlike me who thought we'd smoothly moved on, Yulia stared at my face with a deeply puzzled expression. What was it? Something like, A lowly commoner like you can't possibly be recognized as an Academy student!? Well, I knew Yulia wasn't the type to think that way, but one could never be too careful. I pretended not to notice her look and spoke to the priests.
"Well then, we'll be on our way."
"Ah, yes! Please take good care of Lady Yulia."
"You can count on me."
The priests bowed as we departed. Yulia returned the gesture with a formal nod, while I offered a slight smile in return.
Finally, Yulia and I were alone again. She watched me as I slowly pushed her wheelchair, then asked in a small voice.
"···Teacher..."
"Yes?"
"Why... did you lie to them?"
"Lie?"
I tilted my head at her question. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn't recall saying anything false.
"Hmm, did I lie about something?"
"···Strictly speaking, it wasn't a lie. It might be more accurate to say you concealed the truth."
Concealed the truth? There were so many things I was hiding that I couldn't even begin to guess which one she meant... Several secrets flashed through my mind, but none seemed to fit this situation. I was just thinking how nice it would be if she'd stop with the cryptic riddles when Yulia continued.
"You told them you came to take care of me."
"That's right. Because it's true."
"Why did you say that?"
"···Pardon?"
"If you had explained that you came as the Saintess's guest, you would have received much better treatment."
Well... I suppose that's true?
"So why did you deliberately claim to be my caretaker? I'm curious about your reason."
"Hmm..."
Only then did I realize why Yulia couldn't understand my actions. She seemed unable to comprehend why I wouldn't wield the legitimate authority I had been given. Come to think of it, the only priest who knew I had visited the Holy Kingdom as the Saintess's guest was Deodore, and he had treated me with considerable respect. And that was despite holding the high position of Cardinal in the Church.
The Saintess held that much influence in the Holy Kingdom, yet I wasn't using it. From Yulia's perspective, it must have been incomprehensible.
I quickly pieced together her thoughts, but instead of answering right away, I first considered why she had even asked the question in the first place.
···Listening to her, I could roughly imagine what kind of people she had encountered over the years. As the Saintess's escort who had stayed by Arie's side longer than anyone, she must have seen more people trying to use the Saintess than anyone else. The reason she had declared upon entering the Academy that anyone with business for the Saintess must go through her was probably to filter out those very people.
Once my thoughts reached that point, I couldn't help but feel that Yulia was truly a pitiful woman. The way she always suspected those who approached her and remained constantly on guard wasn't simply because she had been trained as the Saintess's escort. It was likely that the people who had harassed her in their attempts to use Arie had shaped her into who she was now.
"If you're curious, please tell me the reason quickly... Eep...?"
- Pat.
Instead of answering Yulia who was urging me for a reply, I gently placed my hand on top of her head. She let out a strange sound and shook her head vigorously. It looked like she wanted to push my hand away, but the fact that she didn't actually use her own hands to shove it off suggested she didn't truly hate it.
Since she was stuck in the wheelchair and couldn't do much either way, I gave her a short answer.
"Because I came here to see you, Yulia."
"What does that have to do with anything? A-and more importantly, please remove your hand..."
"Whether I'm the Saintess's guest or whatever, those kinds of benefits aren't what I'm interested in."
"···Does that even make sense...?"
Yulia still had my hand on her head as she looked up at me with a doubtful expression. I gently stroked her hair and spoke softly.
"Compared to that... you're far more precious to me, Yulia."
"······."
My eye for value, honed from acquiring countless treasures, was never wrong.
Alone, Arie walked through the Academy grounds in quiet solitude. The ever-chattering Yulia who always stayed by her side, and the teacher who was better than anyone at playing along with her pranks, were both absent now.
"······Hehe, how boring."
Even as she spoke with a mischievous smile, there was naturally no response.
"···Tsk."
Arie kicked a pebble rolling on the ground with a discontented expression. The Academy life she had dreamed of was not supposed to be like this. She had never wished for such a dull existence.
She had a pretty good idea why the Academy life, which had seemed enjoyable just days ago, had suddenly lost all its charm.
Yulia, who had suddenly cried out in pain and been rushed to the Holy Kingdom. And the teacher, who had gone with her, saying he would try to treat her. The two people who usually played with her the most had both left at the same time. Right now, she was alone. Neither Yulia nor the teacher was by her side.
Of course, Arie wasn't the type to feel lonely easily. She had never once felt desolate just because she was by herself. Yet the reason she was experiencing this strange emotion was probably because her mind was preoccupied with something else.
'Yulia... I wonder if she's gotten better by now...?'
Her adorable little sister Yulia, whom even her own divine power as the Saintess couldn't heal, forcing them to send her to the Holy Kingdom. The last image of her, writhing in pain, kept flashing through Arie's mind.
She desperately wanted to throw everything aside and rush to the Holy Kingdom right this instant, but every time that urge struck, Yulia's final words held her back. She had told her not to worry about her while she was suffering and to focus on her Academy life instead...
Even now, it felt like far too difficult a request. But Arie wanted to honor Yulia's words. Seeing how, even while in pain, Yulia had worried about her first made it impossible to go against that wish.
That's why she had intended to keep focusing on her Academy life, but this time, something the teacher had said not long ago shook her heart.
- Sometimes, doing what your heart tells you is the right answer.
His voice still seemed to echo in her ears. The more she pondered the meaning behind his words, the stronger the temptation to see Yulia grew.
The conflicting advice from the two people Arie trusted most... The dilemma that seemed like it would last forever ended surprisingly quickly.
'That's right. Since he's the teacher, following his words wouldn't be the same as disobeying Yulia's, would it...?'
Since her heart had already been halfway convinced, the decision came swiftly. That day, Arie resolved to abandon her Academy life and head for the Holy Kingdom.
At that very moment, the two people who had caused her such worry were completely absorbed in each other, having long since forgotten all about her.