A Slip of the Tongue
I cursed my own damn mistake. Yulia, who had been sitting quietly in her wheelchair as we moved along, suddenly spoke to me.
"Yes?"
"What do you mean?"
I wondered what she was talking about, but it seemed she had been dwelling on how I had treated her like someone precious earlier. Even though I hadn't said it as a lie at all...
No power, authority, or treasure held any importance to me. The things one could obtain with them had no value in my eyes. Therefore, my statement that Yulia was precious contained not a single shred of falsehood—it was pure truth.
"......"
"...Haa..."
I answered honestly, but Yulia let out a deep sigh, as if it didn't sit well with her at all. Her sulky appearance was so adorable that my hand instinctively moved toward her head—
- Grab!
Yulia's hand snatched my wrist in an instant. With a pouty expression, she warned me.
"Ah."
Oh no, had I been bothering her too much? With no other choice, I returned the hand that had been about to stroke her to the wheelchair handle. She glared at me with wary eyes for a moment before returning to her usual expressionless face.
To be honest, I was a little disappointed. Her reactions were exactly like a cat's—it had been so much fun...
The atmosphere had grown strangely awkward. To break this stifling mood, I spoke to Yulia first.
"You mentioned you grew up in the Holy Kingdom since you were young, right?"
"Then, do you know any good places to visit?"
"Yes. Somewhere with a nice view, delicious food... Don't you have any favorite spots you used to visit often?"
Yulia seemed to fall into thought for a moment. Since she had spent most of her life here, everything was far too familiar, and nothing in particular came to mind. Well, to be honest, I hadn't really asked expecting a proper answer. I had just forced the conversation to ease the awkwardness.
However, perhaps because she took my question seriously, Yulia pondered for quite a while before finally mentioning a place.
"A flower garden?"
So she had been an older-sister fan since childhood. Imagining the two of them looking so different from now created a slight sense of disconnect. Still, it seemed like a good place to visit, so I asked her to guide me there.
Yulia seemed to want to go as well, since she guided me without complaint. And so, I headed toward a place filled with memories of the two sisters.
Following Yulia's directions while pushing the wheelchair, we soon arrived at the flower garden she had mentioned. Seeing the colorful flowers planted in neat rows, I couldn't help but let out a gasp of admiration.
"Wow... It's incredibly well-maintained."
"As long as the flower garden is beautiful, that's all that matters... I think it's fulfilling its original purpose quite well."
It looked like a place used occasionally to welcome guests. Since I was essentially a guest myself, if it looked good to me, then it had served its purpose splendidly.
At that moment, Yulia was gazing at the flower garden with somewhat wistful eyes. I stopped the wheelchair and crouched down beside her. She glanced at me briefly before speaking.
"Really?"
"It can't be helped. Spending your entire life running around like a child isn't easy."
Yulia, lost in nostalgia as she looked at the flower garden... I quietly stayed by her side, keeping her company. After some time passed, her gaze turned back to me. The moment our eyes met, she apologized first.
"Not at all. This is my job, after all."
Yulia had a habit of holding back even when she needed something, so there were almost no occasions where I had to spend time fulfilling her requests. Although I hadn't been in the Holy Kingdom for long, if someone asked me what I did in the church, I would answer without hesitation that I was 'Yulia's caregiver.' Being by her side was incredibly comfortable.
When I thought of the other struggling caregivers I had seen on the way here, my resolve only grew stronger. While I was lost in thought, a breeze brushed past Yulia's hair. Noticing her furrowed brows, I tactfully suggested we return to the room.
Yulia answered with a much more refreshed expression than before. It had only been a very brief outing, but it seemed to have satisfied her. I began pushing the wheelchair again to return to the room. Yulia also seemed to entrust herself to me, leaning comfortably against the backrest.
Just as we were about to leave the flower garden behind us—
"Yes?"
"......?"
Yulia, who had seen something, suddenly asked me to stop the wheelchair. As her caregiver, I obeyed without question. A man was walking toward us from the direction she was looking. He definitely looked familiar...
He spoke to Yulia in a familiar tone, and she responded stiffly. After observing the scene closely, I soon remembered who he was.
Cardinal Deodore. The traitor hiding within the church, secretly harboring the power of an Outer God... While such people weren't common, they appeared occasionally, so I usually didn't pay them much mind. But this time was different. Yulia was by my side, and she was currently suffering from something presumed to be an Outer God's curse. There were countless gods and Outer Gods, so I didn't necessarily think Deodore was the culprit, but the timing was far too coincidental to ignore.
Suddenly, irritation surged through me, and I unconsciously spat out a curse.
"Ah, damn it..."
"......?"
"......?"
Both Yulia and Deodore turned their gazes toward me at the same time. They both looked at me with expressions that said, Did I just hear what I think I heard? Realizing my mistake, I quickly shut my mouth, but I couldn't take back words already spoken.
Yulia called out to me in a thoroughly flustered voice. I answered as if nothing had happened, trying to sound natural.
"Yes, did you call me?"
......Ah, should I just use my power? If I turned the Holy Kingdom upside down once, my slip-up would be easily buried...
The thought crossed my mind for a moment, but it felt like going too far, so I decided against it. With no other choice, I was about to admit my mistake and apologize to Deodore when—
"Heh, hehehe..."
Deodore, who had been standing there with his mouth agape, let out an awkward laugh. As a cardinal of the church, the shocking words he had never heard before seemed to have driven him half-mad.
Deodore forced a smile, pretending not to be flustered... I was relieved he hadn't actually lost his mind. I packaged my comment as a slip of the tongue and offered him an apology.
Fortunately, the misunderstanding(?) was resolved smoothly, and I naturally withdrew from their conversation.
Huh? I don't remember treating her at all...? Was Yulia just covering for me? I tilted my head inwardly in confusion. At that moment, Deodore's eyes turned toward me.
"Hmm, since she isn't completely healed yet, it will probably take a bit more time. Moreover, even if her condition returns to normal, we must observe her progress, so..."
"Roughly that, yes."
In truth, if I knew the cause, I could fix it in an instant. But since I hadn't discovered the cause yet, how much longer it would take was anyone's guess. So I had roughly said a month, but it probably wouldn't take any longer than that... right?
Watching Deodore's expression subtly sour, I could only shrug my shoulders.