Sisters (2)
“My sister did everything for me. She was my rock-solid protector, my friend, my big sister, and the only person truly on my side. She still is, even now.”
“She sounds like a very kind person.”
“She was kind. And she had a strong sense of responsibility. She was still so young herself, yet she had to raise me all on her own. It couldn’t have been easy. There must have been times she wanted to give up.”
“She would never have thought that way!!”
Marichel immediately jumped in to defend Reciel’s words as if she herself were the princess. She was clearly flustered, her words tumbling out in a jumble.
“I—I mean, I definitely would have. I always felt guilty because I hadn’t done anything for her in return. O-of course, I would never dare compare myself to her… but really, she’s not like that at all.”
Though she was rambling in embarrassment, Princess Reciel understood exactly what she was trying to say.
“This is embarrassing to admit, but I’m not nearly as amazing as she is. If anything, I’m a pathetic older sister who only held her back. My little sister was sick, but because of me she couldn’t even get proper treatment. Even if she never showed it, she must have resented me a lot. She probably hated me.”
“No. That little sister of yours wouldn’t have held any resentment toward you.”
The two women exchanged words of comfort. Had they been in the exact same position, such reassurances might not have worked. But because one had once been someone’s older sister and the other someone’s younger sister, their conversation seemed to bring genuine solace to each other.
They seem to get along surprisingly well.
From that point on, their mutual goodwill deepened, and each began boasting about her own sibling in turn. It was clear that both were hopelessly devoted older sisters. By the time the two women, whose mouths had run away with them, finally came back to their senses, quite a bit of time had already passed.
“This is a little embarrassing. I almost never talk about my sister anywhere…”
“Same here. There are so few places where I can brag about my sister that having this kind of conversation feels awkward. But it does feel refreshing.”
Even if both had held the exact same roles of ‘older sister’ or ‘younger sister,’ they would have gotten along perfectly. The sense of kinship that came from cherishing their sisters above all else was stronger than any other emotion, binding them tightly together.
“We really do have a lot in common.”
“Pardon?!”
Marichel’s eyes widened in surprise at hearing a member of the imperial family say they had much in common. It seemed to make her uncomfortable.
“There may be a difference in status, but the way we feel about our sisters is the same, isn’t it? That’s why I’d like to meet your sister sometime.”
The moment Princess Reciel added that she wanted to meet her sister, Marichel’s face turned deathly pale, as if she might faint.
“M-my sister?!”
“Don’t feel burdened. I simply wish to have a light conversation with her.”
“She’s still young and doesn’t always know how to behave properly. I’m worried she might offend Your Highness.”
“I doubt your sister would do such a thing, but even if she did, it would be interesting. The fact that there’s someone who would dare act that way in front of me.”
Princess Reciel’s eyes sparkled with genuine curiosity. In the end, Marichel surrendered to that gaze and asked hesitantly.
“Um… then when were you thinking of visiting?”
That question, however, had greatly underestimated the princess’s decisiveness.
“I needed to find a place to stay anyway, so this works out perfectly. I’ll impose on your home for the time being. I felt bad about relying on Priest Arthur, so this is actually better. I was also uncomfortable staying inside the temple.”
The way she gave me a quick wink suggested she had noticed there was some issue between the sisters and intended to resolve it herself. If Princess Reciel could clear up the misunderstanding between them, I would be more than happy to welcome it.
“Our house is far too shabby!! It’s not a place suitable for Your Highness to stay!”
“All places where people live are more or less the same.”
“It’s really shabby. It’s cold, there are bugs…”
“Haven’t I already been living in a cold, bug-infested place for several days?”
“You’ve come all this way. You should at least stay somewhere comfortable.”
Marichel tried desperately to prevent the princess from coming to her house, but breaking Reciel’s stubbornness was impossible. In the end, they decided that the princess would sleep in my quarters for tonight and move to a new place tomorrow.
After chatting energetically for a long while, Princess Reciel began nodding off and soon fell fast asleep. I left her on the bed and returned to my seat, where Marichel was sipping beer alone. She looked at me and asked,
“Is my sister doing okay?”
Oh, so now she’s trying to be polite with me too?
“You’re still awake? And what’s with the formal speech? Just talk to me the way you used to. I prefer that. It feels more friendly.”
“But earlier you said this way looked better… right?”
“I meant you should talk like that to other people from now on.”
“Then… it’s really okay if I speak casually?”
“Of course. Oh, and your sister is doing well. Though the house she’s in looks a bit dangerous.”
“Yeah, I know that too. I’m saving up to move.”
She nodded calmly, as if she had already been aware of the situation.
“What did you think when you met my sister?”
“She seemed very spirited.”
“Haha, that’s right. If only she hadn’t been sick, she would have had way more friends and known how to do so many more things by now. I wish tomorrow would come already. I miss her.”
Seeing someone who loved her sister this much, I wondered how she would feel when she heard her sister’s declaration of independence. Even if she pretended to be fine on the outside, she would be deeply hurt inside. I couldn’t even imagine how it would feel to realize that your sister no longer needed you.
The silver lining was that Princess Reciel had decided to help.
“Wouldn’t it be better to go see her now? It’s not that far from here.”
“With Her Highness here, leaving my post feels…”
“What could possibly happen here? Besides, with my bodyguard present, safety won’t be an issue at all.”
At my words, Marichel seemed to remember Melody.
“Ah! That person. I didn’t see her today.”
“She had some business to take care of and stepped out for the day. Just today.”
What was important right now was how Marichel had managed to enter the temple.
“By the way, I’ve been wanting to ask since I first saw you. How did you get in? Into the temple, I mean.”
“Ah, I used your priest ID. That’s what it was given to me for, right?”
“You did well. I was worried whether you’d be able to make good use of it.”
Since she was carrying my ID, there was no reason for the temple to refuse her entry. All my questions were finally answered.
“When Her Highness said she wanted to enter the temple, I broke out in a cold sweat. If it weren’t for this, we would’ve been in big trouble.”
“Even if she hears about the blacklist, Princess Reciel won’t dislike you for it. You seem hesitant to answer because of me, but it’s fine. Speak comfortably.”
“I can’t cause trouble for you, Priest. I’ll come up with a good excuse. I can handle it.”
“I’m not so sure. Didn’t you notice?”
“Notice what?”
I thought she might have picked up on it at least a little, but she seemed completely oblivious. Had I mentioned the dangerous house for no reason?
“From what I saw, it looks like Princess Reciel took a liking to your abilities.”
“My abilities?”
“You made it all the way here without getting caught. That’s impressive.”
“Hmm… it’s less that I’m impressive and more that those bastards made the princess do something they could never have imagined. That’s how I was able to come here too.”
“In short, you took advantage of their prejudice, right?”
“Uh… yeah. If you put it in fancy words, that’s correct.”
“That’s what makes it impressive. Not just anyone could do that.”
Even though the princess had told her to use any means necessary, not everyone could have used those words so boldly.
“And the most important thing is that Princess Reciel seemed very pleased when she saw you do it.”
“…She was pleased with me?”
It didn’t seem to register with her on a realistic level.
“The current situation isn’t great, but working for the princess would be far better treatment than being a mercenary.”
“That goes without saying!! Mercenary life is dirty and miserable.”
“Then if the princess makes you an offer, you’ll accept it?”
“Huh? An offer? Not right now. I still have a commission to finish.”
“You’re not seriously thinking of refusing because of the request I gave you, are you?”
I had thought something was off ever since she kept talking about repaying her debt, but I hadn’t realized she would refuse an offer she absolutely shouldn’t turn down just to repay a favor. It was a good thing I had checked in advance.
“Let’s consider the request I gave you complete. To be honest, I already have more than enough books. Getting any more would be excessive. Plus, the request to contact the princess has been perfectly resolved since you brought her here in person.”
“I can get more books. I’ve gotten the hang of it now. I think I can do even better…”
It was dizzying to watch her stubbornly insist on repaying her debt instead of seizing a life-changing opportunity right in front of her.
“I haven’t even finished reading all the books you’ve already brought me.”
Now that I finally had some free time, I was making good use of my breaks by reading the books she had gathered. I had started the project hoping to follow in the footsteps of the person who had personally developed healing techniques and gain some hints. So far, most of the books she brought were either historical records written by descendants about that person’s great achievements or fictionalized novels based on them. Still, I read every single one carefully, since even those might contain hints. Since I couldn’t enter the labyrinth right now, I had paused my healing research and decided to focus on it again for a while.
“So… you’re really not giving me any more requests?”
She looked utterly shocked, as if my decision to stop giving her commissions was completely unexpected. I spoke to her as she sat there in a daze.
“So if Princess Reciel makes you an offer, accept it. Understood?”
I had wondered why she was reacting like she’d been hit by lightning when this should have been good news for her, but it turned out her serious expression came from thinking she hadn’t repaid her debt enough.
“…I still think I need to repay you more. But if you don’t give me requests, I won’t have any way to do that.”
“Bringing the princess all the way here is more than enough to repay your debt.”
“That’s all?”
“After hearing the full story of your adventure, how could I possibly think it was ‘just that’? It wasn’t a light task at all.”