Temptation (5)
“I hope you won’t take this the wrong way, Your Eminence, but the Bishop has met with women quite often. At least, the ones I know of.”
“Ugh…” Cardinal Bella’s face crumpled at the topic I’d raised.
“That’s right. Even when I was following him around, he’d openly go around meeting women. He told me the age gap was too big for us. But one day I happened to see the woman he was dating, and she was around my age. Do you have any idea how ridiculous that felt?”
Everyone else was allowed, but not her. That was what drove people mad, she’d complained.
“Everyone else gets to, but not me. That means I’m special, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t want to be special!”
“Those people’s futures don’t matter to him, but he must have worried about yours, Your Eminence.”
“My future is mine to decide! And living with Uncle is the happiest I’ve ever been!”
She had a point. Who could argue when someone claimed their own happiness was theirs to choose? Perhaps because her emotions had gotten the better of her, Cardinal Bella said something uncharacteristically chilling.
“Would it be better to just cut off the Pope’s head? Then he’d come to me, wouldn’t he?”
“Please don’t say such terrifying things. We need to think of a real solution.”
The joking was over. It was time to speak seriously.
“Since running away is no longer an option, you should meet him often.”
“Will meeting often actually help?”
“How could seeing that face of his often not help?”
“Oh my.”
When it came to romance, looks were an undeniably powerful weapon.
“Why do you think the Bishop kept avoiding you? If he saw you too often, he’d have no choice but to fall. That’s why he felt threatened.”
“He says he’s known my face since I was little, so he can’t picture me that way. He says my childhood face keeps coming to mind. What am I supposed to do about that?”
Wow. Master really was good at lying, even here. His childhood face comes to mind? Maybe that was true at first and caused some resistance. But still.
“Men only need to be pretty. And you are beautiful, Your Eminence. If his childhood memories are what come to mind, that probably only lasted until you became an adult.”
“That’s true. I did pounce on him right after I came of age.”
I really wished she wouldn’t say things like that so casually.
“Ahem. Anyway, show him your face often, and I’ll try to nudge him along from the side.”
“But how am I supposed to show my face often? Do I have to chase after him again?”
“Once you receive the Cardinal’s seat, you’ll have to come and go from the Holy See for work anyway. Then you’ll see him often, won’t you?”
“Ah!!”
Becoming a Cardinal had driven a wedge between them, but at least they would meet far more frequently than now.
“The most important thing is finding out why Bishop Saul accepted the Cardinal position in the first place.”
Sister Melody added the crucial point we’d almost forgotten. We all nodded.
“She’s right. We need to know the reason.”
Why had he accepted the Cardinal seat? From what little I’d heard, it seemed he had something to receive from the Pope, but the matter appeared deeply entangled and hidden. Only Cardinal Bella knew the details. Yet she had sealed her lips, saying she couldn’t speak of it carelessly.
“It might not be what I’m guessing, so I’ll cooperate as much as I can.”
We had no idea how effective our little conspiracy would be, but the plan for Master’s future was steadily moving forward.
To carry out the plans we’d made, there was one essential condition: the person in question had to stay by our side.
“You’re not going to disappear again, are you?”
“Me? Who knows. If something comes up, I’ll go.”
It was absurd how casually he answered while lounging on the sofa, completely unaware he was being watched.
“When I go to work, the cleaning lady is supposed to come.”
“Huh? Cleaning? It’s already clean. And I don’t remember ever hiring someone to clean.”
“That might have been fine when I lived alone.”
When I stared pointedly at the mess Master had made, he cleared his throat.
“Just leave it. I’ll clean it later.”
“It’s already been a full day since you said that. The trash is still sitting there untouched. Anyway, the cleaning lady is coming today, so please open the door for her.”
“Aww, what a hassle.”
“You can just stay on the sofa. She’ll clean up and leave on her own.”
After saying that, I opened the door and stepped outside. Waiting right there was the cleaning lady.
“Oh? You’re already here?”
She nodded.
“Please go inside. I’m counting on you to clean thoroughly.”
She nodded again.
After exchanging greetings, I let the cleaning lady in and firmly closed the door.
‘I already locked the windows, so he won’t be able to escape.’
In the spot where the cleaning lady—no, Cardinal Bella—had stood, a strange fragrance lingered at the tip of my nose.
Yes. The cleaning lady I had called was none other than Cardinal Bella herself. Naturally, she had agreed to the role. I was intensely curious what expression Master, who had been lounging inside, would make upon seeing her, but I was certain that observing those two would be bad for my mental health. Shaking off the thought, I hurried off to work.
“Where is the Cardinal?”
Sister Melody appeared a little later. The way she asked for the Cardinal the moment she saw me suggested she was quite invested in this matter as well.
“She went inside right after I came out.”
“…Maybe things will go more smoothly than we thought?”
“That would be nice.”
Since Master was currently staying in my room, Cardinal Bella had needed an excuse to enter. Volunteering to be the cleaning lady had been her own idea. Master didn’t dislike the Cardinal, so the chances of something happening were higher than if nothing occurred at all. Hoping the rice would cook well, I threw myself into work with vigor once more.
“She said she’d let us know the results…”
“It’s not over yet, is it?”
Even when the sun set and it was time to leave work, Cardinal Bella did not come find me. At this point, I started worrying whether it was okay to go back to the room or if I’d ruin everything by going in.
“No news is good news. If it were over, she definitely would have come to find me.”
After much deliberation, I decided not to enter the room. It seemed better to spend time elsewhere than to barge in and potentially ruin things.
“Would you like to rest at my place?”
It was right next to my house, so it would be the perfect refuge distance-wise. But no matter how close she was to me, she was still a woman.
“Thank you for the offer, but I doubt she’ll stay until late at night, so if we just wander around outside for a while, the room should be empty by the time we return, don’t you think?”
“You’re probably right.”
Sister Melody didn’t reject my suggestion. I hadn’t thought much of it before, but lately I’d been spending a lot of time with her, and my curiosity about her had grown. How had she become a heretic inquisitor? What did she think about the work she did?
“How do you feel about your work?”
“Pardon?”
“You came as my guard, but all you do all day is stand beside me. It feels like a waste of your talents.”
Sister Melody’s skills were more than enough—far beyond what was needed—for guarding duty. Lately we hadn’t even entered the Labyrinth, so she must find staying here boring and dull.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No, no! I’m saying this because I’m worried about you. I thought you might be bored.”
“That’s not the case. Though I do think this isn’t right.”
“What do you mean, it isn’t right?”
“Because it’s enjoyable. When I first started working in earnest, I never imagined I’d be assigned a mission like this. At first it felt awkward and uncomfortable, like wearing clothes that didn’t fit…”
Wanting to urge her on as her words trailed off, I asked, “And then?”
“If the day comes when I have to leave this place, I think I’ll feel very sad.”
“Even though I haven’t really done anything for you?”
“Everything I’ve experienced while staying here has been precious to me.”
“Wow, I’m touched.”
I’d expected her to be bored, but hearing her say even this ordinary daily life was valuable lifted my mood. Her words also carried a subtle affection for this place.
“Even being able to talk and eat together in the evening like this is surprising. In a warm place on a cold winter day. On the other hand, I sometimes feel guilty, like I’m the only one comfortable while my colleague is working hard.”
“Even when entering the Labyrinth? We were lucky, and the circumstances were good. Normally, not just anyone has the courage to go into the Labyrinth.”
She said she was glad because her current mission was comfortable, but I was certain that if someone else were asked to take her place, no one would readily agree. The Labyrinth was that dangerous. Even now, countless people lost their lives there, so she had no need to feel guilty about being in a comfortable situation.
“Princess Reciel is setting a specific date. We’ll be entering the Labyrinth soon.”
The peaceful days we’d enjoyed here wouldn’t last much longer. It felt strange to be entering the Labyrinth with the Holy Empire’s support.
“If only Master’s matter could be wrapped up nicely, I’d feel at ease going in. I wonder how it’s going.”
Honestly, even as we talked here, my mind was entirely focused on what was happening in my room.
“Shall we head in soon?”
The sun had set and quite a bit of time had passed. Since we’d been together since morning, things should have concluded by now. But—
“Wait.”
“Yes? Ah… Don’t tell me both of them are still inside?”
Sister Melody, who had stopped me from entering the house, delivered the shocking news that both people were still inside.
“Yes. It seems so.”
“…Is the soundproofing in this room any good?”
“Why are you asking about soundproofing!! If you’re here, come in already!! Why are you so late?”
Whoosh—!
At that moment, the door burst open and Master stepped out from inside.