The Prince's Warning
The moment Prince Loras raised his voice in fury, every worshiper attending the service turned to stare in our direction.
It seemed the events of last time, piled atop today’s incident, had finally scratched Prince Loras where it hurt most. I couldn’t let him continue raging like this, so I decided to speak in hopes of calming his fury.
“Your Highness, Sister Melody is indeed here to guard me. There are those who worry about me entering the Labyrinth, so they assigned her as my escort. I have not lied to you.”
The instant I vouched for her, Prince Loras’s face hardened even further.
A rather sharp observation. If she were truly escorting me and really were a Holy Knight, she should indeed be wearing armor. But Sister Melody was no pushover either. She lied without a shred of shame.
“It’s a matter of personal preference. Armor isn’t strictly necessary for protection.”
One lie begets another, they say. I wanted to answer honestly that it wasn’t, but I had already chosen to cover for her. I couldn’t suddenly change my tune now.
“…Yes.”
“……”
The prince fell silent, as if at a loss for words. Since both of us insisted it was true, there was only one conclusion he could reach: that the subordinate who had investigated Melody had made a mistake. His pride was already wounded because I hadn’t taken his side, and now there was a chance his own man had blundered? Knowing the kind of temperament he kept hidden, I could already imagine the storm that would erupt once he returned.
“Haa… Priest Arthur.”
His voice, lowered by rage, carried a chilling edge.
In his anger, Prince Loras was now issuing commands. Before I could even respond, Sister Melody spoke first.
“Y-you—!!”
I knew she intended to provoke him from the start, but her talent for provocation was beyond impressive—it was downright dangerous. Having already been scratched once, now struck again on that same wound, Prince Loras dropped all pretense. He glared at her with eyes that looked ready to kill.
Everyone knew he only approached because he wanted to steal away someone Reciel cherished, yet his ability to package himself was truly remarkable.
‘I knew a moment like this would come eventually.’
This was the exact moment Prince Loras’s patience ran out. Since I had been prepared for it, I wasn’t particularly surprised. Clashing with the prince was inevitable if I chose to stand with Princess Reciel. In a way, it felt like a relief. Pretending to be kind to someone so uncomfortable had been exhausting. The sight of Princess Reciel trying so hard to hide her anxiety whenever he appeared had also made it impossible for me to simply watch any longer.
“Sister Melody is a woman of few words. She can remain as quiet as if she weren’t even there. However, if Your Highness finds her presence uncomfortable, it seems we have no choice.”
There was no need to answer him directly, so I simply closed my mouth and stared straight at him. For the first time in a while, his eyes held genuine emotion.
‘To be able to direct such intense malice toward another person…’
I had known he was no ordinary man, but facing him directly felt far from easy.
His eyes brimmed with killing intent, yet conscious of the onlookers, he wrapped up his words with perfect politeness and elegance. Anyone who didn’t know the full situation would surely think him a magnanimous man after seeing only this scene. It was such a masterful performance that even I might have been fooled had I not known his true nature.
But.
‘Words without sincerity cannot shake my heart.’
It was Prince Loras who had shown deceit and falsehood first. When I offered no reply, he let out a sigh as if frustrated.
Now that the prince’s patience had run dry, I felt less worried and more relieved than anything.
‘It was bound to come to this anyway.’
From the very beginning, the prince and I had been standing at completely different starting points. Moreover, as long as he refused to abandon his true nature, becoming close was utterly impossible. Still, because he had shown me a certain amount of ‘sincerity,’ I wanted to end things on a note of well-wishing—even though I knew that the next time we met, he might very well be aiming for my life.
“I pray that Your Highness’s path ahead will be one that leads to light.”
After pondering what kind of blessing to offer, those were the words I chose. It was a prayer hoping that Prince Loras—who would undoubtedly commit countless sins in his quest for the throne—might repent even a little and walk the path of light.
At my blessing, the prince paused briefly in thought before speaking.
“I will take it to heart.”
“……”
Leaving behind those final words—whether advice or warning, I couldn’t tell—Prince Loras turned and walked away without a shred of hesitation. This would likely be the last time the prince, who had always attended services to display his piety, would show such a face here. After all, his devotion had been nothing more than a means to an end.
‘So the saying that you can’t spit on a smiling face doesn’t apply here.’
How could someone return a curse after receiving a blessing? The prince left the chapel, leaving me with a strangely refreshing shock.
“What trash.”
Sister Melody seemed to feel the same, because the moment he left she spat out the insult.
“Calling that a warning instead of advice. How petty.”
“He probably thought of it as advice in his own way. In any case, we’ve completely turned our backs on the prince now.”
Considering how much effort he had invested in me, I suspected his retaliation would be equally thorough. To restore his crumpled pride and self-respect, he would surely believe I needed to be ruined as thoroughly as possible.
“Since he must prepare for his first Labyrinth subjugation, he’ll be under considerable pressure. He won’t move recklessly for the time being.”
“Even so, I won’t let my guard down.”
Recalling the stories Princess Reciel had told me, it was clear I couldn’t afford to be complacent.
“I will always stand by your side. Do not worry. And he will likely try to eliminate me first, since I irritate him more.”
…That was strangely comforting, in its own way.
Gulp—
Watching the nervous little chicks made me keep smiling. The chicks shot me looks begging me to stop, but wasn’t it obvious how tense they were?
“You really don’t need to be so nervous.”
“I-I’m not nervous!”
“You’re stuttering because you’re nervous, yet you’re still pretending otherwise.”
“Hng. Is it that obvious?”
“Yes. You said you even received an apology and confirmation that everything was fine. So why are you still this tense?”
“How should I put it… she feels somewhat unapproachable. And on top of that, she’s wearing full armor like that…”
Perhaps because of Prince Loras’s pointed remark, starting the very next day Sister Melody had procured a full set of Holy Knight armor from somewhere and begun wearing it while escorting me. She followed me like an iron wall, determined to fulfill her guard duty properly. Even when I was working inside the temple, her escort continued without fail. Of course, because the patients found her intimidating, she had to keep a bit of distance while watching over us.
“But Priest, are you really okay with this? She’s been watching you almost all day…”
“Haha, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t burdensome, but honestly I feel more grateful. Standing guard and staying constantly vigilant like that isn’t easy.”
Sister Melody wasn’t the type to pretend to stand guard while spacing out. She was giving it her all, truly protecting me with sincerity. Just in case something unexpected happened.
“As expected, I still have a long way to go before I can follow in your footsteps, Priest. I only thought she was scary—I never considered how difficult it must be for her.”
“Once you get used to it little by little, the fear will fade. Then you’ll be able to sense her true nature.”
Although Sister Melody’s attitude toward me had softened considerably, her demeanor toward others remained unchanged. Still, it was fortunate that not everyone was afraid of her.
“U-um, please have this!”
Some people, though still too nervous to speak casually, cautiously offered her food or small comforts. At first she would only refuse in obvious discomfort, but after I told her it was fine to accept such kindness, she gradually began to receive their goodwill. Just as the priests needed time to adjust to an Inquisitor, it seemed she needed time to adjust to our temple.
“Thank you.”
And after a little more time had passed, the day finally came when she could readily accept food offered to her like this. Truly, there was nothing more satisfying than turning a stray cat into a house cat. The priest who had brought the food maintained a straight face as he hurried away, but I could easily imagine what he was doing behind her back.
‘He’s probably celebrating like he just succeeded in feeding a stray cat.’
I could only hope that Sister Melody would never learn the truth.