236. Three Stars (1)
236. Three Stars (1)
- 1 -
"Your Eminence the Saintess! We thank you!"
"Her Highness the Princess!! Long live!!"
Amid the cheers of the capital's people.
On the terrace of Countess Volonte's mansion, Saya and Yuran quietly watched over Esther and Yurena from above.
The evening sunlight slanted, bathing the two heroes in gold.
"It went really well..."
Yuran's voice trembled, as if she might burst into tears at any moment.
For Saya, who had seen more than enough of Yuran over the course of both their past life and this one, it was a surprising sight.
"Are you crying right now?"
"Who said anything about crying? You're really an unromantic woman, you know."
"Ah... Sorry."
Yuran thought of everything she had lost with Libertas—the very things she had returned to the past to regain.
In her past life, Esther had never been able to recover such standing.
Because the grand strategy Libertas had chosen took a different path, and by the time Esther swore loyalty to Yuran's lord husband, she had already ceased to be a saintess.
'But now...'
Already, so much had changed.
Esther on the platform, and the figure of the young princess whom she had only ever seen as a corpse in her past life.
The sight deeply stirred a corner of her heart, even for someone as calm as her.
"Please look this way! Saintess!!"
"We thank you! Your Highness!"
"..."
Meanwhile, Saya, too, was feeling similarly complex emotions.
Her clan was a fallen clan of great yokai.
They had once been members of a bloodline that formed a demon realm spanning the western continent's Hwa-nara and Shin nations.
Not quite to the extent of the territories held by the current Archdukes of the Demon Realm, but they had possessed a considerably large domain and commensurate power.
'In those days...'
Once, her blood kin, too, had received such cheers and worship.
From the demon tribe and demon beasts living in their territory, and from humans, though they were a very small minority.
"Saya. Ran."
At that moment, a voice cut through their thoughts, and both women turned.
Right after, Yuran lifted her dress and bowed, and Saya prostrated herself on the spot.
The master they loved and revered most had approached their side.
"Are you both alright? You seemed deep in thought."
Beneath black hair like silk wrought from shattered obsidian, violet eyes shimmering with the light of mana gazed at them, laden with thought.
"It's nothing."
"We were speaking about how well things truly went for Esther, my lord husband."
"Indeed. It went well."
Libertas looked down at the two people on the platform for a moment before speaking.
"After all, it means two heroes have been born."
"There will soon be opposition from the royal family, my lord husband."
Yuran raised a fan to cover her mouth, expressing concern.
Her tone clearly held worry, but a bewitching smile played in her eyes, showing she was not deeply troubled.
Libertas seemed to know this as well, answering with a smile.
"Isn't this the time for them to make our heroes into true heroes, Ran? Besides..."
Hysen's royal family was now in a situation where they could not rashly move against Esther and Yurena.
Their heroic deeds, and the royal family's missteps.
If only one or the other had occurred, it could have been buried, but...
"As luck would have it, both happened."
"It was a tremendous coincidence (緣)."
A dark smile spread across Libertas's lips.
"Yes. A coincidence (緣)."
Her eyes slowly narrowed.
The sight of her smiling with those narrowed eyes brought a beast of prey to mind.
Tapping the railing with her finger, she fixed her gaze on the two noble ladies entering the mansion, a gaze layered with an unfathomable darkness.
"Thanks to that, we've bought time. Time that will continue, as long as results are achieved."
And those results would be continuously provided, so long as Libertas was there.
"Indeed. Truly, you are our lord husband."
Mischief settled in Yuran's golden eyes.
She approached Libertas, then clung to her husband's side and whispered.
"How would it be if you shared that profound meaning a little more with this humble consort of yours?"
It was an extremely blatant gesture and temptation.
Libertas gently stroked her hair with a soft smile.
"Do I not already share my everything with you, Ran?"
"My lord husband makes this humble consort pine away far too much..."
Coquetry and laughter mingled in Yuran's voice.
Stepping a pace back from her master's side, she spread out her fan.
Her gaze, from behind the fan that covered her face, turned toward Saya, who had been silent for a while.
- 2 -
Saya listened to her master's and Yuran's conversation while continuing to gaze at Esther and Yurena with a deep, thoughtful look, lost in thought.
100 years ago, her clan was annihilated.
A joint attack by Hwa-nara and Shin.
And the power of a high-ranking member of the demon tribe who secretly supported the attack.
Everything had crumbled in an instant.
'Most of them must be dead.'
She sometimes thought about it.
Could there be someone somewhere on the continent who shared her blood?
But even after living through two lifetimes, she had not found a single trace.
'If so, it's right to assume they're dead.'
Now, the only one of her blood kin left in this world was herself.
The duty to revive the clan thus rested solely on her shoulders.
Of course, for her now, her loyalty to Libertas was more precious than the revival of her clan.
But if her master's glory were achieved... would not the revival of her clan be possible beneath that glory?
"Saya."
Pulled from her reverie by her master's call, she realized that Yuran had slipped away unnoticed and only the two of them remained.
Below the railing, she caught sight of Evangeline and Shue, along with Yuran, the three of them approaching to greet the two.
"I'm sorry, Master. I was lost in my own thoughts."
"It's alright. There's nothing wrong with that."
Her master, Libertas, sat at a tea table prepared on the terrace, looking at her.
'...Ah.'
A sudden sense of urgency took hold of Saya, a feeling that she must do something.
Fortunately, she quickly realized what she needed to do.
"I will serve you tea, Master."
"Very well. It seems I'll be tasting your tea for the first time."
The words were simple, but they conveyed the vast gulf of time that lay between the current Libertas and Saya.
"...Please wait a moment."
Saya bowed her head once, feeling a lump form in her throat.
Though she thought with relief that it wouldn't show in her voice.
Of course, Libertas knew everything.
"It may be a little hot."
Saya, who had brought out deep green powdered tea, bowed politely.
Her soft black hair flowed down over the traditional ceremonial robes of Hwa-nara.
Robes that were called kimonos in Libertas's world, and Hwa-bok in this one.
"The aroma is wonderful."
Libertas's gentle gaze traced Saya's figure.
"Thank you."
Saya merely kept her head bowed, her expression composed.
The traditional robes, embroidered with splendid patterns, shone in the sunlight.
"Why do you keep your head bowed? Lift your head."
Her master's voice was as gentle as ever.
In Saya's memory, the only times she ever lost that gentle tone were whenever she lost a subordinate.
"To be lost in idle thoughts while my master is at my side, I am unbearably ashamed."
"For such a trivial thing to deprive me of the chance to see your face and eyes, that is disloyalty."
"That's..."
As soon as Saya lifted her head, she saw Libertas gesturing to her.
"Sit down."
At Libertas's soft voice, Saya took a step closer.
Though her master's touch merely grazed the hem of her garment, her body moved of its own accord, as naturally as a doll drawn by strings.
Before she knew it, she had knelt beside the chair.
And before she knew it, her chin had been captured by Libertas's touch.
"Ah..."
Saya's pale cheeks flushed red.
Her lips slightly parted, her eyes cast downward, unable to meet her gaze.
Seen up close, her master's face.
The face she beheld after passing through years of separation stirred a tempest in her heart.
Since their reunion, such moments had occurred several times, yet she could never grow accustomed to them.
"Look up and lift your eyes. Having served such fine tea, how do you not serve the finest confection to accompany it?"
At Libertas's words, Saya's heart pounded loudly.
Her martial attire could not conceal that thumping.
"Are you embarrassed?"
Even her master's ears could clearly hear the pounding of her confidant's heart.
Those elegantly curved eyes only quickened Saya's heartbeat further.
"No. It's just... I'm so grateful, and happy... that's all."
Saya's breath grew ragged as she confessed.
Libertas's touch traced from her chin up her cheek and swept back her hair.
"Sit beside me."
Libertas pointed to the seat next to her.
Her face flushed, Saya approached her side.
"When the five of you gather, you said you would come to me, did you not?"
The topic Libertas brought up was the old and deep promise they had carried over from before their regression.
A promise that, in serving their master, none of them would deceive the others.
Saya struggled to calm her ragged breath and answered her master's question.
"We did."
"Yet I have yet to see any of you coming to me. Why is that?"
"That is..."
Saya's voice wavered. Libertas wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
Despite having calmed her breath, the beating of Saya's heart began to swell again.
"It must be because... the fact that our master is here by our side... still feels like a dream."
"So that's why Ran tries not to leave my side every day, and why Eve reports without even stopping to breathe."
"I beg your understanding and forgiveness. Our final moments with our master were far too abrupt. We..."
Libertas gently cut off her words.
"So you, too, must have been anxious."
"That's right."
Saya's eyes grew moist. Her long eyelashes trembled.
Whenever she recalled that past parting, her heart let out a chill cry even as it pounded fiercely.
"Until I saw our master again, until my memories returned... I was merely tormented by a vague, undefined anxiety. As if I had lost half of my soul..."
Libertas's hand stroked her hair.
Saya leaned into the touch and closed her eyes.
"Now I am here. I will not leave you, and you shall not lose me again either."
"Yes... This time, absolutely..."
Libertas pulled her even closer.
Feeling the beat of the mana heart beneath her master's chest, Saya's eyes grew hazy.
"Such impious subordinates you all are."
"How could..."
"For making your master wait, you are impious."
At Libertas's words, Saya's cheeks reddened.
Amidst her black hair, her earlobes were dyed a deep crimson.
"If you all do not come to me."
Her master's voice lingered in the retainer's ear.
"Then I would simply have no choice but to go to you, would I not?"
At that sweet whisper, Saya's entire body trembled.
"I know your story, Saya."
"My dream..."
"Yes. Your blood kin... the ancient dragon blood, the revival of the Cheoneungcheongu."
Libertas's touch encircled her waist. Saya's vision blurred.
"In the future, my blood will flow through your clan."
Saya looked up at Libertas.
Her pink pupils trembled greatly.
"Is that not so?"
"Yes... that is right. Master..."
Within her field of vision, her master's beautiful hair mingled with her own.
Under the moonlight, two shades of black melted into one.
- Long live Her Highness the Princess!
- Long live Her Eminence the Saintess!!
As the two held each other's gaze like that, Esther and Yurena were approaching the mansion from the garden, having escaped the cheers of the crowd.