The Suspiciously Suspicious Saintess - 5
I was so thoroughly flustered that my eyes flew wide open.
Henri looked every bit as startled as I was.
"Are you all right? You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
"Hm? Ah… yes. I'm fine. This might sound like bragging, but something like that isn't enough to injure me."
Only after he asked in that urgent rush did the Saintess seem to come back to herself. For a moment her eyes had looked almost entranced. Maybe the fatigue of being jostled through crowds all day had simply piled up on her.
"You look quite exhausted. It might be best if we head inside now."
At least the cup had been empty; if the latte had still been in it, the contents would have spilled everywhere. Henri gave a silent nod of agreement. Breaking a cup was bound to throw anyone off balance.
"…I'm sorry. I went and smashed an innocent cup and caused you trouble."
"Please don't worry about it. You didn't do it on purpose, after all. I'll clean this up—just give me a moment."
I stacked the three empty cups on a tray and carried them over to the return counter, explaining along the way that one had broken and offering to pay for the damage. Fortunately the cups weren't luxury pieces; they cost next to nothing—cheap enough that even a college student could cover them without blinking.
"Shall we go? Allow me to escort you."
Once everything was settled I led the Saintess outside. We walked, we rode the subway, and unlike the trip out to the plaza a faintly awkward air settled between us.
"You're truly not hurt? If you're feeling unwell at all, please tell me anytime."
"No, it isn't that… I just got startled. I thought I saw something like a rat."
"A rat?"
When I tilted my head in confusion, the Saintess's cheeks flushed scarlet. She looked thoroughly mortified.
"I was too embarrassed to say so earlier. It was probably just my imagination, and I feel like I made far too big a fuss over nothing."
I couldn't help the sigh that slipped out once I'd heard the whole story. Henri's rigid shoulders loosened a fraction as well; the tension drained out of him the moment he realized the reason was so trivial.
"Not at all. Knowing it was something so minor is actually a relief."
"Do you… really think so?"
"Yes. People feel closer to someone who has a few little cracks than to someone perfectly flawless, don't they? This is exactly that sort of case."
I answered with genuine sincerity, and the Saintess finally smoothed a hand over her chest. She seemed to relax a little at last.
"I'm glad. Only… please keep this a secret. I'm asking you."
"Of course. It's not the kind of thing I'd go around advertising, and knowing something only among ourselves is more fun anyway."
Henri gave a light nod of agreement. I only wished his expression would shift a little more clearly; he was so deadpan it was hard to tell whether he meant it or not.
"Ahem, ahem."
When we finally reached the hotel suite, the Saintess cleared her throat lightly.
"Thank you so much for today. I really enjoyed it."
"I enjoyed it as well. Will you be staying a few more days?"
"Yes. Would it be all right if I kept asking you to guide me during that time?"
"Of course you should. You've already given me plenty of spending money, after all."
I pulled out the wallet in my pocket and gave it a little shake. The Saintess huffed a quiet laugh, knowing full well the card she had given me was inside.
"Then please rest well. As you know, dinner is arranged with the Association people."
"Looks like I'll get to eat my fill thanks to you."
"You absolutely should. Don't hold back—order the expensive dishes without a second thought."
"Thank you."
I picked up the bag I had set on the floor and bowed my head. Gratitude toward the Saintess and anticipation for the evening meal both made my shoulders bounce. A hotel buffet that cost over a hundred thousand won per person, high-end restaurants… I fully intended to march straight into places I had never even dared to consider before.
"Then I'll take my leave."
"Yes. Rest well. I'll contact you tomorrow morning."
"I hope you have a pleasant evening as well, Saintess."
I slipped the wallet back into my pocket and left the room under her polite farewell. The thought of dinner—and maybe even a stop at the bar afterward—drifted through my mind.
The hotel banquet hall was packed with tables laden with lavish courses, and the spaces between them thronged with people. Saintess Elodie felt a faint weariness as she shook hands with one approaching guest after another. Some came out of pure curiosity; others clearly had calculations in mind. Their motives varied wildly, which only made it more tiring.
"It is truly an honor that you could attend. The Association President was especially delighted."
"I'm glad to hear that. I met him a few days ago—he seemed like a good person."
She was speaking now with one of the Association's senior officers, and she felt a dull pressure—mostly around her chest. When Elodie brushed a hand over her chest, the man's gaze followed the motion. It was only natural; her figure was as striking as it had been in her past life. Elodie knew that perfectly well, so she showed no sign of displeasure. Even when naked desire mixed into a look, she simply let it slide. If someone tried to touch her or soil her, that would be another matter. Mere staring and idle fantasies she could overlook with her eyes closed.
"Is that so? The President does possess an excellent character, after all."
The officer chuckled lightly and nodded. There was no sincerity in it. Elodie read the pretense on his face and nodded along anyway. The Association President's character was not bad—but neither was it particularly good. He was simply average for a man of power, and this officer surely knew that. As a senior official, he could hardly be ignorant of it.
"Ah, forgive me. I've taken up far too much of your time. Please enjoy the evening at your leisure."
"Thank you for your consideration."
Elodie saw him off with a smile, and the man's cheeks flushed. Appearance, voice, temperament—she was so perfectly lovely that anyone's heart would tilt toward her. Still, he knew enough to suppress the impulse and observe time and place. He understood, in other words, that he could never measure up to the heavy title of Saintess. He simply knew his own place.
"Apple juice. Please have some."
Henri, who had stepped away for a moment, returned with a champagne flute filled with juice. He knew she was not the sort who enjoyed alcohol, and he also knew she liked apple juice.
"Thank you."
She accepted the glass and drank. Light returned to Elodie's eyes. The natural sweetness, the fresh brightness—the taste of juice made from fine apples delighted her tongue.
Henri scanned the room, then spoke in a carefully lowered voice.
"It seems the tendencies are much the same whether here or there."
"It's a political gathering, after all."
Elodie's voice dropped naturally as well, so that it would be swallowed by the noisy chatter and stay out of the ears of any particularly sharp-sensed Awakened.
"How was the meal?"
"It was delicious. You could taste the quality of the ingredients and the care that went into it. Which means, of course, that it was correspondingly expensive."
"I wouldn't dare claim to know hotels well, but… they do attach a hefty premium."
"In short, it's inflated."
The corner of Elodie's mouth twisted faintly, and Henri answered with a quiet laugh of his own. He had stood at the Saintess's side for years now. The easy familiarity between them almost felt familial.
"That simple convenience-store thing… what was it called? The triangle of rice."
"I believe it was called a triangle kimbap."
"You remembered?"
Elodie looked surprised, and Henri's lips pressed firmly shut—not from indifference, but to compose his expression. A Saintess's escort could not go around grinning all the time.
"It made an impression, so I remembered it. I'd never eaten anything like that in France."
"Back then all we ever bought were drinks, after all."
As memories of people who had once been finicky about meals rose in her mind, Elodie's gaze drifted into the distant past. A cold winter day when no one else was around. Snacks shared at a table set up near the hot springs. All sorts of treats had appeared on that table, but the apple pie had been the finest of them all. Coincidentally, the snack Seo Ji-hyuk had casually mentioned was also apple pie.
Could he really be Leo…?
The memory box that held letters. Fresh-baked apple pie that tasted even better in winter. All of it belonged to her memories with Leo. And yet a Korean man had spoken of those same things so naturally? The odds that he was the subject of the oracle were extremely high. That was why she had tensed in shock and ended up wrecking an innocent cup.
Even so, she still lacked one step—exactly one step—before she could be fully certain. How should she take it? Elodie kept turning the problem over in her mind even as she sipped her juice, wondering what subject she should use for that final step… or whether she should simply charge straight at him, even if it made her look insane.
"You've fallen deep into thought again."
Henri, who had been watching her quietly, could no longer hold his tongue. It was the same look she had worn when she suddenly announced she was going to Korea, and again at the airport bound for that country. This was far from the first or second time. Honestly—could she not at least tell him the reason? The frustration pressed heavily on his chest.
"…Henri."
After a long silence, Elodie's lips slowly parted.
"Yes. Please speak."
"I know this attitude is far from proper, but… if one wants to sound someone out, how should one go about it?"
Sound someone out. The question was so alien to Elodie's life and nature that it threw him into confusion, tangling his thoughts in an instant. Still—she must have a good reason. If only to prepare against possible deception in the future, he told himself, and forced his mind into order.
"Well… first you would need to clarify the point of suspicion, then probe exactly there, I suppose."
"How, specifically?"
"My apologies. I am not skilled with words, and my experience is limited, so I cannot give you a precise answer. It also varies by situation."
"What about a case where one is mostly certain, but still a little ambiguous?"
"In that case… simply thrusting the point home directly might also be a method."
Ask questions that would lead the other person to give the answer she wanted. If the answer never came, then abandon the hope. She had already been startled twice… yet in the end, it seemed she would have to take up the sword herself and clash head-on if she wanted to finish this. Just as she had done in war.
Once her resolve hardened, Elodie looked considerably more at ease.
"I'm sorry. That was a strange question, wasn't it?"
"Not at all. Situations like this will keep arising, both now and in the future. I think preparing in advance is wise."
"Thank you for thinking so."
She must have so many thoughts weighing on her. Henri cast a glance at the stares flying in from every direction and let out a short sigh. Not only this country—his own homeland also wanted to use the Saintess as it pleased. Other nations would be no different. The crushing weight she must feel simply because she was the Saintess was something he could never fully grasp. That she had never been crushed by it was almost miraculous. She had been like this since early childhood.
As if she had been an adult from the very beginning…
While Henri drifted into old memories, Elodie finished hardening her decision. Tonight, she would settle this.
"Henri. How much longer until we can leave this gathering?"
"At least another hour, I would estimate. There still seem to be plenty of conversations left to have."
His gaze swept lightly around the room. People angling for another chance to speak with Elodie, clusters forming to expand political footholds—there were many of them.
"So it won't take as long as I feared?"
"Yes. Though if you are tired, it would be perfectly acceptable for you to go up first. Fatigue is a legitimate reason."
"I don't think I can do that. Whatever else, this gathering was arranged for my sake."
Elodie shook her head lightly, then took out her phone. She had already exchanged greetings with everyone once. There was no further reason to be considerate.
Tap, tap.
Her pale fingers danced swiftly across the screen.