Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: This Guy! How Dare He Touch My Saintess!
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"Wow~ Apostle, look at that! The moon seems especially sparkly tonight!"
But my awe at the beauty didn't last long. If this guy's title got out in the imperial palace, it'd spark rumors like "The crown prince has developed some weird hobby." And if it reached the church, it'd be "The first prince is seducing innocent girls and committing blasphemy left and right."
I could already imagine the surround-sound bullshit overwhelming me from all sides, and my head was starting to ache just thinking about it.
Still, I figured Veronica wasn't the type to deny me even this much, so I spoke up.
"Veronica, if you call me 'Apostle' in the palace, it'll put me in a bit of a... tough spot, you know? So in crowded places, you should use 'First Prince' or 'Your Highness' instead."
Veronica raised one eyebrow, as if she'd heard something ridiculous.
"Pardon? How dare any mere human trouble God's apostle? Just say the word, and I'll educate them nonstop for twenty-four hours straight with a book on the miracles of God's apostle..."
"Well, to start with the big two: my mom and dad. You know, the Emperor and Empress."
"Then calling you 'Your Highness' sounds perfect! It suits your noble bloodline as a temporary title, don't you think?"
...Veronica?
Seems like I had to drop the Emperor and Empress to get her mania under control.
Even though Tullulah here was faster than light, at least we could communicate. Small mercies.
But Veronica pursed her lips, looking somehow dissatisfied, squeezed her eyes shut, and spoke.
"Apo... I mean, Your Highness... But when it's just the two of us, can I still call you Apostle?"
"Sure, just read the room. It's fine with close friends... I think?"
Lancelot's snarky face flashed in my mind mid-sentence, but we'd figure it out somehow...
We rode on for a while and soon passed through the gates into the palace proper.
I'd sent word ahead on the way out, so no one dared block the prince's guest.
Back in my room, Jenia and Lily were sitting across from each other, chatting amiably.
"Huh? You two are still up?"
It was well past bedtime, but neither had gone to sleep.
Lily and Jenia set down their teacups and stood to greet me.
"Welcome back, Your Highness. Lady Jenia heard you'd gone far away to recruit a priestess today, so we were waiting."
"Hehe, I was just... too curious about what the real priestess would be like to sleep."
"Perfect timing, then. I was dreading how to wake you. Veronica, come on in."
Veronica peeked her head around the door, clasped her hands together, and declared:
"Haa! I've heard so much about you, Apostle's consort and nursemaid! My goodness... the consort is so beautiful! It's like God sculpted you personally!"
The two victims of this sudden flattery froze, their brains rebooting as parts of their bodies went offline.
'I get how they feel.'
Oblivious, Veronica strode right up to Lily and grabbed her hands tight.
"And you! The honored nursemaid who's served the Apostle since childhood! Hiiing... I'm so jealous."
Her grip must have been warm... it had to be.
Otherwise, seeing Lily's face drain of color was too heartbreaking.
Jenia was still muttering "The Saintess... the Saintess..." off to the side, but Lily—now a seasoned veteran servant—clung to her wits and spoke up.
"Um... well... Priestess? It's an honor, but does 'Apostle' mean... His Highness?"
Veronica nodded vigorously.
"Yes! Exactly! Don't worry, it's confusing at first. But you'll understand someday too, Nursemaid!"
"...Understand wha—"
"Nursemaid! I want to serve the Apostle too! Teach me that great technique as well!"
For the record, the reason I wasn't stopping Veronica was... explaining it myself was too exhausting... I didn't want to get involved...
Sorry, Lily...
I sacrificed Lily to the cause and turned to Jenia with my question.
"The lofty, elegant Saintess... my Saintess..."
"Jenia, was Veronica always like this?"
"Your Highness... what on earth did you do to her..."
Her answer to my question was pure resentment.
Jenia looked up at me with eyes like I'd NTR'd her favorite character right in front of her.
Suddenly I felt wronged. All I'd done was make eye contact—how was I supposed to know she'd zero-to-hundred on 'Apostle'?
Unaware of my grievance, Jenia muttered on.
"You know, the original Saintess always wore a smile, but it mixed this subtle unease and cynical edge when she thought of God, like a radiant flower teetering on a cliff. Breathtaking, yet heart-pounding because you never knew when she'd fall into the unfathomable darkness below. That holy, pitiable aura. In the mid-story, if you build affection steadily, she becomes your stepping stone on that cliff in a crisis. You know that line? 'I won't step on her. Even if it's God's trial, I'll uproot that cliff and carry her to sunlight.' I bawled my eyes out reading it—wiped so much with tissues my eyes hurt, had to see an ophthalmologist. Got told my cornea was scratched, had to be careful for a while. Worth it, though. Seeing her smile in salvation, tears of joy as she melts into your arms... choosing a heroine never felt like such a regret. Haa... and now that Saintess is this bright... Wait... isn't that actually better?"
Mid-ramble, her otaku switch flipped properly, and Jenia spiraled into confusion.
"No, wait... if the Saintess is happy, that's good, right?"
Light returned to Jenia's face.
Her brain, stalled from shock, seemed to reboot.
Beaming now, Jenia turned to me.
"As expected of Your Highness!"
Too late...
Lily clutched her head and muttered "First... let's wash up and change..." before dragging Veronica off. Jenia plopped down beside me, coquettishly nuzzling close.
"Hehe, Your Highne~ss~ I was just so shocked~ You know how I feel, right?"
Her dopey grin softened my irritation a bit...
I sighed in surrender, throwing up all four limbs.
"Sigh... yeah... I was thrown too."
Jenia grinned sheepishly, then asked what had been bugging her.
"Oh, right! Your Highness, what's with this 'Apostle' thing?"
'Should've explained with Lily here.'
Explaining to double the audience sounded twice as annoying, but I laid it out step by step.
"So... we got to that place you mentioned, and..."
As I droned on, Jenia nodded, gasped in horror at parts, and marveled by the end.
"Gods, you hear God's voice? The oracle event is way later..."
"What? When's that?"
"Early second year, two weeks before the Demon Descent event."
Knowing the future seemed harder than I'd thought. Demon Descent? Great.
As my mind filled with worries, Jenia snapped me out of it.
"Your Highness, then maybe the Saintess knows something about Lumi?"
"Huh?"
She had a point. Only Veronica had seen the line I could.
Veronica might uncover Lumi's secret.
"True. Where's Lumi now?"
"Having a snack, then sleeping in my room."
"She just sleeps all the time..."
"She's growing!"
It came out like a grandma doting on her grandkid in puberty, but I let it slide.
And so we waited idly for Veronica.
-Knock knock! Your Highness~
Lily and Veronica must be back.
I called them in, and Lily brought Veronica—now in a crisp maid outfit.
Why maid clothes instead of priestess robes? I shot Lily a look.
She averted her eyes and explained.
"Her... will was so strong... I figured after some training, she'd be ready to serve you both..."
"I'll do my best, Apostle! And Consort!"
Palace veteran Lily had lost this round.
I glared at her in betrayal.
"Lily?"
"Maid duties are busy, and I have to look after Lady Jenia too... Your Highness can handle a little less hands-on, so this passionate talent fits perfectly... B-but! We'll rotate! Plug the gaps as needed."
Lily's tongue had grown long.
My fiancée-to-be was clutching her mouth with both hands in shock.
'Yeah, Jenia, it's sudden for you too, huh?'
"Saintess in a maid outfit... haaa... too cute! How?!"
...
I decided to just accept it.
Hearing Jenia's mutter, Veronica beamed and approached, grabbing her hands tight.
"The Consort is so beautiful too! Like God stitched you stitch by stitch!"
"Oh my, Saintess, haaa..."
"Please don't speak so formally, Consort! And I'm not worthy of 'Saintess' yet, hehe."
"R-really? Then call me Jenia."
"Yes! Lady Jenia!"
"Eep! Drop the 'Lady'!"
"? Jenia?"
"Kyaa! What do I dooo?!"
Jenia bounced around in delight. Watching them gush like that felt... off somehow.
'What is this...'
"U-um, Veronica, could you say this line? 'If the shadows fall behind you, I'm fine with that.'"
"? Sure! 'If the shadows fall behind you, I'm fine with that.'"
"Waaah! Even simplified, it hits just right? Amazing!"
I chuckled watching Jenia squeal and test lines while Veronica accepted every request unquestioned.
'They're just playing around...'