At this point, I really wanted to see what his parents looked like. Especially since the appearance of his cousins, Ducal Prince Veron Nestro and Ducal Princess Ronella Nestro, were just as outstanding.
“And you must be…His Excellency, the High Priest.”
“I’m Reneben. A pleasure meeting you, Your Majesty.”
“It is my pleasure. Not only do we have the Saintess visiting our kingdom but the High Priest has come as well. I can already feel the good energy descending upon our nation’s harvest this year.”
“If you desire good energy, you might be better off visiting an alchemist.”
Oh, Reneben’s tone was sharp.
I guess he didn’t have a good impression of the King.
I applauded to myself and continued listening to Reneben’s words.
“Hoho, that is not what I meant. Just that with God’s grace upon us, I believe our country will prosper more this year.”
“I think that is entirely up to you, Your Majesty the King.”
I thought Reneben was always gentle and seeing him like this, I wanted to burst out laughing.
Then again, this was good. Being too nice was never good.
Having been raising in the Empire since he was a child, he never seemed to feel any sense of rebellion against the emperor. Hence, I thought he would be gentle with all nobles of a certain status.
“Of course… I must work hard. On a second thought, I’ve let Your Holiness stand for too long. Allow me to escort you to the palace. A carriage is…”
“A separate carriage would be much appreciated, if you will.”
I quickly interrupted as I sensed that the King planned on riding with me. I gestured to Alois and Reneben, indicating I would ride with them.
The king looked taken aback by the unexpected development.
“That…well, the carriage we brought from the palace is…”
“Hm?”
Alois turned and I followed his gaze only to find a luxurious carriage accompanied by a procession of simpler carriages that almost seemed like they were there to make it stand out.
The carriages of the nobles were decorated with flags, showing off various forms of beauty, but it was nothing compared to the royal palace’s carriage.
“…The carriage is pretty spacious so Your Holiness, Prince Eseah, and Lord High Priest can all come together.”
“Together with you, you mean?”
“That…”
I glanced at the most luxurious carriage, which the king was clearly supposed to ride in, and furrowed my brow.
“If this is too much of an inconvenience, I will have them bring a new carriage for you, Saintess.”
“I’m sure that will take too long. I will take that carriage.”
“Ahem, of course. Let me escort you.”
“Your Majesty, King Vermont.”
I couldn’t tell yet whether he was a bad person or not, but the purposeful smell of flowers in the air left me with an unpleasant sensation.
It was definitely not a good feeling.
Furthermore, I could tell that Alois hadn’t brought me to this kingdom out of goodwill or to gain favor by foster a good relationship with this country.
Because of that, I had already concluded that…
“I’m afraid we will be traveling separately from you.”
“…”
“…”
My heart pounded slowly, like the calm before a storm.
“What do you…”
“Do I have to repeat myself?”
Hearing his tone, which sounded like he wanted to refute, I frowned and tilted my head, which Alois took as cue to wrap his arm around my shoulders.
“The Saintess has spoken.”
“…”
“How long do you plan to keep her standing here?”
I glanced at Alois, catching the faint gleam in his red eyes, which were so similar to mine. It was a sharp gleam, like he had achieved his purpose and was ready to bite down.
“…I will escort you to the carriage.”
Like that, I was able to obtain the king’s carriage.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the King was grinding his teeth right now. With such thoughts in mind, I climbed into the carriage with Reneben and Alois.
Finally, after the monkeys got on, the carriage door was closed.
“Your Holiness, shall I dig through the interior?”
“No need to tear it apart, just look around.”
Since it was the king’s carriage, I assumed it was at least soundproofed with magic so I stretched comfortably into the plush seating.
“This is quite extravagant.”
“Well, it is a carriage for a King…”
Even then, it was too extravagant.
Maybe it was because we forced our way into the King’s carriage but Reneben was acting carefully as he opened and closed compartments, finding wine cabinets and repeating.
Meanwhile, I clicked my tongue as I studied every place that Alois touched. There wasn’t a single spot that wasn’t lavishly decorated.
Even the emperor wouldn’t travel in such extravagance.
“Alois.”
“I’m listening.”
“Is there something you’d like to say to me?”
I asked as I pulled the curtain to see which carriage the king had boarded.
It was impossible not to notice the burning gaze on my back.
Although Reneben was rummaging the wine cellars, he was being used as a stepping stool by the monkeys so there was only one person that could be the source of this gaze.
“Why do you ask?”
“Because you seem to have something to say.”
“Sadly, I have nothing else to say.”
“Yet, there’s words hiding in your chest that you’re not saying.”
He simply smiled at that.
Marien climbed on top of my head to jump around and Reneben finally managed to get her off.
“To be hiding something from the Saintess is blasphemous.”
Reneben straightened his rumpled clothes from the few minutes of being trampled in the carriage.
His comment made Alois blink innocently, as if he didn’t know anything.
Finally, Reneben opened his mouth and began to explain things to me.
Despite my best efforts to learn, there was still a stark difference between the knowledge of those who had lived in this world and the knowledge I had acquired in a short time.
“There’s not much known about the Kingdom of Vermont, but it’s not considered particularly outstanding. I’d say the general perception is that it’s a stable country.”
“For both the people and the nobles?”
“From what I understand, yes. The aristocrats live within their station, and the people also live within their station. While things aren’t abundant, people can go about their day without starving day to day. It’s a country known for not having much excess but not lacking either.”
I pushed the window open slightly and sure enough, the smell of flowers wafted in.
Along with an underlying feeling of disgust.
I still didn’t know whether this was my intuition as a Saintess or something genuinely repulsive, so I wrinkled my nose and shut the window.
“Well, they look more than abundant to me. I’d even say they’re overflowing with money.”
“I am also puzzled by that too. The luxury here might even surprise His Majesty the Emperor. All the jewels are of the highest quality.”
“Alois.”
I raised my hand to stop Reneben’s explanation and looked at Alois, who was keeping his mouth shut.
“Are you not going to tell me what you’re hiding?”
“I am not hiding anything.”
“Lies.”
“…A man is more appealing when he has secrets.”
Reneben frowned, and I searched Alois’ face.
“That was a small joke. I wouldn’t dare lie to the Saintess. I simply…”
His eyes carefully swept over me and when I calmly received his gaze, Alois smiled.
“It wouldn’t be right to reveal all the cards I have, Your Holiness. Sometimes it’s best to hide things and reveal them little by little to lead the other party in the direction you want.”
I leaned my head against the window and narrowed my eyes.
“How come?”
“I’m sorry but…I have decided not to discuss matters involving my father and this country with those unaware.”
Alois winked playfully. At that, I sighed, my face showing that I didn’t understand.
“Why choose such a troublesome method?”
“Because I promised my father.”
“And why would King Eseah ask for such a promise…”
“I don’t know but…I have a good idea. After all, this is one of the countries that pays tribute to Royal Father. Ah, putting all that aside…Lady Emilone.”
“…”
“Do you trust me?”
Silence descended over us.
I froze at the sudden question, and wondered whether I should answer, then finally, I spat out an answer that was almost like a scoff.
“No way.”
“Just as you don’t tell me everything about yourself, neither do I. After all, human nature is like a flip of the palm. Allegiances can change at any time.”
Although, it was the role of the person holding that palm to know how well you can hold on, so that the palm would never flip.
“It would be boring if I told you everything from the start,” Alois remarked.
“Boring?”
“I misspoke. Rather than boring…”
At some point, Reneben had gone silent, and I was holding my breath. Alois licked his upper lip, with an expression akin to a beast before it pounced on its prey.
“It might never be a perfect victory.”
“Hah, Alois Eseah.”
“Frankly, Your Holiness can easily break a promise with a mere King. And if you obtain the truth from me…”
Alois paused. Like he was trying to draw out my interest.
“You will move like a pawn of mine. I am certain of it…Despite that, if you still wish to know, I will oblige.”
I folded away the wild imaginations I was having while Alois was speaking.
Just as I believed I had him in my palms to some extent, he was also sizing me up on his own hands.
This relationship between me and Alois, where we were walking on an incredibly tightrope, was perhaps more perilous than I imagined.
“And if things move according to my plans, I will never achieve a perfect victory.”
Perfect…
When I only pursed my lips without speaking, and Alois raised his hand and tapped his fingers against his temple.
“A victory with not just physical surrender, but complete mental surrender.”
He moved his long, elegant fingers and tapped it right at the center of his chest.
“That, I do not know how to achieve.”
…And you think I do?
* * *
Having reverted back to being a gentle man, Alois stepped out of the carriage, took off his coat and draped it over my shoulders.
It wasn’t exactly cold, but I just let it be.
“This has me at loss for words.”
“I never thought I’d see a building shiner than the Imperial palace.”
I muttered in disbelief, while Reneben studied the outer walls of the palace with a serious face but his bewilderment was written all over his face.
“But it is not beautiful.”
Alois was quick to state his opinion. Unable to refute, Reneben and I could only nod.
It was extravagant but not beautiful.
It looked like someone just put up luxury items all over the place and panted the walls gold.
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