I was curious what Alois was going to say.
His reason for wanting to be king…I’m sure there were many.
He was aiming for the highest seat of power in this country; naturally, the reasons must be countless.
“And what might that reason be?”
“Well…”
When he didn’t continue, I ended up having to ask.
Alois paused for a moment, then opened his mouth with a nonchalant tone, as if it wasn’t anything serious.
“The biggest reason would likely be you, Lady Saintess.”
His hair fluttered in the breeze.
My eyes traced his brown hair, which looked almost golden in the sunlight.
If his hair were just a little longer, I might’ve wrapped it around my fingers and kissed it.
Just like how Alois always did to me.
I lowered my gaze to the curls of my own hair and twirled a strand around my index finger for no reason.
“Because it’s the most fitting position for the companion of the Saintess.”
My head shot up.
When I stared at him as if asking if he was serious, Alois hammered the point in.
“I think I need to be a king, at least, to stand by your side.”
“Do you really mean that?”
“Of course. And when I become king… I’ll place the most beautiful country in your hands.”
I blinked.
A butterfly that had been fluttering nearby came close.
I lifted my hand, allowing it to land gently on my finger.
“A mere ordinary man is not suitable for the Saintess, God’s representative.”
He spoke with utter confidence while declaring himself an unordinary man.
“But if it’s I, who has brought the Eseah Kingdom to prosperity, and will gain even greater power as king…wouldn’t I count as a great fit as your companion?”
I didn’t realize he had been thinking like that.
When did such thoughts start entering his mind…
“Alois.”
I wiggled my hand gently and the butterfly flew into the air. It circled around me for a second, then fluttered far away.
As soon as the butterfly left my hand, a bird swooped in to take its place.
“Even if you don’t ascend the throne, I have chosen you as my companion, so you are my companion.”
Animals gathering like this during walks wasn’t unusual anymore, so I was used to it.
I slowly approached Alois from behind.
I grabbed his wrist and pulled him firmly toward me.
Alois’s body jerked and I spoke firmly to him.
“And since I’ve chosen you…don’t make me regret it.”
“That goes without question. I would never do anything to disappoint you, Lady Saintess.”
“You’re someone I chose myself. No one can deny that. I chose you because I wanted you by my side.”
“…”
I’m the one who chose Alois. I chose to play into his hands.
I was ready to let him use me however he wanted, and I was willing to act as he wished.
Of course, I intended to hold Alois in my hands, and I had no intention of letting go of him either.
Because I wanted him by my side.
That’s why, right now, holding onto him like this and having this conversation, felt immensely satisfying.
“So tell me.”
I reached for Alois’s red lips.
He shifted his gaze to my hand.
Everything seemed to move very slowly.
“Tell me you want to stay by my side.”
At those words, Alois placed his hand over mine as my hand cupped his face.
“I have always wanted to stay by your side.”
His words were alluring.
The confidence and sincerity in his tone made my heart clench and then ease again.
“Such nice sounding words.”
“I know, that’s why I said it.”
“Hmm…”
“But that doesn’t mean I’m lying. I mean it.”
I didn’t need him to say it; I already knew he was sincere.
I stared intently at him, and he didn’t avoid my gaze, as if daring me to look as long as I wanted.
“I know you’re saying the truth.”
Eventually, I burst out laughing and spun around.
I walked past Alois with long strides and Alois quickly followed.
Like that, my private chat with Alois came to an end. Just as I was about to call an end to our short break…
A chill ran down my spine.
It was a familiar feeling, and I instinctively covered my mouth as my face twisted.
Sure enough, I heard the sound of something crashing down.
I turned my head and saw people screaming and running toward us.
Watching then, I had to move against the current like a fish swimming upstream.
I felt like the only one jumping into a fire while everyone else was fleeing.
Alois was looking around, trying to assess the situation, then he followed right after me.
I finally stopped walking when I spotted something bright red rising from the ground, crunching stones with its teeth.
A demon.
I sighed instinctively.
I had already been worried that we might see a few demons because the castle was so close to the forest…
“A demon… Lady Emilone, I’ll call a priest.”
“No need…I can handle something like this. If anything…”
I tilted my head and looked at the demon.
“I’d rather you call a knight or a paladin instead of a priest…If we wait, there’ll be casualties.”
As soon as the demon appeared, the servants and maids scattered away in panic.
Honestly, it was best for them to run far away.
The more people I had to protect, the harder things became for me.
But maybe because the Saintess was nearby, they stopped midway through their escape and began watching me and the demon instead.
Should I be pleased, since this meant they trusted me?
“Hm…?”
I was about to ask Alois to move the crowd back a bit. But then, oddly enough, a dozen or so servants came rushing toward us, looking terrified.
“What’s going on?”
“Huh? Ah…they’re the sacrifices.”
Alois frowned as he looked at them. I could see disdain and disgust in his expression.
Without another word to me, he blocked their approach.
“Sacrifices? What do you mean?”
“…Demons tend to show up often in the royal castle. And every time, they release ‘bait’ like these, to buy time.”
“…Ba..it?”
With so many mountains near to the palace, I had been worried that might appear. I also wondered how the King would handle their appearance.
It would be difficult, but if they used the elite knight order, they could hold out until a priest arrived.
That’s what I thought they had done all this time.
“They’d rather stall with ‘bait’ because the damage would be too great it the demon causes more destruction in the palace.”
“…Are you serious?”
“The priests regularly visit the palace but…whenever they can’t, this is how it’s handled.”
“…”
“They use a few people like sacrifices to buy time until the priest arrives.”
Except for people like me or Reneben, priests couldn’t leave the temple for too long. They needed to stay close to it to draw enough divine power.
“That is utterly revolting…”
Using humans as bait. Just thinking about it was horrifying.
“But Alois, couldn’t you have stopped it?”
“I tried to. But demons can’t be handled without a priest…and all the nobles approved of that plan.”
The good mood I felt earlier vanished.
My stomach was boiling.
“It was said to be best option was to reduce the number of casualties.”
I took a step forward.
The demon was shaped like a winged mole. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be capable of flight.
Still, handling it without help from paladins or knights wouldn’t be easy.
Alois offered to help, but I refused.
It was a low-level demon, so it didn’t take long to subdue.
However, after I was done, my body felt ravaged. I couldn’t tell whether it was because I tried to fight such a large demon alone or because of the overwhelming disgust welling up inside me.
The putrid, fishy stench made me want to cover my nose immediately.
The wound on my back from one of its blade-like wings throbbed with pain.
‘This situation…I’m getting a sense of déjà vu.’
It reminded me of the time when the temple was suddenly invaded by demons. That day, I injured my back just like this from a demon attack.
“Are you okay?”
“…You shouldn’t be the one asking that, Lady Emilone. Are you alright?”
That day, I had to act like everything was fine. If I had shown pain or anxiety, everyone would worry.
I couldn’t let anyone see that I was having a hard time.
“Do I look alright to you?”
“Not at all.”
The beautiful garden path was stained with the demon blood.
I caught glimpses of the servants’ gazes shifting from fear to awe.
Even moving my lips felt exhausting.
“I don’t want you getting hurt like this because of demons…”
“I don’t usually get hurt. Today was… just one of those days.”
Things always get harder when you have a lot of people to protect.
I loosened my grip on Alois’s hand.
“I feel terrible right now, you know?”
“…I know even if you don’t tell me.”
“…”
“So please hold on to me.”
There were too many people around.
If I collapsed, it would only work in the Eseah King’s favor.
So I stood on my feet, exhaled calmly, and pretended to be fine.
I opened my eyes with a bit more composure and brushed back my messy hair.
Alois wrapped an arm around my waist.
The area around my wound ached slightly, but his support made a huge difference.
“Should I carry you?”
“No. If I show any weakness, they’ll tear into me immediately. Just hold me.”
It wasn’t the time to show weakness. I had to show strength.
And with so many eyes on me, I had to act even more carefully.
What came out of their mouths would soon become rumors.
And rumors were terrifying so they had to be managed properly.
With Alois supporting my waist, walking wasn’t too difficult.
As if all my wounds were nothing, I started hearing towards Alois’ palace.
“Ah, Alois. Stop.”
The King of Eseah stood there with a pale face. He must’ve come after hearing the commotion.
I greeted him with a relaxed smile.
Using the back of my hand, I brushed away my pink hair which was sticking to my neck from the demon blood.
Then I looked down at the king.
When I had first fallen into the Wesleyan Empire, Reneben told me about the arrogant ways of nobles.
“I’ll let you handle the aftermath.”
“Y-Your Ho—.”
“A king who can’t even save his people…to me, that is an utterly useless king.”
The king shut his mouth.
“If I see something like this again…”
I didn’t finish the sentence.
The king’s eyes trembled.
“Well, forget it. Just don’t stir up any more trouble. That’s the only thing you can do for me.”
To think they would feed people to demons just to buy time. It was a disgusting idea no matter how many times I thought about it.
After we walked past the king, I spoke to Alois in a soft voice.
“Alois, you must become king. It has to be you.”
“…If Your Holiness desires it, nothing is impossible.”
Right before I entered Alois’ castle, I locked eyes with those who had been the very description of ‘sacrificial lambs’.
I smiled at them, as if to say, ‘don’t worry’.
Advanced chapters available on Patreon.
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