CH 157

‘Of course, I need to do more research.’

It was not possible to submit a report based on speculation alone. If his guess turns out wrong, he would have to bear all the consequences alone.

Cuirre only hoped that his guesses were wrong.

– Are you awake?

The Queen of the Kingdom of Leter raised her eyelids at the mellow voice.

It had been exactly fifteen days since she collapsed in the banquet hall.

“This is…”

The Queen licked her parched lips.

As she looked around, there were eyes, which were more delicate than flowers, that were smiling brightly at her.

“I didn’t expect… that I would come to heaven.”

The Queen was still intoxicated with medicine and sleep.

As she spoke with a half-asleep look, Aria swallowed her laughter and sent a message.

– Your Majesty collapsed for a while, and you took a cure developed by Valentine, and your illness was cured.

Then she took her hand and added.

– The reason that this disease spread rapidly only in the Kingdom of Leter is because of the seasonings mainly eaten here.

“Seasonings……?”

– Yes, it’s called a thousand vinegar.

“It’s because of the thousand vinegar…”

The thousand vinegar was a seasoning that was so common that it went into most of the Kingdom of Leter’s food.

Aria’s words sounded as absurd as saying that the plague was caused by mustard or pepper.

– The thousand vinegar was the host of this plague. That is why soft vinegar, which is compatible with thousand vinegar, is rather poisonous.

Her subsequent words were astonishing.

The Queen was fed a treatment made by combining medicinal herbs that nullified the thousand vinegar’s effect.

– Could you please give me permission to distribute this treatment to the people of Leter?

There was no reason to say no.

Next to the Queen who had finished understanding the situation, King Leter, who had been by her side all night, was wiping away his tears.

“I beg you earnestly. Please do so.”

The King of a country bowed his head politely in front of a little girl.

Valentine’s Grand Princess.

Since she has completely cured all of Leter’s people, her presence has spread throughout the world.

“So, did the Grand Princess come out in person to stop Saint Veronica…?”

People remembered the Grand Princess, who appeared on the clock tower in the square that day.

Despite everyone’s criticism, she was unwaveringly determined. Because she knows what she has to do, she endures and stays silent and waits.

Like a real saint

“She knew all the truth.”

“We don’t even know…”

Some reflected on their carelessness, while others were busy praising Aria.

As Valentine’s image was being re-evaluated, Garcia’s reputation began to get firmly eroded. Public opinion showed no sign of turning back as it was before again.

At least Veronica had to be executed, so the people’s anger can subside.

But,

“…Did I just hear you right?”

The Cardinal lost his composure and raised his voice as he asked.

The paladin who reported to him was sweating cold and bowed his head more deeply in apology.

“I found traces of Saint Veronica near the village of Ritter, but that was all. She disappeared as if she had evaporated…”

“How can it be. Her divine power is also weak, how can she get away being pursued by the Knights?”

Maybe there is a helper? There was no other way to interpret it.

The Cardinal sighed a little as he stroked his throbbing head.

Veronica went missing.

The reason she, who was close to a high-treason criminal, wasn’t imprisoned in the dungeon earlier was because she had no divine powers or anything, so they looked down on her.

“Enough. No matter how great a person helps, it will only waste time.”

It was only a matter of time before the Papal Palace issued a wanted order across the country.

Cardinal Andrea got up from his seat with a cold, hard expression.

“This worked out better. I’ll have to ask the Holy Father to delegate the whole study the Saint has been doing.”

He did not like Saint Veronica from the beginning.

Because she doesn’t have any powers, and she only uses her mouth to seize the powerful and twist them.

“The research seems to be successful.”

Aria was constantly busy from spring to winter.

Thanks to that, the other tasks were naturally neglected. She had only one body after all.

‘But it’s finally over.’

She can’t say ‘completely’, but Veronica’s big crisis was gone.

Until the Valentine incident came, there were no major events that stood in their way.

Except to beat Garcia one day.

‘Well…… In fact, the Valentine incident would not have happened if Lloyd had not chanted the self-sacrifice spell.’

Still, it’s better to get rid of things that might have repercussions in advance.

‘Gabriel is also quiet.’

Aria noticed that he knew something about her condition, but he didn’t tell anyone. So Aria occasionally watched him.

Now, everything went smoothly. Except for one thing.

“Lloyd.”

At Aria’s call, a blind gaze followed.

“What?”

His eyes, as black and shiny as glass beads, contained an unfathomable amount of love and trust.

As if he would believe and listen to anything she said.

“I’m free now.”

“……really?”

“Yes.”

An awkward silence passed.

‘Why is the atmosphere like this?’

In the meantime, she was so busy that she didn’t even have time to look around.

Aria swallowed a gulp and asked, feeling nervous.

“Would you like to play with me?”

“Play?”

“Yes.”

“What will you do…?”

Oh right.

Aria, who had been constantly running towards her goal without a break, didn’t know what to do when a break time came.

‘Oh, come to think of it, do my words sound like I was asking him for a date?’

It seems like they haven’t been together for a while, so she just wants to spend time alone with Lloyd.

“Like when we were young, boating…”

Before Aria could finish her words, she remembered that it was winter and the lake had completely frozen.

“Or should we go on a trip together?”

Aria asked with a faint smile. She didn’t even want to hide her blushing cheeks now.

Then Lloyd looked troubled and said, ‘Umm, I don’t know.’ and answered vaguely.

‘What.’

Aria blinked, widening her eyes at the thought that something went wrong.

‘Are you upset?’

It was certainly true that she had been neglecting him all year. But it was all for Lloyd.

‘I don’t think he’s upset for some reason.’

The attitude of someone who sulked because they were sad inside and someone who avoided because they had done something wrong was clearly different.

‘Come to think of it, even though I’ve been neglecting him all this time, he hasn’t said anything.’

Rather than express it, it felt as if he was avoiding Aria.

Of course, it wasn’t openly obvious. It was such a small and subtle difference that a dull person would not notice it.

When did it start?

‘Wherever I try to go somewhere alone, he would be there for me, but that’s all.’

Lloyd only stayed with her when she was in a dangerous place and disappeared when she came to a safe place.

For reasons such as a sudden schedule or something.

‘I might think of it as a consideration.’

But she doesn’t know why it suddenly became so plain.

‘Why aren’t you doing anything ….?’

He wasn’t even holding her hand.

He wasn’t even hugging her.

He wasn’t even the lips…….

Aria didn’t continue her thoughts, but stiffened in surprise instead.

Doesn’t it look like he wants me to do something like this?

‘No, he may want to. If that’s the case, why did he kiss me on the cheek before?’

This was a really difficult problem.

As she thought about things, she knew she shouldn’t go too deep, but why can’t her heart work as her mind?

Why does the heart always go ahead without keeping it in moderation?

‘I haven’t found a way to survive yet. So, it is right that we should move away from each other like this…….’

But it was always Aria who couldn’t make cool-headed judgments in front of Lloyd. In the end, again, her desire overcame reason.

“Lloyd, are you busy? Do you have anything to do after today?”

“It’s not like that.”

“Then let’s go, a trip.”

And she pushed with force.

Aria noticed that his languid, half-closed eyes grew as big as rabbits, and she added.

“The Grand Princess is going on strike. I want to go and play with Lloyd.”

And she clasped his hand, who still looked troubled. Putting their fingers together and making it tight.

Lloyd couldn’t resist Aria’s force and only wiggled his fingers.

With his gaze turned away.

The exposed back of his ear and the nape of his neck were dyed red.

Aria, who had stared blankly at Lloyd for a moment, asked unknowingly.

“Do you want a kiss?”

t/n: uhhh im sorry if the name seems weird ._. i tried matching it with the hanja and settled on this so it might be a play on ‘thousand island’ uhh sorry guys ._.v

t/n2: i’m sorry if updates have been sporadic lately, classes just started the past month so i’m trying to match the tempo and arrange my time well. so please wait a bit while i settle everything down T.T thank you so much!