CH 22

Chapter - 22 || I Guess We All Have Different Values Of Saints

"I disagree!"

—Meanwhile, such a voice was echoing in Rudolf's office in the Zomer Empire.

"There is no way Rudolf-sama and Elvira-sama can visit the Kingdom of Turku."

Said Fritz Giesen, Roudolf's aide.

"There you go again with that."

Rudolf, seated in a plush chair, looked up at Fritz across the desk.

"Even if I say it, Your Highness doesn't seem to understand."

"I'll ask you the same question. Why?"

Fritz turned to his face.

"Think of the hassle of guarding her! Elvira-sama has had her life threatened in that country, doesn't she? When we came here, we still managed to do it in secret, but not this time!"

"Besides," Fritz added,

"Will the Empress and the Emperor agree?"

"I'll take care of it, or rather, I'll handle all the problems. I want Fritz to help me with just that."

"...You said so, again."

Rudolf looked at Fritz with a smile that he only showed to old friends.

"Can you do that?"　

"It's not that I can't do it, but I'm just too busy with the Maiden Lily festival and wedding preparations..."

"I'm sorry, but I need you to protect my wife with me."

"She's not your wife yet."

"We're almost there. I can't wait."

"Please stop being so honest in front of me. You think I'll help you if you're honest about everything, don't you?"

"There aren't many people I can count on, even in the Empire, and Fritz is one of the few."

"Gosh...! I get it! I get it! I'll use your budget!"

"Oh, it's okay."

Fritz's mouth twitched in amusement.

"Aren't you being generous?"

"Of course I am."

"Is that so?"

When Fritz nodded his head, Rudolf said in disgust,

"Putting aside the fact that she is my fiancée, how can you not take care of a saint?　I think you should give her all the help you can."

"She's a saint, so I'm even more worried about her... If she gets hurt..."

"Yeah, that's true. Especially since we're dealing with people who don't know what they're talking about."

Fritz let out a small sigh,

"Rudolf-sama, you look very ill right now. Please be careful."

"Really?"

Rudolf touched his face with his hand.

"Now that you mention it, in your mind you made fun of King Alexander of Turku, didn't you? It showed on your face."

"Well, I'll be careful. If you are in front of him, it will give him an opportunity to take advantage of you."

"That's right."

"But, well, fixing my face doesn't change what I really think. I don't know what I was thinking, mistreating a saint."

"I guess we have different values when it comes to saints."

"It's horrible... Well, it was really not fortuitous for me.

[ E/N - Fortuitous; 1. Happening by chance rather than intention. 2. Happening by a lucky chance; fortunate. ]

When Elvira told me she was breaking off her engagement, she tried to act tough, but her thin shoulders were shaking slightly, and I couldn't help but notice it."

"I've heard a lot about her from that point on, so let's cut to the chase."

"That's cold."

"I have to make plans for her protection."

Rudolf looked at his beloved subordinate with a big smile on his face.

"Take care of her."

——

And another day, in the Kingdom of Turku.

"I can't find her anywhere. Could it be that Elvira has fled the country?"

A report had been made on Elvira's whereabouts.

"Is that so?"

Alexander held his head depressingly.

"Yes."

The man who reported to me was Robert Kozłowski.

He was the nephew of the High Priestess and had just started working at the court on the recommendation of the High Priestess.

He was in charge of the search for Elvira for the time being, since Jacek, who was to become the minister, had become even busier.

"What about the Duchy of Kien?"

Did she go to the Duchess's home country? I've sent someone to the Duchy of Kien, but I haven't received a reply yet.

"C'mon. I still don't understand."

Roberto gave an unfriendly reply to Alexander's question.

However, Alexander did not dislike Roberto in a strange way.

"Roberto, you used to work in the temple, didn't you?"

"Yes, but it was menial work."

Roberto replied with a blank expression on his face, unsure of what he was thinking.

"What if, what do you think will happen if Elvira doesn't come back?"

"What do you mean, what happens?"

"I really wonder if those natural disaster happened because Elvira wasn't there..."

As he said it, Alexander still thought, "No way."

The High Priestess, who was supposed to be the saint's advocate, had told him in a roundabout way that the saint's blessing was a lie created by the Duke of Lustro to increase his daughter's authority.

She said that even temples were dedicated to prayer.

Roberto replied disinterestedly,

"I don't know," he said, "But ostensibly, Natalia is the saint. Why don't you just leave it to the temple and Natalia?"

"I wish I could leave it to them..."

Alexander frowned unconsciously.

He hadn't noticed because he was so far away, but he had heard about Natalia's behavior at the ball.

"That's usually fine, but Natalia will have to learn a bit more if she wants to be queen."

"Isn't that impossible?"

Roberto said bluntly,

"Lady Natalia is from the commoners, and she will never be the same as Lady Elvira, who had been educated from a young age."

"But..."

"Why don't you bring in another talented nobleman's daughter and make her the new queen? I think that would be faster."

"Another... consort?"

"If you want, I can find one for you."

Alexander didn't say anything right away.

——

"You're here again?"

As Youssef stood in Novi's store on the outskirts of the royal capital of the Kingdom of Turku, the blacksmith man next to him approached him.

"Yeah, I had some business to attend to in the capital, so I thought I'd drop by."

Youssef, the head of the port guild, had been here many times, but he had not been able to meet Adrian, who he heard was a skilled craftsman.

"He's not coming back, that old man. It's a pity I can't do his job for you."

"Oh."

Novi's store had remained closed for the past few days.

Youssef said,

"The old man said he was going to be away for a while because he had a good job, just before the unveiling of Saint Natalia, right?"

The blacksmith sighed,

"Oh. I was so happy because it would help pay for my grandson's wedding. I wonder if there was an accident on the way back. I hope he's okay."

"Truly."

Youssef looked at the Novi's store with dark eyes.

"I hope he's okay."