After chattering away about vegetables, Prince Osvalt suddenly turned serious. “Listen, I should apologize for the undignified way you ended up here. As if an esteemed saint like you could be bought! It’s just that we lost our only saint, so we had to jump on Girtonia’s proposal.” He lowered his head in a deep bow.
I was flummoxed. Never in my life could I have imagined a member of a royal family bowing to a nobody from another kingdom.
Prince Julius had said that Girtonia approached Parnacorta with the offer to sell me, lending credence to my suspicion that it had been his idea from the start. After all, I was in the way of his plan to marry Mia.
“You must have left family and friends behind,” said Prince Osvalt. “We’ve all sworn to make life as easy as possible for you here, but there’s no way we can make up for what you’ve sacrificed. All I can offer for now are nice-sounding words, but I’ll work hard to make you fall in love with this kingdom. Someday, I hope I can repay you for coming here. But let’s talk about that some other time. This is a night for celebration.”
Prince Osvalt wanted me to love this kingdom… Come to think of it, did I love my homeland? It was where I was born and raised, and it was the land I had protected for so long…but I couldn’t say I loved it. I loved my sister Mia. I didn’t harbor feelings like that for Girtonia. Perhaps no one there had ever loved me because I hadn’t been able to love them.
With or without love, however, as long as I was the saint of Parnacorta, I intended to do my duty.
Bishop Bjorn explained Parnacorta’s circumstances to me. “Up to the very end, Prince Osvalt opposed the idea of paying another kingdom for a saint. He got into a rather heated argument with Crown Prince Reichardt over the matter. But our kingdom is surrounded by monster-infested mountains. Noble ideals are well and good, but having a saint to protect us is a matter of life and death. Ultimately, Prince Osvalt agreed to purchase you, but he feels quite guilty about it.”
I had indeed felt the presence of large monster dens as I crossed the mountains. I had the impression that Parnacorta was a wealthy kingdom with much more abundant resources than Girtonia, but its geography put it in constant peril.
The welcome party ended without a hitch, and a carriage, apparently arranged for by the king of Parnacorta, arrived to take me home. On the ride there, I reflected on the fact that from the age of five to my engagement to Prince Julius, I’d spent hardly any time at home with my family.
My mother felt that as the firstborn daughter of the Adenauer family, I should undergo training in sainthood right away. I was sent off to be raised by the church. From that day, I was subjected to an education so harsh I barely had time to sleep. I think my parents told Mia that I lived at the church because I wanted to.
I still had no idea why my parents put me through such hardship. All I’d ever known was that to them, I was a nuisance. So when I finally returned to the family estate to prepare for my marriage to Prince Julius, I didn’t really feel like I was home.
“Lady Philia, this is the estate where you will be living from now on.”
I gazed up at a mansion easily twice the size of my family’s estate. Surely there was some mistake. “Isn’t it a bit too big for someone living alone?”
This can’t be. Whatever the case, this place is too large…
“We chose a residence of this size for you because we thought you might need butlers and maids to help you settle into your new life. And, of course, once you make friends here, you’ll have plenty of space for entertaining. If there’s anything you find lacking here, don’t hesitate to contact me so we can make the necessary arrangements for you.”
That was the moment when all of Prince Osvalt’s talk about making life easy for me finally sank in. It was entirely unlike the treatment I’d been accustomed to.
Even if they hadn’t plied me with luxuries, I fully intended to work tirelessly for my new kingdom. It would spell disaster for the people and the current peace if my motivation ever flagged. On the one hand, I was grateful, but on the other, I felt immense pressure.
In any case, keeping my body in top condition was of utmost importance. I wasn’t used to a bed as soft and fluffy as the one I found here, but I had to get enough sleep. I closed my eyes and focused my energies on resting, reminding myself that sleep would help me recover and reach peak condition. The kindness with which I’d been treated so far helped, putting my mind at ease.
My new duties would start tomorrow. I concentrated on being ready to give it all I had.
I rose at my usual hour, well before sunrise.
“Lady Philia!” a servant exclaimed. “Where are you off to so early in the morning?”
“Huh? I have work to do,” I answered, confused.
A saint’s work is essential to the safety and prosperity of her kingdom. I had to start bright and early if I wanted to wrap up all the tasks on my list for today. Was that so strange?