“The preparations are complete.”
I had raised sixteen Pillars of Light at key locations along Parnacorta’s borders and affixed talismans soaked in my blood. All that was left was to recite an archaic incantation and offer a prayer to God at the altar of the cathedral in the royal capital.
“Remarkable. To see an ancient ritual performed so splendidly—I made the right decision, after all, to propose bringing Saint Philia to my kingdom!”
I was interrupted at the altar by a tall man with long, flowing blond hair who strode into the cathedral as if he owned it. As he approached me, church officials bowed their heads, one after the other.
“Prince Reichardt!” cried Bishop Bjorn. “Had I known you would grace us with your presence, I would have prepared for the occasion.”
So this was His Highness Prince Reichardt, Crown Prince of Parnacorta. Prince Osvalt’s older brother…
“The fault is entirely mine,” said the prince. “I apologize for dropping by without advance warning. I’d planned to say hello to our new protector much sooner, but only now have I finally found the time.”
“Of course, sire,” said the bishop. “But if you’d informed me of your plans, I could’ve baked a cake for you.”
“That’s a shame. In that case, I’ll have to stop by again.”
With this small talk completed, His Highness finally turned to me. “It’s an honor to meet such an extraordinary saint. Your reputation precedes you.”
“Not at all,” I stammered. “I’m nothing special. You honor me by speaking to me.”
Prince Reichardt responded with a gracious smile and extended a hand for me to shake. He and Prince Osvalt might be brothers, but I sensed that their personalities couldn’t be more different. The crown prince, in particular, had an almost androgynous elegance to him…
“Well then, I leave the well-being of this kingdom in your hands.”
After Prince Reichardt took his leave, I returned to work. Kneeling at the altar, I began to invoke the ritual to cast the Great Purification Circle. From this moment on, I would be unable to leave the capital.
✦ ✦ ✦
“Lady Philia! I’ve gathered the herbs you asked for!”
✦ ✦ ✦
Lena, my maid and bodyguard, held up a basket of medicinal herbs. Seeing her, I was reminded of foraging for herbs with Mia back in Girtonia. I’d asked a traveling peddler how Girtonia was doing; so far, it seemed, Mia was holding the kingdom together.
“Thank you,” I said. “Now we can create new medicines.”
After casting the Great Purification Circle, I left the extermination of monsters to the Knights of Parnacorta. Unable to leave the capital, I suddenly found myself with an abundance of free time. For the moment, I’d decided to focus on formulating new medicines and refining the existing recipes. Doing nothing made me deeply uncomfortable—I just couldn’t get used to it.
“Um, what kind of medicine is this?”
“Oh, this? It’s for corns—those lumps on your feet, see?” I’d been studying this condition for a while now, and the treatment was becoming more effective.
“Huh…I didn’t know medicine could help with that. Would you like some more tea?”
“Yes, please. Now, apply this poultice, and the corn will come off cleanly the next morning.”
Lena was helpful, attentive, and great at making tea.
“I’ve wondered about this for a while, but…Lady Philia, do you have any hobbies?”
Hobbies? Activities to fill free time? I thought about it. Mia enjoyed going to the theater to see plays and operas. She was keen on music as well. She invited me along a few times, and it was pleasant enough. But whenever I had free time, I generally looked for some way to make myself useful. I didn’t know much about entertainment. It was probably part of what Prince Julius had found charmless about me.
“None, really,” I said at last. “If anything, I suppose reading might count. I like studying ancient tomes, combing through scholarly texts, doing my own analyses…”
“Oh, I like to read too! Mostly romance and mystery novels.”
N-novels? In other words, fiction. Literature produced solely for entertainment. The closest I’d come to that sort of thing was reading picture books to Mia when we were children, before I was sent to live with the church.
“Lady Philia, I’ll lend you some of my favorites!” Lena’s smile disarmed me. “If you can read those enormous old books, you’ll breeze right through my recommendations. They’re lots of fun for killing time!”
No one had offered to loan me anything before. I felt a warmth build in my chest.
“Lunch is ready, my lady.” Leonardo, my butler and bodyguard, called out to the front walk where Lena and I were chatting.
I’d been enjoying good food since moving to Parnacorta. I could go without food for a week if necessary, but lately I’d been eating three meals a day, not skipping even one. Not only that, but food was starting to taste better.
In Girtonia, whenever things were too busy, I was expected to prioritize work over food. Here, my schedule was comparatively light.
“Sir Leonardo’s been cooking a lot lately,” Lena explained. “That’s his hobby.”
“Oh, is that so? I must say…er…” I fumbled for a polite response. What a surprise. They do say that looks can be deceiving, but I never would’ve imagined that Leonardo had been the one whipping up all those delicious meals.
Perhaps hobbies were useful after all. They could feed your own soul, but also others’.
I finally managed to compliment Leonardo as we enjoyed his homemade creations. Looking back, it occurred to me that in Girtonia I’d never had casual conversations over meals.
“I had no idea you made these fine dishes, Sir Leonardo.”
“You embarrass me, my lady. People often say I don’t seem like the type, but I quite enjoy spending time in the kitchen. I’m honored to hear that my cuisine suits your palate.”
“I wish I enjoyed something that much,” I said, envy creeping into my voice.
“Is that so?” said Lena. “I hope, at least, you enjoy these chats as much as I do.”
“You do? But I’m hardly an entertaining conversationalist.”
“It’s so much fun to talk to you! You know so much, Lady Philia. I always learn something new and interesting… I feel like I’m becoming smarter just talking to you. Who wouldn’t enjoy that?”
I was about to say that fun was the last thing that people ought to associate with me, but I knew Lena would argue right back. I said nothing, but I couldn’t hide my surprise. No one had said such a thing about me, so I’d always thought of myself as plain and uninteresting.
“I enjoy my interactions with both of you,” Leonardo added. “It’s my job, of course, but I mean what I say from the bottom of my heart.”
Lena nodded. “We may not be on your conversational level, Lady Philia, but I hope you learn to enjoy our chats too.”
Talking about nothing in particular was fun. Spending time with friends was fun. Both Leonardo and Lena assured me of these things as if they went without saying. Someday, would I be able to let my guard down and feel the same way?
Another maid approached the table. “Lady Philia, a letter from Girtonia has arrived.” It was from Mia. I opened it at once, eager to see my sister’s response to my warning about the rising Demon Realm.
The contents left me reeling.
I’d warned Mia about the looming threat that the Demon Realm posed, but I couldn’t have prepared myself for this.
I couldn’t hide my shock.