Chapter 51:
The Great Saint’s Rose
“I’LL TAKE MY LEAVE HERE THEN, Captain Desmond.”
As the tension between Lloyd and Desmond mounted, I hurried to pick up my tray and rise from my seat.
Lloyd was a bit too frank with his thoughts, perhaps because he was a duke, a high noble rank. He had a habit of teasing people, which likely stemmed from his time as a jester. Desmond had a hobby of teasing people as well, and that similar tendency inspired the disharmony between them. I’d heard they were chess buddies, but I had to wonder if that was even possible.
“R-right, sure… See you later, Fia.” Desmond looked on in confusion as I prepared to leave with Lloyd.
I didn’t want him to jump to any wild conclusions, so I leaned in and whispered, “Yesterday, Cerulean, Dolly, and I disguised ourselves as a jester troupe and went into town. Lloyd came by to get me because he wants to talk about what we did there.”
“Huh? Wait, so you dressed up as a jester too?! Oddly enough, I can totally see you pulling off a jester look. …W-wait, no! What’s a proud knight like you think you’re doing?!”
As expected, Desmond was too embroiled in dealing with the news of the head saint to learn of my outing yesterday with Cerulean and Dolly. He grumbled but seemed to accept Lloyd’s presence now. Perfect. With this, he’d simply think I got dragged along according to the jesters’ whims.
I played along, saying, “You’re right! A proud knight has no business doing such a thing. I’ll make sure to tell Duke Alcott off!” before running to join Lloyd. Of course, I preferred to avoid conflict and never bothered scolding Duke Alcott.
Lloyd led me to the castle garden. Of the dozen rose bushes, two had become Roses of the Great Saint. He strode to those before turning back toward me.
“Fia, do you recall how we asked you to pick a Rose of the Great Saint for us last night? Well, after you left, Cerulean and I took some time to flesh out our course of action from here on out.”
“Oh, okay.” I waited for his next words.
“We decided it was best to borrow the new head saint’s power and have her ready to heal Colette after she wakes up. The ceremony to choose that head saint will take place two weeks from now, but the actual selection will likely take another two weeks. Hence, we’ll be waiting a month at best before we can beg the head saint’s aid. We want you to pick out the right rose for us before that time.”
“Oh? So I don’t have to make a choice for a whole month?” Honestly, not having to choose right away came as a relief.
He nodded. “The Third Mage Knight Brigade will preserve the rose in its current state, so you can pick it as soon as today or tomorrow if you’d like, or wait a month if you prefer. You can even pick every rose that catches your eye, then choose the one you think is best when the time comes. And if you can’t find a rose you feel is right, we can postpone things further.”
“Huh? Is that all right?” I thought we were kind of in a rush.
With a wry smile, he said, “My sister has slept for ten years. Another week or two won’t change much. Of course, it’d be best if you could find the right rose within a month, but do as you will.”
So he said, but I recalled someone mentioning last night that Colette was reaching her limit. Sooner was probably better than later.
“You know, I kind of get the feeling I’ll find the right rose within a month!” I said, then began taking stock of things.
The roses in this garden looked like ordinary roses, but they were actually a special breed that would turn into Roses of the Great Saint if I gave them my mana every day. If I started now, the whole process would take just about a month, lining up perfectly with Lloyd’s deadline. It had taken me about a month last time, when I made a Rose of the Great Saint for Saviz, so I was confident in my estimate.
Incidentally, to prevent crossbreeding between these roses and other strains, we’d removed all rose varieties but Roses of the Great Saint from the castle garden three hundred years ago. It seemed they still strictly maintained that standard, as all the roses before me now were the special breed that could become Roses of the Great Saint.
The question was how many Roses of the Great Saint I should make…
I felt prickling at the back of my neck and looked up to find Lloyd watching me. Hoping to deflect suspicion, I said, “I’m just picking whatever rose feels right, so if it winds up having the effect you need, it’s only a coincidence. Got that?”
He smiled and said, “Of course, but from the sound of things, you seem confident you’ll pick the right one. After all my failures to help my sister, it’s rather refreshing to see you like this.”
He sure was putting a lot of pressure on me, but this was better than when he was in utter desperation and despair. The mere possibility reminded me of what happened last night.