Lloyd cheerfully broke the sudden silence. “Wow, you’re incredible, Fia. You’re a genius when it comes to causing chaos and misunderstandings. You’ve created a situation many times more incredible than the worst-case scenario I envisioned. I tip my hat to your genius.”
Come to think of it, his advice had pushed me to change the topic to my Dhital meat tour. I glared, realizing he was likely to blame for this awkward silence.
He threw up his hands as though in surrender, but wore a bright smile. Looking at the saints, he said, “Fia really is a knight like she claims. She may have abnormally vibrant red hair, but red hair doesn’t necessarily mean she’s a saint.”
Judging by the saints’ expressions, it seemed they’d assumed I was a saint until this moment.
“Oh jeez, Lloyd. Was this another one of your pranks?” I said nervously, my eyes wide. I secretly was a saint, so this was kind of cutting it close.
The saints narrowed their eyes at Lloyd, which he kind of deserved. He showed no sign of being flustered, however, and beamed right back at them.
“Forgive me, everyone. My daughter Priscilla received a rather unique education at the cathedral and has difficulty interacting with others. But there’s only so much one person can do on their own, so she will need to rely on you all at times.” Seeing he had the saints’ attention, Lloyd continued. “I was hoping she could grow close with all of you today, but things turned sour rather quickly. I believed this little joke I prepared with Fia would help lighten the mood, but it seems to have had the opposite effect. I only have my lack of people skills to blame.”
He hung his head. Having known him for a while, I saw this for an act.
His feelings toward saints were complicated and often manifested as sarcasm. That may have been the case here as well. Regardless, it seemed he’d convinced the saints. They were apparently even more naive than him.
The mood in the parlor lightened, and the glares softened. With a bright smile, Lloyd said, “Priscilla plans on living in the royal capital and will likely visit the royal castle often. As her fellow saints, I’m sure you’ll all be the first people she comes to for advice, so I’m hoping you can get along with her.”
The saints seemed flattered by Lloyd’s request, but Priscilla stuck her nose up haughtily. “I received the greatest of educations at the cathedral. I don’t see what advice I could possibly receive from another saint.”
“Priscilla…” Lloyd chided. Despite his best efforts, the mood soured all over again.
She paid him no mind, frowning. “I’ve always been number one at the cathedral, and I will be number one again at the upcoming head saint selection! I have no equals! There’s nothing anybody could possibly teach me!”
She must have been under an immense amount of pressure to become head saint if she was being so stubborn. It was awfully romantic of Saviz to wait ten years to marry a woman, but if you really thought about it, knowing he was waiting for her put a lot of pressure on her. She’d probably had people telling her she’d become the head saint from the moment the cathedral took her in at age seven. I could only imagine how strict her training was. She clearly felt a need to live up to the heavy expectations placed on her. It made me feel sorry for her.
The saints, however, seemed hurt by her words. “Well, I can see you think highly of yourself! But from what I’ve heard, Head Saint Hyacinthe hasn’t summoned you even once!”
Priscilla paled, but I could only wonder what this was all about.
Other saints joined in. “I don’t know how strong of a saint you are, but I doubt you’re a match for the saints under Hyacinthe!”
“Yeah! The next head saint will be one of hers!”
I looked back and forth between the saints and Priscilla, still confused. Lloyd was furrowing his brow and scowling as well.
He met my gaze and attempted a smile. “Rumor has it Her Majesty Hyacinthe is hiding a star pupil, one who can match her benevolence and carry on her will.”
Hyacinthe was Cerulean and Saviz’s mother, as well as the current head saint. Even as we spoke, Clarissa, Quentin, and Zackary were on their way to the royal villa to meet her.
“Of all the saints the cathedral knows about, Priscilla is the most powerful, but we don’t know much about the saints surrounding the queen dowager. The only thing we do know is that this rumored star pupil of hers has vivid red hair the likes of which we’ve rarely seen.” Lloyd shot a look at my hair before continuing. “At any rate, the queen dowager should reach the royal castle in a few days. I’m sure she’ll leave only a single saint behind to manage her villa and bring the rest with her, so we’ll get to see this star pupil of hers sooner or later.”
Lloyd then leaned close to whisper, “Cerulean has wished for the past ten years to have a queen who comes from House Alcott. Plus, Priscilla seems dead set on becoming head saint. If the queen dowager brings a strong saint with her, sparks are sure to fly.”