We journeyed back to the entrance of the forest, exchanging few words along the way. Cyril and Kurtis were not a talkative bunch to begin with, but they were even quieter than usual today. They were probably feeling gloomy after the conversation between Saviz and me. It certainly left me down.
Kurtis drew close to whisper, “Lady Fi, are you all right? If you would rather skip the tea party, I could talk to Cyril for you.”
He peered worriedly down at me. He’d looked similarly concerned only a few days ago when we were in Lloyd’s room in the castle. There, he’d pleaded from his heart, saying, “Lady Fi, please do not forget what is most important here! No matter how much your heart pains you, no matter how much you wish to be of aid, do not forget what must come first! If anything, I advise you to leave now before you feel compelled to help!”
The thing of “utmost importance” was probably my life. He was warning me to take better care of myself and not get too involved with Cerulean and Dolly. A good portion of his worry likely stemmed from Colette, Lloyd’s eternally sleeping younger sister. He must have thought I would need to use my saint powers to wake her and considered it too much of a risk. But by using the Rose of the Great Saint, I didn’t have to use my magic directly. Kurtis’s fears were entirely unfounded.
Yet he had persisted, even extending his worries to Saviz and Cyril. “The same goes for Commander Saviz and Cyril! The two of them carry a burden equally dark and grave! Please, I beg you, do not become involved with any of them any further!”
I didn’t understand what he was so worried about back then and have wondered ever since, but it must have been connected to whatever happened in this forest if he was approaching me with such a concerned expression now. In other words…
In a whisper, I asked, “Was there something about my conversation with Commander Saviz that worries you?”
His expression went blank and he didn’t utter a word, but his lack of reply said enough.
Kurtis couldn’t lie to me. That’s why, in situations like this where the truth was difficult for him, he simply held his tongue.
In my conversation with Saviz, we talked about two things: healing his eye and his status as a royal spare. He dismissed the idea of healing his eye, so that couldn’t be it. Which meant whatever Kurtis was worried about likely had to do with Saviz’s status as a royal spare, and that further meant there was more going on here than I knew.
Kurtis was unlikely to fill me in even if I asked, though. Instead, I shook my head and replied to his initial question. “No, I’ll see my duties as a knight through. If the commander is going to the tea party as planned, then I shall accompany him.”
“I understand.” Kurtis seemed like he wanted to say more, but he left it at that and stepped away.
I wondered why he was so worried, but I wasn’t going to push it if he was willing to back down. The whole matter with Cerulean and Dolly would be over soon anyway once the Rose of the Great Saint was ready, so whatever was going on with Saviz and Cyril would probably be fine by that time as well.
Feeling a bit better, I met Saviz’s gaze. He raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s the matter, Fia? Don’t tell me you’re nervous about meeting the queen dowager.”
“Huh? Oh!” I guess he’d overheard me whispering with Kurtis and misunderstood. Still, Hyacinthe was the previous queen and the current head saint. That kind of made her a big shot. It would be rude not to be nervous. Though it was a bit late, I put a hand over my heart and said, “Yes, sir! The thought of meeting someone this important has my heart pounding!”
An awkward silence filled the air.
Huh? He’d brought this up, yet Saviz looked doubtful at my answer. What was up with that? All I did was reply like he wanted!
Even Cyril was looking at me like he didn’t believe me. What was with the two of them?
I doubled down on the bit. “Don’t worry! I’ll still do my utmost to protect you as part of your guard detail, Commander Saviz!”
“I see… I have high expectations for you.”
That was odd. A man in a position of power should be able to hide his true thoughts, yet I could easily tell he meant the exact opposite of what he said! But why would he request I serve him if he expected nothing of me? And why would he make his thoughts so obvious?
“Fia, there’s something I’d like to ask you,” Saviz said. “This is just a hypothetical scenario, but…”
“Yes?” It was unusual for a realist like him to speak of hypotheticals.
“If you were a saint about to wed into the royal family, and the royal family was cursed to never produce girls, what would you do? Suppose you were a talented saint, but none of your abilities would be passed on to the next generation.”
That was a bit of a strange hypothetical, but the answer was obvious, so I replied instantly, “I would help as many people as I could!”
“What?” His eyebrows drew together in confusion.
My answer wouldn’t change no matter how many times he asked me, so I just repeated it. “If I had that kind of ability, I would help as many people as I could!”
He looked at me blankly for a moment before bursting into uncontrollable laughter. “Ha…ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! I see! What a sublime answer!” Once the mirth subsided, he murmured, “So you would choose to do everything yourself instead of entrusting things to the next generation…” He nodded, seeming to come to some decision. Determination shone in his eyes when he looked at me. “I wonder why. For some reason, I feel as though that’s exactly what you would do if you were a saint.”
“Huh? Uh, yes, of course.” In his eyes lurked an emotion I couldn’t make out.
He grinned. “Fia, you’ve yet to show me what you said you could that night, but…your words have at least allowed me to continue to dream.”
He was probably alluding to that dream talk I apparently had with him during the dinner I couldn’t remember. I was a bit worried I might’ve said something outrageous, but it seemed he was actually quite happy with whatever it was.
“Huh? Are my dreams, like, super interesting or something?” I murmured. No one contradicted me, so I chose to believe that. It was nice learning something new and positive about myself.