THE bed in the royal palace was softer and more comfortable than she could have ever imagined. The instant she found herself cocooned in its plushness, she lost her battle against fatigue and slept deeply until morning. After she and Ada went through their morning rituals and readied themselves to head home, a knock sounded on the door. When she opened it, Linus and Charles were standing outside.
“My father has summoned us. Seems the prime minister wants to discuss something… I’m guessing he’s done sneaking around in the shadows, hm?”
“Your Highness, you’ll give someone nightmares with that face, so please take care.”
Linus continued to smile as Charles pulled on his cheeks. Confused, Fiona followed the two of them to the audience chamber. Before long, the king and the prime minister arrived.
As soon as the formal greetings were conducted, the prime minister sneered at her.
“Fiona Everett, the so-called Saint of Cost Performance, is an imposter!”
All she could do was widen her eyes in surprise at the bombshell revelation. Though the man’s words were true, acknowledging them here would also affect the others. How could she ensure that the blame fell on her and her alone?
“Putting aside the matter of your disrespect in bringing this up, do you have any proof?”
Seeing how calm Linus and Charles looked, Fiona guessed their angle of attack was that the prime minister was making false accusations. In which case, she couldn’t interfere. For now, she waited for the prime minister’s answer and watched how events unfolded.
“I’ve never heard of a soul being summoned, nor is there any written record of such. What the ‘saint’ is doing is simple budget embezzlement.”
“Even though she achieved results as a saint?”
“The reduction of floods and the increase in crop yields is thanks to the repairs on the levees and bridges. Those things can’t be directly attributed to the saint’s power.”
Too right. Perhaps the only reason this country could even function with a middle-aged daydreaming king was because of the prime minister. As a citizen herself, she felt the need to convey her gratitude.
“Let’s suppose you’re right. Which begs the question. Who was even approving the wasteful budgets in the first place without doing the proper due diligence, hm?”
When Linus, all smiles, pointed that out, the prime minister was temporarily at a loss for words. The man cleared his throat uncomfortably several times before continuing.
“Moreover, the knights were the ones who defeated the monsters at the lake. Not to mention a local priest contained the spread of the corruption too.”
“Have you forgotten that Fiona purified the monsters and the lake afterward?”
“Both of those jobs could have been entrusted to the priest without issue, so they do not count as evidence of her being a saint.”
Correct again and again. Though she’d performed the purification, it was something any reasonably powerful clergy member could have accomplished. And in fact, Brother Miller had stopped the spread. Dispatching a few more priests and priestesses would have also resolved the problem easily.
Fiona caught herself before she nodded in agreement. Charles sighed quietly in relief when he saw before taking the stage.
“Are you saying then that you don’t believe His Highness and I witnessed the soul summoning with our own eyes?”
“As to that…”
Of course, even the prime minister couldn’t deny that charge. He couldn’t recklessly accuse the Central Temple’s pontiff and the crown prince, both key figures in the nation, of lying.
“Would you like to know something interesting, Prime Minister? Lately, certain families have been constantly throwing their daughters in my face as candidates to be my wife. Do you know what else? We had an incident last night, so we’re trying to root out the criminal.”
Though puzzled by the sudden change in topic, Fiona remained silent. She noticed the slightest frown marring the prime minister’s brow.
“Criminal? Even if the saint was locked inside the room, wasn’t that simply because the lock was broken?”
“Oh ho. I didn’t say a single thing about Fiona being locked in. As ever, the speed with which you acquire information never ceases to amaze me, Prime Minister.”
“W-Well, the goings-on in the palace find their way to my ears one way or another.”
Linus beamed at him, and in response, the prime minister smiled stiffly.
“Now, riddle me this, if you will. How do you intend to verify whether or not Fiona is an imposter?”
What in the world was Linus saying? Wouldn’t the smart move here be not to touch on that topic since she was a fraud? She unconsciously glared at him, but his gaze never wavered from the prime minister.
Though the prime minister had been showing signs of panic, he regained a measure of calm from the crown prince’s inquiry.
“We’ll invite Slava’s Saint of Abundance. Once we compare her to a real saint, I should think the difference would be clear as day.”
“Ohhh, the Saint of Abundance, eh?!”
The king had remained silent until then. Now, he exclaimed with a sudden sparkle in his eyes. The mention of the neighboring nation’s saint unnecessarily piqued the whimsical middle-aged man’s interest, and Fiona thought that might not bode well for them. She focused her attention on Linus and Charles, beseeching them with her eyes to stop this madness, but neither noticed her, their cold stares focused on the prime minister.
“Prime Minister, can we really invite her?”
“Please leave it to me, Your Majesty.”
Beaming, the king nodded happily, which told them more than anything he was deep in thrall to his spirit of je ne sais quoi. No one could stop him now.
“I don’t have any doubts about the Saint of Cost Performance, which is why I’m sure she’ll get along splendidly with Slava’s. I’m looking forward to it!”
Fiona was baffled by his assumption that she would get along with the other woman when he had never even met Slava’s saint. Regardless, the king’s approval meant the neighboring saint’s visit was essentially a done deal. So, it was only a matter of time before she was unmasked as a fake saint.
As her mind went in circles on how to deal with this situation, Linus gently placed his hand on her shoulder. His expression showed no trace of defeat, much less any intention of abandoning her.
“Don’t worry. I have an idea.”
His eyes narrowed.