Chapter 9: The Promise Made Ten Years Ago and The Contract With a Saint
LINUS stormed over to them, his voice sharp. He tugged Fiona by the arm toward him. His voice and attitude differed from usual, and she floundered a bit at the change in him.
“What are you doing?! You’re supposed to be escorting me, so why are you even bothering with that woman?!”
Displeased, Manaka rushed over as well. It turned out Linus had returned to Fiona as soon as the song ended. That was not the norm for the ever-gentlemanly Linus, and she wondered if perhaps he tired himself out more than expected during the one dance with Manaka.
The girl glared daggers at Fiona as she clung to Linus’ arm.
“I have a great idea. You and Paul make such a cute couple, and Linus and I suit each other perfectly, too. We should just exchange saints.”
Though Manaka clapped her hands in delight at her cleverness, the two princes’ expressions rapidly darkened. The transformation scared Fiona enough to look away for a moment.
However, it wouldn’t be a terrible prospect for the Kingdom of Gene to acquire a true saint, and there was a possibility that it could come to fruition. For some reason, the thought made pain lance viciously deep inside her chest.
“Don’t you think so too, Lord King? If I become the crown prince’s consort, your country is guaranteed to see bountiful yields.”
The surrounding nobles frowned when Manaka called out loudly to the king, who was a bit further away from them. Fiona wondered if their disapproving glances were due to the girl practically shouting during a function such as this or her outrageously casual manner in speaking to their monarch. She would guess probably…both.
Fiona thought the king might raise both hands in enthusiastic agreement. But contrary to her expectations, he only shook his head with a troubled expression. When she saw that, Manaka’s expression went instantly from smug to dour.
“Why?! Here I am, being generous enough to offer myself as your future daughter-in-law!”
While it surprised Fiona to see the fanciful, middle-aged king of Gene refuse the girl’s offer, after considering the matter closely, she realized an exchange would mean she, the fake saint, would go to Slava. And that would be committing fraud, so in hindsight, she was glad it wasn’t going to happen. Receiving a real saint in exchange for sending an imposter was only asking to start a fight.
“Manaka, watch what you say, or neither of us will like the consequences.”
“Shut up, Paul!”
Until then, Linus had remained silent. He now exhaled deeply, shook off Manaka’s arm wound around his, and lifted Fiona’s hand in his.
“Fiona is the only one who will be my consort.”
Her heart practically bounded out of her chest at the way his indigo eyes narrowed and his perfect lips smiled. By not sending an impostor, the two countries would avoid a diplomatic incident. He was merely protecting her. She knew all this very well, but still, her pulse pounded fast.
“Be that as it may, Your Highness, she does have black hair.”
Fiona herself didn’t know why she even said that. All she had to do was thank him, but she couldn’t. It had made her incredibly happy to have him defend her, so why in the world couldn’t she just tell him that?
Though Linus had been acting strange lately, Fiona could say the same of herself.
“I don’t have any interest in her.”
She had unthinkingly blurted the comment because, despite blocking the exchange of saints, she’d assumed he was intrigued by Manaka’s black hair.
“But you like black hair.”
How could he so easily say he wasn’t interested after all the petting and kissing he’d done to Fiona’s hair?
“That doesn’t mean I’m fine with anyone who has black hair.”
His stare only intensified, and Fiona’s heartbeat accelerated again. This painful tightness in her chest had been bothering her for a few minutes now. Was she sick? She pressed her hand to her chest, and when she looked up, her gaze met his smiling one. Her eyes skittered away immediately.
“Th-This is ridiculous. A real, bonafide saint practically offered herself to you on a platter, and you turn me down?!”
As Manaka’s voice rose in anger, magic whooshed in the air around them, wilting the lovely flower arrangements on one table after another. Every bloom nearby darkened and withered, like brown ink splashing into clear water, staining it.
“If I can’t become Linus’ wife, I’ll kill all the plants and vegetation in this country. But if you are a real saint, then all you have to do is stop me.”
“She makes an excellent point. If the Saint of Cost Performance is a true saint, I would very much like a demonstration of her power.”
Without any of them realizing, the prime minister had strode over to watch the drama play out. Now, he spoke, his stare harsh on Fiona. He had suspected her of being a fraud from the beginning, so he must have decided this was the perfect opportunity to prove it.
“When hell freezes over is the day I accept a woman willing to destroy an entire country over a childish temper tantrum,” Linus asserted. “And how many times have I said Fiona is the only one who’ll be my wife? Are you deaf?”
“What did you say?!”
Manaka’s expression underwent a change at Linus’ calm, quiet refusal. For a moment, she paled, then in the next, her complexion reddened furiously, and a thunderous scowl marred her pretty face. In response to her worsening mood, the magic she unleashed grew heavier. It no longer affected only the flowers but began tainting the food arranged on the tables as well. The food dried up, then decomposed all at once, as if oceans of time passed in an instant.
Screams rang out in response to the ominous event, then the sound of something breaking somewhere.
“I’m a saint. I’m better than everyone! I’m extraordinary!”
Consumed by her fury, Manaka screeched, and with every word, the alcohol poured into glasses changed color and foamed rapidly. That was the breaking point for the guests gathered in this ballroom. First, the flowers rotted, then the food, and now the spirits. Like a dam breaking, people poured out of the venue as they fled the terrifying scene.
The potted plants around the space either browned while emitting a smoke-like substance or rotted from the roots and toppled to the floor. Apparently, the range of her magic extended to the courtyard outside because a tree suddenly crashed through one of the windows, sending broken glass flying everywhere.
The venue had fallen into chaos. People stumbled into each other, desperate to escape. A few even went down hard. Someone crashed into a table near them, and all the glass dishware on top of it fell to the floor and shattered. Fiona raised her hands instinctively to protect herself from the shards, but Linus was faster as he pulled her toward him.
Before she knew it, she found herself cradled protectively in his embrace.
“Fiona, are you all right?”
When she raised her head at the sound of his voice, she saw a slice running down his cheek, oozing blood.
“Your Highness, you’re hurt.”
She hurriedly reached up to touch his cheek, and beads of light suddenly danced around them. After the cut disappeared from his beautiful face, she sighed in relief.
“Thank you.”
“That’s my line. Please put yourself before me.”
Fiona could heal injuries to a certain extent because of her ability to use healing magic. However, Linus was the crown prince, and she needed him to understand that it would be catastrophic for their country if anything bad happened to him.
“I will protect you, Fiona. After all…I promised you, didn’t I?”
Linus covered Fiona’s hand on his cheek with his own and smiled at her.
“I’ll protect you, Fiona. So, in exchange, stay by my side forever.”
His words from ten years ago. The promise he’d made to a girl without her memories. She had honestly thought he’d forgotten it a long time ago. But clearly, he hadn’t. And now that she knew he’d kept it faithfully all this time, an inexplicable warmth spread inside her chest, filling her whole being.
However, she knew she couldn’t allow herself to be satisfied with just that.