“This is all wrong. You told me she was a fraud, but a fraud wouldn’t be able to do all that!” Angry and with her hands on her hips, Manaka accused the prime minister, who shook his head in panic.
“I-I have no notion of what you speak of.”
“Don’t give me that. You’re the one who asked for my help in exposing a fake saint!”
“Ahhh!”
The prime minister shouted in an attempt to drown out Manaka’s words, but everyone heard her, so it was a meaningless gesture on his part.
“Correct me if I’m wrong then, Manaka, but what you’re saying is that you colluded with the prime minister of the Kingdom of Gene, hm?”
Manaka scowled in annoyance at Paul’s deathly quiet question.
“I didn’t collude with him; I helped him unmask an imposter. As a noble saint, it was only natural for me to say yes, don’t you think?”
“Without telling me?”
At first, Manaka’s attitude was aggravated and displeased at being forced to answer him. But the longer Paul’s expression remained detached and his tone neutral, the less aggressive she became and the more uncertain she seemed.
“But he was the one who told me to keep it a secret.”
“N-No, I didn’t!”
The prime minister shook his head vehemently as he slowly retreated. Staring at him, Paul exhaled deeply.
“You conspired with a leader of a foreign nation to cause the downfall of a legitimate saint. Furthermore, in your desire to become the wife of said nation’s crown prince, you showed your willingness to abandon Slava. In which case…your selfishness will no longer allow you to escape the consequences of your actions as you have thus far.”
His expression still dispassionate, Paul grabbed Manaka’s arm and dragged her in front of the king. Linus put his hand on Fiona’s back and gently pushed her forward, silently telling her to do the same. With everyone’s contemptuous stares on him, the prime minister reluctantly walked toward the monarch.
There they stood in front of him. Manaka and Paul. The prime minister a bit off to the side. Fiona and Linus. And even Charles, who’d pushed his way through the crowd.
Manaka, the cause of the fracas, tossed her head defiantly as she stood there. Her movement attracted the surrounding nobles’ attention. Aside from the crackling sounds made by the broken shards of glass as the servants cleaned them up, no one else moved or said a word.
Paul sighed heavily, then stared directly at Manaka.
“Manaka Yoda. According to the contract made at the time of your summoning, if it is determined that your magic will cause harm to our country, your own magic will be used against you to bind you. I trust you haven’t forgotten these terms?”
Paul sent Linus a sidelong glance. He nodded in acknowledgment and picked up the metaphorical torch from Slava’s prince.
“Not only did you disregard His Highness Paul’s repeated warnings, you also declared to all and sundry that you would become my consort. Then there’s the matter of your collusion with Gene’s prime minister and the disrespect you’ve shown to the Saint of Cost Performance. Last but not least, the chaos you created at tonight’s ball. I, Linus Gene, crown prince of the Kingdom of Gene, hereby declare I witnessed all this with my own eyes.”
Paul inclined his head, then faced the king again.
“Your Majesty, do you concur?”
“I do.”
Paul bowed deferentially at the king’s affirmation. The elegant movement contrasted sharply with his hard expression. To Fiona, he didn’t even seem like the same person who’d talked to her.
“I am deeply apologetic for the commotion at your ball, Your Majesty. The Saint of Abundance has committed egregious violations of her contract with Slava. Normally, her punishment would be dealt with internally, but considering the trouble we’ve already caused you all, would you allow me to carry out the judgment here?”
“Go ahead. For the sake of both of our countries, it seems you have no choice but to follow through with the contract stipulations.”
“Thank you very much.”
Paul bowed to him again before pivoting to Manaka once more. He stretched his hand toward her and rested his palm in the air right in front of her neck. Then, he exhaled shortly.
“Wh-What are you doing?”
“As a party to the contract, I, Paul Slava, invoke and impose the restrictions.”
As soon as he finished saying the words, light gathered around her neck. When it circled all the way around, the glow disappeared, leaving behind a collar made of what looked to be black leather.
“What is this? Take it off!”
Panicked, Manaka grabbed at the collar, but it stubbornly refused to come off. It was only about as wide as one of her fingers, but Fiona couldn’t see any seams anywhere, making her wonder how Paul even put it on her.
Magic burst around Manaka. Perhaps the girl thought that if she couldn’t physically rip it off, then she would try to make it rot off using her power since it had a corrupting effect on organic matter and processed goods. However, contrary to Fiona’s expectations, the collar remained as is. There were no signs of decay or discoloration. If anything, Manaka’s complexion paled.
“I-It hurts! It hurts!”
She screamed as she clawed at the collar. The magic surrounding her vanished, and as soon as it did, the tension on her face eased.
“In exchange for the government of Slava guaranteeing your safety and providing you with food, clothing, and shelter, you swore not to conduct yourself in a manner harmful to our country. In the event of a breach of contract, we agreed it would be your magic that created a collar to restrain your powers. Did I or did I not explain the terms of the contract over and over again to you?”
So saying, Paul lowered his hand.
“You have only your own foolish actions to blame for this outcome. Since you won’t be able to use your power as a saint like this, I realize our harvests won’t be as bountiful as they were until now. Even so, I have decided it’s better to weaken your power, Manaka.”
“No, you can’t be serious. I’m supposed to stay like this forever?”
Manaka hadn’t cared at all despite Paul’s numerous warnings, but now even she looked terrified at the prospect of losing her magic. Fiona suspected her power as a saint was the foundation on which her self-esteem relied. The girl looked so frail in her bewildered state that the arrogant Manaka until now might as well have been another person entirely.
“As long as you don’t try to use magic, it won’t hurt. And if everyone acknowledges you, the collar will disappear on its own. I know I explained all that as well… I guess this means you’ll just have to do your best, won’t you?”
“This has to be a joke. I’m the chosen saint!”
Paul glanced pointedly at a servant waiting patiently nearby. At his signal, the servant took Manaka by the hand. Her face blank with surprise, she left the ballroom without resistance.
“I apologize for all the trouble we caused, Your Majesty.”
The king nodded, accepting Paul’s apology, then beckoned the prime minister with a wave. Mulligan, unable to defy the command, slowly walked forward to stand in front of Gene’s ruler.
“Prime Minister. Did you really collude with the Saint of Abundance? I’m struggling to wrap my head around the fact that you asked for her help to expose the Saint of Cost Performance as an impostor.”
“I… I…”
“You had her in your sights because you’ve been embezzling from the national budget by padding it with empty figures and nonsense requests, hm?”
Upon hearing Linus’ words, the king’s expression took on a thunderous cast while the prime minister went pale. Fiona’s impression of the man was that he had been protecting the country from a king caught up with his castles in the sky, but the prime minister’s reaction conveyed to her that likely wasn’t the case.
Linus took a sheaf of documents from a servant, handed it over to the king, then returned to Fiona’s side. She suspected the papers likely contained proof of the embezzlement. The fact that the crown prince presented the pages to the king meant it was conclusive evidence of a crime. While it would have been nice if he’d informed her in advance, she also understood that he might not have been at liberty to discuss the prime minister’s scandal so openly.