MEANWHILE, in Celaeno Palace…
“Curse that stupid old man!”
Leonis was unable to repress his anger, cursing and growling as he walked along the corridor with his bodyguards in tow. From his usual demeanor, no one would guess it was even possible for him to get so angry. Court officials and servants looked at him in concern, unsure of what to do.
Among them, there was one man brave enough to face him.
“Lord Leonis! Aww, don’t look at me like that; all that anger doesn’t suit your pretty face!”
That man was Raven.
✦ ✦ ✦
MARIALITE was planting some seeds, humming to herself as she worked.
With each seed she planted, she offered up a silent prayer that they would grow up big and healthy, but she didn’t use her holy powers. If she did, they would grow immediately, but what was the fun in that? She wanted to take her time and enjoy the process of watching her garden thrive on its own.
“I wonder what sort of flowers will grow here?” she thought aloud, smiling. “…What’s wrong, Lady Cornelia?”
“You dare to ask what’s wrong with me?” she scoffed. “Didn’t Prince Sirius say anything when he saw all this?” she asked, her eyes fixed on the strange topazios plants.
For one thing, there were the strange, knight-like flowers, and then there was the mysterious green orb, now slightly sticking out of the soil. Cornelia felt a sudden urge to burn the whole place to the ground.
“Yeah. He said he was happy,” Marialite answered plainly.
“It’s as if he’ll agree to anything when you’re involved,” she rolled her eyes. “If your personality was a little more like mine, I dare say this country would already be in ruins…”
There were many cases where countries had fallen due to their king choosing to be blind to his own queen’s wrongdoings. Cornelia was suddenly extremely thankful that Marialite was the sort of person who was painfully honest about her own thoughts.
And at that moment, Cornelia could clearly see a sort of loneliness weighing on Marialite, her eyebrows knitting together ever so slightly.
“What’s the matter? Has he done something to hurt you?” Cornelia asked, narrowing her eyes.
“No, it’s not that,” Marialite shook her head. “It’s just…recently, he seems to be hiding something from me.”
“Hmm… I think you can at least be certain he’s not cheating on you,” she snickered.
“To be honest, I think it might be something to do with Raven,” Marialite said, casting her eyes down sorrowfully.
Raven had recently become Prince Leonis’ attendant.
A large number of people had seen Raven trying to butter Leonis up, and apparently, he even told him confidential information that Sirius had entrusted to him. Sirius took issue with that betrayal of trust and dismissed him from his post. Then, as though that was exactly what he’d been waiting for, Raven chose Leonis as his new master.
“Raven’s been stuck to Prince Leonis like glue as of late,” Cornelia told her. “Rumors have been flying around that he’ll become his attendant instead. Moreover, it appears that Prince Leonis wishes to reclaim his right to the throne from Prince Sirius by any means possible.”
“Even though he’s his brother?”
“It’s because he’s his brother!” Cornelia snapped. “The people are fond of Prince Sirius because he’s a good-natured man, but politically speaking, Leonis—the Second Prince—is of higher standing than him. His work with divine beasts gives him a boost, too. People often question why Prince Sirius was chosen to be the next emperor in the first place—behind his back, of course.”
Marialite nodded as she listened. She’d never heard Sirius talk about politics before. It was possible he was trying to keep her from worrying by making sure she was unaware of the current issues.
“That sounds like a complicated situation,” she hummed.
“For one thing, this isn’t the time to be lounging around and gardening,” Cornelia warned her. “Do you realize that if Prince Leonis really does secure the throne, you won’t become empress anymore?”
“Oh, that doesn’t bother me,” she smiled. “We could just live a normal, countryside life together again. If he wants to, I mean.”
“No, no. Even if you have your right to the throne taken from you, the fact remains that you won’t have to live as a commoner again. Not unless you do something ghastly.”
Frankly, Marialite didn’t care either way. As long as she was with someone who truly loved and treasured her, she believed she could find happiness no matter where she lived.
“You really are devoted, Marialite,” a voice called out from a distance. “You’ll make a great wife one day.”
The two women looked up to see Raven leaping onto the topazios plant, landing on the sword-bearing knight’s head.
“Eugh! Speak of the devil, it’s that feathery fiend,” Cornelia scowled.
“Aww, that’s not very nice,” he replied with a smile.
“What business could you possibly have with Marialite? You’re with Prince Leonis now,” she huffed.
“I have my reasons,” he sighed, jumping down from the thick body of the flower. “Marialite, could I ask you a favor?”
“A favor? What is it?” she blinked.
“Take a look at this,” he said, holding out a black drawstring pouch. Inside, she found a wealth of tightly packed seeds.
“What kind of seeds are these?” she asked.
“They’re fruit trees for the divine beasts. They can be pretty picky eaters, so they’ll only eat certain types of fruit—and, of course, they’re all hard to come by. That’s why I was hoping you could grow a whole load of ’em using your powers,” he explained.
“How is that our problem?” Cornelia argued, her cat ears pricking up and her claws extending. Evidently, she was full of anger.
“It’s not like I feel good about asking a favor from my old master’s fiancée either,” Raven pouted. “But gathering enough food for the beasts is hard work. We always end up having to risk our lives entering monster territory to pick the fruit. And even then, we can’t find enough. A lot of the beasts are going hungry,” he sighed, putting on a thick, sorrowful tone and over-dramatically wiping a tear away. He pretended not to notice the way Cornelia clicked her tongue in disbelief.
“Okay,” Marialite said plainly, taking the bag full of seeds. Her smile was just as steady as it always was.
“Huh? R-Really?” Raven asked hesitantly, as though he had never expected her to agree so readily.
“Wait, Marialite,” Cornelia interrupted them. “You have no obligation to do anything for that nasty little birdbrain.”
“Well, I don’t want the beasts to starve,” she shrugged.
“I know, but—”
“I’ll have them ready for you soon. Okay, Raven?” Marialite smiled.
“Thanks.”
“I hope your work goes well!” she said encouragingly, that same carefree smile ever present. Raven’s expression faltered for just a moment—but was quickly replaced by a wide grin.
“Great! See you soon!” he called out, waving as he left.
Cornelia glared at his back as he jogged away. She tried to snatch the pouch away from Marialite…but the saint was quicker. She swiftly stretched her hand above her head so that Cornelia couldn’t reach it, and Cornelia couldn’t help but admire the other woman. Despite her carefree nature, Marialite’s reflexes were surprisingly sharp.
“Now, it’s our turn to do something for those beasts!” Marialite beamed.
“Did you say ‘our’?” Cornelia repeated in horror. “Don’t involve me in your strange endeavors! I won’t stand for it!”
“But it’ll be difficult alone…” Marialite said softly, concerned.
“Well, I certainly won’t be the person you call on for help! I won’t do it!” she insisted, folding her arms decisively.
Ten minutes later, the two of them were bent down over the soil together, with Marialite teaching her how to plant seeds.