A letter from Lady Europa arrived at the Manilas estate the next day.
“‘Dear Saint Evelyn, I trust you are in good health today. I myself am well, and I think solely of you. It was only thanks to the sacred mud clinging to my clothes that I could endure our painful, agonizing, excruciating parting. Ah, dear Saint Evelyn! You are the light of my life, and I daresay you ought to be the light of all peoples the world over! Even now the memory is crystalline in my mind—our very first meeting. Oh, how lovely you were, gracing me with your dazzling beauty...’”
“Um, Lord Theodore? Can you just summarize it for me, please?”
“Let’s see...” Lord Theodore went over the letter. “On pages sixteen to seventeen, it says Prince Oz has learned of her meeting with you.”
I was worried about that...
We’d all assumed that might happen, so neither Kira, Lord Theodore, nor I were particularly surprised.
The three of us were currently gathered in the mansion’s living room. Perhaps I’d been freeloading here for too long. Lord Jackson, his wife, and the servants had all begun treating me like family. Everyone was so kind. This place was so comfortable now.
“What did Prince Oz say?” I asked.
“That your exile was unilaterally decreed by Prince Alex and Lady Mary, and the clergy had no part in it. He expressed his earnest wish for you to return posthaste, if only so that he may offer you a proper apology.”
“And what did that weirdo lady say about the situation?” Kira asked, holding a cup of apple juice that the lady of the house had given him.
“Europa thinks it should be safe to bring Lady Evelyn to the royal capital,” Lord Theodore replied.
I guess she’s the “weirdo lady” now...
Kira hummed. “Really...”
“That’s all you have to say?” Lord Theodore asked, looking somewhat dissatisfied.
Kira glanced over at me. “Well, Evelyn’s decision is already made, no?”
“Yes,” I confirmed, staring intently at him. “Will you come with me, Kira?”
He shrugged his shoulders. “Fine. Can’t have you out there on your own. You’ll probably just get yourself in trouble again.”
“Oh, thank you! I love you, Kira!” I exclaimed.
Before I could hug him, Kira leaped up from the couch with feline agility and made to leave the room.
At that very moment, Lord Jackson happened to pass by the door. “Oh, Kira! Are you free, perchance?”
“Yeah.”
“Then let us go bug hunting in the woods! I smeared honey on the trees this morning, so we can catch a lot of beetles! It’ll be great!”
“All right, all right. Oh, mind that step there,” Kira warned, acting like an expert caregiver as he left with the almost boyish Lord Jackson.
I watched them go, my arms still outstretched. He’s not just my Kira anymore, I see...
When I turned around tearfully, I nearly bumped into Lord Theodore.
“Eek! Oh, you startled me! Is something the matter?” I asked.
“Oh, um... I was hoping I’d luck into the hug that Kira vacated.”
How honest!
He was blushing. It was cute! Cuter than you’d expect from a grown man. I nearly did hug him in excitement but managed to restrain myself. I didn’t want to make things weird.
Both of us were red as we sat back down.
Since Lord Theodore was looking down at his feet without saying a word, I decided to break the silence. “Lord Theodore, I’m thinking of returning to the Grand Basilica after all.”
“As the saint...?”
“No.”
Lord Theodore looked up.
“A saint’s term tends to last from five to ten years,” I said with a gentle smile. “Twenty-three years was...a bit too long, I think.”
“It was, but...you were an outstanding saint, Lady Evelyn.”
“Saints can’t marry, so I completely missed my chance.” I laughed.
Most saints were engaged to royalty while young. Sacred magical power was often passed from a saint to her children, so with barely any exception, saints would have arranged marriages either to royals or to husbands chosen by royalty.
“Since my power has grown weaker, I think it’s time to pass on the role to a talented new saint.” And I have just the person in mind.
I wondered how she’d feel about it. I hadn’t pitched the idea to her yet, so for now I had to mind my words.
Since Lord Theodore remained silent, I added in a joking tone, “But even a spinster ex-saint may be worth something! If I look hard enough, I might get lucky and find a gentleman willing to marry me—”
“Lady Evelyn,” he interrupted. “Are you trying to be cruel?”
What? I was puzzled.
Lord Theodore’s expression had turned angry for some reason. “There’s a man standing before you who proposed marriage, no?”
Oh. Oh. Th-That’s right!!!
It was as though lightning had struck my brain. Over the past few days, I’d met an unending procession of eccentric people, fallen into a forest bog, and nearly gotten lost, so it had slipped my mind.
He proposed to me...!
My face suddenly felt hot. Trying to cover up for my dizziness, I blurted out, “B-But you were just in awe after I healed your injury, right? You were probably a little delirious...”
“Lady Evelyn. I was—and am—of perfectly sound mind.”
He grasped my right hand, and my heart nearly came tumbling out of my mouth. Our joined hands were practically on fire. I couldn’t tell whose body temperature was whose anymore.
“I have feelings for you. I want to know everything about you,” he said, squeezing my hand tightly.
My heart raced even faster. His eyes were gazing so earnestly at me. I could see how red I was, reflected in them. It was so embarrassing! Yet...I was powerless to look away.
“Do you not like me, Lady Evelyn?” he asked.
“N-No, that’s not... I mean...” It’s not that! Just...!
I didn’t know, actually. Truly, I had no idea how such things worked, pathetic as it was at twenty-eight years old.
I’d been cloistered in the basilica since age five. While I had had a fiancé for a good while, I’d barely known him, we hadn’t been close, and he’d never been kind to me. I’d devoted myself to my duties, and next thing I knew, he had gotten with my sister. I’d always assumed romance only happened in storybooks, since it was such a distant concept to me. I’d figured I would spend my whole life just yearning for it.
So to hear Lord Theodore say he had feelings for me was surreal.
It wasn’t that I doubted him. I just wondered how such a wonderful man could desire a woman like, well, me.
But...I certainly don’t dislike him...
That much I knew for certain. He was bumbling but kind. Our time together was always fun, and it brought me joy, and it made my heart flutter. And that was precisely why I wanted to take the time to think his proposal through. I had to give him a proper answer.