After eating, the princess and I got ready to return to the dorms. The princess had spent most of the dinner peacefully chatting with Linum. Under the darkening sky, we said our goodbyes.
“Thank you for the meal, Edel. I apologize for all the rowdiness.”
“It’s quite all right. The children were happy to see you.” The voluptuous blonde holy woman with a mole under her eye smiled at me.
“Just the children?” I asked teasingly.
Edel put a hand on her cheek and giggled. “I was happy to see you too.”
“As was I. I wish we could’ve spoken more.”
“Next time, then.”
“It’s a promise.” I tried to take her hands, but the princess pulled on my arm and cut me off.
“We have to get up early tomorrow. It’s time to head back, my holy knight.” Though her reasoning was sound, Astrantia’s cheeks were puffed out. Cuphea was also standing nearby, shooting me a glare.
“Cuphea, this’ll be the last time we see each other before I leave. Why don’t you give me a smile?” I said to her.
“Maybe if you didn’t hit on Mama I would.”
“Aha ha ha.” As I laughed, she approached me and gripped my hand for a moment.
“Be careful.”
“I will.”
“Make sure you and Astrantia come back.”
“You got it.”
“All right then,” Cuphea said, finally giving me a smile. Edel and Linum put their hands in front of their chests, praying for our safety.
Just as we were about to leave, Linaria came running out. “Al!”
“What is it?”
“Here!” She handed me a four-leaf clover. They were exceedingly rare and said to bring good luck.
“You’re giving this to me?”
“Yeah! I found it for you!”
“We helped too!” some of the boys said bashfully.
“It’s so you’ll come back safe and sound,” Linaria said.
“Is that so?” I didn’t know the name of the emotion I was feeling in my chest. What did people call this feeling that tickled the heart? It was like my body was gently floating—like I’d just eaten delicious, warm food. The closest thing I could come up with was gratitude or joy, yet I didn’t feel like either of those fully encapsulated the core emotion.
“Al?”
“It must have been hard to find.”
“Yeah, but we wanted to do something...” Tears welled up in Linaria’s eyes. They were kids without any money, so this must have been the only thing they could come up with. They had probably gone through painstaking efforts to find it. Still unable to truly grasp the emotions inside my chest, I accepted the clover.
“Linaria—and you brats too.” The children all looked at me. “Thanks.” I held the four-leaf clover in front of my chest and smiled, and then the children blossomed into smiles too. Everyone at the orphanage continued waving until we disappeared from sight. When we turned the corner and could no longer see them, the princess mumbled something.
“We have to return alive.”
“Well, I’m already dead.”
“There you go again.” While chatting with the princess, I stared at the clover in the palm of my hand. Why had something so small shaken my heart so much? “They worked hard to give you that good luck charm. You better take care of it.”
“She might be a little girl, but it’s still a gift from a woman. I’ll keep it safe.” The princess giggled in response. “What’s so funny?”
“You just can’t be honest.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You’re trying to act like it’s no big deal, but I see you looking at it like it’s a precious treasure.”
Was I looking at it that way? “Treasure? This thing? It might take a while, but anybody can find one.”
“It’s not the gift itself but rather the feelings of the children that make it an irreplaceable treasure.”
“Feelings...”
“You were happy, weren’t you?” Linaria and the other kids had looked for it because they wanted me to stay safe. Maybe I had reacted to those feelings.
“You might be right.”
“I know I am.”
It’s like my heart is a vessel being filled with liquid. What’s this feeling of fulfillment called? I’ve been around for more than three hundred years and I still have no idea. I think I felt something similar back when I was living with my adoptive father, Dan, but even now, I don’t have a clue what it is. I guess I’ll just call it “happiness” for the time being.
“I-I wish I could do something for you too,” the princess said nervously.
“Hmm?”
“W-Well, Cuphea got you that pendant, and the children gave you a good-luck charm. I feel like I should do something as well.” The princess’s cheeks turned slightly red. I wasn’t sure she realized it herself, but she was touching the flower hairpin I had given her.
“Princess.”
“Y-Yes?”
“They gave me those things because they can’t go with us. But that isn’t the case with you—we’re going to the Forbidden City together.”
“I suppose...”
“Which means you can protect me directly. You just have to give me your divine protection, right?”
The princess’s eyes went wide like she had only just now realized that. Then she giggled. “Yes, you’re absolutely right. Albert, my knight. I’ll make sure that you return alive.”
“Astrantia, my holy woman. I’ll make sure that you return alive.” We shared a look and laughed, then headed down the street to our dorm.
Participating in the mission to defeat the One-Armed Giant would be three pairs from the Colors—Astrantia and Albert of White, Orlaya and Myra of Black, and Euryops and Serrulata of Bronze. In addition, we would be joined by three pairs from the Twelve Saints. There were Nemophila and the Grave Keeper of the Golden City from Blizzard, as well as two other pairs known as Scorching Sun and Drizzle.
Although it was ahead of schedule, I was itching to fight the Twelve Corpses. I was going to kill them all myself.
✦ ✦ ✦
The day of the One-Armed Giant extermination mission drew near. We took a day off from the academy and headed to the Forbidden City.
The princess and I were traveling in a shaking carriage, while Black and Bronze were traveling in separate carriages of their own. Since we were leaving together and heading to the same destination, I figured traveling together would’ve been fine. Maybe it was so the nobles could maintain appearances. Nemophila and the blue-haired asshole of Blizzard were already at the Forbidden City.
“Hey, Princess.”
“What is it?” The princess’s beautiful silver hair looked as vibrant as ever. She peered at me with her sky-blue eyes.
“There’s no telling what may happen this time around. How much should I hide my strength?”
“I don’t follow.”
“I know how much of a pain it’ll be if I get found out. The Twelve Saints with us might even try to kill me on the spot.” My past and my accomplishments wouldn’t matter. Even the fact that the princess had sealed my ability to spread the infection probably wouldn’t make a difference. I was a curion, and one of the Twelve Corpses at that—that alone made me a threat to mankind. If my identity was revealed, I could kiss my days living as the human Albert goodbye. It was clear that it’d be a problem.
“That’s true...” The princess had a pensive look on her face.
“The problem is that it’ll affect you and your family too.”
“Indeed. If the worst comes to worst, I may even face the death penalty.”
Watching as she pushed aside her emotions to muster those words made my heart feel like it was in a vise. “Don’t say that.” While I understood that she had accepted her fate long ago, I didn’t like imagining her dying.
“Albert.”
“What’s up?”
“I agree that it’s necessary for you to hide your identity to the best of your ability.”
“Yeah.”
“But your life and bringing salvation to the Twelve Corpses comes first.”
“Got it. I’m glad to hear that.” Getting myself killed in an effort to keep my identity under wraps would have been ridiculous. I was relieved to know that the princess agreed. Still, telling me to prioritize my own life while knowing it may come at the cost of her own was just in the princess’s nature. “One other thing.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t worry. Even in that worst-case scenario, I won’t let them send you to the gallows.”
The princess’s eyes went wide; then her expression turned curious. “And how exactly would you prevent that?”
“I’d take you and we’d run away together.”
“You’d give up on defeating the Twelve Corpses?”
“Nah, we could just visit the Forbidden Cities while on the run. You’re already on death row, so who cares if we add trespassing to your list of crimes. As long as we kill the witch in the end, that’s good enough for me.”
“I suppose that’s also an option. However, if it came to that, you wouldn’t need me anymore, would you?” the princess mumbled with a slightly uneasy look.
“What are you talking about? You’ve gotta finish me off before you die. I’m not gonna let you go and get executed on your own.”
“Oh, that’s right.” The princess flashed a joyful smile despite the talk of her own execution.
“Anyway, I’ll try to be careful so it doesn’t come to that.”
“I certainly hope so.”
We passed the time on the carriage engaging in all sorts of conversations like that.