I could feel the color leaching from my skin. I didn’t know what else to do.
The clanging of the lunch bell released me from the spiral of awkwardness I was falling into. At the sound, everyone dispersed to take their meals. After that, I found myself alone with Richard in the castle’s deserted rooftop garden.
“Richard, how could you do that to me…? I wanted to crawl into a hole and die…” I complained.
“Hahaha! I couldn’t help myself. The marquess’s daughter is annoyingly tenacious,” he said.
“Well, you sure shocked everyone with that little display.”
“I had to make sure they all knew how well you and I get along, Miss Monica.”
The nervous sweat had cooled on my skin, but I still felt bewildered. Meanwhile, he smiled in his usual devil-may-care way.
All sorts of herbs grew thickly and verdantly in the rooftop garden. The beautifully constructed arches and other ornaments made the garden a pleasure to view, but it was fundamentally designed with practicality in mind. Even the roses were edible, specifically the magical variety useful for recovering magical energy.
“So what is it you wanted to discuss, Miss Monica?”
Right. I had a good reason for inviting him to the rooftop garden.
“I want to try restoring Kophe’s fields. Remember what happened when the legendary snow beast was chasing you, Richard? How my supernatural saintly powers went out of my control and caused flowers to bloom in the soil? If I could control it and apply it properly, I think it’s possible to make the lands destroyed by monsters arable again.”
The more I talked, the more his face hardened, which was unusual for him.
“I can’t let you do that,” he said.
“Please.”
“I can’t guarantee your safety in that sort of situation, Miss Monica. First of all, I’ve made you work far more than I intended to. As the commander of the Flame Corps and on a personal level as well, I can not allow you to push yourself any further.”
“You know I’m used to working. If anything, compared to my time farming on my family’s land as a child, what I do now barely counts as work.” I scowled fiercely and flexed my biceps in an attempt to lighten the mood. But even then, Richard’s expression didn’t soften.
“I know being a workaholic is second nature to you, Miss Monica. But that’s neither here nor there.” His frown clearly expressed his worry over me. It didn’t deter me though as I continued arguing vehemently.
“But at this rate, no matter how much peace is restored or how much humanitarian aid we provide, the people of Kophe will starve. You understand that too, don’t you?”
“Well, yes.” He agreed easily enough.
“It isn’t just the fields destroyed by the monsters, but also the farmland people couldn’t tend to after they fled,” I went on. “So much of the land is in such poor condition. If we don’t do something to restore them, the Empire’s support will mean nothing. Everything we’ve done would simply end up being a waste of time.”
Richard fell silent in the face of my appeal. I didn’t know what the silence meant.
He mulled it over for some time before once more shaking his head.
“It’s too dangerous.” Expression serious, he continued. “Miss Monica…you were bedridden for a week after the Hietside incident. Back then, you were able to rest and recuperate in peace because we were in the Empire, and moreover, somewhere I could protect you. But it’s just too dangerous in Kophe. Have you already forgotten the assassination attempt not so long ago?”
“Ugh…”
Normally, I would have bent to his will and given in to him by now. It was never my intention to trouble him. But as a former citizen of Kophe’s working class, I had good cause to press my case and persuade him.
“Richard, listen to me. If we try now, the land will be ready in time for the rainy season.”
“The rainy season, hm…” His eyes widened slightly upon hearing my words.
“Think about it. Do you really believe it’s realistic for the Empire to continue providing aid through next year? If we put my plan into action now, the crops will be ready by the fall harvest festival. I can devote all my attention to the fields while the other holy women handle the monster hunts and rescue efforts. What do you say?” I proposed.
“The other priestesses can’t do what you do.”
“Yes, they can. I taught them. Well, technically, I’m teaching them and it’s all still theoretical at the moment.”
“What?”
“Look.” I handed over the sheaf of papers in my hand to him. “I made a list of all the saints’ abilities and categorized their strength levels. If they work together properly, a minimum of fifteen should be enough to do what I do. Right now, there are twenty-two saints in total. Meaning we have plenty of personnel to fill in the gaps if we need to.”
All the holy women who gathered under Richard’s banner possessed a variety of experience, abilities, and personalities. If they were given work suited to their individual aptitudes, they were more than enough to replace a Special Class Saint. On the contrary, they had to be able to manage without me if we wanted truly sustainable peacekeeping.
And then there was what I needed to do.
“Only the Arousing Priestess is capable of revitalizing the fields. And I should be working on this exactly because there’s no precedent.”
He was quiet again. Then he groaned and growled out a reply, almost like he was talking to himself. “Damn it, Miss Monica… Is there really a need for you to go so far for this blasted country?”
“It’s my homeland.”
“Even though they threw you away?” There was no trace of his usual gentle smile on his face. My heart beat faster at the darkness in his eyes. “This country made you miserable and not a single part of me wants it to flourish. You sacrificed yourself to protect it, so it’s absurd to use that as a stepping stone for their happiness.”
“Richard—”
“Let me be brutally honest. I want to raze every last bit of this country to the ground. I don’t give a fig about the nation nor the pathetic lords who depend on you while deriding you and certainly not their damn daughters. Even the citizens can rot for all I care.”
I couldn’t say anything in response to Richard’s uncharacteristic attitude or expression. He spat out such scathing words, but for some reason, to me, Richard looked like he was on the verge of tears.
“But…” He paused, then smiled wanly, as if succumbing to my persistence. “But…if you truly want to protect them, then I’ll bend to your will.”
He reached out to me with both hands and gathered a few strands of my hair. When he pressed his lips against them, I shivered in reaction, like a warm breeze swirled inside me. My cheeks heated. I knew he didn’t mean it like that. Even so.
Something was wrong with my libido again. I mentally begged my body not to break. I needed it to remain calm at least for the duration of our discussion…
“Promise me, Miss Monica.” With my hair still pressed against his lips, Richard pleaded with me, his gaze earnest. “You can purge the earth. In exchange, after you activate your holy powers, you won’t leave my side until you’ve completely recovered. You agree to confinement in a room somewhere safe, enclosed by a powerful magical barrier. Aside from Solarus and Darius, I won’t let you see anyone else. And I won’t hesitate to execute anyone who poses a threat to you. This is how strict I’m going to be to protect you. Do you accept these conditions?”
I nodded. “As long as you allow me to heal the earth, I’ll do whatever else you want me to, Richard.”
“Whatever I want, hm… You really shouldn’t make such a reckless promise,” he said, his voice heady.
“I don’t think it’s reckless.”
Krak.
I heard the sound the minute the words left my mouth.
“Huh? What was that just now…?” I asked.
A dry crackling noise, like glass breaking, came from Richard.
“Don’t worry about it. Just an accident.”
Richard smiled, looking satisfied.