Chapter 4: I Want to Save the Arousing Priestess
“THIS potato yields a good harvest in poor soil. The flavor is mild and delicious too, so I recommend it.”
“I hope it takes to the soil. What about Nowasilo’s original crops?”
“Oh, yes, wheat. The livestock eat Salatine grass, and sometimes I use Melazu to supplement their feed.”
“There are several Salatine species, but which one was it?”
“Well, the blades are large…”
Kophe’s Minister of Agriculture, Professor Martinez from the Empire, a farmer from my village, and I were deep in conversation. We were all racking our brains at one of the fields on the castle grounds. Then I heard light steps coming from the direction of the castle. When I turned around, I saw Richard, his hair fluttering as he practically skipped his way over.
“Heeellooo, Miss Monica!”
“Richard.”
His smile was so cheerful that if he’d been a dog, his tail would have been wagging enthusiastically. He flashed me a peace sign with both hands.
“Kophe’s royal family has finally agreed to meet me!”
“Really?!”
“The letter just arrived!”
“Huzzah!” I shrieked in delight and raised both hands high, then with a jump, I high-fived him.
Finally! Finally, finally, finally! The Kingdom of Kophe agreed to conduct formal talks!
Everyone else nearby looked relieved to hear the glad tidings as they glanced happily at each other. Having worked so long with these people in the same castle toward the same goal, we were all determined to rebuild the country.
“You two are as close as ever, hm?” the Minister of Agriculture commented with a rueful smile. Standing next to him, Professor Martinez nodded vigorously.
“His Highness and Madam Monica are always like this.”
This relationship between me and Richard quickly became common knowledge. I’d also found a solution for my Richard-exclusive sexual desire. Every time my heart raced in his presence, I accepted it with a mental, “Yup, my broken body isn’t doing its job again tremendously today too!” Positive thinking and all. It might not necessarily be the best solution, but I needed something to get me through until our humanitarian work in Kophe ended.
Richard turned his attention to the field where a variety of seedlings had been sown. “You were hard at work today as well, Miss Monica?”
“Yes. We were discussing the particulars of restoring the former Nowasilo district,” I explained. “The specialists need to know what used to grow there and where the houses were, things like that, so when the time for redevelopment comes, there aren’t any issues. We also talked about crops and such…”
“Forever the hard worker, hm?”
His smile made my heart skip a beat, so I slid my gaze from his. “O-Of course, it’s for Kophe’s sake.”
“Heh.”
The Minister of Agriculture groaned in exasperation when he saw us behaving like we do again. Then he remarked thoughtfully. “…Your Imperial Highness, you have a very sunny disposition, don’t you? I envy that.”
I wondered what other prince or royal he was comparing Richard to in his mind. In a moment of nostalgia, I tried to recall the crown prince, Medaikonar, my former fiancé and the one who’d given me the Arousing Priestess appellation. But so much had happened this past year that I couldn’t even picture his face anymore.
Prince Medaikonar had replaced his older brother, Prince Stevvay, as the crown prince. I’d never met the latter. He had always been frail, then when he sustained grievous injuries during a certain incident, Medaikonar usurped Stevvay’s claim to the throne. Not long after, Prince Stevvay had removed himself from the line of succession and had been convalescing ever since in a royal villa away from the main palace.
The hardships the royal brothers endured were so very different compared to His Imperial Majesty and Richard, who had lost their parents young and made it this far by supporting each other.
Though I know that Richard’s cheerful demeanor is a deliberate act on his part…
“Miss Monica, is something the matter?” Richard cocked his head inquiringly at me. His tender expression showed no traces of the hardness he’d revealed to me in the coach on the return journey from purifying Nowasilo. I thought back to the anger and forceful energy in his voice as he spilled what was in his heart. And I shivered.
He’s shown me his true self and I’m grateful for the knowledge.
I felt a tightening deep in my chest. Was it my uncontrollable lust? The fundamental fear one experiences in the presence of a warrior? Or something else entirely? Who I was now didn’t know.