“Well, let’s get going, shall we?”
I was worried about Liu’s duel with Johann, but I was more concerned with Jill’s safety in the event she was in danger. So I received permission from Eric to visit her at the convent, and I was just now headed to my carriage at the palace gate.
That was when Dale, documents in hand, called out to me.
“Oh, Miss Leia, going out?”
“Dale! Yes, I was on my way to check in on Jill.”
He was still investigating the Ren Empire’s actions behind the scenes.
“You’re going to see Jill? Aha, I think I know why.”
“Um…Dale, did you make any progress?”
I knew that he was to report to Eric if he learned anything, but curiosity still got the better of me. Dale gave it a moment’s thought and handed me a letter.
“What’s this…? Information regarding Margrave Linboldt? You were looking into him as well?”
“Of course I was. We can’t ignore the fact that Tailong approached him for help. I’ve been spying on his every move.”
So that’s why. Hearing it like that, it makes perfect sense.
Linboldt might have opposed me, but he was loyal to Elshaid. It didn’t seem like he would do anything that would harm the kingdom…
“Has the margrave done something wrong?”
“No, quite the contrary. He’s done nothing wrong. If he had, I would have reported it to my brother already.”
“W-well, yes, I suppose you would. But then, why did you give me this?”
“He hasn’t done anything wrong…which struck me as odd. If you were the margrave and you had a prince of the Ren Empire in your back pocket, wouldn’t you have used that power to try and influence Eric?”
“Oh! Now I see.”
Indeed, Linboldt had been quite aggressive when he first tried to get us to break off our engagement, but he hadn’t come to speak with Eric once ever since—which could only be perceived as odd.
“Of course, it’s possible that as a gambler, Liu wanted to take the margrave off the game board just to make things more exciting,” Dale said.
“Yes, I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“Indeed. He’s difficult to read.”
Dale took the letter back with a sly grin. “Anyway, please be careful, Leia. Tell the same to Jill.”
“I will, thank you.”
Dale left, smiling serenely. Even if Johann’s duel with Liu went well, we still needed to convince Margrave Linboldt to approve of our marriage.
“Oh well… I guess I’ll just have to solve each problem in turn.”
As I got in the carriage and took off toward the convent where Jill now lived, all I could do in the face of so many problems was sigh.
“Oh, Sister! You’ve come to see me again! I’m so delighted.”
After I arrived at the convent and said my prayers, Jill came flying into my arms, a big smile on her face. I was finally used to the different person she had become. I really was starting to think a big part of what had warped her soul was Catherine.
“You’re looking well, Jill.”
“Yes, I’m quite healthy, thank you.”
“I see… Well, has anything been different lately?”
“D-different, you say? No, nothing in particular. Is something different with you, Sister? Oh no, I hope that gentleman from before didn’t give you trouble again.”
Jill’s gaze was so sincere with worry—an expression I never used to see from her. But at least it seemed that nothing had happened to her since my last visit. Even though we had several bodyguards stationed with Nash and at the convent, it was a relief to hear from Jill’s own lips that she was safe.
“Oh, no, I’m fine,” I assured her. “Anyway, I’m just glad to hear nothing’s happened to you.”
“I see…” Jill fell silent for a moment, staring at me thoughtfully. “Um, Sister, please tell me. What is…what’s happening to you right now? I know I’m not much help, but it hurts to not know what’s going on.”
“Jill…”
I realized then that Jill had never taken an interest in anyone other than herself before. I had kept Jill in the dark because I didn’t want to worry her, but I might need to finally tell her everything.
“All right. I’ll trust you and tell you all of what’s happening to us right now.”
“Oh, Sister…”
And then I told her. I told her everything about Liu without omitting a single thing.
“In other words, you think he might be after my Death Poison,” she said.
“Yes. There’s no proof of this, so don’t tell anyone.”
“Got it.”
After I explained everything, Jill looked worried, understandably enough. Nobody would feel calm after hearing that they were a target.
“Don’t worry, Jill, we have several bodyguards stationed here around the clock.”
“Thank you, I’m not worried. It’s just…if a bad person tries to use me for evil again, I’m prepared to go to Heaven before that can happen. If I use Death Poison, I can accomplish that easily.”
“J-Jill…how could you?”
Her eyes were sincere. If somebody tried to use her, she was prepared to die by her own magic.
I can’t let that happen.
“Don’t worry, Jill…I promise you that it won’t ever come to that. That’s why I’ve visited you today.”
That’s right. I had another reason for coming to the convent—and it would likely be a secret weapon we would reserve until it was our last resort.