My father answered the prince’s proposal with an incredibly sensible answer. He was right. My current work requests came from the crown, and while Prince Eric did indeed belong to the royal family, I couldn’t simply turn my entire schedule upside down at his behest.
That aside, the prince sure was an oddball for wanting me to be his bodyguard when I was suspected of abusing my little sister. I couldn’t understand why he would want to have someone like me close by.
“Quite right, Count Westoria. But this is not a selfish whim of mine—it’s a direct request from His Majesty the King. And you needn’t worry. We already sent a request for a saint through the church. I have the agreement here.”
“I’ll have a look at it… Hmm…yes, this is indeed a direct request from His Majesty…”
If the king himself sent a request to the church, it must be a very important assignment. And there was precedent for it: A saint’s job was to maintain the kingdom’s prosperity, and protecting the prince was part of that.
But a saint’s job was to maintain the kingdom’s prosperity in a general sense. In fact, asking a saint to be a personal bodyguard for a prince was the rarest of requests.
“Um, Your Highness, I understand that this is a direct request, but I have other duties which I must attend to.”
“I know you’re busy, but you don’t need to worry about that either. I will adjust my responsibilities to accommodate your own.”
“Accommodate how?”
“Just as I did today: I will shadow you as you carry out your tasks so we can be together at all times.”
What in the world was Prince Eric even suggesting? Looking back on our exchange just now, I told Prince Eric I was busy with my own saintly duties, and he didn’t even bat an eye when he said he would shadow me.
It doesn’t make sense to me. It’s hard to believe that he would turn his whole life upside down just so he could be near me at all times.
Even though he said he wanted to keep me not just close but as his bodyguard specifically, it didn’t make sense that he would tag along while I saw to my duties, even if I were acting as a bodyguard. My mind started to swim as the conversation took an even more incomprehensible turn.
“Sh-shadow her, you say? Your Highness will shadow…Leia at her job?”
“Indeed. I want to determine whether or not Leia is suitable to be a saint of Elshaid, so I’m taking the opportunity to observe her at work. This is all included in the order from His Majesty.”
I was finally starting to understand. Apparently, he was going to observe me like he did today, except with permission. It all seemed very dignified. While I doubted it was normal for a person to observe their own bodyguard while being protected, for someone like Prince Eric, whose sense of justice was stronger than the average person, the idea wasn’t all that bizarre. The time we’d spent together so far was brief, but I did get the impression he was a bit of an enigma.
I never thought I’d hear the phrase, “I’m going to always be by your side” outside of a romantic context. I guess I’m just not cut out to be a romantic heroine.
In fact, I was the polar opposite of Jill. I didn’t seek out romance, and I wanted to avoid abnormal situations like this if at all possible.
“Well, if His Majesty has granted permission, then it is not my place to question. Ah, yes. I see. Understood. Well, we will happily leave Leia in your care at the palace.”
“B-but, Father!”
Yet another muted gasp.
A voice rang out, a shriek louder than any I had heard from this person. Just before our father could give his final approval to Prince Eric’s request, she had cried out to interrupt him.
“Jill, whatever is wrong? You know, I don’t usually hear you raise your voice like that. And in front of His Highness, even! Do be more careful.”
My father looked genuinely baffled by Jill’s abnormally loud voice as he rebuked her. And Jill, with a sour look on her face, gasped in horror—then immediately smiled peacefully. She was always quick to change her mood, but what has she been so upset about since I came home?
“B-but, Father, if Leia moves into the Palace, I will miss her terribly.”
It was so unexpected that I almost blurted out, “You’ll never miss me, and we all know it!” I was just so taken aback by her claim that she would miss me, I couldn’t figure out her true goal.
“Hmm? But, Jill, didn’t you just say minutes ago that you would be much happier if Leia were gone?”
“What?! Oh, but I’d never say such a thing! Leia is such a kind, sweet big sister to me—I want her to stay by my side forever and always!”
My ears must be defective. Jill would never say anything like that in earnest.
How could a girl who accused me of abusing her day in and day out turn around and say she wants me to stay by her side of all things? It was a clear contradiction. But to an outsider who only saw her at this moment, and not how she was every day, she surely seemed like a sweet girl whose love for her big sister was unwavering. Oh, what a uniquely exasperating predicament.
“So you’re Jill Westoria. Philip Gilbert is a friend of mine, you know. Now, according to him, Leia has been abusing you. He said you were the one who told him so. Is that true?”