Chapter 216: Relia, Tia
They were talking with classmates at the academy when Sharle came to report to Relia and Tia without even hiding how angry she was. Raide had restrained himself…
Hearing that, Relia and Tia immediately negotiated with Principal Croana, took Karinal, and returned to the royal castle. Sharle and the others had already reported to their mother and their father, King Adom, who had been smiling tiredly. They had to speak with the Pope at once, so they changed into dresses while hearing the details from Sharle and the others. Originally their father the king would be the one to talk, but Relia and Tia were the ones who had decided to protect her at the castle, gone to the church yesterday, and taken her into protection. So the ones who had to meet the Pope and talk were inevitably themselves, the ones who had brought her. Even as daughters, to other countries they were still royalty. Words and actions carried responsibility. Their father and mother had taught them that.
The capture of the pursuing dark side, the restraint of the Cardinal who had likely been controlling them, and the report on the crystal the Cardinal had been using. On top of that they were told that everything had moved on Raide’s own words, and they were at a loss. Then there was the old book Sharle handed over, whose contents they could not read, with the first Pope’s name written in it. Hearing that almost made them hold their heads. The words Erika had said just a little while ago, “Being by that person’s side is hard, you know?” crossed both their minds. It was exactly right. When they finished changing and sat in chairs, they looked at each other and smiled in a troubled way.
Why Raide had known the Cardinal was in hiding, and how he had known pursuers were closing in on the Pope in the first place, he had not told even Sharle. And the man himself had restrained himself because there would be suspicion of staging it, and they were told he was in an underground cell now. That almost made them hold their heads for real. They did not because of their bearing as princesses, and because of the resolve they had when they decided they wanted him. They had noticed from the moment they fell for him that he did sudden things, and they thought they could not support him if they held their heads over something like this.
“Relia-anesama, Raide-sama’s lovers are amazing…”
“Tia, I felt that too. With ordinary senses you would not be able to stay beside him…”
With ordinary senses you would get tired from worrying too much and leave because you could not keep up. But those girls had been smiling. They had smiled in a troubled way, like he was a handful they could not help. In other words that was what Erika had meant. If this much tired you, you could not stay beside him… Don’t look down on us, the two of them muttered in their hearts without speaking. If they would fold over this much they would never have approached in the first place, and they would not have taken an interest. On the day they confessed to each other that they had fallen for him, they had decided they would be on his side no matter what happened. They had sworn in their hearts to support the man who had been left with scars that would not fade in order to save them. A royal’s vow of the heart did not collapse or break easily.
Relia and Tia looked at each other, smiled happily, and asked Sharle if there were any other reports. When they had heard everything they discussed together how to meet the Pope, so that everything would end peacefully. Along the way they brought in the chancellor, their father, and their mother and put the talk together. As the meeting time approached, they were seen off by their father, mother, and the chancellor, took their escort Karinal, and headed for the meeting room.
In a reception room on the second floor of the royal castle, seated at a luxurious round table for four, was Mirishu Kail, current Pope of the Holy Kingdom of Kail. A blank-faced woman with beautiful white hair grown longer than her waist, wearing vividly colored black-and-white vestments. Blank-faced or not, she gave off a mysterious atmosphere that made you feel she was not an ordinary person.
Across from her Relia and Tia sat with elegance and no hurry, smiled so as not to make her uneasy, and began speaking in a slow tone. First they had to convey that they had secured the pursuers, the dark side. They explained they did not say “restrained” because those people had been controlled. The Pope, who had been expressionless, opened her eyes wide as if surprised by that report. Relia continued and told her the Cardinal had also been restrained. She explained that he was the source of it all, that he had used a crystal that controlled people to manipulate the dark side and those who supported him. Then Karinal quietly placed on the table the small crystal Raide had destroyed.
The Pope looked at the crystal that had been set down, then began consulting in a voice they could not hear with the woman standing behind her as her escort.
Relia and Tia kept calm faces, but they were tense because depending on the Pope’s reply they would have to think about all kinds of things. Even if people around called them tomboys, they believed they understood the responsibility and the weight of lives that sat on them. That was why they were tense about what words would come back. The consultation seemed to end. The Pope turned toward them, tilted her head a little, and began to speak.
“First, thank you for protecting the pursuers… the ones who were being controlled. Next, a question. Did the royal castle know the Cardinal was visiting the royal capital?”
“The answer is that we did not know. If we had known, we would have told Pope Mirishu.”
“…Then how were you able to know? Even the dark side I brought with me did not know he was approaching. Were you hiding it, or did you know and not tell me?”
Now then, how to explain. The moment she leaned toward her younger sister Tia’s ear, it happened. The book that should have been with Karinal was suddenly thrown onto the table. That surprised Relia and Tia too. They hurriedly looked at Karinal, but Karinal also had a surprised face and was staring at the book on the table. They looked at the Pope and her escort, who were staring at the book with the same surprised faces as them.
“Oh my, so it was five~. More than that, not being able to end it with just thanks after being saved is tough… Grize would lament if she heard that, you know?”
And before they knew it, there was a girl touching the book. The girl opened the book, lifted it, looked over them, and laughed like she was enjoying herself. Even though they could see the girl’s hair, face, and figure, for some reason they “could not tell,” “could not describe” her. Leaving them with their surprised faces, the girl kept going in a happy voice while looking through the book.
“The fact that this book is here means you were recognized as the second Pope, you know?”
“I am the thirtieth Pope, but…”
“Nn~ nn. You’re the second. This book being here is the best proof. Because you can read this, right?”
The girl said that, walked to the Pope’s side, and set the book on the table still open in front of her. The Pope looked down at the book suspiciously, then picked it up with a surprised face and started reading. Watching that, they noticed the girl was skillfully waving the hand she had behind her back toward them so the Pope and the escort would not notice.
…The girl is on our side. Thinking that gave them a little more room in their hearts. The Pope quietly set the book on the table. She was no longer expressionless. She turned a serious face toward the girl and asked,
“Who are you… who might you be?”
“Nn~. I won’t tell you ’right now.’ The handful among ’us’ who found this book felt responsible and shut himself away, you see~”
The girl said that, appeared between Relia and Tia as if she had teleported, said “We’re short on time, so I’ll leave the rest to you, okay?” and vanished. They looked around the room. Karinal and the Pope’s escort searched too. She was nowhere. Even if she were a spirit, the royal castle had a barrier Principal Croana had put up. You should not be able to slip through it easily.
Everyone in the room settled their feelings a little and started over. The first to speak was the Pope. She held the book carefully in both arms with a suspicious face and asked a little desperately,
“Who in the world is the handful that girl mentioned?”
“The person Pope Mirishu came all the way to the royal capital to meet.”
“Eh…?”
Looking at the Pope’s dumbfounded face, Relia and Tia thought this was their chance. The girl had entrusted it to them. They would clear Raide’s suspicion. Thinking that, Relia skillfully wove Raide and the incident together and went on talking.