Chapter 37 - A New Beginning
In the following weeks, His Highness was busy rushing between various departments, and we had little contact. Finally, after a month had passed, everything seemed to have settled.
Today, the discussions with the Church in the royal capital had concluded. His Highness and Theodore-sama had come to the Marcel territory to deliver the final report. We headed to the church together, partly to inspect the facility while a successor was still being decided. His Highness and I sat side-by-side on the second floor, a relatively secluded spot. From this open balcony, we could clearly see the ground floor and the people coming to offer their prayers.
Regarding the Master Priest, care had been taken to avoid causing chaos. For now, the official story was that he had been called back to the capital for urgent family matters. Consequently, the local citizens continued to visit the church as usual. Priests from other holy churches in the territory were taking turns filling in. The children were lonely, but Sarah and I visited as often as possible to assist the sisters.
His Highness, sitting beside me, smiled with a look of relief. "It seems this church is finally finding its peace again."
I turned to him, mentally organizing the explanation he had just given me.
"So, the Church is claiming they had no involvement? That this was a problem caused solely by the Watteau family?"
"Yes, that's the gist of it. Whether Alois's father was acting on someone else's orders or his own convictions, we don't know. But without evidence of the Church's involvement, this is the only way to settle it."
"It certainly minimizes the damage to the Church's reputation."
I felt a lingering sense of unease. There were surely others who were suspicious. But without proof, only those who took overt action could be punished.
"However, the Church has agreed to officially recognize the Spirit of Darkness. They want to keep this matter quiet."
"I see."
"I also made them promise to actively cooperate in investigating the mysteries of dark spirits. We don't know how much information they'll actually share, but having them in our debt is a significant advantage."
If the public learned that members of the Holy Church—an organization intimately tied to spirits—were involved in the forbidden art of spirit-killing, the backlash would be immense. Since the Holy Church was the state religion, that criticism could easily spread to the Royal Family. It was an outcome the crown desperately wanted to avoid.
Therefore, the use of forbidden arts was kept secret, and the perpetrators were judged for other crimes. This arrangement was proposed by the Church, meaning they now owed the Royal Family a great debt.
Furthermore, with the Church officially recognizing the Spirit of Darkness, people would likely adopt a more favorable attitude toward Kuro—and by extension, toward me, the one who contracted with him.
"The Church will issue a statement declaring the Spirit of Darkness to be a precious existence on par with light. This should stabilize your position, Rachel, even if your contract is with a lower-tier spirit."
"Thank you for everything."
"No, this time we were only able to protect you and Kuro because Alois made the first move."
"Yes, we owe it to the Master Priest."
"We can't assume things will always go this smoothly. Darkness remains a mystery."
"Yes."
I straightened my posture and nodded at his solemn expression. I couldn't afford to be careless. There were still many agendas at play, and so much about dark spirits remained unknown.
"But I promise you. Always, no matter what happens, I will protect you, Rachel."
His blue eyes pierced through me. The intensity of his gaze took my breath away. I had never been looked at with such powerful light.
His Highness took my hand and squeezed it firmly. I could feel a slight tremor of tension in his grip.
I looked at his face, wondering what was wrong. He took a deep breath and said in a quiet voice, "There is something I need to tell you."
I nodded in response. A gentle, tender smile touched his lips.
"Rachel... I love you."
Love? His Highness... loves me?
For a moment, the world fell silent, as if my brain couldn't process the words. His Highness said he loves me.
I had felt a faint inkling that it might be so. But my first reaction was pure shock. Then came joy, and confusion.
I felt my cheeks flushing. My mouth was likely hanging open, and I couldn't even blink. Slowly, the weight of his words began to circulate through my body.
It felt like a spring breeze, a ticklish, light, and warm sensation spreading through my heart. Like a flower budding, the sight of him and the colors of the world around me seemed to turn vivid and bright.
Something warm wet my cheeks. I had no way to wipe the tears away, so I simply stared at him through my blurred vision.
I had to say something. Something to answer his feelings. My feelings, right now.
"I don't know what to say... I want to be by your side. But I don't want to just be protected. I want to be able to support you from beside you."
I wasn't sure if I was returning the same 'love' he gave me. But if he wanted me, I wanted to be with him and live up to that desire. I felt that honestly. I wouldn't run away anymore. I would stop bottling up my feelings and pretending not to see them. That was the only thing I could give back to him, who looked at me so directly. And someday, I hoped the day would come when I could say those same words back to him.
"Rachel, that's..."
His Highness's eyes widened, and he stammered, his gaze darting around. Then, I remembered there was something else I had to tell him. Something I had decided to say the next time we met.
"I've made a decision. I'm going to stop running. I found it here—what I want to do from now on."
"Ah, yes."
I had learned so much in this territory. In this land of sea and mountains, people lived with such vitality. And then there were the orphans I met. To give something to the children who would carry the future, I still had so much to learn myself.
"I'm going back to the capital to attend the Academy. I want to learn many more things."
"I see. I'll support you."
His Highness smiled gently and nodded firmly. Seeing that, my nervous heart relaxed, and a smile came naturally to my lips. However, he still seemed to have something to say, his gaze wandering. "About... what I said earlier..." he muttered repeatedly.
I tilted my head, wondering what was wrong. He seemed to steel himself and opened his mouth. "Your... answer..."
At that moment, the sound of two pairs of footsteps climbing the side stairs echoed through the room. Then came a familiar, bright voice.
"Hey, Louis! I brought the new priest who's being assigned here."
Theodore-sama appeared in his usual black robes. And walking behind him with a sheepish, downcast face was none other than—
"Master Priest! Why are you..."
While I was shocked to see the Priest behind Theodore-sama, His Highness didn't look surprised at all. Instead, he stood up and marched over to Theodore-sama, his eyes narrowed in protest.
"Your timing is absolutely terrible. No... you did this on purpose!"
"How rude. Come on, why don't you say hello?"
Theodore-sama ignored His Highness's annoyance and gave the Priest a light shove on the back. The Priest furrowed his brows with a pained expression.
"No, I don't have the right to be here..."
His Highness let out a long sigh and turned to the Priest with a lecturing tone. "Alois, you didn't kidnap Rachel. You were protecting her. Isn't that right?"
"No, I... Rachel-sama..."
Watching the exchange between His Highness and the Priest, I finally understood. I looked at the Priest and gave him a bright smile. "Yes, I wasn't kidnapped at all."
His Highness had refused to let the Priest take the blame. He likely saw that this priest-like priest was an essential asset for the future of the Church. It would have been easy to expose his crime and interrogate him. But no one would benefit from him being judged alongside his family. As expected of His Highness.
As I was nodding to myself, Theodore-sama leaned in and whispered in my ear. "Actually, he's just doing him a favor so he can make him work hard whenever something comes up later."
"Oh, my!"
I acted surprised at Theodore-sama's words, and His Highness hurriedly stepped between us. "Hey, Theodore, don't go filling Rachel's head with strange ideas."
The Priest, who had been watching our interaction with a stunned expression, suddenly snapped out of it. He dropped to one knee before His Highness and placed a hand over his heart.
"Your Highness... I don't know how to thank you for this..."
"Put all that gratitude toward the people. Just work hard from now on."
The Priest bit his lip at His Highness's words. He closed his eyes and lightly wiped them with his hand, then put on his usual gentle smile. He looked up at His Highness with a peaceful expression, his purple eyes shimmering. "But, are you truly sure?"
"What?"
"Just because the Church recognized the Spirit of Darkness doesn't mean your engagement is set in stone, does it?"
"Ugh..."
With a kind smile, the Priest turned his gaze toward me. "Rachel-sama, if your engagement with the Crown Prince ever gets cancelled, please let me know immediately."
"Eh?"
"In that case, let us work together to brighten the future of the children."
Theodore-sama burst out laughing. I, too, felt my shoulders shaking with giggles. The Priest, not hiding his still-red eyes, wore a smile like warm sunlight. Only His Highness was shouting at him, "Hey! Don't flirt with my fiancée!"
This church, which had felt somewhat somber, was once again filled with laughter. I was glad. I was glad that laughter would echo here again. I'm sure this place will continue to mark time in a warm and peaceful way.
And so, my life in the territory came to a temporary close. By returning to the capital, I would welcome a new daily life and new encounters. However, because of the choices I made, things had changed significantly from my previous life. Further incidents were waiting for me because of those changes, but I had yet to realize it.
♢
This happened after we moved from the church to the Marcel manor.
"By the way, Theodore, what was that 'fated encounter' for Rachel? Even when I asked her, she said she didn't know anything about it."
"Ah, that..."
In the carriage, I tilted my head at the question about the 'fated encounter.' It seemed Theodore-sama had told His Highness something... I wonder what it was.
"Hey, Samuel!"
"Ah, yes! What is it?"
Samuel, who was carrying tea snacks, jumped at Theodore-sama's call. Theodore-sama didn't seem to mind and put an arm around Samuel's shoulder, whispering to him.
"His Royal Highness wants to hear about your encounter with those beans."
"Why!?"
"Listen carefully. If you can get Louis interested in those beans, he'll use the country's best talent and international connections to solve your problems in an instant."
"What!"
"Everything depends on how you make Louis interested. Now, go!"
"Y-Yes!"
After hearing something from Theodore-sama, Samuel approached His Highness with heavy breathing. His usual timid demeanor before the prince was gone, replaced by an intense focus. His eyes sparkled like a predator before its prey. Sensing something unusual, His Highness's face twitched.
But Samuel didn't seem to care. "Your Royal Highness, first, let me explain about the bean known as Daizu..."
"Huh? Why beans all of a sudden?"
"This Daizu is no ordinary bean. It is a captivating existence hidden with various possibilities."
"Hey, you're too close! Too close... fine, I'll listen, just back up a bit!"
His Highness's loud voice and Samuel's monotone explanation echoed through the mansion. And Theodore-sama, at some point, had vanished.
Thank you for the bookmarks, ratings, and comments.
The territory arc ends here. From next time, the stage moves to the Academy.
Thank you for reading my clumsy novel. I will continue to do my best so you can enjoy it.