Chapter 70 - Theodore's Perspective
"Welcome back."
"...Ah, Theodore. Sorry for calling you out so late."
Louis appeared in a shroud of light from the magic I had cast. I greeted him from where I was lounging on the sofa. He didn't seem to mind my lack of decorum, his jaw set as if he were enduring something difficult. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked at me with a lonely smile.
"My bad. I could only give you ten minutes with Lady Rachel."
"No, I wouldn't have been able to speak with her at all without you. I can't thank you enough."
"...I see. Well, that's good then."
He still seemed sad, but his expression was much clearer than before he left. Well, this is about all I can do for him. After all, I felt somewhat responsible for the Saint's emergence in the first place. And now that Saint was threatening their engagement.
I had a bad feeling since the summoning ceremony, and it had turned out to be right. That Saint... I decided to recall my visit to the Great Church earlier today. I had met her there, and while I was feeling a bit irritated, a young priest had come to greet me. He seemed serious and appeared to be connected to Louis. I decided to ask him about it.
"So, I heard you sent a spy into the Great Church?"
"Don't make it sound so sinister. Alois's friend works there, so I'm just having him keep me informed about Miss Carroll's surroundings."
"Alois... ah, the priest from the Marcel Territory."
He was the priest who had caused some trouble in the territory, but it seemed he and Louis had stayed in close contact since then. Given the Saint situation, building an information network within the church was a smart move. The Great Church was a collection of elites, and there was much even I didn't know. Being a priest from the House of Watteau, Alois was likely the only one who could have found a collaborator.
Louis was right to put him in his debt. As I was thinking this, Louis fixed me with a sharp gaze.
"So, Theodore. I heard you went to see the Saint yourself."
"...Word travels fast. It only happened today."
His eyes were piercing, like he was evaluating a dangerous object. He was clearly demanding I tell him everything I noticed. I shrugged and thought back to the Saint.
"That Saint... she seems mentally unstable. Dangerous."
"Dangerous?"
"Louis, what kind of person do you think is the scariest to have as an enemy?"
"...Someone with talent, someone who can be heartless, or someone who is brilliant, I suppose."
Those are certainly troublesome. Louis, as the future leader of the country, would naturally think of such opponents. But for mages and knights who face enemies directly, there's another type.
"Someone with nothing left to lose. A person who has been backed into a corner is the most troublesome to me. Someone who doesn't even fear death... you never know what they'll do."
"I see. And? What does that have to do with her?"
Louis nodded. He was good like that—even if I said something different from his own view, he would listen and consider it. He was flexible enough to understand an opinion if it made sense to him. That's one of his better traits. But then he gave me a look that said 'get on with it.' And his impatience is a demerit.
Anyway, back to the Saint. "That Saint had those kinds of eyes. She looks at everyone around her as an enemy... like she's on a battlefield."
Louis's eyes widened. "A battlefield?"
"She doesn't seem smart enough to be calculating, and the priests are watching her, so I don't think she can do much, but..."
"I suppose. I heard she's been quiet since moving to the Great Church."
It was true she seemed to have a good reputation among the priests, and her atmosphere had changed since the ball and the summoning ceremony. But... there was something I couldn't tell Louis. My wariness of her had a specific trigger. Until then, I had just thought of her as a child throwing a tantrum for sweets. But then she did something that made me see her as a threat.
She knew something only I should know. A precious memory I had buried deep in my heart. She knew it from the start, even though there was no one else alive who knew it. She dragged it out and used it to threaten me.
'I want you to help me marry the Prince. If you do, I'll keep this a secret from Rachel-san and the Prince. You don't want things to get awkward between you, do you?'
Even I, usually easygoing, got a bit angry at that. In the end, I had to threaten her back, which I felt a bit bad about doing to a girl. Louis, being as cold as he is, wouldn't have cared, but I'm not that heartless.
I rested my chin on my hand and looked at him. "I really wish you'd share some of that ruthlessness with me."
Louis looked at me suspiciously. "That's a rude thing to say out of nowhere."
"Anyway, that Saint is obsessed with you. It's as if she doesn't care what happens as long as she can marry you."
"...Why go that far?"
That was the part I didn't get. If she just wanted to marry into the Royal Family, there was the second prince. He's fifteen, closer to her age, and quite handsome in a different way from Louis. And it didn't feel like she was driven by the ambition to be the Crown Princess. After all, Louis only has eyes for Rachel right now. Marrying him would only earn her his resentment. And when I spoke to her, I didn't feel any 'love' for him at all. She didn't seem interested in anyone.
"Even you can't figure it out?"
"No. I'm organizing the information, but I can't find a motive. So, are you going to see her yourself?"
"Yes, tomorrow. I'll take Cyril."
Tomorrow, then. I thought about not saying anything if he was going to wait a while, but since it's tomorrow, I should probably warn him. "I said some pretty harsh things to her today, so if I've added fuel to the fire, my bad."
"What?"
Louis's eyes widened, then narrowed into a glare. Yeah, I figured he'd react like that. "I just hope she's more depressed and quiet than enraged." I stood up and patted his shoulder. "Good luck."
"Wait... Theodore... did you do something unnecessary again?"
Oops. Louis was smiling, but his irritation was palpable. If I stayed any longer, things would get ugly. Time to bail. "Well, I'm heading home," I said, raising a hand and speaking the words for teleportation. Louis was shouting "Wait!" but... I'll just pretend I didn't hear him.