Chapter 71 - The Crown Prince's Perspective
「Your Highness, we have been expecting you.」
Upon arriving at the Great Church, a middle-aged priest led me to a private room. When the door opened, the Saint herself stood waiting, draped in pure white attire.
She offered a deep bow and took her seat as invited. Though I knew it was impolite, I found myself staring intently at Miss Anna Carroll.
She must have noticed my gaze, yet she refused to look up. Her face remained shadowed as she stared fixedly at the table.
Something was wrong.
Normally, she would have been raising her voice in a high-pitched trill, casting flirtatious glances my way. The Miss Carroll before me now was a complete departure from her usual self.
「Miss Carroll, how goes your training as the Saint?」
「Yes. My abilities are still lacking, and I have yet to manifest any special power. However, everyone here has been very kind to me.」
Miss Carroll managed a faint smile, but her eyes remained cast downward. She lacked any semblance of her usual vigor.
I recalled the final words Theodore had spoken during our conversation yesterday. He mentioned saying something quite terrible to her. I hadn't expected this Saint to be the type to get depressed, but it seemed Theodore's words had truly struck a chord.
Just what on earth did that man say to her?
While cursing Theodore under my breath, I spoke up to deliver the message I had originally come for.
「It seems you have made some sort of deal with His Majesty.」
「A deal... I wouldn't call it that. If you mean the matter of the engagement, I simply voiced my wish.」
My brow furrowed at her words.
「Let me be blunt. I have absolutely no intention of accepting it.」
「No, you must marry me. That is the destiny you were born with as the Crown Prince. It is the same for me. Since I am here as Anna, it has been decided that I will marry you.」
Destiny?
I wondered what she was thinking, claiming such a thing as destiny when no divine oracle had been issued.
「I don't understand your reasoning. You don't actually like me, yet you are obsessed with marrying the Crown Prince. Is that how it is?」
Even now, I felt no warmth in the gaze she directed toward me. Her objective remained a mystery. People usually acted with some sort of intent, but I could see none in her. Perhaps her motives were simply beyond my comprehension.
「Is it true that you will leave for the neighboring kingdom if you cannot marry me?」
「If I can't marry you? That would make everything meaningless. If that happens, there's nothing left for me to do.」
For the first time, a flash of anger—or perhaps irritation—flickered in Miss Carroll's vacant eyes.
「I would rather throw away my position as Crown Prince than marry you. What would you do then?」
Having finally touched upon her true feelings, I deliberately spoke harsh words to provoke her and uncover the truth. As expected, my statement shook her. Her expression shifted to one of shock, and she looked as anxious and ready to cry as a lost child.
「No! That's not a happy ending! There has to be a wedding between you and Anna! The events leading up to it have gone wrong, but if I marry you at the end, it's a happy ending!」
After that outburst, Miss Carroll suddenly looked down. With a dark expression, she shook her head repeatedly. She began muttering something in a low, hushed voice. I leaned in, observing her lips and straining to hear.
「No, I know... I actually know. This isn't a game, is it? I can't go home. But what am I supposed to do? How can I go back!」
Go back? Where exactly did she intend to return to?
I instinctively glanced at Cyril, who stood behind me. Cyril also had his brow furrowed in confusion and gave a small shake of his head. Even Cyril didn't know.
Suddenly, Miss Carroll snapped her head up and looked at me. Her expression was desperate, as if she were begging for something.
「I'm sorry about all of you. I know I'm the villain for tearing you apart. But this is all I can do! I can't find any other way to go home!」
Miss Carroll stood up from her chair and gripped the table tightly. Her hands were clenched with such force that they trembled.
「Listen, you're the main hero! So you have to marry me! If you do, maybe I can reach the happy ending!」
「Miss Carroll, mind your tongue when speaking to His Highness.」
Unable to remain silent, Cyril stepped forward and issued a calm warning. However, his words didn't seem to reach her at all. I caught Cyril's eye and shook my head, prompting him to return to his position in silence.
Miss Carroll paid no mind to our exchange. With tears pooling in her eyes, she spoke with a voice that sounded like a scream from the edge of despair, desperately trying to convey something.
「Please! If I can't go home after that, I'll disappear. I don't care if it's a divorce or a death from illness. Please. Just let me go home. I'm begging you.」
Finally, her strength seemed to fail her. She collapsed onto the floor, pressing her forehead against the ground. 「I want to go home, let me go home,」 she whispered over and over through her tears.
Alarmed by this abnormal behavior, Cyril called for a priest passing by the open door. The priest rushed in, eyes wide with shock, and called out to her. 「Lady Saint!」 But she didn't react. The panicked priest left and returned shortly with several sisters.
Miss Carroll was eventually carried out of the room, supported by the sisters. As the priest who had first arrived turned to leave after bowing to us, I called out to stop him.
「Is the Saint always in such a state?」
「No. Usually, she is diligent in her studies and kind to everyone. This is the first time she has raised her voice like that. To be honest, we are quite bewildered.」
「I see. Forgive me for detaining you.」
The priest bowed again and left the room. Only Cyril and I remained.
「What was that... Those incomprehensible words. Even for the Saint, such behavior toward Your Highness is beyond disrespectful.」
Cyril frowned, his confusion mixed with clear displeasure.
So this was what Theodore meant when he said everyone around her was an enemy.
「Still, she said she wanted to go home. Where could she possibly want to return to so badly that she would lose her composure like that?」
「It doesn't sound like she means the Baron's territory. It's somewhere much further. There was an abnormality to it, as if she were seeking a place she can no longer reach.」
Cyril and I pondered the matter for a while, but we couldn't understand her at all. There was a sense of wrongness, as if a great divide existed between her and this world. Deciding that staying longer would be pointless given the unexpected turn of events, I returned to the royal palace.
Back at the palace, I tried to organize what Miss Carroll had said, but there were too many unknowns. According to the priest at the Great Church who was acting as our informant, Miss Carroll had since shut herself in her room and refused to come out.
I was in the Office reading the report, considering whether I should visit her again once she had calmed down, when Cyril handed me a letter from Rachel.
Just holding it brought Rachel's face to mind, and I felt the day's fatigue vanish in an instant. However, the contents gave me pause.
Anna-san has requested to visit our home. I have consulted with my parents, and we are considering accepting her request.
Upon reading that, I hurriedly moved to contact the Marquis.