Chapter 93: Cherish the Heart That Loves
by rosalie“Your Highness, why did you suddenly decide to return home?”
In the carriage heading back to their homeland, Eaglin asked Lucas with a serious expression. Lucas, who had his elbow propped on the window frame and his chin resting on his hand, answered.
“I have a sense of shame too.”
You do?
Both Eli and Eaglin looked at him with incredulous eyes, but Lucas’s expression remained bright.
“I’m glad you’re aware of that.”
“Are you taking me for a fool?”
His gaze shifted from the window to Eaglin. Rolling her yellow eyes around, she hesitantly answered.
“Sometimes…?”
Eaglin’s voice trailed off under Lucas’s sharp gaze. Lucas pursed his lips and turned back to the window as he spoke.
“Don’t worry, I won’t be sending any more warning letters.”
“Re-really? You won’t send any more fake warning letters?”
Eli, who had been quiet until then, suddenly burst out excitedly.
“What?”
“No, I mean…”
“So you knew it was me sending them all along?”
“Yes, everyone knows except Your Highness. Yes.”
Eaglin said while kicking Eli’s thick shin. Looking at Eli covering her mouth with her fist, Lucas was even more dumbfounded.
“…Never mind.”
“Your Highness?”
When the Crown Prince, who would normally be throwing a fit, waved it off, Eaglin called out to her master in confusion.
“What?”
“You’re acting strange today.”
“How so?”
“You suddenly decide to return home when you could have gone back to the Duke’s residence first, and now you say you won’t send prank warning letters. Also…”
“Also?”
Eaglin smacked her lips and nodded toward Eli. Understanding perfectly, Eli covered her large ears with her thick palms.
“Well, didn’t you say you would take the Saintess with you?”
“I decided to give up. I couldn’t find a way to break the curse.”
“Your Highness.”
“I received my farewell gift, so I should treasure it.”
Lucas pointed to his heart with his nail that had been bloodied when he caught the stone statue.
Because feelings of love should be cherished and kept safe.
Never before had he felt so grateful to be born as a beastman. He would only live for half a century, so he would only have to miss her for that long.
Watching her master smile sadly, Eaglin swallowed the words she was about to say.
‘You love her, don’t you?’
Lucas’s gaze turned back to the window. With his black eyes fixed on the imperial scenery rapidly receding behind them, he murmured.
“Now that I’m leaving, I feel quite regretful.”
The sun was setting over the western ridge.
*
Would it be too much to call it a blessing in disguise?
The awkwardness between Xavier and me, which had felt like sand grinding between my teeth, had somewhat lessened thanks to the terrorist incident.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you sooner, Yuria.”
“That’s the nineteenth time if you say it once more.”
After stopping by our lodgings, we set out for the duchy with the waiting servants. Maya was following behind in another carriage with them.
In the carriage, Xavier kept repeating those words like a parrot.
“You don’t know how much I regretted letting you go like that.”
“Yes, yes, that’s the thirtieth time.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Xavier adjusted his posture with an embarrassed look.
“Hmm. Rest when we get back to the mansion. Albert says he’s hired a new healer, so get checked out too.”
“Alright. But you know what I saw at the historical gallery earlier?”
“What did you see?”
“Get ready to be surprised, okay?”
I lowered my voice to set the mood.
“There was an obelisk at the museum’s historical gallery recorded by a Moirai priest! It had the method to break the curse engraved on it! There seemed to be important information in the last sentence, and His Highness said he would decode and tell me about it!”
“I… see?”
“We might be able to break the curse soon!”
I couldn’t help but raise my voice in excitement.
But Xavier’s reaction was subdued, even though I expected him to be the most surprised and happy. I asked, finding it strange,
“Aren’t you surprised?”
“No, I am.”
I put my hand on his forehead.
“You must be tired from today?”
“Ah, no.”
Xavier gently lowered my hand, shaking his head. The tip of his ear that showed briefly was red. He cleared his throat and glanced up at me again.
“Hmm. Melvin sent word that the magic engineer replied saying he would come to the duchy personally.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Wow, things are going so smoothly.”
“Yuria.”
Xavier sighed, cutting off my words and looking at me with furrowed brows.
“Why do you keep pretending you’re fine? Why are you acting like this after going through such a terrible ordeal?”
“I’m not pretending.”
“I could hold you… I don’t understand why you’re holding back.”
My face turned bright red too.
Hiing!
Suddenly the carriage shook, and my body was thrown into the corner.
“Ah!”
“Yuria!”
Xavier embraced me protectively. The carriage swayed greatly back and forth with a clattering sound.
“What’s going on all of a sudden!”
In response to Xavier’s shout, the coachman’s trembling voice came from the front.
“I-I’m sorry. Someone suddenly stumbled onto the road.”
“Someone?”
“Seems to be some stranger, and they were stumbling as if they couldn’t see well. I’ll handle it quickly, don’t worry.”
“Well then, check if they’re hurt and report back to me.”
“Yes, master.”
So I was going to wait in the carriage with Xavier.
「Saintess Yuria saved a man who collapsed on the road alone, and later went on to do great things that would save all people.」
Hey, at least use your turn signal before cutting in.
I wonder if these pieces of information in my head are from the original story or from some other entity?
Like at the Moirai Historical Gallery too, it doesn’t seem to mean me harm, but…
‘Since it’s been helpful so far, maybe I should follow what it says.’
“Xavier. What if someone’s hurt? I should take a look.”
“You’re getting out?”
“Don’t come out of the carriage until I call you, okay?”
“Huh? Why?”
“Just absolutely don’t come out when I get down, alright?”
Leaving Xavier with his mouth agape in the carriage, I opened the door and got out. As the coachman had said, there was a man on all fours crawling on the ground in front of the carriage.
As if he really couldn’t see well, he was looking around and feeling the ground with slow, sloth-like movements. The coachman urged him from beside.
“Sir, you need to move aside quickly so the carriage can pass.”
“Glasses… my glasses.”
Did he lose his glasses?
Just then, something got caught at my feet. Looking down, I saw glasses with the temples roughly tied together with string lying on the ground.
“Are these what you’re looking for?”
“Huh?”
I placed the glasses that looked like they could have belonged to a legendary Hogwarts student in his hand. The man who had been dazed received the glasses with a bright smile. His wrist that briefly showed was as thin as mine.
“Ah, th-thank you.”
The man straightened up and stood somewhat unsteadily as if nothing had happened. Despite his vague impression, he was quite tall.
‘He must be about as tall as His Highness Lucas?’
The man with neat hazelnut-colored hair and light green eyes was wearing a brown shirt. While his fashion sense was the worst, his handsome face was the best.
Oh. What’s this? That visual like he just ran out of MIT?
Soon his handsome face was covered by round, cute black glasses frames.
“Ah, n-now I can see clearly.”
“That’s good. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No. I-I’m sorry… Oh!”
The young man who smiled innocently picked up a khaki bag sprawled on the ground. However, as the bag was open, experimental equipment and writing materials rolled out onto the ground.
My, what a clumsy person.
With no choice, I picked up a notebook that had fallen to the ground.
‘Borgio Spring Water Launch Commemoration?’
The text written on the notebook clearly said Borgio.
Is he from Borgio?
“When I-I take off my glasses, I c-can’t see anything. I didn’t know it was a road. At the founding festival, I b-bumped into a black-haired lady, and that’s when my glasses broke. Since then, they keep slipping down.”
The man started explaining his situation without being asked.
“Founding festival? Black hair?”
“Huh? Yes. It-it was my fault. My glasses broke then, and a silver-haired man just t-took her away.”
Oh. This… this setting seems very familiar.
Though I wanted to ask his name right away out of curiosity, taking care of someone who almost got hit by a carriage came first.
“Are you okay?”
“I-I’m fine, really. I’m so, so sorry.”
“Yuria.”
Worried because I hadn’t returned, Xavier finally came down from the carriage and approached.
“It’s cold. Here’s your coat.”
“Thank you.”
“Is this the man who collapsed?”
“Yes.”
Xavier put the coat around my shoulders and examined the bespectacled man.
“You shouldn’t suddenly jump onto the road, should you?”
“Xavier.”
I nudged his side with my elbow.
“Am I wrong? This is clearly a road, and there’s a proper sidewalk right there…”
“I-I’m sorry. I got lost and fell… Ah, I-I’m Daniel Origin.”
‘Daniel Origin? Why does this sound so familiar? I feel like I’ve heard this name before.’
Daniel politely received the notebook I had picked up and held it along with his bag against his chest.
“I’m Yuria Auguste. Are you really not hurt anywhere?”
“Ah, no. I’m fine… What?”
Daniel pushed up his glasses that had slipped to the tip of his nose and asked in a dazed voice.
“Why are you surprised? Is there a problem?”
“Are y-you the Du-Duke Auguste’s wife? Then, is th-this person beside you Duke Auguste?”
“That’s right.”
Daniel’s eyes went wide like a startled deer.
‘Why is he acting like that?’
He fumbled around in his bag again and pulled something out to show me.
The paper he handed me had the temple’s official seal on it.
[Her Eminence the Saintess wishes to see you, so head to the duchy quickly. – Melvin.]
It was Pope Melvin’s handwritten letter.
“Me-Melvin suddenly contacted me, so I st-stopped by the capital’s founding festival briefly and was trying to find my way to the duchy when I got lost. What a coincidence…”
“Good heavens.”
I had completely forgotten. The magic engineer whom Rosetta meets at the founding festival in the original story, who would double her holy power…
The nerdy guy with glasses!
Daniel Origin.
That man was from Borgio!