At that moment, there was nothing but a faint cry.
I thought I could understand why Sylvia had confided in me so suddenly.
In fact, both from my point of view and Sylvia's 'sudden' point of view, it must have been an explosion of something that she had been suppressed and endured for a long time... the sense of camaraderie that came from being someone who had gone through the same thing.
The desperation to know if I also had the same thoughts.
However, because of my position, she couldn't bear to ask and bury her feelings for the past few months. Though the favor I had done her had become the key to the last lock that stood in her way.
Sylvia finally let go and cried like a child.
"Your Majesty, please save me..."
I was a little embarrassed and
patted Sylvia.
It was forbidden as an Actilus to show weakness to others.
Wasn't that the first thing Duchess Nerma warned me about when I was preparing for the social gathering? Unlike me, Sylvia, an Actilus from birth, should know better than I do. Yet she was crying, showing her most delicate part.
Was it because I had the belief that if it were me, I wouldn't be shaken by that weak figure as a weakness?
This trust was a little heavy for me.
Still, it reassured me a little with the fact that she had harbored a sense of camaraderie for me, not resentment. The possibility of her poisoning my food was now gone as well.
I spoke cautiously to Sylvia, who was crying and weeping.
"I'm sorry about the strategy His Majesty used."
Sylvia's grip on the hem of my clothes tightened as she opened her mouth.
"His Majesty the Emperor..."
She uttered in a hushed voice.
"He must've done it because it was
fun."
I couldn't help but agree.
It may be an effective strategy, but the biggest reason Raniero chose it would be because it was interesting.
He was much more of a hedonist than an efficient one.
Meanwhile, I was a little surprised that Sylvia was grasping it. Even her brother, Henry Jacques, couldn't penetrate his point and ended up dying.
She stopped crying after a while.
Still, Sylvia kept a respectful distance away from me. She was staring at my face with embarrassment before she whimpered and smiled softly.
"I've seen His Majesty's treatment of Her Majesty."
Hearing such a thing through Sylvia's mouth made my face heat up. I unconsciously turned my face down to avoid her gaze.
"He really cares for you. I was surprised by his meticulousness."
"Is that so...
"I've studied everything about His Majesty the Emperor."
Once the most promising empress candidate, the words coming out of her mouth had weight. I only nodded cautiously, lowering my voice as she continued.
"He only relents to Your Majesty."
Embarrassed, I decided to open my mouth to tell her to stop saying her words.
"I never thought that His Majesty could do that."
However, for some reason, thorns sprouted from Sylvia's sweet voice. I shut my mouth and gazed straight into her eyes.
There was hostility.
It wasn't for me...
"Not once, ever."
... It was towards the Emperor.
Her thick lips, like ripe peaches, were distorted. From that face, I could read what Sylvia wanted to say.
It would be better if Raniero were really a person who couldn't be a 'human.'
If he were someone who had never understood what affection and concern were... She would rather have regarded him as a kind of disaster and not resent him. After all, it would be foolish to blame landslides, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
However, as he gradually developed a special interest in me, he must have started to look like a human in her eyes. Even though she couldn't take revenge on disasters, you could avenge a human being.
It seemed to ignite her hatred.
Without realizing it, I held Sylvia's hand tightly.
"Don't do this, even in the future. Okay?"
"Your Majesty..."
I said it because I was really worried. At this rate, a sentence that could be considered treasonous would come out of that pretty mouth.
Sylvia kept her mouth shut at my sincere expression but couldn't help but express her intense emotions.
I didn't let go of her hand.
"Don't even dream about it."
I was worried about her, too, and more than anything, I didn't want to get involved in that.
Although Sylvia listened though she refused to answer, I pressed on until she nodded. Seeing her reluctantly nodding, I felt somewhat relieved. I was fortunate that this child liked me and seemed to listen to me.
Revenge against Raniero Actilus...
The odds of success were extremely close to none.
At that moment, Seraphina's name popped into my mind again. It was because at the end of Flowers Bloom In The Abyss, she took revenge on Raniero. Still, I erased that sentence from my mind as the thought seemed to come to me out of context. Instead, I decided to stick more closely to the problem at hand.
Phew.
While it was good to know that Sylvia was on my side, I thought what I was holding inside was a nuclear bomb... in other words, an added task to manage it well so that it wouldn't explode.
I smiled at Sylvia with a very caring grown-up face.
"I believe you won't do anything that'll get me in trouble."
She might hate me for saying this, but Sylvia quietly lowered her head. It was because she had no one else to rely on but me.
Seeing that, I quickly patted her and changed the subject.
"The paladins of the temple will also need a helping hand, so why don't you go and help them? They'll be very grateful."
At times like this, it would be best to make them work to clear their heads.
꒰⑅ᵕ༚ᵕ꒱˖
The next morning.
I headed for the recaptured sanctuary accompanied by the grandfather Archbishop and a few priests.
It wasn't really far from here.
After getting on the horse and walking a little, I ate a simple lunch and walked a little further, and it was already right in front of me.
Getting down in front of the sanctuary, I grabbed the reins and glanced up at the lonely building. Seeing the traces of brutal battles remained everywhere, I couldn't help but frown a little, but the ruins, where the sunlight penetrated through cracks in the broken stones, were somehow peaceful and quite romantic.
Since the corpses of the demonic beasts couldn't stay scattered all over the place like this, the priests started cleaning.
Of course, I hadn't even dreamed of a job like cleaning corpses. Thankfully, the priests also didn't seem to expect me to do such chores. Well, even if I went out to clean, if they had common sense, they would stop me.
I strolled around the sanctuary with my hands behind my back.
It was worn and broken here and there, but it was still holding its shape quite well for a neglected one. Even though it may sound obvious, the structure was similar in many ways to the temple of Tunia, which was located southeast of here.
When grandfather Archbishop came over to me, who was carefully examining all over the place, I said anything that came to mind to break the awkward atmosphere.
"It's really close. You really have a narrow border with the beasts."
"Yes. In fact, it's rare for them to come down here..."
"Then, by any chance, did anyone visit the sanctuary even before the recapture?"
As I threw out a question that suddenly came to my mind, the grandfather Archbishop thought for a long time before he smiled calmly.
"It's not impossible. But as far as I know, there wasn't anyone."
"Oh... Is there a reason you haven't recaptured it until now?"
"Ah, that's right. There was a revelation."
...Revelation?
It was an interesting story. Unlike the God Actilla, who didn't approach his followers directly, I knew from reading that the people of Tunia often heard the voice of God Tunia.
I asked in an innocent voice.
"Was it a revelation to leave the sanctuary as the beast's property until this time?"
The Archbishop couldn't hide his troubled expression when I asked too deeply.
"I'm sorry, the Empress of Actilus. The detailed oracle is only shared by a few people, even within the temple."
"Is that so?"
Hearing his words, I didn't pry into it. Until Raniero returned from the subjugation, I planned to continue visiting this abandoned sanctuary, so there was no reason to leave a nasty grudge. Still, I wondered if Eden was aware of the revelation.
... When the subjugation force returns, it'd be good to ask Eden about it.'
"Could you tell me who receives the revelations from the God Tunia?"
As if it wasn't a secret at all, this time, the grandfather Archbishop gave a clear answer.
"It's the Saint."
"Ah..."
"The Saint is the only one who has the right to speak to God. The God of Mercy always speaks only to the Saintess."
It was something that wasn't written in the book, which only had meager explanations. This was the reason why the Saint was so important in the temple of Tunia.
"Then, does the Saint deliver a message from God to the Archbishop?"
"Yes, that's right."
I deliberately asked in a playful way.
"Aren't you saddened by God? His Holiness the Archbishop won't lose to anyone if it's faithfulness."
The grandfather Archbishop made a serious expression after my words.
"Piety isn't about competing."
I shriveled in this situation where the words thrown as a joke suddenly returned to the documentary.
"Ah, yes..."
I evaded the gaze of the grandfather Archbishop, who politely rebuked me.
"...I heard that there's a large library here. Can I take a look at the books?"