“Do you remember when you collapsed?”
When Seraphina asked as she placed the tray she had brought on a low table, I stared at her face for a moment, dumbfounded, before coming to my senses.
“Ah, yes…”
“I heard you’ve been walking for seventeen days through the winter wilderness. You didn’t even have proper clothes on until you arrived in the nearby village.”
As she spoke, it sounded like I had traveled a very difficult path.
I blushed.
“Fortunately, it wasn’t too difficult.”
Instead of being dramatic, I replied with humility, which went against my usual principles. It might be the influence of the saint right in front of me. Seraphina then opened her mouth again, casting a shadow with her long eyelashes over her cheek.
“Even trained paladins don’t excel in such reckless actions.”
‘…It was a path suggested by the trained paladin, Eden.’
“The paladin who came with you is also exhausted, so he’s resting now.”
“Ah…”
I awkwardly brought my hands together and looked at her. She, who was speaking without looking at me, straightened her posture. She wore a friendly look on her face between words as she persisted.
“Well, please sit. I’ve brought some food.”
I walked to the table, keeping an eye on her subtle cues. Two bowls of soup made with potatoes and bread were steaming, emitting a fragrant aroma. As I sat down and looked at Seraphina, she also took her seat at last.
“I’m Seraphina.”
She introduced herself in a very composed tone. Somehow, caught in the tension myself, I blurted out my words.
“I’m…”
What should I introduce myself as? If it were three weeks ago, I would’ve introduced myself as Angelica Unro Actilus.
I lowered my head.
“I’m Angelica.”
“Angelica.”
I already know who she is, but I asked anyway.
“You’re the Saint of Tunia, right?”
Her bright blue eyes seemed to momentarily cloud over as Seraphina lifted a wooden spoon with a gentle smile.
“That’s how it’s known.”
She began to eat the potato soup. Her movements were graceful. Even at the relaxed dining table, where everyone’s habits were most apparent, and tensions were eased, not a single unnecessary gesture was visible in her every movement.
I was impressed.
Someone who could control their body so well and still have a sense of ease tended to start directing themselves in a certain direction. It was about exuding an atmosphere of wanting to show something to the other person.
I was the same way. The original owner of this body was a princess, and people like me tended to notice how the other person was trying to present themselves. Nevertheless, Seraphina was behaving naturally. Whether it was an exceptionally well-crafted performance that even I couldn’t discern or just genuine naturalness, it was admirable. From her emanated a modest elegance that only those who didn’t adorn themselves could exhibit.
At that moment, I realized why I was so tense.
…Seraphina was kind but overwhelming.
Throughout the meal, she never uttered a word. Perhaps it was a matter of etiquette in the temple, so I, too, closed my mouth and started eating. The potato soup was truly so delicious that it brought tears to my eyes. Between her and me, neither of us made any sound of utensils clinking, making the mealtime incredibly tranquil. After the meal was over, Seraphina placed her empty bowl and utensils on the wooden tray, clearing them to one side.
Hesitating for a moment, I asked.
“Is this your room?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s a room connected to the prayer room.”
“Prayer room?”
“Yes, the prayer room. It’s a place I’ve been using alone.”
“Mainly… what kind of prayers do you offer?”
Seraphina’s eyelashes fluttered slightly at my question. However, she seemed so unaffected the next moment that I wondered if I had seen it wrong.
“When hatred arises, I pray. I ask God to give me a tranquil heart.”
Despite the fact that I wanted to ask if the God of Tunia bestowed her with a tranquil heart at such times, it was now her turn. She opened her mouth again to me.
“Your Majesty the Empress of Actilus… I heard you ran away.”
I awkwardly nodded my head.
“Yes…”
“For what reason did you run away?”
A deep sigh escaped my lips.
I had come here to explain the reason to Seraphina and to get her to kill Raniero. I had made up my mind to prioritize my own interests and live a little selfishly, and I had adhered to that doctrine well up until now.
Yet, as I looked at her, my words failed me.
In the end, I averted my gaze and somewhat retreated from the discourse.
“Did Eden not say anything to you?”
I comforted myself.
She would likely find his words more convincing than mine. Eden was more composed and rational in his approach to conveying information, and originally, he was supposed to handle the explanation, wasn’t he?
However, Seraphina didn’t say anything.
As I lifted my eyelids slightly to look at her again, my heart sank with a thud. It was because it felt like I had touched her most vulnerable part. Her lips were tinged with a bluish hue. It felt like I had stabbed an undefended and sacred creature with a knife, and guilt rushed over me.
Her fingertips trembled.
“Strange…”
A single word flowed out from her lips.
I held my breath, waiting for her lips to part again.
Seraphina struggled to continue speaking for a while. She seemed like someone unsure of how to proceed with a difficult story that she couldn’t easily bear. Perhaps she needed time to come to terms with something she might not want to acknowledge. Either way, she looked at me and started talking with a stiffened face.
“A man who had despised me for so long confessed that he actually loved me and was banished.”
My face grew warm, and I felt like fleeing from this place. Seraphina must have known that Eden’s confession was just a means to get banished.
“Of course, it must be a lie.”
I couldn’t say a word.
“And after a few months, you returned with him. Is it a coincidence…”
Even as she continued her words, her demeanor remained friendly. I couldn’t detect any resentment in her voice directed towards me.
Foolishly, it brought me a sense of relief.
“Perhaps not. He’d do anything to meet you, no, he would go even further… to bring you here.”
A pair of icy blue eyes fixed on me.
A subtle fragrance tickled the tip of my nose. All the plausibility of 「 Flowers Bloom In The Abyss 」 was present here. With the protagonist before me, I could make sense of all of its developments. At times, such beauty… it could also become an immense tragedy for an individual.
Feeling a little sad, I forced a smile.
“I guess he’s been caught.”
It seemed futile to keep the charade. Something was firmly entrenched in Seraphina’s mind.
“I know that Eden doesn’t love me.”
Those were the words of a sad certainty.
Reading about Seraphina’s plaintive love in print and experiencing it with the person right in front of you were on different planes. An overwhelming heaviness seemed to weigh down on me. At the same time, I couldn’t bring myself to offer any consolation. It seemed like any attempt to uplift her mood would instead push her deeper into despair.
She smiled tentatively.
“So that’s why I couldn’t meet him… I was scared. I hated myself, and I was very sad.”
On the other hand, I was amazed at how honest she was in front of me. While she hadn’t directly confessed her love for Eden, the sadness she emanated was so intense that anyone slightly perceptive could infer it without any prior information. Seraphina had kept her feelings tightly hidden until now, making sure no one would ever know.
But why was she showing them to me?
Despite the fact that I was curious, I knew that it wouldn’t be appropriate to ask something like that directly. At times like these, the only person who would ask such questions without reservation would be Raniero.
Suddenly, my heart started to feel heavy.
Then, Eden’s words came to mind.
“Don’t wonder about what Seraphina might be thinking. It’s going to be painful the moment you pry into it.”
Still, how could I not be curious?
Emotions weren’t something you could control with your head. Regardless, I could partially accept Eden’s advice—which meant I would refrain from asking what I was curious about. Anyway, it was becoming difficult to maintain an attitude like, ‘Go ask Eden.’ I couldn’t bring myself to suggest Seraphina to see him alone.
‘I must have been unnecessarily weak-minded, like Eden evaluated.’
I thought I was pretty harsh as I struggled my way here… or maybe it was because it was Seraphina on the other side that my emotions became fragile.
Facing such a gentle person in this atmosphere, Raniero, who could wield such violence, was definitely not an ordinary person.
I chuckled bitterly.
‘…It seems I had no choice but to talk about it in the end.’
I carefully chose my first words at the thought.
“Has the God of Tunia recently given any revelations?”
Seraphina straightened her back and looked at me. Instead of answering, it seemed she was waiting for me to finish my story.
Undoubtedly, broaching this topic was truly difficult. It was honestly an audacious request. Even though I didn’t feel any sense of humiliation when I knelt before Raniero, standing before Seraphina like this made me feel conspicuously diminutive.
In the end, I decided to keep it concise.
“Emperor Actilus will soon be coming here.”
Seraphina’s delicate eyebrows slightly furrowed.
“Please. Him…”
Suddenly, it became difficult to breathe. A field of flowers, white and translucent, strewn like petals across the expanse, came to mind, creating a dazzling tableau against the sky.
Of all times, it had to unnecessarily surface now…
“…Please kill him.”
As soon as these words left my mouth, the ‘certainty’ in my mind returned, whispering to me again.
‘Only Mercy can cut off the breath of war.’
I repeated the whisper closely.
“It’s something only the Saint of Tunia can do.”
No, with a little bit of my interpretation.