Chapter 105
Chesha stared at the girl in utter bewilderment.
The girl, who resembled a feline predator with her sharp features, bared her pointed fangs in a grin.
“I’m Aran Skaya. You’re Chesha Basilian, right?”
Seeing Aran’s fangs, Chesha momentarily thought of Karha before belatedly responding.
“Yeees….”
“You’re really cute. Let’s be friends.”
Her princess-like way of speaking down to others came across as arrogant at first glance.
But the sight of her grabbing Chesha’s hand and shaking it vigorously was every bit that of a little child.
From the way she seemed to be holding back the urge to jump up and down, her real personality was probably that of a tomboyish young lady.
‘But why is she acting like this?’
Chesha couldn’t understand why she was making such a fuss and thanking her after she’d sent Itar to the heresy interrogation room.
As Aran shook her hand, Chesha’s arm flopped along with it, and she glanced up at Belzeon.
‘Do you know anything?’
But there was no way Belzeon would know either.
He was trying not to show it on the surface, but he looked quite flustered.
Frustrated, Chesha decided to ask directly.
“Awen’t you angwy….?”
When she mumbled the ambiguous question, Aran understood it perfectly.
Aran narrowed her eyes sharply and said,
“That guy needs to get his head straight.”
“….”
That was something Chesha agreed with.
That bastard deserved to suffer a bit.
“You have no idea how much trouble he’s caused me! If it were up to me, I’d want him to be reborn as a new person in that heresy interrogation room.”
Aran grumbled on and on, then suddenly stopped talking and scrutinized Chesha closely.
In a voice tinged with regret, Aran murmured,
“I wish I had a little sibling like you instead of my brother….”
She lamented that if she did, she’d carry them around every day, hugging and cherishing them.
The woman who had come as Aran’s guardian—likely a maid—showed a troubled expression.
“Your Highness.”
At her cautious call, Aran burst into laughter.
“Okay, I’ll stop.”
Chesha, who had been quietly observing the situation, abruptly asked Aran a question.
“Why do you need the cwown, Pwincess?”
“Why do I need the crown?”
Aran hesitated for a moment, but then shrugged her shoulders.
“Well, it’s not really a secret. Everyone who needs to know already does.”
And then the expected words fell from Aran’s lips.
“It’s because of that enchantress.”
The fact that Aran’s brother, the crown prince of Skaya, Itar, was obsessed with the enchantress Lichesia was an open secret.
The reason he’d participated in this Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly was to obtain the Fairy Queen’s crown and properly propose to the enchantress Lichesia—that was Itar’s grand ambition.
From Aran’s perspective, he was an annoying and troublesome brother, but Itar was still the crown prince who would one day lead the Kingdom of Skaya.
No matter how precious a princess Aran was, she couldn’t ignore what the crown prince wanted.
Chesha quickly turned the gears in her mind.
Judging from the atmosphere when they entered the hall, the factions had already been divided.
The adults who had come as guardians were naturally carving up the board.
Even the children were swept up in the adults’ momentum, unable to giggle freely and instead just eyeing each other warily.
Unfortunately, the Basilian County family was being treated like a public enemy.
It was all thanks to the Holy King.
‘If the Holy King hadn’t come out to greet us yesterday, things might have been better than this.’
They’d become too strong a frontrunner for the win, which ironically put them at a disadvantage.
No matter how capable Chesha was, it was hard to legitimately claim the Queen’s crown on her own.
She needed a faction among the participants to support her.
‘I need allies here.’
In that sense, Aran Skaya was the perfect person to recruit as an ally.
The wealthy Kingdom of Skaya would have already spread money far and wide.
There was a high chance they’d secured the support of the cardinals that the Basilian County lacked.
After running through various calculations, Chesha reached a conclusion.
“Your Highness.”
And then she tightly hugged Aran.
Aran’s eyes widened in surprise as she was suddenly embraced by Chesha.
She reacted belatedly.
“…Uh, um?”
Aran’s face turned red as she awkwardly hugged Chesha back.
Chesha, holding the embarrassed girl close, stood on tiptoe with a grunt.
She lifted her small feet as high as she could and brought her lips to Aran’s ear.
“Let’s make a deal with me.”
Aran’s eyes, which had been hazily unfocused, sharpened instantly at the word “deal.”
Chesha whispered her proposal.
“I’ll let you meet the enchantwess.”
“…!”
“In weturn, give me the cwown.”
Before the shocked Aran could ask what she meant.
The bustling hall fell silent.
A high-ranking priest had appeared.
The man, dressed in a pristine white priest’s robe, strode confidently to the podium.
As soon as the middle-aged man appeared, the divine priests and knights in the hall all paid their respects in unison.
Even the priests who seemed to hold high positions showed deference, leading Chesha to guess the man’s identity.
‘He’s a cardinal.’
Indeed, the man’s robe bore the insignia indicating he was a cardinal.
The Holy Knights were gathering support for the Basilian County under Hailon’s direction.
But she’d heard that the divine priests were supporting another child.
They were also unifying their opinions, and Chesha was curious about which child the cardinals had chosen.
Since she was short and couldn’t see well, she quickly asked Belzeon to lift her up, and she climbed higher.
Chesha carefully observed where the cardinal’s gaze was directed.
The hall was so crowded with children that it wasn’t certain.
But it seemed to be toward a small, frail-looking boy in the front row.
Chesha inwardly snorted with a “Hmph.”
He looked extremely easy to handle.
The kind of guy who’d be done for with one smack.
‘With my baby body, I can beat that one easily.’
She probably wouldn’t even need to pull out the axe.
Having confirmed her competitor, Chesha proudly lifted her head.
At that moment, the cardinal’s gaze landed on Chesha.
It was a look of confirmation for her as well.
Under his scrutinizing stare, Chesha flashed an innocent baby smile.
“….”
The cardinal flinched in surprise at the smile attack, then smoothly turned his head away.
While Chesha thought maybe he was startled by how cute she was, the cardinal cleared his throat unnecessarily and began to speak.
He launched into the usual spiel.
Praising the greatness of the Holy Empire, explaining the purpose of the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly, and so on.
By the time the children started dozing off one by one to the tedious talk.
The main point finally came.
“Before we officially begin the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly, I will assign the first task.”
At the word “task,” everyone snapped to attention.
“It is to contemplate what you can offer to God.”
The cardinal continued slowly.
“However, it must be something unique in the world.”
At the condition he presented, the adults’ expressions darkened all at once.
Chesha also had to work to hide her rising indignation.
‘Isn’t this basically saying they’re going to extort us outright?’
They were reluctant to just hand over the fairy crown, a holy relic, so they meant to extract the most valuable and precious things.
The intent to bestow it upon the most devout child was embarrassingly worldly and petty.
Having finished his speech, the cardinal concluded the gathering with a seemingly benevolent and generous expression.
“We shall meet again at the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly.”
At the words signaling dismissal, the children and their guardians began exiting the hall one by one.
Many moved with some haste.
The start of the Little Saints’ Prayer Assembly was right around the corner.
To quickly discuss what to offer, every moment was urgent.
“Hah….”
It was then that Belzeon let out a low, empty laugh.
The cardinal, whom they’d thought would leave as is, approached this way, accompanied by his subordinate priests.
The small, timid boy Chesha had seen earlier was with them too.
The cardinal came straight toward Chesha, stopping right in front.
His arrogant gaze looked down at Chesha and Belzeon.
“Basilian?”
At the curt question, Belzeon paid his respects.
“We are from the Basilian County of the Palen Empire.”
“Ah.”
The cardinal briefly scanned Chesha and Belzeon’s faces.
“Could you spare a moment?”
It was phrased as a request, but it was no different from a command.
“To have a little chat with me.”
