Hyderlin woke up early in the morning and sent someone to Kroitze Cathedral.
Sorry I can’t come myself. Please send my sword with this person. I’ll thank you later.
Then she dressed in formal attire and headed to the audience chamber. The king appeared much later. The captain of the guard appointment ceremony proceeded hastily.
“Sir. Fulfill your duty.”
Having become captain of the guard, Hyderlin followed orders. She had been standing at attention by the door for hours already. The king only glanced at Hyderlin but didn’t tell her to sit or rest.
This continued until late afternoon.
“Your Majesty. Saint Margarite has come to visit.”
“Wasn’t the dinner appointment with the church this Saturday?”
“She says she personally prepared a gift to congratulate Your Majesty’s accession.”
“For a saint to come without even contacting us, how presumptuous…”
The king had no particular connection with the saint. They had just exchanged greetings a few times at official occasions.
The saint was very shy, and the prince wasn’t particularly sociable, so there was no opportunity to become close. Visiting suddenly without contact was quite rude behavior between people who barely knew each other.
The king threw down the quill pen he’d been scratching on parchment and stood up.
“Guide her to the reception room. Since she came all this way, we should at least treat her well.”
Hyderlin followed the king to the reception room.
Saint Margarite was sitting on the central sofa in the reception room fiddling with her hands, and her guardian knight Sarg was holding the saint’s hand and patting the back of it.
“Mack. Don’t be nervous. It’s all right…”
His comforting manner was quite affectionate.
The two stood and greeted when the king appeared. The king sat in the seat across from Margarite with a quite gentle smile.
“Thank you for coming all this way. Saint Margarite. Sir Gloriosa. It’s fine, please sit.”
The saint sat back down, and the holy knight walked to the window as if he had no intention of participating in the conversation.
“You must have been surprised by the sudden visit… Thank you for welcoming me so readily.”
Margarite said with her crimson cheeks blushing faintly. She seemed somewhat tense, her shoulders and arms stiff.
The king and saint exchanged light conversation. Condolences about the late king and queen’s deaths, the gift the saint had personally prepared to commemorate the accession…
In the meantime, Hyderlin, standing guard behind Chesa, kept stealing glances at Sarg.
Sunlight fell on the profile of the young holy knight looking out the window and sparkled. His delicately cast eyelashes and the long silver hair flowing below his ears—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it God’s masterpiece.
My, he looks exceptionally handsome today.
Hyderlin openly admired him with internal delight. He was perfect as usual. If there was one difference from usual, it was that his posture was somewhat relaxed. That attitude of leaning against the window looking outside made him seem more like the saint’s companion than her escort.
Then again, she had heard that Sarg and Saint Margarite were quite close.
Hyderlin quite envied such Margarite. She was the only person Sarg treated without formality, called by name, and smiled at—how could she not be envious?
No matter how much Hyderlin approached Sarg, she could never cross the line Sarg had set.
Unlike Margarite.
“Um, Your Majesty. I have something I’d like to say personally…”
Margarite clasped her hands tightly. Her face was as red as Hyderlin’s hair. Margarite said in a voice that grew quieter:
“Perhaps, a brief walk… would that be possible?”
The king was a little flustered by the unexpected suggestion. But he wasn’t heartless enough to refuse a proposal that clearly took great courage from a sixteen-year-old girl.
“The seedlings imported from Larochelle just bloomed. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to show off my garden to the saint.”
When the king’s consent fell, Margarite smiled with relief. A smile like a magnolia in full bloom.
“Sir Sarg. I’ll be back soon, so please wait.”
“Count Biche. Wait here.”
The king and Margarite left the reception room. Left all alone and empty-handed, Hyderlin belatedly greeted Sarg.
“Sorry I couldn’t keep my promise. Something suddenly came up.”
Hyderlin plopped down on the sofa. She was tired from standing for so long.
Sarg, who had been standing by the window the whole time, approached with upright steps. Two swords hung at his waist. Sarg unfastened the one with the black handle and handed it to Hyderlin. It was Hyderlin’s sword.
She accepted the sword feeling somewhat embarrassed.
“…Thank you. You could have just sent it with the person though.”
“I was visiting as Margarite-nim’s escort, so I brought it along. Please don’t mind it.”
Sarg answered quite curtly. Hyderlin busily fastened the sword at her waist.
Familiar weight, familiar touch.
Gently caressing the sword handle, Hyderlin felt her tense nerves relax somewhat.
“You’ve only used that sword for years. You must treasure it greatly.”
Sarg, who had been staring at Hyderlin intently, asked curtly. She gripped the sword handle tightly and answered:
“It’s the sword my father gave me. It’s like my alter ego.”
A sword so precious that she felt anxious without it by her side. But she couldn’t show such weakness to others. Hyderlin deliberately grinned carelessly.
“Anyway. I’m quite happy that the Knight of Radiance personally brought it. I’d like to repay you modestly in return…”
Before Hyderlin could finish, Sarg said firmly with a serious face:
“That’s unnecessary.”
“What! How do you know what I was going to say?”
“Isn’t it obvious what you’ll say? I appreciate that you’ve allowed me to use your name, but I must decline. As I’ve said before, I don’t drink. I don’t enjoy entertainment.”
Having all her words blocked, Hyderlin groaned. Truly the holy knight of iron defense. But Hyderlin was an attacker who could pierce even solid defense.
“Then how about a kiss of gratitude?”
Hyderlin kissed her fingertips and made a motion of blowing it away. The attack must have landed accurately. Sarg’s face flushed red and he uncharacteristically raised his voice:
“Count Biche! Please maintain dignity befitting a princess!”
Sarg went on endlessly about the virtues of princesses and knights. He must have been quite flustered, as he talked twice as much as usual.
When Hyderlin pointed this out, Sarg clamped his mouth shut and turned his head away. Hyderlin laughed heartily.
She quite liked it just like this. Just like this, it would be fine to stay just like this forever.
“Strange woman.”
The king muttered upon returning from his walk with Margarite. Hyderlin briefly wondered if it was okay to call a girl who had just turned sixteen a woman, but didn’t voice that question. Instead, she asked a different question:
“Did the saint say something strange?”
“Not that.”
The king stared intently at the gloves placed on the table. They were what the saint had given as a gift.
“I wondered what she wanted to talk about when she moved locations… but she just talked about meaningless things for a whole hour. Saying the garden is pretty in different ways.”
“……”
“But I didn’t feel bored at all.”
“……”
“She’s really a strange woman.”
Hyderlin thought she knew what kind of strangeness the king was feeling, but kept quiet. After pacing around the room for a while, the king suddenly said to Hyderlin:
“Sister. What do women like?”
Did he just say sister?
Her king had returned to being her younger brother. Instead of resenting Hyderlin, he was asking for her help.
Hyderlin finally answered with relief:
“Asking me won’t help much. Sorry.”
“…Is that so. I want to thank the saint for the gift.”
Chesa said while staring at the gloves. Hyderlin was glad he was absorbed in emotions other than grief and anger. So she decided to help her brother a bit more.
“Didn’t she say anything about what she likes?”
“She only talked about the garden. Only saying the flowers are pretty…”
“Then send flowers. Isn’t that a classic gift?”
“Ah. Right. That’s good. She liked the exotic flowers… that would be good.”
Faint joy spread across Chesa’s face.
“Thank you. Sister.”
It wasn’t a face absorbed in grief and sobbing, nor glaring with resentment. He was smiling at Hyderlin. It was a bright face she hadn’t seen in so long. To exaggerate, it felt like ten years.
“Don’t mention it.”
Hyderlin also smiled faintly. Seeing Chesa excited made Hyderlin feel excited too.
In official matters, she would have no choice but to treat Chesa coldly and mercilessly, but in such private matters… it would be okay to be a little soft.
Even if she couldn’t be a weak sister sharing grief with him, she could be a reliable sister doing her best for his happiness.
Hyderlin looked at her brother and resolved:
Beloved brother. If only you can shake off your sorrow and become a king befitting a king… I can do anything.
