Chapter 32

Leaving the castle as it was, Riene and I decided to return to the mansion together.

"I will never go back to the castle again."

Just before getting into the carriage, Riene said this, looking up at the towering castle as if glaring at it.

Since Lane had already sworn to the Holy Maiden that she would not return to the castle, it was unlikely that she would go back.

From the beginning, it was an inappropriate place, and on this point, I agreed with the Holy Maiden.

"Let's go home."

It was enough that a mere village girl had been able to attend the castle's evening party. I smiled and urged Riene on.

"...Somehow, Lane reminds me of my brother."

"Alec?"

I was taken aback by the unexpected words.

"Yes. Even though my brother is a hero, he was a commoner with no status, so at first, there were people who looked down on him or treated him as a fool. But my brother didn't care. To him, commoners, nobles, and even villains were all people to be protected."

If that's the case.

Feeling an ominous premonition, Lane turned to look at the castle again.

Perhaps there was a reason why Alec did not take the Holy Maiden with him.

"It's fine."

As if reading Lane's thoughts, Riene said this.

"Her personality is terrible, but she is still the Holy Maiden. The Holy Maiden's power is overwhelmingly strong against monsters. She will return even more arrogant after slaying the dragon."

"...That's true."

Since we would never see her again, it didn't matter how selfish she became.

Shaking off her unease, Lane got into the carriage.

Sally, who had been surprised that Riene returned early from the evening party for the second time, seemed to have sensed that something had gone wrong when she saw Riene's downcast and gloomy face. She helped her change without asking any questions and prepared two cups of warm tea.

The chocolate that came with it was from her favorite store.

The bittersweet sweetness comforted her mixed feelings.

"From tomorrow, we have to work hard on embroidery again."

Riene said this brightly, as if she had let go of something.

"Lane also got a new job, right?"

"Yes. This time, I will do embroidery on a scarf."

As she answered, she thought about the newly made light purple dress.

She might never have the opportunity to wear it in formal settings again, but she wanted Alec to see her wearing it just once when he returned. Would that be allowed?

A few days later.

The Holy Maiden set out for the neighboring country to slay the dragon, accompanied by several knights.

Of course, the Sword Saint Eider was also by her side.

The delay was due to the king's reluctance to let the Holy Maiden leave the country.

The neighboring country's king was said to be young and handsome.

Since the neighboring country's king had been sending letters and gifts to the Holy Maiden enthusiastically after the dragon's appearance, he was worried that if the Holy Maiden was sent to the neighboring country, she might not return.

However, the High Priest of the Grand Cathedral warned that the Holy Maiden must not be hindered from slaying the dragon, and the king reluctantly agreed.

Given how much the Holy Maiden was pampered by those in power, it was understandable that she had become arrogant.

In any case, the dragon would be slain.

The next day after the Holy Maiden's departure, Clarence visited the mansion again and bowed his head.

"I'm really sorry. I made you come here for the others' apologies, and it ended up like this."

By the third time, Riene and Lane were able to respond calmly, even though Clarence was the crown prince. As usual, Noah was also by his side, bowing his head.

"...Clarence, you must be having a hard time."

Riene couldn't help but say this, as Clarence looked utterly exhausted.

It seemed that he had had a significant argument with his father, the king, about sending the Holy Maiden.

The dispute between the king, who feared the loss of the Holy Maiden, and the crown prince, who desired peace as soon as possible, had even reached the capital.

The nobles were mostly on the king's side, while the commoners were naturally on the crown prince's side.

However, the king finally decided to send the Holy Maiden due to the High Priest's advice and Clarence's words that if the dragon slaying was prolonged, it could harm the country.

"Finally, we can slay the dragon."

"Why did my brother leave the Holy Maiden behind...?"

The question Riene voiced was also on Lane's and Clarence's minds.

"Alec said he was concerned for his own safety and stopped him, but I don't even know if that's true. Rather, Alec was supposed to dislike Akki. It would be more convincing if he said he left her behind because she was a nuisance."

"I agree, I think so too."

Riene nodded at Clarence's words.

"The truth will be known when Alec returns."

For now, anything said was just speculation. There was nothing to do but wait for his return.

I thought that if the members who had slain the Demon King were all together, the dragon would be defeated quickly.

However, the Holy Maiden Akki did not approach the place where the dragon was rampaging but first headed to the neighboring country's capital. The plan was for her to greet the neighboring country's king as the Holy Maiden and then proceed to slay the dragon, but she was entertained by the king and stayed for several days.

The reason Riene and Lane knew this was because Clarence, who visited the mansion multiple times after that, complained about the Holy Maiden.

He was blamed by the king for what would happen if the Holy Maiden did not return and was also blamed by those who supported the Holy Maiden's dispatch for the delay in slaying the dragon. Despite being the crown prince, he was in a difficult position.

It seemed that this was the only place where he could speak his true thoughts.

Since he talked about matters close to state secrets, Riene and Lane were initially confused, but now they felt sympathy for him.

Noah, who was with him, also seemed to be deteriorating day by day.

Wishing for the dragon to be slain as soon as possible for their sake, Riene and Lane spent their days diligently embroidering in the mansion.

On this day, they went to Mary's shop with Riene to deliver the embroidery that was finally completed.

Mary praised the handkerchief that a regular customer had ordered and increased the purchase price.

"It's only natural to raise the price since you delivered something better than expected."

I gratefully accepted her words.

Taking the opportunity to go shopping, we crossed a large park on our way to the shopping district.

The mage who was guarding us accompanied us to Mary's shop but had to leave to fulfill a request.

I told her it was fine to go straight back, but the shopping district was on the way back.

"I was also asked if I would try embroidering handkerchiefs next."

Riene looked happy after showing her embroidery and receiving praise.

"Yes, I'm sure Riene can make beautiful ones."

Riene's improvement far exceeded my expectations. She would be fine even if she took on more work.

"Thank you. It's because Lane is a good teacher."

We walked along, chatting about trivial matters.

When we reached the promenade with the large tree, multiple figures emerged from the bushes and surrounded us.

"!"

It happened in an instant.

Even if we tried to call for help, there was no one around.

Lane instinctively spread her arms to protect Riene.

There were five of them in total.

All of them were wearing deep hoods, making it impossible to tell their gender, but their sturdy builds suggested they were men.

"Which one?"

The man at the front asked briefly.

The man at the back answered.

"Both. Both are valuable candidates for the Holy Maiden."