Chapter 5

Having a goal is good, but for now, the current situation and how to conduct oneself from here on out are important.

"Regarding the schedule for the Holy Maiden who has descended from a different world, first, we will have her get accustomed to our country's culture and customs, and at the same time, undergo magic training. The official introduction to the public will be after she has acquired a certain level of skill. Additionally, as part of the effort to acclimate her to our culture and customs, we are considering having her attend the National Magic Academy. Until the official introduction, the Holy Maiden's existence will be kept secret from the high nobles, and she will be welcomed as a princess from a border country. This is also to protect the Holy Maiden, who is not yet accustomed to magic. Please be careful not to let this information leak, and be aware that if any information is leaked and the Holy Maiden is endangered, severe punishment will be imposed."

This time, unusually, a child from a different world also descended with the Holy Maiden. This child does not possess the power of the goddess, but it is very rare that they have been judged to have high magical power. Therefore, this child will also participate in magic training with the Holy Maiden. The child will also be kept secret, so please be aware of this."

The intelligent-looking man spoke calmly but as if he were lecturing, glaring at each person intensely, which was quite intimidating.

Well, at least I was relieved that they would teach me magic.

When the intelligent-looking man finished speaking and bowed to the king, stepping back,

"O Holy Maiden, what is your name?"

The king asked solemnly.

"Yes! My name is Takar梨Rina! Please call me Rina! I will do my best!"

She clenched her fists in front of her face, looking up with her legs spread, making quite an appeal. She was completely ignoring the king.

"Second Prince Cavendish, I appoint you as the Holy Maiden's caretaker!"

"I humbly accept the appointment!"

Cavendish, looking very pleased, knelt and accepted the appointment. I wondered if the royal family didn't try to suppress their emotions a bit more. The Holy Maiden, who was clapping and jumping around, was also completely ignoring the king.

"Ah, and the child who came with the Holy Maiden, what is your name?"

"Ai, ichu-ke-ta-re-shu"

I stumbled over the words, not because I hadn't spoken in a while, but because the language of this country was difficult to pronounce even though I could understand it. My tongue just wouldn't move!

The king asked, "Huh?"

"I-i-chu-ki, ke-ta!"

Even speaking slowly didn't help. The surrounding people looked at me with pity, which made me even more uncomfortable.

"Ah, well, then, Lord Keta, I appoint the Third Prince Alshain as Lord Keta's caretaker."

"I humbly accept the appointment."

The king seemed to have given up on understanding everything and decided to call me by what he heard. I was a bit disappointed, but I had heard that the handsome man was named Alshain and was a prince, so I wasn't surprised. I had guessed as much from his attitude and the reactions around him.

Alshain, now known as Alshain, sat me on his knee and knelt to accept the appointment.

Just as Alshain stood up, the intelligent-looking man said,

"Depending on the future situation, we will hold emergency meetings as needed. Please be prepared. That is all, dismissed."

People started to leave from the back, probably starting with those of lower status among the high nobles. As I watched absentmindedly,

"You have a tough job, taking care of such a baby, unlike my Holy Maiden! But it suits you, you failure! Haha, Ahaha, Arhahaha!"

Despite the number of high nobles having decreased, he was still exposing the royal family's discord with a loud laugh. He didn't seem to consider that this might become a weakness or a political tool later.

Even I, who had just arrived in this world, could imagine that, but this guy clearly didn't understand. He was definitely an idiot. When he laughed at Alshain, Alshain maintained a blank expression.

Frustrated by Alshain's lack of reaction,

"You failure, you can't even think of a comeback! It's a waste of time to even acknowledge you! I pity you, unable to use magic or words! Haha!"

Cavendish, with a nasty grin, mocked Alshain, who looked like a complete fool to everyone, but

"Magic?"

The Holy Maiden asked, and he seemed delighted,

"This one can't use magic! Despite his father and the concubine's efforts since childhood, the cause is unknown. He has the most magical power of any royal, yet it's a waste of talent! Hahaha!"

"Cavendish! I never gave you permission to call my wife Leetria a concubine with such vulgar words!"

The king's voice echoed in the now mostly empty hall, filled with anger.

Even the air-reading-challenged idiot prince flinched. The idiot prince looked at the king fearfully, whose face was expressionless but whose eyes seemed to be trying to kill him.

"F-f-father! No, I apologize!"

"To whom are you apologizing? Did you insult me?"

"N-no! No, I have no such feelings! ...Mother Leetria, I apologize!"

He hurriedly apologized, but why did he look regretful when apologizing to the beautiful queen? The answer was simple: the other queen, who was glaring, had the same expression as Cavendish. Cavendish was the son of the glaring queen, who probably didn't like the other queen's existence. They were a very clear mother and son.

"Also, you were talking about Alshain, but I've heard that even though you can use magic, you don't have many impressive skills, right?"

The king turned to the glasses-wearing man, who adjusted his glasses and replied,

"Prince Cavendish has mastered basic magic and can use a few intermediate spells."

"For a year at the magic academy, only a few intermediate spells? Isn't that lacking in effort? In contrast, Alshain, though he can't use magic, has reached the level of a new knight in swordsmanship. It's not a time to laugh at others' misfortunes."

Cavendish, unable to respond to the king's words, his face twisted with humiliation, turned red and trembled. The glaring queen, though her face didn't show it, had a fan that looked like it might break from being clenched so tightly.

In the awkward silence, the two-timing Holy Maiden looked bored and uninterested. As for me, I was confirming something that had been bothering me. Since the magic power test, I had been able to see something like the flow of magic power. While others' magic power flowed in a circle throughout their bodies, Alshain's seemed to be stuck halfway.

Curious, I stared at Alshain and noticed a semi-transparent, black, squiggly thing near his heart. The 3 cm squiggly thing seemed to be growing out of his body through his clothes. When I poked it with my finger, it moved as if saying "no."

Feeling that it wasn't a good thing, I tried pulling it out. It was longer than I thought, but it came out completely. The moment it came out, Alshain trembled and looked at me, so I held out the squiggly thing, which had materialized in my hand and was twitching.

"Hmm!"

"......"

"......"

We stared at each other in silence for a while. The squiggly thing was twitching in my hand.

"What is that?!"

The glasses-wearing man asked, pulling my hand close and staring at the squiggly thing as if his face might touch it.

"Chirari?"

"Where did you find this?"

"Hmm?"

"How did you find this, Lord Keta?"

"It was growing."

I pointed to the area near Alshain's heart.

"It was growing... Lord Keta, you could see it growing?"

I nodded, and the glasses-wearing man let go of my hand and started thinking. When my hand lost its grip, the squiggly thing flew out and fell to the floor, twitching even more. It was very disgusting. The two-timing Holy Maiden screamed and clung to Cavendish.

As everyone stared at the squiggly thing, it suddenly stopped moving, lifted its long, thin body, looked around as if searching for something, and then disappeared in a flash.

"Kyaa!!"

No one understood what had happened, but when they turned to the sound of a soft thud and a scream, the glaring queen was clutching her face and writhing in agony. Everyone was shocked, and a strong-looking man shouted,

"Enemy attack!"

At his shout, several knights with drawn swords entered the hall. Cavendish, snapping out of his shock, shouted,

"Mother!"

He lifted the glaring queen, who was still covering her face.

"Someone, get a doctor quickly!"

As Cavendish shouted, a white-bearded old man pushed him aside and checked the glaring queen.

"This is..."

"What is it! Who attacked my mother! I'll cut them down right now!"

"Please wait, this is... Chief, is the Chief here?"

The excited and agitated Cavendish was ignored as the old doctor called for the Chief, who turned out to be the glasses-wearing man. The old doctor and the Chief conferred and nodded, and the Chief said,

"This is not an enemy attack! Sheathe your swords! There is no enemy!"

To calm everyone down.

"If it's not an enemy attack, what happened?"

The king's calm question calmed everyone down. The knights sheathed their swords and looked at the Chief.

"......This is a curse."

"What?! A curse! Who would dare curse the queen! They will face the ultimate punishment!"

"No, that's not it..."

The Chief hesitated to speak.

"It doesn't matter, speak clearly."

The king's words seemed to give the Chief the resolve to take a deep breath and say,

"Queen Kushria had placed a curse on Prince Alshain, and when Lord Keta removed the curse from Prince Alshain, the curse rebounded to Queen Kushria."

"That's his doing!!"

Cavendish shouted, snatched a sword from a nearby knight, and lunged at me. But before he could reach me, the strong-looking man easily overpowered him with his bare hands.

"Let go! Even if he's a child, I won't forgive anyone who harms my mother!"

"What have you heard! The Chief clearly said the culprit is Queen Kushria! Are you trying to blame a child?"

Cavendish, restrained and shouted at, had a look of disbelief and shock.

"Cavendish, calm down. The general is right. The one who cursed Alshain is Kushria, no doubt about it."

"No! It's a frame-up! I would never do such a terrible thing!"

The queen, with disheveled hair and a shrill voice, was in pain, pleading her innocence. But looking at her face, no one doubted that she was the culprit. The black, squiggly curse that had been in my small hand was now a bruise on her face, writhing through her heavy makeup.

Seeing this, even Cavendish couldn't defend his mother and was speechless.

"Your guilt is etched on your face. No one will believe in your innocence... I am sorry, Kushria, but even as a queen, you cannot be forgiven for cursing a prince with legitimate succession rights. Take her away and put her in prison until her punishment is decided."

"No! No! Nooo!!"

The queen was dragged out of the hall by the knights, leaving behind a piercing scream. Cavendish was in a daze.

In the silence, the sound of light footsteps and a light impact, the beautiful queen hugged Alshain and me.

"What's going on!" I was surprised, but the beautiful queen was sobbing and muttering,

"Alshain, Alshain..."

The king appeared, supporting the beautiful queen and hugging us all. It was a touching scene, but I felt out of place and tried to get off Alshain's arm, but it was too tight. I wriggled but couldn't get free.

Some people were tearing up, and it felt like a touching moment. Cavendish was in a daze, and the two-timing Holy Maiden was pretending not to know. What should I do? I felt very awkward!