Chapter 78

Good morning.

It's still before dawn.

It's quite cold, even for the early morning of New Year's Eve.

In this area, it seems that snowfall of around 30 centimeters occurs only a few times a year.

The New Year's festivities begin today.

Today, the last day of the year, is a festival where we report to the gods about the past year and express our gratitude, and on the first day of the new year, we pray for health and safety for the coming year.

This year, an unprecedented event occurred, with a change of gods mid-year, so it is said that the celebrations will be more grand than usual to bless the new god.

I was woken up before dawn, took a bath to purify myself, put on the best clothes I wore all year, and went to the church to pray.

I received holy water from the bishop and placed it in the sunniest spot in the house, and for the whole day, I only ate bread and drank water, spending the day quietly with my family.

When the sun set, I burned the clothes I wore in the morning and sprinkled holy water on the ashes to wash away the bad luck of the year.

The chapel within the castle grounds is filled with a solemn and tranquil atmosphere.

It feels as if the cold air has been forgotten, and the air is so pure.

With the long, narrow windows through which the rising sun shines, the newly installed statue of the god stands... but the moment I saw the statue of the "Gal God," the atmosphere was completely ruined.

I made it myself, but it ruins the solemn atmosphere! I was just starting to feel pious, but the statue of the Gal God completely destroyed it.

I wonder if the people in this world will be okay when they see the statue of the Gal God? I'm very worried.

With her hands on her hips and a sideways peace sign, she has a smile, but it lacks the dignity and sacredness of a god.

Looking around, everyone seems to be praying seriously, so it seems to be okay.

A few young priests are singing or reciting prayers in a unique melody.

Despite wearing black robes that cover their entire bodies, they are all visibly muscular, and their voices are deep and powerful.

One particularly muscular and large-voiced priest is a bit off-key from the others, making it hard to hold back laughter.

There are people who don't realize they are tone-deaf.

The prayer time is not very long.

Since it's the castle's chapel, there aren't many people, so it ends quickly.

When I entered the usual dining room, Cavendish was there, which was rare.

Today's meal is only bread and water, so Anneliese looks dissatisfied.

The bread is filled with dried fruits and nuts, so it's quite satisfying.

After the meal, we moved to the adjacent salon.

No tea was served, and while drinking water,

"Father, what happened to Mother Roxane?"

Princess Cremone asked.

The secret about Queen Roxane was still kept from the children.

"Roxane followed the expedition on her own and was cursed. She is now recuperating in the palace."

"Really! Isn't that a serious matter? Why are you so calm, Father?"

"It's not a curse that will immediately endanger her life, and it's also a result of Roxane's usual behavior. This time, to make her reflect, she will remain cursed for a while."

"Oh, so Queen Roxane won't be attending the New Year's party?"

Queen Leotria is not worried about Queen Roxane's health.

She knows how strong Queen Roxane is and trusts that the king would not leave her in danger.

Princess Cremone seems to feel the same way,

"Well, it's not unusual for Mother Roxane to skip the party. But what kind of curse is it that makes her bedridden? Is it a mental attack? If it's a physical curse, Mother Roxane would probably be able to shake it off on her own, right?"

"Haha, in a way, it might be a mental attack. The curse Roxane received makes her body weak and unable to move. That Roxane is now bedridden and quiet."

The king laughed, so it seems he can talk about the curse as a joke.

With such absolute trust, even the children started to laugh.

"Hehe, I'd like to see Mother Roxane in such a state! Father, can I go visit her?"

"No, while there's no immediate danger to her life, the curse is a bit troublesome to remove. Multiple priests and officials from the Magic Bureau are working on the exorcism. Visiting would only be a hindrance, so please refrain."

The king smiled meaningfully.

Only Queen Leotria, Princess Cremone, Ingrid, Earlshain, and I understood the true meaning of that smile.

The others took the king's words at face value and were disappointed that they couldn't visit.

Cavendish, on the other hand, seemed uninterested and was looking in a different direction.

The conversation about Queen Roxane's curse and the fact that I won't be the one to exorcise it, as a form of punishment, was part of yesterday's plan.

With this, it's likely that Queen Roxane won't be aware of her plan to invade the Rughria Marquisate during the party the day after tomorrow.

Whether it has actually been kept secret is uncertain.

Queen Leotria and Princess Cremone might have figured out something is going on, but they probably won't spread the word, so it should be fine.

After that, we dispersed.

It's customary to take it easy today and tomorrow, but the women are busy with final preparations for the party, such as dresses and accessories, and taking care of their skin and hair, so we shouldn't get in their way.

Cavendish had disappeared from the salon at some point, and Ingrid had gone to patrol the city.

I went to the garden with the twin princes, Earlshain, Jyuu, and Shell.

We played hide-and-seek and tag, running around.

Lunch was the same as breakfast: bread and water.

Anneliese was grumbling.

In the afternoon, I watched over the twin princes.

The two children were running around, and Earlshain, Jyuu, and Shell were getting tired.

I just flew around, so it was no problem for me.

We took an early bath in the evening and gathered in the courtyard.

We collected the clothes we had worn all day, and the king used fire magic to light them.

After the clothes burned, we sprinkled the holy water we received in the morning over the ashes.

Dinner was also bread and water.

Anneliese didn't complain but sighed with every bite, and Princess Cremone scolded her at the end.

That was the end of the day.

Good morning.

Again, I woke up before dawn.

I took a bath, put on new clothes, and went to the chapel.

I prayed and had breakfast of bread and water.

The king, queen, Princess Cremone, and Ingrid had a meeting for tomorrow.

The twin princes were taken somewhere by Anneliese, and I don't know where Cavendish is.

Earlshain and Jyuu were practicing sword and magic sword skills.

I was playing with Sora and Haku.

Lunch was also bread and water.

During the afternoon practice, Sora and Haku reacted to something in the corner of the garden, pounced on it, and brought a maid to me, bound with Haku's tentacles and held by Sora.

What's going on? Upon closer inspection, I found something squirming near the maid's chest! And despite looking like a normal maid, her eyes lacked vitality.

Earlshain and the others came over,

"What's wrong?"

"She's cursed."

"Her?"

"Yeah, Sora and Haku caught her."

"………Kaita, let go of the maid for a moment. I want to see where she's heading."

"Okay."

Sora and Haku, who understand human language, quickly released the maid at my request.

The maid started walking as if nothing had happened.

We followed her, and she walked a bit unsteadily.

We eventually arrived at a small building.

"This is... where Mother Roxane is recuperating."

The maid continued walking without reacting to Earlshain's words.

Once we confirmed her destination, Jyuu ran to inform the king.

The guard, who was on watch, let the maid pass without any particular caution.

The guard, noticing Earlshain approaching, gave a suspicious look,

"Prince Earlshain, what are you doing here? The king has ordered no one to enter this palace."

"Are you one of Mother Roxane's guards? Do you know the maid who just went in?"

"......Yes, she is a maid exclusively assigned to Roxane."

"Confirm the maid's actions immediately! She might harm Mother Roxane! She is cursed, hurry!"

One of the two guards ran off.

Earlshain didn't force his way in but waited on the spot.

After a while, the guard who followed the maid returned,

"Prince Earlshain, please come in. Roxane wishes to see you."

He walked ahead.

When we followed, we found Roxane, the queen, with a bitter expression, holding down the bound maid with one foot.

"Ah, Earlshain, thank you for letting me know. She has been my maid for many years, so I let my guard down! I almost got the final blow!"

She huffed, looking unamused.

"Kaita, can you remove the curse from this maid? I need to know the reason and the cause!"

"Okay."

I gently pulled out the squirming thing from the maid's chest, and after a shudder, the maid's eyes regained their light.

When the queen removed her foot,

"Ow! Ow, ow! What? Why am I tied up?"

She was confused.

Queen Roxane, squatting in front of her,

"Emery, you were cursed just now. What happened? Do you have any idea?"

"A curse?! Me?! Am I going to die?!"

"Calm down, the curse is already gone. You won't die, so tell me what happened!"

"Umm, well, I had the day off the day before yesterday, and after lunch yesterday, I heard from Lily that Roxane was unwell and recuperating here, but the senior maids were taking care of her, so I was cleaning Roxane's room."

"Did you do anything different last night?"

"No, I had bread and water for dinner, so I went to bed earlier than usual to avoid being hungry at night..."

She blushed and looked down, embarrassed by her own gluttony.

She's just a normal girl.

Queen Roxane, perhaps thinking the same, looked at the maid with a soft smile and a gentler voice,

"What did you do this morning?"

"Well, I finished praying, had breakfast, did the laundry, and was heading to the cafeteria for lunch...?"

"What happened?"

"Well, I thought I was called by someone on my way to the cafeteria?"

"Can you remember who it was?"

"......I think it was the assistant to the Minister of Finance, the one Lily said was kind of cute... Spinel?"

"Did anything happen when you met Spinel?"

"......Something, suddenly, something like a stone, was pressed against my chest..."

She trembled violently and then lost consciousness.

Queen Roxane released the maid's bindings, picked her up effortlessly, and laid her on a sofa,

"That's enough. The culprit is Spinel, the assistant to the Minister of Finance. We don't know if he's related to Rughria, but we need to hear his story!"

"I'll take care of it."

The king appeared.

He must have already sent a knight to deal with the situation after hearing the story.

"Earlshain, Kaita, thank you for noticing. Thanks to you, my wife was saved."

He bowed deeply.

It was not the king speaking, but a husband grateful for saving his wife.

"No, I'm glad Mother Roxane is safe."

"It's all good."

So, Earlshain and I responded lightly to avoid making it too heavy.