Chapter 37

With Jil's words as a hint, I thought that if I went to the church where I once took the test to become a saint, I might find something out—so I decided to investigate the church.

The test results for a saint recorded Jil's aptitude for poison magic, but there are only a few people who can bring it up.

I wanted to investigate whether there were any traces of how someone showed it to Belkline, or if such traces were left in the church records.

I also told this to Eric—

"Coincidentally, my father wants you to come to the church. He says he has something important to tell you, but he didn't tell me what it's about."

Y-You mean, the king wants to see me?

Moreover, the intention of calling me specifically to the church is unclear.

It doesn't seem to be related to my plan to investigate the church.

"I also offered to go with you, but it seems he wants to talk to you alone. I'll send a few guards with you. Alfred and Johann are also with my father, so I think it will be fine..."

Eric also seems to feel something is off about the king wanting to see only me and calling me to the church.

It seems we won't find the answer just by thinking about it...

Anyway, let's go to the church at the agreed time.

Including me, there are three saints who belong to the church.

The Aelte Church, located at the outskirts of Elscheid's capital, is where the archbishop who manages the churches in the country is based, and I received the title of saint here.

When I entered the church, the king was staring at the empty pulpit.

Of course, the guards were lined up and waiting.

Johann seems to be guarding outside the church...

"Saint Lea, thank you for coming. I heard you want to investigate the records of this church. I've talked to the archbishop and received permission to take everything to the palace."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

I bowed to the king.

It seems the king is willing to cooperate in reviewing the records.

If that's the case, identifying the culprit might be faster than I thought.

Then, the king looked at my face and said something unexpected.

"Hmm. You do look a lot like your mother."

"...Like my mother? But my mother—"

"I know. You were separated from your biological mother. Liette Martis—your biological mother and I have been old friends for a long time."

"——!?"

When the king said I look like my mother, I was about to tell him that I am not related to my stepmother Ekaterina.

However, the king mentioned the name of my biological mother, Liette, who had passed away.

Moreover, he knew her maiden name and said they were old friends, which surprised me greatly.

"...I do look like my mother. I don't remember her face because she passed away before I could remember."

"You looked just like her. She had a high aptitude for magic. She was a promising candidate for a saint. Unfortunately, she became ill and couldn't become a saint..."

"I didn't know my mother was a candidate for a saint. My father didn't talk much about her."

The king told me about my mother as if reminiscing about the past.

When I was a child, I often asked my father about my biological mother, but he became upset, so I gradually stopped asking.

So, my mother was also a candidate for a saint, just like me.

"Actually, I was once saved by Liette. It was before I ascended to the throne, when I went to the mountains for a hunt."

"My mother saved Your Majesty's life..."

"Suddenly, the horse I was riding went wild and fell off a cliff. I seemed to have broken all my bones and couldn't move, so I was prepared to die. However, your mother, Liette, immediately jumped down the cliff to save me. She performed powerful healing magic and provided emergency treatment, so it didn't end in a tragedy."

It seems my mother was the one who saved the king's life.

I had no idea.

Was my mother also skilled in healing magic like me?

Still, why did he tell me this now?

Even when I met Eric before—

"I would have preferred to tell you this when my son wasn't around. Actually, Liette—"

Just as the king was about to continue, a loud explosion echoed throughout the church.

This, could it be an assassin...

The church instantly turned into a sea of fire, and the guards were in a panic.

We must get the king out of here and escape.

However, I have a bad feeling. Causing such a large explosion without the outside guards noticing is different from the usual assassins... I had a premonition that something was different—.