Chapter 19

#019 Why are you here? (1)

"Prince?"

What's going on here?

"......"

Where did things go wrong?

"I apologize for coming to the confessional. I had no choice but to avoid people's eyes."

Something has gone awry. And it's quite serious.

Otherwise, things wouldn't have unfolded this way.

Did I make a mistake? When?

"Since we don't have much time, I'll briefly explain my mother's situation."

Even though my body was fine, I felt a strange tension in my vision.

My heart pounded and my palms grew damp at the thought of finally meeting 'her.'

But it wasn't a feeling of excitement.

"......Are you Princess Christel de Sarnaise?"

"Huh? Yes. I forgot to introduce myself...... I apologize. I am Christel Olivier de Sarnaise."

A faint thread of hope shattered before my eyes.

Of course, everything about Christel made it impossible to mistake her for someone else.

Indeed, the protagonist is the protagonist.

Even in the somewhat dim confessional, she was a beauty with a radiant complexion and long eyelashes, and her gestures were captivating.

Overall, she was quite similar to the cover of *After Quitting, I Became a Foreign Princess*, yet different.

Starting with her large eyes looking at me.

They weren't the bright sky blue I remembered, but a deep, solemn gray.

No...... Wait. They don't seem solemn at all.

"Princess Christel, is 'Olivier' your middle name?"

"Oh, geez."

She let out a very Korean sigh. I clenched my teeth to maintain my composure.

It seemed she hadn't yet mastered the 'rules' of this place after being possessed for so little time.

"I only tell my middle name to people I cherish, so I'll pretend I didn't hear it."

"......Thank you."

As I spoke through gritted teeth, she ran her hand through her hair and replied with a sigh.

I felt just as miserable.

Why do I have to know the protagonist's middle name already?

Isn't this progressing too quickly?

I had never intended to advance the plot, and this situation was too much for me.

"If you're not here to confess, please leave. I'll pretend this meeting never happened."

I stiffened my jaw and turned my gaze forward. I had to be resolute.

According to the original story, Yeseo Penethian was always kind and warm to Christel, unlike Prince Cedric.

That was why Yeseo supported him over the prince, and why Christel wavered towards the secondary male lead several times.

So, I had to act in the opposite way.

Who in the world wants to be hated by others? But it was me.

I had to fall out of her favor, so I wouldn't get entangled in that crazy love triangle.

To survive.

"Prince, it won't take long. The matter is that in our family......"

"I don't want to hear it."

"My mother wants to confess, but not in the temple. She wants to meet you separately because......"

"I have no choice. I'll call the guards."

"Wait!"

*Chalang*

A sound of water was heard. I instinctively looked at the picnic basket on the left.

The glass bottle filled with peppermint tea didn't move at all. It gave me the chills.

*Chalang, chalang*

"......"

The sound came from the next compartment beyond the wooden window. I slowly turned my head.

My body creaked like a rusty tin man.

"It's because of this."

On Christel's small hand, a water droplet the size of an apple was floating.

The sphere, which moved with small waves, reminded me of her eyes.

I stared at it, dumbfounded.

I had no idea how to interpret this scene or this development.

"No......"

"The sacred relic, 'Blessing of the Sea,' is no longer in our possession."

I widened my eyes. Too many things hit my mind all at once.

The Blessing of the Sea, the Duchy of Sarnaise, the divine relic, and the boy with orange eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said. The Blessing of the Sea has been absorbed into my body and no longer exists."

Even after hearing the explanation, my mind couldn't process it quickly.

I opened and closed my mouth several times.

Such a thing couldn't be possible. The Blessing of the Sea was an item that appeared on the cover of *After Quitting, I Became a Foreign Princess*.

A blue gem that looked like a sapphire.

The sacred relic, which seemed to play an important role between Christel and the prince, had disappeared from the very beginning, and I found it hard to accept.

But......

*Chalang......*

The droplet on Christel's palm, swirling as if mocking me, was clearly a manifestation of water elemental power.

And as the name and color suggest, the Blessing of the Sea was also a water elemental sacred relic.

Christel using aether.

I had never heard from Yeseo, not even a hint, that she had any supernatural abilities.

A cliché story of a strategic marriage, where the two main characters start as enemies and gradually become lovers.

That was the gist of *After Quitting, I Became a Foreign Princess*. It was definitely like that.

"......Perhaps it would be better to seek Cardinal Boutier instead of me."

I gave the most rational answer I could think of immediately.

I couldn't think of any other way to defuse the situation.

"Seeking Cardinal Boutier would be a political move. At least, that's what my mother thinks. She wants to confess to the prince who came from the Divine Kingdom with a pure heart."

"Princess Christel, I......"

"There's also a story related to the sacred relic that disappeared from the temple of the border."

"What?"

*Thud!*

A heavy sound echoed as the main door opened.

The 'real' penitents were entering.

Christel flinched and pulled her robe back over her head.

As she clenched her fist, the water sphere vanished into thin air.

"At the spring ball the day after tomorrow, when the clock strikes 9 PM. Please come to the balcony at the far right of the Strada Palace. I beg you, Prince Yeseo."

She left the confessional quickly without waiting for my answer.

All the sentences that stuck in my ears were bewildering.

As I pondered whether to stop Christel or let her go,

*Puff!*

"Damn it."

The sound of fabric tearing and her small curse reached my ears.

She must have stepped on her dress and damaged it.

'She is adaptable, diligent, but a bit clumsy.'

Exactly the personality Yeseo liked.

"......"

While I was dazed by the wave of events, her footsteps quickly faded into the back of the temple.

At the same time, the cautious footsteps of the believers approached from the main door.

I tried to calm my chaotic mind.

What the hell is going on here?

*

After Christel left, I canceled my afternoon confession schedule and returned to the Juliette Palace.

I finally used the excuse of being unwell to sort things out.

I didn't intend to use it this way, damn it......

"Isabel de Sarnaise, the Duchess, is Princess Christel's stepmother. She is the second wife of Duke Simon de Sarnaise, who remarried after his first wife passed away."

Benoit explained, standing in front of the table.

I already knew this, but I nodded for him to continue.

"Her social activities are minimal, and she rarely leaves the duchy. Therefore, there are few rumors about her. Some gossipers call her a typical stepmother, while others praise her for her noble and elegant character...... But few nobles know her well enough to confirm the facts."

I nodded and looked down at the *Biweekly Liester* April 1st issue spread out on the table.

The headline, 'Sarnaise's Treasure Awakens,' was large.

It was a special report on Christel waking up from a three-year slumber.

"......It seems that Duchess Isabel de Sarnaise never gave up hope in such a situation. According to sources close to the duchy, she declared, 'I will do whatever it takes to bring my daughter back,' with strong determination."

"After Princess Christel opened her eyes, the duke and duchess reportedly couldn't stop crying for a while. Especially Duchess Isabel, who cried out, 'My sin is great,' making the servants' eyes red. Speculators believe she was blaming herself for not being a good mother to the princess."

I had already read this article nine days ago since I had subscribed to *Biweekly Liester*.

But after the shocking encounter with Christel, every sentence began to seem unfamiliar.

The duchess, who declared she would do whatever it takes to bring her daughter back.

The missing sacred relic, 'Blessing of the Sea.'

Christel, who had awakened.

The duchess's cry, 'My sin is great.'

Even though it seemed a bit forced, if I pieced together the puzzle, this picture emerged.

While the possibility that the sequence of events was different was high, this seemed the most plausible for now.

So, the duchess must have used the family's treasure to save her daughter, who seemed beyond saving.

Leaving aside the question of 'how'...... She absorbed the sacred relic into her daughter's body.

As a result, Christel woke up from her sickbed, and the princess manifested the relic's attribute as aether.

If all of my hypothesis up to this point is correct, why would the duchess want to confess to me?

"Would using a sacred relic privately be a grave sin?"

My sudden question made Ganael's eyes widen.

They looked like they might spill over.

"Of course, wouldn't it? Sacred relics are treasures directly bestowed by the deity on the continent."

"Is there a law to punish such people?"

"There probably isn't a specific law. But......"

Benoit's voice lowered as he continued.

"People who guard sacred relics, whether in the empire or the divine kingdom, all have a high sense of pride. They believe they are the ones who lead in upholding the deity's will. They are willing to risk their lives to protect the relics from those who use them for selfish desires."

"If someone uses a sacred relic privately, they wouldn't just stand by, right?"

"That's right. But I believe the deity would show their will first, even if no one steps forward."

I mulled over Benoit's words.

In such an environment, it seemed plausible that the duchess would seek a cleric's forgiveness.

Although there were too many pieces that didn't quite fit, I was confident about one thing.

The disappearance of the Blessing of the Sea seemed certain, and I had evidence for that part.

"Where could the divine relic have gone if not to the Duchy of Sarnaise?"

The three lesser pandas couldn't detect the relic even after crossing the border and entering Sarnaise.

And the young child leading them.

If the Blessing of the Sea had already been destroyed at that point, it made sense that Sae-dee and the lesser pandas were lost.

Even though I had diverted the topic, Benoit answered without hesitation.

"If not Sarnaise...... The second closest sacred relic to the palace is the 'Flame of Mars' in the Viscount Dume's territory."

"How long would it take to get there without using a portal, just by horse?"

"Two days if we don't rest, and about four days if we take it easy."

I bit my lip. Four days. The same period Sae-dee and the lesser pandas had disappeared.

It seemed too coincidental to be just a coincidence.

So, if Sae-dee had taken the lesser pandas to the Viscount Dume's territory......

"Benoit, Ganael."

I called them cautiously.

Noticing the change in atmosphere, their expressions became even more composed.

I needed more help now. Because the protagonist had suddenly dropped from the sky.