Chapter 31
“It’s a gracious thing for you to enter such a lowly location. But the entourage you’ve gathered…”
Anafi’s sympathetic eyes met those of Richard’s entourage who stood behind the emperor.
Claire’s heart raced as her sight skimmed across them.
She’d never recognize her.
After all, she wasn’t the Claire who wore a robe that was much larger than her frame, but she now resembled a wonderful young noblewoman.
She wished she could have stepped forward right away, but it was enough simply to see him.
“It’s been a while, Duke.”
Anafi approached Richard, who was standing close to Claire.
“Have you been well?”
“Yes, Duke, thanks to you, I had a warm winter last year. This time, you also sent a donation. Thank you for everything.”
“It’s just a small amount.”
“Even a single grain is precious to us.”
Anafi, with her soft rejoinder, cast an inquisitive glance at Claire.
Claire glanced at him intently, her eyes flashing.
“Is there something on my face?” Anafi joked, smirking at her focused scrutiny.
“No, not at all!”
Claire waved her hands as she hurriedly glanced aside.
“Haha, it’s okay to look as much as you want.”
“I was impolite to someone I was meeting for the first time. Please accept my apologies. Alicia Stanton is my name.”
“Lady Alicia! It’s no surprise you looked familiar. You look like the Duke.”
“Thank you.”
“I was given advance notice, but I didn’t expect to see you both in person. Especially with His Majesty present.”
“Lady Alicia is traveling with me to fulfill the treaty with the Immortelles.”
Eiden said a casual comment.
That one statement was sufficient. There was no need to state the Empire’s involvement overtly.
“…I see.”
Anafi cast a cautious look at Claire.
“We’ll be staying for three days.”
“Understood. Please, this way.”
Anafi took the initiative and led them to the main building.
A few monks were spotted talking to Elliot and pointing elsewhere.
The Emperor’s visit did not appear to be a first-time occurrence, based on how smoothly they ran.
Claire was perplexed.
The Emperor, to her knowledge, had never visited the abbey before.
“Lady Alicia must find this place unfamiliar.”
Anafi commented as he noticed Claire glancing around.
“This is also Alicia’s first trip. I’m sure everything is new to her.”
Richard, who was standing beside her, responded on her behalf.
Claire muttered to herself, “Not really.”
Even though it was her first journey, the monastery was extremely familiar to her.
Of course, she had never entered the monastery’s main edifice.
She and her adoptive father, Samuel, resided mainly in an ancient lodging facility in a remote location, the church, and the vineyard.
Anafi directed them to the library, which was located within the main structure.
“Please take a moment to warm up with some hot tea. Even though spring has arrived, the mountains still feel like winter when the sun goes down.”
Claire agreed with Anafi’s explanation and nodded.
The wind that blew down from the valley initially settled here.
Aside from summer, there wasn’t a single day when the skin didn’t feel chilly.
She didn’t like it for that reason.
Claire found herself unexpectedly catching eyes with Eiden after unthinkingly nodding.
“…”
He narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Claire, who appeared to concur with Anafi’s statements.
Claire’s heart was burning with humiliation.
An aristocratic young lady of great birth who had never stepped outside should not have known the complexities of a mountain monastery.
Nonetheless, she unintentionally acted as if she knew.
Claire wished she could smack herself upside the head.
Her guard had been let down since she was in the monastery, which reminded her of home.
“The tea is delicious.”
Claire lifted her teacup with ease.
White flowers dried in the sun drifted gently in the tea.
“This is daisy tea. They cover the earth about this time. Tea prepared from roasted daisies is beneficial for colds and sleeplessness.”
Of course, she was well aware of this.
It was her job every spring to pick and cook the daisy blossoms.
Claire blew on the floating flower and sipped deeply.
The familiar flavor she had been drinking since childhood went down quickly.
“You seem to drink that surprisingly well.”
Claire paused in response to Eiden’s remark.
He was referring to when she had forced herself to drink tea in front of the emperor on her previous visit to the duke’s residence.
She raised her head cautiously, sipping the fragrant tea with averted eyes.
She wished he’d let go of such meaningless memories.
Claire muttered to herself as she laid her teacup down.
Casual talks lasted for a time.
They inquired about each other’s recent events, and discussions centered on their respective countries’ political conditions and crop yields for this year.
Eiden, who had been calmly sipping his tea, piped up when the talk stopped.
“Have there been any appearances of monsters here?”
“Fortunately, we’ve had none so far.”
“That’s strange.”
“Why do you say that?”
With a perplexed gaze, Anafi inquired of Eiden.
“I encountered a monster near the monastery.”
“Oh my! I hope no one was hurt.”
“Everything is fine. However, are you certain you’ve never been attacked by monsters?”
“Yes, we haven’t.”
“Hmm. It wouldn’t surprise me if you were one of their targets.”
“It’s thanks to the grace of El.”
Anafi, visibly relieved, hailed the deity.
“By the way, Lady Alicia must have been taken aback. I hope El’s grace was with you.”
“Thank you.”
“Oh, no. I’ve been careless.”
“Pardon?”
Claire couldn’t figure out why Anafi was apologizing.
“Praying for the ‘grace of El’ to someone who worships Belgore.”
“Ah.”
Claire recognized her error only when it was too late.
The Grizmen people revere ‘Belgore,’ a divinity.
Despite becoming a believer in ‘El’ while living in the monastery, she was forced to play the role of Alicia and claim to be from Grizmen.
Nonetheless, she had taken Anafi’s remarks regarding ‘El’s grace’ reasonably naturally.
“Do you know of El, Lady Alicia?”
Claire couldn’t help but laugh.
‘Do you know the way?’ it wasn’t. but…
“I’m aware of Him. After all, the Stanton family supports places of worship.”
“Come to think of it, the ancestors of the Stanton Duchy were truly exceptional, embracing other religions without prejudice.”
“It’s a natural consequence if one knows El is the only true God. Everything else is just a bunch of nonsense.”
Everyone’s attention was drawn to Eiden’s casual comment.
“Your Majesty, if you speak like that, the Holy Lady of Shua might be saddened.”
Eiden did nothing more than shrug his shoulders.
Claire’s ears perked up when she heard the unusual name.
It was a name that conjured up visions of grace and dignity.
“Is this Lady Alicia’s first time hearing about it? The Immortelle Empire worships the Holy Lady of Shua as its goddess. She was instrumental in the formation of Immortelle.”
Claire was taken aback for another reason.
If Anafi’s account was correct, the Holy Lady of Shua held great importance in the empire.
Nonetheless, Eiden’s attitude toward the Holy Lady of Shua was reserved.
When he said false gods previously, he undoubtedly meant the Holy Lady of Shua.
While the empire’s saint deserves limitless praise, Eiden’s reply was lukewarm.
Eiden, who had been staring down, turned to Claire.
Then he asked an unusual inquiry.
“If you had the ability to foresee the future and control monsters, what would you want to do?”
“Pardon?”
She’d have no other wish if she acquired even one of those powers.
Even if she only had the power to predict the future, that would be fantastic.
Then she’d know when he’d identify her and her identity as the phony Alicia would be revealed.
She wouldn’t have to be on high alert all of the time.
“Is the question difficult?”
Eiden slumped heavily into the backrest, his chin propped up.
“If an ordinary person exhibited such abilities, wouldn’t they be considered strange?”
“Why so?”
“Well, people tend to be wary of things different from themselves.”
“She is a very wise lady. You are correct. People detest or despise everything superior or even marginally different from themselves.”
Anafi shared her sentiment.
“It’s a little depressing in a way. Such qualities could be advantageous to people.”
“Perhaps just the ability to control monsters. However, forecasting the future is risky. It has the power to enchant people.”
Eiden remarked, his gaze fixed on Claire.
Claire was nervous.
Why is he staring at me in this way?
As if she had possessed someone.
“Shouldn’t we be at ease with the Holy Lady of Shua?”
Anafi quietly interjected, sensing the strained atmosphere.
“Why so?”
“Lady Alicia, the one with such abilities is the Holy Lady of Shua.”
“She must be an incredible person!”
Claire truly exclaimed, and Eiden snickered across her.
“Indeed, it’s thanks to the Holy Lady of Shua’s abilities that our empire was founded and has become as powerful as it is today.”
“Half of that is true, and half isn’t.”
Eiden responded with a smirk at the corners of his lips.
He had low regard for the Holy Lady of Shua.
Claire couldn’t stop herself from asking a question.
“Do you dislike the Holy Lady of Shua, Your Majesty?”
“As I said, the ability to bewitch people is dangerous.”
“Your words sound like the Holy Lady of Shua has done something of the sort.”
“…”
“But doesn’t that seem unlikely? Someone who had a big influence on the formation of Immortelle would not endanger the empire’s subjects.”