098 The Royal Strikes Back (3)
“Would you like to hold out for another 30 seconds?”
“Ugh…”
Two circles collided. Metal gnaws and golden sparks splashed.
– Tsutsutsutsutsutsu!
I tried my best to keep this in mind. Cardinal Boutier’s divine power was immense, and his sanctuary was powerful.
I was increasing the size of the sanctuary little by little, pressing her circle to keep from getting bigger.
It was the complete opposite of the first day I entered the cardinal’s office.
At the time, she pushed me away and prevented me from advancing to the centre.
But today, my goal was to push her into the corner as much as possible.
– Kigi geek!
“That’s right. Stay focused.”
“Suck.”
I opened my eyes and stared intently at the boundary between the two circles that interlocked like a clockwork.
Under the influence of the moving ether, my circle was growing, at least slightly.
A little more like this…
“To open up the Holy Land, you need a sense of urgency. Think of what you desperately want.”
‘Jesse Jung!’
‘Little brother.’
Simultaneously with her words, the voices of hyung and Eunseo resonated in her ears. In an instant, the strength was released at the tip of the chin.
“ah.”
-Paaah!
The cardinal didn’t miss a moment’s break. It was already too late to fix it.
With the feeling that the ether, which is not mine, is pressing hard on my head,
– Kwaang!
“ね!”
Her sanctuary magnified in an instant and bounced me off.
Unable to withstand the strong force, my body collided with the bookshelf and collapsed.
There was only one golden circle illuminating the office.
“Ahh…”
I raised my head and moaned. My back and knees hurt, but it didn’t seem like there were any injuries.
It was a shock that caused slight bruising at most.
The cardinal’s dazzling rays of light emanating from the floor wrapped around me tenderly and rotated in a clockwise direction.
She approached her face and held out her hand. I got up with the help of a middle-aged man.
“There is no need to be too impatient, Prince.”
“······yes.”
“The prince has talent. The Holy Land will open when the time is right, so in the meantime, think of it as making the ether flow more smoothly.”
It was kind encouragement. I nodded.
Even if I didn’t grow any further, I knew that I was still an outstanding priest.
However, I don’t know when or what will happen, but I wanted to do everything I could.
It is good to have strong people by my side, but it is of course advantageous for me to be strong as well.
It would be better for the gods to have reliable guardians too.
“Today’s practice ends here. Take a breather.”
said the cardinal. I immediately buried myself on the sofa, and she sat down at her desk.
“Any questions?”
The beige eyes under the monocle shimmered faintly.
Well. There is one thing I would like to ask the most, but I decided to ask it later.
“Are all three cardinals coming from the Vatican Paladins?”
I opened my mouth.
I heard that Cardinal Boutier has officially requested the dispatch of cardinals for the examination of Kristel and Prince Sedric for their appointment as paladins.
If I was lucky, I didn’t know if I could even see a paladin of the earth attribute.
At my question, the corner of the teacher’s eyebrows twisted mischievously.
“It is random. For fairness, the judges are chosen by lot. But there are two people coming.”
huh? Didn’t you say that the appointment requires the consent of two of the three cardinals?
“The other one is me.”
“Teacher?”
“What do you mean by power? For the future of our children, this is enough.”
She smiled gracefully.
The unique mysterious atmosphere suddenly felt dark and creepy.
In other words, it meant that the decision of the judges, which in principle should have been through a lottery, was resolved in one spot with the money and power of the Empire.
Mouth opened wide.
Can I do this? No matter how vacant the pope is, isn’t it too corrupt?
She wasn’t even a member of the Holy See.
“The papal court is much closer to the new kingdom than the empire, so shouldn’t it be balanced by doing this? If we had left our hands and watched, there might have been only three cardinals negative for the children.”
Her purple eyebrows drooped down sadly.
It was an unspoken pressure that I would be very sad if I accepted this as bad or strange.
I raised the corners of my lips. Yeah, it’s good if the main characters do well.
“Any other questions? Or is there anything you would like permission to do?”
she asked bluntly. It looked like it was going to burst into laughter.
When I first said yesterday that I wanted to go to the polo match, Benjamin and Canael went to the brink of crying with a little exaggeration.
Sir Elizabeth and Kristel were also overjoyed.
When evening came, there was no one in the Juliet Palace who did not know the story.
It was not at all surprising that the cardinal already knew.
“To watch the polo match of the Marquis Duhem,”
“I want to go too. May I accompany Sedric?”
said the cardinal coldly. I finally shook my head and laughed out loud.
To be honest, I was a little nervous about being rejected, but I felt relieved that she and the imperial family believed in me.
It was the first time he had actively interfered with Toegye-gong’s event, but he was confident.
First of all, I wonder if it’s okay if I don’t sit with the two of you.
*
In the afternoon, Juliet Palace was crowded.
The imperial spirit and healing priests and their assistants filled the two rooms.
The prince, ‘Sadie’ was a really do-it-yourself guy. The examination had already been an hour.
I was relieved that I didn’t need to fast, but it was pretty serious.
Beyond the busy people, I could see Kristel sitting in the next room.
After Sir Haynes’ class, he followed me.
Sir Elizabeth and Eva must have been at the Countess of Mutte, so I wondered why they stayed here without joining them.
“He is generally healthy. But I want you to gain some weight.”
“I am still eating as much as I can.”
“The flow of ether is also stable. It is evenly distributed throughout the body without blockages.”
“thank you.”
Tae-eui and Healing Priest diagnosed each. Finally, blood sampling was performed.
In a world where there is no such thing as a syringe, I bled through the tip of my finger with a sterilized knife.
My stomach wasn’t feeling well, so I looked elsewhere.
Kristel’s eyes met and she smiled slightly. a little······. I don’t seem to have any energy. Is it an illusion?
“I got the blood of a precious person for an accurate test, but since you have a good complexion, it is expected that there will be no poison reaction.”
“I think so too.”
Some of them stuttered at my words. I was sincere.
Sadie turned on a light in her eyes, but it was hard to believe that Lord Haines had poisoned my teacup.
As Taeyi and Healing Priests started preparing to leave, Benjamin and Canael and other servants were also busy.
The red pandas rushed to me, knowing that the ‘things not to be disturbed’ had ended.
I approached Kristel with the three of them in my arms.
“Princess.”
“Ah yes. Are you done?”
Kristel made a face and got up from her seat. Today she was somehow strange.
There is no law that says people are always bright, but they are strangely weak and their eyes are blank.
It was just like that just before.
The person who normally should have joked around watching me being tested was quiet the whole time.
I think yesterday was fine.
“What’s wrong?”
“Me? No, nothing is wrong.”
“Then where are you uncomfortable?”
Is it still difficult with Sant’s ether alone?
“It’s fine. You know you’re strong.”
If that was the case, it was fortunate, but her decorated face remained the same.
Seeing that he did not return to the duke’s residence, it seemed that he had no need to speak with his mother, Duchess Isabelle.
I shut my mouth for a few seconds. The worries didn’t last long.
“Shall we walk for a moment?”
*
“There are good things to worry about. The prince recommended all the walks.”
Christel joked. I have a problem.
I smiled bitterly and walked through the bushes at her stride.
The garden of the Juliet Palace and the patroness of Romero’s, this place was my go-to place whenever I was organizing my thoughts.
Maybe it would help her, too.
In July of the ecliptic, the sun was scorching, but large white clouds came and went, creating a suitable shade.
“If it’s okay with me, I’ll listen.”
I said carefully.
I couldn’t pretend I didn’t see the main character with the words ‘I’m upset’ written on her forehead.
Her happiness was directly related to Jung Eun-seo’s joy. And above all…
“It’s a friend.”
Kristel’s large blue-grey eyes turned to me. He seemed surprised by my remarks.
I got embarrassed and rubbed the back of my neck.
“You said that we should be friends first, but the response was not good.”
“No, that’s…. It’s a bit of a thrill to come in at a time like this.”
She sniffed the tip of her nose.
As I quietly walked a few more steps, a gentle voice came from the side.
“Actually, it really doesn’t matter. It’s a bit embarrassing to say the least.”
“Are you sad that you haven’t seen the prince for two days?”
“Did it increase my happiness index?”
Kristel’s voice rose. I laughed a little.
The prince often missed class as he did yesterday and today because he was involved in political affairs.
I wiped the wings of the courageous that flew over my shoulder and waited for the next words.
“I just want to live like this.”
“·················ogue.”
“It was great at first. I don’t have any memories, but instead, I’ve gained tremendous power. I have money and power in my family, and besides, I am young. I was very happy because I could do anything if I put my mind to it. It is still the same. By the way.”
“·················ogue.”
“Everyone around me has a goal. Sir Elizabeth is a clear professional, heir to a family and has a fiance. Eva, who is only 16, is already eager to become a duke. They say they are analyzing where to make their social debut the most effective. His Majesty the Prince… You seem faithful to life. That’s embarrassing.”
“·················ogue.”
“Because it’s the second life I’ve had, I thought, I should not be complicated and just be an idiot. Seeing other people working hard makes me nervous. Shouldn’t this be the case? I also want to grab something and roll hard. Even though I’m tired of bumping and breaking now…”
‘It seems that the worker’s grit is ingrained into her soul,’ she said with a smile.
These were the words I spit assuming that I would doubt my own mental state.
I didn’t know they thought it was better than complaining against the wall.
But I was able to understand all of Kristel’s sentences.
It’s all about the little things she’s feeling right now.
“It’s been less than half a year since I woke up, but I guess you’re not white.”
“So. It seems like yesterday that I told the prince that I would do everything I wanted to do. Now I’m anxious because I can’t hold a clear thing in my hand.”
Kristel said, moving her fingers.
Did you worry about hearing about Sir Elizabeth’s performance yesterday?
There were times when I too had similar thoughts.
My ‘goal’ was to go home, but there was almost no way to get there right away.
So, it was more accurate to say that there is a ‘wind’ to go home now.
Still, the reason I couldn’t give up on the word goal was because I didn’t know when and how my heart would be shaken if I didn’t set it that way.
Those who had a clear direction and those who did not have a different attitude towards life.
Kristel also knew this, so she began to feel frustrated with herself without a special sense of purpose.
Because he must have been a person who struggled and struggled like hell. So Eunseo must have liked it.
“I believe that if you are a princess, you will find a wonderful goal someday.”
It was a cliché to even hear me. The tips of his ears warmed slightly in embarrassment.
“Even if the princess doesn’t go looking for it, her goal is so lively that she finds the princess first. Besides, there aren’t many people who like princesses around. Even if the process is slow, everyone will cheer and wait for you.”
I remember hearing something similar from the cardinal in the morning when I added, ‘So don’t be too impatient’.
Christel looked back at me and smiled broadly. The Milky Way seemed to be visible in the middle of the day.
“thank you.”
“It was obvious, huh?”
“Nevertheless. No one would be able to respond immediately to such a complaint.”
that······. It was.
I am also a possessed person, so knowing her circumstances, I could understand her complaints.
Kristel stood and waited for me while I greeted the red pandas hanging from the bridge.
“Do you have anything to worry about, Prince? I will listen.”
“Me? I······.”
I blurted out my words.
As for naturalization, thinking about the temporary partners between the two men gave me a headache.
However, there was another problem that was scratching my nerves for the past few days.
I opened my mouth, wondering if I should talk to Kristel.
I thought it would be better to inform the main character if the ‘main male lead’ was the object that bothered him.
“Sir Haines.”