EP.153 Sometimes Things Like This Aren’t So Bad
“…So. You couldn’t bring him back.”
“We apologize, Your Imperial Highness.”
The imperial knights stand at attention as they finish their report.
While they had no choice from their perspective, that’s just their situation.
They’re in a position where they must accept whatever comes if the princess who gave the order becomes angry.
The problem is that the one who might get angry isn’t just any princess, but one of the Empire’s Ten Strongest.
‘Please just spare our lives, Your Highness.’
She won’t harm them. Instead, she’ll punish them in other ways.
For instance, making them spar with the princess all day.
They say sparring, but in reality, they’re just training dummies in the practice grounds.
How could imperial knights possibly fight against one of the Empire’s Ten Strongest?
The Ten Strongest is a title given to those who transcend human limitations.
Making humans fight against someone who isn’t human – there’s no worse hell than that.
The knights desperately pray they can make it home safely today.
And finally, the princess who had been silent speaks.
“It can’t be helped.”
The knights, who had been squeezing their eyes shut, internally gasp ‘Huh?’
They thought they’d heard wrong. They expected her to say something like ‘What now? All of you to the training grounds.’
But thankfully, the princess’s next words weren’t anything like that.
“If it involves the Church, that’s appropriate. You all did well. If you had insisted on delivering my message again, that would have been disrespectful to the Church.”
The knights wore dumbfounded expressions at the princess’s words.
This woman who seems so understanding now, why had she been so different before?
The one worried about being disrespectful – hadn’t she been acting disrespectfully until just recently?
They wondered what could have caused such a change.
However, what matters most is that they’ve escaped their worst-case scenario.
So the knights quickly bowed and fled before the princess could change her mind.
After the imperial knights disappeared, the princess fell into thought.
‘This is troublesome. I never expected him to go to the Church.’
And apparently not alone, but with the Saintess.
After thinking briefly, the princess slowly rose from her seat.
Then she went to find those waiting for her at a café outside the academy.
“Duchess. Your prediction was right.”
Tisha and Elga both look at the princess almost simultaneously.
A silent request to hear more detailed information.
The princess relayed exactly what the knights had told her.
“…Kyle went to the Church? With the Saintess?”
When Elga confirms once more, the princess nods.
Because of this, both the ‘Duchess’ and ‘Witch’ look serious.
Finals are next week, and this week’s lectures are really important.
He should be rushing back to the academy, but instead he’s headed to the Church?
They say he probably won’t even return today.
He’ll likely spend the day at the Church and return the next day.
And even then, they don’t know if he’ll be back in the morning or afternoon.
‘As expected. My prediction was right.’
Elga sighs as she bites her lip, her ominous prediction proven correct.
Tisha, sitting beside her, seems unaware of the relationship between Kyle and the Saintess.
She appears to think they merely respect each other, not that it’s romantic.
‘How could that be? The Saintess getting close to another man?’
You could tell just by looking at the Saintess’s expressions and actions.
Even if she’s a faithful servant of God, in the end, a woman is still a woman.
After the princess – no, she’ll be just as difficult a rival as the princess.
Thinking about it, there’s nothing wrong with it. Did the Church forbid marriage? No.
It’s a doctrine that considers love between man and woman not a shame but a blessing.
From ordinary priests to cardinals, this applies to everyone.
And naturally, this doctrine includes the Saintess as well.
“I’m worried. He needs to attend at least some of this week’s lectures to make the exam easier.”
Meanwhile, Tisha was more concerned about Kyle’s grades than about the Saintess.
Is she just more easy-going? Or has she already given up?
The latter isn’t impossible, given that Tisha’s background is the lowest among the four.
The Imperial Princess, the Church’s Saintess, and the Grand Duchess.
It’s impossible to become the primary wife against such competition.
Perhaps Tisha has abandoned her hopes knowing this.
‘Right. Rather, she might be trying to get closer to predict who will become Kyle’s first wife. That would be most beneficial for Tisha.’
Originally, monogamy is correct. But in upper society, polygamy also exists.
It’s natural for women to gather around a capable man.
Even if not, families often try to form marriage alliances however they can.
So a man might have multiple wives, but there’s an important point.
From the second wife onward, they need the first wife’s permission.
For this reason, the first wife generally needs to hold the highest social position.
That’s exactly why Elga is determined to attain the position of Grand Duchess.
To fight against the Imperial Princess of the Ten Strongest and the Church’s Saintess, being just a duchess isn’t enough.
Only by reaching the position of Grand Duchess, of which there are only three in the Empire, can she gain the upper hand.
Tisha knows this too, which is why she thought she was trying to get closer.
Since the politics between wives is important, she didn’t mind it.
Rather, she felt good and grateful that she seemed to acknowledge her.
‘But this will make things more complicated. When wives are of similar social status, the decisive factor becomes how much the future husband’s affection leans toward each.’
She was anxious. She thought she had gotten closer to Kyle after the recent academic expedition.
She thought that if time continued like this, he would surely see her as a woman.
It wasn’t just speculation. Judging by Kyle’s reactions, the possibility was quite high.
So she had been missing the most important thing.
That is, the other women wouldn’t just sit idly by.
“Hmm.”
Meanwhile, Fifth Imperial Princess Yurika was thinking about something while remembering the Saintess.
‘She didn’t seem to like him that much, but could Kyle like the Saintess?’
No. He obviously liked her. Even Elga, who had seen less of the Saintess than the princess, noticed immediately.
Yet strangely, the princess still seemed unaware of this.
‘Could Kyle’s type be someone like the Saintess?’
People are sometimes attracted to those similar to themselves.
But in some situations, they’re attracted to their opposites.
Suddenly, she remembered what her brother, the Crown Prince, had once said.
“Please try to act more like a woman. How can men find you attractive when you’re always throwing your strength around? If you’re thinking of marriage, please, I beg you, try to be more quiet, Yurika.”
At the time, she had pretended to listen but didn’t really pay attention.
Why meet men? Why marry? All troublesome and pointless things.
Thinking like that, she used to spend her days seeking out strong opponents to fight.
After meeting Kyle, becoming interested in him, and eventually developing feelings.
At some point, she found herself no longer wielding power or fighting.
Because Kyle stopped her. Because he begged her not to. So she held back.
‘Right. He told me not to fight because he prefers women like the Saintess.’
Actually, it was because he found getting involved troublesome.
Because even what they called sparring always ended at a barely ticklish level.
That’s why Kyle had said such things, but there’s no way she could know that.
‘If that’s the case, I need to cultivate more femininity. But how?’
The princess knows her strengths and weaknesses precisely.
While overwhelming strength is her greatest advantage.
Her weakness is everything about her that’s not feminine at all.
Good. Then let’s work on those weaknesses.
The method is simple. The position of princess is useful for times like these.
She’ll go around learning from other women’s strengths.
‘To secure Kyle’s heart more firmly. And the Grand Duchess succession that’s been going well so far….’
‘Visiting noble ladies to seek their advice and pursue change….’
The princess and duchess are lost in thought about their future plans.
“…”
Meanwhile, the witch was thinking about just one thing.
‘Please come back soon, Kyle. It’s only been a few days, but I already miss you.’
Though she was a witch, it was simply an unwitch-like heart earnestly waiting for someone.
*
After arriving at the church, the schedule was the same as before.
Greeting the Cardinal, asking after the Pope’s well-being.
Receiving thanks for helping the Saintess and Commander Priscilla.
Then, as usual, checking on the priests’ physical condition.
When he last saw them, they had more or less grasped the basics.
But if they lose even a bit of consistency, they could return to square one.
That’s why Kyle kept emphasizing consistency to the priests.
“Just as you never lose faith in God even in difficult times, that’s all you need to do. Your efforts will never betray you. Just believe in yourself and your hard work.”
Kyle was even bringing God into it to keep them from getting distracted.
This was truly devious. From the priests’ perspective, they had to grit their teeth and do their best.
If honor is important to knights, then devotion is important to those in the church.
By cleverly applying that devotion to exercise, not doing it would make them the bad guys.
He even said he’d check their cardio condition tomorrow morning.
Thanks to that, the priests would be doing dawn sprints instead of dawn prayers.
Since the Pope himself had asked him to stay overnight at the church, they couldn’t tell him to leave either.
‘Cardio is really annoying, painful, and I hate doing it. But it must be done.’
Looking forward to tomorrow morning. Wonder how many will be able to keep up.
He was planning to half-kill the priests, joking aside.
Knock knock-.
When he opened the door to the knocking, the Saintess peeked her head in.
Wondering what brought her at this hour, she carefully opened her lips.
“Um, Brother Kyle. Would you like to take a walk with me?”
For a moment, he almost suggested light jogging instead of walking.
Fortunately, at that moment, Jonathan’s will backed down this time.
The proof was Kyle’s response of “Yes, let’s walk for a bit.”
Step, step-.
Wow. Just like a romance novel, look at this atmosphere.
The brilliantly shining moon, the stars dotting the sky. Not a cloud in sight.
A walk under such a night sky. The world is obviously pushing them to romance.
“I’ve felt this before, but the church really is beautiful.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. The buildings, this night sky we’re seeing, and even the people who stay here.”
After saying this, Kyle quietly looked at the Saintess.
If she asked for a walk, she must have something to say.
He wanted to hear that reason soon.
“…”
Perhaps she noticed Kyle’s thoughts.
The Saintess closed her mouth and fidgeted with her hands unnecessarily.
He doesn’t rush her. Doesn’t hurry her.
Just quietly waits for the Saintess to speak on her own.
After several minutes passed like this.
“…Brother Kyle.”
“Yes, please speak.”
“Are you… really going to marry the Imperial Princess?”