Part One, Section Two: “Crisis Over My Homeland”
Chapter Fourteen (Mia’s POV)
“Hahaha! Mia, I’m glad you’ve made a resolute decision! This secures the future of the Adenauer family forever!”
When I reported to the father that I had decided to be engaged to Prince Julius, he was overjoyed and praised me. It was as if Philia had never been engaged at all. He even turned her room into a storage space since we were moving anyway… Perhaps Philia all this time…
Maybe, up until now, I’ve been living without knowing anything important.
“But the time we can spend as a family will decrease. I’ll miss you when you leave home. Let’s enjoy these moments of being together while we can.”
As the mother hugged me, she expressed her sadness. My sister had already moved out, so I didn’t see why being alone would be sad.
If the assumption that the parents hid a letter from Philia and didn’t show it to me was true… I wouldn’t know whom to trust anymore.
But, anyway… first and foremost, about Prince Julius. I was certain he took action to sell my sister off to Parnacota. I got engaged out of anger, determined to somehow make him pay for it, but I hadn’t figured out a clever way to do that yet.
“Well, maybe I should have kept him waiting a bit longer…”
“Hmm? Did you say something, Mia?”
“No, it’s nothing. I was just lost in thought. The saintly duties have also been increasing, you see.”
In reality, I was not idle at all. I was trying to handle things as quickly as possible, but the void left by Philia was significant and not easily filled. The soldiers told me, "Please don’t push yourself too hard; we’ll support you," but the thought of losing more lives without my sister was unbearable.
It’s not about my pride as a saint, it’s just that Sis taught me this is what a saint does… Even if I’m not capable, I want to do everything I can.
As a result, I found myself working with an unprecedentedly hectic schedule. Tomorrow morning would likely be early too…
◆ ◆ ◆
“That’s the tenth location, but her spellcasting is as splendid as ever!”
“As His Highness says, the greatest saint in history may be Lady Mia rather than Lady Philia.”
“Ahh, she is so lovely today too. I’m jealous of her fiancé, His Highness.”
Phew, I’m feeling a bit tired. Rather than compliments, I want someone to bring me a towel… My throat feels dry too… Why is it that men never seem to be considerate?
“Lady Mia, I brought you a towel. Here’s some iced tea too.”
“Thank you very much. Oh, this tea is my favorite blend.”
There was a small soldier who brought me a towel and chilled black tea. Quite unusual, wasn’t it? To have such a thoughtful person around. From the sound of his voice, he still gives off a boyish impression though…
Oh, hold on… There’s something tucked under the towel… Isn’t this a letter? Could it be…?
“I knew it…”
The handwriting on the envelope… This neat and beautiful script was undoubtedly Philia’s… By using this method to deliver the letter, it confirmed that she indeed was sending me letters. After seeing my letter and realizing that hers wasn’t reaching me, Philia entrusted this person to ensure her letter reached me without fail.
And despite the danger, he infiltrated from Parnacota, disguising himself as a Girtonia soldier, all to deliver the message to me…
“Thank goodness…”
I genuinely felt that way. At least Sis has allies on that side.
There must be a few capable people who were ready to take such risks… That’s right. Someone of my sister’s caliber… deserves such treatment even if she was bought with money. I was concerned about her treatment in the neighboring country, but it appeared I might have been overly worried.
“Fear not, Miss Mia. My Liege, Lady Philia, is in good health and living well in Parnacota.”
It was as if he could read my mind, the one who delivered my sister’s letter conveyed, in his own special manner, that my sister was safe and sound.
Just knowing that is enough to make me happy… Sending a letter to my sister was such a good decision.
“Hmm? That soldier talking to Lady Mia… Do we have someone so small?”
“Nah, I haven’t seen him before.”
“For Lady Mia to show such a lovely smile… What kind of charm did he use?”
“Could he be a young soldier we temporarily recruited?”
Before I knew it, the other guards had looked this way. Probably because this person looked unfamiliar to them.
Just having the letter delivered is more than enough for me… But I want…
“Um, if it’s not too much trouble, I’ll leave the window of my room unlocked tonight. I was wondering if we could have a little more conversation…”
I want to know more about Sis in detail from this person…
So, I made a selfish request, fully aware that it might be pushing him too much.
“…As your command. If that is what the sister of My Liege desires, then it is a simple task.”
Leaving those words behind, the small soldier entered the forest… and vanished like smoke.
Afterward, when asked what we were talking about, I replied that I had just received a forgotten item and expressed my gratitude for it. After that, no one asked me any more questions.
Honestly, if that person happened to be an assassin or something, these guards wouldn’t be able to protect me at all. But, well, it wasn’t that simple to take me down, so I suppose it was alright.
And then, on that night, I had a chance to talk with Himari, who worked as a maid and guard at my sister’s mansion.
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