Part Three, Section One: “A New Pope”
Chapter Eighty-six
“Well then, I’ll take my leave first. Mammon was saying something dumb about picking up girls in town. I better stop him before he does anything stupid.”
“Miss Elsa, sorry for the trouble.”
“You don’t have to force yourself to be considerate. I’m prepared to be resented.”
When Prince Oswald spoke words of gratitude to Elsa, she calmly replied that there was no need for that.
I wonder what happened. We were comrades who fought together before, and we had no animosity toward her.
“But it’s not you who gave the order, Miss Elsa.”
“…”
Elsa lightly kicked the ground in the palace courtyard, nimbly leaped over the fence, and left.
As Prince Oswald said, she was just a messenger sent by the Clamu Church headquarters, but she might still feel somewhat guilty.
“I have no intention of resenting Miss Elsa, but things have become a bit complicated. Are you alright, Miss Philia?”
As Elsa disappeared from view, Prince Oswald shrugged his shoulders and considerately asked me.
“No problem. We still have time to come to a conclusion.”
Certainly, this was no simple problem. And most of all, it would greatly affect our future together.
But we didn’t have time to be discouraged.
“Hey, Miss Philia, you’re not worrying about me, are you? Don’t force yourself if you think I can’t leave this country. I said that to my brother, but now I think that if the only way to avoid you having difficulties is for me to leave this country, I’m prepared to do so!”
Prince Oswald, who had objected to Prince Reinhardt earlier, said he would consider the option of leaving this country.
Of course, those were painful words for him to utter.
“I know you dearly love this country, and most of all sincerely wish to devote your life to it, Your Highness.”
“No, that’s not it! I mean, that’s true, but for me, what I desire most is for you to be by my side, Miss Philia! If clinging to my selfish wishes would only trouble you, I’m prepared to abandon one or two of them!”
When I spoke about what Prince Oswald truly desired, he turned to face me straight on, grabbed both my shoulders, and said he could abandon his wishes.
His direct gaze remained as ever, the amber sparkle in his eyes genuinely reflected his honesty.
“Your Highness, while I can’t say I love it as much as you do, I have also come to care for Parnacota, you know?”
“Miss Philia…”
“Please don’t say anything sad like giving up your wishes. This country is an important place for both Your Highness and me. You mentioned it before, didn’t you? In crucial moments, decisions should be made from the heart, not just the head.”
“…!?”
I placed my hand on my chest and told Prince Oswald we mustn’t give up on staying in this beloved country together.
You’re the one who taught me there are times the heart should judge.
“You’re right, I’m pathetic. To have the words I tried to impress you with thrown back at me like that.”
“But you are still cool, Your Highness.”
“Ha, I’d like to think so, but I didn’t manage this time. However, you’ve woken me up. Giving up so quickly goes against my nature.”
Slapping his right fist into his left palm, Prince Oswald shouted with vigor. It seemed he was becoming positive again about finding a way out of this situation.
“When I tried to go help Mia and when I was trapped in that Interstice, you always told me not to give up, so I kept facing forward without abandoning hope.”
“I didn’t do anything. It was all because you are strong that we saved Miss Mia and shattered Asmodeus’ ambitions.”
“That’s not true. Without you, Your Highness, I think I would have crumbled. I’m glad I realized I’m not as strong or righteous as I believed.”
I was inarticulate, so I couldn’t properly explain how his frank, honest words gave me strength when I faced adversity.
But I could say this much. The greatest thing since coming to Parnacota was meeting Prince Oswald.
It’s because I met you that I came to love this country.
“We talk like this, but it’s only been a year and so much has happened.”
"Yes, I never imagined I’d get engaged again so quickly either.”
“Right? I hesitated too, wondering if it was too fast for you and if you had felt pressured. But I was confident that these feelings wouldn’t fade.”
We experienced so many events, more than could be summed up as "a lot happened".
I was grateful for the many people I met.
“But for me, you are still most precious, Miss Philia. While this country is important too, that’s something I won’t compromise on. So if you desire it, I’m willing to go anywhere with you. I sincerely mean that.”
Prince Oswald said his priority remained me. He would go anywhere together with me. The kindness in those words touched me greatly and gave birth to a certain conclusion. This might be the only way. I only had a faint hope right now, but I couldn’t think of any other method to overturn the current situation, either now or in the future.
“Your Highness, will you come with me to Dalbhat?”
“Huh?”
“I’ve decided. Let’s go to Dalbhat first. So I want you to come with me.”
When I suggested to Prince Oswald go to Dalbhat, he looked at me in surprise. That was natural, since I was telling the exact opposite of what I said earlier.
“Hmm, I’m having trouble keeping up with this sudden change, but does that mean you have decided to become Pope?”
It seemed Prince Oswald believed I suddenly decided to become Pope.
That’s not it. What I’m thinking is overturning that premise. In other words…
“Let’s directly negotiate with the Clamu Church headquarters and get them to rescind the order for me to become Pope.”
“W-What!? Is that even possible? It was the Pope’s dying wish. They won’t overturn that.”
Even Prince Oswald was astonished by my suggestion of direct negotiations. Certainly, the dying words of the Pope, who wielded absolute authority considered equal to God’s, had great binding power.
“If we can convey our arguments, I don’t think it’s out of the question for it to be overturned. We’ll need adequate theoretical basis, of course.”
“I see, so you mean to present evidence that this whole matter is unjust from the start. I can’t even imagine how to go about that, though.”
As Prince Oswald stated, if we could prove to some extent that the Pope’s will was unjust, the headquarters of Clamu Church should acknowledge and overturn it. Of course, substantial evidence would be required to prove injustice, but I had a hypothesis, and I was confident it was not impossible if I could prove it.
“Moreover, there’s a part I want them to understand about my feelings. That I’m not suited to be Pope, I want to live as Parnacota’s saint, I want to convey that to the people at the headquarters too.”
And, most importantly, I want to communicate my will. I strongly wish for everyone to understand my desire to continue being this country’s saint, no matter what.
“Hmm, I see. Well, how to put it… You’ve changed quite a bit, Miss Philia.”
After hearing my words, Prince Oswald folded his arms, fell into deep thought, and in a tone that seemed filled with emotions said that I had changed.
Huh? Now that hementions it, I suppose I have become more proactive than before, but could it really be worth reminiscing over so wistfully?
“H-Have I changed that much?”
I looked up at Prince Oswald after he pointed out my change.
Grinning, he lightly patted my shoulder.
“What are you talking about? The previous Miss Philia was charming, but the current you have undoubtedly become even more wonderful.”
“T-Thank you very much.”
How many more times would Prince Oswald’s words make me feel so terribly embarrassed?
The more I came to understand his frank, honest nature, the more his direct words stimulated my heart, resonating with me and making me tremble.
Wanting to avoid showing such a pathetic expression, I lowered my head.
“Miss Philia, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
“No, please don’t worry. I’m fine.”
“I-I see. Anyway, Miss Philia, your true feelings got through. If that’s how it is, I’ll accompany you to Dalbhat.”
Peering at my lowered face, Prince Oswald agreed to go together to the kingdom of Dalbhat.
With him, I felt assured I had nothing to fear no matter where I went.
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