Chapter 114 – The Church in the Neighboring Country

「Second Prince. The church seems to be in quite a commotion. My brother, who serves as a White Priest, secretly asked me about Lady Lily’s return home, so I told him everything.」

「It’s more of a problem to keep secrets from the church. Go ahead and tell him everything. It’s a bit embarrassing, though…」

　A bit? This is pretty damn embarrassing.

　I wonder if the church folks will think I’m some kind of pervert.

　But we just got word that Lily was safely delivered to the capital. Come to think of it, her home village is beyond the mountains past the capital, right?

　Huh? Why the capital, then?

　Something feels off in my gut.

　My instincts are always spot-on in situations like this… that’s what’s scary.

「Brid. Sorry, but could you look into what’s going on at the church?」

「Yes. I’ll go ask my brother.」

「If there’s anything, let the church know we’ll cooperate fully.」

「Understood.」

　The church is investigating Lily?

　Come to think of it, how did they even know she was here?

　This is giving me nothing but bad vibes.

　Is it me? Nah, it can’t be me… wait, yeah, it’s probably me.

　I just have this feeling I messed something up big time.

　No point overthinking it. Might as well grab some food and wait for Brid’s report.

　I was just lifting myself from the chair when Brid burst into the room without even knocking.

「What is it? Forget something?」

「No! I just got a report from one of my subordinates!」

「Calm down first.」

　Brid’s face was pale as a ghost, completely flustered in a way I’d never seen.

　I started reaching for the water pitcher to pour him a glass.

「One of my subordinates got intel from the First Prince’s maid: First Prince Yors Arge is sheltering Saintess-sama in the royal castle!」

「Huh?」

　That stunning Saintess… here in our castle?

　Woo-hoo!

　No—why my brother of all people?

「Does the church know? No, they don’t. Hurry and pass this info to them!」

「Yes, sir!」

　I downed the water I’d meant to give him in one gulp.

「This is bad.」

　No wonder the church is in an uproar.

　They probably think it’s a Saintess kidnapping.

　Lily must’ve been swapped with the Saintess on her way to the capital.

　The jumbled puzzle pieces in my head started snapping together one by one.

「This is bad.」

　Why would my brother pull off something this outrageous…?

　Don’t tell me he fell for the Saintess like I did?

　I nearly muttered “This is bad” for the third time that day when word came in that Brid’s subordinate had pinpointed the Saintess’s location.

　What do I do? What do I do? I wanna consult Brid.

　But I can’t just sit idle until he gets back…

「K-Keep her under surveillance. If there’s any threat to the Saintess, extract her immediately. And don’t get caught, no matter what.」

「Understood.」

　For now, surveillance to buy time until Brid returns.

　I can’t do a damn thing without him anyway.

　His subordinates are top-notch, so they’ll hold things together for a bit.

　———-

　Dragged into another mess.

　The Second Prince is so guileless he falls for tricks in seconds, and so shortsighted he gets roped in easy.

　His personality’s not bad, though. Actually, his luck might be his real superpower.

　Without it, he’d be dead a dozen times over by now.

　Everyone—himself included—knows he’s no good for governing, but the people and nobles adore him like a mascot, which is a pain.

　That’s why the First Prince is jealous and has tried to off him who-knows-how-many times.

　And the guy doesn’t even bat an eye at it.

　Guess that’s why the king dotes on the carefree prince, too.

　Another source of jealousy. What a headache.

　Lost in thought, I realized the carriage had already stopped in front of the church’s main gate.

　My subordinates were arguing at length with the gate guards.

　Wondering what was up, I poked my head out the window—and there was my brother, walking over with the guard.

「Ah, Brother!?」

「Brid! I got word you came to see me…」

　The White Priest brother, who’d been summoned out of the blue, had rushed to the front gate still clutching his paperwork.

「Why are you out here?」

　Normally, they’d escort a close aide to the Second Prince like me all the way to a guest room deep inside.

「We’re on high alert—no non-essential personnel allowed in. The guard made an exception and notified me because it’s you.」

　The familiar guard gave a light bow, so I returned it.

　Must be one of the Second Prince’s sympathizers at the gate.

　Lucky break.

「Brother. We’ve received info that First Prince Yors Arge is sheltering Saintess-sama in the royal castle. The Second Prince says he’ll 『cooperate fully with the church』.」

　My brother pressed his fist to his chin, pondered for a moment, then started whispering with the guard.

「Brid. Come with me. Just you.」

　The guards crowding around the carriage parted, and I left my escorts and subordinates behind to follow my brother.

　Is this okay?

　The White Priests and Black Priests passing by were staring at me in shock.

　The church interior wasn’t too chaotic, but when he led me to what looked like the strategy headquarters—a large conference room—it was pandemonium inside.

「A messenger from Second Prince Meils Debius has arrived!」

　Huh? Messenger?

　My brother flung open the doors and bellowed that the second he stepped in.

　The room froze like time had stopped—everyone halted and turned to us in unison.

　He shot me a quick glance, and realizing the play, I steeled myself.

「We’ve received info that First Prince Yors Arge is sheltering Saintess-sama in the royal castle. Regarding this matter, Second Prince Meils Debius states he will 『cooperate fully with the church』.」

「Is Saintess-sama safe!?」「So it was the First Prince in the castle!」「Contact Lord Heart!」

　The buzz erupted anew, and I was ushered straight to the bishop who seemed to be in command here.