Chapter 130 – Lily's Disposition: First Half

Since returning here, I’d been utterly exhausted from submitting reports and enduring repeated interrogations.

Even after that, I’d gone to visit Lily several times.

“Marie. Heading out already?”

“Yes, Grandfather. I was thinking of leaving early.”

Today was the crucial meeting to decide Lily’s fate.

Up until now, Grandfather had kept quiet about everything.

Even though he had to be worried sick, since I was the only one permitted to visit her these days.

“Marie. I fully understand what Lily did. Settle this without any regrets, Marie. No matter what happens, I’m on your side.”

“Grandfather…”

Grandfather enveloped me in a tight hug with both arms.

Haa, so reassuring. I wish he could hold me like this forever.

“We feel the same way. Don’t you forget it.”

Gain called out to me from behind.

Fernet placed a hand on my shoulder.

“Come on, now. You’ll be late, missy. Heart, support her good.”

Master pried me loose from Grandfather and shoved me toward Heart.

I stumbled totototo and crashed right into Heart.

“Oops.”

Heart steadied my shoulder right away and gave me a smile.

Hya-.

“S-Sorry!”

My heart felt like it was about to burst on its own.

Ever since then, Heart’s gaze had felt… sweeter somehow. Or at least, that’s how it seemed.

No, I’ve always been prone to wild delusions and overthinking myself. Yeah. It had to be that.

For the time being, to focus solely on Lily, I cleared my mind of everything else and shoved all other thoughts to the back burner.

“I’m off.”

As I climbed into the waiting carriage, Heart and Ted hopped in after me.

“Marie. Did you get a good night’s sleep yesterday?”

“Any issues with your condition?”

“Yes, I slept like a rock. And no matter what happens, I’m fully prepared.”

I mustered the brightest smile I could, and the two of them exchanged glances before making exasperated faces.

“Don’t take it all on yourself. Lean on us.” “Yeah, we’re family, aren’t we?”

“Of course. It’s because you’re all here that I can stay strong.”

The two of them nodded with evident relief, repeating over and over that they had my back to put me at ease.

“We’re here. Mentally ready?”

“Yes.”

As we stepped down from the carriage, a crowd of White Priests greeted us with concerned expressions.

“Saintess-sama. This way.”

The White Priest didn’t head to the usual conference room. Instead, he briskly strode down a connecting corridor to a separate annex beside the central building.

I hadn’t set foot in this area much before, but the flower beds here bloomed with a different array of beautiful flowers.

Work by one of gardener Doman-san’s apprentices, maybe? It had a slightly different vibe from Doman-san’s style.

We hadn’t gone far before a massive door came into view.

“Saintess-sama. Please.”

The White Priest positioned me in the center of the huge double doors, then flung them both open at once.

Suddenly, a huge “waa-” murmur erupted.

Looking up, I saw familiar higher-ups, unfamiliar White Priests, and people dressed in upper-echelon attire seated in ascending mortar-like tiers forming a circle.

This spot at the very bottom was the narrowest.

Shaking off my trepidation, I took a step forward.

“Marie. Over here.”

I was led to the seat between His Holiness the Pope and Bishop Moras.

Heart and Ted took up positions in the guard seats right behind me.

“Silence! We will now deliberate on the sentencing for the criminals guilty of kidnapping the Saintess!”

The presiding White Priest confirmed I’d taken my seat, then bellowed it out.

Those still standing sat down, those chatting fell quiet, and the room gradually hushed.

Once total silence reigned, he confirmed it and read out the names—the First Prince and his aides, the actual kidnappers, and Lily—with crisp enunciation.

Next came the explanation from the very beginning.

The Second Prince had chanced upon Lily, taken her to the neighboring kingdom, and the First Prince had used her return to orchestrate my kidnapping. And how Lily had scattered poison in the process.

The priests seated in the upper tiers wore stiff expressions.

As the full scale of the incident came to light, my confidence in saving Lily ebbed away.

I’d known it involved the neighboring country and was fairly large-scale, but not to this extent…

I pressed a hand to my forehead and sighed, only for someone to tap my shoulder from behind.

Turning, I found Heart smiling gently with a look that said, It’s okay.

Strange. This smile had always calmed my heart since way back.

I smiled back, and Heart looked a little surprised before letting out a small chuckle.

In the meantime, the discussion pressed on: how the Second Prince had rescued me, how the neighboring king had extradited the criminals to the Church, and how Lily had proven valuable as an informant.

Good.

The flow wasn’t bad at all. I watched on with bated breath and silent prayers.

“We’ll take a break for now. We resume at the next bell, so please return to your seats by then.”

The long, drawn-out explanation finally wrapped up, and we got our break.

The large doors on every tier swung wide, letting in streams of outside light.

I stretched with a big “uun,” and even His Holiness chuckled, “Worn out, eh?”

“Marie. Want to take a short walk outside?”

Ted suggested it, and Heart took my hand, helping me stand as my legs wobbled from sitting too long.

“That was a long one, huh.”

“Yeah. It’s going just like Sid said it would.”

Heart murmured it as he walked beside me.

“Master really can see into the future, I swear.”

I said it with conviction, and Heart let out an amused “Fufu.”

Master saw through everything. There had to be something to it.

“What did Master predict for the rest?”

“First Prince gets locked away for life somewhere in the castle, kidnappers and aides get the death penalty. Lily’s permanently exiled from the capital. The sticking point is whether to tack on the Saintess assault charge.”

Classic Master. Nailed it perfectly.

But my own guess matched his exactly.

“There aren’t many precedents for executing royalty, so it’ll probably settle around there, right?”

“Hard to say. The whole country could’ve been sanctioned. Without that Second Prince, the First Prince would’ve been done for anyway.”

I could see why Heart was giving a wry smile.

That carefree prince saving the country? It didn’t fit his image at all.

“Still, challenging the Church like that… what an idiotic thing to do.”

“The reward must’ve been that tempting.”

Heart poked my forehead with meaningful intent.