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Alright, it seems like you managed to finish all of your assignments. We’ll end things here for today.”
The moment Natalia said that, Bianca collapsed on top of her textbooks while letting out a tired sigh.
“That’s not how a proper lady should port herself, Bianca. Come on, fix your posture.”
“Haaah∼, but I haven’t been doing anything else aside from studying Elandic and practicing manners ever since I came back from that field trip, so what’s the problem with me relaxing a bit when it’s just the two of us here…?” ( Tl/n: The parts in Italic are in Elandic.)
After Bianca said that, Natalia couldn’t help but let out a soft chuckle. Apparently, her cousin was so tired, that she didn’t even notice that some of the words she spoke were in Elandic.
“I know you want to learn the Elandian tongue as fast as possible, Bianca, but don’t overdo it, okay? You have to rest properly as well.”
“Okay∼, I promise you I’ll rest properly tonight, so can you let me stay like this for just a little bit, please?”
“Alright, but just for a little bit.”
…
…
…
After resting for a few minutes, Bianca finally found enough strength to raise herself from the small desk that she was using to study, then she and Natalia started fixing her scrambled textbooks in a neat pile.
It was already late afternoon, so the orange light of the setting sun was shining directly into the stained glass of the academy’s church, which created a relaxing atmosphere.
The reason why Natalia and Bianca were here right now, was because the little princess couldn’t concentrate when she tried to study by herself in her room, so she went to her cousin’s room to study with her.
However, since Natalia was quite the romance novel hoarder, they decided to head to a place that was a bit more… spacious.
Well, despite her unique hoarding tendencies, Natalia was actually an amazing teacher, so Bianca managed to learn a lot more Elandic with her, than she ever did during class.
“Wait, it’s already this late…!? No wonder you’re feeling so tired, Bianca… I think I worked you a bit too hard today.” – Said Natalia, in a surprised tone, as she finally took notice of the orange light that was illuminating the cathedral.
“It’s okay, Natalia Onee-sama! I’m not bothered by that at all! Rather, I want to hold a proper conversation with the Lady of the Lake as soon as possible, so I’m really grateful that you’re going out of your way just to teach me how to speak in Elandic!”
One of the main reasons why Bianca was so focused on learning how to speak in Elandic, was that she didn’t know how to properly pronounce Carnelian’s full name yet. All spirits took great pride in their names, so the last thing that she wanted, was to disrespect the Great Spirit of Water because she said something wrong.
“Is that so? But I heard the Lady of the Lake doesn’t speak often with her contractors…?”
Carnelian was known for being one of the hardest of the Great Spirits to deal with, since she was grumpy all the time. Sometimes, she wouldn’t even speak with her contractors. Many of them had to wait years, or even decades, just to speak with her once. However, that didn’t seem to be the case for Bianca.
“That’s weird, because I actually speak with her all the time… although, she gets a bit grumpy whenever I touch a certain topic.”
“Did you disrespect her in some way…?”
“No, I didn’t disrespect her, so you don’t have to worry about that. The thing is, whenever I say I want to be more like Leonora, the Lady of the Lake always makes a disgusted face and says: “I think you should aim to be someone better than that greedy child,” among many other things.”
Natalia felt her heart turning cold the moment she heard that. Leonora was many things, but greedy wasn’t one of them, so she couldn’t help but think that Carnelian was a despicable being for saying something like that about Leonora, of all people.
“Hee∼, so the Lady of the Lake likes to degrade people… it seems like I’ll need to have a private talk with her, huh…?” – Said Natalia, in a menacing tone, as she let out a low chuckle.
“You don’t have to concern yourself with that, Natalia Onee-sama, I already scolded her!”
“Oh, so you already scolded her…? That’s good to hear, but… did she apologize properly after saying those mean things about Leonora?”
“Yes, and I made sure of that! Even if she is a Great Spirit, there’s a limit to how rude someone can be, so I said everything that was on my mind! And when I finished scolding her, the Lady of the Lake even begged for my forgiveness on her knees!” – Said Bianca, with a proud look on her face. ( Tl/n: It seems like that M spirit had a good time. XD)
After seeing the proud look on Bianca’s face, Natalia couldn’t help but let out a happy smile.
“…*Whisper*…They grow up so fast, huh?”
“Did you say something, Natalia Onee-sama…?”
“Not really… I’m just impressed to see how amazing you are becoming.”
“I see… but I’m not really that amazing, you know? Compared to you, Natalia Onee-sama, and Leonora, I still have a long way to go… . ”
For a moment, Bianca looked a bit sad… however, after remembering the promise she made with her little sister, Bianca felt even more determined to catch up to Leonora, after all, she promised that, one day, she would stand by her little sister’s side as an equal.
“Hey, Natalia Onee-sama, is it true that Leonora has been studying non-stop ever since she was appointed to be the next shrine maiden of longevity? If so, then she is an amazing hard worker, huh? Not everyone would be able to learn all of those things with less than a month to prepare for the Contract Festival. It seems like I’ll have to work even harder if I ever want to catch up to her!”
“Hmm, I don’t think you really need to work even harder than you already are, but to answer your question, yes, Leonora has been studying really hard ever since last week. I was really surprised when she told me she had already memorized all the books about Elandian Culture that I gave her to read… even her teachers are saying that she is the best student they ever had… . ”
This time, Natalia was the one who became a bit sad after saying that. However, that sad expression was quickly replaced by a happy one, as if it was never there to begin with, which made Bianca a bit worried.
“I knew it… you actually wanted to be the shrine maiden of longevity, didn’t you? You’ve been preparing for that role ever since you were chosen a year ago, so why did you hand it over to Leonora, if doing that was going to make you this sad?”
“What are you talking about, Bianca? You must be so tired, that you even started imagining things. Of course I would give the role of shrine maiden of longevity to Leonora, after all, there’s no one more suitable for that role than her. I mean, she is the perfect example of the word modesty, but almost no one can match her in elegance. She is also really intelligent, but there’s not even a shred of arrogance in her voice. If someone told me that Leonora was a holy maiden sent to us by the heavens, I would believe in that person. That’s just how amazing she really is.”
Even though Natalia was speaking in her usual calm tone, Bianca knew that her cousin wasn’t just casually praising Leonora, like she usually did. Natalia was doing everything she could to avoid answering Bianca’s question, so the little princess decided to play along… for now.
“Well, I just hope Leonora doesn’t collapse from lack of sleep, since she’s been studying a lot lately.” – Said Bianca, with a concerned look on her face.
“About that, I actually tried to make Leonora rest for a bit when we were studying together, but she just laughed it off and said that studying was way more important than resting.”
Since no one in Eland knew him, Leo’s plan was to escape from Albert during his trip there, which meant that this was the first and the last time he would ever be able to learn anything, for free, from the best teachers of the Empire. That’s why Leo was doing his best to memorize everything that his teachers taught him.
However, Natalia didn’t know that, so to her, it looked like Leonora was pushing herself because she wanted everyone to accept her relationship with Albert.
(That’s right, Leonora is fighting for the sake of their future together. This matter is way more important than just being recognized as the representative of our country. Besides, she deserves the title of shrine maiden of longevity even more than I do… that’s why I shouldn’t feel sad for giving her that role…) – Thought Natalia, as she looked down with a pained expression on her face.
“…*Whisper*…Natalia Onee-sama… . ”
Bianca already had a hunch that Natalia wasn’t feeling okay, after all, she was clearly pushing herself to look strong in front of everyone. However, since the little princess didn’t want to seem too intrusive, she decided to wait until her cousin was ready to talk about it… but that pained look on Natalia’s face was the last straw for Bianca.
“Hey, Natalia Onee-sama, do you want to know who are the two people I admire most?” – Said Bianca, with a serious look on her face, as she grabbed both of Natalia’s hands and stared deeply into her eyes.
“B-Bianca…? What are you-?”
“One of them is Leonora, because she is kind to everyone, regardless of who they are… and the other one is you, Natalia Onee-sama. You’re a bottomless-pit of knowledge, and you’re really smart. To be honest, I used feel jealous of you; I always thought it was unfair how someone could be so intelligent. That’s why I won’t forgive you if you continue to put yourself down like that, Natalia Onee-sama–”
After listening to everything that Bianca had to say, Natalia became speechless.
It was like their roles were suddenly reversed.
Instead of doing the scolding, Natalia was the one being scolded this time, so she couldn’t help but admire how much Bianca had changed in the past few weeks.
However, the little princess wasn’t over yet… she still had some things to say to her big sister.
“–But, well, I know it can be pretty hard to get out of such a big slump on your own, that’s why I will repeat what I said earlier as many times as it takes, until you start feeling better again… and if I can’t make you feel better on my own, then I’ll find someone who can–”
A few weeks ago, Bianca tried to save her little sister from the “evil clutches” of the spirits that dwelled in the Korwitz Forest, but she only ended up hurting herself and making things even more complicated for the two of them in the process. At the time, the little princess felt really bad for making Leonora go through that due to her mistake, however, instead of getting angry at her, Leonora comforted Bianca, which helped the little princess become a bit more confident in herself. That’s why Bianca wanted to do the same for Natalia.
“There’s no need for-”
‘There’s no need for you to go out of your way just for me, Bianca.’ – Is what Natalia wanted to say, but before she could finish her sentence, Bianca placed a finger in front of her mouth and continued.
“–Thankfully though, the person who can make you feel better is right behind you∼” – Said Bianca, in a playful tone, as she pointed at the entrance of the church with a wide grin plastered all over her face.
“Huh…?”
Natalia turned around the moment Bianca said that… and then, she saw him–
“Remember to head straight to your dormitories, okay? I don’t want to see anyone wandering around at night, unless it’s an emergency. Well then, see you all tomorrow.”
–The one standing at the entrance of the church, was a well known holy knight, Gustav Schneider, and he was wearing his usual white robe.
“Oh…? This is quite the rare sight, huh? I wasn’t expecting to see you two here at the same time… so, what do I owe this sudden visit? Did you two come here to pray to the spirits?” – Said Gustav, with a surprised look on his face, as he addressed the two girls.
“Not quite. You see, sensei, someone here needs a bit of an advice.” – Said Bianca, as she looked at Natalia with a mischievous grin.
“I see… so she needs an advice, huh? Hmm, how about you start by telling me what is her problem first, and then we’ll see what I can do from there.”
Normally, people would look for a priest in order to confess a sin and obtain their forgiveness on said matter. However, that same principle rarely applied to the students of the magic academy, so they often approached Gustav for life advice instead.
Well, everyone in the academy knew that Gustav was good at giving out advices, so that wasn’t really a big surprise for Natalia. What actually surprised her, was the fact that Bianca was using his disposition to make her talk with him, which was something that Natalia hadn’t done ever since the day she poisoned him with her blood.
(N-no way… this was her aim from the beginning!? You can’t do something like that, Bianca! I-I’m not mentally prepared for this!)
Just from the look on her cousin’s face, Bianca already knew that Natalia was silently protesting against this, but instead of telling Gustav that this was just a joke and ending things here, she just winked at Natalia, and continued.
“Thank you for giving us a bit of your time, sensei, but I think you two should talk about that in private. I’m sure my cousin will fill you in on all the details of this matter, so I’ll be taking my leave now, okay? See you tomorrow, Natalia Onee-sama∼”
And so, with an accomplished look on her face, Bianca left Natalia and Gustav behind in the church.
*Clunk!* ( Tl/n: Apparently, this is the sound of a big door closing.)
“Hmm, Princess Bianca said you needed some advice, so… can you start by telling me what is going on with you…? Or maybe, if you want, we can start with why you two were here, uh, waiting for me…?”
Natalia was panicking. She was alone in the church with Gustav, the same man that she had poisoned just a couple of weeks ago, so she didn’t know what to say to him, nor how to begin this conversation.
This was definitely the most awkward situation that Natalia was ever placed in. And to make things worse, Gustav was also her first love, so this wasn’t just awkward, this was really embarrassing as well.
That’s why, in order to get out of this awkward situation, Natalia decided to start the conversation with something relatively safe–
“T-the weather is really good today, r-right, Gustav-sensei…!?”
“Well, it’s already spring, so, uh, I guess the weather will stay like this for… a few more months…?”
–But she was too nervous to think straight, let alone talk normally, so she only made the mood even more awkward than it already was.
Thankfully though, Gustav decided to not make any comments on Natalia’s weird behavior, which spared her from further embarrassment. However, since Natalia didn’t want to stay here much longer, she decided to at least answer Gustav’s second question, before going back to her room in the student’s dormitory.
“A-about why we were here, I was just teaching E-Elandic to the First Princess, s-so you don’t have to worry about anything, Gustav-sensei! I-it’s not like we were waiting for you!”
“Natalia von Klingbeil…?”
“B-besides, the church is always empty–I mean, t-the church is a quiet place, so I-I though it’d be easier for the First Princess to c-concentrate here! That’s all there is to it! N-now then, since I’ve answered your question, I’ll be going back to my room! H-have a good night, sensei!” – Said Natalia, as she quickly got up from her chair and started walking towards the main entrance of the church.
However, the holy knight turned around and grabbed her arm the moment she passed by him.
“Wait…!”
Natalia didn’t think Gustav would stop her from leaving the church, so she turned around a bit reluctantly, after all, considering what she did to Gustav, he could as well still be angry with her… but what Natalia saw after turning around, left her a bit surprised. Instead of being angry with her, the holy knight was staring down at Natalia with an apologetic look on his face.
“I… want to apologize for my bad behavior until now… and for what I said last time… . ”
“Huh…?”
“I acted like an immature brat and insulted your dear friend, which resulted in you wasting a kiss just to teach me a lesson. I know that, as a noble, you’re only supposed to share a kiss with your fated partner… that’s why I would like to apologize to you, Natalia von Kligbeil. If there is anything I can do to earn your forgiveness, then I would spare no effort until I complete that task.”
Even though Natalia was just as in the wrong as he was, since she poisoned Gustav with her dragon blood, he still apologized to her for everything he had done, so she couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty after seeing the holy knight earnestly lowering his head in her direction.
“It’s okay, really… you don’t have to worry about that kiss, Gustav-sensei… no, actually, that wasn’t even a real kiss to begin with… . ”
“What…? That wasn’t a real kiss…?”
“Yes, after all, we only touched our lips because I was trying to poison you… that’s why it doesn’t count as a real kiss… besides, a real kiss is a lot more passionate… . ”
“Hmm… I see… so a kiss needs to be passionate to be considered a real one, huh…?”
The holy knight let out a confused groan after repeating what Natalia said. He wasn’t that fond of romance novels, like Natalia was, so he didn’t really understand the principle behind what was supposed to be a real kiss, and what wasn’t. That’s why Natalia decided to reinforce her point to make sure Gustav wouldn’t feel guilty for what happened that day.
“I really meant it when I said you didn’t have to worry about that , Gustav-sensei. If poisoning you actually helped you see how mistaken you were about Leonora’s character, then I’m glad that was of help.”
After saying that, Natalia once again started walking towards the main entrance of the church, but just like the fist time, Gustav grabbed her arm as soon as she passed by him.
Honestly, Natalia was a bit confused as to why Gustav had stopped her from leaving again, but after turning around, she noticed that the holy knight was just as confused as she was, so they just kept staring silently at each-other… until Gustav remembered the reason why Natalia and Bianca were in the church to begin with.
“So… you were teaching Elandic to the princess, huh? I think I can understand why the Emperor chose you to be the next shrine maiden of longevity. You must know a lot about Elandian culture if you can even teach other people how to speak their tongue.”
“Well, everything I know about Elandian culture is actually self taught, so I don’t think I’m that knowledgeable about them… and about me being the next shrine maiden of longevity, the Emperor appointed someone else to replace me… which means I wasn’t that good of an option to begin with… . ”
“Oh, right… I almost forgot that the Emperor replaced you… sorry… . ” – Said Gustav, in an apologetic tone, as he scratched the back of his head with an awkward look on his face.
Replaced.
Natalia was both hearing and saying that word a lot lately, but that wasn’t exactly bothering her, after all, she was being replaced by none other than the famous Leonora von Harkenberg, the Altruistic Saintess, who was not only her close friend, but also the best person for the role of shrine maiden of longevity.
What was actually bothering Natalia, was the fact that the only ones who could escort the representative of the country to Eland, were the people linked to the spirit faith… which meant that Gustav and his men were probably going to escort Leonora all the way to Eland.
Every time Natalia pictured Gustav protecting another woman, her heart would ache… however, that was just her jealousy speaking louder than her reason. Natalia knew that there was no one better than Leonora to be the representative of their country… to be the next shrine maiden of longevity… that’s why she decided to suppress those feelings once and for all, since they would only hinder her in the long run.
“You don’t have to apologize to me, Gustav-sensei. All I want, is for you to do everything you can to protect Leonora on her way to Legrand, the Elandian capital. The people of that place dislike anything that is derived from magic power, so we won’t be able to teleport her to that place in one go… which will make things even more complicated. But with you by her side, I won’t have to worry about anything, so don’t disappoint me.”
“If that’s what you want, Natalia von Klingbeil, then I swear on my honor as a knight that I will do everything in my power to ensure that Leonora arrives safely in Legrand.”
Even though Natalia was the one who asked the holy knight to protect Leonora, she still felt a bit jealous of her friend after Gustav made that pledge.
Natalia knew that she was supposed to feel happy for Leonora, after all, that meant she’d be in good hands until she reached her destination… but Natalia couldn’t… so she just turned around, while feeling disgusted with herself, and started walking towards the exit.
However, Gustav grabbed her arm for a third time.
“Seriously!? What is it this time!?”
The holy knight had already stopped her from leaving this place three times now, so Natalia turned around with a dissatisfied look on her face and glared at him… however, he wasn’t phased by that. Gustav just kept staring deeply into Natalia’s dark brown eyes, until he finally found what he was looking for.
“You never really wanted to be a shrine maiden of longevity, did you…?”
“!!!!!!!!!”