Chapter 26, - "Congratulatory Remarks"

—Ever since he had first been appointed as Filore's knight, Heinkel had felt a sense of alarm about her headlong, bull-in-a-china-shop personality, but even that assessment wasn't right.

Filore's precarious recklessness was beyond anything Heinkel had imagined.

"—So, in short, the medicines are in the warehouse, but they aren't being delivered?"

"Yes. The congestion of Dragon Carriages going in and out of the Royal Capital is so bad that even the Church's carts are at a standstill. At this rate..."

"The medicine will go bad, and there are many elderly at the clinic who are in danger if they don't take their doses every day... In that case, how about we do our best to carry them out with our own hands?"

"Eh!? O-ourselves!?"

"Right! If we can't move the Dragon Carriage, then we'll at least carry the cargo out by hand... That should work, shouldn't it!?"

At the entrance of the Divine Dragon Church, a young man clutching an inventory of pharmaceuticals reeled back from Filore, who had clenched her fist and was leaning forward with momentum. Thinking his reaction was an affirmation, Filore looked ready to dash straight into the Commercial District, so Heinkel hurriedly held her back with a "Wait, wait."

"Lady Filore, with that method the sun will set, and even when tomorrow's sun rises it won't solve the problem. Don't tell me you're seriously thinking of hauling cargo all by yourself."

"What are you saying? But of course! Since Sir Heinkel is my knight, it's one lotus, born together, one lotus, born together! Not one—two of us will go!"

"Like hell we are! Even if I took a hundred steps back and relied on brute force, there's no way I'd let a lady of standing like you do it. If anyone goes, I go alone."

"Don't be so standoffish. I'm actually pretty strong, you know. Back at the Monastery, I often rearranged rooms in place of the old nannies with bad backs!"

"That's! Not! What I'm talking about!"

Running full tilt on sheer momentum, Filore rounded her red eyes at Heinkel's roar. Blinking those sparkling, jewel-like eyes, Heinkel clawed at his own red hair and turned a surly "hey" toward the young hauler.

"What you need is a means to transport the medicine to the clinic in the Eastern District, right? There should be clinics in the West and South as well—how are things there?"

"The ones in the West and South? There are still roads we can use out that way, so there's little risk of the medicine being held up..."

"Then it's simple. Instead of the drugs, we move the patients."

Saying that, Heinkel snatched the medicine inventory from the young man's hands. Every item listed there was familiar to him, and he could more or less picture the conditions of the patients who would need them. Ever since his wife fell into her slumber, he'd researched cures for every disease he could find. Living in the Royal Capital with a privileged family rank, Heinkel had leveraged all of that and possessed more knowledge of medicines than your average healer.

"However, I haven't actually examined the patients myself. In the end it comes down to the healers' judgment, but it's more realistic than devising a plan to clear a whole Dragon Carriage through, and if we secure a route to the Eastern District while we use that stopgap, it should go smoothly from next time on. —So, what do you think for now, Lady Filore?"

"Huh? Y-yes! That's right! Ah, but in that case, what about those who can't be moved from the clinic...?"

"It's not as if the entire clinic is full of critical cases. Then one wooden crate packed only with the most urgent medicines should tide them over for the time being."

"I see! Then I'll—carry that crate—"

"Hey."

"—No, I mean, I'll ask you! After all, hauling is your job!"

Wilting under Heinkel's glare, Filore turned a smile to the young man. Handed back the inventory by Heinkel, he nodded at Filore's words,

"Understood, we'll do that. To the clinic we'll..."

"Rest easy. The clinic and the Divine Dragon Church are deeply intertwined! I'll send a runner right away and make sure there are no crossed wires. You just do your part."

"—Yes, ma'am! Thank you both very much!"

With relief on his face, the young man bowed, fired with a sense of duty, and dashed out of the Church. After seeing him off, Heinkel's shoulders slumped with fatigue. From start to finish, Filore never once lost her breath as she kept up with the consultation; it's fine that she gets thanked, but when they also thank Heinkel for merely standing by her side, it's embarrassing. In the end, he's a man who, strictly speaking, has no right to be standing here at all.

"Good work, Sir Heinkel! Our perfectly in-sync teamwork really shone in that consultation, didn't it? I've sent a runner, so he should be able to face his duty with peace of mind."

Unaware of Heinkel's inner thoughts, Filore—having entrusted the errand to a Church congregant—came back and lifted a hand lightly his way. She didn't lower it. After he watched her in silence for a while, she still didn't lower it, waving her hand right and left in front of Heinkel.

"...What."

"Not 'what is it'—it's a ritual to praise each other's efforts. When I raise my hand like this, Lord Heinkel also puts his hand here. By doing so, we share the feeling that we both offered good guidance; it's a "Divine Dragon Church" custom!"

"Back when I was going to the Church, I never saw anything like that."

"It might be a recent custom! And maybe there's a little of my own touch mixed in too!"

Considering the Church's nature, which has worshiped the "Divine Dragon" unchanged for four hundred years, it was far more convincing that Filore's influence was at work than that rituals came in and out of fashion. Unfortunately, Filore didn't seem likely to be satisfied unless they performed that ritual, so Heinkel let out another sigh and slapped his palm smartly against her hand.

"Lady Filore, about what we were discussing earlier—"

"Ah, it was a splendid bit of quick thinking! Don't worry. I've already told the messenger and the people at the clinic to explain that it was Lord Heinkel's idea."

"—. Restrain yourself. On two counts."

"Restraint!? That's a word I hate...!"

Her beaming smile crumpled into a betrayed look, and a suddenly pale Filore tottered to lean against a pew in the chapel. Watching her, he exhaled deeply through his nose. In such a short span, don't make it so the number of things I have to say doubles.

"First of all, stop sticking your head in and doing things like rummaging through the ashes in a fireplace. You don't know what's in the ash, and in most cases you'll get burned. If the ashes need to be sifted, use someone. Start with me."

"Is that because Lord Heinkel is an immortal knight who won't lose to flame?"

"No. Because if someone has to get hurt, it should be someone it's all right to have hurt."

He deliberately, in harsh words, set about correcting Filore's thinking. Filore's way of doing things was precarious. Yet her inborn looks that drew people's eyes were one of the qualities indispensable in a ruler. Having joined the Royal Selection late, they had to avoid, without exaggeration, situations that could leave them burned, and play whatever cards they could to best effect. Therefore—

"Don't go bringing up my name at every turn. To be blunt, that'll only get in the way of Lady Filore's Royal Selection campaign."

"That can't be..."

"But just because they hear it was my idea, even that matter with the clinic earlier might be harder to get approved. Given where I stand now, that wouldn't be surprising. I'm sorry, but I'm aware of it."

"—"

At that answer Filore looked vexed, but since he was the very one making her wear that expression, Heinkel had no words of comfort or encouragement. To be honest, he still regretted his choice. In the end, Heinkel should not have accepted Filore's request—something that, after all, could only be thought of as a momentary lapse. Watching the girl who had become his liege, still clumsy but determined to face the Royal Selection in earnest, he found himself all the more accursed for being nothing but an obstacle to her aspirations. All the more so because the ill repute he had piled up until now was, if anything, something he had set out to earn.

"In the end, nothing I do ever goes well..."

He liked to think he was always aiming for the best move in the moment, yet later on he'd find his past actions slowly tightening around his neck. Time and again, in Heinkel's life, it would come around a lap late—an unavoidable trap he himself had left behind. He had stumbled over holes his past self had dug more times than he could count. That is precisely why, when there was a chance to chalk up some credit, the best result for Filore would be not to mix in the impurity called Heinkel—

"—Argh, this isn't like me!"

Narrowing his eyes and lost in thought, Heinkel suddenly heard Filore shout that right in front of him; then she pinched the back of her own white hand hard between her fingers. As she cried, "Ow, ow, ow!" he widened his eyes.

"W-what are you doing?"

"It's a reprimand for my own inadequacy! Normally I'd like to give myself a good slap on the cheek, but if I did that I'd end up meeting people with a bright-red face, wouldn't I? So I've always done this when I want to discipline myself. If only my hand is red, I can excuse it by saying I banged the table in anger!"

"Does that even count as an excuse? The part about giving in to anger is laid bare..."

"It's fine! Giving in to anger is the truth! And this, I won't yield on no matter what anyone says. From here on out, I will not hide Lord Heinkel's achievements!"

With a sharp jab of her finger at his face, Heinkel reflexively recoiled. Filore closed the distance he’d ceded and stepped forward. Heinkel backed away. She advanced. He retreated. She advanced. Driven up against the wall, he found her finger leveled between his brows. And with Heinkel pinned to the wall, Filore—

"Let’s accept that the reason Sir Heinkel gets called all sorts of awful things is because of his past conduct. Even that makes me go grrr, but I’ll swallow it. But! I will not approve of letting your past deeds dull the worth of what you do today or tomorrow."

"Lady Filore..."

"If there are lives that can be saved by your words, those are lives that might not be saved without them. If I become king and you are my First Knight, we’ll face that sort of situation often. So, to be ready for when that day comes, we ought to start restoring Sir Heinkel’s honor now!"

"——"

"Therefore, I’ll listen to Sir Heinkel’s advice as much as I can, but I can’t go along with opinions like ‘belittle Sir Heinkel,’ or ‘keep him hidden away in a box,’ or ‘let’s just toss that booze-soaked knight already, pleeease.’ I hereby declare as much."

Lowering her finger, Filore let it brush the uniform Heinkel wore—the official uniform of a Church knight he’d been made to put on as the knight of the Divine Dragon Church’s Saint. Predominantly blue, it was sacred and solemn; a getup so august that merely putting his arms through the sleeves felt presumptuous, on par with, if not grander than, the uniform of the Knights of the Royal Guard—a garment he knew he couldn’t possibly carry off. However—

"But one day, just seeing this outfit will make everyone think of Sir Heinkel. When that time comes, go ahead and make free use of the Church’s authority and put on all the airs you like."

Filore winked, showing a clumsy sort of charm. At her words, Heinkel let out a breath. Her headlong, all-out stance plays no favorites; of course, that applies to Heinkel as well.

"...If Lady Filore becomes king, huh. Then, is the helping-people work at the Church just calculation?"

"Please don’t say something so outrageous! Listen, it’s an incredibly good deal. When we listen to the troubles of those who come to the Church, the person consulting gets help, I earn a reputation for having done something good, and we get to do good and it feels nice... right?"

"Don’t just include me in that as if it’s a given. I..."

"But being thanked by people—doesn’t that make you happy? It does for me. So even though a title like Saint is a heavy one, I like the Church."

Heinkel had no answer for Filore, who nodded and thrust out her chest. Perhaps because she had said her piece, or perhaps out of consideration for Heinkel, she did not press him for the answer he couldn’t give. And the chance to voice that answer was postponed again by the sound of the Church door opening.

"—Excuse me? There’s a clash between residents right near the Church."

"My, how dreadful! We’ll go at once! Sir Heinkel, we’re going too!"

"— Don’t run. If you fall, we can’t afford to add to the number of people needing our already scarce medicines."

"Then, a fast walk!"

Saying that, Filore took three long strides to the person who had come to fetch them, then, as if forgetting the reason for fast-walking, broke into a jog; Heinkel scratched his head again. He clicked his tongue, then hurried after the back of his reckless liege.

△▼△▼△▼△

"——You work more properly than I thought you would."

As the orange light of sunset slanted in through the tall high windows, a voice called out to Heinkel’s back as he squared off against a stack of paperwork in one of the Church’s rooms. Turning, he saw in the doorway a slender, handsome fellow—Tiga Rauleon, a priest of the Divine Dragon Church and Filore’s bodyguard. He had apparently been accompanying Filore as her attendant since before the Royal Selection, and Heinkel had been introduced to him right after being appointed her knight; they had crossed paths several times since. Needless to say, Tiga’s first impression of Heinkel had been the worst—no, that could be said of everyone around Filore, not just Tiga. In fact, the only one who welcomed Heinkel’s appointment as her knight was Filore.

"Well, sure. Anyone would, and I would too."

Objectively speaking, Heinkel's current position is far beyond his station. Filore is precarious enough as it is, always giving those around her no end of worry; having Heinkel, who is notorious, stand right beside her is something no one with sound judgment could possibly accept. Even with Filore's own 'Dragon's Command' behind it, you'd have a harder time finding someone who agreed than someone who didn't.

—? What's with the faraway look all of a sudden? Didn't you hear the jab?

No, I heard you just fine, and I sympathize with you lot. It's hard enough just taking care of Lady Filore, and now they've even had someone like me foisted on you.

If you understand that, I would have preferred you to quietly decline in the first place.

I've got nothing to say to that. That would've been the proper, adult answer, I suppose...

Breaking off there, Heinkel hesitated over whether to go on. But urged by Tiga's gaze to finish what he'd started to say, he had no choice but to open his mouth. The reason he couldn't refuse the hand Filore extended was obvious.

In short, it's an attachment—anything but clean, and a far cry from an adult decision.

If being an adult means drawing proper lines, cutting your losses, and being able to let go, then Heinkel was a miserably pathetic creature who couldn't become an adult at all. At the same time, however, the adult Heinkel admired most in this world was someone who, to the very end, never let go of his sword, cut down even the impossible, and refused to give up on what he loved.

To yearn for something he could never reach, couldn't even get a fingerhold on—that may well have been the beginning of Heinkel's curse. —Not that talking about this would interest Tiga in the slightest.

—I've had your situation looked into. Don't take it the wrong way. I don't want a dangerous individual near Filore. Besides, it was already a well-known story in certain quarters.

At the tone woven into what followed, however, Heinkel raised an eyebrow. Having lived so long by reading people's expressions, he was keenly sensitive to the subtleties of negative emotions—contempt and derision, sympathy and pity. Which is exactly why it made him tilt his head. There was, unmistakably, a note of concern for Heinkel in Tiga's voice.

Is that Filore's schedule you've been glaring at with that grim face? Getting that girl to keep to a schedule is awfully hard, isn't it?

Ignoring Heinkel's misgivings, Tiga peered down at his hands from behind and, as expected, offered a sharply perceptive remark about Filore. In practice, tomorrow's plans—making courtesy calls as a Royal Selection Candidate and the roles she must fulfill as the Church's 'Saint'—leave Filore dizzyingly busy day after day. Even outside what's written on the schedule, she attends worship at sunrise, and once her prayers are done she voluntarily lends an ear to the concerns of those who visit the Church.

On top of that, she absolutely cannot overlook any problem she finds. If she runs into a lost child on the roadside or an old person struggling with their load, the rest of the schedule is over.

Yeah, I know. There was a time when Filore disappeared for a while; that time she ended up helping an elderly person carry their baggage all the way to a large town three towns over, had tea at their house, and then came back.

...So long as her title is 'Saint', that's still tolerable. No—at the point she's called a 'Saint', doing that is already dangerous enough.

Once she became a Royal Selection Candidate, she could no longer carry on as before. Irreplaceable roles attract irreplaceable work. The same is expected of Filore, and it goes without saying which is more important. It does—but—

Lady Filore doesn't want to neglect her duties as a member of the Church up to now, and on top of that she means to see the Royal Selection Candidate through. ...It's far too much, isn't it?

Dragged along by that eagerness, Heinkel has been running all over. In place of Filore, who sticks her nose into everything, he decides who to hand emerging problems to so they'll be solved, rebuilds delayed schedules, apologizes to those they're to meet, prepares in advance the documents and proposals likely to be needed next—in short, he's swamped with work that contains not a shred of what befits the First Knight. In fact, since becoming Filore's knight, he hasn't drawn his sword once.

Even so, it seems you haven't been skipping practice during Filore's morning worship, have you? I had just assumed you weren't a morning person.

...You think someone who's bad at getting up early could manage as a knight?

I see—makes it all the more unsuited to me. I'm glad a big role like being a knight never landed on me. Either way, I couldn't have denied I was lacking in skill.

While Tiga adjusted the angle of the hat he wore and breezily analyzed himself, Heinkel watched him out of the corner of his eye.

「Not strong enough, huh」

To be honest, Heinkel couldn't quite nod along with what Tiga had just said. Appointed originally as Filore's bodyguard, Tiga—who wore a curved blade at his hip—had, even to Heinkel's eye, considerable skill. A lithe, well-honed physique, a bearing that spoke of ample real combat experience, and above all, the nerve not to be rattled by anything. He wasn't a swordsman or a knight, but he was a warrior—that was Heinkel's appraisal. That said—

「How's that wound of yours?」

「Hmm, I can't say I'm back to full strength yet. It's gotten a lot easier, sure, but it was a pretty deep cut to begin with. ...As expected, the nickname 『Valkyrie』 isn't just for show.」

「Duchess Karsten, who killed Lord McMahon and fled...」

At Tiga's answer, as he stroked his own flank over his clothes, Heinkel furrowed his brows. The name he had spoken belonged to the very person who had dealt Tiga the deep wound in his side and is regarded as the one who lit the fuse of the turmoil now swirling through the Royal Capital.

――At first, Crusch Karsten, known by the epithet 『Valkyrie』, was considered the overwhelming favorite in the Royal Selection. Now she has been put on the wanted list as the perpetrator who assassinated Miklotov McMahon, a central figure of the 『Council of Wise Men』, and is being pursued throughout the Kingdom.

The incident itself was shocking enough, but what forces one to tilt their head at the absurdity is that Natsuki Subaru—who ought to be Emilia's knight—has also been listed as Crusch's accomplice. Moreover, not only is he suspected of complicity; there's even the far-fetched allegation that he himself is the Sin Archbishop of 『Sloth』. In connection with this, Emilia—deemed to harbor seditious intent toward the Royal Castle—and Felt—who cannot dispel suspicions of a falsified identity—have been detained in the castle, while associates of both camps fled the Royal Capital. In the course of that, a large magical beast was unleashed in the city, and the 『Sword Saint』 was mobilized to bring the situation under control, or so the story goes.

Those were the developments already underway by the time Heinkel was brought back to the Royal Capital, and even now they continue to spread nightmarish chaos not only there but across the entire Kingdom.

「At this point, the bleakness of the Royal Capital will go down in the Kingdom's history. Out on the streets, knights and guards give off a menacing air, and the townsfolk have no cheerful talk—just their heads hanging all the time.」

「People who have options can choose to leave the Royal Capital. But overwhelmingly more people don't. Honestly, the Church is the busiest it's been in years.」

「And that, in turn, solidifies Lady Filore's support, does it?」

「I don't like that way of thinking. Me, of course—and Filore, too.」

At Heinkel's touch of sarcasm, Tiga's gaze took on a sharp edge. It seemed he found it genuinely unpleasant rather than joking, and Heinkel raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.

Still, whatever Tiga might feel, that tendency does exist. The more the Kingdom's turmoil spreads, the more people lose trust in the Royal Castle and, instead, begin to turn their hearts toward the Church that venerates the 『Divine Dragon』, which has continued to protect the nation with a proven record. That effect is undoubtedly a tailwind for the late-starting Filore. And for Heinkel, Filore's knight, that too should have been cause for rejoicing, and yet—

「Father...」

As Heinkel murmured, the presence of his missing birth father, Wilhelm, flitted through his mind. Crusch, wanted as Miklotov's assassin, and Wilhelm, who had served her, was likewise one of the associates who disappeared from the Royal Capital. He is likely to have rejoined his lady and to be aiding her flight, but the disadvantage they face is overwhelming. Of course, if it were the famed 『Sword Demon』, there's room for a fanciful hope that he might cut his way through any predicament with that sword.

「You're in a tough spot too, Mr. Heinkel.」

Reading Heinkel's mutter and expression, Tiga shrugged as if sensing what lay in his heart. A tough spot—that observation is surely correct. But if you want to talk about that, ever since Heinkel was in Priscilla's camp, everyone in House Astrea has been scattered.

「...My own hardship ain't much to speak of. The only problem is how this might end up causing trouble for Lady Filore. My father and my son... they're all grown adults. It's only natural they clean up their own messes, right?」

「—At the very least, your old man wasn't there at the scene where I crossed swords with Duchess Karsten. I hope it's nothing but a false accusation against him.」

At that, Tiga gave his shoulder an encouraging pat, and after wavering over how to reply, Heinkel managed only a gruff, half-hearted “Yeah.” The note that Wilhelm wasn’t there at the time goes without saying; if Wilhelm had been there and Tiga had come to cross swords with him, Tiga would no longer be among the living. And there was another reason his reply came out so vague—and it was something he could never, ever reveal to Tiga here.

――Because it was the indelible distrust of the 'Divine Dragon Church' that had begun to take root within Heinkel.

△▼△▼△▼△

――In the present Kingdom of Lugunica, the role the 'Divine Dragon Church' plays is significant.

From the beginning, the Kingdom of Lugunica, under the protection of the 'Divine Dragon' Volcanica, was promised peace and the defense of the state, and has prospered to this day. Accordingly, many of the Kingdom’s people naturally harbor reverence for the 'Divine Dragon', and that in turn has inevitably translated into unconditional trust in the 'Divine Dragon Church'. Heinkel was no exception; when his wife fell into an unending sleep, he believed in a place to pray and in miracles, and he frequented the Church.

Unfortunately, Heinkel’s prayers had no effect, and on top of that he committed a grave mistake that left him unable to face either the 'Divine Dragon' or its faithful. Since then, he has kept his distance from the Church, and he can only mock himself for how undeserving he is of his current station.

Once the time for lamenting his own foolishness was over, Heinkel had to face it: the distrust of the 'Divine Dragon Church' that had taken root within him—namely, the matter of Filore’s very existence. More precisely, the Church’s designs in having Filore participate in the Royal Selection.

Appointed a knight and watching Filore from close by, he had been made painfully aware of the disarmingly guileless goodness she possessed.

Filore throws herself wholly into everything before anyone, and—setting aside the dubious judgment that led her to name Heinkel a knight—when pressed to choose she does not flounder; she decides on her own responsibility and has the drive to act to realize that choice. To that end she talks much, laughs much, cries much, and moves much.――A virtue that could be called personal magnetism, the talent to move those around her simply by voicing her own wishes—that is precisely Lugunica’s royal blood. Filore herself says she neither has nor seeks an answer as to whether she is the princess who vanished fifteen years ago, but――

“――There can’t possibly be two princesses.”

On that point Heinkel could not be mistaken, because he knew well Ford Lugunica—the king’s younger brother, father of the vanished princess, and the true younger brother of the former king, Randohal Lugunica. Ford’s daughter was not a twin or a triplet; she was unmistakably one. And that sole child disappeared from the Royal Castle on that night fifteen years ago. The vanished princess—she can only be either Filore or Felt, who took the stage together as Royal Selection Candidates.

Therefore, someone is scheming.――Scheming to exalt either Filore or Felt, one of the two girls, as the surviving member of the royal family, in order to use her at will. Thinking along those lines, including the circumstances under which Filore came to participate in the Royal Selection, he cannot help but harbor strong distrust of the 'Divine Dragon Church'. However――

“…What do I want to do?”

Having thought this far, Heinkel’s train of thought came to a halt as if in fright. It was as foolish as doing nothing even while knowing that, with sunset approaching, you are surrounded on all sides by a thick fog with poor visibility.

But within that fog there is a light Heinkel has long yearned for without cease. And if he advances in the wrong direction, that light will be lost forever. So he cannot move. He cannot act—for fear of a decisive mistake.

△▼△▼△▼△

――In the end, with no answer forthcoming, only time passes.

The master–servant relationship between Heinkel and Filore had been forged, days turned into weeks, and soon nearly a month had gone by. In the meantime, Filore’s camp straightened out the flow of goods that had stalled due to the turmoil in the Royal Capital, responded to requests coming in from the Church and clinics across the land, and steadily increased her support as a Royal Selection Candidate. As for Heinkel, still unable to dispel his distrust of the Church yet in no position to sabotage Filore, he threw himself into resolving the problems before him, spending his days fleeing the looming anxiety by keeping frantically busy.

Yet alongside such Royal Selection activities, the two matters that Filore herself desired more than anything were making no progress at all.

“…Back again, are you?”

In a room of the Church, Heinkel looked down at the mountain of documents piled on the desk, confirmed there was a familiar sealed letter among them, and knit his brows in disgust. On the other side of the desk, across that stack of papers, a woman working while stifling her yawns—Sakura Element—was, contrary to her unmotivated demeanor, briskly sorting the documents by sender and spreading them out to make the letters easier to organize and check. With sleepy eyes and a languid air, she cast a sidelong glance at Heinkel,

'Yeah, looks like it. As always, it's a help that they reply quickly, buuut as for the contents... ah, looks like it's pending again this time.'

'Pending, huh. How many times does that make now?'

'Let's seeee, we sent forty-seven letters of various sizes to the Royal Castle. Thirty-two to the Church, and there are addenda and attached testimonies and such, and since Filore-chan is so diligent with her pen, it seems we've long since gone past a hundred.'

Sorting the letters with one hand while deftly checking the ledger at the edge of the desk with the other, Sakura gave her answer; Heinkel, disheartened by it, let out a sigh.

More than a hundred letters' worth of persistence. Filore has been sending letters almost daily to the Royal Castle and the Church—their contents, in short, are applications for an inquiry and for meetings with Emilia and Felt, who are confined in the castle. And an application for permission to administer treatment, by means of the Sacred Art Filore possesses, to the victims of the Witch Cult left in Priestella. On both fronts she's been doggedly trying to go through official channels, but—

'Why won't they ever nod yes? A meeting with Lady Emilia and the others is one thing, but trying it in Priestella ought to be worth a shot. Or is there some defect in the paperwork?'

'Oh dear, are you suspecting a lapse on my part? If so, making Filore-chan go to all that trouble for a hundred letters would make me quite the nuisance, wouldn't it?'

'I only said it. I'm not doubting you. If you were that incompetent, you wouldn't be walking around with some fancy title like administrative officer to the Saint.'

'Is that so? I think riding on my parents' coattails is more than possible, you know. Don't you agree, Vice-Captain Heinkel of the Knights of the Royal Guard?'

'—. Don't stick '-chan' on an old man, Sakura-chan.'

'I'll put that request on hold, Heinkel-chan.'

Offering a reply she had no intention of honoring, Sakura handed Heinkel the letter returned from the Royal Castle. He flipped it open; the contents were the sort you could write with your eyes closed.

'At present, your requests are under careful deliberation centered on the Council of Wise Men; please wait a little longer for a conclusion.' —Whether regarding the handling of the two detainees or the use of the Sacred Art in Priestella, the words might be shuffled a bit, but the answer remains the same.

'They won't refuse, but they won't permit it either. How long do they plan to keep this up?'

'Who knows? It's for the bigwigs at the Royal Castle to decide. Given the situation, isn't everyone just being extra cautious?'

'They're piling caution upon caution. Miss Filore is at the end of her rope—lately she keeps insisting her heart's being gnawed away.'

'That turn of phrase is very Filore-chan, isn't it.'

Sakura covered her mouth and chuckled, but unfortunately Heinkel couldn't bring himself to agree and laugh along. If anything, watching Filore's forced cheer grow by the day, to the point of being plainly painful, only weighed on him as well.

'If the Castle's no good, what about the Church? Miss Filore is a Saint, isn't she. Can't she even decide for herself whom to use her Sacred Art on?'

'She can't. It doesn't come that cheap.'

Declared so plainly, Heinkel felt faintly taken aback. Sakura tapped, in order, the three piles of letters on the desk with a 'Okay?',

'To begin with, being a Saint isn't an official rank within the Church. It's a special title bestowed on believers who have received the Divine Dragon's favor especially strongly. People are grateful, and at ceremonies you might even get to sit ahead of the important folks, buuut that doesn't mean you have a seat on the Holy Council where the Church bigwigs gather, or that you have a strong voice there.'

'For all that, they treat them like the Church's public face.'

'Being a visible symbol that supports people's faith is also an important part of a Saint's job. That said, even if you try to assign Filore-chan to sit quietly and do only the symbolic role, that seems harder than teaching a Dragon's tail to sit.'

I could only agree with that, but I didn't like the explanation that came before the conclusion. As things stand, with Filore being made to shoulder the role of a Royal Selection Candidate, it felt like they were tacitly saying that, even aside from that, as the 'Saint' she had to fulfill the position of symbol of the 'Divine Dragon Church'—to put it bluntly, a figurehead.

'Oddly enough, I kind of think Filore-chan is fit to be king. Heinkel-chan's attitude too is probably just the result of being charmed by Filore-chan's kingly qualities, you know.'

Heinkel isn't fond of Sakura, who sees right through his silent thoughts and laughs. Her competence, out of step with her looks and manner, comes through in every word and deed. I think Tiga is top-tier as a guard of the Church, but in Sakura's case, as a civil official dispatched by the Church, she's not merely top-tier—she seems like one of the truly rare few. In practice, the hundred-odd letters were the result of Filore's diligence with the pen, but it was Sakura who assembled the necessary documents and followed the procedures, and as someone connected to the 'Divine Dragon Church' she has managed to extend her reach into almost every division.

'If we had just one of you, the Church would pretty much run itself.'

'Oh no, no, you're overestimating me. There's no way I could wear a face like Filore-chan's, the kind that looks like hope to so many people. Besides, any organization that would go wrong for everyone just because one person makes a mistake is far too risky to run.'

'...I see. Very self-effacing.'

Sakura's answer, given with a flutter of her hand, was in a sense a provocation toward monarchy. In the Kingdom of Lugunica, the 'Council of Wise Men' exists to make up for that, but in the present situation, where even that Council seems sluggish, he had no comeback to make, even as a mere rank-and-file knight of the Kingdom.

'They say things have been in a flap since Lord McMahon died, but...'

He hadn't exactly watched the 'Council of Wise Men' deliberate up close, but it was certainly Miklotov who had been their central figure and coordinator. Even so, it's not as if the other members lacked the ability to speak up or decide; on the contrary, lively opinions flew, led by the conspicuously hard-debating Lord Bordeaux Zergev. In practical terms, the problems the Royal Capital and the Royal Castle bear are not just one or two, and the responses to them have proceeded as swiftly as ever even with Miklotov absent.

In short, the only things being left to languish are the two cases Filore is eager to be involved in—what that signifies, even Heinkel doesn't know.

'The Church refusing to grant Lady Filore permission to use the Sacrament... is that connected to the matter of Duchess Karsten being wanted?'

'I can't deny it. In practical terms, Filore-chan's use of the Sacrament without going through the Holy Council was seen as a problem, and I hear they even debated revoking her recognition as the Saint.'

'They can strip someone of the title of Saint?!'

'As a matter of regulations, yes. I don't believe it's ever actually been applied. She dodged it this time, but once it's been debated, I doubt she'll be completely safe.'

Sakura says it blithely, but Heinkel can only be astonished all over again. Filore's unilateral action that so greatly shook the Royal Castle wasn't just a major event for the 'Divine Dragon Church'; it seems it even endangered Filore's own position. And now, with Crusch, who went so far as to receive treatment by the Sacrament, being wanted as the perpetrator of Miklotov's assassination, it's nothing but a headwind for Filore as well.

'When what you do backfires, it really hits you...'

'You're awfully enthusiastic about this. Ah, but of course. For you too, Heinkel-chan, getting permission for Filore-chan to use the Sacrament is a matter of life and death, isn't it?'

'――――'

'Or is that just you settling into the role of Filore-chan's knight?'

At her teasing gaze and tone, Heinkel let out a loud snort. He had no obligation to answer Sakura's sadistic barbs. Of course, it's true he wants to find out, even a second sooner, whether Filore's Sacrament can save his wife—Luanna. But—

'The ones waiting in Priestella aren't dealing with something that may or may not work; it's something we can expect to work. If whether they can be saved changes just because permission is or isn't granted, then of course I want it approved already.'

'Putting others before yourself? Were you always that nice a guy, Heinkel-chan?'

'That's not what I'm saying. Waiting can be a mercy, but being made to wait isn't.'

'—I suppose so.'

After Heinkel spat out his true feelings in a tit-for-tat exchange, however, the derisive ring had vanished from Sakura's voice when she answered. Finding that strange, he looked at her, but he could sense no change in her expression or the color of her eyes that would have made him think so; apparently it had just been his imagination. At any rate—,

「――Calmly and steadily, let's carry out our duty. If we do that, I'm sure at least one good thing will come our way.」

To Heinkel, that sounded far too modest for a member of the 'Divine Dragon Church,' and at the same time like a painfully earnest murmur.

△▼△▼△▼△

「――I've decided! If writing a hundred letters didn't work, then I'll deliver the one hundred and first by hand! If I look them in the face and beg properly, they surely won't be able to refuse!」

At Filore's words—her face as if she'd just received a revelation from the 'Dragon'—her knight, her bodyguard, and her secretary were each compelled to accompany her to the Royal Castle. Fired up with a "this time for sure," Filore's stance was something to be esteemed, but—

「――I can't accept it!!」

As soon as they left the reception room and started down the alabaster corridor, Filore raised her voice as if she'd reached the limit of her patience. Her furious cry rang through the corridors of the Royal Castle, and the civil officials and servants passing by looked over in surprise. Conscious of those gazes, Tiga lifted a finger to his lips,

「Filore, if you raise your voice in a place like this, you'll stand out too much. If what you just said reaches the bigwigs' ears, next time we'll be driven out not from a reception room but from the entrance hall.」

「But who treats people like this!? If they'd tell me what's missing, I've said we'd prepare it on our side, and yet it's 'under consideration,' 'on hold,' or 'lost in a fog'...! What on earth are we supposed to do, and how are we supposed to do it!」

「There probably isn't anything in particular to add or fix.」

「In that case, they should just let us through!」

「――They never intended to listen in the first place.」

Filore, appealing in her anger, turned at Heinkel's words. Her red eyes were brimming with tears, but Heinkel had no handkerchief to wipe them with. In place of a handkerchief, he set aside tact and told her the answer she wanted.

「The reason they're stopping you isn't incomplete paperwork or insufficient conditions. What they want, Miss Filore, is for you to give up and stop bringing them this matter.」

「That's— that's absurd! Who would be thinking something like that?」

「Yeah, and I think that's the problem.」

Filore might look as if she were just throwing a tantrum, but only after exhausting all she could do before it came to that—and she wasn't permitted to do anything beyond throwing a tantrum. In practical terms, the questions Filore now nursed were ones even Heinkel couldn't answer, and the past month and a half had only grown more bewildering.

「…I thought it was being laid out for us a little too conveniently, only to find—」

To be frank, aside from having fallen behind in the Royal Selection, Filore's arrival had felt as if the 'Divine Dragon Church' had thoroughly set the stage for everything else. However, when the lid was lifted, while Filore's own initiative and goodness were indeed steadily raising her support in the troubled Royal Capital, the visit to the watergate city that should have made her base decisive—permission for this was not forthcoming from none other than the Church's upper echelons, the Holy Council.

If they want to make Filore king, this is without question a move that should be made. Nevertheless, the 'Divine Dragon Church' has not only failed to back this path, it has consistently acted as if to block it, and the movements of the 'Council of Wise Men' likewise have not favored Filore. At this point, the distrust Heinkel felt toward the Church had begun to grow in a different way from at first. Still, even if the manner in which his distrust of the Church grew changed, there was something that did not—namely, that Filore was an unseasoned child whom adults had to stand by.

「Filore, I understand how you feel, but let's head back for now.」

Urged by Tiga's gentle voice, the frustrated Filore let herself be led and started walking. On the way toward the castle entrance, the people connected to the Royal Castle who passed by would stop when they saw Filore and offer a polite bow. As a Royal Selection Candidate, and as a 'Saint', the respect directed toward her was no lie. Even so, it was ironic that not a single one of her wishes was being granted.

And so, still dragging a heavy silence, they turned the corner of the hallway—

「――――」

Catching, despite himself, the figure coming straight toward them, Heinkel drew in a breath.

「――Reinhard」

Before I could think, the breath I had swallowed came out as a sound that spoke that name. Clad in a white knight’s uniform with the Dragon Sword at his waist, the red-haired youth—Reinhard van Astrea—also fixed his gaze straight on the one who had spoken his name. Naturally, our blue eyes, proof of our blood tie, met and crossed.

"It has been a while, Father."

"…Yeah."

What a pitiful reply—I could curse myself for it. It was a complete blindside. My mind was elsewhere, and because the encounter was so unexpected, I couldn’t dredge up the barbs and abuse I ought to have had ready. In the end, I found nothing to say but that foolish response, and silence fell between father and son.

——

Two people in the white uniforms of the knight order stood behind Reinhard. At a glance they could be taken for subordinates accompanying the Sword Saint on a mission. But their eyes were not on the surroundings; they were fixed constantly on Reinhard’s every move. More than anything, Heinkel did not recognize the faces of those knights—at least, they were knights unknown to Heinkel, of unclear origin. Why are these knights accompanying Reinhard—

—Reinhard! Perfect timing! I wanted to talk to you too!

Trampling head-on through the murky air between father and son, Filore ran up to Reinhard. The knights who had been behind him tensed reflexively, but Reinhard raised a hand and stayed them.

"Lady Filore. You were at the Royal Castle."

"Yes. I was talking about Emilia and Felt, and about Priestella as well. But for now, never mind me—this is about you."

"Me?"

"Yes, that’s right. How is Felt? You see her pretty often, don’t you?"

——

Pressed without mercy, Reinhard drew a quiet breath. At length he slowly shook his head and said, "No."

"Uh? Does that mean… you just haven’t seen her today yet?"

"No. I mean since Lady Felt entered the Royal Castle."

"Felt’s in the castle and… not once!? It’s been over a month already!"

Filore’s voice leapt, and the knights behind him all stiffened in unison. Reinhard, however, nodded calmly at her reaction. And small wonder that Filore was shocked—this was on a different level from her being denied permission to meet with Emilia and the others.

"You’re Felt’s knight, aren’t you? And yet you can’t meet with her—that’s more than a little strange. Don’t you think so?"

"Visits are forbidden, so it can’t be helped."

"B-but you want to see her, don’t you? You must want to talk to her."

"I am the Kingdom’s sword. Once an order has been issued from the Royal Castle, I am bound to obey it."

"You’re not only the Kingdom’s sword—you’re Felt’s sword too!"

Filore’s words, eyes wide as if she could not believe what she had heard, were so straight that you could almost see them driving into Reinhard’s chest. But Heinkel knew very well what Reinhard would answer to that unconscious indictment of hers. It was—

"—I am the Kingdom’s sword, Lady Filore."

The talk had gone full circle, returning to his initial answer. It wasn’t that Filore lacked the words, nor that what she said failed to reach Reinhard. No matter what was said, no matter what he felt, Reinhard would not change that answer. Perhaps it was more accurate to say he could not.

"Do you think Felt deceived the Kingdom?"

"No."

That too was an unhesitating reply. Before Filore, her eyes wavering, could press him with why, Reinhard continued,

"My believing in Lady Felt and my being able to prove her innocence are different matters. If I defy orders, it will only deepen the suspicion toward her and make her position even worse."

"So you have no choice but to do as you’re told?"

——

To that question, Reinhard chose neither yes nor no. Yet in choosing neither, he was in effect declaring where he stood.

——

Heinkel looked at the two knights standing behind Reinhard. It was obvious they were not on Reinhard’s side. If so, their role must be to keep watch on him—but what a meaningless measure. If Reinhard put his mind to it, he could knock them flat in an instant, or vanish before they even noticed, and reach Felt’s side without anyone in the Royal Castle being able to stop him.

But Reinhard will not do that. He cannot. So long as he is the "Sword Saint," that is—

"If so, then at least tell Felt."

As Reinhard fell silent, Filore clenched her fist and told him.

"I believe in Felt. I believe in Emilia as well. Tell them there are people outside the Royal Castle who don't think the two of them betrayed the Kingdom."

"...Thank you."

"A letter is fine too. I'll write it."

"However, I cannot promise that. I am forbidden to deliver words or items from me to Lady Felt."

"No...!"

"My apologies. I have another mission."

At his unrelentingly heartrending answer, Filore's well-formed features twisted. Yet Reinhard did not yield to her reaction; he offered a bow and moved to pass by us. Just before his shoulder brushed past Heinkel's, his feet came to a stop.

"Father, I heard you have become Lady Filore's knight."

"...Yeah, so it seems. Got a complaint?"

"—Congratulations."

Hit with that before he could spit out a curse, Heinkel was at a loss for words. At a distance where their shoulders might have touched, Reinhard turned toward us and looked straight at Heinkel. —Faced with the son's face that had, before he knew it, fully caught up to his own height, Heinkel couldn't bear it and averted his eyes.

"...Like I know whether that's something to celebrate."

"Even so, I'm glad that you were chosen, Father."

"——"

At those words, Heinkel had no retort. It wasn't snide, nor was it sarcasm. From the bottom of his heart, Reinhard was congratulating his fallen father on being chosen by someone as a knight.

In Priestella, does he truly not remember what kind of abuse was hurled at him? In that very same city, has he already forgotten that Heinkel turned his sword on his own lord? Or are even those things mere trifles that leave not the slightest scar on Reinhard's heart?

With a small bow, flanked by two knights, Reinhard proceeded down the alabaster corridor. Filore kept staring at his back in frustration. Heinkel couldn't even glare at the receding back of his son the way Filore did.

△▼△▼△▼△

"—Filore, that remark to Reinhard was careless, to say the least."

As soon as they returned to the Church of the "Divine Dragon Church", Tiga shut the parlor door and turned to Filore with a stern expression. On the way back from the Royal Castle, he had remained silent even inside the Dragon Carriage, but no doubt had been turning over in his mind what kind of scolding he ought to give.

"You may think you chose your words, but there were the castle's knights and other parties present. If word reaches the "Council of Wise Men", they'll take even you, Filore, as being defiant toward the Royal Castle."

"Let them think that. I really am defiant."

"That's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that if even you are banned from audiences and entering the castle, we truly won't be able to do anything."

"I know."

"You don't, and that's why you said—"

"I do know!"

Filore cut Tiga off sharply. At her vehemence, Tiga caught his breath, and Sakura lowered her eyes. At their reactions, Filore murmured, in a hoarse voice, "I'm sorry."

"I know... I'm sorry. But it's because I know that it makes me all the more angry. If I don't abide by what the people at the Royal Castle have decided, they won't treat me as a Royal Selection Candidate. And if they stop treating me as a Royal Selection Candidate, I won't be able to help Emilia and the others. So I have to wait, just as I'm told."

"Filore..."

"I'm sorry. I do understand what you two are saying for my sake."

"—Ah."

"Let me speak with Sir Heinkel alone for just a bit."

At that request, Tiga hesitated but nodded. Sakura left the room first, and Tiga followed after her. The door closed, leaving only Filore and Heinkel in the room.

"——"

On the desk lay a month's worth of replies from the Royal Castle. Filore let her eyes pass over them one by one, then quietly exhaled.

"Sir Heinkel."

"What is it?"

Even Filore, for all her poise, must be taking this hard. Her desperate plea had not gotten through; it's not even certain that her voice reached Reinhard. For someone who throws herself headlong into everything, it's only natural that this lack of traction would wear her down.

Heinkel, too, had been deeply drained—by the unexpected encounter with Reinhard and the congratulations he had never imagined. Even so, mustering what little spirit he could, he steeled himself to accept Filore's words.

And, leaning her back against the closed door, Filore told Heinkel something she couldn't—didn't want to—let Tiga and Sakura, who had just left, hear. It was—

「――I wonder how we could successfully escape from the castle?」