Chapter 57
Chapter 57
As I turned towards the voice calling me, the first thing I saw was people parting on both sides.
And in the middle were the Lemiere siblings who had been fiercely arguing just moments ago.
Indeed, the empire’s stars are stars.
Even though they were just walking down this crowded street from afar, everyone’s attention was focused on Isiel.
“Lord Isiel!”
Isiel was walking towards me, waving happily.
As I waved back enthusiastically to respond, people’s gazes poured onto me as well.
But perhaps because I was wearing a robe, people’s attention quickly shifted back from me to the Lemiere siblings.
“I thought you’d left already. If you’re done with your business, let’s go together.”
“Is your sister coming with us too?”
“Yes. I haven’t introduced you two yet, have I? Seiren, this is my new friend, Irina Seike, who’s working with Cassis.”
As I extended my hand to Seiren Lemiere, I noticed something a bit off about her condition.
She was arm in arm with Isiel, but her face was pale, and her head was bowed low.
“I’m Irina Seike. Are you alright?”
I reached out and lightly grasped her shoulder with the hand I had extended.
Her breathing was unstable.
It was a symptom that appears when one is extremely nervous.
Isiel, who was next to her, must have been surprised too as he grabbed Seiren.
Seiren seemed to be barely breathing, unable to say a word and keeping her head down.
“Seiren, Seiren?”
‘Why?’
I couldn’t quite grasp the situation, why someone who was fine until just now was suddenly reacting like this.
“But who’s that woman? Judging by her clothes, she seems to be a high-ranking priestess.”
“Yeah, it’s completely white.”
“That level of clothing can only be worn by the High Priest, the Pope, or the Saint, right?”
From the conversations catching my ear, I realized why Seiren had become like this.
“Ah, isn’t that woman the one? You know, the noble candidate who lost to a commoner.”
“The saint candidate? Why is she still in the temple?”
“Aren’t failed saint candidates supposed to live in a convent for the rest of their lives?”
“Come on, she’s a noble lady. She’ll probably return to her family.”
“Will her family accept her even though she couldn’t become a saint?”
“Yeah, I’m not sure about that either.”
People’s words can be quite cruel.
I could see Seiren’s hand, barely holding onto Isiel, trembling.
Isiel seemed a bit flustered too, probably starting to hear the whispers around them.
He was holding Seiren tightly, likely trying to protect her.
I first untied the mage’s robe I was wearing.
It was enchanted to stay warm, so I had been wearing it on every outing since coming to the capital.
“Lady Seiren, excuse me for a moment.”
I draped the robe over Seiren’s shoulders.
I first put the hood on her head and then wrapped it around her neck.
A mage’s robe should be wide enough to cover the priestess robes.
Besides, it’s perfect for hiding her face.
“…Thank you.”
I extended my hand to the young woman, not even twenty years old, who thanked me in a trembling voice.
“Here, I’ll hold your hand. Take it.”
“Okay…”
“I’ll help you too. Let’s also hold this.”
“Okay.”
And so, Isiel and I, with Seiren between us, hurriedly left the temple.
* * *
The carriage carrying myself, Isiel, and Seiren arrived at the Lemiere ducal residence in Ritzmand, said to have the most expensive land in the capital.
While I was worried about Seiren, I was also quite tense about the sudden visit to the ducal residence.
[Don’t lie.]
[You’re excited right now, aren’t you?]
‘Is it that obvious?’
That’s right.
When else would I ever visit a place like this?
Even when I was running Seike Winery, I received many invitations and visited various places, but never Lemiere.
But this expectation didn’t last long.
Because as soon as we passed through the main gate opened by an elderly butler and received greetings from the maids and servants lined up in the central hall, we encountered the current Duke Lemiere.
“Isiel, perfect timing. We got a call from the temple that your sister again…”
“Father.”
Isiel quietly called out to the duke.
The duke stopped his angry outburst when he noticed me.
“Ah. A young lady I haven’t met before.”
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Irina Seike.”
“Seike of Seike Winery?”
“It’s an honor.”
I responded with the smile I had worn so many times before.
This was a bit unexpected.
I didn’t think that the Duke of Lemiere would recognize a small winery like Seike.
Seike was only impressive and proud to me because it was mine, but it was unlikely to be for others.
But Duke Lemiere knew me.
I barely managed to hold back the urge to grin with my lips curling up, and composed myself, thanks to the small, cold hand tightly gripping mine.
“And who’s this?”
The duke’s gaze turned to the small figure clinging to my side.
Seiren flinched.
“…Father.”
“Seiren.”
Seiren carefully removed the robe’s hood.
The duke’s gaze was cold.
I could feel his overbearing attitude, looking down from above.
“I hope you know to be ashamed.”
“…”
“If you’re going to come back, come back quickly. It’ll take more than a day or two to catch up with high society, but wasting time in the temple over something that’s already over, what a stupid thing to do…”
“Father. I’ll talk to her. You know our Seiren, once she sets her mind to something, she does it quickly, just like you.”
Isiel stepped in front of Seiren and spoke gently.
The duke seemed to be in a better mood after that brief exchange and nodded.
“Well, Seiren does take after me in that way.”
With that, the duke left.
As soon as the duke was gone, Seiren burst into tears again.
“Brother, see! Even Father treats me like that, and you’re telling me to come back? That I have a place to return to?”
“Seiren.”
“It’s been 10 years since I entered the temple. Not once did anyone come to visit me. The only time I saw home was when I barely managed to get a day off and come here!”
I told you a month in advance that I’d be coming home on this day.
I kept writing letters!
But what was it like when I came home?
Was anyone even there?
Seiren clung to Isiel again, crying profusely.
Isiel held Seiren, at a loss for what to do.
“I want to leave.”
“Where to, hm? Seiren. Where do you want to go?”
Seiren wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand and came straight to me.
She grabbed my arm, hugging it as if linking arms.
“Hm?”
“Sister? Can’t I go with you?”
“…Me?”
“Yes.”
And so, with Seiren clinging to one arm and Isiel’s letter in my other hand, I returned to the small, cozy mansion of the Grand Duke of Luwin located in Hails.
* * *
“So?”
“This letter is the one Lord Isiel asked me to deliver to Lord Cassis.”
Seiren had declared she would follow me.
And she wouldn’t listen to anything else.
Though she seemed to be a child with many wounds, Seiren appeared to be a person with very strong stubbornness and opinions.
Isiel, unable to refuse due to the series of events that had occurred today, eventually hurriedly wrote a letter to Cassis.
“He said he can’t come right away because of an urgent matter, but he’ll drop by tonight.”
“Hah.”
“Hello, brother. Can’t I stay here?”
Cassis let out a deep sigh.
He eventually nodded.
I had told Betty, my personal maid, that it was okay to give Seiren my room if there wasn’t a suitable one available.
“Ah! Sister, I think we left your robe at the mansion earlier. What should we do?”
“It’s okay. You can return it later.”
“Okay!”
By the way, Seiren and I had started speaking casually to each other.
A few days ago, I gained someone to call “sister,” and today, I gained a younger sister who calls me “sister.”
[Our Irina is so popular~]
Seiren quickly went upstairs at Betty’s offer to help her change clothes.
Only Cassis and I were left in the reception room.
Cassis approached me.
He extended his hand to me.
Though puzzled, I gently placed my hand on his.
As soon as I did, he gripped my hand tightly.
Perhaps because it was a knight’s hand, my hand was completely enveloped.
A warm sensation spread through my fingertips.
“It’s warm…”
“Is it warm?”
Cassis’s tone was cold.
I don’t think I’ve heard a warm word from Cassis lately.
Feeling a bit awkward, I raised my head to examine his expression.
Noticing that I was trying to gauge his mood, he asked again.
“Can you feel the cold?”
“Pardon?”
“You’ve been going around like this without even wearing a coat?”
As he said this, he wrapped a thick shawl that had been lying nearby around me.
He was worried.
I felt more apologetic than warmed by his concern.
Lately, it seems I’ve been causing Cassis to worry every time.
“No, I was originally wearing a robe. But then Seiren was crying, so I gave it to her…”
“As I always say, Irina needs to worry more about her own body.”
“Yes.”
Roen would probably scold me too if he found out about this.
I’ve lived with such a lack of safety awareness for so long that it’s not easy to be careful even when I try.
It was especially so because the system usually warns me in advance if there’s going to be danger.
Moreover, the system automatically avoids any misfortune that can be avoided, which made it even worst.
“And there’s something I need to tell you.”
“Sister!”
Cassis was about to say something, his tone serious, but was interrupted by Seiren’s cheerful voice calling me from behind.
“Seiren.”
“I want to give sister a nightgown as a gift!”
“I’m fine.”
I just patted Seiren’s head once and turned back to Cassis.
“What were you going to say?”
“I’ll tell you later. Looking at the time, Isiel should be here soon.”
I had been a bit expectant since Cassis rarely takes the initiative to tell me something, but it doesn’t seem to be anything important.
“Sister, I want to eat those scones again from earlier.”
“Just the scones?”
“And that cold cream too.”
“Ice cream? Alright. I’ll make some for you.”
Thinking I should feed her something before Isiel arrives, I took Seiren to the kitchen.
Until then, I was thinking that I had gained a cute younger sister slash burden.
I hoped she wouldn’t be too hurt by family matters.
And if I could receive some divine power from her to use myself, that would be nice.
[You’re thinking too much, aren’t you?]
“Sister, are you a priestess too?”
Seiren approached me boldly.
“Your divine power is just at the level of an ordinary person, but how can you use this power?”
Seiren turned out to be a more perceptive priestess than I thought.
And not just any priestess, but a saint candidate whose abilities surpassed even the high priests.
