Chapter 4 – Not Even Knowing What I’m Planning
“Why should we let you into the dining hall? You’ve got some nerve!”
“Yeah! If you want to eat, go around to another door!”
The next morning—
When Kyle tried to enter the dining hall he had been shown, the three girls blocked the entrance, glaring at him and practically snorting in anger.
Kyle sighed inwardly.
Whether it was because he had too much on his mind or because the bedding felt unfamiliar, he had barely slept. Fatigue clung to him.
“I already apologized to the Saint for yesterday.”
“Huh? I’m not angry about that!”
When Kyle stepped to the left, the girls moved left. When he stepped right, they moved right in perfect unison, blocking his way.
He could easily push past them by force.
But that would only backfire. If he wanted to approach Winter, this would only make things worse. At worst, she might reject not just going to the Empire but the engagement itself.
As Kyle rubbed his chin in thought, the dining hall door suddenly burst open.
“You little brats! What do you think you’re doing?!”
“Ow!”
A large woman with a warm face and deep wrinkles around her eyes smacked each girl on the head.
“How can you block someone who just wants to eat? Let him in!”
“…Yes.”
The girls shuffled inside, rubbing their heads. Kyle found himself awkwardly standing there.
The cook gestured at him.
“You there. Come in. Not sure if this kind of food suits someone as refined-looking as you, though.”
“…Thank you for your kindness.”
Inside, the smell of savory soup filled the air. The dining hall had several small round tables.
It smells peaceful.
Kyle sat at an empty table away from the grumbling girls.
The meal was simple: pea soup, warm rye bread, fresh salad, and scrambled eggs.
Not luxurious, but considering the frozen northern land, it was generous.
“Being territorial has its limits,” the cook grumbled. “He came all the way through the snow.”
“He’s not a guest!”
“You called him ‘sir.’ If he’s not a guest, what is he?”
“That’s…!”
The engagement was still technically valid. Anne glared at Kyle, who calmly tore bread and dipped it into his soup as if unaware of the argument.
Come to think of it, the Saint said she might need him.
What did she mean by that?
As Anne pondered, Chloe swallowed a mouthful of bread and shot at Kyle:
“Anyway, stop showing interest in the Saintess!”
Kyle turned his head toward their table.
The girls quickly looked away.
Is he going to scold us?
Anne was the oldest—only thirteen. Without Winter present, no one stopped their imaginations from running wild.
But Kyle said something unexpected.
“…Now that I think about it, the Saintess isn’t here.”
That’s it?
Chloe huffed and stayed silent. The others did too.
The cook sighed and approached Kyle.
“The Saint eats alone. Sometimes she skips meals altogether. It worries me.”
She ladled more hot soup into his bowl.
She’s worked here a long time, Kyle thought, judging by her tone.
She might know something.
He softened his expression.
“May I ask you something?”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“What kind of person is the Saintess?”
The cook hesitated, rubbing her chin.
“She rarely leaves her room. During the war, many battle priests were sent out, but she never participated.”
Because she can’t leave Atlans?
Still, the war lasted fourteen years. If the Saint had appeared, morale would have soared.
She might even have ended the war sooner.
Kyle pierced a cherry tomato with his fork. Red juice burst out.
He made up his mind.
“May I ask you for a favor?”
“What now?”
“Please help me get closer to the Saintess.”
***
“Well, well. Trying to drive away the Silver Knight without even knowing who he is.”
“How can you say that? How could you assign someone with that kind of killing intent as my fiancé?”
Winter was speaking to the reflection of a white-haired old man in a bowl filled with holy water.
The man wore pure white robes embroidered with gold—the robes of the Holy King.
Holy King Benewelence sighed.
“There is a reason. He is the Silver Knight. Few men are more capable of protecting you.”
“That’s exactly why it’s strange.”
A man who could live comfortably in the Empire had come all the way here. And he would one day become the Demon King.
But if she revealed the prophecy, the future might twist into something worse.
“Your Holiness, I have no intention of leaving the Holy Kingdom.”
“Again?”
He leaned back.
“Winter. Do you remember what you did to the previous fiancés?”
“I showed them my face.”
“They only ran because you used your holy power to deceive them.”
Among the six miracles granted to the Saint was the ability to create illusions.
Winter used that miracle to drive them away.
“They chose to run. I never forced them.”
“…Winter. I don’t even know if your mother was from the Holy Kingdom.”
She flinched.
“How are you so certain it was your mother who abandoned you?”
Winter bit her lip.
“Stop clinging to false hope.”
“No.”
Her eyes burned.
“My mother is alive. That’s why I won’t leave.”
Silence fell.
“…If you go to the Empire, you might find her.”
Winter knew what he meant.
She stood out too much to search personally. But the Ascalon family had power.
“My duties call. Do you have anything else to say?”
She swallowed the words she truly wanted to speak.
“No.”
“Take care.”
The connection ended.
Winter stared at her reflection.
“Why did God choose me to be the Saint?”
She once again ignored the untouched food on her table.
***
Kyle walked down a corridor lined with carved pillars.
The cook’s words lingered in his mind.
“All the previous fiancés were strange… You at least look decent.”
Some had demanded alcohol late at night. Some had even tried to harm the girls.
And she doesn’t even know what I’m planning.
The cook had welcomed him warmly, unaware of his true intentions.
Snow fell outside, covering the world in white.
He remembered Winter’s burned face.
It doesn’t make sense.
The Saint was said to be half-divine. Why couldn’t she heal her own face?
He followed the directions given to him and found a corridor with light at the end.
That must be her room.
As he reached for the door—
“What do you mean you used holy power again?!”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
Kyle froze.
It was Anne’s voice.
He pressed himself against the wall and listened.
“But every time you use holy power—!”
Her voice cut off suddenly.
Kyle tried to step away—
The door swung open.
Winter stuck her head out.
“What are you doing here?”
Kyle felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
He had trained to conceal his presence perfectly—even from demons.
Yet she had noticed him.
Winter smiled beneath her veil.
“Sir Kyle, are you a little rat who enjoys eavesdropping?”
She was smiling.
Kyle, however, could not.
