Chapter 11
“……He’s gone.”
I murmured hollowly as I stared down at the empty blanket.
The new master had vanished completely while I was asleep—like a midsummer night’s dream.
“How can you leave without even a single hair behind……!”
Coming as you please. Leaving as you please. Utterly heartless.
I couldn’t very well stop him if he wanted to go, but still—how nice would it have been if he’d at least said goodbye.
Or at the very least, left behind some keepsake I could reminisce over!
But no matter how thoroughly I searched the spotless white blanket, not a single black hair appeared.
“This can’t be happening.”
Now that I’d come to know that warmth, I couldn’t live the same way as before.
I needed something to fill this hole in my chest.
“Heh heh heh…… The start of the day is, as always, Morning His Majesty.”
Talking to myself only made my mouth hurt. There was nothing better for soothing a lonely heart than His Majesty’s face.
I slipped on a light robe meant for going out and stepped into the corridor.
Should I go out the front door? Or the back?
“Yaaawn.”
“Seeing you yawn like that, I’d say it’s almost time for the shift change.”
“Night patrol is pure torture. I just want to get inside and sleep already.”
Grumbling voices drifted over from beyond the building’s outer wall.
Judging by the nonstop yawning, it had to be Sir Slyn.
“Then it’s the back door.”
The knight order Sir Slyn belonged to rotated patrols at the main gate. That happened around 4 a.m., so it was soon.
I slipped out through the back door without any trouble and wandered freely through the imperial palace.
The chilly dawn air washed through my lungs, leaving them refreshed.
“Ah, so refreshing. I love this time of day—no people around.”
As long as I avoided the patrols, there was no worry about running into anyone.
Very few people started their day this early.
‘And one of those rare few is His Majesty.’
He really is diligent.
The second-floor study of the palace where His Majesty resided had its lights on again at dawn.
Seen through the window, His Majesty sat upright at his desk, working as always.
The occasional irritated mutter was strangely enchanting.
And those indoor clothes you never get to see normally—what about them?
Kkhm. I don’t know who decided to place the desk by the window, but may their descendants be blessed for generations. Thanks to them, I can behold His Majesty’s noble countenance even from afar.
‘What’s with that messy hair? Is it even allowed for someone to be that sexy first thing in the morning?’
They say heartbreak makes a person more mature.
His Majesty’s looks—already seemingly at their peak—had been breaking new records every day lately.
Ah, he’s glowing.
Who needs to watch the sunrise when His Majesty’s face is the sun?
Ugh—unable to contain the surging fangirl devotion, I punched the air.
If only I had money to pay for damages, I’d have already wrecked the entire imperial palace.
After hiding behind a tree some distance from His Majesty’s residence and stealing glances at his profile for about ten minutes, I finally forced my heavy feet to move.
“Time to go…….”
There was still time before Siana arrived with the maids carrying wash water, but if I lingered too long and got caught by His Majesty, it wouldn’t end well.
If I didn’t want to be worked like His Majesty’s lackey all day, I had to compromise with my desires.
Still, I wanted to look just a bit longer, so I moved at a nanometer-per-second pace.
“Huh?”
Just as I was about to turn my head for one last look, something that entered my field of vision stole my gaze.
Something sprang up beneath the first-floor windowsill of His Majesty’s palace.
‘What is that?’
A black thing that had failed to climb the windowsill twitched and wriggled.
I wanted to see it more clearly, but the bushes in the flower bed obscured its outline.
It wasn’t a shadow……
Zendall associated black with the color of the god Seikan and avoided using it excessively, so it probably wasn’t something like a basket rolling in the wind.
Then was it alive?
For instance—like that adorable creature from last night.
‘Really?’
With that unusual appearance and black fur, I’d wondered if it was a divine beast of this world. That was why I thought I’d never see it again.
‘Could it be an animal kept in the imperial palace?’
My heart pounded.
Could I finally make an animal friend around here?
Looking closely, it even seemed like something wing-like was fluttering—!
“Gya—o.”
It was probably my imagination, but I could hear it. A call summoning its butler.
‘Should I go closer and check?’
My body had already turned back toward the palace.
On the second floor, His Majesty still had his eyes on his desk.
‘Fine. Even if I get caught, what’s the worst—one day of hellish training?’
Still, not getting caught was best.
I carefully and quickly moved toward the first-floor flower bed, watching my surroundings.
In the meantime, the black object vanished somewhere.
“The grass under the windowsill is trampled.”
So I hadn’t imagined it after all. It might still be nearby.
There was a gap between the neatly trimmed shrubs and the palace’s outer wall.
I bent down to lower my eye level. Crawling along that path, I felt my vision darken.
Black—!
“……Color.”
“Saint.”
I was inside His Majesty’s shadow.
When did he get here? Ugh. Dark, my foot. It’s bright. His looks are so dazzling I want to hide.
But like a mouse before a cat, I froze stiff, unable to move. Even if I ran, I’d be caught anyway.
Still on my knees and palms, I looked up at His Majesty.
“……Haha.”
At my awkward laugh, His Majesty let out a short scoff.
Seeing His Majesty in indoor clothes from right in front—rather than from afar—was overwhelming.
Slightly swept-up bangs. Shimmering blond hair. Well-fitted beige trousers and a white shirt. And those eyes, nose, and lips—even more handsome than yesterday. And those clear, deep blue eyes, bluer than the Mediterranean Sea.
‘Permanently stored on my retinas.’
No—get a grip. You’re going to sell your soul to this face.
I rose to my feet as calmly as I could.
“W-what are you doing here?”
“As you’ve been watching for some time now, I was working.”
So I really had been caught.
For some reason, His Majesty smiled brightly.
So brightly that the lush flowers planted in the palace garden around us didn’t even register.
“And you, Saint?”
Honey was dripping from his voice this early in the morning, Your Majesty.
From now on, I should never enter within a two-meter radius of His Majesty.
His looks are dangerous these days. I must look incredibly stupid right now.
‘Stupid expression?’
Then I remembered what state I was in.
Hair tangled and a mess from the bushes, an unwashed face, wearing only a chemise stained with grass and dirt.
‘No!’
Not this haggard appearance burned into His Majesty’s retinas—!
As I internally panicked, His Majesty, who had been quietly watching me, smiled gently in kind mode and said,
“Looks like you’ve been eating well and enjoying yourself.”
This is an emergency.
I rested my chin on my interlaced fingers, elbows propped on the desk attached to the bench in the front row.
‘This has to be pressure of some kind.’
Have I been living too much like a layabout?
Maybe now that the so-called Saint with no abilities has nothing to do, my keep is starting to seem like a waste.
I’m not going to get kicked out, am I?
“…Saint.”
“Yes.”
“The chair is shaking.”
“Huh?”
When I turned my gaze, Chancellor Ebon was trembling along with his chair.
I unconsciously calmed my shaking legs and corrected my posture.
“I’m sorry.”
“Not at all.”
The chancellor and I were seated at opposite ends of a long bench.
I had sat down first, then the chancellor. His continued avoidance of me today was highly commendable.
Still, I was grateful that he’d obediently been caught on his way home and followed me to the imperial chapel.
“So, what is it you wanted to consult about…….”
“Well, Chancellor, you work too, right?”
“I do, but…?”
“You’re probably wondering why I’m stating the obvious. Well, you see—His Majesty works hard, Captain Henkel works hard, Siana works hard. Heck, even over there, Priest Raul works—!”
“Guh.”
“Huh?”
In the middle of my impassioned speech, I heard a strange sound.
Ebon and I turned our heads at the same time.
Priest Raul, who had said he’d be praying on a chair near the door, was wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
Probably not, but it reminded me of myself wiping drool after nodding off in class.
“Heh heh. You don’t need to include this old man.”
Priest Raul quickly slipped into the prayer room. It only felt like he was running away after being caught slacking off—surely just my imagination.
“Anyway.”
We returned to the conversation.
Staring at the chancellor’s refined profile, I confessed as though at confession.
“I’m the only one with nothing to do.”
“Are you saying you’re living off leisure and meals, Saint?”
“Hah. Do you talk about this sort of thing often with His Majesty? You’re saying exactly the same thing.”
So it really was an emergency.
Still, if the chancellor already knew, then I’d chosen the right person to consult.
Well, my only options were Captain Henkel and the chancellor anyway.
Siana was an exception, since she didn’t know I lacked divine power.
“Anyway. You think this is a serious problem too, right?”
“What?”
“…Huh?”
At my words, the chancellor turned to me with eyes like a startled rabbit.
The unexpected eye contact startled me as well.
“W-why?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Please continue.”
“So, Chancellor—please help me find a job.”
“A… job…?”
The chancellor asked haltingly.
Seeing his faintly wavering violet eyes, I nodded gravely.
“Yes. Secretly—from His Majesty.”
I’d long since lost any pride, but this was still something I couldn’t ask His Majesty for.
If his bad personality came out, it’d be disastrous. He’d definitely give me work just to amuse himself by teasing me.
Right now, the only person I could trust was the chancellor.
“……”
“Chancellor.”
I clasped my hands and stepped closer, pleading.
I saw him subtly lean back, but I didn’t have the luxury to be hurt by that.
“What could I possibly do, wherever I go? Everyone would recognize me as the Saint. Then they’d ask me to demonstrate my powers. But I don’t have even a shred of divine power—I’m a noisy, empty cart. There’s nothing I can do.”
“S-Saint, but how could I possibly find you work without His Majesty knowing….”
“I’m good at folding boxes, and I can glue eyes onto dolls. Oh, and I can wear a costume and hand out promotional flyers. I can dance too, if needed.”
“Th-that’s….”
Right now, the person in front of me wasn’t the chancellor—it was an interviewer.
I clenched my fists, then made my eyes shine like a passionate, well-prepared applicant.
“If you just give me the chance, I’ll work hard at anything!”
