Chapter 53
“Net?”
There was no way the net Minister Ebon was talking about was the same net I knew.
And even if it really was that word, with all the scholars scattered throughout the imperial palace, did it make sense for him to come looking for me to ask?
Hufferson soon found the answer to his question.
“They said if the head of the research institute asked you, you’d know.”
The culprit was my cousin, Chobi Vinhood.
It wasn’t that Chobi didn’t know the meaning of the word and introduced me to the minister for that reason.
The last time, during the Saintess’s love counseling—
Chobi had been in the same space until the very end.
He had even gotten heated later and said, “Guys like that should have their bloodline wiped out!”
…There’s no way the reason was simply that he was too lazy to answer the minister’s question, right?
‘Chobi….’
Thinking that the work had been dumped on him, Hufferson clenched his fist inwardly and swallowed back tears.
“Why would Head Researcher Chobi Vinhood introduce me to you, Minister…?”
“How would I know?”
Ebon frowned.
Two hours earlier, Ebon had left the Emperor’s office, saying he would find out the meaning of “net.”
The place he went was Chobi’s research institute.
“Ha! Hey, Ebon. You don’t even know that? You act like you know everything all the time—what a wasted life!”
After mocking Ebon mercilessly, Chobi claimed he was busy with research and kicked him out.
“Go ask Hufferson. He’ll know better.”
And so Ebon, with his feelings hurt and no real gain, had come to find Hufferson.
Noticing that the minister was in a bad mood, Hufferson didn’t ask further and just explained what he knew.
“…So it was a vulgar term.”
“Haha. It is a bit embarrassing to explain to you, Minister.”
“Anyway, thank you. And keep it a secret that I asked about this—”
“Huh? Minister Ebon!”
A familiar, bright voice.
Without even checking the face, he knew who it was.
The two men, who had been talking while standing on the steps at the entrance of the chapel building, startled and hurriedly put some distance between themselves.
It wasn’t strange for the two of them to be talking, but it was an awkward topic to be caught discussing by the Saintess.
Especially since Hufferson remembered the Bonia knight and the fact that he had once given the Saintess advice phrased as, “The other person is casting a net.”
“Saintess, welcome back.”
Hufferson turned toward her with an awkward smile on his lips.
The Saintess was walking toward the chapel building, holding baskets in both hands.
At her waist, a silver doll swayed back and forth.
Behind her, Dune of the Imperial Guard followed as her escort knight.
“I’m back, Hufferson! What brings Minister Ebon here?”
“Ah, the minister came to check whether there were any issues with the chapel’s management…”
As Hufferson spoke his improvised excuse, he turned his head slightly to seek Ebon’s agreement.
There was no one beside him.
Did he already leave?
Looking around, Hufferson spotted Ebon Hyben standing at the end of the steps, next to an outer pillar.
‘When did he get all the way over there? And more importantly, why over there…?’
Even allowing for distance, it was far too much.
Unlike the bewildered Hufferson, Ari casually spoke to Ebon.
“Oh, then did you come to talk with Hufferson?”
“That’s right. It seems you’ve been out somewhere.”
Despite the distance between them, Ebon replied calmly.
“Ah, I went to see Helli.”
At that, both Ebon and Hufferson’s gazes fell on the baskets.
Ever since Ari stopped using dye, rumors had spread that the Saintess had been entering the kitchen these days.
Along with that, rumors spread that the Saintess’s blessing had settled in the kitchen.
Helli had already possessed outstanding skill, but lately the dishes he produced had reached an astonishing level.
Cooking techniques that broke existing molds, a feast of flavors that seized the tongue and refused to let go.
Because of that, among those who came and went from the imperial palace, a saying had started to circulate like a trend:
“No matter how hard the work is, you should at least eat dinner before leaving.”
“Is what you brought a new dessert?”
“It’s not new, but I baked cookies. I thought it’d be nice if we ate them together!”
Ari answered Hufferson’s question.
The two men had already tasted her desserts.
Hufferson swallowed without realizing it, and Ebon took a step forward without thinking.
“These will be eaten together with the people at the chapel, and these I’ll take to Prodinta Palace…”
Ari spoke while rummaging through the basket in her left hand, searching through the paper bags of cookies.
Then she handed that basket to Hufferson, and carrying the basket in her right hand, she walked toward Ebon.
Perhaps the lure of cookies was too tempting—Ebon didn’t even think to step back as usual, and instead found himself face to face with the Saintess.
“This…”
Ari shyly held out the entire basket to Ebon, her cheeks tinted red.
“I’ll give this to you, Minister.”
“Y–You mean… to me?”
The smell of cookies drifting out from beneath the white cloth was rich and nutty.
Ebon felt a sudden flutter, but told himself it was probably just because of the smell.
“And…”
Ari spoke again.
Unable to meet Ebon’s eyes, her face lowered, even redder than before.
“Please be sure to eat them together with His Majesty…”
“Hehe. Being a fish caught in a net isn’t necessarily a bad thing, you know?”
I flopped down onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
“Your Majesty, am I being managed by that net?”
“…A net?”
“Am I caught by you, Your Majesty? You catch me, feed me, play with me?”
“…Are you asking seriously?”
“Yes.”
“…I did think I’d be grateful if you let yourself be caught.”
I had no idea until now that His Majesty was a fisherman.
Truly an acting genius.
It was a bit shocking, like discovering my favorite’s private life, but—
Thinking about it, it wasn’t all that bad.
If His Majesty had a fishing ground, would there really be only one or two fish caught?
His Majesty was someone who could lure people in with just a trouser hem, after all.
Which meant there could be no telling how many fish were currently caught in his net…!
And I was just one among the many ordinary fish—!
“Being common is the best……”
Anyway, I was hopeless at hiding my feelings.
How much had I agonized over this the past few days?
The reason it was so hard for me to easily admit that I liked His Majesty was—
Because every future I could imagine was pitch-dark.
For example, like this:
Confess → get rejected → things become awkward with His Majesty → get kicked out of the imperial palace forever.
Don’t confess → get found out → get rejected → get kicked out.
Confess → don’t get rejected → things go well with His Majesty → die young(?).
…….
‘Every single one! All of them!’
No matter how I thought about it, the ending of this feeling was either exile or death.
Right now, my love was fresh and warm, so my head was full of flowers, but—
There’s a reason people say there’s no such thing as eternal love.
Just as suddenly as these feelings had come, they might also disappear.
“That’s right, this is a mirage-like emotion. The position I should aim for going forward is His Majesty’s best friend #3…!”
My favorite’s best friend!
That place where you can stay close without conditions!
That’s what I want!
But as they say, life doesn’t go the way you plan.
I didn’t have the capacity to hide my unrequited love and someday become friend #3 who cheers on my favorite’s future romance.
The condition for remaining friends with unrequited love—what is it?
It’s not letting the other person notice your feelings!
“Hehe. As if.”
The love potion incident, and the countless betrayals suffered by my own body parts—
I can’t do it. I’m a hopeless human being. Sob.
So for someone like me, His Majesty’s net management was good news.
If there are many people, doesn’t the weight of each relationship get lighter?
So even if His Majesty did have romantic feelings for me, they’d be shallow enough to be considered fishing ground management!
And then……
“That means there’s a chance we can stay friends even if it’s discovered…!”
Whether that could really happen—no one knows the future.
If it didn’t work out, I was prepared to grab onto His Majesty’s pant leg.
Please let me remain by your side, even as a friend…
Hufferson said push-and-pull was important, but I’m someone who only knows how to be straightforward. Sob.
Anyway, a person like me—
Until my love cools down, it’s obvious I’ll keep throwing myself at His Majesty against my own will.
So I might as well run this kind of hopeful mental circuit.
“I’ll be okay in the future… right?”
“Pyuu!”
Beside me, Pyu waved its yarn arm as if cheering me on.
I nodded.
“Yeah. I’ll do my best.”
First, my immediate goal is……
“Not getting kicked out of the imperial palace until my love cools down…!”
The Emperor’s office.
Ebon reported what he had learned to the Emperor.
“Good work, Minister.”
Alend wore a smile, but inside, he was utterly dumbfounded.
Ebon returned to his own office, and Alend resumed his work.
But the contents of the documents didn’t enter his eyes.
It was because of another worry that had firmly occupied his mind.
‘I….’
The Saintess had done incomprehensible things before, but this—
Alend was left speechless in disbelief.
So that was why she said things like being caught and being played with.
She had looked genuinely serious as she worried about her situation, and that was the problem—he had let slip a bit of his true feelings.
His genuine desire to keep the Saintess by his side, to protect her for the rest of her life.
Was that sincerity really being so misunderstood?
He wanted to rush over immediately and tell her that wasn’t it, but Alend couldn’t find a reason he had to do so.
‘There’s no issue with the Saintess’s safety.’
If that was the case, then whether in thought or action—
Let her do as she wishes.
That was Alend’s standard in how he treated the Saintess.
The reason he hadn’t assigned her an escort knight until now wasn’t only because she didn’t want one.
It was also because he didn’t want her to feel that her life in this world was one under surveillance.
However, the kidnapping incident—
Alend regretted his judgment.
From the moment the Saintess disappeared until he found her again—
There wasn’t a single day he slept properly.
Anxiety, impatience, dark and dreadful emotions churned inside him like a storm.
Even after finding the Saintess, the unease didn’t easily fade.
He couldn’t lose her again after having lost her once.
That was why, for the first time, he assigned her a knight without asking her opinion.
Honestly, he was satisfied.
And now, once again, the impulse to do the same was slowly rearing its head.
Nets and whatever else—
He wanted to keep her only by his side, without giving her time to think about such pointless things.
But how was that any different from putting a leash on her and telling her to do nothing but follow him around?
That couldn’t be allowed.
“If you’re going to hide it, you should hide it properly. If you want, I can advise you anytime.”
Hazel Roiken’s voice echoed in Alend’s ears.
“Like the Director’s collectibles? I don’t want to keep her that way.”
Even the words he himself had said afterward.
“……”
Alend steadied his heart.
Just like always, let the Saintess think whatever she wants about this matter.
If he left things as usual, she might get fixated on something else and forget about it again.
That was what Alend thought, and he decided to leave the Saintess alone.
And then, not long after, Alend realized that his judgment had been naive.
