Chapter 503
The morning of the second day of the Council.
Or to put it differently, the first morning of my honeymoon with Trixy.
“Good morning, brother!”
Right from the pleasant start of the day, an unwelcome guest showed up.
“Brother, it’ll be a problem if you close it again.”
“Sorry, the wind just—”
I reflexively shut the door at the unexpected appearance of Tannian, but at the sound of his voice outside, I opened it again despite feeling a tear welling up.
It’s depressing. I was hoping to enjoy the day with a light heart, but seeing that the next holy prince had come first thing in the morning meant something urgent must have happened. Otherwise, he wouldn’t come in person.
‘What’s going on?’
But no matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with anything that would warrant calling me. The acknowledgment of Konstantina was finalized, and the acknowledgment of the Eternal Blue Sky was just postponed until today as the sun set. There was nothing more for me to be involved in.
Soon, I felt a cold sweat trickling down my back. Knowing something is different from being in the dark about it.
“Ha ha, sorry for popping by so early. I thought you might not be here if I came leisurely.”
As if he knew my fear, Tannian chuckled softly and pulled something out of his pocket.
“I came to give you this. A small token from the Sect, so please accept it.”
“A token?”
I quickly scanned the item Tannian pulled out.
It was a small disk, about the size of a hand, with a silver-like sheen, and the Pope’s emblem drawn in the center.
“…What is that?”
It was clearly something extraordinary, prompting me to ask for an explanation.
An emblem represents a personal, family, group, or national symbol. Thus, an item marked with a certain emblem guarantees that item on behalf of its user, also assuring the identity of the person who possesses it. To exaggerate a little, it’s like a premium version of an assurance.
But a disk with the Pope’s emblem on it? Even if that disk were made from rotten wood instead of silver, it would still be treated as a national treasure.
“I heard you and your sister are planning to enjoy the sights of Enestitiy.”
As I requested an explanation, Tannian carried on with a calm expression.
“Enestitiy is truly a beautiful and sacred, one-of-a-kind white city on this continent. I assure you it will be an unforgettable experience.”
I felt a flutter of emotion at his description of the town but held back my tears. Tannian was a crazy one, but he wasn’t one without sense. If he made comments unrelated to the topic at hand, it would surely be part of his lead-up to the main point.
“However, all those pilgrims wishing to behold this white city fill Enestitiy every day. In fact, there’s been an increase in the crowd ever since a few days ago when they heard about the Council. If you step outside now, you’d struggle just to move around, let alone sightsee.”
Saying this, Tannian beamed a smile and placed the silver disk in my hand directly.
“So I’m giving you this disk. If there’s a place you wish to enter but find it crowded, show this disk to the administrator. They’ll guide you right in.”
‘Oh.’
Feeling relieved that it was less intimidating than I thought, I felt at ease.
Okay, I can happily accept something like this. If it had been something of immense value, it would’ve felt burdensome, but a park pass seemed reasonable.
“Oh, and the holder of this disk will be treated like His Holiness the Pope himself, so you can freely enter places restricted to civilians.”
?
“What?”
I think I just heard something strange. Who’s being compared to whom here?
“Well then, I’ll take my leave now. Have a pleasant trip!”
“Wait, just a—”
Despite my frantic calls, Tannian left without turning back.
Damn guy.
“Looks like you got an interesting item.”
Once Tannian was gone, Trixy, who had just woken up, showed interest in the disk I was holding hopelessly.
“It’s a small disk, but it’s packed with divine power. This silver must have been refined with blessings from high priests, and countless hands must have handled it before becoming this disk. It could easily be called a holy relic.”
Watching Trixy eagerly fiddle with the disk eased my bitter feelings a bit.
What did it even matter if it was compared to the Pope? At the end of the day, I wouldn’t have any reason to come back to the Holy Kingdom once our honeymoon was over. I am a blessed of Enen and an honorary priest of the Eternal Blue Sky, and I am also a benefactor of Konstantina. Even without this disk, I held plenty of religious authority.
So let’s not worry too much about it. Is it a big deal to add a drop of water to an overflowing cup?
‘Damn it.’
Thinking too much like this becomes a bad habit.
*
Seeing Carl, who woke up earlier than me, naturally made me smile. I thought I woke up pretty early as well, but if he was already up before me, it meant he must’ve been looking forward to today’s tour.
“You got an interesting item there.”
While I was lost in thought, I noticed Carl was holding something in his hand that I hadn’t seen before.
Upon a brief inspection, I realized it was not harmful but rather useful. The people of the Holy Kingdom wouldn’t be so thoughtless as to hand over something sinister to a guest invited by the Pope. So I casually gave it a once-over and handed it back to Carl.
“Let’s head out now. We woke up early, so it’d be a shame to just stay indoors, right?”
“Ha ha, let’s do that.”
Of course, if it were any other time, I would’ve taken my time to examine the new item thoroughly, but this was a precious moment to spend with Carl. I couldn’t waste time on trivial things.
“Have you decided where to go?”
“No, I was thinking of wandering around and deciding. Everything will be new, so it’d be good to just pick a spot on a whim.”
My declaration of spending time without a plan with a lady didn’t come off as disappointing at all.
When else would I get an opportunity to stroll casually with Carl like this and roam freely like an ordinary citizen? Even if this was Enestitiy, not a quiet rural village, I would’ve been happy.
“It’d be nice to find something to buy as a souvenir.”
“Uh, yeah. Let’s do that.”
At my suggestion, Carl showed a brief moment of surprise before nodding.
He was probably startled because I voiced the thought he had been pondering silently. Trying to show he wasn’t bothered, Carl was likely avoiding mentioning anything that might remind me of the other kids during our honeymoon period.
I appreciated his consideration, but since I had already proactively put it out there, the right thing for me as a wife would be to support my husband’s wishes.
…Besides, I was also slightly calculating that he would think of me even when I wasn’t around. It’s a bit embarrassing to use tricks in a marriage, but a strategy like this should be fine.
‘It’s not like it’s sneaky or underhanded or anything.’
In fact, Carl’s expression when he looked at me brightened even more than before.
No matter how sacred the place, people live similarly everywhere.
“My Lord Marcilio! It’s a true honor to meet you!”
“Who would have thought I would meet you in the most divine place? The Lord must be smiling upon us. I have no regrets even if I were to die right now.”
Some tourists we bumped into while walking blinked in surprise, then quickly bowed and showered me with praises as soon as they spotted me.
It felt familiar. I had dealt with this kind of attention before, even when I went out in the Empire. Yet, I thought perhaps in Enestitiy, there would be more sincere worshippers than magicians, only to find it surprising that the fusion possibility of devout mages existed.
“Ah, but my Lord, might I ask why you are here and not in the Capital?”
Gradually, a mage who regained composure asked a reasonable question.
Just as he said, I had only stayed within the Empire, and considering I was now in a foreign land, it must have seemed exceptionally strange. Since we were invited as references to the Council, it hadn’t been publicly disclosed yet.
“That’s—”
“His Excellency sought permission from His Majesty to come on his honeymoon. When else can a pillar of the Empire visit a sacred place like this?”
Before I could answer, Carl chimed in first.
“Your husband, is it?”
Attention had begun to shift from me to Carl with the sound of that magical voice.
“My apologies, we forgot to greet Your Excellency.”
“It’s quite alright. I understand well what a wife means to mages. If you can’t comprehend even that, you could never live as Marcilio’s husband.”
As Carl replied with a hint of laughter, I could see the tension melting away from the mages one by one.
It was rather fascinating to see the mages taking cues from someone other than myself. It was clear that Carl, as my husband, had become someone precious among them.
“However, as mentioned earlier, since we’re on our honeymoon, while my wife is glad to greet the younger generation, I doubt we’d have time for anything more than that.”
“Of course!”
“Why would we waste the time of someone we respect?”
“I appreciate your understanding.”
With that last comment, Carl patted the shoulders of the mages as we continued to walk on.
Seeing him act so naturally led the mages to bow as if acknowledging the clearly established hierarchy.
“Almost ended up taking a group tour with those mages.”
Carl, who had displayed the traits of a superior, chuckled softly as he wrapped his arm around my waist.
“I did good, didn’t I?”
With his playful tone, I couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Of course! Who else but my husband would think of me?”
I smiled and gave Carl a kiss on his cheek.
But I felt a bit regretful. If fewer eyes had been on us, I wouldn’t have just kissed his cheek but aimed for a more desirable spot.
“Let’s just pop into a café for a bit. There are too many eyes around; we should avoid that.”
Thanks to Carl’s suggestion, my disappointment vanished in an instant.
After all, only my husband understands my heart.
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