episode_0011

How was the second meeting between the Saint and the Crown Princess in Lesbian Mode?

When I suddenly thought about it, I clearly remembered that their second meeting was not at the academy.

“Estelle, have you ever met Her Highness the Crown Princess again since the first time you saw her?”

“No? How can I see someone who says “Empire Moon” or something? I thought we’d meet at the entrance ceremony.”

Seeing the slightly sarcastic remarks, I think it’s definitely Estelle.

Anyway, in lesbian mode, the two should have already met once more before going to the academy.

As I mentioned before, a tea party was held at Count Maria’s residence at the invitation of Lina von Maria, and there the two met again.

“By the way, I heard there was a tea party at Count Maria’s house a while ago. Did you go by any chance?”

The reason I mentioned Count Maria was to test whether she really had no encounter or contact with Lina.

“Count Maria’s house? Where is that? If it’s a tea party held in Theosine Empire, it’s a bit strange to invite a saintess of the Holy Empire. The peace treaty hasn’t been properly implemented yet, and it doesn’t seem right to invite someone you’ve never met before, even though you saw them at the party.”

It seems like you really don’t know anything.

“That’s true. First, I have to tell my parents and prepare since Her Highness the Crown Princess is coming tomorrow. Estelle, go and rest.”

When I first heard that I would be staying for one night, my mother readily gave me her spare room.

Although it was a spare room, it was a guest room that was always kept clean, and Estelle liked this room quite a bit.

As far as I can see, other than it just having an old bed with clean sheets and an attached guest bathroom, I can’t see what’s so great about it.

“Can I help you too?”

“It’s okay. Estelle is a guest. But it’s okay if she comes out to look around whenever she’s bored while sleeping.”

“Okay, I understand. Then I’ll go in first. Well, today… ”

“Today?”

“Thank you, Mr. Theo.”

I began to have doubts as I watched Estelle say an unknown thank you and disappear into her room.

What on earth are you thankful for? Isn’t that something I, who just learned how to use magic today, should be saying?

Are you saying thank you for letting me sleep? But I’m going to pay for it properly. You’re really a strange person.

***

While Theo told his parents about Iris’s visit and turned the whole house upside down, Estelle just stared blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought.

‘Abba Mama, I want to live freely too.’

What came to mind was my own voice from when I was still a little younger.

The voice of the Holy Emperor, who held the highest position in the Holy Empire, was crying desperately as he spoke to his father.

‘You can’t do that since you were born as a saint, as my daughter. If you want to find freedom, then you just have to become stronger than this father and take this place. From then on, no one will be able to truly control you.’

Estelle’s current appearance, as someone who everyone thinks is free-spirited, rough-spoken, and who has to say everything she wants to say, seemed like an appearance she had created for herself after losing her freedom.

If I didn’t do this, I felt like I would go crazy from frustration and that there would be no reason to continue living.

“Mr. Theo… .”

But today was a little different than usual.

The man she met when she secretly escaped from the church in response to Duncan’s sudden call strangely made her feel comfortable.

At first, I just thought of him as an idiot who didn’t even know his own talent, but the more we talked, the more I saw him seeing me as myself, which made my constricted heart beat a little easier.

“… I’ll get in trouble if I go back.”

Before entering the room, I told Iris that she would be scolded, but in reality, Iris had no right to be scolded.

Rather, it was obvious that the conversation would flow peacefully, such as welcoming him and asking him to give advance notice before entering the country next time.

The thing that worried me the most was that I would return to the Holy Empire and get scolded by my father.

“That’s weird.”

Today, that worry wasn’t that big of a deal.

It was possible for Estelle to think, “What if I get scolded?”, which is a very familiar thought to everyone.

“… This is all thanks to that person.”

The fear of losing my soul was overshadowed by my feelings and emotions for Theo.

“I wish we could go to the academy together.”

The question from earlier, which did not receive a proper answer, kept floating in the air.

As I was thinking about it, I ended up moving on to a different topic, and questions started to pile up in my mind, one by one.

I want to be comfortable with you calling me Theo. If we go to the academy together, I think I can become closer to the Crown Princess more naturally.

“… … Sigh, please.”

But in the end, I had a strong feeling that they were all just using Theo for their own convenience.

Meeting the Crown Princess tomorrow will be a very burdensome thing for the people of the empire.

By staying here, I ended up making the people here feel burdened.

‘Why don’t you go and meet the Crown Princess now?’

Although he didn’t tell me which hotel it was in, it was a problem that I could find the room by going to the center and looking for people like those guarding the outside.

‘No, no. You’re preparing so diligently. Let’s help them instead.’

There was a way to fly over and meet her right away and send the Crown Princess away, but if you think about it again from the perspective of the imperial people, the Crown Princess’ visit could be both burdensome and honorable.

Besides, it was already quite noisy outside and preparations had already begun, so if he suddenly said, ‘Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess won’t be coming after I meet her~’, it was definitely something that would drain all of the energy.

Knock knock-

“Oh my, Estelle. Are you still asleep? We were too noisy? I’m sorry.”

“Oh, no. I usually sleep late. But ma’am, is there anything I can help you with?”

Estelle was good at everything, including cleaning, laundry, and actually cooking.

It wasn’t that I was good at it, but my magic did it all.

Estelle was just good at handling that magic.

“If you clean like this, you’ll be done cleaning quickly?”

So, even though permission wasn’t granted, I used my magic to clean up and quickly finished the dishes that hadn’t been washed yet, and Theo’s mother’s eyes began to sparkle and shine.

“Oh my goodness. The saint is so good at cleaning, she’s really amazing!”

“Hey, it’s nothing special. So just leave everything to me! I’m good at cleaning, laundry, cooking, sewing… well, just general housework!”

“Oh my, do you do that kind of thing in the Holy Empire too?”

That wasn’t it.

Rather, in the Holy Empire, it was a position where one could not do it even if one wanted to.

There was an incident when I was young where I helped a maid because it was not hard work and it seemed fun. When King Seong found out about this, he made the maid suffer a lot and then had her kicked out.

From then on, Estelle never interfered with the maids’ work.

“No, because the maids do it all there. I want to try it here at least! I also want to help the lady.”

Estelle spoke in a coquettish voice, holding Theo’s mother’s arm and rubbing it like a puppy.

“Oh my, our Estelle is really lovely. Then what should I leave her to do? Let’s see, the housework is almost done, so there’s no need to ask for help. Oh, Theo is out picking tangerines in the greenhouse in the field right now. Can Estelle help her with that?”

Thump!

Working with Theo.

For her, who wanted to somehow make it happen and be with him even when there was no work, this errand was an extremely welcome one.

“Yes! I will help you diligently!”

“Okay, haha. I’ll take good care of you.”

The expression on Theo’s mother’s face was a very pleased smile as she watched Estelle running to the greenhouse where Theo was and going inside.

“Hey, Estelle? What brings you here?”

And Theo, who was alone in the house, slowly and carefully picking tangerines one by one, thought he saw someone approaching from afar, and when he realized it was Estelle, he asked in a slightly flustered voice.

“Ah, I came to help. I mean, I’m good at magic, right? So the lady helped me clean, and she asked if I could help her more, so she told me to come here… … .”

It was a very rambling conversation, but Theo was able to understand it to some extent, so he nodded and answered.

“Hmm, my mom even invited guests. Well, I guess I won’t be able to collect the accommodation fee I was supposed to receive tomorrow.”

Estelle burst into laughter as Theo opened his eyes half-heartedly and said as if it was a shame.

“Phew, what is that? I’ll pay for the accommodation. Helping out is separate.”

“Hey, then I’ll have to pay the magic fee too, but honestly, that’s more expensive. Let’s just ignore it and move on.”

“Huh? Then I’m not at a loss?”

When Estelle glared at him, Theo made a playful expression and changed the subject.

“Oh, these tangerines are fresh! Want to try some?”

“Your beating around the bush is really good, Mr. Theo.”

“Haha, really? Well, anyway, it looks really sweet. Let me try it.”

The tangerines Theo handed me felt really fresh and shiny.

“… Yes, I will eat well.”

Estelle, who received it, had a strange feeling that she had received a small part of Theo’s heart.