Kays Translations

Chapter 2: The Morning of Parting (2)

　During the days I spent praying to the Goddess in a corner of the royal capital, the occasional rumors from the front were among my few clues that Elliot, far away on the battlefield, was still safe.

　Paper was still expensive, and letters were beyond a commoner’s means. The occasional notices posted at the castle gates offered only brief updates, so we had little choice but to cling to scraps of information carried by rumor.

　Even so, news that Elliot had obtained the holy sword and become a Holy Knight—and that he was cutting through the undead beasts at a remarkable pace—spread throughout the royal capital in no time.

　So did rumors of the saint who remained at his side and distinguished herself alongside him.

　As their name suggests, undead beasts can’t be defeated merely by slashing them.

　A sword must be doused in holy water and used to sever the creature’s head before it’ll finally return to the earth. The blade must then be purified again after every kill.

　The cumbersome process had left the army locked in a cycle of advances and retreats. Once Elliot obtained the holy sword, however, he could defeat the undead without repeatedly purifying his weapon with holy water.

　There was another danger. If a living person was wounded by an undead beast, decay spread from even the smallest injury. The agony—and the horror of rotting alive—drove many people mad despite what had initially seemed a minor wound.

　Only clergy and monks who had earned the Goddess’s blessing through service to the church could purify such wounds.

　During the campaign, Lady Emily displayed exceptionally powerful purification magic and eventually came to be called the Saint. Her deeds were praised alongside the valor of Elliot, the Holy Knight.

　Both had received the great Goddess’s blessing. Given their achievements and the hope they offered against those terrifying beasts, perhaps it was only natural that the entire kingdom focused its attention on them.

　Their inspiring story brightened the kingdom and helped ease the fear caused by the undead beasts.

　Increasingly, however, the rumors told throughout the kingdom concerned the romance supposedly blossoming between the man and woman who fought side by side.

　Perhaps those stories were initially told with envy and anticipation because the two made such a handsome pair.

　But no one mentioned me, Elliot’s wife.

　Rumors are only rumors, and as they pass from person to person, they can be distorted by other people’s wishes. That was what I told myself as I tried not to dwell on them.

“A wife who lives comfortably in the safety of the royal capital and does nothing but pray is unworthy of Sir Elliot.”

　That was the first whisper I heard from someone who knew Elliot and I were married.

“I heard Sir Elliot, the Holy Knight, has a wife waiting for him in the royal capital.”

“Oh, that? Just another self-proclaimed wife who appeared as soon as the man became famous.”

“Exactly. If you searched the whole capital for his self-proclaimed lovers and wives, you wouldn’t have enough fingers to count them.”

　Most of the various rumors traded around town denied that his wife even existed.

　I had, in fact, seen women Elliot had never known claiming to be his lovers, so perhaps the townspeople’s doubts were understandable.

　I couldn’t imagine that Elliot had secretly been involved with many women before going to war—or before marrying me.

　At least, the man I had known trained from early morning until dusk, always covered in sweat and dust. He was quiet and rather poor at socializing.

　Back then, I took pride in loving and supporting him.

　That was why I didn’t believe the rumors about the Saint.

　The tide probably turned when actual members of the Order and their relatives began repeating the same story.

　Messengers regularly returned to the royal capital to report on the war. Apart from their official duties, they naturally spoke casually with their families who lived there.

　Everyone paid close attention to the stories that leaked from those conversations.

　They said the bond between the Holy Knight and the Saint was rapidly deepening as the two stayed close and overcame countless hardships together.

　I heard it from the wives of other knights who were also waiting for their husbands to return from battle.

　At first, some were outraged by Elliot’s infidelity and worried about me. Yet the war was brutal, and the Holy Knight who could end it and the Saint supporting him had become symbols of hope to the people.

　Gradually, those women changed their attitudes as well.

“…I sympathize with you. But you should know your place…”

“Yes. After all, unlike the Saint, it isn’t as though any of us could have done something to help.”

“You should make the right choice.”

　With words like those, they implicitly urged me to step aside.

　As more people learned of my position, the criticism directed at me only grew.

“Flora, I’m sorry, but I need you to take some time away from work. It isn’t your fault. It’s just that the customers…”

　I stopped receiving seamstress work, and even the shops I frequented indirectly asked me not to return.

　All I could do was avoid the public eye, visit an abandoned church on the outskirts of town, and pray.

　Perhaps I had simply been stubborn, insisting on waiting until I heard the truth from the man himself.

“Flora.”

　I looked up when Elliot called my name.

“Flora, I’m sorry… Emily supported me throughout the war. I fell in love with her…”

• 　—I didn’t want to hear that from you.

　It was absurd that I should think so only now.

　Anger, grief, and disappointment were all there in my heart, yet I couldn’t put any of them into words. Perhaps, without realizing it, I had already given up.

“…I understand, my husband.”

　I had called Elliot “my husband” only a handful of times.

　

　And I was certain this would be the last.

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