Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 54: The Struggle
Crown Prince Alexis went to the audience chamber after being urgently summoned by a Royal Guard messenger.
He emerged shortly afterward, unable to hide his anger.
His chamberlain watched with concern.
The king’s urgent proposal was to end Alexis’s engagement to Amanda Aime Beresford and marry him to a foreign princess whose country sought a connection to the holy sword’s prestige.
Alexis clenched bloodless fists and strode away.
—Duke Ziemeld probably whispered something to him. The Beresfords must have become inconvenient…
Amanda’s House of Beresford led the kingdom’s largest defensive faction, guarding its central and southern borders. Even during the northern undead campaign, they had quietly deterred invasions and bandit attacks elsewhere.
—I relied too heavily on Amanda. Even so, for now…
Raising the issue now must relate to Flora Kadira. Conversely, it suggested something inconvenient that an enemy wished to avoid. Alexis pictured the girl he trusted above all others and considered irreplaceable.
“Send word to House Beresford. Tell the marquis I wish to speak with him. Also summon a low-ranking knight named Kevin. I have a task for him.”
A foolish scandal had left Alexis politically weak, with few pieces remaining to play. Yet he couldn’t ignore his sense of approaching disaster.
“House Ziemeld is unquestionably planning something. Father is so easy for them to manipulate.”
He murmured after returning to his chamber.
His father, the present king, concealed a longstanding inferiority complex about his mediocrity as a ruler. Ironically, even his son considered him incapable of handling great responsibility.
Despite that mediocrity, his gentle nature might have kept him from becoming a foolish king in peaceful times.
—The holy sword is a troublesome and unexpected power. To a weak heart, excessive power becomes poison.
Alexis gazed through the window and sighed.
He had many things to protect. No matter how small, he couldn’t abandon them and could only struggle to hold on.
◆◆◆
Emily slipped from her room and ran to the cathedral.
She already knew that prayer was no longer her only purpose.
She had secluded herself while claiming illness, terrified that Elliot or the high-ranking knights might visit.
What did they think of her behavior at the extermination? She had always appeared selfless. It was the first time they had seen her retreat, and she could imagine how disconcerting it must have seemed.
Emily wasn’t too foolish to understand. That very understanding intensified her fear.
—Even if they notice and question me, I can’t answer. I don’t know why either…
If only she could blame someone else for losing her power.
—It isn’t my fault. I never claimed to be a saint. Everyone else raised me up. Why must I suffer now?
As those thoughts swirled, she clasped her trembling hands in a posture of prayer. At least then, no one would disturb Emily or voice doubts.
The cathedral’s heavy doors opened and someone entered. She closed her eyes and held her breath.
“Saint, you’re praying again today. Your devotion is admirable.”
At the familiar calm voice, Emily opened her eyes.
“Lord Dylan…”
Dylan Agreas Ziemeld remained handsome and youthful at thirty. His warm expression held no shadow. Relieved, Emily’s shoulders relaxed.
Agreas looked toward the Goddess’s statue and murmured as if to himself.
“A priest’s magic and the power a saint’s prayers call forth are different. Otherwise, every renowned priest would be called a saint. That’s why your prayers are special.”
The words comforted and encouraged the distressed Emily. Her cheeks warmed as she looked up at Agreas.
“Then… my prayers aren’t in vain?”
Agreas couldn’t possibly know her condition, yet his words felt like salvation. The beautiful man turned and smiled, and she gazed at him in search of refuge.
—That’s right. Everyone said I brought forth the holy sword…
Clinging to that last hope, Emily resumed her pose of prayer.