Chapter 447: Sending the Saint Back

Tauro, Aeris, and Ragune instantly returned to the Count Graundewald residence in the royal capital and hurried to the parlor where the “Saint” Matilda was waiting with a disgruntled expression.

“I’m sorry for taking so long.”

As Tauro returned with Aeris and Ragune, he was met with a sharp response.

“Who did you bring with you?”

Matilda’s mood was not good.

“This is our fellow adventurer, Aeris, the daughter of Marquis Vandyne, a powerful upper-ranking noble within the kingdom.”

“The Marquis’ daughter?!”

Even Matilda, the “Saint” that she was, rose from her chair upon hearing that she was the daughter of a marquis.

“Good day, ‘Saint’.”

Aeris respectfully greeted Matilda and began to explain the situation.

She spoke sincerely and carefully about the potential disturbance that might already be brewing in the royal palace, and how if by chance anything were to happen to the “Saint,” the alliance between our kingdom and the Kingdom of Luwan could collapse, resulting in everyone present here  being held responsible and possibly facing punishment.

Overwhelmed by Aeris’s mature charm and beauty, along with her apparent genuine demeanor, “Saint” Matilda found herself nodding in agreement.

“…Fine, I understand. I’ll return to the royal palace to save face for Miss Aeris.”

Though Matilda was still sulking, she decided to obediently follow Aeris’s advice.

“Then, Tauro, please ask Count Graundewald to prepare the carriage. —Oh, and you mustn’t let anyone know the ‘Saint’ is here. If they find out, things will only escalate.”

After conveying this, Aeris decided to keep Saint Matilda company while they prepared.

Matilda seemed to warm up to Aeris and began to share some personal stories.

It turns out she originally came from a commoner background, but once the Royal Family of luwan learned she was a “Saint,” she was adopted into a Viscount family, where she received extensive education and training before later being taken by a Count family.

From there, she became under the protection of the royal family and traveled around the country to give her “blessings,” building her reputation.

She lived like this, constantly under the watchful eye of the royal family, but once her accomplishments were deemed sufficient, she was officially announced to the public.

The “Saint” craze ensued in the country, raising support for the royal family, and now she was visiting here, a friendly ally country, with an eye on their influence on other countries.

By having the famous Prime Minister appraise her character and officially approve her, she would become the most recognized woman and a powerful diplomatic card in the future.

“‘Blessing,’ huh?”

Aeris seemed to have her own thoughts on the matter as she slightly tilted her head but chose not to say anything and continued to listen to Matilda’s story.

“I plan to become famous as the ‘Saint’ and marry a wonderful prince. I’ve been looking for my ideal prince, and I found a wonderful prince in this country. The half-elf Prince Fleue is the same age as me, and is very handsome and kind. Don’t you think we make a great match? He’s one of the few people who can stand beside the ‘Saint!’”

Matilda had the expression of a lovesick girl as she seemed to be imagining Prince Fleue in her mind.

Your Highness, run away! Run for your life!

Tauro warned his friend silently in his heart.

When their eyes met, Aeris shared a wry smile, seemingly feeling the same way as Tauro.

While they were having this conversation, the carriage was ready.

They quickly loaded Matilda into the carriage, and together with Aeris, Ragune, and Zion as escorts, Tauro took a seat beside the coachman, while Ankh stood on the rear ledge as they headed toward the royal castle.

When they arrived at the royal castle, as expected, there was quite a commotion.

The Royal Guards and the Knights of the Kingdom were all in full force.

At first, the search had been conducted discreetly so as not to escalate the situation.

However, after hearing the story from some of the nobles accompanying the Saint who had been left waiting near the castle gate, the royal entourage began searching around the castle perimeter, still moving discreetly. The search party encountered a suspicious group, which resulted in a fight.

It seemed that some foreign forces were attempting to kidnap the ‘Saint’ during her outing.

However, after capturing that suspicious group, they committed suicide, making it impossible to gather any information.

At this point, the royal family finally concluded that the Saint was in clear danger and began a public search.

In the midst of this, a carriage bearing the family Crest of the Graundewald Household arrived at the royal castle.

Since Tauro, wielding a small sword bearing the royal family crest, was on the coachman’s seat, they were granted passage.

“…It seems to be a bigger uproar than I expected,” Tauro said as he spoke to Aeris and the others through the small window between the driver’s seat and the cabin.

Tauro and the others were uneasy, as they had never expected that a group targeting the Saint would appear.

Upon arriving at the palace, the Royal Guards were on high alert, fortifying the gates. Here, too, Tauro’s small sword bearing the royal crest proved effective.

As the way was cleared for them to enter the palace with the carriage, a guard called out to Tauro.

“Oh? Is that you in the driver’s seat, lord Tauro?”

When Tauro turned in that direction, he recognized a familiar face.

“Oh! It’s been a while! Thank you for your help back then!”

　The person Tauro greeted was the royal knight who had risked his life to protect Aeris during the marquis family incident.

“Lord Tauro, may I check inside the carriage just to be safe?” the imperial guard asked seriously.

“Um… inside is…──” Tauro hesitated, thinking it would cause a major problem if he answered honestly, but the. Aeris appeared from inside.

“Thank you for your assistance back then, Sir Knight.”

Aeris greeted the knight with a smile.

“Oh! Marquis Vandyne’s! —You’ve changed so much! You’ve become so beautiful…”

“Excuse me, but I have an urgent appointment with Prince Fleue. Is that alright?”

“Understood! I apologize for the inconvenience!”

The knight made way for them.

Phew. If the ‘Saint’ showed up right here, we would definitely be surrounded and detained. No matter what we said, we would end up being interrogated, right?

Tauro felt a cold sweat running down his back and signaled the coachman to move forward.

Once they entered the royal palace,  it was so quiet that it was hard to believe the commotion outside.

After searching thoroughly, the palace appeared unusually disheveled, which was rare, with servants visible here and there cleaning up, but other than that, it was silent.

When Tauro stopped the carriage, he quickly helped Matilda down.

“Then, ‘Saint’-sama! I would like to ask you to please consider that you have been here in the palace from the beginning,” he said, bowing his head from the coachman’s seat.

“I know!” Matilda replied, sounding irritable, as she went into the palace.

“…I hope this prevented us from getting into any major trouble…”

 Tauro exhaled a sigh of relief and told the coachman, “Let’s go home.”

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