Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 462: Praise for the Saint
Escorted by Duke Barriera’s territorial soldiers, Tauro and his companions proceeded toward the duke’s residence beneath a storm of cheers from the city’s residents.
Only a short while earlier, those same people had welcomed Matilda’s official carriage. Now they were far more excited by the group that had extinguished four fires before they could become catastrophic.
Of course, the person they were cheering as the Saint was Aeris, not Matilda.
“Then who was in the Saint’s carriage we saw earlier?”
“Perhaps the Saint wasn’t riding in it at all.”
“That must be it! She stayed behind to save the city and is only going to the castle now!”
The residents built one mistaken explanation upon another while showering Aeris and her companions with gratitude.
“Thank you!”
“You saved our homes!”
“She truly looks like a Saint!”
Tauro’s group had no idea how to respond.
“Commander, as I have explained several times, we’re only members of the Saint’s entourage. Aeris isn’t the Saint.”
Tauro moved closer to the officer leading them, but the surrounding cheers were deafening.
“What did you say? I can’t hear you!”
Tauro raised his voice.
“Aeris isn’t the Saint!”
“There’s no need to deny it so insistently. I understand!”
The commander still seemed convinced that they were merely being modest or protecting Aeris’s privacy.
This is getting nowhere.
Tauro looked back at Aeris and shook his head. She answered with a weary sigh.
They eventually left the cheering residents behind and entered Duke Barriera’s residence.
There, Tauro showed the crested pen he had received from the Prime Minister and explained the situation properly.
Duke Barriera himself remained in the Royal Capital, so his eldest son, Viscount Musai, received them in his place.
“I see. Please accept my apologies for the confusion, and my sincere thanks for extinguishing the fires. I’ve heard a great deal about you from my father, Lord Tauro. In fact, I was the one he asked to select that pen as your gift.”
Viscount Musai smiled and gave Tauro a friendly pat on the shoulder.
The viscount was a man in his mid-thirties. Like his father, he had an intelligent air, while his sturdy build suggested that he was also trained in combat.
“Then I owe you my thanks for choosing such a fine gift,” Tauro replied.
“You’ve already repaid it many times over by saving the city. As for the misunderstanding surrounding the Saint, we’ll handle it discreetly. I doubt the daughter of Marquis Van Dyne would appreciate being called a Saint in front of the actual [True Saint].”
Musai gave a small, knowing nod to Aeris, who stood behind Tauro. His words made it clear that he knew about Maria.
“Thank you, Viscount Musai,” Aeris said.
“Where are Saint Matilda and the rest of the delegation now?” Tauro asked.
“They’ve been shown to their rooms to rest. You’ll also be given time to recover before the welcome banquet. Please guide Lord Tauro and his companions to the special guest rooms.”
The servants separated the men and women and escorted them to luxurious rooms apart from the main body of the Saint’s entourage.
The most important representatives, including Saint Matilda, Marquis Donaissun of the Kingdom of Luwan, and the Crown Prince of Sart, had private chambers. Most of the remaining attendants shared large rooms arranged by group. Tauro and his companions were therefore receiving conspicuous special treatment.
Members of the entourage who didn’t know what had happened began to speculate.
Most of the malicious rumors came from Suguro, the grandson of Marquis Halagoura, and his followers. They claimed that Marquis Van Dyne’s daughter had used her status to demand preferential treatment from Duke Barriera’s household.
The rumors soon reached the Crown Prince, who demanded an explanation from Viscount Musai.
Musai responded with flawless diplomacy. He explained that Aeris and her companions had made an exceptional contribution by extinguishing the fires in the castle town, and that the rooms were simply a token of gratitude. He further stated that they had attributed their achievement to the Saint’s influence and praised the Crown Prince’s thorough leadership as head of the Sart delegation.
The Crown Prince appeared satisfied by this flattering explanation and chose not to pursue the matter.
“Am I truly that popular in the city already?” Matilda asked when her Luwan attendants reported what they had heard.
She didn’t understand why the residents’ enthusiasm had increased so dramatically.
“They say the fires were extinguished through the Saint’s influence. The entire city is praising you and shouting, ‘Long live the Saint!’ This is the warmest reception we have encountered anywhere.”
The followers who had heard the rumors in the castle town eagerly repeated the praise.
“Is that so? Very well. If they expect that much from me, I suppose I should put a little more effort into tomorrow’s [Blessing].”
Matilda’s mood brightened immediately.
In truth, the praise had originated from Aeris’s actions. Neither the Crown Prince nor Viscount Musai, however, had any reason to correct the misunderstanding, and Aeris’s group had no desire to explain it to Matilda either.