“Ah, I was told that I’m a temporary wing. Still, I should be able to assist Your Highness.”
“A temporary one?”
“Yes. A ‘voice’ informed me.”
Banessa’s answer provided a clue amidst the confusion.
‘Could it be that the owner of the voice has given Banessa the power of wings?’
Who could it be? There was someone who immediately came to mind. If there’s an owner of a voice that could grant the power of wings, it surely had to be the goddess.
‘I thought she was asleep, but she must have awoken earlier than expected.’
When receiving the oracle, it was clear she would be asleep for a while, but Banessa’s awakening seemed to suggest she had awoken earlier than anticipated.
“Ah, speaking of which, the voice I heard today was different from before.”
Then, Banessa shared an unexpected story as he explained her awakening.
“If before the voice was genderless, today it was definitely male.”
“A man?”
Leticia blinked in surprise. A genderless voice, that surely was the goddess’s power.
‘Ahwin mentioned something similar.’
Yet, today, he said the voice had changed. This implies that someone other than the goddess intervened in Banessa’s awakening.
‘If it wasn’t the goddess guiding Banessa, then who could it possibly be?’
Suddenly, someone came to mind.
‘Could it be the person who healed me today?’
She distinctly remembered hearing a young man’s voice amidst her daze.
‘If the one who healed me today is the same one who guided Banessa.’
It would mean that there’s a transcendental being, comparable to the goddess, cooperating with her to assist Banessa.
‘Who could it possibly be?’
This time, she had no guesses. Leticia managed to recall one name, however.
[Sure. Sig might scold me again, but it’s fine. After all, I’ll be asleep for the time being.]
Previously, Dinute mentioned a lizard demon named ‘Sig’. Perhaps ‘Sig’ was the one who had assisted her.
‘I’m not sure if it was him who helped me… but I wish to meet him soon.’
Whoever the benefactor was, meeting them would resolve all questions.
The anticipation of that day brought a bright smile to Leticia’s face.
“Banessa, to think you would become my wing, it truly is an honor. Thank you.”
“It’s more of an honor for me. I will do my best not to be a burden to both of Your Highnesses.”
“You have already done enough. Thanks to your power, we were able to repel Balenos.”
“Hehe, I knew it.”
Banessa grinned.
“The ‘voice’ informed me. That Your Highness would be able to control the flame of purification.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes. I don’t know who it was, but the timing was perfect. It cleared up a decade’s worth of congestion. And I was able to give Your Highness a wonderful gift too.”
Banessa chuckled.
“His Highness was very pleased, stepping… ahem. I mean, he was very happy.”
As Banessa excitedly talked, he hesitated and trailed off.
He couldn’t bring herself to tell Leticia about Dietrian’s brutal revenge in its raw form.
Following his gaze, Leticia tilted her head.
Dietrian lowered the teacup he was holding and smiled gently at her.
“Do you have something to say?”
“No… not really.”
Leticia hesitated in her automatic response. Then she remembered Banessa mentioning a ‘gift.’ It seemed like a good opportunity to ask.
“Your Highness, it seems you really liked the gift you received. May I ask what it was?”
Dietrian flinched. The casual question from Leticia was more surprising than expected.
“Do you find my gift intriguing?”
“Well, yes… but…”
Leticia gazed intently at his wavering eyes and smiled gently.
“If you wish to keep it a secret, you don’t have to tell me.”
She didn’t want to embarrass him just to satisfy her curiosity.
“…Thank you.”
“Sigh.”
She wasn’t sure why Banessa also sighed in relief.
‘Must be a secret among men.’
She thought to dismiss it casually, but then a sudden idea struck her.
‘Would it be too much to ask for a sweet kiss in exchange for not prying into the secret?’
Embarrassed by her own thought, Leticia grinned sheepishly. Still, it was something she could fantasize about.
‘Once we’re truly married, I’ll beg him every day.’
I’ll tie your cravat, so please kiss me; I’ll take you for a walk, so hold me tenderly. Like that.
Dietrian, anxious she might inquire further about Tenua, scrutinized her expression and felt strange.
For some reason, he found her loving smile utterly enchanting.
He almost forgot Banessa was there and nearly rushed to kiss Leticia.
Fortunately, Dietrian quickly snapped out of her smile.
“By the way, Your Highness, I have something to deliver to you.”
To divert from the awkward topic, Banessa presented something he had placed on the table.
“I received it from a market merchant. It belongs to Madam Mano, and I thought it best to return it to Your Highness.”
It was, in fact, a fairy tale book of Mano’s.
“My mother’s belongings?”
Dietrian, puzzled, asked as he took the bundle.
“They said it was a book.”
“A book? Why would she take it to the market?”
Just then, Leticia, waking from her sweet reverie, peeked out curiously.
“Ah, she said it was to be a gift for Julios.”
Leticia hesitated, feeling oddly.
‘It was meant to be a gift for Julios… right?’
It made sense. Mano could only have called Julios ‘baby’. But she couldn’t shake off a peculiar thought.
‘But why would she prepare a ribbon for tying hair as a gift for Julios?’
And it wasn’t just that. She called ‘baby’ her daughter and even recognized who she was. These incidents accumulated.
‘If baby isn’t Julios, then who?’
Furthermore.
‘It couldn’t be me, could it?’
The strange idea that she might be Mano’s ‘baby’ kept creeping into her thoughts.
‘No way, that’s impossible. Mano only saw me for the first time today.’
Leticia quickly dismissed the ridiculous notion and looked at the bundle with curiosity.
‘But it seems the baby is a girl. Considering she prepared a hair tie as a gift.’
Who could it be? Despite trying hard to remember, nothing came to mind.
‘Well, it’s not like I know everything about Mano.’
Since she had almost no interaction with Mano, it was plausible she wouldn’t know. Just as she was about to let it go, a sudden curiosity struck her.
‘But how did Mano know my name?’
Previously, Mano knew neither her name nor her face. Confident from their first encounter, she was sure of this.
‘So, what is it?’
A peculiar premonition made her heart race. She couldn’t take her eyes off the gift Mano had prepared. Then, Dietrian’s hand grasped the bundle’s knot.
Leticia watched, unblinking, as if time slowed down, his thick fingers pulling at the knot very slowly. The old fabric unfolded lazily, revealing the item inside.
And the moment she saw the title of the book.
“Gilead”
Leticia’s mind went blank.
‘Gilead?’
Frozen as if turned to ice, Leticia heard the conversation between the two men.
“It’s mother’s fairy tale book. Why would she give her most cherished book to my brother… Ah.”
Dietrian’s lips curled into a bitter smile as he seemed to realize the reason.
“…She wanted to read it to my brother.”
A fervent wish of Mano’s that had never been fulfilled.
“But this time… now that my brother’s remains have returned, it should be better.”
Dietrian said this and then turned to look towards Leticia.
“Leticia, could you possibly return my brother’s remains that are currently kept in your relic? I plan to give them back to my mother as soon as she awakens…”
Dietrian stopped speaking. Leticia’s face, as she looked towards his hand, had turned pale.
“Leticia?”
He straightened up from leaning on the desk.
“What’s wrong?”
“…”
“Leticia!”
Startled, Leticia lifted her head. Dietrian’s mouth tightened at the confusion apparent in her green eyes. He left the fairy tale book on the desk and cupped her cheek.
“Leticia, what’s troubling you?”
“…”
“Leticia!”
Unable to say anything, Leticia just moved her lips. Dietrian quickly said,
“Banessa, fetch a doctor.”
“Understood.”
As soon as Banessa ran out, Dietrian seated Leticia on the sofa. Holding her hands, he gritted his teeth.
‘Her hands are cold.’
Leticia’s hands felt as cold as ice blocks. Massaging one of her hands with one of his, and with his other hand cupping her cheek, he asked,
“Leticia, what happened?”
He then added in a firmer tone,
“I’d prefer if you said something other than ‘I’m okay’.”
Just as Leticia was reflexively about to say she was fine, she flinched.
Dietrian waited for her response with patience, yet with a demeanor that said he wouldn’t back down.
And then, something strange caught his eye.
Leticia was looking towards the desk with an incredibly anxious expression.
The focus of her gaze.
The fairy tale book about Gilead that he had just set down.
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