It's been three weeks since I've been here.
I was finally able to eat three meals a day every single day but somehow, I'm not happy.
"Saintess Flourel, are you ready?"
At the priest's words I stood up and covered my head with a white vail.
"Just follow what you're told to do and fulfill your role as the Saintess. Don't make any mistake"
The head priest said in a cold tone, so I nervously nodded my head to him.
Everyone has been calling me Saintess since I was sent here.
They were kind to me and never said mean things, but why do feel bad to be in here?
I looked up at the head priest who was an elf. He had long ears and a grey hair and beard.
I heard that elves could get a glimpse of the future. I wonder if there's something he'd seen that he seemed to not like me.
I closed my eyes and stopped my raging heart from beating loudly because of nervousness.
Today is the day that I'll participate in a Church's ceremony that happens once in a month.
It was supposed to be done by Saintess Amelia after learning how to use her healing power.
But I heard that she hasn't manifested it yet, so I'll be doing it in her stead.
With my healing powers I will help many people and make them happy!
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The one and only prince of Rimeheldra Kingdom. Thierry Rimel Heldravil
He was born with everything in his life, whether it was wealth or power.
And he was expected to become the future king of their Kingdom.
From the very day he was born it was inevitable that he will get engaged with anyone that the Queen and King would choose for him.
When Amelia was born, she was immediately chosen to be his fiancée for being a Saintess despite the Earl's protest.
It took years until the Earl gave in and their engagement was now finalized.
But in just a year of their engagement an unexpected happened with the appearance of a second Saintess.
Everyone in the palace told him to refrain from doing any social activities for now especially on meeting up either of the two Saintesses.
But despite their words, Amelia is still his fiancée and friend.
Rumors are being said badly about Amelia right now because of Flourel's benevolent action of healing people.
And he wants to be there for Amelia to know if she's doing okay or not.
*knock* *knock*
Thierry looked at the door and let the person in.
"I greet his Highness the prince. I'm here to tell you that her Majesty the Queen has called for you"
The head maid said and bowed down.
Knowing what's coming for him, Thierry simply nodded his head and followed behind the maid.
"Thierry…"
The Queen called with a heavy tone and seriousness in her face.
"I see you mother"
Thierry greeted without minding the glare of his mother.
"I heard you're visiting the Azraels today"
His mother started and her expression crumpled.
Thierry's face remained unchanged as he looked back at his mother and nodded.
"Arg, do you know what they call her nowadays? A fake Saintess!! A bitch who stole the title from the real one!"
"Mother!!"
At those words Thierry shouted angrily.
"But it's true!! She can't even heal nor do anything!"
"Still, she's my fiancée Mother! And we became friends after meeting each other!"
At those words, the Queen closed her eyes and breathe heavily.
"Right, ugh. It's all my fault our fault…"
The Queen mumbled while holding her head.
"We should have waited for another year before making a decision. Now the royal family is being mocked by everybody for getting fooled by her"
"What!?"
Thierry looked at his mother in shock at her absurd words.
"How could you say that after pestering the Azraels to marry her into the family!"
He can't believe that his family won't even admit that it's all their fault.
"If only she wasn't a fake then everything would have been fine! So, for now don't meet her. Flourel will soon be adopted to my family and I'll get you married with her then"
"I refuse Mother!"
He shouted and banged his hand on the table.
"Thierry, what's with your attitude? You used to listen to me but because of that fake now you're doing this"
The Queen shook her head and looked at Thierry with disappointment in her eyes.
"Stay in your room and don't go out"
She said and stood up, leaving Thierry behind.
Thierry clenched his fist and remembered Amelia.
Despite not having any feelings towards her, she's still his only friend that he was able to get along with.
Amelia never hid the real her towards him, so he felt more comfortable to be with her than anyone else.
"Luke, I have a favor to ask you"
Thierry said while looking at the servant named Luke.
"Yes, your highness. Please tell me what you want"
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The Queen sighed heavily after meeting her son.
She walked back to her chambers and met with the Head Priest.
"I did what you told me after you said that it involves the destruction of the Kingdom"
The Head Priest nodded and said his thanks.
"Is it true that my son… In the future"
The Queen mumbled still not believing the Head Priest, but her eyes are still filled with worries towards her son.
"If the Prince doesn't fall in love with Lady Amelia then we can prevent the destruction"
The Queen heaved a sigh of relief and looked back at the Priest with determination.
"I need Lady Flourel's help for that, right? Make sure her adoption in my family will be finalized soon"
"Yes, the Marquess Velmour had already given his approval for it"
"Good. But Head Priest, just know that if you're lying and only using me. You know I won't let this go"
The Queen said with a fierce look on her face.
"I promise in my family's name and faith towards the almighty that I'm not lying"
The Head Priest said while bowing with his right hand in his left chest.
"You can leave"
The Queen said and sat back down to her couch as she watched the Head Priest disappear.
She held her head in pain and grumbled.
"Just who is this Witch he's talking about? One who's strong enough to destroy everything"
The Queen mumbled and sighed.
"Do you want to have some tea, your Majesty?"
The Head maid asked with a bow and the Queen finally calmed down.
"Please do"
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Despite his mother's words, Thierry headed to the Azraels to meet Amelia.
"You're finally here! That took a while, Prince"
Amelia greeted Thierry and happily showed him the way.
"My apologies. I will make sure to not do this again"
Thierry said with a smile and looked at Amelia.
"Ah and didn't you mention that you want to meet my sister before? Rem befriended Teressa two weeks ago and I thought that it would be good to introduce you to her too"
Thierry looked back at Amelia with complicated expression.
Somehow, he felt disappointed that it's not just the two of them.
But he also thought that it is an opportunity to finally meet the girl in the rumors. The very person that Amelia treasured the most.
When the prince arrived at the garden, what he saw shocked him.
[It's black] Thierry thought so while looking at Remil's black hair.
He heard the rumors about it and people in the palace keeps saying it's ominous, but he never knew that it was appealing to look at compared to what he thought.
In contrast to the colorful and beautiful garden in the background, Remil Azrael could simply draw people's attention just because of her hair color.
[And what's with the mask? Somehow it suits her]
Thierry tried to stop his thoughts and put a perfect smile on his face.
"I greet you Lady Remil Azrael. My name is Thierry Rimel Heldravil"
He said and was shocked to realize that he is a prince so it should have been Remil who should greet him first.
Even Amelia was looking at him in surprise.
"Haha"
He tried to laugh it off and straightened his back.
But what added more to his surprise was the masked Remil who simply nodded her head in acceptance to his greeting.
It felt like Thierry was meeting a royalty and not the Earl's daughter, so he felt bewildered.
"Remil!"
Amelia shouted in a panic and whispered 'He is a prince' to Remil.
Finally, Remil realized her mistake and she stood up.
"I greet… thee"
She mumbled and bowed her head.
Thierry felt dumbfounded at the twin's skit in front of him.
He looked at Amelia who was staring at him with a sorry face and shook his head to let Remil do her thing.
Somehow, he felt that he shouldn't mess with Remil for something like this.
The three of them then sat down after the introduction and soon their tea and snacks arrived.
"So, how have you been Lady Amelia?"
Thierry started with a smile on his face.
"I'm doing great! And these days have been very fun because Remil joins me occasionally for some teatime!!"
Amelia exclaimed while looking very proud of Remil.
Thierry's face twitched as it was not the answer he was expecting.
"Well, I guess now that Lady Remil is here. We don't really have to talk about her, do we?"
Thierry said with a smiling face, but it also felt like he's not smiling.
Remil who sensed something is wrong looked back at Thierry and glared at him.
Though because she's wearing a mask, no one noticed it.
"Yeah, you're right. What do you want to hear? I can't really think of anything if it does not involve Remil"
Amelia pondered and looked back at Remil with honey dripping in her eyes.
"Haha, is that so…"
Thierry mumbled and looked at Amelia who seemed to not be lying at all.
"Then I guess let's only talk about her…"
Thierry added in defeat. He thought that no matter what questions he asks there's still going to be the name Remil being mentioned in it.
Soon their conversation went to the direction where the only topic is Remil.
They discussed about how to make Remil get used to meeting people by having a small tea party together.
Thierry also gave his own opinion on why Remil is avoiding people.
He stated that there must have been a reason and it's not just laziness like they thought.
Thierry felt like a father to Remil somehow and looking at Amelia she felt like a mother to her too.
[Agh, what are you thinking about!?] He grumbled and tried to calm down his beating heart.
Then suddenly Amelia talked about how smart Remil is, so Thierry immediately asked some questions to prove it.
"The date of Hero Abigail's downfall?"
"Year 1087 using the calendar of the Elven Kingdom and Year 106 using the calendar of Rimeheldra from the beginning of its foundation"
"The son of Duke from Acrevon Kingdom who is a genius in languages and was a renowned painter and author"
"He is the second son of the Milter family, Hervin Milter"
"The name of the Captain of Royal knights in the present?"
"Captain Rover Vanco from the Marquis Vanco family"
"The name of the ages when the monster invaded the world?"
"It is called The Judgement day theorized to be caused by the wrath of the Sleeping dragons"
"Huh, you do know a lot…"
Thierry mumbled in amazement.
He knows how smart he is compared to his peers but to think that someone would be on par with him like this.
"Are you done?"
At Amelia's words Thierry finally snapped back to reality and cleared his throat in embarrassment.
They've been exchanging quizzes and answers for two hours now.
"Well, it's a good thing that Rem seems to be having fun like this!"
Amelia said and laughed while brushing Remil's hair with her hand.
[What about me?] Thierry thought so by looking jealously at Remil but he tried to brush it off because he felt like he's been thinking weird lately.
Soon the sun was about to set, and they all decided to end their teatime.
"I'll see you off, Prince"
Amelia said and stood up.
Thierry nodded feeling thankful and looked back at Remil.
"Let's meet again, Lady Remil"
He said and held out his hand.
Remil looked down at it and reluctantly shook the prince's hand.
Before the Prince left, he warned Amelia about their engagement getting called off.
But to his surprise.
"Is that so?"
Amelia simply mumbled and shrugged her shoulder.
It made him feel sad for a bit, but he also thinks that if Amelia was fine with it then he should also be.
When the prince left Amelia looked back at Remil and asked.
"What do you think about the prince?"
At Amelia's question Remil shook her head.
"He seems dangerous"
Amelia tilted her head in confusion because of Remil's seriousness.
"Never seduce him, Lia"
She warned.