**Kuro**
Since I was already in the Demon Federal Republic, I decided it was now the time to also talk to Maddie about the incident that led me to go to Cherhom. Yes, I was talking of that time when a group of dwarves attacked the Dupree palace. Not only did that lead to the deaths of those dwarves, it also injured some of my guards, and nearly put Eris in danger.
"…"
Seirna did say it was a conspiracy between the Prince Uhrian, and the other saints, including her. And, well, it was not I was angry; but I like explanations. What they did was something that risked the lives of my loved ones, and I won't tolerate that. Of course, it was an awkward moment, standing in front of the four saints, plus the halfling prince, at the throne room of the Holy Palatial Gardens. I never really asked them straight, yet all of them were averting their eyes from me.
"Your Holinesses, Your Highness the Prince Uhrian," I continued. "If you can just explain to me why did you have to go to such lengths, when you can just send me to that place."
It was Maddie who first tried to answer, but the halfling prince stopped her. "Milord," he spoke slowly, as if thinking of the words before saying it. "You already know the true nature of my 'niece,' Lady Martelle, right?"
"Yes. The soul of the Dwarf Saint rested inside that golem."
"And you know how much she didn't want to go back to the Lord Louis' side."
"I'm aware," I paused for a bit; there was something I was beginning to realize. "Are you saying that you forced that meeting between us, so she can finally confront her past?"
"Yes, milord," Prince Uhrian confirmed. "But please, absolve these ladies of the responsibilities for endangering your household. It had to be done; and those dwarves knew what they were getting into."
"What? Are you saying they came to the estate with axes and hammers, ready to die?"
"In some ways, yes…" the halfling prince averted his eyes. "For they are fanatics, sent to keep an eye on my activities. Hemelin posted them as guards, when really, they did everything to keep track of my activities. As such, I have no love for them."
"Master," Ruro added, "that group you killed were members of the Church of the Golden Hammer, whose loyalty lie more on the side of the church officials than the Lady Helgath's lover. The halfling prince just pointed them towards you, and you got rid of those spies for His Highness."
It didn't satisfy my doubts, even when the Beastman Saint was the one who explained. Eris was nearly killed, and the paladins were injured, too. And in simpler terms, I got used.
"Kuro," the Lady Hinwe entered the conversation. "Look, the Prince Uhrian and us have the same goals; which is, to bring back the Dwarf Saint from her self-exile. Our time is limited. While we support your way of convincing people, reality is, it isn't applicable to our situation right now. So, the Prince decided to hatch a plan to remove the spies sent to watch them, while at the same time, end the madness that is happening in Cherhom/Equality. To make it even more plausible that those dwarves won't suspect anything, he asked for our help. Seeing that we can hit two bird with one stone, that is, to also allow you to meet the Dwarf Saint and get her god-powers, we agreed to it…"
"You can tell it to me; I can keep a secret," I insisted.
"If we tell that to you, Sir G," it was Natasha, "then, by all means, the incident with the Lady Hinwe will happen again."
I was silent. The Demon Saint did make her point. I mean, even inside the body of Lady Martelle, the Dwarf Saint can peer inside our minds. As such, if I, or Lily, knew that everything that happened was a carefully-planned scheme to have us meet, gain trust, and pass the god-powers to me, then we might've never succeeded in our goal.
"Besides," Maddie finally spoke. "You worry too much about Eris. While she herself doesn't know about it, the Paladins do, hence, they made proper countermeasures to keep her safe. It's just that, the injuries on some of the ladies is part of the unexpected aspects of battles."
But what about me? I got into danger as well.
"It was a gamble on the side of Prince Uhrian," the Human Saint added. "And he knows…if something real bad happened to you, I will destroy their cities." The fact that she was smiling when she said that brought chills to all of us, especially to the halfling prince.
"Milord…I-I made sure they got the wrong information," he defended himself. "Nevertheless, I ask for your forgiveness. Please look at this as something that is beneficial to both of us; the Dwarf Saint is back, and you also have her god-powers. And if you deem that as something insufficient, then I offer my entire household in service to you."
"That won't be necessary, Your Highness," I declared. "It's not like I can't understand your reasons; I'm just afraid it might happen again in the future. Still, I forgive your actions."
"Th-Thank you, milord."
"Kuro…" Maddie called my attention to her.
"Yep?"
"You're misunderstanding something," she said. "While we did agree on the Prince Uhrian's schemes, please remember that this happened because we need the god-powers of the Dwarf Saint. You know yourself that there are times when leaders have to decide something that is out of their moral convictions, right? But, that's it. You already have the god-powers; I can't see any other reason for you to risk your life. If such an event comes, you can be sure I'll lay waste to the fief of your enemies."
"Yes, I support the yandere," the Lady Hinwe smirked. "Aren't you, too, guys?"
"If it's my Master, then I'm in," Ruro declared, while her tails wagged. "But I do think Maddie needs to chill down a little."
"Heh, I'm just confident that Sir G will destroy anyone who stands his way," Natasha added. "He's my teacher, see?"
The Prince Uhrian and I exchanged confused looks. After all, he wondered how could I keep these ladies calm…