SBTMK Chapter 27

Leva, seeming to have finally steadied her feelings, spoke again in a voice that still trembled slightly.

"Your life ahead won't be smooth sailing either."

"……."

"More than anything, love—finding it with the one you're meant to love—will be the most dangerous and painful part. You'll suffer a great deal. It will feel harder than everything you've already come through. But if you overcome that trial, you'll be able to have everything you've dreamed of."

It felt like spring rain, dripping at last onto dried-out ground—but that was all it was.

Love. A lover.

Those words had nothing to do with Flora.

"I'm sorry, but there won't be love or a lover in my life. Not that kind of thing."

Leva didn't flinch at her firm answer. She only smiled, her eyes curving gently.

"My lady. There's nothing in our lives we can promise with certainty. You might fall in love with someone you meet on your way home today, for all anyone knows."

"……."

"But if your resolve is firm, that's a fortunate thing. If the one thing most likely to bring you hardship never comes at all—how peaceful would your life be, your heart?"

The old woman's eyes glinted, just for a moment.

To Flora, it looked exactly like being laughed at.

Something caught in her chest like a thorn.

Someone she'd kept carefully hidden away. And his warmth, along with him.

Having every part of herself seen through by a stranger was not, by any measure, a pleasant feeling.

In the end, Flora was the one who looked away first.

When the conversation seemed to have finished, Simen, who had been listening quietly beside her, moved.

"Thank you, Leva. That was an interesting story. I'll settle the payment."

"No need, Your Majesty. If my humble ability was of some help to you, that's satisfaction enough."

Leva held her ground stubbornly to the end, and Simen was left with no choice but to simply rise from his seat.

They exchanged parting words and were heading for the door when Leva's voice reached her from behind.

"My lady."

"……."

"The god Arzeka always gives us choices in our lives. What I've said is, at most, one choice among countless others. I hope you make the right one, and that you find happiness."

"……Thank you. Leva."

With that final exchange, Simen and Flora left the shop.

She'd heard nothing but useless nonsense, and yet something still felt unresolved, sticky, and heat kept rising to her forehead.

Why, in that moment, had Simen's face come to mind?

Flora was swept up in the sensation of having had everything exposed simply because she couldn't manage even one of her own feelings.

She had, from the start, sensed that whatever she felt toward Simen was different from what was ordinary, that it was strange. But she had never once considered it might be the "love" the old woman spoke of.

But then why—

"You all right?"

Simen lightly gripped her shoulder as she stood frozen like a child who'd lost her way.

Flora had been staring blankly at Simen, who bent at the waist to meet her eyes, before she caught herself and dropped her head hastily.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine to me at all."

"I just listened to some useless talk and now my head's ringing. Honestly. It's not as though she saw the past or future with magic or anything."

Unable to do anything with the emotions churning in her, Flora deliberately grumbled, working to scrub the feeling off her face.

"No need to hold onto it. You said it yourself, before we went in—that you don't believe in that sort of thing."

"Still, having heard it, it's unpleasant."

"It's dangerous. Forget it quickly."

"Why is it dangerous?"

"Because if anything even slightly similar happens in your life, you'll start believing it's real. And you'll go looking for more."

"……If something similar—hm, is there any chance I might fall in love with someone on my way back to the palace right now?"

Simen's eyes met hers, steady. Today of all days, that gaze felt strangely hot.

She could feel the heat rising to her face. Flora, flustered, had just taken a step back—

"……Flora."

Her wrist was caught. She was pulled lightly toward him. By the time she came back to herself, she was already inside a warm embrace.

"You all right?"

She hadn't heard someone running toward them. It seemed Simen had caught her before she could collide with them.

Ta-dak. Ta-dak. Listening to the footsteps of whoever it was receding into the distance, Flora felt her own heart pounding hard.

A gentle voice, and eyes full of worry, and a warm embrace. Down to the warm breath landing lightly on her forehead.

Everything about it was, truly, perfect.

It was exactly the kind of moment people fall in love in.

As if some god were playing a joke.

She didn't remember how she'd made it back to the palace.

Only that she'd fixed a time for their next meeting, and had come fleeing into her room as if escaping.

Her mind felt fogged over, as if her memories had been cut into fragments.

She hadn't fallen asleep or lost consciousness, but she was, without question, in some state resembling one.

'—There's no way I'm in my right mind.'

Her heart wouldn't stop pounding, and every time her eyes met his, even her ears seemed to flush red—she simply couldn't concentrate on anything at all.

She'd even begun to suspect this fortune-teller Leva might have secretly cast some kind of magic on her.

"……My lady?"

Feeling stifled, she'd stepped out into the small garden in front of the lodging.

Flora, who'd been pacing nearby, was pulled from her thoughts by Eden's voice reaching her faintly.

"Oh, Eden."

"What were you doing?"

"Just looking at the garden. The flowers have bloomed beautifully."

Flora held onto her scattered thoughts and offered a faint smile.

"Where are you headed, Eden?"

"Me? I was on my way to see you, my lady."

"……Ah."

"Are you feeling all right?"

Eden narrowed his eyes slightly, watching her nod.

"You don't look like you're doing well."

"It's not that I'm sick. My mind's just a bit complicated."

"Did something happen?"

Eden studied her carefully.

Her face was practically dripping with worry—there was no pretending not to notice.

"It's not anything worth making a big deal about."

This lady didn't seem to realize that her reluctance to reveal what was going on inside only made him worry more.

But Eden didn't press. He simply offered a faint smile.

"Eden, would you walk with me? I don't feel like going back to my room right now."

"Whenever you'd like, my lady."

Flora started walking. Eden followed slowly beside her.

Moving her body was better than sitting with useless thoughts.

"You weren't in your room this afternoon. Where did you go?"

"I went to the plaza. I hadn't been outside once since coming to the palace."

"Ah…… you must have enjoyed it."

"I did! There was a lot to see, and the food was good too."

Flora talked about the things she'd done at the plaza as they came to her.

Eden listened calmly and laughed along with her. The tangled feeling in her chest seemed to ease a little.

"When shall I show you around the temple?"

"Whenever you're not busy, Eden."

"I could always manage to not be busy for you, my lady."

Flora gave Eden a sidelong look at his shameless lie.

Lugaria had mentioned something about Eden once.

A candidate for the next High Priest, on top of being the Emperor's personal physician. He'd certainly be busy.

When she hadn't known, she could ask him innocently to show her around like a child—but now that she knew, it felt like adding a needless burden, and she hesitated.

Maybe the god Arzeka would punish her for working their cherished priest to the bone as she pleased.

When Flora didn't answer and hesitated, Eden spoke again.

"How about tomorrow? I'm relatively free in the morning. Do you have plans?"

"Ah…… no. Tomorrow's good!"

"Then I'll come get you in the morning."

She felt more at ease letting him settle the arrangement. Flora nodded.

Before she knew it, walking had brought them back in front of the Holy Knights' lodging.

Flora stopped, and Eden stopped beside her.

"Eden. I'll go on in now."

"Has your mind eased a little?"

"Hm, for now. But I don't think it's fully resolved."

It didn't seem to be a feeling she could name in one sudden moment.

It wasn't the kind of territory she could carelessly judge and handle.

Flora laughed awkwardly, and Eden spoke gently.

"When your mind is confused, sometimes it helps to just let it flow wherever it goes. Leave it to whatever fate the god has laid out. It sounds like an irresponsible answer for your own life, but when no answer comes, it's not bad to try that once in a while."

"Do you have moments like that too, Eden? When you can't suppress your thoughts, or can't suppress your feelings?"

"……Of course. I'm human too, you know."

"What do you do, then?"

"I just let it be. However I feel. Whatever comes to mind. As long as it doesn't drift somewhere bad, I don't think it matters much either way. I think of it all as Arzeka's will and follow along."

"……."

"If you make proper time to look at the feelings running wild inside you, sometimes the answer shows itself, too."

Flora pressed her lips together. It was exactly the kind of answer Eden would give.

"Whatever it is, don't rush yourself too much. Then I'll be off. May Arzeka's grace dwell with you, my lady."

"May Arzeka's grace dwell with you, Eden."

Flora offered the blessing back to Eden as he bowed politely, and then stepped into the Holy Knights' lodging.

Simen sat with a blank expression, gripping his own hand and letting it go, over and over.

〈Your Majesty. Is there something troubling you?〉

It had already been thirty minutes.

Watching his lord in silence for as long as he could bear, Erne finally asked.

Simen, blinking as if only now returning to himself, shook his head.

"It's nothing."

It clearly wasn't nothing, but pressing further wasn't going to make Simen answer honestly.