Chapter 89

Hmm, they suit well.

Although her mind thought so, her heart didn’t quite agree.

Moreover, she disliked how she had rushed here so hastily. It made her feel like a wife suffering from delusions of jealousy. 

She felt so pathetic that she briefly considered turning back.

“Shaterian.”

Before she realized it, Eched had approached her. 

Looking down at her, who had followed him all the way here, Eched chuckled.

“Could it be that threats didn’t work, so you went to see His Majesty?”

It seemed he had witnessed everything she had said earlier to the soldier.

How embarrassing. If he had seen it, couldn’t he have pretended not to? Why did he have to bring it up?

Feeling a bit grumpy, she muttered to Eched under her breath.

“Didn’t seeing that make you want to take me along?”

“Because you’re precious to me. I don’t want you to get involved in anything dangerous anymore.”

“……”

His serious response left her at a loss for words.

‘His deflection skills are maxed out. Truly maxed out.’

Come to think of it, Eched was exceptionally skilled at navigating crises. No matter how much she tried to corner him, he always slipped away like an eel.

But why did no one suspect that she came here out of jealousy? Neither His Majesty nor Eched.

She wasn’t some reckless child detective who jumped into every incident she saw.

Feeling a bit annoyed by how they treated her like a naive child, she crossed her arms.

…Although she couldn’t entirely deny their perception of her.

“Ahem.”

“Lady Shaterian!”

At that moment, Anella intervened between them.

Anella, who could not leave the Imperial Palace due to her circumstances, had been sending letters through Eched to inquire about her well-being. 

The letters, crumpled in places, clearly conveyed Anella’s concern for her.

“I heard from the Commander that you’ve returned to work. Are you feeling better?”

“Yes. But what were you doing?”

At her question, Anella pouted as if she had just remembered something unpleasant.

“Really… Don’t even get me started. I’ve never met someone as impossible to communicate with as the Commander.”

“Pardon?”

The atmosphere seemed fine earlier, though…

Seizing the opportunity, Anella began voicing her complaints about Eched. 

Her main grievance was not just his lack of communication but his perpetually unreadable expression, making it impossible to discern his emotions.

Anella’s audacity to voice her frustrations directly in front of Eched was impressive, as was Eched’s patience in listening to everything without interruption.

“Why would you marry someone like him…? Lady Shaterian, you’re far too good for him!”

“Saintess, you don’t seem to understand the concept of marriage. Isn’t marriage a sacred union between individuals whose hearts are aligned?”

Eched, as if proud that their hearts were supposedly aligned, wore a smug expression.

Anella, unable to refute, looked frustrated, while Shaterian stared at Eched with a perplexed face.

Why is he so proud? It’s not like we got married because our hearts were aligned.

It was merely a contract based on mutual interests, nothing more.

Letting out a small sigh, she glanced at the two, who seemed ready to engage in a battle of wills.

This won’t do. At this rate, they’ll start arguing.

To change the subject, she quickly shifted her gaze to the thick book Anella had been reading.

“What’s that?”

“Oh! Please take a look at this!”

Anella eagerly thr*st the thick book toward her.

Beneath the massive illustration of a tree that filled the page was the word “World Tree.”

“The World Tree…?”

“Yes! This is the so-called tree of the gods, the World Tree.”

Anella quickly turned the page.

Was I the only one worried that Anella’s delicate wrists might give out under the weight of the book?

“Shall we sit down and talk?”

“Yes!”

As soon as they sat down, Anella, without giving herself a moment to breathe, enthusiastically opened the book again.

“Look at this part here. The World Tree is said to purify all that is corrupted. In other words, it’s a tree specialized in cleansing dark sorcery!”

There was a reason for Anella’s excitement.

‘How adorable.’

Shaterian smiled at Anella’s enthusiasm and began skimming through the book.

She was confident in her speed-reading skills.

One page, then another.

“This is great. But…”

As she neared the end of the section on the World Tree, she pointed to the last paragraph of the final page.

“‘However, no one has been able to find the World Tree since its initial discovery,’ it says here.”

Earlier in the book, it was explained that the first person to discover the World Tree was a famous navigator who had also revealed the existence of another continent.

Although no one believed the navigator’s claim of seeing a massive tree supporting the sky, the roots he brought back served as evidence of its existence.

The roots possessed mysterious powers.

When placed in polluted rivers, the water would be purified. When brewed into a tea, it cured the sick.

It was no wonder people coveted these roots, known as a panacea.

The navigator’s final resting place being the village well was perhaps inevitable.

“Well, naturally. Since the first discoverer met such a fate, it’s no surprise that no one else dared to step forward.”

Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that no one had truly discovered it since.

Anella looked disheartened by the assertion that the tree might never be found.

“But it does exist. Couldn’t it possibly be found?”

“Well, if someone close to the gods were to search for it, they might succeed.”

“…Me?”

Anella asked, her face puzzled.

Right. As the Saintess, Anella was considered the closest human to the gods.

But Shaterian knew someone even closer to the divine than her.

Eched, who had once been a Divine Beast before becoming half-human.

Or perhaps the raccoon that roamed every corner of the Astrea Ducal Residence.

She glanced at Eched beside her.

Eched was flipping through the pages of the book Anella had lost interest in.

“Do you know something?”

“It’s not entirely impossible.”

“Really?”

Anella, who had seemed upset earlier, brightened at the possibility.

“If a human has seen it, then there must be a way for humans to reach it.”

“Do you know how?”

“No.”

“….”

Anella’s excitement quickly faded.

Look at him, acting so confident despite knowing nothing.

Yet Eched behaved as if finding the World Tree was entirely within his reach.

Leaving Eched to his musings, Shaterian turned to Anella.

“By the way, Saintess Anella, have you spoken with Orgon?”

“Huh? Oh…”

Ah. Had I been too tactless?

Anella’s previously cheerful expression darkened instantly.

Flustered, Shaterian began to stammer.

“S-Sorry. That was thoughtless of me, wasn’t it?”

“No… It’s not your fault, Lady Shaterian.”

‘It’s my fault for bringing it up…’

As Anella grew somber, Eched observed them with calm eyes, indifferent to their conversation.

“It feels like… it’s truly over now.”

Her despondent tone confirmed that Shaterian had indeed stepped on a landmine.

Anella, who had been gazing at the edge of the desk, suddenly lifted her head and met the other’s eyes.

“Then, are you not going to interact with me anymore?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s just that, Prince Orgon is part of your family, Lady Shaterian…”

She fidgeted with her fingers, looking as though she might burst into tears at any moment.

Suppressing a chuckle at her adorable display, Eched was the first to speak.

“What is your break up with Orgon have to do with Shaterian being part of Orgon’s family, Saintess?”

Eched’s question, filled with genuine curiosity, caused Anella, who had been on the verge of tears, to look startled and turn her gaze toward the other.

‘Oh, Eched, Eched…’

Ever since he had declared his desire to become human, he had frequently asked about human relationships like this.

The other, being aware of the context, understood that his question was purely innocent. However, Anella, knowing nothing of the situation, was simply bewildered.

Once again, the other had to clean up after Eched.

“Well, it doesn’t matter, does it? Orgon is Orgon, and I am me. So, don’t worry about things like that.”

“Lady Shaterian…”

“And this is a secret… but I like you more than Orgon, Saintess Anella. So, if it comes to it, I’ll just cut ties with Orgon.”

The words were spoken in an incredibly lighthearted tone.

“Oh, and about the animal I mentioned last time. It’s at home now, but I’ll bring it tomorrow.”

“Yes! Sounds great!”

Seeing Anella brighten up again, the other smiled along with her.

***

Pell wiped the sweat streaming down his forehead as he continued walking without rest.

Although he had initially been somewhere in the middle of the knights, he now found himself at the very back, barely keeping up with the sturdy knights ahead of him.

The reason Pell was hiking with the knights today was due to a grievance counseling session involving a heretical cult.

The investigation into the cult had been transferred from the 1st Knight Order to the 2nd Knight Order, as Eched had been too busy investigating the emerging religion targeting the Saintess.

Pell’s involvement in the field investigation stemmed from the fact that everything had originated in the Counseling Office.

“Hah…”

Out of breath, Pell paused for a moment to take a deep breath.

The air was particularly fresh and invigorating, likely due to the mountain setting.

“This feels nice…”

The sunlight, the air…

Just as he was thinking that, Pell’s expression hardened.

To think he would crack such a joke… even unintentionally.

Shocked at himself, Pell momentarily halted his steps as he walked through the mountain.