After the two had settled on the general details of their operation, the sky had already begun to darken. Roseliel had originally intended to keep Mona for dinner or even have her stay over, but Mona seemed exceptionally concerned about the matter of "rooting out the mole" and left in a hurry after a brief farewell.
It seemed the Grand Duke had also finished his conversation with Luna and had headed out somewhere unknown. After Luna returned, Roseliel didn't ask her about the contents of the conversation; she didn't want to put Luna in an awkward position.
However, now that Luna was back, the shopping trip that had been put on hold could finally be restarted.
Eating alone was truly boring, especially without a phone to scroll through videos, and since she had stuffed herself with quite a few snacks in the afternoon, Roseliel didn't have much of an appetite. She quickly finished a light dinner, changed into comfortable outdoor clothes, called for Luna, and headed out.
And then...
She ran into Lucia at the post station.
The two sat on a bench in the waiting room, staring at each other. After a moment of silence, they spoke simultaneously: "Why do I keep running into you?"
"...That's my line."
***
Time back to shortly before.
In the scriptorium of the monastery, Lucia was buried in the pile of letters brought back from Maple Creek Town.
A thick stack of dossiers was spread out before her, and next to her stood a large wooden board covered with pinned slips of paper bearing keywords and names. Red and black lines crisscrossed back and forth like a giant web.
Her brow was furrowed, sometimes writing furiously, sometimes resting her chin in her hand in deep thought, not even noticing someone pushing open the door.
Seraphin stood at the doorway, looking at the back of the figure buried in the pile of paper. He had called Lucia’s name many times from the doorway, and after receiving no response, he had come in to check, worried that something had happened.
He stood silently at the door for a while, then walked softly behind her and stopped. He didn't rush her; he just looked down at the dossiers covering the table, a helpless smile floating at the corners of his mouth.
"Sigh." After a moment, Lucia let out a long sigh and stood up, preparing to stretch her body, which had become stiff from sitting for so long.
"Ah!" She jumped in surprise at the shadow behind her as she turned around. "You could have said something when you came in!"
Seraphin spread his hands, his tone innocent. "I did, but you didn't hear me."
"Sorry." Lucia was familiar with her own habits. "What is it? Is there a new clue?"
"There's some bad news." Seraphin walked forward and picked up a dossier Lucia had organized to look at it.
"What?" Lucia's expression immediately became tense.
Seraphin sighed and said, "It seems one of the personnel investigating the case is about to reach their limit."
Lucia immediately interjected, "Who is it? I can go and take their place. They've certainly worked hard these past few days."
Unexpectedly, Seraphin did not continue speaking; he only stared at Lucia with a calm gaze.
Lucia paused, understanding his meaning.
She frowned. "Don't joke. I won't reach my limit."
She prepared to sit down again, but Seraphin held her back.
"Since over a month ago, when the academy was starting final examinations, you haven't had a proper rest, have you? You had to prepare for your own tests and promised to help many classmates with tutoring, busy from morning until night every day.
"From the time of the attack until today, have you slept? First, you fought a fierce battle to repel the Snake Cult that day, then you immediately went to capture Sella and Mallen, followed by interrogation through the night.
"The next morning, you went to investigate the scene, and in the evening, you came back to continue organizing information. Then you went to Maple Creek Town, where so much happened that night you probably didn't rest then either. After coming back, you went to coordinate with the Guard Department, and then you've been analyzing these letters until now..."
"I'm not tired," Lucia interrupted him. "And even if I wanted to sleep, I couldn't."
"Every time I close my eyes, the images of those familiar classmates dying always appear before me." She raised her hand, her fingertips pressing lightly against her eyelids before slowly sliding down.
"Until I resolve these matters completely, I won't rest."
"What is it with you two?" Seraphin gave a helpless, bitter smile.
Lucia knew that when Seraphin said "you two," he was referring to her and her senior brother, Simon.
She hadn't seen this senior brother, who was nearly twenty years older than her, for several years. When she was a child, Simon would often use his meager salary to buy candy for Lucia; of course, Lucia would usually give the candy to even younger children in the church.
After she grew up to become a Saintess candidate, both she and Simon had their own things to keep them busy, and they gradually grew apart.
As the youngest priest in the Holy See in a hundred years, he had been slow to receive a promotion. There had always been idle gossip within the Holy See that this was because of Seraphin.
Seraphin's popularity among the high-level officials of the Holy See wasn't great. Although he was highly capable, his personality was somewhat of a maverick among the many bishops, and many of his actions were seen as too radical by others.
Consequently, although he became a Bishop of the Royal Capital region before he was forty, he had yet to enter the inner circle and become a Cardinal.
However, Seraphin himself didn't seem to have any problem with this, at least not that Lucia could tell. This indifference to fame and fortune was one of the reasons she respected her mentor.
"Lucia, just treat this as an old man’s unnecessary meddling." Seraphin knew this disciple of his was more receptive to gentle persuasion than force. "I'm truly afraid you'll collapse. Just to put my mind at ease, go and rest a bit, okay?"
As a Bishop, he rarely had to bow to anyone or anything, yet right now his tone carried a gentle note that was almost pleading.
Seeing this elder’s attitude, Lucia really couldn't find the words to refuse.
"But I really can't sleep. I'll go for a walk outside then, and treat it like a patrol." She helplessly packed up the materials on the table, stacked them neatly, and stood up to walk out.
Seraphin was satisfied that she had gone this far. He said to Lucia's back, "Buy whatever you want to buy, go wherever you want to play. Just mention my name. Get some good rest."
Lucia waved her hand as a response.
After leaving, Lucia caught a passing carriage headed for the Royal Capital, intending to wander around the city.
As the situation had been tense recently, security in the Royal Capital was much stricter than usual. Any carriage entering or leaving had to undergo inspection, and passengers had to wait at the post station first.
Just as Lucia was closing her eyes to rest, she felt a familiar presence sit down beside her. Opening her eyes, she saw that familiar figure with pale blonde hair.
Roseliel.
That led to the scene from earlier.
In the post station waiting room, Roseliel sat next to her, swinging her legs out of boredom. "You're the Saintess, yet you also have to undergo inspection?"
Lucia kept her eyes closed, her tone indifferent. "If I showed my identification, I could indeed be exempt. But if I did that, the guards on duty would have to spend more time writing reports to explain this special clearance. There's no need to cause trouble for others."
"I see." Roseliel's tone didn't change either, but in her heart, she silently gave Lucia a thumbs-up.
As someone who had been a corporate slave in her previous life, she would have worshipped any client who was this considerate.
"And what about you?" Lucia opened her eyes and tilted her head. "Why are you waiting in line too?"
Roseliel was silent for a moment.
"...Same as you, more or less."
She was too embarrassed to say that, in reality, after she had announced her name, the other side became even more insistent on subjecting her to a thorough, special inspection.
Talk about a reputation.
Rate on N.U.
