Published: September 6, 2025
I had figured out the location of the shrine, but since I could only go back and forth between the underground archives and the dormitory, there was no way I could actually get to the shrine. Now, what should I do? It would be much easier if I could go for a walk with Hannelore or Hildebrandt like the other day, but since we were told not to wander outside, that was impossible.
Without coming up with any good ideas, I headed to the underground archives. It seemed Anastasius and Eglantine would be there again this morning. It looked like it would be an ordinary day, so I nodded quietly, clutching my writing tools.
“Lady Rosemine, please wait a moment.”
“What is it, Lady Eglantine?”
I turned around when I was called. Standing next to Eglantine, who smiled gently, was Anastasius, wearing a slightly bitter expression.
“Today, we shall go to the shrine together.”
“Excuse me?”
“I would like to see how the wide-area magic tool cleanses the shrine once... and also want you to try it.”
With a delicate smile like a flower blooming softly, Eglantine said this to me. Seeing Anastasius wear a resigned expression and say, “You’re the only one who can cleanse the shrine with wide-area magic,” I had no choice but to understand that this was the royal family’s intent.
…So this is how they came about it.
It must be because I had been vague about entering the shrine during the tea party. They seemed determined to create a situation under royal supervision where I would certainly enter the shrine.
…I didn’t want to think that Lady Eglantine and Prince Anastasius would resort to such a forceful approach.
Feeling as if I had swallowed a stone, my mood heavy, I slightly bowed my head and left the library with my close aides, accompanying the two. We rode the mini bus to keep pace with the royals. Anastasius was heading toward the shrine beyond the civil official building.
“Rosemine, take this.”
He handed me an eavesdropping prevention magic tool, and I looked up at Anastasius. Gray’s eyes glared at me with displeasure.
“You consulted behind my back and then hid things from Eglantine, didn’t you? She was down last night.”
“…Lady Eglantine is mean to ask questions I cannot answer in my position.”
If I said, “I can’t enter the shrine,” they would accuse me of lying to the royals. If I said, “I entered the shrine and already obtained the stone tablet,” they would call it treason. It would be more disrespectful than Dietlinde, who only spoke with her mouth.
…So, I kept quiet, yet they say I’m hiding something.
On top of that, being ordered to accompany them to the shrine and told to try entering it left me no way to escape. I had no choice but to obey the royal command, but being forced by these two made me feel down. I tried to handle it as nobly as possible, yet was forced to reveal everything — I felt like I should be the one sinking.
“I’m sorry, Lady Rosemine. But I cannot give in either.”
Even her cute apology did not lift the weight in my heart. Eglantine might have wanted a backdoor method for Siegiswald to enter the shrine to prevent conflict, but how could I teach what I did not know? All I could say was that if I kept reading the stone tablets, maybe something would come up.
“Since you prayed at the temple and increased your blessing, you should be able to enter that shrine. You manipulate so many divine relics and perform rituals. There’s no reason to hide anything.”
“…Wasn’t it Prince Anastasius who told me not to tell everything and to know the value of information? You could at least praise me for how well I’m doing.”
I teased a little, but he glared at me.
“Are you ordering me to tell everything?”
“Ah, if you hide things, I’ll suspect something terrible is going on behind the scenes. Things have always gone smoothly between us by being open. Don’t make strange secrets. You perform rituals lightly and handle divine relics — there’s no way you can’t enter the shrine.”