I Secretly Healed the Illness of the Twin Princesses While Wearing a Mask, and Now the Entire Kingdom Is in an Uproar ~Please Stop Trying to Expose the Street Healer~ - Chapter 19

After the White Church retreated.

I met up with my sister, who had escaped from the castle after everything that happened, and we talked about what went down at the magic academy.

“So, the terrorists who suddenly appeared and took over the magic academy… they called themselves the White Church, just like the ones who kidnapped Princess Victoria.”

“Well, that’s just their middle-school syndrome. I wouldn’t take it seriously.”

“What?”

“It’s that age where you’re prone to wild fantasies.”

“…Well, that’s right. I’ve never even heard of a ‘White God.’ Even if the White Church exists, it’s probably just some cult.”

A cult… huh.

Thinking about it, maybe they really do believe in that kind of stuff. Their setup does seem oddly detailed.

Either way, cult or just crazy, it’s the same.

If only there were some lost books on memory and mind magic lying around, we could treat them, too.

“By the way, Asuku, what happened to that?”

“That?”

“You know… the golden orb.”

I immediately covered my crotch with both hands.

“Big sister, girls aren’t supposed to say stuff like that.”

“No, I mean the golden orb you picked up, the treasure stolen from the castle’s vault. Everything happened so fast, you never got a chance to return it?”

“Oh, I forgot. But don’t worry, it’s safely in my pocket… my pocket…”

“…Asuku?”

I stuck my hand in my pocket and froze.

I stopped searching for a moment, then tried again… and froze again.

“Hey, Asuku?”

“Looks like I lost it.”

“You’re joking!? You lost it!?”

“Yeah.”

“That isn’t the answer!?”

My sister’s iron claw slammed into me.

“What are you going to do!? That’s the kingdom’s treasure! Losing it isn’t funny!”

“Big sister, let’s calm down and think clearly.”

“Think clearly about what!?”

“Well, I didn’t steal it in the first place. So let’s just say I never picked up the golden orb, pretend it wasn’t there.”

Really, the ones who stole the treasure in the first place are at fault.

I just happened to pick it up and keep it in my pocket for a while.

So I’m not at fault.

Actually, the real problem is that the vault’s security let thieves in.

No matter how I look at it, it’s not my responsibility. Not even a little.

Let me say it again clearly. I’m not at fault.

“…Yeah, that’s right. Let’s do that. You didn’t pick up anything from the start, okay?”

“Yeah, I didn’t pick up anything.”

“Great!! Problem solved!!”

“Problem solved, problem solved.”

Now we can finally sleep peacefully.

◆　◇　◆

Xylica Kingdom, the Royal Castle.

Normally, no one but officials could enter, but the Cardinal of ‘Wrath’ from the White Church Veltica was there.

Even when she passed knights patrolling inside the castle, nobody stopped her or seemed to notice her at all.

Her steps eventually led her to the room of Tiraiza Le Xylica, one of the king’s concubines.

“Tiraiza-san, I hope I’m not—”

“Ugaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

“W-what? What’s going on!?”

The moment she entered, a scream tore through the room, shaking Veltica.

The source of the scream was Tiraiza.

“Maidall!! You’re definitely cheating!!”

“Oh my, I’m just lucky, that’s all.”

“Impossible!! There’s no way to get a royal straight flush twelve times in a row!!”

“Well then, I’ll take the 100,000 Manni bet. Extra income!”

Tiraiza was playing high-stakes poker with Maidall, a maid dressed in black with her eyes covered, who takes care of Christina and Victoria.

“…What are you two doing?”

“Huh? Veltica? As you can see, we’re playing poker for bets.”

“And just so you know, I’ve won twelve times in a row. Complete victory, ehehe.”

Tiraiza slammed her head on the table, shouting, while Maidall smiled smugly.

Veltica sighed at the two of them.

“When I was feeling hurt after failing to recruit new friends, you two… could you at least remember that I’m a Cardinal of the White Church? Especially you, ‘Greed’ Tiraiza-san.”

“Hmph. You’re still so naggy.”

“Please, Veltica-sama, don’t say that. Tiraiza-sama is doing her best in her own way.”

“I’m talking about you, too, ‘Envy’ Maidall.”

“Oh my, that’s harsh.”

Maidall lightly brushed off Veltica’s complaint with a smile.

“Good grief. Well, it’s fine now. Anyway, I brought this.”

“Oh, you’ve retrieved the golden orb!! Where was it?”

“Faceless-san had it, so I snuck it away. And please stop calling it a golden orb. It’s a barrier stone.”

“You still have sticky fingers. And that little thief let dozens of sacrifices escape from the White God… the audacity of that crazy fool to ruin my plan!!”

“Please don’t talk so badly about him.”

Veltica pouted at Tiraiza, who had been grumbling, and spoke sharply.

Tiraiza noticed and teased her.

“Oh? What’s this? Are you in love with Faceless?”

“Well, that’s right. He’s the most charming person I’ve ever met. I would have liked to get to know him a little better if I could.”

“…Seriously?”

Tiraiza was left speechless at the unexpected answer, while Maidall, next to her, nodded repeatedly.

“It’s no wonder Veltica-sama fell for him. Faceless-sama won the hearts of Princess Christina and Princess Victoria. He must be a wonderful gentleman. Truly… I’m so jealous.”

“O-okay?”

“The more I think about it, the more jealous I get. That wretched Faceless-sama ruined my plan by supporting the broken, despised Princess Christina and Princess Victoria, who had become ugly and pitiful. I hate him from the bottom of my heart!! I want to kill him!! Rip out his guts and make him suffer as long as possible!! But no!! Faceless-sama saved the lives of Princess Christina and Princess Victoria!! Hurting him or killing him is out of the question!! Ah, but how I wish I could see his face if I cut off his limbs in front of them!! I want to see!! I want to have that precious face all to myself!! If possible!! I want to lick it!!”

“Ah, your switch flips suddenly as always, Maidall-san.”

“You knew Maidall’s mind was twisted, right? Even though she loves the twin princesses more than anyone, she instructed the attendants to drug their meals with sacrificial potions.”

“Also, I hate Tiraiza-sama for daring to claim herself the mother of Princess Christina and Princess Victoria while putting me aside!! I want to kill you!!”

“See, she suddenly points her rage at me. This kid is scary.”

For a while after that, the three of them chatted and reported things casually.

As the night grew late, Veltica stood up.

“It’s late, so I’ll take my leave. I still have school homework to finish.”

“Pretending to be a student must be hard. You are Veltica von Rudelhardt, top of the Hero Academy in the Rudelhardt Empire and descendant of heroes.”

“…It’s not pretending. I’m still an active student.”

Veltica puffed her cheeks, then suddenly remembered something and clapped her hands.

“Oh, that’s right. Starting next month, I’ll be visiting Xylica Kingdom’s Magic Academy as an exchange student. Please take care of me then.”

“Ugh. But your duties are supposed to be in the Rudelhardt Empire.”

“I can’t help it. Top students are forced to study abroad to show off the empire’s strength. If I refuse, they’ll cut my scholarship.”

“Hmm. If Veltica-sama comes to the kingdom, you might even meet Princess Christina and Princess Victoria. If you do anything weird to them, I’ll kill you.”

“I-I’m not planning to. I’m not interested in those princesses anyway.”

Then Veltica suddenly disappeared.

And with that, the meeting of the White Church Cardinals came to an end.

◇　◇　◇

Afterword

One-Point Story

Author: “Volume I, complete. Volume II starts tomorrow. Please ★.”

A: “You casually asked for stars…”

If you thought, “Nothing’s really solved,” “The concubine and maid were enemies,” “The enemy group is so friendly,” please leave your thoughts, bookmarks, ★ ratings, or reviews.