Chapter 26: Prim’s Plan Begins!

If not for Abel being a player with the advantage of foresight, nine times out of ten he would have fallen for Sephilia’s scheme!

What a joke, didn’t he know what kind of personality this woman had?

Help?

Better not have her saintly heart flare up and end up pissing him off to death!

Abel really wanted to refuse, but after thinking about it, he felt it wasn’t appropriate.

Sutis, as the “Armored Angel” developed by the church, would need the church’s power for her upcoming maintenance and upkeep!

He couldn’t completely sever ties like he had with the kingdom side.

Moreover, in front of such a large crowd, it wouldn’t be good for Abel to refuse.

He glanced at his brother and saw him nod slightly.

Abel knew then that this proposal today didn’t allow for his refusal.

Whatever, they wouldn’t be together for too long anyway.

He already knew the path to the Sky City; as long as he found an opportunity to quietly leave “her” behind, it would be the perfect plan.

So Abel smiled and gripped Aiko’s hand.

The girl’s hand carried the unique smooth and delicate touch of her age, like top-grade silk.

The sensation was quite nice.

“…Then, Saintess, for the upcoming journey, I’ll trouble you to take care of us.”

A blush flashed across Aiko’s face.

With her hand held by Abel, she felt her heartbeat accelerate.

As a nun of the church and Sephilia’s disciple, she had hardly ever come into contact with other males in the church, at most brushing past the holy knights responsible for guarding on occasion.

She had always thought she liked girls, but… what was this feeling?

Love at first sight?

Impossible!

Aiko slightly squinted her eyes, and the Abel in her line of sight seemed to overlap with a certain figure from her memories.

That was something from several years ago, when she was still the daughter of a traveling merchant, with a happy and complete family.

However, on the road, Aiko had encountered an attack from the “Bortas Thief Group,” which was rampant in the kingdom’s northern borders at the time.

Her parents died miserably, and what originally awaited her was a tragic future.

In the midst of her despair, the thieves suddenly let out screams.

Aiko focused her gaze, and in the dawn’s light, a youth was approaching with a blood-dripping sword.

That group of arrogant and domineering thieves had almost no room to fight back under the youth’s sword.

“Sorry, I came late. The only one saved is you…”

By the time Aiko woke up, she was already inside a church in the city.

As for the youth who had saved her, he never appeared again.

She only remembered that head of green hair.

Could it be…

Could it be!

Could it be!?

Thinking of this, Aiko’s heartbeat became unprecedentedly fast.

C-could it be…

“Ah, Sir Abel…”

She slightly lowered her head, her voice carrying a trembling, timid, expectant tone, mixed with countless emotions.

“D-do you remember, six years ago, one day in the wilderness outside Kiel City, when you annihilated the ‘Bortas Thief Group’ and then saved a girl?”

As she spoke, her aqua eyes shone brightly, carrying a certain deep expectation.

However, Abel showed a puzzled expression and shook his head.

“This, I don’t remember. I did go to Kiel City…”

These words caused the expectation in Aiko’s eyes to freeze.

Could she have been mistaken?

But green hair wasn’t common within the kingdom, and moreover, even the age matched up?

Abel truly had no impression, because over these years, as he wandered the kingdom and various parts of the continent, such incidents had happened not just once or twice.

The thief groups he had swept away numbered not a hundred but at least dozens, of varying scales, and he had saved many people—how could he remember every single one?

As the saying goes, would you remember how many slices of bread you’ve eaten?

That was impossible.

Aiko lowered her eyelids again and muttered softly, “I see… I thought…”

A coincidence?

Aiko had just been praying to Ainos in her heart, thinking this was a fateful encounter!

“By the way, how is Ingrid’s injury? Yesterday she seemed a bit unhinged…”

Abel recalled the original plot.

If he remembered correctly, the member who joined the party at the start should have been Ingrid, and wasn’t the church’s saintess position hers as well?

How was this different from the original direction?

Was it caused by his own choices?

Upon mentioning Ingrid, both Sephilia and Aiko changed their expressions slightly.

Sephilia, of course, knew about the unpleasantness between the two yesterday!

She also knew the fault lay with Ingrid.

She had originally planned to pretend she knew nothing if Abel didn’t bring it up, but since he did, it was naturally to call her to account.

Aiko spoke first, her expression somewhat panicked.

“I’m truly sorry, Sir Knight! Ingrid yesterday might have been because she witnessed her parents’ deaths and suffered a huge shock—her mental state was a bit off. Now we’ve already arranged for specialized personnel to help treat her!”

After speaking, she slightly raised her eyes and observed Abel’s expression.

Upon noticing the latter nod as if relieved, she also let out a slight sigh of relief.

It wasn’t to call her to account?

Sir Knight was indeed a tolerant good person! Even toward Ingrid, who had “spoken wildly” to him, he didn’t mind and instead cared about how her injury was!

What Ingrid did was too improper.

She planned to take the opportunity to properly guide her best friend, and if there was a chance, let her join the party as well to atone for her mistakes through meritorious deeds.

Abel actually didn’t care about Ingrid’s life or death, because he had been prepared long ago, so those morally coercive words hadn’t left any traces in his heart.

He was just purely curious about the “plot direction” having changed.

At this moment, Sutis, who had finished dressing up in a gothic dress with twin tails, also came down the stairs.

Upon seeing Sephilia, her eyes immediately shone, and she pounced into her arms like a spoiled daughter.

The atmosphere at this moment was still quite nice, however—

“Her Highness the Princess has arrived!”

The instant this sentence rang out, the onlooking nobles broke into low discussions.

The grudge between Abel and Her Highness the Princess could be said to have spread throughout the royal capital overnight.

Those noble lords and ladies all stepped back in unison, leaving enough space, looking every bit like they were watching a show.

Oh dear, this wasn’t just the princess—there were church people here too!

People were all gossipy by nature.

Watching the fun of the high-and-mighty royal family was an even more simple and unadorned pleasure.

Moreover, there were rumors claiming that if not for Princess Prim’s deliberate obstruction, this “cultist attack” incident could have been avoided, and quite a few nobles had died in this event.

Naturally, they placed the object of their resentment on Her Highness the Princess.

Everyone watched Prim step down from the carriage, dressed in a light purple palace skirt, with expressions that held no good intentions.

Abel also frowned.

He hadn’t expected this woman, after being publicly refused by him yesterday, to still come over so thick-skinned—wasn’t this a bit too much?

Didn’t she care about the royal family’s face anymore?

Only Julius nearby showed a solemn expression.

As if confirming Julius’s premonition, Her Highness the Princess walked toward Abel with heavy steps, her full bosom undulating constantly with the movement.

She lightly bit her thin lips, her gaze fixed straight on Abel.

One step, two steps…

This short distance seemed especially difficult, but her steps gradually quickened.

In the shocked gazes of everyone, including Abel, this princess—who was always spoiled, willful, and reckless in the royal capital—actually knelt on one knee before Abel in front of all the nobles.

“Sir Abel, please forgive my rudeness yesterday…”