Chapter 29

Lord Ah-Rahm cleared his schedule the moment I asked to meet Princess Claudia.

Out of everyone that Yuri had warned me about over the years, she was the one whom I had interacted with the least.

Lady Victoria had seen her a few times, and I’d heard her described to me before, but I was cautiously excited to meet her.

Tall, well-endowed with braided blonde hair and a face that could charm anyone, Lady Claudia was someone I felt a strange affinity with despite never meeting her.

Like me, she had been working hard since a young age to achieve her goals, and her list of deeds was longer than my own.

The most famous story was one from when she was just ten years old.

She helped broker a peace agreement between two warring noble provinces, creating a peace agreement that near-fully satisfied both sides despite their losses and grievances.

As Lord Cain’s older sister, she was probably someone all nobles aspired to be one day.

“Onee-sama, are you sure we shouldn’t have brought a gift to try and apologise for what happened with Prince Cain?”

“Princess Claudia is probably not someone bothered by things like that, so we should be fine.”

If not, I’d offer her something that could satisfy her anger.

Hopefully, figuring out what in the world Yui does to Ah-Rahm and others will be the first step towards satisfying any negative emotions she holds for me.

If we can figure it out, that is.

As soon as school concluded, we were escorted by a royal carriage to the palace and knights escorted us to a secluded salon deep within the palace.

When we arrived, the butler escorting us knocked on the door.

“Princess Claudia, Lord Ah-Rahm, Lady Raena and Lady Yui Armina have arrived.”

“Thank you, send them in.”

Oh, her voice sounds-

The doors opened and we entered and greeted the princess formally.

We curtsied and said, “Thank you for giving us your time this evening, Princess Claudia, Prince Ah-Rahm.”

“I finally get to meet you, Lady Raena Armina. Please, lift your heads.”

There had only ever been a few times in my life when I had my breath truly taken away from me.

The first was the day I met Yui.

The next was when I saw Yuri coming to my birthday party in her original form.

And then there was now.

A perfect face.

A beautiful smile.

Silky, glowing hair that was immaculately braided down her front towards her chest.

Her dress wasn’t extravagant, but she made it look like it cost a small fortune to create.

Her posture was picture-perfect, as if she was a painting brought to life.

Rather than being enamoured like I had been with Yui or Yuri, I was actually put on edge.

This was the embodiment of what it meant to be royalty.

The pinnacle of the word noble.

Any mistake, no matter how small, would not be allowed before her.

No wonder Lord Ah-Rahm was worried.

If he had to be her king, he couldn’t afford any errors in judgement.

Speaking off, the future emperor seems to be averting his gaze a little, trying to keep me in his line of sight but Yui out of it.

“Princess Claudia, is it okay to have Yui sit in this chair?”

I pointed at one of the sofas near where Princess Claudia and Lord Ah-Rahm were sat.

Seeing what I had suggested, she smiled and said, “Yes, that is fine. Please, have a seat."

We did so.

I’m sorry, Yui, but for now, you’d have to sit away from me and out of sight of Lord Ah-Rahm.

“Would you care for some tea or sweets?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“What about you, Lady Yui?”

“No, thank you.”

Whether or not Princess Claudia wanted us to actually feel relaxed around her, or if this was just common courtesy, I couldn’t tell.

Based on my conversation with Ah-Rahm yesterday, I highly suspect that she knows of his current predicament.

The only one who doesn’t know is Yui.

And I don’t have the strength to tell her for fear she might misunderstand.

“Lady Raena.” I swallowed instinctively. “My fiancé tells me you have been having a similar issue to him, correct?”

“Issue?”

“Yes, Princess Claudia.” I brushed passed Yui’s confusion. “However, I must confess that it does not manifest in the same way nor to the same aggressive nature.”

“Wait, Onee-sama, what are you-?”

“Allow me to explain,” Princess Claudia smiled at Yui. “You see, Lord Ah-Rahm as well as several other young gentlemen at our academy have a unique problem that only seems to manifest when it involves you, Lady Yui.

“I think, based on your expression, you know what I’m talking about.”

“Onee-sama, is this related to what you asked me about yesterday?”

I nodded, and then reluctantly explained what Ah-Rahm had told me, and I mentioned some of the things I’d personally experienced.

“Obsession? To such an extent? Ah! Is that what happened when you became unable to see Yuri?”

“Hmm? What’s this?” Princess Claudia’s smile shifted ever so slightly into a smirk. “This is a story I haven’t heard before.”

Realising she had messed up, Yui cleared her throat. “The point is, Princess Claudia, it’s possible that there are ways of countering this strange phenomena. For example, with Onee-sama, it appears these symptoms disappeared entirely after reconnecting with Yuri. If I might be so bold, is it possible you and Lord Ah-Rahm have had some sort of disagreement or falling out lately?”

“Not at all.”

“Exactly, that’s what’s so strange!” Lord Ah-Rahm chimed in. “Whenever you’re not around, I don’t think about you, I don’t have any feelings for you other than you’re connected to someone I find interesting as a sparring partner.”

A little rude, Lord Ah-Rahm, if true.

“But the truth is even knowing you’re in the room with me, even hearing your voice or the faintest whiff of your perfume is making me feel strange,” he continued. Judging by the expression on his face, he wasn’t exaggerating. “What in the world are you, Yui Armina?”

I knew the answer to that, but they’d never believe me.

We’re all characters in a story.

She’s the protagonist.

There could be something in the nature of the world itself drawing you and everyone else towards her.

But that was all insanity.

Or so I would like to believe.

Then, if that was the case for Yui, what was it that drove me towards-?

She’s stopping you from being with Lord Cain!

I turned around but there was no one there.

“Again?!” Lord Ah-Rahm reacted first, but I could feel the gazes of the other two on me.

“Dammit!”

Ya-ho~, Miss Villainess. It’s been a while!

Don’t react.

Ignore it.

Ignore-

“Onee-sama?”

Kill her!

“Stay away!”

I screamed so loud even Princess Claudia’s perfect visage shattered for a brief moment.

“…Onee-sama?”

“Don’t blame her, Yui.” Princess Claudia rose from her seat. “There’s something sinister warping her mind and perception at the moment. Something dangerous.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Lord Ah-Rahm added. “That voice, honestly, if you listen to it for too long, it’ll drive you-”

Insane, right?!

Lord Ah-Rahm and I howled in pain and grasped at our heads.

Aha~ This is fun!

“Ah-Rahm!”

“Onee-sama!”

“Get out…of my head!”

I swung at nothing, and the voice laughed.

And then-

“Stop hurting my precious Onee-sama!”

A golden light exploded from Yui’s body, and I thought I heard the voice scream wildly before vanishing.

Hopefully, for good this time.

“It’s gone?”

I nodded at Ah-Rahm’s question. “So, it would seem.”

“What was that light, Yui?”

“I’m…not sure,” she said, looking at her own body, still lightly enveloped in golden light. “Onee-sama, do you have-?”

“There are old records that talk about a child blessed by the Gods who can use holy magic, the Saint, but…” Princess Claudia studied Yui hard. “I’m not sure if that is what this is. If anything.” She narrowed her eyes. “This doesn’t seem to be a Saint’s magic.”

“What makes you so sure, Claudia?”

“The first reason is that the previous Saints that appeared in the legends and histories were all devout sisters of the Church. Lady Yui, as I understand it, is not pious nor is she a heretic. Agnostic I believe is the right way to describe her.

“The second reason is the colour of the magic. The golden light is accurate to the scriptures, but the Saint’s magic is meant to be a pure gold. Yui’s has hues of red mixed within it.”

“It does? I didn’t notice it,” Ah-Rahm said.

Neither did I - neither did Yui.

Just how observant was Princess Claudia.

“What’s the third reason?” I asked.

“The third is that the holy magic of a Saint is used to drive back demons or what is referred to as ‘the evil’ that once plagued our world. Unless the voice you two and the others hear is something that can be classified as that, then there’s no reason to think that Yui is the Saint.”

That day, we learnt nothing new about the truth of the voice.

All we gained were more questions.