I, reincarnate as the leader of the villainous knight order

Chapter 106: The Saint’s Letter

“…That’s right, we wouldn’t want you catching a cold, Saintess. Shall we go inside?”

The messenger priest said this with a smile, but inwardly he was probably seething with anger at being interrupted.

“Yes, thank you for the enjoyable time. Now, if you’ll excuse me. Commander Justin, shall we speak in my room?”

“Ah, it wouldn’t be appropriate for just the two of us. Let’s have Commander Axel join us.”

“Understood.”

Through a silent exchange, the Saintess managed to politely excuse herself from the courtyard. Despite wearing a jacket, it was still quite cold, and as soon as we entered the temple, she began to warm her hands with her breath.

“Ah… Tea outside is really too cold, isn’t it? Sorry to have dragged you along, Commander Axel.”

“No, it’s our duty, so please don’t worry about it.”

“Aren’t the Holy Knights’ uniforms enchanted with temperature regulation magic? It’s actually surprising that the Saintess’ clothes aren’t enchanted.”

“Oh! Why are you calling me ‘Saintess’ again!? By the way, we prioritize being with the people, so our clothes aren’t enchanted with magic. Right, Commander Axel?”

“Yes, while our armor is enchanted, our regular Holy Knight uniforms are not.”

Two Holy Knights stood guard at the door of the Saintess’ room. Perhaps because Axel was with them, I was let in easily. It was my first time entering the Saintess’ private chamber, which was tastefully decorated and felt quite cozy, though not overly lavish.

“Commander Justin, please listen!”

As soon as the door closed, the Saintess turned around and began to vent to me.

“That messenger from the Holy Kingdom earlier, it’s so obvious he thinks he’s so handsome! He keeps making these suggestive remarks, and it’s really irritating! …Ah, please have a seat.”

A novice priestess, perhaps an attendant, brought tea to the table, and the Saintess gestured for me to sit. Axel, being a guard, didn’t have tea prepared for him.

“Could you prepare some warm tea for Commander Axel as well? He was outside in the cold with us.”

“Yes, understood.”

The novice priestess, momentarily surprised, agreed with a smile.

“That’s right, Commander Axel was cold too. Let’s sit together and have some tea.”

“But I am here to guard…”

“We’re inside the temple, with two Holy Knights at the door and two Commanders in the room. Even if an assassin appeared now, we wouldn’t be caught off guard.”

Removing any reason for Axel to refuse, I insisted. What I was about to discuss also concerned Axel, and it would be tiresome if Axel had to stand the whole time.

“Well then… Excuse me.”

Cautiously, Axel took a seat and sipped the hot tea, letting out a relieved breath along with the Saintess.

“You were having a tea party in the courtyard just to make a quick exit, weren’t you? It’s quite cold today. How long were you outside?”

“Exactly! I kept trying to decline, but he kept dodging, and we ended up drinking tea together in the courtyard! And that man… his name is Priest Liam, kept talking for an hour with a calm face even though the tea had gone cold! …Achoo!”

“If Priest Liam came here alone, his clothes were probably enchanted with temperature regulation magic.”

“Oh!”

The Saintess, realizing this possibility, let out a small exclamation and slumped over the table. Seeing that she was clearly cold, I took off my cloak and draped it over her shoulders. It would be warmer than a blanket due to my body heat.

“Warm… Thank you, Commander Justin…”

“If the Saintess catches a cold, those around her might be reprimanded. We could blame Priest Liam this time, but still… More importantly, I wanted to discuss something regarding the trip to the Holy Kingdom.”

“More importantly!?”

The Saintess looked shocked, but I continued without concern. After all, if the Saintess caught a cold, it wouldn’t affect me; she just needed to rest quietly.

“The royal family’s view is that the true purpose of the Holy Kingdom is to invite the Saintess, Eleanor, to stay there permanently.”

When I was about to call her “saint,” she made an ugly face and silently expressed her displeasure, so I decided to call her by her name instead.

“You shouldn’t show that face to people.”

“The head priest was also concerned about the same thing. However, we of the Great Temple can’t interfere with what the main temple does…”

Apparently, Axel and the head priest had discussed this issue as well.

“I figured as much. The only person who can interfere is Eleanor herself.”

“Me!?”

“Yes, it seems that due to some instinct of the saint or something, it’s not allowed to force her to stay where she belongs. On the contrary, if the saint wishes, she must be allowed to move to the Holy Kingdom. His Majesty was worried that they might try to take Eleanor’s family to the Holy Kingdom. There’s also the risk of them being taken hostage in a critical situation.”

“No way…!”

“Therefore, if they desire it, His Majesty has considered calling them to the royal capital for protection. It would be just a precaution, but could you write a letter to your family? We intend to send a messenger from the royal castle to deliver it.”

“Uh… but…”

The saint was reluctant to write the letter, and the reason became clear when she wrote one. She had never written a letter before, and the first letter she wrote was at the same level as my youngest brothers in my previous lives, who were kindergarteners.