Vol 3 Chapter 2 (1/2)

Chapter 2

“Wow, it looks a on you, Lady Celiastina!”

Yuna, as standing in front of the full-length mirror in her room, sent a wry smile back at her ht

Right now, Yuna looked more like a fashi+onable aristocratic lady than a saint who served God She had on a light pink dress, layered with delicate lace, and a necklace with a large jewel; her makeup was also applied more carefully than usual

“No, really, for this dress to be worn so splendidly…”

The dressmaker beside Nasha had a wide smile as he said this with admiration

It was recent that he, an expert dressmaker, made a request to present his oork to the saint Celiastina In less than a ave consent, the dress and the person himself entered the royal palace And, because he wanted to check if there were anysession right there

“Perhaps it’d be better to tighten it somewhat around the waist”

“N-No, this is good!”

Yuna hurriedly waved both hands to do her best to not prolong the conversation

She wasn’t used to this

For Yuna, as only a village girl, it was unspeakably eeous dress and stand in front of people Yuna did think that it certainly suited Saint Celiastina whose outward appearance was extolled as an absolute beauty However, due to her indelible nature as a commoner, she could not help but become meek

“Since everything has been prepared, shall we do your hair as well and not just your makeup? Because you normally keep your hair down, perhaps it would be nice to put it up”

“No, thank you, this is enough Really, this is h”

Not wanting to er event she refused Nasha, but her words didn’t seem to reach Nasha’s ears as she had become completely enthusiastic

“Once we’re done with your hair, we should show the others Lady Celiastina, you normally wear plain clothes so I’m sure everyone will be surprised at your appearance, dressed up”

“Ooh! That would be lovely!”

Disregarding the person being talked about, Nasha and the dressmaker showed their excitement

“Oh, I know! The first person should be Lord Asyut Shall I check whether he has tiht now?”

“–N-No!”

Yuna had been drawn along but when a na up her voice was unintentionally rough

“Don’t say anything to Asyut, please”

Her voice had becoht She didn’t want to shock the two of them, but when the topic becah, their eyes widened and they fell silent at Yuna’s uncoer

“I’m sorry but, um, Asyut seems to be very busy lately so I don’t want to bother him I’ll show off this dress to everyone when a party or so happens I’d be happier if they were surprised at that time”

“I-I see……”

To Nasha and the dressmaker it was a strained excuse But it sees and did not continue with that topic any further

“Thank you two for your time today It’s the first time in my life I’ve worn such a pretty dress I’ll cherish it”

“O-Of course, thank you for your generous words……”

The dress a bewildered expression, he replied and lowered his head

“Then I will excuse myself here”

“Ah, in that case, let ates of the royal palace”

“Much obliged, Miss Nasha Then, Lady Celiastina, thank you very much for your precious time If you have need of another dress, please do not hesitate to contact me at any time”

“Yes, I certainly will”

Yuna ed to see him off at the end with a smile As Nasha left, she turned back with a worried look, but soon Yuna couldn’t see her either

And then, for a while, Yuna stared at the door her guest left through but eventually she sighed and sat in a nearby chair A beauty with a tired expression was reflected at the edge of the full-length e was none other than herself, she felt even more depressed

Recently, she had been spending her days in her roo

Celiastina’s grand past– she was the one ished to learn about it, and yet now that she actually knew everything, a dull shock seeped into Yuna little by little

Theher childhood twisted her powers as a saint Moreover, Yuna herself was not unrelated Even though Celiastina was screaht beside her, didn’t notice She didn’t reach out a hand Certainly, she had been a powerless child but if only she had noticed so at that time; she couldn’t help but think this

She was sure it wasn’t just a coincidence that she was connected to Celiastina’s life like this Yuna was now able to have that belief

She tried to think it was like this… as much as possible

That’s why she thought to devote her re time to Celiastina It wasn’t for the sake of an unknown saint, or for the sake of her country, like she had been doing before It was for “Cella”, her past friend, and she hoped that this time she could stop Cella’s pain Yes, that was her decision

Yuna re careful not to scratch the jewels, she placed it softly into a box She spent so her chin on her hands, but then decided to reishly stood up

(This dress…)

Nasha had said it as well but it was certainly unusual for her to be dressed in such a gorgeous dress It was rare for the saint to attend things like balls or showy entertain her presence where she had to wear a dress like this

Pinching the heain

If Asyut saw her appearance, ould he say? This thought crossed her mind

(That’s why it shouldn’t happen, huh)

Yuna sighed again, her countless one today, and finally took off the dress

She ell aware of her own feelings for Asyut, as at ti her fros of love for him However, she knew painfully that she could not show these feelings outwardly

In Celiastina’s body, she wasn’t allowed to close the distance with Asyut as Yuna

And that’s why she decided not to have as much contact as possible with Asyut

Honestly, she didn’t want to avoid him obviously But, when she was beside him, she didn’t knohat a reasonable distance to keep was If she was going to be influenced by her own feelings like this, then it was best not to meet him even if it seemed unnatural– that was the answer Yuna came to

And, indeed, she hadn’t seen Asyut face to face recently

Of course, she participated properly in the ceremonies where the two of them were to be present But she didn’t say any words that were more than as necessary

There was no way she could ask Asyut what he thought about this, but she had a general guess without asking It could be said that the stern expression he shohenever theyAsyut probably didn’t understand why Yuna was avoiding him at this point in time Just when they had started to understand each other, why? She was sure he wanted to ask that But, in actuality, did he say nothing because he respected Yuna’s thoughts?

If that were the case then Yuna was both apologetic and grateful With this extension of tis a little Although it may be difficult to come to a clear solution, at the very least she had to be able to suppress these emotions

Finished changing, Yuna kneeled on the floor and picked up a small box from beneath the bed

When she opened the lid she could see a single ribbon inside

(Celiastina……)

This hat she sent to “Cella” in the past as a child She was extremely touched by how it had been kept even until now

Yuna gripped the ribbon tightly

What exactly could she do for Celiastina?

Yuna had done everything up to noith the hope that the royal palace (this place) could becohtly, for Celiastina, ould return However, before she knew it, hadn’t that become “for her own sake”? The s for Asyut, the more this anxiety crossed her mind

These feelings of love for him were undoubtedly Yuna’s own There was no way this could be for Celiastina’s sake And that’s why she had to settle herself as soon as possible

(If I don’t, then everything about doing my best for Celiastina’s sake would be a lie)

That hat she was most afraid of That her very existence would become a lie

In fact, nowadays, she nearly couldn’t feel Celiastina’s presence Even though, at first, when she possessed this body she had been swayed violently by Celiastina’s own emotions; the sense of her intense hatred towards the outside world, and the sense of her occasional sorrow Every feeling had been aligned with Yuna’s feelings, and she had felt Celiastina’s presence steadily

But, right now, Celiastina was completely silent

(Why can’t I feel anything anymore?)

Yuna dropped her eyes to the ribbon and frowned

(Celiastina’s heart is… distant)

Gripping the ribbon in both hands she pressed it against her chest

Please, Celiastina, you must return

Nasha, who returned after sending off the dressed into her nors and started cleaning

“There is still some time after this before your ceremony, will you continue to rest in your room?”

While placing the tea set onto a tray, Nasha only turned her head to ask this

“Mm… oh, I know, I think I’ll drop by the infirmary”

Yuna raised her lowered head and replied in a bright voice

She’ll head to Mislee’s infir After she returned the ribbon box to its original place, Yuna had thought this

Mislee’s infirmary was a temporary clinic established by the royal palace In the past, there was a tragic event whereinnocent people into a prison called the Holy Jail Later on, the people ere saved by Yuna weretime

However, now that that role has ended, it was opened to eency patients in the royal palace Mislee, who had been in charge of the infirmary, still remained and treated injured soldiers and servants Yuna had been absent at the infiry on Celiastina’s problem, but now that it was calm, she tried to show up in between her ceremonies

And, a few days ago, Yuna had personally planted a seedling in the infirmary’s backyard She also took care of it and in these past few days she had been appearing at the infir it every day, Yuna tried her best to see it frequently herself It was a plant that was easy to care for, so it would grow properly even if it was treated soht of it as her avatar, and so she wanted to cherish it

Yes, that seedling was her avatar

And it was a present to Celiastina

The moment she learned that Celiastina had always kept her ribbon close at hand, she also got the idea of wanting to leave behind so left behind for Yuna, but it sees and Yuna had been really happy

The plant’s name was… an asiatic jasmine

It was the sa Celiastina had raised in the past at the orphanage During its season, it would be covered with pale pink flowers and it would soothe the hearts of all who saw it It ht not be as splendid as the one Celiastina raised but that was okay, if it were to make the people who came to the infirhtest bit of gentleness when seeing the flowers

“Oh my, Lady Celiastina, welcome!”

The person that greeted Yuna, ent to the infir s the place out because she was opening the s in the room one after another

“Sorry for always dropping by while you’re busy Is now a good time?”

“Yes, of course it is As you can see, there is no one here right now Even if that weren’t the case, you are alelcome”

Mislee, who just finished opening the last , gestured Yuna to a seat when she continued to stand at the entrance Aeneas, who had escorted her here, remained outside Even when she invited him inside, he unequivocally chose to wait outside Whenever she asked the reason, he answered that his position as a bodyguard should not be broken so easily

Having been told that, she felt aard about forcibly dragging Aeneas in However, Yuna secretly thought those words ht have been an excuse Even she knew by now that he had feelings of affection for her That she cas precisely was because she was at a loss about not hurting hiuilty conscience about that

“Aah, but honestly, you arrived at a good ti tea And, the other day, I was given delicious tea cakes from a servant’s child who I treated Lady Celiastina, won’t you join me in my break?”

Mislee said that and delivered a light wink, which made Yuna smile and nod

“I’ll help brew the tea”

“No, no, it’s fine I apologize because it is not a high grade tea but, to that extent, it is simple to brew Please remain seated”

Saying this, Mislee withdrew into the back; Yuna watched her until she was gone and then slowly looked around the room

The number of beds was much smaller compared to the time when Holy Jail victi i the sides of the beds, most likely from Mislee’s consideration The h the skylight, and painted the roole wrinkle could be found Even that showed Mislee’s sincere personality

“Lately, it has been quiet like this all the time There is quite a lot of time when there is no one around I al my job properly”

Mislee returned soon with the tea on a tray

“However, I try to think about how it is a good thing that everyone is working energetically without injuries or illnesses”

“But that’s the truth If people knew that tasty tea cakes and tea coather here”

“Oh my, Lady Celiastina, this is a secret”

The two shared a laugh and then had fun for so idle chatter Mislee wasn’t an especially talkative wo to her She didn’t s that she wanted to talk about, but she didn’t just listen to the other person either Because a nice flowing conversation had been created, it all became very natural

“Come to think of it, today was the day a dressmaker came to visit you, Lady Celiastina, correct? Have you already seen them?”

“Yes, just before I came here It was a very pretty dress but so so I took it off immediately”

“What a waste! I’m sure it suited you very well And ere the lucky people who saw Lady Celiastina in a dress?”

“No, u it on so it was just Nasha and the dressmaker”

“Oh no, that’s evenhad been prepared, you should have went out so that dress”

Yuna gave a vague s Mislee’s words Lately, she felt like these fake smiles she made had increased

“It’d be nice if we could, but the current situation is how it is”

“Ah, the problem with the anti-saint faction, hm I understand, but don’t we all require a break so up a little and walk through the gardens of the royal palace together”

“That’s… true”

Her reply was stuck and she dropped her gaze to the cup at her hands For a moment, silence descended between the two

“…… Lady Celiastina, is your e with Lord Asyut hard?”