Chapter 6
“……”
You’re asking what my true power is?
Lothar—this man really knows how to needle someone without any malice.
Those eyes, staring at me with pure curiosity… I had the sudden urge to poke them—poke, poke—with my fingers.
Alright. Let’s go back three months.
At the time, the oracle delivered to the High Priest was this:
‘The awakening of the Saintess.’
“Upon the woman who has reached her twentieth birthday this year, the blessing of the goddess shall descend.”
Aside from that, there were no further clues from the goddess Pelmira.
With the imperial family’s cooperation, the temple began searching for women who had just turned twenty—from the highest ranks of nobility to the lowest corners of the slums, even the brothels.
And then, they found Elise.
Elise, who had been cast out of an orphanage upon reaching adulthood, possessing nothing of value but a passably pretty face.
In other words… me, before possession.
That girl had been on the verge of marrying off as the third wife to an elderly noble.
The priest who found Elise immediately dropped to his knees and cried out:
“We have found the Saintess!”
Only priests capable of sensing divine power recognized her true worth—the overwhelming surge of holy energy that filled her body to the brim and overflowed.
It must have manifested when she turned twenty.
That was the proof that Elise had been chosen by the goddess.
…Well, something like that did happen.
But here’s the problem.
A very serious problem.
“Now then, Saintess. Please demonstrate a miracle.”
“Pardon?”
“A miracle, through your overflowing divine power!”
“Th-that is… how exactly?”
“?”
“?”
A Saintess who could do nothing but let her overflowing divine power go to waste.
That… was me.
Throughout the empire’s history, Saintesses had manifested their powers in various ways.
Some possessed healing abilities on par with legendary physicians.
Others could purify corrupted lands in an instant.
At the very least, they were excellent at bestowing blessings.
But me?
“Nngh… ngh…! Ugh…”
“Saintess. Straining like you’re trying to relieve yourself will not release divine power.”
Now that I think about it, who told me that during my first life?
…Probably that bastard Wolfgang.
In any case, I was nothing more than a vessel capable of containing an immense amount of divine power.
The sense of helplessness I felt when I realized that…
Honestly, my previous life self had probably been more capable. At least back then, I—
“…Enough.”
That was both the temple’s secret—and my personal shame.
I might already be in the same boat as Lothar, but I had no intention of telling him this part honestly.
Why?
Because—
It’s embarrassing.
So I gave a short reply.
“Secret.”
“I see.”
Lothar nodded, as if respecting my wishes.
He backed off more easily than expected, which struck me as odd.
“But what does Elise’s regression have to do with Graupfels?”
Ah, right. That’s the real point.
It seemed the Empire’s second prince had quite a bit of patience.
He had listened quietly to my rambling explanation about regression without interrupting once.
I turned my gaze out the carriage window.
At some point, we had entered a forest where snow was falling heavily.
We were nearing the northern border.
Pulling my eyes away from the bleak scenery, I spoke.
“Lothar. Do you think your maternal family, House Staufen, betrayed you in every timeline?”
His eyes wavered slightly.
Then he asked,
“You’re saying they didn’t?”
I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders against the dropping temperature and answered.
“In the previous timelines, House Staufen was on your side. And they were destroyed along with you. Understand?”
“…Yes.”
It couldn’t have been easy to hear something like that in a sound state of mind.
But his face remained calmer than expected.
That was a relief.
At least he didn’t look like he was about to snap and strangle me.
“I was the one who told Margrave Staufen to betray you.”
Whoosh.
A fierce gust of wind swept past the carriage window.
After a brief silence, Lothar asked,
“…Why?”
“So that Staufen could survive—and later help you attempt a second coup.”
The truth behind the betrayal was cruel, but simple.
The Staufen family had produced outstanding generals for generations.
Even Lothar’s unreal strength had its roots there.
They were a card that absolutely had to be preserved for the future.
Because the battles ahead would only grow more difficult.
But that was my reasoning—and Staufen’s.
Whether Lothar, who had been stabbed in the back by his only aunt, could understand that… was another matter.
He had been abandoned without warning, subjected to all kinds of torture, hadn’t he?
I expected him to press me further.
But the carriage fell silent again.
So quiet that all I could hear was the faint rattling of my own restless legs.
Thankfully, Lothar spoke before I lost patience and snapped at him.
“Does my aunt—the Margravine of Staufen—also know about your regression?”
“No.”
Aside from Lothar, there was only one other person who knew.
Wolfgang, the one outside.
There were… circumstances.
“Then how did you persuade her?”
“…Hmm.”
How should I phrase this delicately?
I thought about it for less than a second before giving up.
“By telling her that no matter what she does, your chances of defeating Maximilian right now are essentially zero.”
“……”
A cold sense of defeat flickered across Lothar’s face.
“Stop!”
A shout from a holy knight came from outside the carriage.
Soon, the sounds of hooves and wheels came to a halt.
At the knock that followed, I almost kicked the door open—then stopped myself.
Better not damage it further, considering Lothar had already broken it once.
“Come in.”
The door opened cautiously.
It was Wolfgang.
He quickly scanned me from head to toe and asked,
“You weren’t hit, were you?”
“As if.”
Was he worried—or mocking me?
…Probably the latter.
Wolfgang shrugged and got to the point.
“The sun will be setting soon, and the snowstorm is worsening. It’ll be difficult to continue marching. How about we stop in a nearby village for the night?”
“Let’s do that. My backside is about to split into four pieces anyway.”
Wolfgang chuckled softly and extended his hand.
I absentmindedly reached out to take it—
“Excessive courtesy is unnecessary.”
A low, heavy voice cut in as a solid figure stepped between Wolfgang and me.
For a moment, it felt like a wall had been erected before my eyes.
“It would be inappropriate to treat one’s husband as mere decoration.”
The sarcastic tone that followed made me doubt my ears.
He had been acting like an emotionless machine this whole time—what was this, suddenly?
Now that I looked, Lothar, who had stepped out of the carriage, didn’t even glance at Wolfgang.
He simply extended his hand toward me.
“Or… do you dislike being escorted by an incompetent prince?”
“W-what are you talking about?”
Caught off guard by the sudden self-deprecation, I stammered.
It seemed our earlier conversation had left quite an impression on him.
Ignoring Wolfgang’s subtle expression, I quickly took Lothar’s hand.
Despite his barbed words, his escort was flawless.
Only then did he turn his head slightly toward Wolfgang and say,
“I will take charge of escorting Elise. You need not concern yourself with it. From now on.”
Why did that sound like a declaration of war?
Wolfgang blinked at Lothar’s words.
I wondered how he’d respond—
But he simply lowered his head with a faint smile.
“As you wish, Your Highness.”
…Phew. That was the appropriate reaction.
Given his temperament, I had thought he might escalate things.
Still, he’s not an idiot.
The problem was Lothar.
Since the temple, he’d seemed to be keeping Wolfgang in check.
Apparently, that wasn’t just my imagination.
But why?
Clicking my tongue inwardly, I turned to follow the moving knights—
“Walk with me.”
I couldn’t.
Because Lothar was still holding my hand.
His palm completely enveloped the back of my hand.
I stared at the oddly intimate sight before lifting my gaze.
His profile came into view as he walked forward, expression indifferent.
That sharp, sculpted nose… he really was handsome.
No, that’s not the point.
“…What is it?”
Noticing my gaze, Lothar asked.
Lowering my voice as I walked beside him, I said,
“Hey. Does your family owe Wolfgang money or something?”
“……”
There was no immediate reply.
…Don’t tell me it’s actually true?
Well, Wolfgang did seem like the type to earn grudges.
After all, he had become the commander of the Holy Knights at a very young age thanks to the Archbishop’s backing—a classic parachute noble.
On top of that, his unserious attitude and habit of irritating people with flippant jokes didn’t help.
And for a holy knight, he certainly had an impressive number of rumors involving women—perhaps because of his refined appearance.
Still, I couldn’t think of any reason for Lothar and Wolfgang to be entangled like this—
“There is no man who would gladly welcome another harboring feelings for his wife.”
“…Hm?”
