Chapter 45: First Trial (5)
Of course.
If the cure is distributed, there will be war with the Holy Kingdom, and if the people of the epidemic village are released, the subjects of the empire will not accept it.
Edwin, hearing my answer, said with a long exhale:
“Haha, like that then.”
There was worry on his face unbecoming of a child.
I asked him: “Why are you sighing, Your Highness?”
“Nothing,” he said.
What empty thoughts are running through that little head again? I looked at his face for a moment, then turned my gaze to the road.
“I'll speed up. "We have to get in before the doors close."
With a firm snap of the whips, the carriage accelerated. Behind the wheels raising the dust, long shadows stretched. A very long day was coming to an end.
Exiting the village was easy, but the real problems began when we arrived at the Palace of the Third Prince.
“Ah…”
Katherine froze in horror as soon as she saw Sage. Whoever went out to bring the prince’s teacher returned with someone who appeared to be a vagabond; No wonder she was shocked.
As for Saj, he started wandering around the reception hall indifferently:
“Wow, you said you were poor, but the place is luxurious!” “Oh, even if it is a palace, everything here is fine.”
Which part of it says “wise”? He was more like an old tramp who came from the streets.
At that moment the door opened and Princess Emilia entered. As soon as their eyes met, Saj took a step back.
She said: “Grandpa? Who are you?"
“Huh?”
Sag pointed to it and asked me, turning his head, “What is this puppy?”
«What? Leah is not a puppy! I am a human being!”
“Wow, the puppy is talking.”
“Leia is not a puppy!”
“But you are.” hybrid? No, at this level maybe a golden puppy.”
“I told you, I'm not a puppy!”
As soon as he called her old, Emilia exploded in anger: “No! no!"
He said to her: “What is not?”
“I'm not a puppy!”
“So what are you?”
“Leah is a human being!” princess!"
"…princess?"
Saj furrowed his eyebrows, then his eyes widened as if he remembered something, so he squatted next to her eyes:
“Oh, so you are the first princess, Emilia los Ventrumpe!”
Catherine shouted impatiently:
“How do you mention Her Highness’s name so lightly? Show some respect!”
He said with disdain: “Why should I waste the formalities just by mentioning a girl’s name?”
"What did you say?!"
He didn't care about her, but raised Emilia with both hands.
“Kyaaa, Princess Emilia!”
Catherine almost fainted when a stranger dared to touch the princess.
“Yes, yes, our dear princess, we are honored,” said Saj. Just call me Grandpa, okay?”
Emilia stared at him with wide eyes, then she noticed the thick beard on his chin, and her eyes lit up:
“Cloud!”
“Oh!”
She clung to his beard, shaking it: “Kyaa!” cloud! cloud!"
"cloud?! This is part of my body, little one! Get away!
“Leah wants to eat Cloud!”
«No! Don't put it in your mouth!
He tried to put her down, but her grip on his beard was steel.
"Damn it, before I go bald, you'll pull out my beard!"
"Hahaha! High, high!”
“What a high!” Get away, little puppy!”
“Leia is not a puppy!”
“Okay, okay! Understood! Just stop pulling!”
Saj ended up playing with her, raising her up and lowering her, like a good grandfather with a naughty granddaughter.
"Nanny... who is this tramp... I mean, this gentleman?" Catherine whispered with a smirk.
I said: “Didn’t I tell you?” He will be your Highness’s teacher.”
“You really said that...” she giggled, watching him feed Emilia candy to escape her clutches, and then a vein formed on her forehead when she saw him collapse on the sofa, “defeated” in front of the princess.
“No matter how much I look at him,” she said sullenly, “he does not seem like a nobleman or a man of learning.”
“Don’t be fooled by the appearance,” I said reassuringly, “it is truly exceptional.”
"exceptional? In what sense?
She stared at him with deep suspicion. Then she muttered: “Haven’t you been scammed?” I know that your nature does not allow it, but...”
I almost told her the truth about the old man - that he was the great, hidden sage - and then I held my tongue. If it causes trouble later... I'd better not mention that it was him.
She asked me with an inquiring look: “That gentleman… is not what he seems, is he? Is he a great person I don't know?
“Have you heard the name of the great sage Sag Rel?” I whispered.
"naturally!"
Sage's fame is broader than I expected; Even Catherine, a frontier noblewoman, knows the name. Although the secret of his invention to treat scabies is not made public, his other exploits are well-known.
“I heard he suddenly disappeared,” she asked. Why?
“This is... a distant relative of the great sage,” I said, pointing to Sage reverently.
«Huh? truly?!"
"truly."
Then I confided to her: “It is not common, but the sage’s relatives were also described as geniuses, and this man is one of them.”
“Ahh…?” She looked confused, but she believed. Then she furrowed her eyebrows:
“But why would someone so great agree to teach Prince Edwin?”
“That's how it is,” I said tersely.
Then she gasped:
“Isn’t Viscount Rhyl a wanted criminal on the Continent?”
“Yes, but since he is a missing declarant, the prosecution has effectively stopped.”
“However… it is not true. Even if it was not Al-Hakim himself, hosting a relative of someone accused of high treason...”
She looked at me with fear: “How did you find the wise man’s relative in the first place?” It was said that no one on the continent knows his place or the whereabouts of his family...”
“I have very personal connections.”
“I-I see...” She seemed reluctantly convinced, but the worry did not leave her eyes.
“Nanny, I'm still worried. Is it right for this man to stay here? "I feel like it's not right."
I turned my face towards her and gently held her hands, and her cheeks turned red: “M-Nanny?”
“The truth is that the great sage was a close friend of my adopted parents,” I said in a low tone.
"truly?!"
“Through them, he instructed me to take care of this poor man, who had been persecuted on the continent for a whole decade simply because he had blood, until he became too old to escape.”
With this sentence, Saj, the active resident of the epidemic village, turned into a miserable, exhausted old man - all a lie, but necessary. I am not the daughter of anyone who knows him, nor is he a relative of the wise. Rather, he is the wise man himself, and this is a fact that I cannot reveal. Who will believe someone who says that she “woke up” in the body of another and in her previous life was the leader of assassins? I will be accused of insanity.
Catherine exhaled long, holding her forehead: “Well... then there is no way.”
“Thank you, Catherine,” I said.
But she added, crossing her arms and looking at Sage:
“The question remains: How will we present it to people? We can't just call him Qarib Al-Hakim. If he is to teach the prince, there must be a clear characteristic...”
She smiled: “Don’t worry.” I got up and straightened my clothes.
“Foundation Day is coming up, isn't it?”
Her eyes widened: “Oh?” Yes...but what does the festival have to do with it now?
I said: “We have to prepare our palace to receive guests.”
She furrowed her brow, trying to understand what I meant: “You mean… for hospitality?”
“I’ve been thinking for a while that the Third Prince’s Palace is too gloomy,” I said, looking at the barren garden. The garden is spacious, but it contains only a few flowering trees and ordinary plants.”
I turned my gaze to Sage, who was still bickering with Emilia, and then smiled slightly:
“Don't you think it's time we hired... our own gardener?”