Althea: The Legendary Saintess [Shoujo]

The next day, after finishing breakfast, Regalus hurriedly went out to the royal chambers with Jean.

Meanwhile, Althea, having been told by Thomas to dress up for the greeting promised to the king yesterday, was preparing herself.

Thomas muttered to himself, "I've already said my 'thanks' properly, so there's no need to bring Althea along..."

"Father, I want to say my own 'thanks.' If it weren't for His Majesty's permission, I would have been supposed to stay in the territory, right? I'm really happy to be here. So, I want to say my thanks properly."

"Well... if Althea says so... then there's no helping it."

"Thank you, Father."

Prepared Althea and disgruntled Thomas left the room together to meet the king.

As usual, Thomas called out at the door, entered the room, greeted King Adrian, and as usual, Adrian interrupted the conversation and casually spoke.

While grumbling about his attitude, Thomas spoke to Althea behind him, and seeing the unchanged interaction from three years ago, he smiled secretly.

"It's been a while, Your Majesty. Thank you for allowing me to accompany you on this occasion."

"Yes, it's been a while, Miss Althea... There's no need for formal greetings, so please raise your head and look at me."

"Yes... I apologize."

Althea slowly raised her head.

"Hmm... you were adorable three years ago, but it seems you've become even more adorable now. I'm looking forward to the future, but at the same time, I'm worried. What do you say we have tea until my son returns?"

"Your Majesty, we cannot stay in your presence until afternoon... I believe His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is scheduled to return around 2 o'clock? We do not intend to intrude until such time, and we would like to welcome him back in our room."

Thomas interrupted Adrian's words.

He's been saying "my prince, my prince" since earlier... It seems like he wants to introduce Althea to the Crown Prince, but I won't allow that!

While hiding his true feelings, Thomas was trying to come up with an excuse to return to the room quickly.

"I see... that's unfortunate... Thomas. I just want to spend some time talking alone with Althea over a cup of tea..."

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, my daughter has just begun to learn proper etiquette. I apologize for any rudeness, so I must decline your invitation for a tea party for just the two of them."

"I don't mind etiquette. I swear I won't hold anything against her no matter what happens... A cup of tea wouldn't hurt, would it?"

"But..."

"Then let's do this. It should be fine if Miss Althea herself says 'yes,' right? '...Miss Althea, would you like to have tea with me?'"

Adrian kneeled before Althea, extending his hand in a pleading gesture.

Not accustomed to such a request, Althea could only nod shyly, her face turning red.

"...What do you say, Thomas? I got Miss Althea's permission, didn't I?"

"Sigh... Your Majesty, as a king, one shouldn't... make such requests to a young girl... but I understand your concern. Let's make it 30 minutes, alright?"

After sighing, Thomas turned to his daughter and continued, "Althea, please bear with His Majesty's whims for 30 minutes. If anything happens that you're uncomfortable with, you can do anything... He did say 'no questions about rudeness' earlier."

"Hey, that's pretty rude, Thomas... Well, I understand your anxiety about entrusting your beloved daughter, but it's okay. I won't do anything rude."

"...If only Her Majesty were here..."

"If my wife were here, I think I would be more forward... Is it okay?"

"Huh..."

"My wife has been looking forward to meeting Althea. Even this time, I left after calming down her tantrums about wanting to go. ...Well, that's how it is... 'Prepare the tea.'"

When he instructed a nearby maid, she quickly brought tea and sweets.

"Well then, Thomas. Please come to pick her up after 30 minutes."

"...Understood."

Neither Adrian nor Her Majesty... The Queen hasn't even met Althea yet... Adrian must have boasted about it. Even without that, just being called 'Clara's daughter' must have a sweet ring to it for Her Majesty...

Thinking so, Thomas reluctantly left the room.

"Now that the intruder is gone... Althea, are you nervous?... There's no need to be tense, you know? Just relax. I want to talk to the real you, not the one who's all tense."

"...I understand... Then, I'll take you up on your offer..."

Althea went to the table where tea was prepared and sat on the chair.

Seeing her imperfect movement, typical of an 8-year-old child, Adrian smiled.

"I'm not 'His Majesty' right now. I'm just 'Uncle Adrian.' You don't need to use honorifics, so just enjoy the tea, sweets, and conversation."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"...I said not 'Your Majesty,' right? Hmm... just call me 'Uncle Adrian.'"

"Um... L-lord A-Adrian...?"

"'Lord' is unnecessary..."

"Yes, Uncle Adrian."

Adrian offered her tea.

"Please have some tea, Miss Althea... This tea is a special rose tea. Can you smell the faint scent of roses?"

Sniffing the tea, Althea said, "Yes, it smells wonderful... Thank you for the treat."

---

"Delicious!... Oh, I'm sorry..."

"No, I'm glad to see the honest Althea. And you're still just 8 years old, right? That's just right for that kind of thing."

"...Thank you very much... By the way, this tea is very delicious. Where can I get it?"

"Where...? Ah, unfortunately, you can't buy this tea."

Upon noticing Althea's disappointed expression, Adrian said, "Hmm... well, I'll give you some to take home. It would be nice for your whole family to enjoy."

"Really? But..."

"Don't worry about it. The Monclair family has been very helpful to me, and both Thomas, Clara and you are special to me, so it's 'special,' right?"

"Thank you! I'll treasure it!"

Overjoyed, Althea stood up to express her gratitude, and with a smile, Adrian continued talking.

"All right... by the way... were you there at the 'magic measurement' yesterday?"

"Yes, I watched from the second-floor seats."

"...How was it?"

"It was very mysterious. I couldn't believe you could find out so many things just by touching the crystal."

"I see, it must have seemed strange to you the first time you saw it. That crystal is special... Well, you'll learn about it in school, so I think it's okay to just watch until then?"

"In school?... That sounds exciting."

"Anything else?"

"...Anything else?"

"Yes, anything else. Besides the crystal, did you think of anything else?"

"Anything else... Anything else... Oh, yes, there was."

"Uh-huh, what?"

"Well... before the 'magic measurement,' you were doing something to the prince, weren't you? What was that?"

"That was the 'magic unsealing.' "

"'Magic unsealing'?... Was the prince also 'magic-sealed'?"

"Yes, just like Althea."

"Then... then, will you do the 'magic unsealing' for my 'magic measurement' too?"

"Ah, yes, Thomas, your father, will do that."

"Father?"

"Yeah, 'magic sealing' and 'unsealing' can only be done by the one who cast it. Well, if there's someone with 'magic' greater than the one who cast it, it's possible to unseal it... Althea's 'magic sealing' was done by Thomas, right?"

"Yes."

"Normally, 'magic sealing' is done by the mages of the Ministry of Magic, and the sealed children are supposed to live in the royal palace... or rather, in the Ministry of Magic until they turn 10. ...Well, since there are not many people with 'magic' surpassing Thomas's, I asked Kristia to teach him that day, thinking that it would be okay."

"I see... ...Thank you, Uncle."