"Lloyd's younger sister? But your younger sister..." (Fia)
I wondered if she passed away 10 years ago, but I couldn't bring myself to say it, so I held my tongue.
Then, Lloyd seemed to sense what I was about to say and opened his mouth instead.
"Fia, I told you before that my sister Colette passed away ten years ago. But those words were not accurate. ...My sister is not dead." (Lloyd Alcott)
"Huh!?" (Fia)
My eyes widen in surprise as an outrageous story popped out at me.
However, I heard about Colette's death not only from Lloyd but also from Fabian.
In other words, everyone in the world must thought that Colette was dead.
And since there hadn't been a single strange rumor, no one should have suspected her death for the past 10 years.
Is she...alive?
As I blinked my eyes, unable to understand what was going on, Lloyd's face distorted.
"To be exact, she's not dead...but she can't even be called alive. Because for the past 10 years, she's been just sleeping peacefully. She only drinks water every once in a while. She doesn't open his eyes or move her body; she just sleeps quietly." (Lloyd)
While listening to the story, maybe I was able to somehow guess Colette's condition.
Perhaps Colette was suffering from an abnormal state of sleep.
I couldn't be certain without confirming Colette myself, but Red and her younger sisters were affected by the same curse...However, I didn't really understand why she only drank water...that's what I was thinking, and Cerulean interrupted the conversation.
"Fia, the reason Colette continues to sleep is because of the power of the Spirit King that I inherited." (Cerulean)
"Huh, the power of the Spirit King?" (Fia)
Suddenly, someone brought up a topic that I had never thought of, and I was surprised to hear it again.
Then Cerulean twisted his face in pain and continued speaking.
"I was there when the flame of Colette's life was about to go out. I strongly prayed that they wouldn't take her life away. As a result, the Spirit King's blood within me was filled with my wishes. However, because I requested a special wish, she continues to sleep in a state that is far from alive." (Cerulean)
"What does that mean?" (Fia)
When I asked again because I couldn't understand what was being said, Cerulean carefully explained it to me.
"On that day 10 years ago, Colette was in a terrible condition. It was clearer than watching the fire that if we left it as it was, I would have no choice but to wait for her death. That's why I wished to stop time for her. She wants to stop the time, continue sleeping, and only wake up when a saint who can heal her appears." (Cerulean)
"...That's a big deal." (Fia)
I understood that the situation was much more difficult than I had first imagined, so that was all I said.
Unless you were a Spirit King, you would not be able to use techniques that were beyond human comprehension, such as stopping time for a specific person.
As he said himself, Cerulean was a member of the royal family, so there was no doubt that he had the blood of the Spirit King.
Maybe that's why the Spirit King lent their power to make his wish come true...
"Where does the energy come from to sustain Colette's 'time-stopped state' for ten years? There's no way she could continue to use that kind of spell for a long time without investing any energy." (Fia)
I asked in question, and the Cerulean's eyes widened in admiration.
"Fia is really amazing. I can't believe she understands the structure of the Spirit King's power that much." (Cerulean)
Then he gave the worst answer I could have expected.
"The energy is my life. The moment I prayed, "I don't want her to die," Colette and I were connected. She can't even be called alive, so she doesn't consume that much, but... I continue to be eaten up by the fact that I get one year younger every year." (Cerulean)
Cerulean said it matter-of-factly, but it was a far-fetched story.
Cerulean was sacrificing his own life in order to keep Colette alive.
With normal magic, the price would be magic power, but since the other party was the Spirit King, a special price was probably being demanded.
As a result, Ceruleans offered his body and were eaten, causing his age to regress by one year each year. However...
"...Cerulean, why would you go to such lengths?" (Fia)
The explanation for his actions as "Because she's Lloyd's trusted sister" didn't seem to be enough.
Therefore, when I asked the question with my doubts, Cerulean only said one word, as if it would explain everything.
"That's because she was the woman who would become my queen." (Cerulean)
"Ah!" (Fia)
Maybe I understood everything the moment I heard those words.
Why was Cerulean trying to save Lloyd's sister, even if it meant losing his life?
Therefore, I confirmed the wish that Lloyd expressed earlier.
"So... what does it mean that you want me to choose 'Great Saint's Rose' for Colette?" (Fia)
Then, Cerulean stared at me with a serious expression.
"That's...our wish to let you bet your future on it." (Cerulean)
"...Could you please tell me more details?" (Fia)
Since the scene was a scene, I wanted to answer, "I understand," but I couldn't understand what Cerulean meant, so I asked again.
Then, Cerulean stared at the sky as if remembering something.
"Fia, you were once asked by Savis to procure flowers to offer to the Saint. The client at that time was me. And the person to whom you were offering the flowers was Colette. I... I used to regularly offer flowers to my sleeping beauty. At that time, I asked for flowers as part of that, and... you brought me the Great Saint's Rose." (Cerulean)
Indeed, as Cerulean said, the king regularly placed flowers on the tombstones of saints, and Commander Savis once asked me to procure those flowers.
Therefore, since saint were my friend, I wanted to give them the most suitable flower, so I created the "Great Saint's Rose" using the roses that were planted in the royal castle.
Does that mean, in a roundabout way, that "Great Saint's Rose" was dedicated to Colette?
"I haven't thanked you yet, but Fia, thank you for finding such a wonderful flower. Colette has always admired the Great Saint. It was a great experience for her to offer flowers that originated from the Great Saint. That's what I thought when I received the rose you found. ...It was the best gift I could give to her, who was going to die soon. I didn't know at that time that that flower had any special effects." (Cerulean)
Cerulean paused, turned his head from facing the ceiling, and looked at me.
"The Great Saint is truly a special being. There are many magics that only she can use. And she saved many people with those magics. However, since only she could use them, her magic and efficacy were lost with the death of the Great Saint...that's what I thought." (Cerulean)
"…………" (Fia)
As I listened in silence, Cerulean continued speaking nervously.
"During a tea party voluntarily held by the Knight Captains, a terrible fact was discovered. Information was circulating in advance that drinking tea with the petals of the Great Saint's Rose on it might have some kind of efficacy. However, I thought that it was just the range of magic that a saint could use. However... at that tea party, Cyril's attack power increased, and Desmond and Zachary were affected by a state abnormality that paralyzed them." (Cerulean)
Ah, that's right...I, who was participating in that tea party, nodded as I remembered that time.
I had a bit of an idea, so I injected my magical power into the flower petals used for tea, and modified them to make them even more effective.
As a result, it had an interesting effect on the captains and the other knights who were attending the tea party, but I wondered why he brought it up.
While wondering this, Cerulean seemed moved and had tears in his eyes.
"...Can you believe it? The magic unique to the Great Saint, which was lost 300 years ago, has been revived inside the rose petals." (Cerulean)
"Indeed, yes." (Fia)
So that was it, you could look at it that way.
"That magic was something that Lloyd and I had been yearning for the past ten years. We had almost given up on it, but at the perfect time we found a chance to save her." (Cerulean)
In place of Cerulean, who seemed to be choked up and stopped speaking, Lloyd continued speaking.
"Tomorrow morning, all the churches in the country are scheduled to send out an announcement that a selection meeting for the First-class Saint will be held. Two weeks after the announcement, the selection meeting will be held, and soon the First-class Saint will be appointed. And if she is the leading saint, she will surely be able to heal Colette when she wakes up." (Lloyd)
"…………" (Fia)
Even though I knew that the sacred stones I had could heal the dying and injured, I felt inexplicable to Lloyd and Cerulean who didn't mention it.
Perhaps the two of them were trying to prepare substitutes for things that could be replaced, and only asked me for things that they couldn't do anything about.
As I was clutching the chest area of my clothes in an unbearable feeling, Cerulean suddenly looked up.
"So, Fia!" (Cerulean)
A tear fell from one of Cerulean's eyes as he spoke in an intense tone.
However, Cerulean did not wipe away the tears that were streaming down his face and stared at me with longing eyes.
"Each petal of the 'Great Saint's Rose' has a different efficacy, so please... please pick the petal that will help Colette wake up!" (Cerulean)
Author's Note
Thank you for always reading!
We apologize for the inconvenience, but we will be taking a break for about three weeks while we work on creating a book.
If you have any stories that you would like to add to the book or read on SS, I would appreciate it if you could leave a comment in the comments section. I am going to use it as an example.
(Regarding ZERO, if there is a story you would like to read, please let me know)
Nice to meet you.