Isn’t Being A Wicked Woman Much Better?

C168

After the Thanksgiving celebration, Isidor, who had spent some time down south touring the estate, returned to the capital after almost a week.

"... I want to see her face."

"Cookie. Do you want to see the princess too?"

While petting Cookie, who was tightly winding a ball of wool, he involuntarily thought of the princess's face. As if by telepathy, a bird arrived with a small note.

He opened the paper and smiled gently.

[Do you have time today?]

Isidor quickly scribbled with a pen.

[If I didn't, I would have to make time.]

After a while, a response came.

[If it's okay, I'll come play at the Visconti Duke's house.]

"You're coming here?"

Isidor, who was planning a date at the theater in the Yones district, was startled by the sudden announcement of the princess's visit.

Now that he thinks about it, it's the first time she's coming to this house.

"The last time she said goodbye at the entrance."

Isidor jumped from his seat and quickly waved the string.

"Miguel."

"Yes, sir."

Miguel tensed at Isidor's most serious expression ever.

"Get ready to welcome a guest. She is the noblest person in the Empire, so you must be incomparably more attentive than the last time the Crown Prince came. Prepare a welcome bouquet. Understood?"

"No way... Is His Majesty the Emperor or the Holy Father coming?"

"Where would they dare to come? Princess Deborah is coming."

Strictly speaking, she could be said to be the incarnation of the Saint who had the memory of the most loved being in the Empire, so it was not a simple bean pod.

(N/T: for those who forgot, this expression is used for someone who is blinded by love.)

"... Oh yes. I understand."

However, Miguel, unaware of the inner story, tried to hide his absurd expression and left the office.

Isidor rushed into the dressing room, wiping his arms covered in Cookie's hair.

After a while, he changed into his best outfit, put on glasses with a golden frame, and unbuttoned his shirt a bit.

"What do you think?"

Miguel opened his mouth with tired eyes.

"If you wanted to express the image of an intelligent master welcoming guests after being absorbed in work all day, then it's a success. The sleeve cuffs and the color of the vest are amazing."

"Have you ever made a deal with the devil? I couldn't feel your soul at all in the last words...."

While Miguel seriously contemplated the difference between a dishonest patron and a demon, they received the news that the Seymour carriage had arrived at the Visconti house.

It was the young lady, who could become the future duchess, so the servants of the Visconti family welcomed her with enthusiasm.

With the tense air flowing, Princess Deborah, dressed in a long black coat, slowly stepped out of the carriage, and the workers were very nervous about the rumors of her cold demeanor.

"Welcome."

Isidor smiled gently and handed a large bouquet of flowers to the princess, and suddenly she found herself with many fresh flowers in her arms.

Some servants, who saw her appearance, slightly modified their impression.

She is definitely an attractive beauty that attracts attention.

"The welcome is so grand. It wasn't necessary to do this."

In the face of Princess Deborah's murmur, Isidor shrugged.

"If you had said yesterday that you were coming for a visit, I would have laid out the red carpet from the carriage to the annex."

"Is this a joke, right?"

"It's because it's cute that you're shy."

Isidor, who had received her coat, kissed several times her long white nape.

In the past, they even had much more physical contact than this, but still, the princess's earlobes turned red, and she played with the innocent petals for no reason.

"Sit here. I will order tea."

The two walked through the profusely decorated hallway and entered the ancient hall, and as soon as the princess sat down, Miguel brought a tray.

Several desserts were placed on the table, and the princess slowly lifted a tea cup with a golden handle.

"Is the tea suitable for you?"

"Yes. It's delicious."

Isidor opened his mouth, using a fork to take a bite of the honey cherry pie and placing it on her red lips.

"We can go on a date outside, but why are you here? Of course, I like it. You don't even have to send a notice; you can always come to play. I will create a space that the princess likes."

He heard that Duke Seymour even hired a plant expert to prepare a huge garden for the princess.

As it was getting colder, it was time to build a greenhouse in the Visconti garden where she could relax.

"In reality, I have a different reason for coming here."

Suddenly, Deborah extended her hand and slowly removed the glasses from Isidor's sharp nose, and her emerald eyes trembled with tension.

"If you have time today, spar with me, Isidor."

"… What?"

It seems like he just heard "sparring," a word that doesn't quite fit the romantic situation.

"Since Milord is a knight, I think there should be a grand hall, within the mansion, for duels. Seymour doesn't have that kind of space, so I would have to go to the quarters where the knights are."

She murmured while touching Isidor's glasses.

"It's dangerous to wear glasses while fighting...."

"A real duel request?"

Isidor blinked slowly with a puzzled expression, and the whisper of the teapot lid was heard from somewhere.

"Why did she come to fight my master out of nowhere? I'm really going crazy."

Miguel, trembling while holding a teapot, thought that Princess Deborah is more likable the more he sees her, and he barely pressed his lips, under his master's sharp gaze, to stop himself from laughing.

Isidor shook hands with the princess with a smile on his face.

"Have I ever made a big mistake with you without my knowledge? If there's anything you don't like, please don't leave and tell me."

"It's not like that.... First, I'll show it to you so you can see it with your own eyes."

A flash of white light shot out like an arrow, and Isidor quickly shouted his surrender in the hall.

"I lost. It's the first time I've stopped a fight while training."

Isidor looked at the shattered wooden sword and murmured with an interesting expression.

"I told you to be on alert."

The duel (?) with Isidor ended with my victory by breaking his weapon.

Of course, it's hard to say it's a fair fight because he didn't attack me properly, but it was very meaningful that he, who even uses movement magic, couldn't dodge my attack and had to block it with a wooden sword.

"What kind of power did the princess just use? At first glance, it looks like divine power, but it has tremendous destructive power."

I took off the sweat-soaked protective gear and left it on the floor, opening my mouth.

"It's divine magic."

"Divine magic?"

As if it were an unheard-of word, he wiped my forehead with a handkerchief and frowned slightly.

Divine magic was founded by a priestess named Danae in the days of Tegea's reign to prepare for the holy war, but it was a field that did not spread much due to difficult operating methods and limited usage conditions, so the succession was cut off.

A week ago.

In my memory, I came to know who and what kind of person "Danae" was in the introduction to the formulas through the conversation between Nayla and the man resembling Isidor.

"Danae. Known as the eccentric priestess. That woman was an unusual person who used divine power as attack magic."

The reason why Archmage Simeon and the dragon Lycurgos developed the formula and passed it on to Danae is that she argued that she could use the mana distributed in nature with divine power and use it as attack magic.

"Mana and Divine Power. Aren't the two forces completely different?"

Mana was a corrupted power, and divine power was the pure power of the principle given by God.

Because the two powers are completely different, it was impossible for a priest to create a mana circle within their body.

"That's right. But using mana in the air, in combination with divine power, is another story."

"So, can I have the strength to protect myself now?"

"I don't know. Why was divine magic cut off? Because it's very complicated. You also need to have sensitivity to mana."

To merge divine power and mana, it was necessary to be able to feel the mana floating in the air, and the formula developed in ancient times was very complicated because the launching process was very complex, so Nayla had many difficulties with divine magic.

"Mmm. Could I do it if I practice for a week?"

Maybe it's because of the Seymour lineage.

Even so, the density of mana in the air is probably lower than when Nayla was here, so it was easy to merge it with divine power, and the simplified formula was a great advantage.

"Well, that doesn't mean anyone can converge."

It was a field where it was possible to transform mana in the air and replace divine power to have offensive power, only if you were a cardinal or higher.

"Well, I don't intend to have a disciple."

It's good for anyone who sees it, so I just thought of using it to the fullest.