“Oh…”

Rishe gaped.

To be honest, the aftermath of the situation was quite perilous.

In any case, Myria fainted and the Archbishop was stunned.

Also, Arnold pointed his sword at the priest who attacked him and brought him to this point, knocking him into a coma.

He could have been discredited for trying to help Miss Myria and turned the Order against him. But thanks to you, Schneider-sama…

The priests rushed over to restrain the archbishop.

Meanwhile, they looked up at Arnold and verbally expressed their gratitude.

“Your Highness, Arnold Hein! Thanks to you, we were able to save Miss Myria.”

“How could we ever thank you…”

“…”

Arnold raised his eyebrows in genuine displeasure, then silently turned his gaze to Schneider.

Next to Schneider stood Leo. He had just slipped out of Rishe’s noose and was looking at them in a tangle.

Schneider was the one who assigned Leo as Myria’s guard.

Rishe breathed a sigh of relief.

Then a bloodied man came tumbling in.

“Myria!!!”

“Wait, Your Excellency Jonal.”

Schneider grabbed the arm of the Duke, Myria’s adoptive father.

“The Archbishop’s minions may still be lurking somewhere. I’ll take Miss Myria. You stay back…”

“I’m sorry, get off me!!”

“!!”

The duke shook off Schneider’s hand and ran to Myria’s side.

He didn’t even spare Arnold and Rishe a glance. He ran to Myria, whom the priests were carrying up and hugged her tightly.

“Myria…!!”

“Hmm, Papa?”

Myria slowly awakened and blinked when she saw the Duke’s face.

A few seconds later, her dazed eyes came into focus and she reached out to the Duke.

“Papa!”

“Oh!… You poor thing, you must have been scared. Do you feel any pain anywhere?”

With Myria in his arms, the Duke repeatedly and tearfully apologized.

“I’m such a fool. I didn’t even know who the real enemy was!! I believed the Archbishop’s words and handed you over to him as a result. You’re more important than life itself, and I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you…!”

“Huh-huh-hmm…”

“I’m an incompetent father…There’s no way I’m ever going to be allowed to be with you again…”

“That’s not true. No, no…”

The duke looked confused at Myria who was shaking her head.

“After the Archbishop drugged me, I kept having dreams! I dreamed that I was in the Grand Shrine and that Papa saved me when a lot of dangerous things were falling from above.”

“Me?”

“You got sick because of it, but you always lied for me, saying it was because of an old illness. See? Even in my dreams, you were protecting me!”

Myria clung to the Duke tightly as she sobbed.

“I dreamed about Papa, so I knew you would certainly save me. So, please don’t cry like this, Papa…”

“Myria…”

“I’m sorry I have worried you. But, but…”

She spoke in an inaudible and delicate voice.

“I’ll behave, and you’ll be my Papa for a long time…”

“Of course, I will!!”

As if to drown out his daughter’s fears, the Duke shouted.

“Keep in mind that no matter how bad you become, Papa will always love you and be there for you…”

“Papa!”

Myria cried, bawling.

Rishe, in her life as a maidservant, has worked hard to avoid hearing her cry. But at this moment, her cry gave her relief.

Then she looked up at Arnold next to her.

“They’re quite fussy, right?”

“I’m sure the Duke and that Maiden Priestess are not even related.”

He frowned upon the rest of Myria’s blood relatives.

“But why is he so concerned about the Maiden Priestess’s safety? I don’t understand it at all.”

“Oh, on the way to the Grand Shrine, didn’t Your Highness Arnold tell me that blood ties have no effect on whether or not you can establish a good relationship?”

Then he gave her a look that said, “So what?”

Arnold must have wanted to say at that time, “Just because we are related by blood does not mean we can get along with each other. But Rishe took that line to heart in another direction.

“In other words, Your Highness is right. ――Blood ties have absolutely nothing to do with whether people can get along.”

“…”

“It probably doesn’t matter. Even though they’re not related by blood, they’re undeniably father and child.”

After a few moments of reluctance, Arnold let a few seconds pass before sighing.

“Oh, well, Oliver…”

“Yes, Your Highness. I’m ready to receive your scolding.”

The silver-haired squire, Oliver walked towards them and smiled pleasantly. The only time Oliver called Arnold “My Lord” was basically when there was no third party present.

“I’m sorry for letting Rishe-sama pass despite your order to keep her back. But, I think I made the right decision.”

“…”

“I never thought that Rishe-sama would use such a method to stop Your Highness…Pfft, kekeke….”

“…”

“What a pity! I would have loved to have seen the expression on Your Highness’ face when you did that…Ouch!”

He kicked him!

Rishe’s eyes widened as Oliver crouched in front of her, rubbing his shins.

Arnold silently kicked Oliver in the shin. She has always thought that Arnold’s behavior towards Oliver was more in line with his age of nineteen.

“Are you okay, Oliver-sama?”

“Let’s go, Rishe. Whatever it is, you should be resting right now.”

“Okay, but Oliver-sama is in pain.”

“Leave him alone. If you don’t follow me, I’ll pick you up and carry you.”

“Hie …”

Rishe internally apologized to Oliver and tried to walk away with Arnold.

However, she wobbled and her footing twisted. Seeing Rishe plopped on the floor, Arnold didn’t hesitate to bend down.

“Ah!”

This situation was quite familiar.

Thus, Rishe shrieked in a panic.

“Oh, please forgive me for carrying you like a princess!”

“Ho…”

She pointed her hand at Arnold and demanded that he remain still.

“I can walk by myself. I’m fine! Just take a break before going…hya!”

Without warning, he gently lifted her up along with her exclamation.

And, and, Your Highness―――――― !!

“Isn’t it fine carrying you sideways?”

She should be commended for restraining her scream.

He was carrying her vertically, unliked the way he carried her before. With her hips on Arnold’s left arm and her back supported by his right arm, she put her arm around his shoulders.

By doing so, she was barely able to keep her balance.

How can you have so much arm strength when you seem to be on the slender side? I mean, this seems a lot more embarrassing than being carried princess-style, because we’re stuck together in many parts…!

The priests were buzzing in agitation and then looked at them in astonishment. Rishe’s cheeks inevitably burned and she pleaded with Arnold.

Because she was carried up, it was quite novel to look down at Arnold, but it wasn’t the time to enjoy it.

“Your Highness! I’m fine, so leave me here for the time being! Um…”

“I’m not letting you down.”

“Chuckle~~”

Rishe was disconcerted, but she knew he would never let her down. She looked around for someone to help, but Oliver, the only one who seemed willing to speak up, remained crouched.

Had she known this would happen, she wouldn’t have abandoned him.

While Rishe was regretting her actions, Arnold continued forward. In addition, he said somewhat grumpily, “It’s because you’re moving around when you haven’t even regained your strength. You’re always reckless.”

“And who’s to blame for this?!”

Then Arnold snorted and let out something that hinted on self-ridicule.

“Me.”

“…”

She felt a sharp, faint pain in her left chest.

Then Bishop Schneider stepped forward.

“Your Highness, Arnold, may I have a moment of your time?”

“As you can see, my wife has suddenly fallen ill. We’ll have to talk about the trouble later.”

What do you mean, “As you can see”?

Arnold was heading straight for the exit of the hall. Perhaps realizing that he had no intention of stopping, Schneider did not follow.

Instead, he looked up at Rishe calmly.

Rishe remembered his warning once more.

“You must not marry Arnold Hein.”

“…”

Rishe hugged Arnold tightly around the neck.

She then looked straight at Schneider with an unyielding determination. Schneider’s eyes widened as if truly surprised.

Then he bowed deeply to Rishe.

“What’s wrong?”

Arnold, whose face was no longer visible, asked, and Rishe answered in the same position.

“If I don’t hug Your Highness tightly, it will be dangerous if Your Highness loses balance on the stairs…”

“Ha.”

Did he see through the lie?

But Arnold sounded strangely happy. He patted Rishe on the back with the hand that was supporting her, as if he were caring for a child.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“P-Please take care of yourself, too!”

He countered her with a, “I don’t need you to tell me what to do.”

She was unwilling to but she didn’t think she could talk back too strongly in her posture. After all, her heart was pounding and her cheeks were forever on fire.

“…”

Feigning casualness, Rishe stroked Arnold’s neck where she had bitten him earlier.

After that, she shut her eyes tightly and prayed that His Highness would let her down soon, in the middle of the endless staircase.