Althea: The Legendary Saintess [Shoujo]

The day after arriving at the villa, the Monclair family gathered and headed to the royal castle together.

Thomas was summoned by His Majesty Adrian, Clara had a tea appointment with Queen Titania, and Regalus and Althea came to the castle with the whole family to meet His Highness Siegfried and Princess Liliauge.

"Princess Liliauge, you must have turned two already, haven't you? You were adorable when we met before you started school, but I'm sure you've become even more charming now. Sieg called you 'adorable' too. I'm looking forward to seeing you."

Regalus smiled fondly at Althea, who was lost in thought, imagining inside the carriage.

Upon arriving at the castle, they parted ways with their parents. Regalus and Althea followed Curio, who had come to pick them up, and were led to Siegfried's study.

Upon entering the study, Siegfried was engrossed in documents piled on the desk.

"... Are you okay, Sieg?"

Concerned, Regalus called out to him, but Siegfried didn't lift his head as he replied.

"Yeah, Reg. Sorry, just wait a moment for me."

Afterwards, while taking a breather and sipping the tea Curio had prepared for them, the door of the study suddenly opened, and a girl dashed straight towards Althea, shouting, "Aheeya~" Althea embraced the girl.

"It's been a while, Princess Liliauge."

Althea greeted her with a smile.

The last time Althea met Liliauge was before Althea started school, when they stopped by the royal castle to greet His Majesty. At that time, Liliauge was still toddling, but now... although there were still some questionable moments, she could even run. However, she seemed to often trip and fall due to her excess energy...

Liliauge, who was happily being embraced by Althea, was in high spirits. But when Regalus greeted her and Althea, she buried her face in Althea's chest and only replied with a soft "Mm."

As Regalus and Althea exchanged glances, Siegfried, who had finished his work, approached them.

"... It seems like she's starting to become shy. It seems to be troubling the nurses too. But it doesn't seem to affect Althea at all."

He chuckled as he sat down on the sofa.

Upon hearing Siegfried's words, Althea looked at the young Liliauge with a smile as she held her on her lap.

"Aheeya, nice smell, like~."

When their eyes met, Liliauge rubbed against Althea's chest.

"Hehe, I love Princess Liliauge too."

Althea also rubbed her cheek against Liliauge's head, which was at shoulder level.

"... Your doting on her makes me a little jealous, even though she's my sister."

"... Dooting?~"

Upon hearing Liliauge repeat the word that caught her attention, Siegfried explained to her, "Yes, doting. It means loving someone very much and not being able to help it."

After thinking for a moment, Liliauge suddenly looked up and hugged Althea even tighter, saying to her, "Liweeege, Aheeya, dooting~."

Upon Liliauge's words, both Siegfried and Regalus stood up, saying something, but Althea, who had received Liliauge's affectionate declaration of doting while being held on her lap, seemed too happy to hear those words.

"Well... Princess Liliauge, I'm glad."

Saying so, Althea hugged her back.

Feeling Althea hugging her back, Liliauge hugged Althea even tighter, looking proud as she glanced at her elder brother and Regalus.

After that, Althea and Liliauge, accompanied by maids, headed to the garden. Watching their retreating figures, Siegfried and Regalus began discussing summer vacation assignments, post-vacation events, and the selection of next year's student representative.

How long they talked for, when they reached a break, Regalus suddenly spoke up.

"... It's a bit late, but... Sieg, about what Liliauge said earlier... there's nothing else behind it, right?"

"Behind it?... Probably not... I mean, she's only two, right? She wouldn't know anything about boys and girls yet, would she? But, I think she just... likes Althea as a... per...son."

Finding it difficult to say the word 'like,' Siegfried stuttered a bit, but Regalus, who didn't mind at all, ignored it and continued speaking.

"... Yeah."

"I think so too. It's reassuring as a brother that she's not showing any signs of favoritism towards strange men."

"As her brother, though, I'm not too happy about the idea of my beloved sister being taken away."

"... Do you really call her your 'beloved'?"

"I do. I do. Because my sister Althea is cute, so it can't be helped."

"I'm more worried about you than Liliauge. Can you really detach yourself from your sister?"

"I wonder? If there's a woman more charming than Althea, can't I?"

"... More charming... Come to think of it, I've never heard about your preferences. What kind of woman do you like?"

"Althea."

"Immediate response. That's not even worth discussing. Not that, but..."

"I get it, I get it. Just wait, I'm thinking. Um... oh, right. Then, tell me about your preferences, Sieg."

"Me?"

"Yeah, why not? It's unfair for me to be the only one, right?"

"Well... that's true, but... I've never thought about such things... and besides, I don't like women..."

When Siegfried fell into thought, there was a timely knock on the door, and Althea entered.

"Althea, what's wrong? Where's Liliauge?"

Seeing Althea, who should have been playing with her little sister, Siegfried asked worriedly.

"Her Highness got tired and fell asleep. She was playing around a lot in the garden... I think the maids are escorting her back to her room now."

While answering with a smile, Althea thought inwardly, 'She really can't help but adore her little sister,' feeling touched by the sibling love.

"By the way... what about your discussion, elder brothers?"

"We were just about to take a break, I suppose. Right, Sieg?"

"Hmm? Oh, right."

Siegfried rang the bell, and Curio entered the room with a tea set.

"It's perfect timing. ...Laila, bring some snacks."

Upon Althea's instructions, Laila began to arrange the snacks she brought on the table.

"What's this?"

Siegfried asked, looking at the snacks with a puzzled expression.

"These are the snacks I made at the villa. ...Please forgive their odd shapes."

In response to Althea's words, Siegfried turned to Regalus. Regalus just nodded silently.

"Do they have the same effect as the magical pastries Althea made before the vacation?"

"No, I don't think there will be any change even if you eat them... Since no one said anything about it within the territory... Oh, but if they don't taste good, please let me know."

After Althea said this with a smile, Regalus, in a formal tone, began, "Regarding that matter..."

The content of the discussion was about the results of testing magically infused pastries within the Monclair territory during the summer vacation and the decision to keep it a secret with the whole family.

"...That's the situation. I think it could be beneficial for His Highness in terms of national interests. However..."

"So, you don't want to offer Althea's magic for that purpose?"

"...Not now."

Upon Regalus' response, after a moment of contemplation, Siegfried asked a question.

"The way things are, it seems there might be other secrets as well. Come to think of it, it was said to keep Althea from attracting attention since before she started school. Even if she lives normally, being the heiress of the Monclair lineage and with her appearance, it's impossible for her not to attract attention. Furthermore, if she has high magic power and combat ability, she'll attract even more attention. It's troublesome to receive more attention than necessary. Well, I could understand it as the feelings of a father with an heiress... But considering this matter, could there be something they want to conceal regarding her magic?"

This time, Regalus fell silent and bowed his head.

As expected of His Highness. He sees ahead...

It had been discussed and agreed upon with Thomas beforehand to report this and make the request. Thomas also said, "If you report the results of the magic infusion, His Highness might notice something beyond that. If he does, whether to tell him the secret or not will be up to your judgment, as you're usually together."

To Regalus, Siegfried was not only a close friend but also a respected figure. As they lived together at school, his respect and trust in him grew. After graduating from school, if it was allowed, Regalus wanted to become his right-hand man in the royal capital rather than returning to his territory.

Whether it was acceptable to reveal the secret of the family, or rather the secret with the Pope of the Illumi Faith, to such a person, had been something Regalus had been thinking about since talking with Thomas.

After the silence, Regalus raised his head and asked one question.

"Let me ask one thing first... How do you feel about my sister, Your Highness?"

Caught off guard by the unexpected question, Siegfried answered in a fluster.

"W-Why... all of a sudden?! Is that... related to my question earlier?"

"Yes."

After glancing at Althea, Siegfried looked around. There was no one else in the room besides the three of them. Outside the door, there was only the presence of Laila. Laila must have intentionally emitted her presence.

"When asked how... I treas...ure... her. I want her to always be smiling..."

He answered with his face slightly downturned, an unusually serious demeanor for Siegfried.

"Is that as a subject, or as a friend, or... something else?"

"As a frie...nd."

This time, he answered in a clear tone.

Seeing Siegfried's reaction, Regalus, perhaps feeling relieved, began to speak in his usual tone as a friend.

"That's good. From now on, I want you to listen not as the Crown Prince but as a friend. Is that okay?"

With a serious expression despite saying "as a friend," Siegfried nodded without averting his gaze.

The story they heard as "friends" was full of surprises.

Just the fact that Althea possessed "transparent magic" was surprising enough, but to have it at 100% was remarkable. While having high magic power was considered good, having 100% was unheard of. This was because if one were to deplete 100% of their magic, it would lead to death. Therefore, those with over 80% magic power in unit terms were required to undergo special training at the magic academy to prevent magic depletion.

"... 100%... I've never heard of that... And... what is 'transparent magic'? Isn't it non-attributed...?"

"The Pope mentioned it... It doesn't seem to be non-attributed."

Siegfried held his head in his hands. He seemed to be having a dialogue between himself as the Crown Prince and as a friend. Watching his reaction, Regalus added to the conversation.

"Two years ago, after Althea's magic was discovered, a 'special grade magic book' was delivered to the royal castle of the RGC kingdom... I remember it because it's rare for a 'special grade magic book' to be discovered."

"That's right... It was rare enough to remember that 'special grade magic books' had been discovered."

"That magic book... seems to belong to Althea... That's what the Pope said."

"Is it a magic book whose user is already known, then? Does His Majesty know about it?"

"I don't know, how the Pope conveyed it..."

"Yeah, I guess so."

Again, silence filled the air.

The one who broke the silence first was Siegfried.

"...Regalus, and Althea. I've decided to accept this secret as a friend... But what would you have done if I had said I would fulfill my duties as the Crown Prince?"

"...I never thought you would do such a thing. If you had said you couldn't keep the secret as the Crown Prince, then Althea would have immediately become a test subject. If that happened, Monclair would..."

"I understand, no, I understand. But I want to confirm with Father just to be sure. Of course, I won't disclose the secrets you've shared with me. Can I confirm the story about receiving the 'special grade magic book'?"

Since it was a discussion as "friends," he was probably asking if it was okay to confirm with His Majesty. Thinking so, Regalus glanced at Althea and then nodded.

"Yes, that's fine. I trust my best friend."

He answered.

That night, Siegfried confirmed with his father, King Adrian, about the "special grade magicbook."

To cut to the chase, King Adrian replied that he "didn't know about the owner." However, when he received it, the Pope told him, "It will resonate with its owner eventually," and "It might suddenly disappear, but at that time, the owner should have it."

At that time, King Adrian, who hadn't shown much interest, was slightly puzzled by his son's sudden inquiry about the "special grade magicbook." However, Siegfried explained that it was for his graduation research materials.

Thus, the summer vacation came to an end with the Monclair family and one more companion, Siegfried, sharing their secrets.