TPFR 10

Chapter 10

— You and I have been through something very important together, after all. You are also proof of my miracle. In other words, my lily of the valley is a sacred relic touched by my power, so it is as if there is a wide-open road between you and me. That is why I can do it with only a little fragrance.

‘……Then.’

Prim tightened her clasped hands.

‘What if I offer more fragrance?’

— Well…… if it is a fragrance you made properly, it is not completely impossible. But I need power even to deliver a message to Yulberon. That guy has a very high opinion of himself. I would have to send him some fragrance just to make him willing to issue an oracle, and then he would probably demand even more power from us to actually issue it.

‘But isn’t dealing with heretics a great honor? Even then?’

— The only evidence I can present to Yulberon is that I want to protect you.

Varin hesitated for a moment before speaking.

— My little lily of the valley, I understand how you feel, and I am sorry too…… but there is no proper perfumery or even proper ingredients here.

To make a fragrance powerful enough for that, she needed an organized environment and refined, high-quality ingredients. It was impossible in such a poor orphanage.

But Prim’s clear green eyes shone brightly.

‘No. There is a place where the ingredients are already prepared.’

— Oh, Prim, my lily of the valley! You don’t mean that mad couple’s villa, do you?

‘Varin, if I offer you a fragrance, and if it is enough, will you ask Yulberon to send the heretic inquisitors?’

— Of course I will. But child, calm down! What good would throwing yourself into danger to save that impudent little girl do for our future?

Varin’s voice was gentle and soft, almost as if he were trying to tempt her.

But gods were neither merciful nor warm. To those who did not believe in them, they could show indifference, and sometimes even greater cruelty.

Prim opened her eyes for a moment. Beside her, the boy was innocently mumbling a prayer.

Please let there be lots of potatoes on the table today, and please let Prim pass the perfumer exam. I’ll work hard too, though……

If Rosien knew that Vianna, who had been adopted, would be murdered before she even reached adulthood, what would he do?

He was a good person.

‘……You said the perfumery left behind by the baron and his wife was amazing. If I could get that perfumery now, I wouldn’t have to worry about preparing for the perfumer qualification exam.’

In fact, at this rate, Prim would have to borrow money just to prepare for the perfumer qualification exam. But even borrowing that money would not be easy. People did not lend money to just anyone.

— Do you really think that perfumery will fall into your hands? Even if Yulberon realizes that you have a stake in this matter, he is not going to issue some detailed oracle like, ‘Everyone! Hurry to Saintbertal, punish the heretics, and then hand their property over to the Varin temple there.’

Varin sneered.

Prim tilted her head.

‘I’m going to be adopted by the Corvas couple.’

— Huh?

‘Usually, the child inherits the parents’ property, right? Their estate is the property of heretics, but there will still be an innocent victim who is also their heir. So I should be able to inherit it.’

— Well, yes, I suppose…… but can you inherit the property of parents you killed?

‘I didn’t kill them. That is the job of Yulberon’s heretic inquisitors.’

— But you arranged for them to be killed!

‘Only you and Yulberon know that. He isn’t going to issue some detailed oracle saying, “Prim reported that her adoptive parents were heretics, so she cannot inherit their property.”’

Varin fell silent for a moment.

Like all skills, perfumery became dull if one stopped practicing it. In Varin’s plans, there was no period in which Prim’s senses could grow dull or stagnate. Prim had to become recognized as the greatest perfumer as quickly as possible and rise to the top.

Prim’s reasoning made sense.

But what if something went wrong?

He could not risk that much right now. To Varin, Prim was his only stake.

The reward he could gain from betting that stake was smaller than the stake itself, yet if something went wrong, he could lose the entire thing!

— Th-then, more importantly! My lily of the valley! How are you planning to offer me the fragrance all the way over there? If you don’t come to this temple……!

‘I’ve thought of that too.’

— No, but……!

But Varin never got the chance to finish what he wanted to say.

The bouquet had dried up and crumbled as if it had been dried for ten years.

No matter how wide open the road between Prim and Varin was, one could not travel along it for free.

While Varin frantically shouted words that could not be heard, Prim finished her prayer.

‘Next time, I’ll bring you an even better fragrance, Varin.’

“Are you done? Shall we go?”

Rosien had finished his own prayer long ago and had merely been watching Prim pray. He quickly approached and carried her on his back.

“Rosien.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

Rosien adjusted Prim on his back. It was also a habit of his.

Whenever Prim, whether carried on his back or in his arms, spoke to him, Rosien always adjusted his hold on her before answering.

Thinking that he had already had that habit back then made her heart ache for some reason.

“……I want to ride the swing.”

“Oh! Sure, sure!”

At Prim’s simple request, Rosien immediately carried her up the hill.

He seemed genuinely happy that Prim had taken an interest in the swing. Thinking of the swing she had left neglected forever in her previous life, Prim drank down her guilt like sweet jam stirred into tea.

“The weather is really nice, isn’t it?”

Rosien said as he pushed the swing.

Prim looked up at the early morning sky, where the sun was just beginning to rise.

The two of them hummed along with the choir as they swung. They also reviewed chess and Old Kölento, which Prim had suddenly begged Priestess Marcellia to learn together with her not long ago.

When the morning sun had fully risen, Prim spoke.

“Rosien, we’re family, right?”

“Of course, of course!”

Rosien answered cheerfully.

After Prim had become cursed in her previous life, she had told Rosien to leave her. An orphan who could not walk was nothing but a burden.

At that time, Rosien’s entire face had been wet with tears. With a trembling voice and a forced smile, he had stubbornly insisted,

— We’re…… basically family. No, we’re family, right? Aren’t we?

Their hair was different, and there was not a single resemblance between their faces. Anyone could tell they were not related.

But they had stayed together.

Simply because there had been no reason for them to separate.

Rosien was the one who had called that a family.

Because they were family, he had promised never to leave her behind, no matter what happened.

— That’s why you protected me too……

After shedding so many tears, Rosien had picked Prim up again, his eyes red and swollen as his hair.

That was how the two of them had made it this far.

And they had gone even farther.

Together.

“So even if we’re apart for a little while, we’ll meet again soon, right?”

“We just have to not separate.”

“……That’s right. We just have to stay together.”

But even if they really did have to be apart for a little while……

Prim spoke.

“……Rosien, they said I’m going to be adopted.”

The hand that had been gently pushing the swing stopped.

Prim tightened her grip on the swing’s ropes. She wanted to see Rosien’s face behind her, but she could not bring herself to turn around.

Instead, she spoke.

“The Baron and Baroness Corvas said they want to adopt me.”

“……You—you didn’t like them.”

Rosien managed to speak. His voice was hoarse and strained, as though he had caught a cold.

But he did not sound surprised by the unexpected news.

Once he finally found his voice, Rosien hurriedly added,

“If you say you don’t want to go, Priestess Marcellia won’t force you, either. Vianna said several times that she didn’t want to be adopted, too.”

There had been people willing to adopt even a child from this remote orphanage because of Vianna’s striking appearance. But whenever Vianna said she did not want to go, Marcellia had come up with all sorts of excuses to keep her from being sent away.

“I said I would go.”

At Prim’s words, Rosien finally ran around to stand in front of her.

His deep green eyes rippled like waves. He opened his mouth as if he were about to shout.

“Even if you’re adopted, you……!”

Prim knew what he had held back.

You can’t even walk on your own.

He was the one who had carried her everywhere, so he knew that better than anyone.

But Prim did not even have time to feel hurt.

Instead, Rosien looked even more shaken by his own thoughts.