Chapter 86.3
"So, what's that sentence there? The literal translation is 'The seasons go round under the guidance of the girl,' but that doesn't feel quite right to me."
"If anything, it's closer to 'The four seasons recur under the guidance of the girl. It probably refers to the festival held by the Maiden Priestess."
"...Do you understand that too?"
"It says 'sing'."
Rishe was even more baffled by the straightforward spun answer.
The fact that you have a beautiful face, superb swordsmanship, excellent in national affairs and strategy, and well-educated means that you have no weaknesses...
The Krushade language was an expertise rather than common knowledge. Even the bishops of the Order used scriptures written in their country's own script as a standard.
Come to think of it, rumor has it that the current emperor of Garkhain is a devout believer, and that is why he did not invade the Kingdom of Domana, where the Grand Shrine is located. For instance, the fact that His Highness Arnold was given specialized education... Thus, His Highness doesn't like the Krushade religion.
As she was chewing over this, a cool breeze blew across the balcony.
Rishe's hair was gently ruffled, and she reflexively held it with her right hand. Afterward, she looked at her hair in surprise.
"Your Highness Arnold."
"What?"
"I'm not from the Maiden Priestess's lineage, am I?"
"What do you mean?"
"That sentence about the girl with the floral hair Your Highness told me about earlier. The girl with the floral hair carries the blood of the Goddess and guides the people as the Maiden Priestess, right?"
"That's right."
"In other words, the woman who is qualified to be the Maiden Priestess would have 'floral hair,'..."
Rishe looked down at her hair, which drew gentle waves.
Her hair was a yellowish pink hue. The closest analogy would be the color of coral, but it could also be the color of a flower.
"I inherited my hair color from my red-haired mother and blond-haired father, respectively. It may not be a color you see often, but it doesn't have much of a story behind it."
"..."
"My parents' lineage goes back as far as my paternal ancestor's name in the Hermitian royal family. So no matter how much I think about it, I think it's unlikely that I have the Goddess's blood in my veins."
Feeling increasingly apologetic, Rishe unconsciously bowed. Then a frowning Arnold asked, "What are you talking about?"
"I now know why Your Highness proposed to me... You probably thought I'm the last survivor to qualify as the Maiden Priestess."
Bishop Schneider said earlier that all the women who qualified as priestesses have died.
"If a woman of the Maiden Priestess's blood is alive and raised somewhere hidden, taking her to wife would be a great help to Garkhain, wouldn't it?"
"..."
"But I am completely unrelated to the Maiden Priestess. So I'm sorry if I misled Your Highness and made you propose to me on that basis...."
"..."
"W-What's with your face?"
Arnold was squinting and regarding Rishe with a dumbfounded look on his face.
She flinched, not knowing why. Arnold sighed for the umpteenth time today and then spoke.
"Remember several days ago when Kyle compared you to a goddess?"
"?"
She was reminded of it now that he mentioned it.
As she recalled, when she first met Kyle in this life, he told her that she looked like a beautiful goddess.
It was a social norm peculiar to the Koyor Kingdom, and Rishe had hardly heard it.
However, looking back at it this way, she realized that Arnold looked very unhappy back then.
Ah!! Could it be that the reason why His Highness looked so scary at that time was because the word "Goddess" was mentioned?
She had wondered why he glared at Kyle like that, but now it finally made sense. At the same time, she figured Arnold's deep-seated dislike of the Religion.
Arnold quietly looked down at her when she convinced herself of it.
"...I have no interest in such things, let alone the lineage of a Maiden Priestess, even if a real goddess were to manifest."
His claim made Rishe blink once.
Once Arnold's eyes were sincere, he appeared more mysterious and beautiful. He made himself clear, looking intently at Rishe.
"There's only one person in the world I'll kneel to."
"―― ......"
In Garkhain's courtship, a man would kneel to a woman and drop a kiss on the back of her hand.
"...!!"
She remembered Arnold doing that to her, and her cheeks burned at once.
Arnold burst out laughing, seeing Rishe flustered. A large hand reached out and ruffled Rishe's head.
"I'm in a better mood. I'm going back to my official business."
H-Was he teasing me?!!
She wanted to shout in protest, but no words came out that instant.
In the end, she only managed to feebly say, "See you later," frustrating her to no end.
T/N: Yup, Arnold only kneels to his wife ( ͡♥ ͜ʖ ͡♥) Happy weekend and take care!