Banished Villainess

119 : Private Talk With The Crown Prince

In the round table installed outside the lodging house, Chloe sat, perplexed. Her downcast gaze points towards the odd pattern that Prince Keith illustrated, spanning the entire table. As she turned her attention towards the one responsible, the prince just sat in front of her nonchalantly drinking his tea.

‘Uhm…’

‘Oh, right. I almost forgot.’

As Chloe timidly broke the ice, Keith let out a little chuckle and snapped his finger. At that moment, the pattern above the table shone brightly which soon enveloped the two. They could hear voices of surprise coming from inside the lodge.

‘!?’

‘We can’t be sure who’s listening after all. I can’t have my guards retreat, so this is the most appropriate way to talk about confidential things while under observation.’

‘Oh, was it a magic circle, sir? This is sacred magic ‘ silence’, isn’t it?’

Keith’s voice can be heard by Chloe who was close to the table but, the surrounding could only see the two of them open and close their mouth without making any sounds. They were likely being bugged judging from the voices raised inside the lodging house, and the spell could even protect against taht.

‘I’m pretty poor at learning offensive magic, unlike brother. This is the one I specialize in. Now that all the hindrances are gone, let’s get back to the main topic.’

Keith lowered the tone of his voice which sent shivers to Chloe’s spine. The way he talked made it seem that the things he’s about to say will not be good news, as far as Chloe is concerned.

‘I heard about the reports. Momo had lost her three years’ worth of memories, is that right?’

‘…That’s how it came to be but, put to be more precise, all of the memories that relate to her past life’s consciousness were erased. She– Miss Momo refused the part of her that lived in this world. She put herself in a vessel of a ‘player’, which prove to be quite fortunate, because I was able to erase her personality alone. If the two personalities had merged well, it might’ve ended up with her consciousness reverting to that of a baby.’

Although, if her personality has stayed the same way as it was, she likely wouldn’t have become a witch, or so Chloe thought. The lady who has been casting her eyes down the entire time wavered to continue but, soon enough she hesitatingly asked.

‘Uhm… So what would be Miss Momo’s treatment, sir?’

‘Do you even need to ask? She was responsible for cajoling the young nobility who will shoulder the kingdom for the next generation and had one of their fiancees banished from the capital. On top of it, she became a witch and bared her fangs at the kingdom. She must take responsibility for the things she did.’

‘”She” was not the one who did it, sir!’

‘What of it? Past life memories and whatnots do not serve as a viable excuse. You of all people should know that. Besides, the Sacred Church would not stay silent on this. The scandal of their proclaimed ‘Saintess’ turning into a witch; do you think that they would let something like that happen? They’ll jump at nipping it from the bud’

Keith’s assertion had made Chloe pale. She was trying to think of any methods that could save the miss. The crown prince thought that the lady was far too soft on the woman responsible for her ruin.

‘To be specific, how do you suppose they would do it, sir?’

‘Hmm, maybe by making it out that you, the one who sealed her away, was the ‘True Saintess’ from the very beginning? Rather, that kind of talk has been making rounds already. One of the priests that were present there has spread that you were able to use sacred magic that only gods should be capable of.’

‘Momo is the ‘True Saintess’! Even Saintess, the first said the same so there’s no mistake on that part. I was just used as an means to bring back the original Momo… And to prove that point, I no longer have the same power I used back then.’

Keith also received reports about that. The report stated that the power that caused the caverns to collapse was the true power of the original Momo, something that her past life personality was a lid on. Although the two of them were slowly recovering the sacred mana that they used up on that day, they still cannot use it several times a day.

‘Even if you say that the fact that you can hear Saintess, the first’s voice alone makes you a Saintess, sufficient enough to declare worthy of veneration.’

He cynically implies that the Church will not let her go but the lady without any signs of being flustered, merely shook her head.

‘I do not have the right to be a Saintess, sir.

After all, I’m… the ancient witch herself, Yolda Moon.’