Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 32: Childhood Friends - Departure

Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 32: Childhood Friends - Departure

32. Childhood Friends - Departure
Leo quickly bonded with the honest and straightforward Euta siblings, becoming close friends.
He often took Euta into the forest, where Euta's eagerness led him to quickly learn how to hunt.
"Hey, your sister is heading there again."
Euta's younger sister, Enen, was trying to head into the forest again. Euta was too absorbed in practicing new traps, so Leo held Enen back and made her sit next to Euta.
Enen pouted and whined.
"Hee-ing, my butterfly."
Sometimes, Enen would follow her brother and play nearby while he struggled to set traps. She seemed to like insects, often rummaging through the bushes.
"Just stay close to your brother."
"That's boring."
In the meantime, Leo had acquired a dagger while hunting in the village and had patched up the drafty walls of his house to keep the wind out.
He didn't put too much effort into it, as he wasn't planning to stay long.
"But the villagers seemed busy since yesterday. What's going on?" he asked.
Enen responded briefly, "Gathering mushrooms."
"Why?"
"To sell."
It seemed like this village also gathered produce to sell, just like Demos Village.
"Don't you need to help?"
"Grandma and I already did everything. My brother didn't help at all."
"Just wait. When he learns to hunt, he'll give you meat dishes."
"TChapter I don't like meat."
"You haven't even tried it."
"That's not true! I have!"
"No, you haven't!"
"Yes, I have!"
The siblings bickered as usual, and Leo watched them with a smile.
The next day, instead of going hunting, Leo wandered into the village and watched the Uena tribe members working busily.
He saw unfamiliar people from other villages, and the village square was filled with a mountain of mushrooms from various places, creating an impressive sight.
From a distance, Euta waved happily. The Euta siblings were also busy helping their grandmother move the mushrooms.
"This place seems nice to live too."
Like Demos Village, this place also exuded a warm and friendly atmosphere.
As an outsider, Leo was still viewed with suspicion and couldn't fully join in the lively atmosphere.
The mark on his forehead was still visible, though it had faded a bit and would likely disappear by winter.
"It seems like it will be gone in a few months... But since I can't move in winter, I'll have to leave next spring."
Meeting Lena was taking longer than expected, but she still had a long way to go to become a priestess.
According to Brother Leslie, it would take three years, and only one year had passed. There was no need to hurry.
Around noon, when the young villagers were moving mushrooms outside, Leo slipped out to take a look.
Outside the village, merchants were bustling around with large wagons.
"Oh no! This is bad."
He quickly hid himself. It seemed that instead of taking the mushrooms to sell, merchants came to buy them.
Seeing his mark would cause a big commotion, so Leo couldn't move from inside the village all day.
Complaining to himself about wasting time by coming out, he noticed that the villagers' glances had changed a bit.
At that moment, Euta's grandmother approached.
"What trouble have you caused outside?"
Busted. Unfortunately, someone must have seen his mark during the brief moment he revealed his face. Or perhaps one of the villagers had asked about it.
"Actually, I..."
Leo confessed to the grandmother, leaving out only the part about killing Hans. He told her about his childhood friend going to the capital, fighting bandits to save money for travel, and crossing the border.
To his surprise, the grandmother had a different reaction to him killing the bandits.
"Hmm, you seem to be quite a warrior."
"Can I stay here until the mark disappears? I plan to leave in spring."
"If you explain well to the villagers, they might understand."
Leo was pleased but soon heard disappointing news.
"But the merchants might you. It's better to run away."
"I see..."
Leo was disheartened.
Where should he go next?
As he pondered, the grandmother handed him something.
"Take this. Head northeast. You'll find a mountain called Bomer. It's a volcano, so you'll see it easily."
She handed him a headband.
"There's a tribe called Hatata south of Mount Bomer. It's my daughter-in-law's tribe. If you show this, they might let you stay."
Euta's parents had both died of illness. This headband was one of their keepsakes.
"If you give this to me..."
"It's fine. I need to return it anyway but haven't been able to because it's far. You can return it for me."
"Thank you. I won't forget your kindness."
"Kindness, my foot. Just get ready and leave. Don't tell the kids. I don't want to see them cry."
The grandmother walked away briskly.
Seeing her defending him to the villagers, Leo's heart ached with gratitude.
Early in the morning, Leo left his hastily built house and set off.
He traveled light, carrying only a small dagger and a bundle of rope.
The headband and lunchbox were also provided by Euta's grandmother. She had secretly visited the night before and left some food for him. She was a kind person to the very end.
As he traveled through the dark mountain path, Leo felt uneasy about not being able to say goodbye to Euta and Enen.
"Will I ever come back here?"
He pushed through the forest, shaking off the sadness.
After a week of strenuous travel, Leo found the Hatata tribe.
When he showed them the headband, some people sighed in relief.
The chief gave him a small barn next to the village, where he spent the fall and winter.
One morning, during a severe cold spell, Leo woke up to find that the mark on his forehead had disappeared.
Before the cold had fully subsided, Leo left the village, heading towards Lena, who would be studying at the Cathedral.
*
A cold wave hit the Cathedral.
Lena had been expelled from the Cathedral.
She was stripped of her novice robes and stood shivering in front of the Cathedral gate in the only clothes she had come in during the fall.
"Sob, sob! I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Tears streamed down her face, freezing on her chin.
She still couldn't believe she had been expelled.
The previous night, Lena had drunk with Gilbert. During a usual meal, Gilbert had offered her a drink, and she had hesitantly accepted. She had wanted to try alcohol once.
It was strong, and she got drunk with just one glass. She tried to steady her wobbling body.
When Gilbert suggested they rest somewhere, she declined, saying she wanted to return to her dormitory. She was loud, probably because she was drunk.
Gilbert, looking troubled, had put her in a carriage and brought her back to the Cathedral. That had been fine.
As she tried to enter her dormitory, staggering, Gilbert had held her up. She thought he was helping her since she couldn't steady herself due to the alcohol.
Through her blurry vision, she saw Gilbert's face.
"What's this? Too close."
Lena waved her hand to push his slick face away.
Thinking that nobles were not a big deal.
Then Daniel had appeared.
Alcohol was strange. People appeared out of nowhere.
Daniel took her to a room. It wasn't her room, but she collapsed on a table and fell asleep.
The next day, Lena woke up with a splitting headache.
Looking around, she found herself in a solitary cell.
"Where am I? What's going on?"
When she stepped out and asked, a monk clicked his tongue and explained the severity of the situation.
She was told she had committed a sin. A meeting was being held upstairs.
"What? What? Is it because I drank? But I thought it was okay to drink..."
Lena, unable to grasp the situation, underwent a brief interrogation.
A priest, with a stiff expression like a statue, sat her down without offering a single cup of tea and coldly questioned her.
"It has been testified that you and Gilbert Forte engaged in inappropriate behavior."
"W-What? Inappropriate behavior?"
"You were seen hugging in the park last night. Do you remember?"
"N-No. There's no way. I'm not even in that kind of relationship with Gilbert."
"A novice testified. They said you were hugging and about to kiss."
"What?"
"And you received a bracelet from Gilbert. Is that true?"
"No! That was a gift for his sister. He asked me to review it. I returned it long ago."
"Gilbert's sister?"
"Yes!"
"...Anyway, it's true that you were hugging, right?"
"I-I don't remember. Really."
"Gilbert has admitted it. Can you tell me what you did outside?"
Despite her continued protests, the conclusion didn't change. The decision had already been made.
The Cathedral had to punish both of them.
While there were testimonies against Lena, her teachers defended her, saying she was not the type. Given Gilbert Forte's past, it was clear he had given Lena alcohol with ill intentions.
But he was a noble, the son of a sword master who held real power in the Kingdom of Bellita.
The reason Gilbert had come to the Cathedral was also an issue. He was there for political reasons, and expelling him was not an option.
The Kingdom of Bellita was already uncomfortable with the church.
The Cross Church had not only refrained from sending priests to the war, but had also declared neutrality and blocked military supplies.
The sword master who held military power must have been displeased with the Cross Church.
If they expelled his son in this situation, it could lead to church persecution in the Kingdom of Bellita.
In the end, the Cathedral decided to expel Lena. Given the scandal, they couldn't keep both in the church.
Luckily for them, Lena was a commoner without any backing.
There were plenty of others seeking to become priests, so they chose the convenient option.
Priest Ophelia, who had recommended Lena, protested fiercely, but the outcome didn't change. Lena was expelled with her few belongings that day.
Gilbert Forte was grounded for a few weeks.
Thrown out alone in the dead of winter, Lena couldn't leave the Cathedral gate, shivering all night and praying desperately to God.
She even shouted that she was sorry.
The gate didn't open.
*
When the snow melted in the spring, Leo arrived in Lutetia and checked into an inn to rest. It had been a tough journey.
"If Woody were here, I'd have arrived quickly. I wonder where he's doing well."
Having no transportation, he had walked the long way.
The money he had earned from hunting throughout the winter barely covered his food, leaving him nothing to join a merchant caravan.
The money he had just given to the innkeeper for breakfast was the last of it, leaving only a few coins in his pocket.
"I've come here a complete beggar. Lena won't like this. Haha."
Still, he was happy.
He would soon see Lena.
The next day, Leo woke up early and had breakfast. People in the inn's lobby were buzzing.
"Looks like the war is ending. The Kingdom of Astin is retreating."
"I heard the same. The sword master of the Kingdom of Bellita... I don't know his name, but they say he did something big."
Leo listened while munching on his bread. He didn't know the exact details, but it seemed the Kingdom of Astin was retreating.
He had read about the Kingdom of Astin's defeat in the "Beggar Siblings" story, and it seemed to have really happened.
Leo was puzzled. He had seen the battlefield, and the Kingdom of Astin had been dominant. It was hard to believe the sword master of the Kingdom of Bellita could have turned the tide, as the Kingdom of Astin also had a sword master.
The war wasn't supposed to end so easily, but it had ended in just one year.
"I need to find out what happened... But that can wait. I've got time."
Lena still had over a year to become a priest.
He gave his last coins to the innkeeper for breakfast and walked toward the Cathedral.
"What? Lena was expelled? Why?"
But instead of Lena, he was met with shocking news.
Lena had been expelled for immoral conduct.
"That can't be... She wouldn't do that. Are you sure? Lena. Really?"
But the answer didn't change.
Leo couldn't make sense of it.
Lena expelled? Why? How?
"No, I need to find Lena first."
He thought. Lena wouldn't have the money to return to Demos Village. She had been thrown out the Cathedral gate with nothing.
Leo left the Cathedral gate.
"If I were Lena... I'd..."
Cry.
Suppressing his rising anger, he continued to reason.
"And Lena would..."
Before him was the capital of the Sacred Kingdom of Jerome, Lutetia. Leo returned to the capital and searched the massive city for two days.
His guess was right.
He found Lena working in a bakery kitchen.
"Lena!"
"Leo!"
Seeing Leo, Lena dropped the dough she was holding and rushed out.
Her hands were sticky with dough, but they didn't care and hugged each other tightly.
Flour bags toppled over, sending a cloud of flour into the air, and the bakery owner and customers looked at them in surprise.
Lena, clinging to Leo and crying bitterly, was covered in white flour.

.
!
Chapter 32: Childhood Friends - Departure