I, Reincarnate as the Leader of the Villainous Knight Order - Chapter 131: Engagement Established

Chapter 131: Engagement Established

The next morning, after finishing breakfast and taking care of accumulated documents in the office, a messenger arrived from the royal castle. The document the messenger brought specified the time for today’s visit to the castle and the schedule for the audience.

Since Jest was at the training grounds with his subordinates, I entrusted the message to the clerks, prepared myself in my room, and then headed to the stables with Orel.

“Good morning, Eleanor. Did you rest well?”

As I spoke while stroking her neck, she snorted in response as if to say she was fine. We then headed to the royal castle, where we met with the human Eleanor and the head priest in the waiting room. The Holy Knight acting as a bodyguard was likely waiting in another room.

“Good morning, Vice Commander Orel, Captain Justin!”

“Good morning, Eleanor. Good morning, Head Priest.”

Normally, she should mention my name first due to our respective statuses. But considering she didn’t forget my existence entirely, I guess I should be grateful. However, please, you two, stop filling the room with this sweet atmosphere so early in the morning. I simply nodded at the saintess’ greeting and addressed the head priest.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning. Yesterday’s conversation surprised me in many ways… but it seems everything was true.”

The head priest looked somewhat haggard. Well, it’s understandable; receiving divine revelations is already a big deal, but then learning that the saintess has a lover must be overwhelming. Given how sweet the atmosphere between them is, anyone could see they share a special relationship. At that moment, Orel pulled out a document from his chest pocket.

“Orel, what document is that? I already brought the report with me.”

“Yes, this is the engagement contract. Normally, we would prefer to hold an engagement ceremony, but we can’t predict what might happen if word gets out right now. Since the head priest is here at the castle, I thought it would be best to hand it over… So, Eleanor, could you please sign this document?”

“Vice Commander Orel…! Yes!!”

Orel took out a portable writing set and had Eleanor sign the document. I knew he was efficient in his duties and strong in handling paperwork due to his position as vice-captain, but I never realized he was this proactive in matters of romance.

Documents related to marriage fall under the jurisdiction of the temple. If the couple getting engaged and a qualified priest sign the document, the engagement is officially established. And here we have the head priest. For commoners, verbal agreements are usually enough for an engagement, and the marriage registration is done during the wedding. However, those who want a guarantee submit an engagement contract to make it official.

“Head Priest, is this acceptable?”

“Hah! Y-Yes… The speed of this development surprised me. But our doctrine emphasizes respecting the saintess’ will as much as possible, so we cannot oppose it.”

When I called out to the head priest, who was dumbfounded, he snapped back to reality and smiled wryly. He then wrote his name in the witness section of the engagement contract that the two had signed.

“Congratulations. With this, your engagement is official. I will take responsibility for keeping this document safe.”

“Thank you, Head Priest!”

“We are grateful.”

By the way, our attendant who was guiding us overheard this entire conversation. Judging by his shifting gaze, he’s probably thinking about whom to share this information with. Perhaps I should give him a warning.

“Hey. I’m sure you understand, but don’t carelessly talk about what you just saw and heard. You can report it to the head chamberlain if necessary. Well, the news of the engagement will likely reach not just the head chamberlain but other nobles before you get the chance to say anything.”

When I said this with a stern expression, the attendant turned pale and nodded vigorously.

“Huh? Captain, does that mean…?”

“Of course, we’re going to announce it in the audience chamber right now. Otherwise, there’s no point in getting engaged, right? It would be troublesome if word got out before the engagement was official. Now that the head priest has signed and the engagement is established, we should spread the news actively.”

However, there will probably be some people who will cause a fuss if they learn that the engagement was just decided. So, we might need to be vague about the timing of the engagement. But we must make sure that the engagement itself is well-known for the future.

With this, Orel won’t have to worry about other nobles or even the Crown Prince approaching the saintess anymore.

When we were summoned, we were led to the audience chamber, where the ministers were lined up. We knelt before the king to deliver our report.

As usual, the queen was seated beside His Majesty. This time, along with Ernest and Lady Diane, the second prince Lancelot, who is a candidate for crown prince, was also present.

“The Saintess carried out her duties admirably as the envoy to the Holy Kingdom, and the Third Knight Order performed their duties in guarding and assisting Frales. I have read the letter from the main temple, and it says that the Saintess received a divine revelation from the goddess.”

At the king’s words, the ministers began to murmur among themselves. Although they were aware of such things in theory, this was likely the first time any of them had encountered someone who actually received a divine revelation. His Majesty raised his hand slightly to calm the still-buzzing ministers and continued speaking.

“Could the Saintess share the content of this revelation with everyone here? You may stand and speak comfortably.”

“Yes! I was teleported to the Chamber of Divine Oracles in the main temple, where the goddess spoke to me…”

The Saintess stood up straight and began to recount the events that took place in the Holy Kingdom, her voice clear and confident. Orel looked on, smiling warmly at her.

Amidst this, I found myself questioning my own eyes as I noticed another pair exuding an atmosphere even sweeter than that of the Saintess and Orel. Ignoring the murmuring ministers, Ernest and Lady Diane were gazing deeply into each other’s eyes.