・・・・・
Once the heat had eased considerably, it was time to harvest the ripe, luscious grapes.
As soon as her morning prayers ended, Liliana headed straight to the vineyard.
Although there was no need for the Saintess to help with the grape harvest, it was better to keep busy with physical work when her mind felt troubled.
In the vast vineyard of the Grand Temple, priests and volunteers with baskets had gathered.
The wine produced there was of such high quality that it was even supplied to the royal family, and from harvest to brewing, every step was tended to by the priests themselves.
“Oh my, the Saintess is here?”
At the words of the priest who spotted Liliana, several people turned their heads in her direction.
"The Saintess is here too?"
"You could have rested for a few days."
At those kind words, Liliana tilted her head in puzzlement.
'The Saintess, too?'
Just then, someone wearing a straw hat raised their hand high.
"Saintess, over here!"
The person waving their hand was none other than Liber.
Why was he here?
He was the last person she wanted to meet, and Liliana instinctively took a step back.
Regardless, Liber put down his basket and hurried over to her.
"You can't run away! We haven't even finished half yet!"
Seeing Liber, a few people called out playfully.
Liber chuckled in response.
“Ah, clingy men aren’t attractive, you know?”
“Oh, then what about clingy women?”
“Saintess! Elena’s hitting on me!”
People burst out laughing at Liber’s tattling. It seemed he had already become friendly with the others.
'...He's quite sociable.'
Liliana had worried a bit that he might act spoiled just because he was royalty, but it was a relief to see he was adjusting well.
She smiled warmly at Liber as he approached her.
"You don't need to come over here. You can help more if you want."
“No, I really ran away. I offered to help because it sounded fun, but it turned out to be harder than I thought.”
Liber rolled his neck and shoulders several times, clearly tired. Then he looked at Liliana and smiled pleasantly.
“Did you come here knowing I’d be here?”
Despite having thrust his member into her mouth the night before, he looked completely innocent now.
Liliana quietly observed Liber for a moment and then smiled brightly.
"No way."
“You’re too cold to your new husband.”
Liber grumbled, but he didn't seem to be in a bad mood.
As he flapped his clothes to cool off the sweat, he suddenly took Liliana's hand.
"...I'm thirsty. Let's rest for a bit."
"Huh?"
Liber led Liliana to the shade without a word.
Taken aback, Liliana sat down with a bewildered expression.
One of the volunteers who had been helping brought them some cool water.
"It's okay, you two rest. It hasn't been long since your wedding."
"Wow, isn't that too much? You worked me hard when I was alone."
"That's why if you don't want to work, you should stick close to the Saintess. That way, there’ll be an heir too... Oh my, I’ve said too much.”
The volunteer quickly covered her mouth, glancing nervously at Liliana.
Then she quickly offered a respectful farewell to the two and went back to the vineyard.
Seeing her leave like that, Liber immediately spoke up.
"I have a question."
"What is it?"
"By any chance, is bro... impotent?"
"...What?"
At the sudden question, Liliana unconsciously raised her voice and asked back.
Seeing her bewilderment, Liber awkwardly scratched his cheek.
"No, I mean, they've been talking about us having kids since earlier. From what I saw yesterday, it doesn’t seem like he’s completely incapable… Could there be a problem with his sperm?"
Was he crazy? Bringing up yesterday's events here?
Liliana hurriedly looked around, worried someone might have overheard.
Fortunately, everyone was far enough away that it seemed no one had heard Liber’s words.
"Are you crazy? Talking about something like that here..."
"Ah, is he really impotent?"
"It's not that..."
Liliana pressed her forehead as if she had a headache.
Right, he was someone who had been born and raised in the royal palace.
Even if he had occasionally visited the temple, it was only to pray a few times before leaving, so it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t know much about the saintess.
"...Saintesses usually have a hard time getting pregnant. The stronger the divine power they possess in their body, the harder it is."
"Really?"
"That's why bearing a child is one of the most important duties of a saintess. Everyone tries not to bring it up in front of me so as not to pressure me... but the very fact that a saintess is allowed to take multiple husbands stems from that reason."
‘If you can't get pregnant, don't cling to a useless man, bring in another one’ — the permission for a saintess to have multiple husbands basically came from that idea.
Of course, some saintesses never got pregnant even after taking in seven husbands until the day they died.
"So that's why you accepted my proposal. I thought I would be rejected."
Liber muttered quietly while crouching down.
Liliana looked at him curiously as if she had realised something.
"What do you mean?"
"It's a place where only virtuous people live... You know that, right, Saintess? How I’ve lived like a rag.”
“...”
The crude and vulgar choice of words made Liliana narrow her eyes slightly.
Liber shrugged his shoulders and continued.
"But maybe someone like me, who's been promiscuous, is better than those who are too reserved in bed. If it’s hard to get pregnant... it would probably be better to have sex more often."
"I’ve heard that too much of it isn’t good either. That’s why Altus..."
Having said that much, Liliana quickly covered her mouth in realisation.
Liber was staring at her intently.
Liliana cleared her throat and quickly changed the subject.
"...By the way, why did you do that yesterday?"
"What do you mean?"
Liber asked again with an innocent face.
Was he shameless or just clueless?
Liliana let out a small sigh and asked again.
"You could have had the first night today. There was no need to do it that way."
"I fell for you at first sight. When I thought the marriage might be called off, everything just went dark in front of me."
It was a blatant lie that anyone could see.
Liliana let out a small laugh.
"What exactly did you fall for?"
"Men with messy private lives usually don’t have a conscience. They go around fooling around all they want, but when it comes to marriage, they want a woman who's pure and chaste."
For someone of royal blood, his choice of words was more like a back-alley thug’s.
Still, Liliana had grown somewhat used to it, so she replied lightly on purpose.
"I honestly wondered if you'd die if you didn't get married. Even today..."
"Yeah, you’re right."
Unexpectedly, Liber nodded his head.
Liliana raised an eyebrow and turned to look at him.
"What..."
“If I don’t marry the Saintess, I’ll have to keep holding on to my claim to the throne — and that’ll only get in the way of my dear nephew’s future.”
His eyes, red as rubies, softened as they looked at her.
It was far too heavy a topic for a sunny midday.
Seeing Liliana silent, Liber gave a small grin.
"Saintess, since you’ve lived apart from the secular world, I suppose you’re not too familiar with stories like this?"
"No, I understand."
Although those who served the divine were said to distance themselves from worldly affairs, someone in the position of a Saintess in the Grand Temple couldn’t be entirely removed from them.
He was the youngest son of the late king, a much younger brother to the current monarch, and a young prince the same age as the crown prince.
It wasn’t hard to imagine how much the king, who wanted to pass the throne to his son, saw him as a thorn in his side.
Nor was it difficult to guess why he'd sent a marriage proposal to her instead of to a noblewoman.
"Just in case, I’ll have the temple’s security reinforced. It should be fine, since it’s next to Altus’s quarters anyway."
Now that he had married her, a Saintess, the king likely wouldn’t try to suppress him any longer. But that didn’t rule out the possibility of other hidden grudges.
Whether he understood the implication or not, Liber let out a small laugh.
"It seems like bro doesn't like me."
“That’s… a bit of a misunderstanding. He thinks I was forced into this marriage, but it’ll be sorted out soon, so don’t go stirring up trouble.”
“…Bro was the one who started the trouble first. I was trying to behave.”
Liber muttered softly, sounding wronged.
Liliana recalled what had happened the night before but turned her head, pretending not to hear.
Seeing her silence, Liber raised an eyebrow.
“The High Priest said the Saintess shouldn’t favour one husband over the other but treat them all fairly.”
“...”
“You’re not going to scold me and let bro off the hook, are you?”
“…Who said I scolded anyone?”
“No, honestly, wasn’t it bro who was at fault yesterday? He started trouble out of nowhere, and it wasn’t even his wedding night… ugh!”
Liliana quickly covered Liber's mouth.
Noticing the eyes around them, she lowered her voice.
“Please, I beg you, don’t blab about this outside.”
“It’s not like they can hear us from over there, so what’s the big deal?”
“It’s because that side is being so careless. Lower your voice.”
“That side? You’re calling your new husband ‘that side’?”
“Then should I call you ‘this side’? What a pointless nitpick…”
Unintentionally turning her head toward the vineyard, Liliana quickly closed her mouth.
The priests and volunteers carrying baskets glanced their way, then all turned their heads away at once.
Liber looked back at Liliana with wide eyes.
"...What’s going on? Why is everyone staring at us?"
"I told you, be careful with your words."
“...”
“If we stay here a little longer, they’ll probably even put up a screen for us. So that we can enjoy it comfortably.”
At Liliana's words, Liber blinked his eyes in apparent surprise.
"This... this place is really... open-minded."
"That's why you could become my second husband."
Liliana smiled softly and got up. She extended her hand to Liber.
"If you've been working since the morning... You haven't finished looking around yet, have you?"
"Yeah. But, is it okay if I don't help with that?"
"It's break time now, anyway."
As Liliana had said, the people in the field were gathering their baskets and heading toward the shade.
Liber watched them carefully before nodding his head.
・・・・・
Liliana guided Liber around the temple.
After touring the vineyard and the brewery, they stopped by the cafeteria and the infirmary, and even visited the temple's orphanage.
Normally, this would have been something her first husband, Altus, should have done.
"What is bro doing that he hasn’t shown his face all day?"
"...He must be busy."
Liliana smiled bitterly as she opened the door to the prayer room.
Altus, who should have come to her to ask for forgiveness, hadn’t shown up by the time evening prayers began.
Even though he must have known she was with Liber.
"Is he upset? Because of marrying me."
"I told you, there was a misunderstanding. He had no complaints about the marriage itself."
If she calmly said that it wasn’t an unwanted marriage, there was no doubt that he would understand.
Even if he had a frustrating side, he was always someone who cared for her, and if she waited a little longer, he would sort out his feelings and come to her on his own.
But seeing Liliana so sure of herself, Liber gave a small chuckle.
"Bro... You really must have a tough time, too."
A voice, barely audible, brushed past her ears.
Liliana slowly raised her head and looked up at the statue of the goddess.
The stone figure, bearing the likeness of the Holy Mother, was gazing down at her.
What kind of expression had Altus worn yesterday?
The fact that she hadn't seen his face since the wedding ceremony kept weighing on her mind.
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