The Saint Disappeared with Her Memories — Her Broken Engagement Decided the Kingdom’s Destiny - Chapter 19

“Are you stupid? There’s no way I’m giving you that kind of money.”

I looked down coldly at the middle-aged man, an old sage from the temple. I regretted even letting him into my office; he stood there in such a pitiful state. The sweat on his forehead, his trembling hands, his downward gaze. Everything about him looked weak and only made me angrier. Was he trying to gain sympathy? I wouldn’t fall for that.

The man had come requesting financial assistance from the royal family, citing the temple’s financial difficulties.

“B-but without financial aid, the temple’s operations will stall.”

I snorted at the old sage who was making excuses so timidly. According to his story, the temple’s operations had been significantly delayed recently. The monster appearance rate around the royal capital was increasing, and failed subjugation requests were piling up.

Even the blessing rituals involving the Saintess were incomplete, resulting in poor crop yields. As a result, they couldn’t collect rewards from requests, fell into financial shortage, and couldn’t respond when people asked for help, the temple’s reputation was declining day by day.

On top of that, he said adventurers were stealing their work under these circumstances. Apparently, a popular adventuring party had appeared around the royal capital recently, solving problems faster and more efficiently than the temple.

I leaned back deeply in my office chair and glared at the old sage. Those were problems they should solve themselves. Simple mismanagement of the temple. They seemed intent on pushing that responsibility onto the royal family. Ridiculous.

Listening seriously to this story was nothing but a waste of time. I had absolutely no intention of providing financial assistance to the temple right now. The royal treasury wasn’t bottomless.

“We provided sufficient assistance before, didn’t we? Even after giving you that much funding, you’re still saying it’s not enough?”

“Ah, no. Th-that is, well…”

I sent a cold glare toward the old sage who was stumbling over his words. For the sake of my beloved Saintess Elise, I had provided financial assistance many times before. Though I hadn’t really wanted to, I thought it couldn’t be helped for her sake. Yet the temple people kept demanding more. Truly unbelievable.

If I gave in here, it would just be the same cycle repeating itself. Don’t get spoiled. I had no intention of providing any financial assistance to the temple for the foreseeable future.

All I wanted was my beloved Saintess Elise. It was only because she was the Saintess and belonged to the temple that I had been providing financial assistance. To have that wasted so carelessly, of course it would make me angry.

“Enough! Further discussion is pointless. Dismissed!”

When I waved my hand, the old sage took a step forward with a panicked expression.

“P-please wait! Let me speak once more!!”

“Ugh! Shut up! Hey, send this man away.”

I stood up and signaled to the soldier waiting in the corner of the room. The soldier nodded silently, grabbed the pitiful old sage by the shoulder, and escorted him out of the room. Watching that pathetic retreating figure until the end, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. With the quiet, I could finally relax.

“Haaah…”

Standing by the window, I gazed outside while thinking. The temple people really irritated me. The temple’s reputation wasn’t just declining due to failed requests. I’d also heard rumors about internal conflicts and power struggles happening. Apparently, they were wasting their energy on that. Hopeless fools.

Even after providing them with funds all this time, they ended up in such a situation. They must have gathered nothing but incompetents. What a nuisance.

Thinking about the future made me anxious. Would this affect the kingdom I would rule going forward? Would the temple become a liability? Such concerns crossed my mind.

Even though these were the temple’s problems, why did I have to be so troubled by them? While feeling irritated inside, I couldn’t abandon them either due to my sense of responsibility as royalty. The relationship with the temple had significant historical importance. It wasn’t a problem I could ignore.

“Well, but”

I looked toward the temple’s spire visible from the window. The white tower shone divinely in the sunlight. That was where Saintess Elise, said to be the strongest in history, resided. The lovely, adorable her. The beautiful and excellent Saintess known to everyone. As long as she was there, the temple would be secure one way or another. Which meant the kingdom would be secure too.

Who I should rely on wasn’t the old sages of the temple, but Saintess Elise. As long as she was here, everything should be fine. Even in this difficult situation, if she gave it her all, it would definitely be alright. I believed that. I was counting on her.

For that reason too, deepening my relationship with Elise, my fiancée, was important. While I was at it, I should go see her to vent this frustration. She must be waiting for me too. Just imagining her beautiful face made me feel better.

I headed quickly toward the door to leave my office.

“Um, Your Highness? Where are you going?”

A minister stopped me, wearing an anxious expression.

“Ah, there’s some important business to attend to.”

I evaded the question vaguely. There was no point in honestly saying I was going to see Elise. They’d probably try to stop me anyway. Looking ahead to the future, this was necessary.

“But there’s still administrative work remaining.”

“Leave that to others.”

The minister showed me the bundle of documents in his hand and spoke hesitantly. I waved my hand lightly, dismissing the suggestion. They could leave it to someone capable, or deal with it later.

“B-but, you see”

The minister tried to say something more, but I started walking regardless.

“I have something I must do. Right now, I need to prioritize that.”

“…Understood.”

The minister finally seemed to give up. He bowed his head and didn’t try to stop me further. If that was the case, he shouldn’t have stopped me in the first place. These unnecessary conversations were wasting my time.

I was working properly for the kingdom’s sake, so they didn’t need to worry. Ignoring the concerns of the temple’s old sages and ministers, I should push forward on my own path. This was the decisiveness expected of a future king.

I was going to see Elise now. Seeing her smile should clear up this gloomy mood. As long as she was here, the temple’s problems could be solved. Thinking this, I walked quickly down the hallway toward the palace where my important Saintess awaited, my heart racing with anticipation.