Calca gave a bitter smile.
"It had been like this from the very first day. He wouldn't say pleasant things just because I'm the Holy Queen. He would only tell the truth."
Kelart looked at Calca—the bitter smile at the corner of her lips, the trace of complicated emotion in her eyes.
"Your Majesty."
Kelart's voice suddenly softened.
"Do you like him?"
Calca neither denied it.
Nor did she admit it.
She merely gazed at the night sky beyond the window, at the crescent moon, and remained silent for a long time.
"I don't know."
She finally spoke.
"Maybe I do. Or maybe it's just... he's the first person who made me feel that I 'don't have to be so perfect.'"
Kelart said nothing.
"In front of him, I don't need to be the 'Holy Kingdom's Treasure,' the 'Saint,' or the 'Holy Queen.'"
Calca's voice was so soft that it sounded like she was talking to herself.
"I'm just Calca. A woman who isn't good enough, who is weak, who needs guidance."
She paused.
"This feeling... is strange. Comfortable. And dangerous."
Kelart fell silent for a moment, then walked over to Calca, pulled over a chair, and sat down.
She turned her head to look at Calca.
"Your Majesty, what do you want me to do?"
Calca froze for a moment.
"Do?"
"You are the Holy Queen. You said something you shouldn't have, though nothing irreparable has happened yet..."
Kelart's tone was calm yet resolute.
"What do you need me to do? Speak with Mr. Higashino? Test his true intentions? Or..."
"No."
Calca interrupted her.
"You don't need to do anything."
Kelart raised an eyebrow.
"I've already done what I shouldn't have done and said what I shouldn't have said."
Calca's voice regained the composure of the Holy Queen.
"For