Chapter 69
The shock from the downfall of her past life’s family didn’t last long. It was just one of those things—“Ah, so that’s how it was”—and she managed to forget about it by the next day. The problem was the words that followed, which kept bothering her.
“Judging by the context, it sounded like they were talking about my current family…”
The lingering question kept spinning in her head, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Unsurprisingly, she hadn’t found any answers today either.
“If my family is real… then what am I, waking up in this body all of a sudden…?”
The tangled situations only made her thoughts more complicated.
“Ugh… I still don’t get it.”
Unless she met that god—presumably Eanna—again, there was no way she was getting an answer.
That wasn’t the most urgent matter at the moment anyway. She’d think about it later. For now, it felt nice to be out for a walk after a long time.
The weather was so good, it was almost suspicious. Though she’d nearly died, the Eastern temple had returned to peace after everything was resolved. Collapsing had been an unexpected twist, but in the end, she was glad she came.
She hadn’t expected the sacred flower she’d brought from the greenhouse to be this useful. Life truly was unpredictable.
She hadn’t done much with them besides watering them before, but hoping they’d grow just as abundantly, she had planted a few more in the vast Northern lands. Seeing how much she’d used them today, she felt glad she did.
“I’ll have to purify this one later when I have time.”
Louisa fiddled with a blackened sacred flower for a moment before placing it in a box.
“But seriously, how long are these people going to act like this…?”
She glanced at the paladins loitering around her like they were war criminals, watching her with guilty eyes. She gave them a faintly disinterested look.
The day after she woke up, they had apologized for their previous rudeness, even going so far as to kneel—no, lie flat on the ground. But for them to still be doing this today?
“…Are they just fascinated?”
Louisa casually shut the lid of the box and handed it to Mary nearby, instructing her to store it properly.
“By the way, where did Bella go?”
While she’d mostly stayed in her room during her time at the Eastern temple, she hadn’t expected Bella to completely vanish like this.
The priests, bursting with curiosity about her purification ability, had wanted to bombard her with questions the moment she awoke. Thankfully, the duke and Damian had stepped in to handle it, saying her recovery came first, which calmed things down.
If they’d clung to her too, it would’ve been a headache. She was relieved they hadn’t.
“I really need to head back to the capital. If I say we should go today, they probably won’t agree, right? Maybe I should say tomorrow instead.”
She had never planned to stay in the East this long. The duke and Damian probably had a pile of work waiting for them too.
Even though things were being handled here, it wasn’t exactly a well-prepared place. It must be frustrating. And yet, all they kept telling her was to rest—ironically, the one truly feeling stifled was her.
“But still…”
He’s staring holes into me. Louisa finally sighed and turned to the man next to her.
“Sir Raphael, don’t you have work to do?”
“I’m fine. Are you uncomfortable in any way?”
“Not at all. I’m perfectly fine.”
Surprisingly so. Even she hadn’t expected to feel this completely normal.
“Still, please make sure never to push yourself again.”
“Well, if nothing like that happens again, there won’t be any need to. By the way, why haven’t I seen the saint lately?”
For the first time, cracks appeared in Raphael’s composed face as he stared at her like she’d said something distasteful. Louisa watched his reaction with curiosity.
“The saint ran away.”
He had once called her “the saint” with at least a veneer of respect, but now he didn’t even seem willing to treat her as a proper person.
“Ran away?”
Her voice rose in disbelief. Louisa widened her eyes, waiting for Raphael to explain further.
“Pardon me. Would it be alright if I explained the rest?”
A sudden voice interrupted. It came from one of the knights who had been tending to the patients earlier—someone vaguely familiar.
“It’s been a while. We met once in the carriage before, but I didn’t get the chance to properly greet you due to the situation back then.”
Ah, the carriage… when she was coughing up blood because of that black mage…
“I’m Andy White, Captain’s adjutant.”
Andy bowed politely, his black eyes sparkling.
“Andy White. What are you doing here? Weren’t you assigned to watch over the patients?”
Raphael’s voice turned cold enough to make anyone flinch. His tone was completely different from when he was speaking to Louisa just moments ago. She blinked, unsure how to respond.
“I thought I should at least greet her properly. Ha ha…”
Andy seemed used to Raphael’s attitude and awkwardly smiled while glancing at him.
Then, quickly turning his back to the fuming Raphael, he bowed deeply to Louisa.
“Thank you, truly! Thanks to you, I didn’t lose my comrades.”
“Oh… don’t mention it.”
“I was deeply moved by how hard you worked. On the first day, I was so focused on the surroundings that I failed to stop others from behaving rudely. I sincerely apologize.”
“Well, the situation was pretty dire…”
“Thank you. Ah, and just so you know, those knights watching from afar like lost puppies are only staying away because they’re worried you’ll be uncomfortable. They’re all truly remorseful. But of course, you don’t have to forgive them!”
So that’s why they’ve been watching me like that… I thought it was just curiosity. Louisa awkwardly opened her mouth.
“I’ve already accepted their apology. It’s fine.”
“Milady…!”
Andy looked like he was about to cry as he clasped his hands and even began to kneel.
“No need to kneel.”
“Yes, ma’am! You’re so kind-hearted, I can’t believe people dared to spread such awful rumors. I’ll personally make sure they stop!”
There was really no need to go that far. Louisa gave him a tired look.
Andy’s eyes were practically glowing with zealous fervor. No matter what she said, it probably wouldn’t get through to him.
“Whatever…”
Louisa nodded half-heartedly with a resigned expression.
“Well… now that the greetings are out of the way, could you explain what you mentioned earlier?”
“Louisa, I can tell you. You should return to the patients. Isn’t it your duty to stay by the vice-captain’s side?”
So the vice-captain was among the patients too… Must’ve been serious. And yet Bella had run away. That made her even more curious.
“She’s resting now. And compared to the captain, I can give a more detailed and accurate account of the situation, don’t you think?”
“Andy White.”
“Mm, that’s true.”
“…Louisa?”
Raphael, who had been sternly warning Andy, now looked at Louisa in disbelief. His expression darkened with disappointment to the point that she had to look away.
“Haha, then I’ll make this quick and get out of your way. I wouldn’t want to intrude between you two.”
What do you mean, “between us”… Louisa muttered dryly.
“You can stay longer if you want. But maybe it’s time you got to the point?”
“Ah! Sorry for the rambling. Then, let me start from the events leading up to her escape.”
Yes, please. Took you long enough. Avoiding Raphael’s sidelong glances, Louisa tilted her head slightly.
“It was a newly discovered underground passage, so we were only going to inspect the entrance. Three of us went in first, but suddenly, black smoke poured out and monsters started appearing. The three knights closest were hit and fell into the tunnel. By the time we finished dealing with the monsters and rescued them, they were already tainted by demonic energy.”
Just like the North. Black smoke followed by a sudden monster outbreak.
“They looked bad—like they could die at any moment. We quickly finished off the monsters and ran to find the saint.”
“…”
“For the first time, I was actually glad to see her. She’d always been shirking her duties, loitering around the captain instead of staying near the border. But in that moment, I believed she wouldn’t turn away. I had already confirmed that the infection wasn’t contagious, so I begged her to purify them.”
He’s being extremely honest. It seemed Bella had clung to Raphael quite a bit during their time in the East, and there was not a trace of reverence in Andy’s face.
In fact, he seemed thoroughly fed up. One glance at Raphael showed he felt the same, if not worse, than the reactions he used to show Louisa.
“At first, the saint did reach out her hand to purify them. But she pulled away within seconds.”
“She didn’t even attempt it?”
“No. She looked terrified. We tried everything—cleared away nearby monster corpses, covered up the worst wounds—hoping she’d at least try. But it was useless.”
“Hmm… Was the demonic energy that strong and frightening?”
