Chapter 10
The archbishop started opening all the nearby doors without asking me and clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction.
“The management here is quite poor. You can’t possibly wash in a place this filthy!”
“My servant has prepared a clean room for the knight you brought. It even has a bathroom, so you can use that one.”
“Use someone else’s room when there are so many available?”
“Oh, really! Why do you expect so much? Maybe I’ll just go back outside.”
I could no longer hold back and furrowed my brow while running my hand through my hair. The archbishop pouted and fell silent.
He followed Killian into the room where the armored man was being undressed and slammed the door shut.
“Some people are just unbearable.”
I glared at the door and then spoke to Rita and Old Man Eugen.
“Rita, you’ll wash up in my room. As for you… hmm, the wording is a bit awkward. Steward, use the bathroom once the archbishop leaves.”
“Oh, we’re already grateful just to be allowed in the mansion…”
“Rooms aren’t going to disappear. Having a few more people isn’t a big deal.”
Though thanks to that chubby archbishop, we might have problems with the food supply.
I left Old Man Eugen in the hallway and entered the room with Rita.
The girl looked at the pale pink canopy hanging from the ceiling and the rabbit doll on the table, and she began to snivel again.
“I never thought I’d see these things again… I used to have a rabbit doll my sister bought me.”
It’s probably all burned now, though.
Rita added that with a sob, crying out, “Mom! Sister!”
“Once you finish washing, I’ll give you that rabbit doll. You’ll also get a delicious meal.”
I turned the topic, unable to ask about her family’s survival, and Rita blinked her violet eyes.
“R-Really?”
“Of course. I’m past the age for playing with dolls anyway.”
I sent Rita to the bathroom and went to the dress room to pick out clothes for her.
But all the clothing was my size, so Rita would have to wear a dress that needed adjusting.
“Rita! I’ll put your clothes on the bed!”
After knocking on the bathroom door, I grabbed a potion I had prepared for “serious injuries” and headed to the next room.
As soon as I entered, the archbishop’s loud, unpleasant humming filled the room.
“You did something quite commendable, Marie.”
Killian was sitting beside the armored man who had taken off his armor. He smiled, but his eyes betrayed no warmth.
Damn it.
“I can’t just leave someone in need… sigh.”
I muttered the obvious and fell silent. I had no words to justify having saved the archbishop, whom I was already regretting.
“Miss, could you fetch some water? We’ll need it to wash the knight’s wounds…”
Old Man Eugen requested, standing beside the bed where the armored man lay.
It seemed Killian had only laid the man down without taking any action.
“Just a moment. I have a very effective potion.”
I sat in the space Eugen stepped away from, opened the potion, and sprinkled it over the man. I could feel Killian’s displeased gaze, but I ignored it.
“Ahhh!”
The man gasped in pain, attempting to sit up. Eugen moved to the opposite side of the bed and held him steady.
His hands, covered in black ash, gripped the sheets desperately. When I wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of my hand, he pressed his cheek against it.
“Ugh… it hurts!”
“Just hold on a little longer. You’ll be better soon.”
“Hold… snff, my hand…”
The man whined like a child. Eugen already held one of his hands, but I wasn’t sure why he wanted me to hold the other. Regardless, I did as he wished.
His hands were calloused and bony. Now I remembered—the archbishop had instructed him to protect himself.
I asked Old Man Eugen,
“Is this man a paladin?”
“Yes. This is Sir Barren, who pledged purity to Goddess Lavalé. He saved Rita and me when we were lost and wandering.”
As expected, he was a good person. Although he frowned now, he gave off a warm, noble presence.
I was glad we brought Sir Barren and lifted my head, only to see Killian’s cold gaze fixed on him.
“The man standing there also recovered quickly thanks to the potion. Sir Barren will heal soon too, so please watch over him, Steward.”
“Don’t worry. Once the archbishop finishes, we’ll wash the knight properly.”
“But doesn’t an archbishop have divine powers?”
“Well… Sandro is actually the pope’s illegitimate son.”
Old Man Eugen whispered in a low voice.
It seemed the archbishop was basically useless.
I tapped Sir Barren’s shoulder as I had with Killian and stood up.
As I turned to return to my room, Killian strode forward and caught me.
“Where are you going, Marie? You promised to make peach cake.”
Perhaps due to the unexpected guests, he seemed unusually sharp.
“Something more urgent. The horses downstairs are starving and emaciated. Get some water for them first.”
“So now you want me to act as a stable hand too?”
“Is that a complaint?”
“Not at all. I said I’d do anything.”
He went downstairs without another word, but I felt somehow conscious of Killian’s gaze.
Had I asked too much? But he did say he would handle every chore!
I tried to ease my mental debt to Killian and headed to my room.
“Ugh… Angel… the clothes are too big.”
“My name’s Marie. You can call me Sister Marie.”
Rita held up the long-sleeved outfit, water dripping from her wet hair.
The now-clean child looked utterly adorable, her pale face and rosy cheeks striking.
And those mysterious, beautiful violet eyes peeking through tangled brown hair.
Usually, such unique eye colors mark someone important.
“Come here. Let’s dry your hair.”
I also planned to roll up the sleeves and shorten the skirt. Having a child in the household suddenly created many tasks.
Besides, Rita was a girl like me. It only made sense that I take care of her.
I seated her at the vanity and retrieved a dry towel.
“This makes me think of my sister… sniff… I miss her.”
Rita sniffled. She must have been very close to her sister.
Meow.
While drying Rita’s hair, a gray cat appeared, tugging at her skirt. It seemed to have been playing in the room all along.
Rita, who had been sad, widened her eyes.
“A cat! How cute. What’s its name?”
“I just call it Baby.”
“Hello, Baby. I’m Rita!”
Thankfully, her youthful energy returned quickly. I watched her hug Baby while I combed her tangled hair.
By the time her long brown hair reached her chest and was smoothed out, a rumbling sound came from somewhere.
Looking in the mirror, I noticed Rita blushing deeply.
“S-Sorry…”
“No worries. Shall we check downstairs for some food?”
Holding her hand, I left the room, glancing at the slightly open adjacent room. Sir Barren, now clean, lay quietly on the bed.
Old Man Eugen was absent—likely gone to wash.
“Wait… then what about the archbishop?”
I hurried down the stairs. Even if everyone else was fine, I couldn’t trust that guy.
However, the archbishop wasn’t on the first floor. Only the horses, now refreshed and drinking water, looked at me with bright eyes.
“Ah… alright, I’ll find you something to eat.”
I patted the gentle horses one by one when I heard the archbishop’s scream from the basement.
“Ahhh! I’m dying! Save your servant, Lavalé!”
“Hah… if you stay calm, you’ll at least make it halfway.”
I guessed what had happened. Hoping Rita wouldn’t witness the trouble, I said:
“Do you want to stay with the steward? I’ll come back for you soon.”
“You… you’ll be back soon?”
Rita grabbed my sleeve anxiously.
“Of course! Oh, and you can take the rabbit doll from my room too.”
“Wow, thank you!”
Excited, Rita ran up the stairs with tiny steps.
Watching her, I hurried to the kitchen.
And there, I found the archbishop rolling on the floor while Killian watched with amusement.
