Chapter 57……………………………
— If You Feel the Same as I Do
“I intend to save the children. Take me to them at once.”
My eyes, filled with certainty, made the village chief stop crying. As if bewitched, he led me toward the patients.
The makeshift ward inside the temporary shelter was not bad, considering how hastily it had been arranged. In particular, the heating from the royal family’s urgently delivered warming mana-stones was a great help.
Soon, the physicians dispatched from the capital approached me.
“Your Majesty, we have moved the two children’s beds into the treatment room.”
Then, lowering his voice so only I could hear, one whispered:
“I was told that in the palace, Your Majesty has healed several people at once. There are many critical patients here—perhaps you might attempt the same?”
“In truth, I am not yet skilled in wielding this power. I fear if I grow overconfident, I might fail to save the most urgent lives.”
The physician nodded deeply in understanding.
“I know you are impatient, but let us focus first on the two children. Once you regain strength, you may treat the rest.”
“Agreed. I will see the others as soon as I am able.”
With Millie at my side, I entered the treatment room. The two girls, worn out from endless crying and fever, now only let out faint whimpers.
When I looked at their frostbitten legs, I saw maggots writhing in the rotting flesh.
“Ugh!”
Millie gagged helplessly, and the physician quickly brushed the maggots away.
“They crawl back no matter how often we remove them.”
“It is all right. I will begin now.”
Tears stung my eyes at the pitiful sight, but I forced myself to stay firm.
From experience, I knew the greater my emotional turmoil, the more energy I consumed. When I healed my mother and Mik’s severe wounds, the fear and desperation inside me surged like a storm, making me unleash too much power at once—it had taken me a long time to recover.
But when I treated Sir William and the other knights, my emotions were calmer. That steadiness sharpened my focus, letting me channel energy precisely where it was needed.
Stripping off my coat, I stood at the foot of the beds and focused, waiting for the warmth to gather in my core.
The energy, first tracing small circles, swelled into a round sphere. I drew it upward into one hand, then shifted it slowly to the other. Soon, both palms tingled with scorching power.
Now!!
I thrust both hands forward, hovering them above the girls’ legs. Heat, fierce and unrelenting, poured down like a waterfall, coursing through me into their limbs.
A wave of dizziness struck, but I steadied my breathing.
“Your Majesty!”
Millie, alarmed as I swayed, tried to hold me up. I shook my head, refusing, and inhaled deeply again. A second burst of searing energy surged from my hands.
A vast golden barrier formed around us, enveloping me and the two children, then melted into their small bodies.
“Haah…haah…”
My knees buckled, and I collapsed to the floor. It felt as though every drop of energy within me scattered into the air.
“Check the children’s condition.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The physician examined their legs, arms, torsos, and backs carefully. Then, overwhelmed with emotion, he cried out:
“Your Majesty, it worked! The frostbite is completely healed!”
“Then… that is enough.”
Suddenly, chills wracked me, my body trembling violently. Millie quickly wrapped me in furs.
Relieved, I let my eyes close as I leaned into her embrace.
“You haven’t changed, Master.”
“…Young Lord Robby? Is that truly you?”
Retired knight Pallet turned in shock at Robby’s sudden visit. Robby greeted him with a broad smile.
Since retiring, Pallet had lived quietly in his hometown, tending a garden and occasionally teaching swordsmanship to local children.
So it was no wonder he was startled when his old pupil appeared before him.
“What brings you to this humble place?”
“I had much weighing on my heart, so I came for some fresh air. And of course, to see you again, Master.”
Studying Robby’s face with concern, Pallet gathered the children.
“Today’s lesson ends here. Go home and practice. I will test you tomorrow.”
“Yay~~~!”
As children will, they cheered, delighted their lesson ended early.
Pallet led Robby into his modest yet neat home.
“Is your lady wife out?”
Looking around the parlor, Robby asked. A bitter smile flickered on Pallet’s lips.
“…She passed into the goddess Vestea’s embrace last spring.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right. How is Lady Lea? Still as scatterbrained as ever?”
Changing the subject, Pallet’s question made Robby’s face darken.
“Lea… became Pritan’s queen not long ago.”
“…I see. And Lady Hailey? Did she marry that wastrel, Lord Wilhelm?”
“My sister Hailey became the Empress consort.”
“Good heavens…”
Pallet’s expression twisted.
“So the Marquis of Uzkal has made fine use of his daughters.”
Robby stayed silent, silently agreeing. Pallet rose, fetched two cups and a bottle of strong liquor.
“Then let us drink—as two poor men who have both lost the women they loved.”
Robby started in surprise.
“You… noticed my feelings, Master?”
Pallet only gave him a pitying smile. Robby let out a bitter laugh.
“Everyone seemed to know—except the woman herself.”
He had clearly let his feelings slip too often. With a wry smile, he accepted the cup.
“…No backing out, Master.”
They sat with only some fruit between them and downed the burning liquor, cup after cup. Their drinking duel lasted until dawn crept through the window.
“…Master… why would Hailey suddenly ask after you? What could it mean…?”
Robby, half-conscious, muttered as he gazed at Pallet sprawled drunk on the sofa.
“It cannot be for anything good. Forgive me, Master. I feel like a fly trapped in a spider’s web…”
He staggered to his feet and slipped quietly out. The chill dawn air cleared his mind with a shiver.
“Come, let’s go back.”
He roused the dozing coachman, and the carriage rattled swiftly away.
“Excuse me, could you taste this stew? Will it suit Her Majesty’s palate?”
“These fresh oranges and grapefruits were so hard to get… but won’t she find them too sour?”
By the second afternoon of Lea’s stay, the northwest village bustled with festival preparations.
On the first day, she had collapsed after healing the two little girls who had hovered at death’s door.
That morning, still frail, she had tried to heal eighteen villagers with severe frostbite all at once—and suffered grave internal injuries.
When she suddenly coughed up blood, the physicians immediately halted her work and tried to move her to bed.
But she gasped and insisted:
“I… can still do more.”
“No, Your Majesty. If you continue, Prince Miklock will have my head.”
The physicians invoked Miklock’s name in fear, and Lea reluctantly allowed Millie to help her back to her chamber.
Since then, she had drifted in and out of consciousness, shivering under waves of fever. Millie tended her tirelessly, changing the sweat-soaked bedding and nursing her with devotion. By afternoon, Lea finally began to stabilize.
Meanwhile, the village was deep in preparations. Pigs and chickens had been slaughtered, enormous pots of stew bubbled, and tents were raised in the square—ready to begin celebrating as soon as Lea awoke.
When some dishes were finished, the villagers seized Millie, begging her to taste them.
“Her Majesty eats everything without fuss,” Millie assured. “Don’t worry.”
“But surely the palace food is so fine… she won’t like our humble fare.”
The women’s faces were etched with worry. Skilled cooks though they were, none had imagined feeding the Queen herself.
But Lea, who had grown up on miserable food in the Uzkal household, had never been picky. Even as Queen, she always ate gratefully and with relish.
“Truly, she will enjoy it,” Millie reassured them.
Stepping outside afterward, Millie saw William and the knights helping raise a large tent in the square. She found her eyes drifting to him—until he turned, meeting her gaze. Flustered, she looked away, but in moments he was standing right before her.
“Millie, I need to ask you something.”
“I have nothing to say.”
“Then just listen. It won’t take long.”
When he refused to back down, she sighed lightly and let him lead her away.
At the secluded riverside, William turned to her, his expression resolute.
“When we kissed, when we… spent the night together—was that because you pitied me, because you couldn’t refuse?”
She jerked her head up, shocked by his anguished look.
“Of course not! Why would you think that?”
“Because you’re kind. I wondered if, after all I’ve done for you, you couldn’t bring yourself to say no.”
“If someone helps me, I cook them a meal or give a gift—I don’t sleep with them. And I don’t know why you keep saying I’m kind. I’m not kind at all!”
Even with sparks flying in her eyes, William’s face filled with relief.
“Then you feel the same as I do, don’t you?”
He took her hand firmly, his voice filled with quiet hope. Millie’s rising energy faltered, and she lowered her gaze, giving the faintest nod.
“Millie…”
In an instant, he pulled her small body into his broad chest. She didn’t struggle—she simply leaned against him.
“If you truly feel the same, I’ll wait. However long it takes, I’ll wait. When you’re ready, come to me.”
His unusually tender, sweet words broke her composure, and she burst into tears.
“Please… don’t be so good to me!”
After all, she was angry at his mother, frustrated with her own position—yet his kindness shook her heart.
“Why can’t you just scold me and shout like usual? Why are you being so gentle?”
As she sobbed against him like a child, William hugged her tighter, deciding not to demand more. It was enough to know her heart matched his.
“I’ll do even better. No anger, no shouting—I’ll be good. So Millie, whenever the time comes, come to me.”
