Recently, the Lady Virgin Saint was having a hectic day.
This was due to the overwhelming number of injured people at the temple. The attack that mobilized hundreds of monsters resulted in countless disasters, and even some priests faced unfortunate situations due to self-destructing monsters.
There were many patients and too few priests.
Thus, it was inevitable for the Lady Virgin Saint, who could be said to possess the highest divine power within the Academy, to become busy. Particularly, the Lady Virgin Saint was even more frazzled these days.
The day to treat I-an was approaching.
The preparations to offer the sacrificial items were complete. Once the formal ritual commenced using the sacred items, I-an’s injuries would surely be healed.
The sacred items were that precious.
In recent times, they had been able to fully heal a man who had been brought in a dying condition several times.
For the Lady Virgin Saint’s skill, it was not a particularly difficult task. Nonetheless, the reason she was putting so much effort into preparing for I-an’s treatment boiled down to two main points.
First, the Lady Virgin Saint loved I-an.
Though she was a bit hesitant to admit it to herself, that was the case. While everyone was supposedly equal under the Heavenly Deity, there was no one who truly believed that saying.
It was human nature to want to take care of someone with whom one had a connection, especially if that person was someone they loved.
And second, the Lady Virgin Saint had an odd conviction that I-an would somehow return injured again.
Until now, I-an had never returned without injury. And now, ominously enough, a sense of impending conflict was hanging over the Academy.
In the trajectory leading from the Hunting Festival to the Orphanage and then to the Return Festival, the shadowy presence of the Dark Cult had emerged.
This anomaly would not end quietly.
Thus, it would also be impossible for I-an, who had always stood at the center of such situations, to avoid conflict. She needed to conserve the sacred items as much as possible.
Because if I-an got injured, she would need to use them again.
There were also many other issues that needed to be discussed.
For one, there were far too many people claiming to be I-an’s guardians.
As patients began to be discharged, visits from guardians of the severely injured were accepted, and each time, the hospital room became a sea of tears.
Especially I-an’s room was even worse.
The Lady Virgin Saint still remembered the face of Ceria, who looked pale as she gazed down at I-an.
Her complexion turned pale, and she almost dropped the bundle of fruit she held. In a trembling voice, Ceria continuously inquired about I-an’s condition.
Each time, the Lady Virgin Saint repeated words of reassurance, but Ceria showed no signs of calming down.
Eventually, it was Delphine who let out a sigh that put an end to it.
“…Enough, Ceria. They’ve even sent sacred items from the royal family, so as long as he’s alive, it shouldn’t be too serious.”
Only then did Ceria hesitantly turn her gaze back to I-an.
She couldn’t bring herself to defy the command of the sister she respected more than anyone. Delphine, watching this with a bittersweet expression, then politely bowed her head to the Lady Virgin Saint.
“Well then, please take good care of I-an.”
The words “who do you think you are?” almost came up her throat, but the Lady Virgin Saint managed to hold it back.
Yes, it was a perfectly acceptable thing to say to a beloved junior.
Even so, the Lady Virgin Saint could only respond with somewhat displeased feelings.
“Yes, Brother I-an has a deep connection with me as well.”
As the Lady Virgin Saint smiled and bowed her head, Delphine stared at her blankly.
But the silence was short-lived.
Delphine soon bore a peculiar smile and whispered in the Lady Virgin Saint’s ear.
Her flirtatious voice was sweet enough to melt the Lady Virgin Saint’s eardrums.
“It’s a coincidence, I feel that way too… Have you ever been spanked by I-an?”
“…Wh-what!”
The Lady Virgin Saint leaped up at those words. The content was beyond her imagination, and she wondered if she had misheard.
She quickly drew a sign of the cross over her heart and began to mumble.
“Y-you shameless! A little envious… Ah, no! It’s blasphemy! I’ll have you sent to a religious trial!”
Delphine simply burst out laughing, finding the sight amusing.
“Just joking.”
The Lady Virgin Saint continued to look at Delphine with a suspicious gaze, but no matter how much of a saint she was, she couldn’t pry such a secret from the heir of the Yuridina Clan.
Only Ceria sensed the strange atmosphere between the two and tilted her head in confusion.
But even that was soon interrupted when the sister left the hospital room, glancing back at I-an with a look of sympathy before trailing behind her.
Aside from that, Celin and Reto arrived.
Celin, after shedding several tears while holding I-an’s hand, earnestly pleaded with the Lady Virgin Saint.
“W-will our Brother I-an… survive? Please, Lady Virgin Saint…”
“Don’t worry, Sister Celin.”
The Lady Virgin Saint felt compelled to smile, as it seemed any moment of honesty might provoke anger.
She was truly an undignified woman, touching the hand of an unconscious man without permission.
“When the ritual begins tomorrow, I believe Brother I-an will regain consciousness within three days at the latest. This too is the grace of the Heavenly Deity, Emmanuel.”
Celin let out a little snort and wiped her nose with a tissue from the corner of the hospital room. It was a sign that she had cried a lot.
It had been a while since they had seen each other, so it was understandable. However, the exaggerated gesture served as an implicit signal.
This man is mine, so don’t touch him.
Of course, the Lady Virgin Saint was utterly unaffected. Instead, she silently scoffed.
Seeing that, Reto kicked Celin’s waist with a decisive motion.
“Ow, ow! Hey, Reto… are you really crazy?! I’m asking the Lady Virgin Saint for a favor right now!”
“I got it, let’s go. The Lady Virgin Saint needs time to prepare, doesn’t she?”
That was a most welcome sound.
The Lady Virgin Saint slightly bowed her head and expressed her gratitude to Celin and Reto, who were grumbling as they left the hospital room. As Reto passed by the Lady Virgin Saint, he spoke in a small voice.
“…Please take good care of I-an.”
The Lady Virgin Saint made the sign of the cross.
“Emmanuel.”
Even without needing to say it, it was something she had thought. But when sincerity was contained in the words, there was nothing to do but respond in kind.
Afterward, Elsi and the Lupin siblings also came by.
Surprisingly, Elsi did not shed a single tear. She merely looked down at I-an with a gloomy gaze and softly asked.
“If I had gone with the master, would things have changed?”
It was an unanswerable hypothetical.
The only response that could be given was the customary comfort. Naturally, Elsi was not satisfied with that answer.
As Elsi left the hospital room, a faint resolve lingered in her blue sapphire eyes.
Where that resolve would lead was still unknown.
All the Lady Virgin Saint could do was pray. She hoped her heart would be a path of help for I-an.
But not to get too close to him.
With such a selfish prayer in mind, the Lady Virgin Saint finished the preparations for the ritual the next day.
The last guest to visit the Lady Virgin Saint came at that time.
A beauty with dark blue hair and striking gray eyes made a strong impression. Unlike her past, which was haughty and proud, a gloomy aura surrounded her.
Recognizing her identity instantly, the Lady Virgin Saint placed her hand on her forehead.
Then a cold voice slipped from her lips.
“…I told you not to come?”
“I want to see Sir Ian.”
However, the tone with which Shi-en responded was unwaveringly resolute.
The Lady Virgin Saint glared at her with cold eyes.
“See him later. Once I-an opens his eyes, you are not that close to him anyway, alright? You being allowed to meet I-an would just interfere with his treatment, so why…”
“I’ll do anything.”
Suddenly, the Lady Virgin Saint found herself at a loss for words.
Shi-en’s pale pink eyes looked back at the Lady Virgin Saint with an expression of puzzlement. Nonetheless, Shi-en continued in a gloomy tone.
“If I can just see Sir Ian, I’ll do anything… Please, just let me do anything.”
The Lady Virgin Saint could only scoff at that.
Do whatever she wanted?
Treatment was not that simple. Especially when it came to treating injuries that required a ritual, there was no way a non-professional without proper training would be involved.
The Lady Virgin Saint continued, mocking her.
“What can you do? Carry water like a maid and do some cleaning? What kind of trivial task would a noble do…?”
“…I’ll do it.”
Again, the Lady Virgin Saint found her voice choked.
Her round eyes testified to how unreasonable that statement was.
Royalties in the empire are noble.
Even among high nobles, there was a strong aversion to menial tasks. Wasn’t Delphine someone who had refrained from running errands for a long time at the orphanage?
But a royal would carry water and clean?
It was absurd. That would only be possible if a royal were to trample their own self-esteem to the ground.
No human would serve a pig according to its commands.
It was that shocking.
The Lady Virgin Saint’s lips opened and closed in disbelief.
“I’ll do it. Even if it’s a maid or a servant… So please, just let me see Sir Ian…”
As Shi-en pleaded so desperately, tears began to well up in her eyes.
Eventually, unable to hold back her tears, she sobbed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve repeatedly. Her emotional fluctuations were significant.
It meant her mind was reaching its limits.
Amidst that, the only method of healing she had chosen was to meet I-an.
While it was curious why she was so fixated on I-an, and how Shi-en’s mind had gotten cornered to that extent, it was not something to dig into immediately.
Finally, after a long hesitation, the Lady Virgin Saint bit her lip and said one word.
“…Do as you wish.”
It was the moment when Shi-en’s rank among their group was determined.
The Fifth Imperial Princess Shi-en of the Empire, at the lowest rank.
She was a maid.
I-an woke up gasping for breath.
His whole body was drenched in cold sweat. The air filling his lungs carried a faint herbal smell, allowing him to realize quickly where he was.
It was the Intensive Care Room of the temple.
How long had he been lying there? With a pounding headache, I-an groaned for a while.
He then lifted his upper body.
Although he still felt somewhat stiff, his body seemed fine. He had worried about aftereffects, but it seemed he had somehow made a full recovery.
The door to the hospital room opened as I-an was releasing a sigh of relief.
The Lady Virgin Saint, looking exhausted, entered and froze in place as soon as she made eye contact with I-an.
Then, tearfully, she exclaimed.
“…I-an!”
Seeing her like that, I-an forced a wry smile.
It seemed he had caused her quite a bit of worry once again. As his foggy mind began to clear, memories of past events rushed back.
The first question I-an uttered, after being in a daze for a moment, was as follows.
“…What about the princess?”
“Excuse me?”
The Lady Virgin Saint, who hurriedly approached I-an, tilted her head at his sudden question.
Only then did I-an realize that he had slightly misused her title and hastily attempted to correct himself.
“I mean, is Her Highness the princess safe?”
“Ah, that woman…”
The Lady Virgin Saint trailed off, and suspicion arose in I-an’s golden eyes. Nevertheless, she hesitated for a moment before letting out a deep sigh.
He needed to know what had happened to the woman who had saved him.
The Lady Virgin Saint vaguely explained the current condition of the princess.
She was being treated as a public figure within the Academy, and from rumors, she had become a notorious villain, often shedding unexpected tears due to her unstable mental state.
At least, she seemed to regain some composure only when looking at I-an.
While the Lady Virgin Saint didn’t know the reason, upon hearing that, I-an recalled a story that instantly surfaced in his mind.
The princess’s past and “the Eye of the Dragon.”
I-an briefly turned his gaze away, then tried to get up, feeling unsteady.
Startled by the sight, the Lady Virgin Saint screamed.
“Why, why are you doing this! You’re still a patient! Lie down, now!”
However, despite the Lady Virgin Saint’s urgent objections, I-an managed to lift his body. From the pile of belongings organized at his bedside, he grabbed a hand axe.
The long-absent weapon felt heavy in his hand.
With a swift movement, he tossed the hand axe into the air, catching it again in his grip. Fortunately, it seemed his reflexes hadn’t dulled too much.
As I-an practiced with it, the Lady Virgin Saint watched closely and couldn’t help but ask in confusion.
“…What are you doing?”
“Practicing.”
I-an sighed deeply.
“…Please call Neoris-senpai.”
It seemed there were still some matters to deal with.
That day, Shi-en received an unfamiliar letter.
It was a letter from I-an’s younger sister.
