Chapter 6
On the fourth morning since arriving in the North—
Lily suddenly recalled the children at the temple who had bullied her when she was much younger. The reason they tormented her was always the same: “Because the Water Saintess doesn’t like you.”
The Water Saintess was known for her prickly personality, but she was especially cruel to Lily, to the point of obsession. The other children, eager to win favor with the Saintess, joined in the bullying.
No one wanted to get on the Saintess’s bad side just to stick up for someone like her, so Lily could understand where they were coming from.
“Would the Saintess hate you for no reason?”
“You’re so gloomy—no wonder everyone hates you.”
“She talked back to the Saintess again! Acting like she’s all that when she’s not.”
Maybe the children just wanted a justification to bully her, because they started listing all the reasons they disliked Lily one by one.
By the time she turned fifteen, Lily had become the most wicked girl in the world in their eyes—and tormenting her became a game for them.
As others her age became official saintesses, Lily remained a mere candidate. That gave rise to subtle contempt and even more scornful treatment…
‘Stop thinking about it.’
Lily shook the memories from her head.
When she entered the dining hall for breakfast, she found her seat was missing. One of the chairs that had been fine just yesterday now lay dismantled in the corner—clearly the work of bored and overly strong servants early in the morning.
‘It’s just a broken chair. No need to wallow in self-pity and think about the temple days.’
Compared to those mornings when her hands were cracked from doing laundry and prepping meals, this wasn’t a terrible situation at all.
Here, the maids did the laundry and cooking. She had three warm meals a day, and they were always delicious. If the kids from the temple saw her now, they’d be furious—thinking she was being pampered.
Lily slowly walked across the dining hall. The knights’ stares clung to her—sticky and oppressive.
A bit of pity and indifference, but mostly curiosity… and hostility.
Their tangled gazes were deeply unpleasant, but Lily tried her best not to show it.
‘I have to act like it doesn’t bother me.’
That was a trick only someone who’d been bullied long enough would know: pretend not to care. If you showed even the slightest reaction, those lunatics would enjoy it and only escalate things. All she wanted was to get by quietly—for the sake of the young master who saved her.
When she finally reached the remains of the chair, the dining hall doors opened. Maids entered, pushing carts laden with food. Just one glance at Lily standing before the broken chair told them everything—but they showed no surprise. They’d expected something like this ever since the Captain and Vice-Captain said they’d be away for the day.
Lily gently placed her hand on the broken chair. A soft blue glow flowed from her fingers and surrounded it. The shattered fragments shuddered and, as if rewinding time, reassembled into a perfect chair.
The knights rose in surprise, bumping their chairs as they stood.
Lily removed her hand just before the chair could transform into a tree. She ran her hand along the surface, noting a small sprout on the backrest.
‘Whew. Thank goodness.’
Had she been even a second late, an entire tree might’ve grown in the hall—and taken the annex down with it.
With a sigh of relief, she sat at the nearest table. The knights who were already seated stiffened slightly at her approach.
“Mmm, the mushroom soup is delicious.”
Warm, rich, and savory—it was truly delicious. Lily kept reminding herself how grateful she was that the maids didn’t harass her.
The knights watched her eat with uneasy faces before slowly picking up their spoons as well.
❀ ❀ ❀
“Isn’t there anything I can help with?”
“Please, focus on recovering from the journey first.”
After breakfast, Lily asked one of the maids. But with a smile, the maid simply repeated what she had said the day before and walked off.
Lily stood there, staring blankly after her.
She’d assumed she’d be given knight training, having come under contract as a knight—but no one demanded anything knightly from her. Nor did anyone assign her any specific task.
It was the first time in her life she’d had nothing to do.
Sure, getting to eat warm meals without rising at dawn to do laundry or cooking was nothing short of a miracle. But Lily, a tragic little worker ant who had lived her whole life under grueling labor, grew anxious when her duties were stripped away.
‘Is it really okay for me to just stand around doing nothing while everyone else is busy?’
If only she could meet the young master, she’d at least beg for some kind of task—but he was even busier than everyone else. She hadn’t seen him in the mansion at all.
“Well, I guess they didn’t bring me here expecting sword skills anyway…”
Maybe they just wanted her divine power. So if she just stayed still, that was enough?
Lily rested her chin on her hand and stared out the window. The sky was already pitch black. Another full day had passed—and she had spent it lying in bed.
Even the spider building a web near the terrace window had probably had a more productive day than she had. The thought filled her with shame.
“My body’s so rested I’m not even sleepy…”
Until now, she’d believed that sleep came the instant your head hit the pillow. But tonight, Lily counted up to 1,590 sheep. And still, she was wide awake.
“Maybe a walk would help.”
Warm milk only made her feel full, not drowsy. She finally tossed aside her blanket and stood up.
Moving around a bit might help.
Though it was spring, the night air was chilly. Lily pulled on a coat from the wardrobe and stepped outside.
She planned only to stroll through the garden. During the day, the sound of walking on the grass had been soft and pleasant—but at night, it was loud enough to rival the vice-captain shouting at the knights.
She moved carefully, not wanting to disturb anyone sleeping in the knight’s quarters. Maybe she should walk elsewhere.
“Eek…”
She was near the greenhouse when she suddenly looked up. Somewhere nearby, an animal cried out in pain.
Lily glanced around, trying to locate the sound.
“Whimper… eek.”
There it was again. It was coming from near the knights’ quarters. She spotted a small path behind the annex. After a moment’s hesitation, she walked toward it.
The path was narrow and dark, but still within the duke’s estate. What could possibly happen?
The crying animal was a small white rabbit. It sat trembling in the middle of the path near the entrance.
Lily quickly approached and gently infused it with divine power. As the blue glow enveloped it, the rabbit’s wounds rapidly healed. It sprang to its feet, shook off the pain, and hopped away into the woods.
“Still just a baby…”
As she watched the rabbit disappear, Lily began to rise—only to be grabbed and violently dragged into the woods.
“Mmph!”
Her stifled scream never made it back to the annex. It vanished in the dark.
A moment later, all that remained on the trail was a blood smear from the rabbit and the marks of Lily’s shoes being dragged through the dirt.
“Well, that made things easier. I heard she was dumb, but I didn’t think she was this dumb.”
The man who had forcefully covered Lily’s mouth chuckled darkly. His low, thick voice made Lily freeze in fear.
He tried to bind her limbs but grew irritated at her struggling, and struck her face four or five times. Even in the dark, her swollen cheek was visibly red—but the man didn’t care.
His only task was to “return Hegelstern to the temple.” The client had clearly stated: As long as she’s alive.
Humans didn’t die as easily as people feared. Especially this girl—he’d heard she was particularly resilient. He lightly tapped her swollen cheek with his rough hand, grinning.
He had only five fingers in total across both hands.
‘Sent by the High Priest…?’
The man probably assumed Lily didn’t recognize him—but she did. The priest often referred to him with terms like “that idiot” or “that moron.”
She remembered clearly: once, after saying, “Aren’t you also addicted to gambling?” in response to the priest mocking this man, she’d been slapped hard—just like now.
“Finally behaving, huh.”
Satisfied, he tightly bound her limbs. He was a Northerner and knew the forest path well.
Follow it uphill, and it led to a river. Trace the river, and it would bring you to the mountain’s edge.
If the mission had required keeping her truly safe, it would’ve been difficult—but the only requirement was alive. And since her mouth hadn’t even bled after being slapped, she must be tougher than most.
‘Easiest mission of my life. Once I deliver her, my debts are cleared.’
He held back a triumphant laugh and slung Lily over his shoulder. With her tied up, transporting her was simple.
“They say she’ll die if she returns to the temple? What nonsense. They’ll feed her, clothe her, give her a bed—what’s there to complain about?”
The man knew Lily had divine power, but not how powerful it was. As far as he was concerned, her beauty was her only noteworthy feature.
Some high priest or noble must’ve been charmed by her. Rich men truly had nothing better to do.
Plenty of pretty girls around—why go all the way north for this uncooperative brat?
‘Well, not my problem.’
All he needed was the money. He’d avoided the risk of sneaking into the mansion thanks to her coming out on her own.
It was clearly his lucky day. Or so he thought—
“Agh—! You little bitch!”
Lily, who seemed docile slung over his shoulder, suddenly bit into his hand. Her teeth pierced through the veins on his knuckles, and blood splattered everywhere.
His vision turned red with pain.
“Fine—if you just need to be alive, I can cut off a limb or two. As long as your heart’s beating, right? Huh?!”
