Chapter 8
The area near the infirmary was far more hectic than usual. Several servants stood waiting outside, and cries of anguish continuously spilled out from within. Lily dragged her feet heavily toward the infirmary.
As soon as she stopped in front of the door, the maids spotted her and cheered, “You’re awake!” Even the physician inside, drenched in cold sweat, was delighted to see her.
But there was one person—Lily herself—who couldn’t bring herself to feel happy.
Stuart’s face had gone deathly pale. So devoid of color, he barely looked alive.
Lily burst into tears and ran into the infirmary. With every drop of her tears and every step she took, a path of blue light formed beneath her feet.
The Duke and Duchess were inside as well, but they didn’t register in Lily’s vision.
“Young Master, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”
Her sorrowful wailing was so heart-wrenching that the physician briefly wondered if Lily might be the younger sister Stuart had lost.
“Please, open your eyes… Young Master.”
Clinging to his bed, Lily sobbed uncontrollably. When she had been in danger, Stuart had come running to save her—not once, but twice.
And yet when he was in danger, she had been fast asleep. The thought filled her with unbearable self-loathing. The large gauze taped to her cheek was soaked with tears.
“Why are you crying…?”
As she cried, a familiar voice came from above her. Lily’s head snapped up, and there was Stuart, blinking slowly at her.
His red eyes were such a welcome sight that Lily broke down crying like a child.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
The unexpected question from Stuart made Lily forget her tears and stare blankly at him.
Was he asking her if she was in pain? That couldn’t be. Surely someone who’d been stabbed wouldn’t be worried about a person with mere bruises. At least, that’s what Lily believed.
“I should’ve gone sooner.”
Frowning deeply, Stuart studied the bruise on her cheek. His fingers tapped gently on the gauze with careful, delicate movements.
Lily, for a brief moment, fell into the illusion that she was someone important. But she quickly shook her head. Her eyes began to sting again.
“Is it okay to use divine power when you’re hurt? What if the wound gets worse because of me…?”
At her hesitant question, Lily clung to the bed’s metal rail and cried her heart out again. Her divine power radiated around Stuart, wrapping him and his surroundings in a brilliant blue glow.
To the servants peeking through the door, it looked as though Stuart and Lily were standing in the middle of a galaxy, lit by starlight.
It was such a surreal sight that not only the servants, but even the physician and the Duke and Duchess inside, were left speechless, mouths agape.
❀ ❀ ❀
The Guardian Knights had never seen such turmoil.
Like the main mansion, the annex and the knights’ quarters also had guard posts. The night guards used these posts, but unlike the main building’s tight security, the annex’s was notoriously lax. Most guards assigned there dozed off or, in worse cases, abandoned their posts.
It wasn’t due to a lack of discipline, but because there was simply no need to guard the knights’ quarters. Anyone whose life could be threatened by a sneak attack wouldn’t be admitted into the Guardian Order in the first place.
Since the Order’s name was first established in the North, no one had dared invade their quarters. The risk far outweighed any benefit from killing a single knight.
And yet, the quarters had been breached. More precisely, the approach path into the North had been compromised—but Lily’s testimony about hearing a rabbit cry at the trail just behind the annex was chilling enough.
The guards on duty that night were expelled, and all knights had to retake their qualification exams. No one expected any to fail… but—
“Well done, all of you.”
Duke Yvonne glared coldly at the captain and vice-captain.
“This is what I get for trusting you? That’s how you repay my confidence? How very disappointing.”
The captain and vice-captain barely managed to steady their trembling knees, but they couldn’t contain the dread burning through their chests.
If they spoke now, it would be obvious how scorched their insides were. So the two remained silent.
“Thirty failed the exam. What do you have to say?”
“Last winter’s monster invasion resulted in many casualties. To replenish the numbers, this year’s admission standards were lowered. The ones who failed were those newly admitted under the relaxed criteria.”
“So you’re saying it’s normal that they’re still underqualified even three months later?”
“…I apologize.”
With all the recent trouble caused by Stuart, the Duke had turned his attention that way—only for issues to arise in the knight order now. He pressed his fingers to his temple.
The only silver lining was that it was now spring, and monster sightings were becoming rare.
“We’ll have to train the underqualified knights separately.”
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“And…”
The Duke glanced out the window toward the greenhouse his wife cherished.
“Include Miss Lily Hegelston in the training.”
“Pardon? You mean the saint?”
“What would a saint be doing in knight training…?”
Even the usually quiet vice-captain spoke up, and the Duke sighed.
“It’s her choice. What am I supposed to do?”
His gaze stayed fixed on the greenhouse.
Inside, it was tea time. The Duchess wore a modest blue dress that covered her neck and arms completely. The fabric was luxurious, but lacking a single jewel or adornment, it looked more like a saint’s robe than a noble’s gown.
Wearing white lace gloves, the Duchess pushed a teacup toward Lily, who accepted it with trembling hands.
She stared blankly at the pale pink tea, too stunned to even think of drinking it. The sound of the Duchess placing her own cup down startled her.
“Aren’t you going to drink?”
When Lily looked up, the Duchess was staring directly at her, cup in hand. Lily flinched and hurriedly sipped the tea as quietly as she could.
The Duchess let out a faint sigh and lowered her cup.
“You don’t have to force yourself if you don’t want it.”
“That’s not it, my lady. It smells wonderful—I like it.”
Lily winced at her own lack of vocabulary, regretting how clumsy her words sounded.
“I called you here to thank you for healing Stuart.”
“I—it was nothing! I just did what I had to do… And really, since the Young Master saved me, I should be the one thanking him.”
To the Duchess, it was only natural that Stuart had saved Lily.
After all, I brought her here.
She hadn’t expected the temple priest to stay quiet, so the fact that Lily was dragged off and mistreated—albeit briefly—was a failure on her part. But faced with this trembling girl who insisted it was nothing, the Duchess couldn’t bring herself to say more.
Her divine power must be considerable…
That would explain why the high priest was so desperate to take her back. The Duchess lightly scratched her inner wrist beneath her dress.
It was a relief that monster activity declined in spring—but for the Duchess, spring was the cruelest season.
“You asked to join knight training?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Because you’re frustrated that you couldn’t do anything?”
“…Yes.”
Lily’s black eyes met the Duchess’s gaze squarely. The strength in them pleased her.
Stuart had tried to dissuade her repeatedly, saying it wasn’t necessary. But the Duchess thought this girl might actually make a decent knight.
“That’s fine, then. With divine power, you’ll easily handle monsters. But monsters aren’t the only frightening things in this world.”
Still, she wasn’t yet convinced that Lily becoming a knight would benefit the North.
If it were the usual Stuart, she would’ve trusted his judgment. But when he insisted on bringing Lily, he… well, a mother shouldn’t say such things, but he seemed utterly broken. The Duke and Duchess both believed you shouldn’t place your trust in someone in such a state.
“I—I’ll do m-my be—cough!”
Lily shouted her response with all her might, only to choke mid-sentence and grab her throat, coughing violently. Bright red in the face, she gulped down tea, and the Duchess watched her calmly.
It was time to end the conversation. She had said all she needed to, and it was clear Lily needed a break.
“Well, then—ugh!”
Just as she was about to say a customary word of thanks, the Duchess dropped her teacup. Alarmed, Lily reached to support her, but the Duchess violently slapped her hand away.
Her dress dragged across the dirt, but she didn’t seem to care. Crouched on the ground, she trembled violently.
Was she ill? Lily instinctively tried to use divine power, but the Duchess shouted at her with frightening force.
“Don’t do anything!”
“Huh? But my lady…”
“Don’t make me say it again. Don’t touch me!”
The look in the Duchess’s eyes was filled with unmistakable hostility.
