Chapter 48
“Hello, Doctor Grandpa!”
I waved my hand and gave a harmless smile to the familiar old man who had just arrived.
As soon as Perez saw me, his eyes widened.
“Shouldn’t a noble lady like you be in the capital by now? Why are you in such a dangerous place…?”
“What? Is this girl really Lady Izana Rohia?”
Elsie asked in surprise, and Perez took a step closer to me without answering.
“This is no place for a child… How did you end up here…?”
I held out my hand to stop him from coming any closer. I was worried he might pass on something bad.
Even though he wore gloves and a cloth over his mouth like a doctor, evil intent isn’t something you can block with protective gear.
Perez didn’t seem to mind. Instead of coming closer, he just circled around me, raising his eyebrows like he was deep in thought.
“Ah, so they really just abandoned her and left her to die, huh.”
Seriously? How can he say something like that right in front of me?
I quickly interrupted him, waving my hands urgently.
“Doctor Grandpa, please help these men go back to the castle quickly! There’s a big fire!”
Honestly, I thought he’d hesitate or be slow to react. He looked like that kind of strict, slow-moving person.
But to my surprise, his voice suddenly turned serious.
“Young lady is right.”
Then he turned to the knights and said firmly,
“You all should return quickly.”
The knights looked shocked, especially their leader.
“Sir Perez, we can’t do that. We came here under the duke’s orders. If any infected people escape, it could get worse. And we don’t even know if this girl really is Lady Izana.”
“Listen to her, Baron Carn,” Perez said calmly. “I think even the infected people you were pushing around earlier might be needed to help put out this fire.”
Perez was staring into the distance. The others followed his gaze.
Then their faces turned pale.
I also turned around to look.
‘The fire is bigger than I expected…’
Actually, Winter was using magic to control the fire. When we saw it from the village, we only wanted a little black smoke to be visible.
“Everyone, listen!”
Baron Elsie Carn shouted, his face blue as if he’d been poisoned.
“We’re going back to the castle! Get on your horses and ride as fast as you can!”
At his order, the soldiers quickly started moving, spreading out and preparing to ride.
I could hear the sounds of weapons clashing and horses neighing.
Soon, Perez and I were left alone.
Perez stared at me with a suspicious look. I felt sweat forming in my palm.
‘He knows something…’
Sure enough, he muttered something strange.
“Baron Rohia had three kids… So which one was switched at birth, I wonder?”
“Don’t come any closer.”
Just then, a powerful shock hit me, like thunder striking above my head.
I staggered, but someone quickly caught me from behind.
“Lady Izana, he’s already heavily infected with evil. It’s safer if we stay away.”
When I looked back, I saw Winter, wearing his black hood low, putting an arm around me and pulling me away from Perez.
I looked at Perez again. He had covered his ears and looked in pain.
‘He got infected in just half a day? That fast?’
He must have been treating many patients today.
Winter took off his hood.
Perez’s eyes grew even wider.
“Glass Orsches?”
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
“No… a bit smaller than him…”
His mouth dropped open.
“Winter Orsches…?”
Now I really wanted to see what Glass Orsches looked like.
But for now, I had more important things to focus on.
“Doctor Grandpa, the Grand Duke asked if you could help evacuate the people here.”
I tried hard to shift all suspicion toward Winter.
But Perez’s eyes stayed locked on me.
“Alright, I’ll help. But what if the illness spreads?”
“…That’s not my question to answer, Doctor Grandpa. You should ask the Grand Duke.”
“Then how long should we quarantine the people?”
“…Ask the Duke—”
“How long should the quarantine last?”
“I said, that’s for the Grand Duke—”
“How long should the quarantine last?”
“…One week.”
Perez finally smiled with satisfaction.
‘This tricky old man!’
That confident smile made me feel frustrated inside.
“Just one last question.”
Perez smiled brightly.
“When I send the message to His Majesty, should I write that [Igrio] saved the village, or [Materia]?”
“Of course, write [Igrio].”
My face turned serious.
“Say that Igrio, who was left alone in the castle, saved Lady Izana and came to the village. If you say anything else, no matter how much I respect elders, I’ll make sure you regret it. I’ve even threatened a dragon that’s millions of years old with a whip. Isn’t that right, Grand Duke?”
Winter nodded.
“Exactly as she says.”
Perez flinched, remembering Winter’s scary energy from earlier.
Winter then spoke kindly.
“Izana is a very scary person. It’s best not to get on her bad side.”
Perez started sweating nervously again. But he still had one more thought.
“Then… shouldn’t the Grand Duke also put out the fire at the castle? Wait, don’t tell me you started that fire—”
“Shhh!”
No more spoilers! It’s dangerous to know too much.
I waved my hand and quickly ended the conversation.
“Anyway, Doctor Grandpa, please take good care of the villagers. Make sure they’re all safely evacuated before the knights come back!”
“Huh… Haha, what is going on…”
“And once it’s all over, we need to have a talk. So don’t go running off anywhere!”
Leaving the chuckling Perez behind, I flew into the forest in Winter’s arms.
Now, we had to go back to the castle.
Winter would use magic to delay the knights for as long as possible.
‘Just one day. I hope we can hold them off for one day.’
If they stay away from the sea for just one day, the mild cases should start to feel better.
Then I could use that to persuade the knights.
After that, Winter and I would fly to the capital and report everything to Emperor Silis.
With the emperor’s support, we could protect the villagers from the duke’s reckless actions.
As Winter jumped through the forest while holding me, he asked,
“Izana, are you planning to keep hiding that you’re actually [Materia]?”
I blinked slowly and replied,
“Yes. I want to hide it as long as I can, at least until everything is over.”
“Why?” he asked.
— To be continued —
