LS2RW 08

CHAPTER 08

My body felt unbearably heavy.

I wanted to open my eyes, but I couldn’t even move my eyelids.

Sweat trickled down my temples, and my skin felt like it was boiling.

My breath was so hot, it gave me chills.

I wanted to at least kick off the blanket, but my limbs wouldn’t budge.

Even a normal person would suffer after facing Leonhart’s murderous aura head-on.

So it was only natural that Adrian ended up bedridden.

Still, I didn’t expect to be so weak that I couldn’t even get out of bed for three whole days.

Sigh. Just how weak is this body?

A sigh escaped from my dry, cracked lips.

Ugh, this is the worst time to be sick.

I had so much to do, and I’d already wasted three days.

I’d probably be suffering for a few more days.

Honestly, I was shocked by how frail Adrian’s body was.

Compared to my body back when I was a Hero, this made me wonder if there was some hidden chronic illness.

Since it wasn’t a physical injury, I couldn’t even call a priest. I had to suffer through it raw—how unfair.

Should I try getting a tonic or something?

Do they even have herbal medicine here? I don’t remember seeing any in Part 1.

As I drifted into pointless thoughts to forget the pain, I heard soft voices outside the bedroom.

“Miss, you’re here again today. Time to go back to your room. You need to sleep early if you want to grow tall.”

“B-but… I want to see the Duke…”

A kind, middle-aged voice and a small, dejected child’s voice—Piace and the butler.

“The Duke probably wants to see you too. But he’s sick, so he can’t see anyone right now, remember?”

“Mm…”

“Just one more night. You’ll be able to see him tomorrow.”

“But you said that… yesterday… and the day before…”

“…Did I?”

“Yes… Can’t I just take a quick peek?”

“You know you’re not supposed to enter the Duke’s bedroom without permission. You got scolded for that a few days ago, didn’t you?”

“B-but… even if I get scolded… I still want to see him…”

“…Sigh, fine. But only if you promise to look at the Duke’s face and come right back out. No making a sound. Can you do that?”

“Mhm! Piace can do it!”

I heard the door carefully creak open. Then, the soft, light steps of a child approached.

I could hear her wheezy breathing close by.

Just imagining her tiny face peeking over the bed, looking at me—it melted my heart. She must look unbearably cute.

I wanted to open my eyes. I wanted to see her. I wanted to cup her worried little face and tell her everything was okay.

Something soft touched my forehead. It felt like Piace’s fingers. A tiny voice tickled my ear.

“Hehe… so pretty. All sparkly.”

Even though she promised the butler not to make a sound. What a cute little liar.

“Duke, Piace will blow it away for you.”

Really? Piace will blow it away so your sister won’t be sick anymore?

“Hoo— Hoo— Pain, go away. Goodbye.”

A soft puff of air spread across my cheek. Her cute gesture tugged at my heartstrings…

Wait—?

The pain disappeared.

Was it my imagination? No, it wasn’t. I really wasn’t in pain anymore.

The terrible fever began to subside.

The throbbing headache and searing skin pain faded until it was completely gone.

W-what’s going on…? Don’t tell me…

Piace is the protagonist?!

I was stunned by the unbelievable thought—only for a moment.

Soon, I was overcome by sleep and drifted off.

Blink, blink.

I blinked a few times to moisten my dry eyes.

As my vision cleared, the blurry room came into focus.

Just yesterday, I felt like I was dying…

Now, I felt completely fine—like magic.

“Hoo— Hoo— Pain, go away. Goodbye.”

As I remembered last night, I sank deep into thought.

Come to think of it, the same thing happened on the day I first possessed this body.

Piace had grabbed my finger and blew on it.

Whispering not to be sick.

And just like that, the strange, heavy sensation of being in someone else’s body vanished, and I felt refreshed.

At the time, I thought it was just part of the possession process…

“Piace healed me.”

That doll-like, adorable Piace was a saint.

Which meant… Part 2 of the story wasn’t an adventure fantasy.

It was a childcare drama.

What kind of failed writer throws in a childcare genre? Do they think just having a baby protagonist makes it a hit?!

I guess the writer was trying to hop on the childcare trend. Seriously, unbelievable.

Fine. Whatever.

But what did I do to deserve this?

Just how many years am I going to be stuck here? Fifteen? Twenty?

Am I crazy? I’m not doing this! I can’t!

Just then, as if reading my mind, a cheerful bell sound rang out and a message appeared:

[Ding—]
[Congratulations! You’ve finally discovered Part 2’s genre ★SPOILER ALERT★]
In childcare stories, there’s a magical time skip function: “Wow! I woke up and it’s been 00 years!”
Don’t forget—it can be shortened depending on your effort!

Ah…

Come to think of it, the childcare novels I read did that too.

So it might not take over a decade, then?

But not all problems were solved.

The protagonist was too young—but already too powerful.

Holy power isn’t all-powerful. It only heals physical wounds, not illnesses.

If it could heal everything, no one in this world would die from disease.

But Piace healed me.

If that’s a saint’s power, it’s a bit troubling.

If word got out, people would try to exploit her.

Maybe the title “I Became the Saint Who Saves the World” isn’t about saving the world from villains… but saving it from disease?

Well, since it’s a childcare story, at least the protagonist won’t die.

And the tone probably wouldn’t be too dark.

I was beginning to understand my role.

A cold, arrogant noble who learns love and warmth through Piace—and slowly becomes more human. A classic tsundere guardian.

So I’m basically the stern grandpa or cold dad character from other childcare stories, huh.

That’s as far as I could guess. The rest I’d have to figure out myself.

Staring off into space, I pulled the call rope.

Soon, hurried footsteps approached, and the butler burst in.

“Master… You’re awake.”

He remained composed, but couldn’t completely hide his surprise.

After all, someone who couldn’t even open their eyes yesterday had suddenly recovered.

He checked my forehead for a fever.

“Pardon me, I’ll just check your temperature… Hmm. The fever is indeed gone. Are you experiencing any pain?”

“I’m fine. No pain at all.”

“You do seem fully recovered. The doctor said it would take at least a week to recover… Perhaps he was mistaken. I apologize—I’ll be firing Dr. Albert immediately.”

That wasn’t necessary…

Dr. Albert wasn’t at fault, but I pretended not to know. Until the story solidified, Piace’s power had to stay secret.

“But more importantly, Master.”

The butler’s tone shifted subtly. A vein popped on his forehead.

“How can a noble be attacked in broad daylight—in the middle of the imperial palace, no less? How lax must imperial security be?”

“…”

“I knew we shouldn’t have reduced the number of attendants. Who could it be? I’m very curious about the face of the scum who dared to attack a Duke of the Empire.”

Leonhart Geneticio Philio. AKA, the Third Light of Philio.

The butler was calmly, quietly furious.

Honestly, I didn’t expect him to react like this. He must truly be loyal to Adrian.

Is this one of those characters who stays loyal no matter if their master is good or evil?

“Master, did you see the attacker? Was it a noble? A servant? Can you describe their appearance? Ah—never mind, let’s call a painter. We’ll create a sketch first.”

“Well…”

“Surely you remember something? Even a small detail?”

“Nope.”

“Please try to remember. Anything at all.”

“I don’t know.”

“…Then it’ll be difficult to catch the culprit.”

“Probably.”

His proud posture slumped slightly. He looked really disappointed…

“Tell me what happened. Maybe I’ll remember something as I hear it.”

“You’re right, Master.”

The butler immediately summoned someone. It was Luna, the maid who’d accompanied me to the imperial palace.

“Luna, explain the situation to Master in as much detail as possible.”

“Yes, Butler.”

Luna bowed politely.

“The meeting had ended, but Master hadn’t come out. I went into the main hall to fetch you, but you weren’t there. The nobles said they didn’t know where you’d gone. I checked the garden—and found you unconscious. I screamed in shock, and the attendants rushed over. We brought you back to the estate with their help.”

“I was alone in the garden?”

“Yes, when I found you, you were by yourself.”

So Leonhart just dumped me there unconscious and left on his own.

I wasn’t really disappointed.

Adrian did send assassins after him, after all. The fact that Leonhart didn’t finish me off was a miracle in itself.

“Master, does that help? Do you remember anything?”

“No.”

“Skin tone, hair color, even a scent—do you remember anything?”

“I think I hit my head too hard and forgot everything.”

“…”

“Just drop it. I’m not seriously injured anyway.”

I said lazily and got out of bed. Why was it so quiet?

I turned my head—and the butler and Luna were staring at me, horrified.

“What?”

“Will you at least request an investigation from the palace?”

“How can I request one when I don’t remember anything?”

“Then… a formal complaint to the palace?”

“Too much hassle.”

“Meeting with the nobles, then…?”

“Why bother?”

“But…”

The butler hesitated, then leaned in and whispered discreetly with a hand over his mouth.

“So you’re really just going to let this go quietly—without using it to demand favors from the palace, frame someone you dislike, or stir up the noble factions?”

Adrian… just what kind of person were you?