Her eyes met Eren’s, his gaze wavering in panic.
Liselotte tensed her abdomen to keep from falling.
But her already-tilted body was so precarious that it looked as though it would slip from Eren’s arm and topple backward at any moment.
“Wait, wait. You cannot let go!”
“Stay still—!”
As Liselotte flailed and stretched out her arms, the fragile balance that had barely been maintained wobbled.
A half beat too late, Valen also reached out, but only grasped at empty air.
Thud. With the sound, Liselotte landed hard on her backside and her eyes stung with tears.
A very brief silence followed.
She could feel all the sidelong glances from the people of Lergo Village passing by, frozen and holding their breath.
Not a crash, but a thud. A thud.
There was no pain or injury. Thanks to Eren’s quick reflexes in catching her, it had been no more than a light fall.
It was just that flailing about in a place with so many eyes on her was a little humiliating.
“…Liselotte.”
Starting with Eren’s voice as he twisted his body on the long bench to stand up, the people of the village began moving again.
The villagers of Lergo desperately pretended they had seen nothing, which only made it more embarrassing.
‘They could have just asked if I was okay!’
While she sat slumped on the ground like a tragic heroine with her head bowed, Eren quickly got to his feet.
He knelt down on one knee in front of her and frowned as he looked at the lightly scraped palm of her hand.
“I am sorry. I should have held on properly.”
“No. I am fine, so just get up naturally. Do not make a fuss. Naturally.”
Cradled in Eren’s arms, Liselotte whispered quickly, hoping only he would hear.
The moment she got up, Valen’s bleary gaze fixed on her palm.
Putting on an exaggeratedly serious expression, he shouted in a slurred tone toward the shop staff.
“You there, is there a priest here? A priest!”
As expected, the tactless Valen was broadcasting her fall to the entire village.
Liselotte smiled sweetly while grinding her teeth and replied to him.
“What priest would there be in a small village like this? It is seriously embarrassing, so please just drink quietly.”
It was a small village located in a very out-of-the-way place.
The Holy Kingdom maintained temples across the continent, but since they were sustained through treatment fees and donations, they were hard to find in small villages.
After all, donations only came in where there were people.
‘Anyway, divine power doesn’t even work on me.’
Despite Liselotte trying to stop him, Valen kept looking for a priest out of habit.
Virki, his nose red as if he were about to cry, sprang to his feet.
“Lise, I have a healing magic stone!”
“If a member of the Imperial Family is injured, a priest should be summoned. Wh-where would we use a healing magic stone meant for subjugation forces…!”
Valen waved one hand dismissively as he rejected it.
Virki, unfamiliar with Imperial etiquette, cried out with tears welling in his eyes.
“Is that more important than Lise’s blood?!”
“Divine power restores the body perfectly to its previous state without leaving a trace. That is why it is more important than a healing magic stone, which merely heals.”
For many reasons, Valen’s concern wasn’t exactly welcome, but it wasn’t something she could simply refuse either.
‘Brother still doesn’t know about my power…’
It was still difficult to fully trust Valen.
Secrets were best kept when they were never spoken aloud.
After all, she still didn’t know the source of the incantation placed on Valen.
‘It’s not even certain yet that it’s truly a divine authority… It’s too early to reveal it.’
If only he were drunk enough to completely lose consciousness, it would have been easier. But he was inconveniently sober enough to be a problem.
‘Should I just knock him out from behind…?’
Later, she could claim he was drunk and blacked out, couldn’t she?
When Liselotte sent Eren a look, he seemed to understand for some reason and nodded gravely.
Just as Eren was about to quietly move behind Valen.
Taebon opened his mouth awkwardly.
“Well… there is someone in the village who is kind of like a priest… Should I bring them?”
At the vague wording, Valen narrowed his eyes and asked.
“If they’re a priest, they’re a priest. If not, then not. That’s a rather ambiguous way to put it.”
“As you know, Lergo isn’t large enough for a temple to be established. They are a devout believer, so God granted them divine power, but they did not enter the temple for the sake of the village.”
“Bring them for now. Let’s see whether it’s divine power.”
At Valen’s order, Taebon gestured to a staff member.
After nodding, the attendant hurried off somewhere.
Perhaps because it was such a small village, it seemed everyone knew exactly who was where without needing to ask.
Not long after, from around the distant fountain, some foal came bounding over with energetic hops.
A bell hung around its neck, and its clear ringing echoed through the night air.
A boy who looked to be around ten or so came running after him in a fluster.
The boy wrapped his arms around the lively foal who had been drawn by the food and come right up to Liselotte, grinning broadly.
“Ah, I’m sorry. This little one was drawn by the music and wandered over to where the guests are. He’s not a bad one, so please forgive him.”
Apparently very close to him, the lively foal kept licking the boy’s face with his tongue.
Taebon, looking troubled, shot him a look and spoke.
“Sir Brody. It seems one of our guests has been injured. Could you take a look?”
He said he wasn’t a formally ordained priest, yet in Lergo Village, the boy called Brody was treated much like one.
Brody smiled brightly and held out both hands toward Liselotte.
“May I see where you were hurt?”
A body on which divine power didn’t work anyway.
Liselotte held out her hand, intending only to receive divine power enough to avoid the eyes of the thoroughly drunk Valen.
Brody gently placed his hand over Liselotte’s palm, smiling so widely that his eyes curved shut.
A faintly warm light lightly covered her hand.
“Huh…?”
The light, which lingered only for a very brief moment, quickly faded away.
Brody removed his hand and smiled shyly.
“That should do it.”
Just as he said, the scrape from being dragged along the ground could no longer be found.
For no reason at all, Valen leaned in from the side, checked her now-unblemished palm, and wrinkled his nose.
“It’s healed. Normally, if there’s a temple, you pay the healing fee to the temple. Where should this be paid?”
“I am not a priest. I’m just the son of a farmer who works the fields here in the village. If you’re Commander Taebon’s guest, then you’re the village’s guest, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“What are you saying? Later, I’ll have a servant deliver at least some wheat.”
“Then we will share it with the villagers. Thank you for your kindness.”
Though he denied it, his manner alone carried the air of a devout priest.
‘What is this…? Why did Brody’s divine power work?’
Liselotte couldn’t say a word to anyone, only clenching and unclenching her perfectly healed hand.
At the Imperial banquet, three priests had all given up on treating Liselotte.
Eren had seen it as well, so it was no mistake.
Then what was different now? And did that mean the divine power of those waiting at the Imperial Palace truly hadn’t worked?
Liselotte grabbed Brody’s arm as he was about to lead the foal away.
“Um, that… this might sound strange, but may I ask how you obtained divine power?”
At the same time, Virki’s scream rang out from behind her.
“Lise, don’t tell me you want to become a priest?! No! Absolutely not! If you become a priest, you won’t be able to play with me!”
Brody, meanwhile, answered brightly.
“I just prayed and believed, as I always do.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes. Isn’t it the will of God?”
He seemed to have no idea himself how he had obtained divine power.
Unlike Valen, who merely glanced over Liselotte without understanding, Eren reacted sharply.
Carefully removing Liselotte’s hand that was holding Brody, Eren whispered.
“Most people obtain divine power this way. Most priests do.”
“The Imperial priests as well?”
“We can confirm it. I memorized their faces back then, so it will not be difficult to find them.”
There would surely be a record somewhere listing the priests who came and went from the Imperial Palace.
It seemed that Liselotte’s body wasn’t one that divine power failed to work on after all.
