“Say that again. Where did Lars go?”
“Hyek, hieeek.”
As Acella shouted, Chloe prostrated herself on the floor, trembling.
It was news that she could never have imagined, like a thunderbolt out of the blue.
The Imperial Family’s Attending Physician leaving his master’s side without a word was unprecedented and absolutely unacceptable.
“I didn’t give permission, so where the heck did he go?”
“…It’s said that His Majesty granted permission for external activities.”
The Head Maid handed her a document. It surely bore the seal of the Imperial Palace.
Acella clenched the document in her hand, crumpling it, and then threw it down with a thud.
“Bring him back, now.”
“Your Highness…”
“Now!”
Acella was furious, but contrary to her fierce demeanor, her breath trembled.
The activated sympathetic nervous system was heating up her body. Even if someone stabbed her arm with a needle right now, she wouldn’t notice.
When she opened her eyes, she thought for sure that Lars would be beside her.
He had always been there the day after she was in pain.
Recently, while it wasn’t often, they had even shared a bed.
It had become a habit to feel his body heat as she fell asleep and see his face upon waking.
But to think he had secretly left the palace for the outside…
Since he became her Attending Physician, this was the first perfect separation.
When Lars fell from the cliff, she thought he had really died, but he was brought back within half a day.
But this time was different. He had chosen to refuse to be by her side and went outside on his own.
At least for a few months, she wouldn’t be able to see him.
If things went wrong like last time, he might face death, or he could actually die.
He was a man who bled while walking.
An indescribable anxiety engulfed Acella, and each synapse in her brain was submerged in sticky tar, paralyzing her thoughts.
“Bring him back!!”
Acella repeated the command like a parrot. The knights could not ignore it, and just as a guard was about to contact the commander…
“Ah, no, please, Your Highness…!”
Chloe crawled on the floor and clung to Acella’s leg.
“You.”
Acella’s blood ran cold.
She bent down to look at Chloe.
The face filled with the fury of a wicked woman pressed down on the innocent nurse.
“Are you questioning my decision as the owner of this palace and a Royal Princess, you mere nurse?”
“Th-the teacher said…! It’s important…!”
“You know where the Prince has gone.”
“I-I don’t know… It’s confidential, and I should remain unaware for my own sake…”
If Acella was determined to torture Chloe, she wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
For that reason, Lars kept the destination a secret from Chloe.
“But…! It’s really, really important! It’s needed to heal the Your Highness…!”
“Shut your mouth.”
At the cold command, Chloe bowed her head.
Acella suppressed the urge to vent her fury on Chloe right then and there.
Her anger was directed at Lars.
Using Chloe as a scapegoat would not relieve her feelings in any way.
“I miss him.”
The desire to see Lars would only deepen, and the thirst for it would unavoidably grow.
Her head felt numb.
Her vision narrowed.
She questioned how she could have been so foolish and stupid, as no thoughts were flowing through her mind.
Thump, thump.
Ignoring the eyes of the knights and attendants, Acella left her bed, barefoot, and walked down the corridor.
As a habit, she went straight into the room next door.
She opened the door to Lars’s room.
With the window slightly ajar, it was quiet, and no one was there.
Any hopes that he might be waiting there, and that it wasn’t a cruel prank, were dashed.
Standing in the middle, her mouth shut and momentarily frozen, Acella suddenly…
“…AAAHHH!!”
—KWAAM!
With a scream, she unleashed her Mana.
In an instant, the neatly arranged room was thrown into chaos by the storm.
Thud, Acella collapsed onto the spot.
“…It can’t be…”
No way he left me because he hated me.
“It can’t be.”
Acella weakly muttered.
*
“Brother, please take care.”
Neria looked at me with a worried expression as I finished preparing to head north.
I playfully tapped her on the head, causing her cheeks to puff out.
“I’ll prepare a supply route just in case the expedition takes longer. Leave it to me.”
Father’s support was reassuring.
No matter how long it took, it had to finish within two months. Considering the time needed to return to the Imperial Family and perform surgery on Acella, that would be plenty.
Also, if negotiations with the chieftain of the Thunder Tribe wrapped up in a day, even better.
[No. 101: Magic Explosion 24% → 27%]
Acella’s condition could be inferred somewhat from this.
If it got really urgent, I planned to abort the operation and use the Teleport Gate to return with just Hugo.
“By the way, Lars, can I ask you something?”
“Yes, what is it?”
Father pulled me aside and whispered.
“About the parentage verification you developed.”
“Yes.”
“Wouldn’t it be better for our family to issue a verification certificate in advance? You never know what might happen later.”
His strange question made me furrow my brows.
After a moment of contemplating his words, I shot back at him.
“Are you saying I might have been a child picked up from somewhere?”
“No, no, that’s not what I mean.”
Father waved his hands in a flustered manner.
He gestured for me to lower my voice.
“It’s just a precaution; you never know. What if someone tries to cause trouble with malicious intents?”
“If there’s nothing to hide, you can just turn it around on them even if they cause trouble.”
“That’s… well…”
He must have something to hide.
“You’re an adult now, and it’s something I intended to tell you around the time of your childbirth.”
Father slowly opened up, uneasy.
“I assume you know that there was a saint in the bloodline of Gothberg.”
“Yes, from a long time ago.”
“She would be your great-grandmother. She had two children, a son and a daughter. Gothberg lineage descends from her son.”
“So, you inherited some degree of Divine Power talent.”
“Indeed. However, it seems that the daughter’s line continued as well. I discovered this while organizing the family tree. But since it’s on the maternal side, there are cases where it pertains to other noble families or commoners, so it’s not easy to identify everyone.”
“The saint’s bloodline has dulled?”
“Well, essentially, it seems to have been cut off. The last remaining one was Neria. Her mother died just before she was entrusted to the monastery. I couldn’t leave her like that.”
“Hmmm.”
Father casually dropped a bombshell.
“Does Neria know about this?”
“No, she was brought as a newborn, so she has no idea. For now, she was raised by a nurse to protect her. Neria believes she’s her biological mother.”
“Oh my.”
If Father’s words were true, he and Neria were distant relatives, practically strangers, and there would be a mismatch in the paternity test.
Neria and I were not step-siblings but genetically as unrelated as two complete strangers.
That was a significant weakness for the Gothberg family.
Of course, it’s a secret that no one but me could unveil.
“Still, Neria is my little sister.”
“Of course. I think of her as my own daughter.”
Father and I agreed.
Well, now I trust the story that Father loved only Mother all his life.
However, since Neria hasn’t awakened her talent yet, she won’t become a saint.
Seeing her managing business at that age shows she has a knack for economics.
It would be good for her to take over the family in the future.
Hmmm, then who will the next saint be?
“Was Neria the only one found in that lineage?”
“There was one other. You know her. She’s in the Inner Palace.”
“In the Inner Palace?”
“Sister Ambrosia should probably be in the same line as Neria. I’ll have to check the family tree myself for more details.”
That made sense; their facial features seemed similar.
My instincts couldn’t be wrong.
As Father and I were whispering for a while, a presence appeared behind me.
“Brother, Father, what are you two talking about so happily?”
Neria crept into our conversation, seemingly bored.
“Nothing important. Just a silly conversation about which relatives to invite for the next holiday.”
“Really? I haven’t heard much about relatives’ families, so I’m curious!”
“We’ll have to contact them, or the gifts will just keep piling up.”
“Brother dislikes exchanging gifts, huh? It’s a joyous occasion…”
Neria, looking awkward, quickly hid something small in her little hand.
“Neria is the exception. Let’s see it.”
Just then, I had a piece of homemade chocolate in my front pocket. Unwrapping it, I saw Neria poke her head out, her eyes sparkling.
“Mmm!”
As I popped it into her mouth, the worry on her face disappeared, replaced by pure happiness.
When she will be a saint in the future, she always had a bittersweet smile.
Neria was indeed a natural lady suited for the nobility, more than the dangerous battlefield.
“I have something for you too, Brother!”
“What is it?”
“It’s a charm that blocks unclean energies. Will it help?”
Neria handed me a little pouch filled with small gemstones. Did she make it herself?
It seems she had been waiting to give this all along. I carefully accepted the charm.
“How touching; I’ll carry it with me always.”
“Heheh, yess!”
“Ready, Teacher.”
Tanya reported to me.
After recently having a one-on-one duel with a Swordmaster, her demeanor was sharper and more composed.
“Let’s see.”
Two hundred knights from Heike’s faction. They looked good in their aligned formation.
Forty healers from the Gothberg family.
Twenty adventurers from four different parties, each willing to be hired by anyone for cash, were here.
And twelve doctors from my faction led by Hugo.
I was the commander who would lead them all.
I gave a short command.
“Advance.”
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