Chapter 10 – The Weakest, Frailest Human Race (Is Not True! Or So Sigmund Wants to Say)
“What? Why isn’t it healing? I pride myself on having the best healing magic in the Zaldein Empire, so what on earth is going on!?”
The panicked voice of Lutz, the Peacock Duke, rang out right beside me. Wondering what the situation was, I moved my body slightly, only for a sharp pain to shoot through my arm.
“Ouch!”
Startled, I opened my eyes and met the gaze of Lutz, who was peering into my face.
Oh, Lutz is here. Where am I…? Just as I was thinking this, I heard Sigmund’s frantic voice.
“Princess, are you awake!?”
Then, Sigmund’s voice again, this time sounding despairing.
“Haa!? N-No way!! Her eyes are blue…”
I shifted my gaze and saw Sigmund’s tearful face, and beside him, Emperor Eckardt.
My, what kind of situation is this, really?
I tried hard to trace my memories, but the last thing I remember is being in the underground ruins.
Judging from the information entering my vision, it seems I am in a guest bedroom in Wolff Castle, lying in bed.
Wondering how I got back from the ancient ruins, I looked up at Lutz and noticed his flustered expression.
“Your Highness, please relax and let go of any tension as much as possible.”
“Eh?”
“I’m going to cast healing magic on you now.”
“My, Lutz, are you a healer? In that case, please heal Sigmund instead of me.”
As I said that, I looked around, thinking, No, Sigmund was badly injured, so he must have been treated already.
But Sigmund, who was in my line of sight, was still injured. In fact, he hadn’t even changed his clothes; his torn abdomen was visible through the gaps in his ripped clothes, and blood was still dripping from the wound.
Startled by the unexpected situation, I sat up abruptly.
“Your Highness!”
“Princess!!”
Lutz and Sigmund’s voices overlapped, but I was the one who wanted to scream.
“Sigmund, your injury is terrible! Why aren’t you getting treated!!”
“That’s because this idiot wolf declared he wouldn’t be treated until after you, Your Highness! Because this idiot wolf is an idiot, he always displays incomprehensible chivalry! And because this idiot wolf is an idiot, he never takes back what he says once he’s said it!!”
Seeing Lutz pile on words as if telling on him, Sigmund scowled.
“I just followed the correct priority! It’s obvious that compared to me, the Princess is a million times more valuable!!”
Seeing Sigmund puff out his chest proudly, I scowled too, thinking this is no good.
Judging from everyone’s reaction, it seems Sigmund faithfully kept my request: “Don’t tell anyone that I’m a Witch.”
Also, since no one reacted to seeing my eyes, and Sigmund said “Her eyes are blue,” it seems my eyes have returned to their original color.
It would probably be a disaster if it was revealed I was a Witch, so I’m genuinely relieved the secret was kept. But now I started to wonder about the change in eye color. Why did my eyes turn red?
My eye color has never changed since I was born, so becoming the same shade as a Witch is a strange coincidence. Or is it not a coincidence, and am I actually a Witch?
As I frowned, I remembered that my eye color had returned to normal.
That’s right. Even if I were a Witch, I can’t maintain the true form, so I must be incomplete.
Or maybe turning into a Witch was just some mistake, and I might never become one again. Either way, there are too many uncertain factors, so I’d better wait and see for a while.
In the first place, even if I made a fuss saying “I’m a Witch,” no one would believe me now that my eye color is back. Not only that, but since I’m human and not well-regarded to begin with, they might suspect I’m plotting something.
So, the best thing to do is to act as if nothing happened and continue as before. But why is Sigmund making comments that lift me up?
Troubled, I lowered my gaze and saw the wound on my arm inflicted by the Witch’s servant. It was gouged deeper than I thought and continued to bleed.
Lutz followed my gaze and spoke in a flat voice.
“There is no doubt that Sigmund’s injury is severe, but since he has abnormally high stamina, he won’t die. In fact, I think it might be better to leave him in severe pain for a while so he can reflect on his actions.”
That’s a harsh thing to say, I thought, scowling, but Lutz didn’t seem to care and looked down at my arm.
“On the other hand, Your Highness’s injury is by no means light. Moreover, unlike Sigmund, you seem to have frighteningly little stamina, so you should be healed immediately.”
Lutz reached out to me again, trying to cast healing magic.
So, I clenched my back teeth tight.
…Lutz’s assessment is accurate. But.
“I have a constitution where healing magic doesn’t work on me.”
When I reluctantly revealed my secret, Lutz stopped moving and opened his eyes wide in surprise.
“Is there such a thing? No, wait, is that why! Is that why no matter how much healing magic I cast earlier, you didn’t recover a bit!!”
Next to Lutz, who looked convinced, Emperor Eckardt put strength into his crossed arms.
Seeing the Emperor reminded me of something, so I asked Lutz while lying back down on the bed.
“When His Majesty Eckardt was injured the other day, a doctor was called. So I thought the standard treatment in the Empire was by doctors, but that’s not the case, is it?”
“…His Majesty just prefers treatment by doctors.”
Ah, he’s hiding something, I thought from the tone of Lutz’s voice, but knowing I wouldn’t get an answer if I asked, I let it slide.
Actually, it seems I’ve developed a fever. The injury is to my arm, so it’s not life-threatening, but I’ve lost quite a bit of blood, so I might sleep for two or three days.
Lying in bed breathing heavily, Lutz’s voice rang out as if spitting out the words.
“How frail is the human race! You get injured immediately, and when you do, healing magic doesn’t work. Isn’t that terrible!!”
No, healing magic works properly on other humans. I’m the only special one. Because ever since I revived from the brink of death at the age of six, my constitution changed so that healing magic doesn’t work.
Retorting in my heart, I closed my eyes feeling tired. Then, I heard Sigmund’s voice objecting.
“Lutz, don’t say things that demean the Princess! If you’re going to say that, e… even Witches are frail, aren’t they!!”
“Sigmund, are you sane? Why bring up Witches here? Surely you aren’t comparing the fiancée, who is nothing more than a traitorous human, to a Witch.”
Lutz retorted immediately, and Sigmund raised his voice in anger.
“Don’t say it like that! The traitor is the Princess’s brother, not the Princess!!”
“Sigmund!! Have you been seduced by the fiancée after spending only a few days with her? Ha, so the fiancée’s technique that captivated the knights of her homeland is still alive and wor…”
Faster than Lutz could finish, there was a thudding sound, and the impact of someone being punched and sent flying occurred. Immediately after, Lutz’s groaning voice followed, so it seems Lutz was the one who got punched.
Oh my, what are you two doing in a room with a suffering patient? No, one of the people rampaging was even more seriously ill than me. And the other one was the healer who came to heal me.
Delirious with fever, I seemed to have lost the capacity to care about my surroundings. Thinking, Both of you, keep it in moderation, was the last thing I did before falling into the world of sleep.
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