“After you entered the bathhouse, a man named Link Yachi Long came.”
He came out of the bath and stood in front of the fireplace to dry his hair.
He liked the smell of the shampoo here. It had the aroma of forest fruits from his world. The shampoo was of much better quality than the ones they had used in Rolderhelm and perhaps comparable to the shampoos in Yu's world.
Sivina and Yurine were not where he left them, but he didn't think they would get lost here. He wasn't going to look like a control freak by panicking and looking for them.
His hair was longer than it used to be, so it took time to dry it. He stood by the fire and tried to dry it using the heat from the fireplace, but he had no idea how long it would take to dry it completely. He might have to attend dinner with wet hair.
“Tch,” Yu clicked his tongue at Ana. “He's stuck, he won't let go.”
If he saw him one more time he might throw up. He was with him half the day and he was uncomfortable with him following them around like this. Even now he was afraid that he would walk in the door of the room and say he was joining them for dinner.
“You don't have to make a big deal out of this maid thing, Ana. At least when it's just us, you can behave yourself.” There were things he wanted to talk to her about. “Sit down.”
When Ana sat down in the other armchair opposite the fireplace, Yu looked at her face. Her hair had grown a little longer and made her more beautiful, and her blue eyes were a nice match for her green hair.
“Is she mad at me?”
He thought she and Sivina liked each other. She seemed excited to talk today, but when she was alone with Yu, she became quiet.
“Is he here to pick up the prisoners?”
“Yes.”
“Where's Yurine?”
“She gave him the prisoners and sent him away, now she supervises the other workers. Sivina is with her.”
It was a relief that Link would no longer be after them. They had no quarrel with him, but he was uncomfortable with the way he suddenly latched onto them. He could have sworn, even proved it, that Link would have dived into the bathhouse in an instant if he had been allowed to.
“Good. Never leave Yurine alone while I'm gone. And be around her when I'm around. And tell Sivina that your current jobs are just an act. Your first job is to protect her, your second job is to listen to me.”
“I see, that's what we'll do.” She started combing his own hair while Yu continued to watch her. “So, what exactly is our job called?”
“Hmm... Good question.” He hadn't thought of a clear job title for them. “Full-time multifunctional beautiful maids with eternal loyalty.”
Ana covered her mouth with her hand as she giggled. That's what Yu had intended.
“What I'm saying is a joke, but it really is. That's why the word comrade is most appropriate for you. It's for a cause and I need your help.”
He believed first in their loyalty and then in their strength.
“Tonight you and the roarons take turns on guard duty. Tomorrow we will bring more roaron warriors and give them the watch. Of course, you will have to stand guard over them from time to time, you can think of it as supervision. I assume you have gotten used to the watch in Rolderhelm.”
Ana nodded, playing with her green hair.
“Get up early tomorrow morning and help Yurine get ready. In the morning there will be an honorary ceremony for her mother's funeral. In the evening Yurine will be made Cardinal of Virgo. At night we will be baptized, and when we are baptized we will become official members of the Virgo Cathedral.”
“Is special preparation necessary for baptism?”
“No, we just kneel in front of her. Then Yurine will wash our face and hands.”
The baptism ceremony was simple and involved washing one's face and hands and symbolically cleansing them of their past sins.
“From then on, Sivina will be a Knight of Virgo. The first of the Virgo Knights, sounds good.” He thought it was a cool title. “How about you? My offer still stands.”
“I still don't think I'm qualified to be a knight, but thank you for the honor.”
“I am sure you can defeat most knights, not all of them are as strong as Sivina. Maybe with your wind magic you can even take on Sivina.”
“I can't achieve such things with just a sword.”
“Is the sword compulsory?”
In Rolderhelm it was not a requirement for people to be good with the sword to become knights.
One did not even need to be a warrior or a sorcerer to become a knight; proving oneself worthy in some way could be enough to become a knight.
“With your wind magic, you can defeat many sword-wielders. There is a possibility that you can also defeat the Roarons. I say possibility because I don't know your full power, but maybe you can defeat them easily.”
Melee weapons against magic were like pistols against knives in Yu's eyes. Maybe warriors with superior skills could take on mages, and maybe some of them could defeat them easily, but usually the sword versus magic battle ended with the mages heavily favored.
“It's not the same for wizards around here, though.”
Although mages were far more powerful than most warriors, it was rare to find anyone here who could use magic well.
Rolderhelm attracted mages from all over the world, but it was not every day that one encountered mages in other countries, and even when they did, they were usually weak.
One of the things that made Rolderhelm so powerful and untouchable, despite its small size, was the power of mages. While the armies of other countries would charge with spears in hand, Rolderhelm's army would finish off the enemy before they even got close. The enemy armies were frustrated, just as they would be if they ran with sword and spear against an army armed with cannon and musket.
Mages could change the fate of battles and therefore the fate of great wars, but it was usually Rolderhelm who was powerful enough to do so.
It wasn't just about being accepted into the Wizarding Academy, getting a better education and becoming more powerful.
Rolderhelm was a modern state and was constantly working to provide a better life for its citizens. The mages who went there wanted to stay and live a better and better quality of life after they finished their studies at the academy.
Powerful mages could become rich and respected anywhere, it was easy for them to settle for high status, but Rolderhelm was always more attractive.
Because Rolderhelm was not only rich, the people there made life more bearable. Almost all the people in Rolderhelm could read and write, and thanks to the schools in Rolderhelm, many of them had a certain level of culture.
Living with such people was a much preferable option to living with people who were superstitious and obsessed with Zodianism.
There were also rumors all over the world that the girls in Rolderhelm were beautiful, and one of the reasons why many men wanted to go there was to marry a girl from Rolderhelm and start a new life as a citizen there.
In the end, it was often the low-level mages who stayed in other countries, as the powerful or average mages with potential went to Rolderhelm.
This lowered and lowered the average power of mages and emphasized the sword. If Ana were to face a random mage in this country, he or she would probably think she was unjustifiably powerful and Yurine divinely powerful.
But they were both average compared to Rolderhelm's mages.
“And if you make me a knight, I'll think it's for the sake of our friendship. If I am to gain such status, I want to earn it.”
“I love your honesty.”
Ana averted her eyes at Yu's compliment and spoke quietly while scratching her cheek.
“Thank you.”
Yu wiped his hair one last time with the towel, combed it again and put the comb and towel on the corner of the sofa, thinking that there was no need to play with his hair anymore.
“I wonder if Sivina has tried to draw the Morning Sword?”
“N-no... Why do you ask?”
“I tried today and failed. I thought it would be great for us if Sivina managed to shoot it. The cathedral would be famous.”
The Morning Knight Sivina Ecues, coupled with her charisma, would have suited her well for this position.
“She wanted to try, but they wouldn't let her.”
“Oh, we had to ask permission?”
The thought of it being taken by someone unwanted could have caused problems. So it was natural that not everyone was allowed to try it.
“But I don't want Sivina to try. Sivina must remain my Sivina.”
Yu looked into her blue eyes, there was a possessive glint in them.
“If she becomes a Morning Knight, can't she be yours?”
“Morning Knights leave their names. That's why none of them have names, they are all called Morning Knights.”
“I see.”
He didn't want to come down on Ana and expose her yandere side. He was not going to interfere in their relationship. Still, if Sivina could draw that sword, he would want her to do it.
“Let me ask you something, what happened when you came here? What did you discuss with the Pontifex and Leoral?”
“When we arrived here, we first searched for the Virgo Cathedral, where Duke Vermilia and his entourage were staying.”
“At the Virgo Cathedral?”
It was a small place for a duke. It was the center of the sect he supported, but he still didn't think he would stay here.
“Yes, in fact, when we arrived, it was the duke's men who greeted us, not the cathedral servants. We introduced ourselves and said we had news from Neko, as you said.”
Yu had asked them to use the name Neko instead of Yurine. It would have been better for them to keep the name Yurine among themselves.
“And then?”
“We... We told Duke Vermilia that the old cardinal is dead.”
She finished his sentence, fell silent and looked at the fire burning in the fireplace. The corners of her eyes softened, as if she regretted giving that news.
“He was not in a good condition when we came here.” Ana forced herself to keep talking. “So it can't just be us.”
“If you want, think about what you want to say and prepare yourself, I'll wait.”
He would have preferred to receive his words in one go rather than in installments, such a report would have been more understandable. When she had gathered her main words, she continued speaking.
“When we came here we found out that Vermia had fallen. The Duke was already in a bad way, but we had to break the news, you know. We didn't know he would be like this when we broke the news.”
“Vermia fell? How did we not hear about it?”
Vermia was the center of the region ruled by the Vermilia Family and was a large city in a strategically important location west of Jade Lake.
The Zodian lands were divided into two parts, the western and the eastern. As the kingdom stood between these two parts, communication was difficult and only the sea route was used to transfer goods and goods.
The Zodianists' next plan, to connect the Zodian lands and separate the northern and southern territories of the kingdom, was to use Vermia as their headquarters, but with the fall of this city, they could no longer carry out their plan.
The worst thing for Yu and Yurine was that the Virgo Cathedral's only supporter had lost his land. If Leoral lost his power, his support for the cathedral would lose its value, and the duke needed to get his land back, but he was too old to do so.
“This is being kept secret from the public,” Ana said. “They don't want to demoralize the public.”
“I see. The Germans thought they had won until the Russians entered Berlin.”
Ana didn't understand Yu's example from her world and returned to the subject.
“So... When we broke the news that the Cardinal was dead, he couldn't stand any longer.”
“I understand.”
He had then moved to the Andromeda Church for the treatment of Leoral, that was the rest of the story and he didn't need to hear it to know it. He didn't see the need to force Ana, who was upset when he told it.
“While they were taking Leoral, we went with them to the Cathedral of Andromeda, where we were met at the entrance by the Pontifex himself.”
“The Pontifex welcomed you? He didn't even let me in,” he said and thought, “Does he favor the girls? Is he a womanizer?”
Why would the leader of the country welcome two foreign girls who had no status worth mentioning? It had to be just a coincidence.
“The Pontifex was waiting for us, he spoke to us after taking care of Leoral. We gave him the news and he gave us permission to stay here.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“He's been waiting for you. Hmm... I wonder if the Andromeda Blessing allows him to see the future.”
If he had such an ability, the reason for the empty Andromeda Church would be his knowledge that he would not be assassinated. So why did Link say that the church wasn't like this before?
“How can I fight against someone who knows what will happen in the future if we make enemies with him?”
He made a mental note to make plans for it when he had free time to think about it.
“Leoral has a son, Cecilus. Have you ever seen him?”
Ana nodded her head in agreement.
“Yes, he was here when we arrived, but the day after we arrived he left the city in a hurry.”
“Did he run away?”
“With his father on his deathbed? He looks like a very good son.”
“He went to Virgo, where his sister Cornelia was gathering an army. They must be in siege now.”
Had Cecilus left the city to help his sister? Or had he really gotten scared and run away? What could he have been afraid of? It was just a girl and a butler.
“One last thing, where is the gold I gave you? If the Vermia family is in trouble, we need that gold, we can survive with it.”
He hadn't asked since he arrived, he wanted to know where the gold was and if possible to see it.
“Don't worry, it’s safe down to the last coin. It's all in the cathedral safe. I've come to invite you to dinner, I can take you there after dinner.”
“I was sure they were safe, I trusted you. If I didn't, I wouldn't want to go on such a dangerous journey with you.”
When there was nothing more to say, he stood up and left the room with Ana, which was only used as a rest room.
They were going to eat in the living room where they had sat when they first came here. Since the table in the living room was too short, they had arranged three tables in a row to create a larger space. Yurine was at the head of the table.
“Yu, this is your place.”
Since Yu was more than a butler, Yurine had reserved the first chair on his right for him. As the second person of the Virgo Cathedral and the right-hand man of the future Virgo Cardinal, that seat belonged to him.
He took the seat reserved for him. Sitting to Yurine's left, opposite Yu, was Sivina. She too had a special position in the Virgo Cathedral, as tomorrow she would become a Virgo Knight.
Not surprisingly, Ana sat next to Sivina. Next to Yu was Kigaro and after him Dimen. Both roarons had been given sturdier chairs so they wouldn't break. After Dimen came Tobias.
There were also two other people at the table whom Yu did not recognize.
“This is Madame Lesly Marais, Madame Marais; Yurine's father, Yu Valarfin.”
Sivina introduced Yurine not as Neko but as the name Yu had given her, adding that Yu was her father.
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Valarfin.”
Yu smiled and nodded when Sivina introduced the old woman with graying hair and brown eyes.
“Madame? Isn't it called Mrs. here?”
Lesly had no distinguishing features. She was the same height as Yu when she sat down, and they might have been the same height when they stood up, but otherwise she was just an ordinary old woman.
“Mr. Rigal Werin.”
Sivina introduced Rigal, who greeted her with a nod.
He was also old, but his short hair was not yet completely gray, there was still a slight blackness and his eyes were orange.
“When we arrived here, we hired the instructors you asked for. Madame Marais will teach you dancing and piano and Mr. Werin will teach you Aram language.”
“Thank you both.”
He had asked Sivina and Ana to hire teachers to teach him the court dances and the Aramish, the language of Aram Empire. Yu already knew how to play the piano, but he was unfamiliar with the music and notes here. So he wanted a piano teacher just to fit in.
“I already know the piano, but I haven't played it for months. As for dancing, I played the prince in a show in high school. A teacher showed me a few things then.”
The show in which he played the prince was Cinderella. In order to create comedy in that play, Yu was brought such feet in front of him that if it were not for the feet of the girl who played Cinderella, poor Yu might have lost all interest in feet that day.
“Aramish is similar to English, at least in grammar. Yurine and I learned grammar and phrases from books on the road.”
The grammar of Aramish was a copy of English. Apart from that, most of the words were unique, but sounded similar to German and French.
“Good, then I will give you a test. If you are good enough, our training will be faster,” Rigal said.
Yu nodded in agreement. He had gotten the books on the language from the Wizarding Academy and they had left no questions in his mind as he studied. He was sure that he would get a high score on this exam as he had on all the others.
“And did you guys learn? I told you that you should have learned before us.”
“Yes, they teach us too.”
Ana was the one who answered her, then Sivina spoke.
“I already knew Aramish, actually...”
“Tch... So why didn't you say that before?”
If he had known this in advance, he would not have hired a trainer and would have directly asked Sivina to teach him.
“...but talking to others who know helped me to consolidate my knowledge and Madame Marais is teaching me to dance.”
“Piano?”
“I know that too."
Sivina was much more... than he expected.
“Yu, is it okay for you to eat now?” Yurine asked. She had suddenly changed the subject of the conversation.
“I don't think it's a problem, it's a special day and I'm only going to break the routine once.”
He was taking a medicine to prevent further crises and it was working.
He had to take the medicine before eating, and after eating he would lie down and sleep without lingering too long.
But since today was a special day, he decided to make an exception to his daily routine. Today he wanted to have dinner with his entire entourage.
“Enjoy your meal.” After Maia placed the food on the table, she stepped back and waited behind Yurine.
If they had been in Rolderhelm, he would have found this meal at Lucia's inn ordinary, but compared to the meals the citizens of Mora were having, the table was beautifully set.
Salad, soup, vegetable dish and pork were today's dishes. The soup was still steaming and Yu decided to wait a while as he found it difficult to eat it while it was hot. In the meantime, he tore a loaf of bread into small pieces and threw it into the soup.
“We put the tables together, but there are too many empty seats,” Sivina said.
“Yes.” Yu turned to the cathedral servants. “So you sit down too. Today is a special day, so let's eat together.”
Yu invited the servants to the table. He wanted to get off to a good start with his subordinates, so he had to make today special.
“Us too? But-”
“What's wrong, Maia? If I remember correctly, Yurine told you to obey me.”
When the four servants of the Virgo Cathedral were seated, the gaps at the table became smaller. They would eat together, even if the servants had to get up occasionally to take care of things at the table.
They were waiting for Yurine to start. Once Yurine started eating, the others could start eating too.
Yurine took a spoonful of her soup and everyone started to eat. Yu also took a spoonful of his soup, it was vegetable soup and not Yu's favorite dish. But he could eat it with bread.
“I wish the others were here.”
Dimen was trying to hold a small spoon with his big hands. It was funny that this man could carry huge weapons with ease and yet he struggled against a spoon.
“I don't think two hundred people can fit in this room.”
“That's not what I meant.”
He understood what he meant, but he just wanted to talk idly. Every now and then Yu could be idle too when he was bored with serious matters.
“Tomorrow we will bring a few more roaron. When Yurine becomes a cardinal we will talk to the Pontifex to discuss the roaron issue, and over time we will have more roarons around the cathedral, but I don't think we can baptize everyone at once. Because we are a small cathedral, if we have two hundred roarons in the cathedral at once, people might react, so it will be gradual.”
It would not be possible to let everyone in at once, nor would it be possible to baptize them all at once. He planned to let them in at regular intervals, baptize them and build houses for the roarons around the cathedral.
“Where are the roarons staying now?” Sivina asked.
“We've set up camp for them near a spring we found south-east of the city, close to the mountains. I'd like to take you there sometime and show you some things.”
“Yu! Do you like your food?”
Yurine was jealous of Yu talking to Sivina and wanting to take her somewhere, so she suddenly jumped into the middle of their conversation.
“Yes.”
Although he did not like the type of soup in general, it was better than the other vegetable soups he had eaten.
“Yu, then eat that too.”
“I haven't finished my soup yet.”
“You eat too slow!”
He didn't want Yu to talk to girls so he was trying to stall him. Yu smiled when he realized that was why she started talking like that.
“What are you laughing at?”
“I'm flattered not to be shared by the young lady.”
Angered by the revelation, Yurine opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out of her throat as her lips moved to form words.
***
“Why are you saying stupid stupid things today?”
After dinner they chatted a bit and when the moon rose they went to their rooms. Actually, they went to bed early, but it didn't matter as they wanted to get up early in the morning.
“What did I say?”
“Don't make me say it! You know what you're saying.”
He thought he might hear about fatherhood from her again, but Yurine didn't give Yu what he wanted.
“She sees me as her father...”
Yu smiled at first, but his smile slowly faded, he lowered his eyes to the ground and turned away.
“She sees me as her father...”
Would Yurine ask Yu to be with Rie when they turned back time? If she did, Yu don’t know if he could accept such a thing.
His life was short and he could not do such things when he was going to leave them. Otherwise they would have grown more attached to him and suffered more with his departure.
“I say things like that because you're so cute when you're embarrassed.”
Yu turned around again, grabbed Yurine by the armpits and lifted her into the air.
“Yu.”
“Yes?”
“Sleep next to me.”
As he had expected, Yurine wanted to sleep together. Yu was fine with this, as they had slept together for a long time before their trip. Besides, it was cold and sleeping next to someone would make for a warmer sleeping experience.
Besides, sleeping next to his daughter made Yu feel a little more like a father and he liked that feeling.
“I'll take medicine soon.”
“Drink here, and if anything happens, I'll help you.”
He didn't think anything would happen, but he was afraid of disrupting his normal routine. It was better to do as Yurine said. They did it together most days. Yurine would also help him if he had a headache.
“I'll prepare the medicine in the kitchen first.”
Yurine tagged along with Yu as he took the ingredients from his room and went to the kitchen. During the day it was Yu who followed his arrogant lady, now Yurine was in daughter mode and looked like a duck following her mother.
When they entered the kitchen, they met Clara, who was doing a final cleaning before going to bed.
“Young lady, did you want a snack? I can prepare it for you right away.”
“I don't feel like anything, I came to stand by Yu.”
Yu had put the herbs he needed to make the medicine on the table and was in the kitchen looking for the ingredients he needed. He could have asked Clara where the coffee pots were, but when he couldn't find them after searching for a while, it became a small matter of pride, so he continued to search in silence.
“But you can heat milk.”
“Yes, young lady.”
Clara took a break from cleaning and got to work, while Yu found the coffee pot he was looking for.
“I can make you banana milk if you want.”
“Banana milk?”
“Banana milk. Do you have banana and sugar? I think it's winter here.”
“Yes, I do, but how about banana milk?”
“I need banana and sugar, I'll show you.”
Yu did not like to drink milk plain. He could drink it plain, but he liked the taste of cocoa, strawberry and banana milk better than plain milk.
But when he wanted to drink cocoa milk every day, it was hard on his wallet, so he learned to make it himself at home. He used to make it with the powders that came in pre-packaged packets, but when strawberries and bananas were in season, he tried to do it all over again and succeeded, and it wasn't difficult.
He took a break from his own work and picked up the ingredients Clara had brought out. In the world he would mix the banana and sugar with a mixer, then add the milk and mix again. It was easy to do, but since there was no mixer here, he have to do it by hand and the drink would take longer to prepare.
“Is there something you want to say?”
He realized that Clara was thinking about something and was afraid to say what she was thinking. Every now and then her lips would move to ask something, only to stop again when Clara gave up.
“I don't want to overstep my bounds.”
“Tell me.”
Could she say something that would make him angry? Yu didn't think she had the means to make him angry and even if she overstepped her bounds, Yu decided to keep his cool.
“I am surprised that you and young lady are so close, young lady was not like this before.”
“Ha! I'm only nice to people who deserve it.”
“I'm most lovable person, it's normal for people to like me.”
But people who knew Yurine didn't think it was normal for her to be close to Yu, whereas six months ago she was close to no one but her mother.
Yu prepared the drink. He took the banana milk and poured it into a glass, handed it to Yurine, and passed a glass to Clara, curious to see her reaction. He was waiting for their interpretation of the taste of a different world.
“Mmm... Yu well done... I admire you. You should always come to me with such nice things, you should always, always spoil me.”
“I'm glad you like it.”
It was nice to do something she liked, when he made her happy he was happy with her happiness and seeing her lovely smile made him feel that he had not lived in vain.
“Do you like it?”
“Yes.” It was clear from her face that Clara liked it too, she closed her eyes in ecstasy. “I've never tasted anything like this before, it's so good.”
“This is a taste out of this world.”
After leaving Yurine to drink her milk, it was time to prepare his own drink. The medicine would smell bad, so he needed to ventilate the room. First he opened the windows, even though it was cold.
Clara lit the stove to heat the milk. Yu threw some more twigs into the stove and put the coffee pot on the stove.
As he had expected, a foul odor emanated while he was preparing the medicine, but the cold, windy air from outside diminished the smell and Clara showed no signs of discomfort.
When the medicine was ready, he turned off the stove, poured it into a glass and left the kitchen with Yurine, leaving Clara alone. Soon he would relive that awful experience.
They entered Yurine's room and Yu closed the door.
“Can we open it here too? I feel better when I get some air.”
“It's okay, Yu.”
Yurine ran to the window, climbed up on a chair, opened the window and ran back to Yu. She wanted to be right next to Yu when he drank
He inhaled the cool, fresh air, sat down in the chair and started drinking, trying to ignore the smell of the medicine, even though it was impossible.
The urge to vomit came again, as it always did. Today Yu felt the urge to vomit much more strongly, but he didn't want to vomit on Yurine, so he made an extra effort to suppress it. He barely managed to finish the medicine, he hadn't even had this much difficulty the first time.
“Your face...”
Yu didn't realize what had happened. His face was flushed and his eyes were suddenly sleepy, he looked sick.
“Yu?”
“Who's talking?”
He could feel someone's small hands on his face, but he could neither see nor guess who it was. His eyes darkened, he could hardly feel the left side of his body as a heavy weight built up in his heart.
“YU!”
Right now he wanted to throw up, throwing up was the only thing he could think of. He could feel the poison coursing through him, it was driving him crazy. He wanted to get it out, to get it out of his body. He knew that as long as he had this curse inside him, he couldn't rest.
When the veil was lifted from his eyes, the woman standing in front of him would make him lose his mind. Purple eyes, brown hair and... A face covered in blood.
“Sist-er...”
“YU! YU!”
He got up from his chair. Despite his sister's decaying face, he wanted to approach her, but he couldn't. He took a few steps back.
He was scared, scared that he wouldn't be able to hold her again. Yu was responsible for this face and now he had to pay for it.
“Sis...”
He tried to take a step towards her, not realizing which of her sisters was in front of him. Unfortunately, he failed to do so and instead of going forward, he went backwards.
Yu couldn't answer her cry for help again as his sister continued to shout his name. Unable to hold it in, he began to vomit. The medicine that went down his throat was nothing compared to the taste of the black pitch that came out.
With his throat burning and unable to breathe, he asked in a feeble voice.
“Why did you leave?”
“I'M HERE!”
It was as if everything in his mind was turning into tears and leaving Yu. There was nothing in his mind right now. He was in such a void that even the existence of the void itself was meaningless.
With his hands shaking, he forgot who he was and fell to the ground.
“Help me.”
The last voice he heard was that of the woman who, for the first time, said something other than apologizing.
---
“YU! WHAT HAPPENED YU! I'M HERE! I'M HERE YU!”
It happened again, Yu, who had fallen to the ground, was having another crisis. With tears streaming down her soaked cheeks, Yurine didn't linger and began her healing spell.
“I'M NOT LEAVING ANYWHERE! I'M NOT LEAVING! YU, I'M NOT LEAVING!”
She could not get an answer from Yu, even though she kept shouting, the answer she wanted to hear would not come. The healing spell was not enough to wake him up either.
Yu did not lock the door after closing it, so those outside had no trouble getting in. The door suddenly opened and Sivina and Ana burst in first, followed by Kigaro and Dimen, and then the other inhabitants of the cathedral.
“Help me...”
Kigaro and Dimen were the first to respond to the cry for help that escaped his trembling lips. They picked Yu up and put him on the bed.
“Help me! HELP!”
As Yurine continued to cry for help, Bart, the most experienced servant here, rushed to Yu, who was lying on the bed. Yu was drenched in sweat, and Bart shouted as Yurine stood by his bedside and continued her healing spell.
“Diapers!”
Even though so many people were here, there was no one who could really help him, no one could do anything other than simple interventions.
Clara took a cloth from her waist and handed it to Maia. Maia took the cloth and gave it to Bart while telling Clara and Neltia to bring the vinegar.
Bart first wiped the sweat from Yu's face, so much sweat that the cloth was soon soaked through.
“He has a fever.”
Yu was breathing heavily. As his chest rose and fell slowly, Bart took Yu's top off so that he could breathe more easily.
“AH!”
When Yu's upper body was exposed, the sight made Ana scream in horror, covering her wide-open mouth with her hands that wouldn't stop shaking, trying to silence herself.
Sivina and Maia were not so different from Ana. Even Bart was horrified. Kigaro and Dimen, who had encountered this image before, and Yurine, who saw the stain on Yu's body every day, were also horrified.
In İlonya, a cursed sword thrust into Yu's shoulder and he fainted and did not recover for five days.
If the only damage that sword had done was to leave a scar, Yurine would have easily covered it, but the sword had left more than a scar. It left a black stain, a black curse that covered Yu's shoulder, half of his arm and part of his chest and back.
Every night and every morning, Yurine cast a healing spell to remove the stain, but none of her spells were enough to remove it.
Now those who had just seen the stain could not stop screaming, while those who had seen the stain before were horrified because the veins on the stain, on the curse, were swelling and moving.
The purple and blue veins were swollen and pulsating, while the hard black skin was split in several places. A black liquid was coagulating from the cuts.
Bart was the easiest to pull himself together and began to wipe the sweat from his body.
When Clara and Neltia brought vinegar and more diapers, Maia did not let them in so that they would not see what they were seeing and told them to leave after they had the vinegar and diapers.
They wiped the sweat from Yu's body and placed a vinegar cloth on his back. There was nothing else they could do. They waited for Yu's condition to normalize while Yurine continued the healing spell.