The Noctem Dolls' invasion left the kingdom in shambles, with casualties among soldiers, nobles, and commoners. Even though Noctem Dolls was just a small group of several people, it caused a devastating impact. Most Knight of Rounds members lost their lives, leaving only Fleur, Birawa, Tobias, and Sewel remaining. Fleur suffered severe injuries from the explosion, while Tobias fell into depression, and struggled with the weight of killing innocent people. Tragically, the fourth prince Leofric, also passed away, and his body was taken by the Noctem Dolls.
The night after the Noctem Dolls escaped from Eldritch, everyone could not help but be surprised by the figure of Eldritch who suddenly appeared in their midst. Falling into silence due to the shock of Eldritch's figure, the audience suddenly cheered because Eldritch managed to defeat all the Noctem Dolls alone. He was indeed the pride and hero of everyone in the kingdom.
Alicia ran towards him with her breath taken away, and when she reached Eldritch, she jumped up and hugged him.
"Welcome back, big brother! I miss you so much!" Alicia said. If people saw the current Alicia, they might be surprised because she looked like a little girl who missed her brother.
The next day was supposed to be the day of Francis' birthday celebration with the commoners. The parade was set up, the carriages were decorated, and so were the streets throughout the city. But it was all in vain. The happy day was instantly ruined because of this incident.
The carriage was replaced with a carriage full of white flowers carrying the statue of Leofric. The whole city mourned Leofric's death and all the fatalities. Because of this, the ministers, who had originally planned to stay for a few days, went back to their country the next day.
That noon, Francis woke up in his room.
"Sabine? Are you there? I just saw a nightmare."
No one answered.
Hearing no answer, Francis sat up.
"Ouch..."
He could feel his whole body ache as he moved. It was then that he remembered everything.
Everything that happened that night, when he stood looking at Leofric's body pinned to the wall, and when he could only stand still when he saw Sabine using her body to protect him from the attack, then when he could not bring himself to slash his sword at the person who killed them,
Francis immediately stood up and ran outside his room. He could feel the excruciating pain of his bones shifting in his body, but he didn't care. He wanted to see Sabine, the nagging teacher he had always hated.
Deep inside, he still wanted to think that everything that happened was really just a dream.
"Sabine... sabine... sabine... sabine..."
The maids, workers, and other people in the palace called out to him, but he kept running. Running to Sabine's room on the first floor, where the workers lived.
That fateful night replayed in his mind like a broken record, each detail etched with painful clarity.
Once he reached Sabine's room, with trembling hands, he opened the door.
...Just as he had feared,
The room was neat.
Although he had never entered before, he frequently stole a glance into Sabine's room as he walked by. To his surprise, the belongings that were usually there, were gone. Instead, the room bore an impeccably tidy appearance with only a bed and table, indicating no one else lived there anymore.
"No..."
The reality hit him hard. He desperately wanted to see her one last time, to feel some sense of closure or understanding. Maybe even to apologize for his past behavior toward her.
Entering the empty room, Francis felt a sense of crushing despair. Sabine was truly gone, and there was nothing he could do to change that fact. Tears welled up in his eyes, flowing down his cheeks unchecked. He stumbled towards the bed, grasping the sheets with shaking hands.
"Sabine..."
The sound of her name on his lips was a desperate plea, a cry for her to come back. But all that answered him was the deafening silence of her absence.
… A few moments later,
While he was still sobbing, someone called out to him from behind.
"Umm, your highness?" that person's voice...no... that old lady's voice—was completely familiar to Francis.
Quickly, he looked back.
"Sabine?"
At the room's door stood Sabine, hugging a stack of books.
"Yes, your highness?"
"Sabine? Is it really you?"
"Yes, of course. What are you doing in my room?"
Francis ran toward Sabine and jumped on her.
"Prince Francis?!" The books Sabine was holding were thrown away, scattering around her. Francis hugged Sabine tightly while letting his tears flow freely.
"You really are Sabine… Thank you… Thank you for not leaving me alone…"
.
.
.
"336 people, do you know what this number is? Brother Harald."
Alicia invited Harald to talk to her in the flower garden where she usually sat. At that time, Harald already felt bad because Alicia would talk about something serious that he probably didn't like.
"That's the number of people saved by that girl," Alicia said.
"Girl who?"
"Of course you don't know. You've always been ignorant of your surroundings. Rumors have spread in the palace and among the soldiers about the Maiden of Eden Garden, Felicia Ayde Boldenville.
You don't know how extraordinary her divine blessing is. These 336 people were dying and couldn't be saved with potions. And thanks to this girl, Sabine is still alive."
"Huft, thank goodness then. I don't want Francis to suddenly become an edgy-vengeance-hungry person at 12; he still needs a mother figure."
Then he asked,
"So, what does this story have to do with me? Do you just want to tell a story?"
"Before that, let me tell you about it further."
Alicia drank her tea and continued to tell the story of what happened the night after Eldritch expelled the Noctem Dolls.
On that night, the cheers and shouts of triumph at the Eldritch's arrival gave them hope, making everyone finally feel at ease that the danger had disappeared.
But not on the large field in front of the castle. It had become a place where the sick were gathered; primarily soldiers and wounded citizens were gathered there to be treated. The ones responsible for caring for the sick were the 10th Milite Division members, consisting of soldiers trained to handle the wounded.
"Next!" It was Felicia's shout, which sounded a little hoarse because she had shouted so many times. The two soldiers carrying the stretcher headed straight toward her and placed the injured person in front of her.
The injured person this time was one of the soldiers, and his condition was very severe; his neck was bitten while securing the citizens under Ivaylo's influence. Also, knife stab marks on his abdomen made it impossible for him to survive, even with the help of potions.
"I can't anymore... Please tell my wife my last words."
"There are no last words! I will save you, and you will go back to your family!"
Felicia used her god's blessing to save the soldier. The shining light and beautiful flowers that grew when Felicia activated her blessing stunned everyone, especially amid the chaos; they looked extremely beautiful.
Felicia's god's blessing instantly healed the man's neck and stomach wounds. Miraculously, he could even stand up immediately and happily jump up and down because he was still alive.
"Thank you so much Lady!"
"NEXT!"
Felicia was only focused on the person in front of her, so she ignored the other people's thanks. Of course, no one was angry with her about that. To them, Felicia was the savior of their lives.
Beside her, Alicia sat while drawing amnis on Felicia's back. Alicia's task was to use her mana to activate the amnis that could transfer mana from other people to Felicia. Every person healed by Felicia would transfer their mana to Felicia through Alicia, so Felicia's mana would never run out.
But mana wasn't the problem anymore; the problem was stamina and also the amount of blood.
"Felicia, I think this is enough. You've saved more than 50 people," said a worried Alicia. Felicia was forcing herself to use stamina potions and blood enhancement potions, which were unhealthy for her. The stamina potion wasn't a magic potion that took away tiredness, but a potion that temporarily delayed it. On the other hand, the blood enhancement potion was just a potion that provided nutrients and made the blood pump quickly.
"No, your highness... I can still save more people! They need me. NEXT PLEASE!"
Felicia's face was already pale, and her eye bags were already quite black. She really looked like she was at her limit.
Alicia felt ashamed of herself because the real reason she had told Felicia to stop was not only because she was worried about Felicia's condition but also because Alicia was also at her limit. She was already tired of doing transfer mana amnis repeatedly.
With determination, she didn't want to lose to Felicia; she also had to persevere and be able to save more.
ƥαṇdα- ηθνε|·ƈθm ___Alicia finished her story.
"At that time, we managed to save 336 people, and this time I quite regret what I did."
"Regret? Why?"
"I was careless... Drinking that much stamina potion and the blood-enhancing potion wasn't good for that child."
"I see... taking potions is like torturing yourself; I used to do it to survive the training the captain gave me; I took up to three potions a day and ended up fainting for three days."
Recalling what happened to him, then Alicia looked sad; Harald thought of the bad things that happened to Felicia because of drinking it.
"Wait! What about that girl?! I only took three and slept for three days because of it. How much did that girl drink?"
Sadly, Alicia answered,
"That girl once said she could only use her god's blessing twice a day because it required so much mana and drained her stamina, making her pass out. Think about it, big brother... Twice a day is her limit, but she used it over 300 times at that time. Can you think how many potions she drank?"
Thinking about the amount in his head, Harald suddenly shock.
"How is the girl's condition now?!"
Alicia turned her face away, and while holding back tears, she said
"Based on the physician's speculation, she will be asleep for three years."
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