THE Fierce Saintess

episode 27

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

*****

「Princess Kana, a similar smell is coming from over here.」

Suou indicated the courtyard direction with his front paw. Thinking that this might lead to discovering the cause, Princess Kana turned her steps that way, but Elder Clarence restrained her, saying he would go instead. Opening the door leading to the courtyard along with Suou, he descended from a veranda-like spot into the garden.

「There are several sources of the smell, but if we're talking about nearby, it's likely this way.」

Prompted by Suou as he searched for the source of the smell, the princess watched the elder walk toward the depths of the garden. Though she felt it would be better to have someone accompany him as backup, unfortunately, the members of the subjugation unit were resting in a separate room some distance away, and the only one by her side was Burley. Moreover, given the current situation involving poison, she could not imagine Burley leaving her side.

Faced with no other choice, just as she was about to ask Ashton—who still hadn't fully grasped the situation—to dispatch someone to guard and support Elder Clarence,

「「AAAAAAhhhhhhh-------！」」

A scream echoed from the garden.

「Kaou!」

「Understood, Princess!」

Instantly straddling Kaou, the princess leaped out through the door Suou and the others had used moments before, and Burley hurriedly followed behind.

At the same time, people burst out from various parts of the mansion wondering what was happening. Ashton, Callahan, and the others also hurried toward the garden as if shaken awake.

The princess arrived at the spot where the scream had come from in an instant. What met her eyes there was Brine fallen on the ground, and Elder Clarence standing tall as if protected by Suou. Lying scattered at their feet was something resembling an animal trap.

「Saintess. Apologies for startling you. It was so sudden that I couldn't hold back...」

The moment he recognized Princess Kana's figure, the elder spoke. From those words and the situation, the princess could easily imagine what had happened. After all, beside Brine, who was writhing in pain, lay his longsword, and a dagger was deeply embedded in his wrist. It appeared to be something Elder Clarence had instinctively thrown.

Though, judging by the faint smile on Suou's face, there was little doubt that he had tweaked its trajectory or power just a little bit.

「I figured he was plotting something, but what an utterly pathetic fellow.」

Without stepping down onto the ground, Princess Kana uttered in exasperation. Having likely heard those words, Brine looked up at the princess, glared at her, and inched closer as he spat out,

「It hurts! Hey, it hurts! Heal me! You're a Saintess, aren't you?! Heal me right now! Hey, I'm begging you. I'll give you money. I'm going to become a knight! That's why!!」

His plea sounded like nothing less than a command. However.

「No.」

「Then hurry... Huh?」

「Did you not hear me? I said no. I already granted you mercy last time. There won't be a second time. Burley, it's a bother, but stop the bleeding. He won't die from an injury like that.」

She called out to the subjugation unit commander who had just caught up. Swiftly assessing the situation, Burley immediately began checking the condition of Brine's wound, but at that moment, Bernetta suddenly appeared from the depths of the garden, raising her voice.

「For a Saintess, refusing to heal an injured person suffering right in front of you—you really are a fake after all!」

Standing beside Burley as he prepared to stop the bleeding, Bernetta glared at the princess, yet showed no sign of helping treat her brother.

「Whatever you may think of me matters not to me in the least. But enough is enough—stop trying to use others for your own convenience. There is no earthly reason why I should help someone who tried to harm my precious guests or Suou and the others. Simply being allowed to live is already excessive mercy.」

「But you can heal him, can't you? Then do it!」

「Hmph. What that fellow truly needs to heal is his rotten disposition, not his injuries.」

That exchange between the two seemed to act as a landmark. Ashton and the others finally arrived on the scene, and they too appeared to instantly grasp what had happened. Their complexions were pale, distorted into dejected expressions. Amidst the suddenly heavy atmosphere, the first to speak was Count Ozry.

「Lord Clarence, my apologies, but could I ask you to explain?」

「Ah, yes. First of all, it seems the source of the smell Lord Suou sensed was this.」

The elder began explaining to Callahan and the others, prodding the trap rolling at his feet with his toe.

Saying that there wasn't just one source of the smell but several, he explained that it was located right where Suou had guided him as the nearest point. Therefore, just as he picked it up to bring back for investigation, Brine had suddenly leaped out brandishing a sword.

「However, since I didn't know who it was at the time, I instinctively moved to dodge the blade tip while throwing a dagger at the same time. I never imagined it was your son...」

So saying, he sighed as he looked at Brine, who was sitting on the ground receiving first aid from Burley. And Callahan, having received the expected explanation, could do nothing but sigh as well.

「I warned him so many times, why...」

When Ashton's squeezed-out murmur leaked through, the sound of many footsteps hurriedly approaching could be heard. Looking over, a woman who appeared to be the lady of the house was seen running with disheveled hair, accompanied by several soldiers.

Rushing over to Brine, who was still sitting supported by Burley, the woman snatched his body away and hugged him tightly.

「Oh, Brine! You poor thing! Darling, Count, summon a priest immediately!」

Even as she said that, she glared at Elder Clarence and began complaining about how terrible it was to do such a thing to a child.

As Callahan tried to reprimand his wife, the soldiers began explaining what actually happened. According to them, it seemed the lady had witnessed the elder throwing the short dagger from her private room upstairs. Upon seeing her son fall, she panicked and rushed to the garden with soldiers. Moreover, she had ordered them to capture the 'suspicious person trying to kill her son.'

Hearing that account, Callahan shook his head slightly and decided to act not as a father, but as a domain lord to make his decision.

「No. A priest is not necessary. Hey, carry Brine to his bedroom immediately! And arrange for a doctor!」

At those words, the lady's eyes widened. If he received healing from a priest, the wound would cure instantly, but with medical treatment from a doctor, it would take several weeks to heal. Furthermore, pain and fever during that time would be unavoidable, and there was also the possibility of lasting aftereffects.

「At that rate, it will take forever to heal!」

「That's right, Father! That's why you must order the Saintess over there right now! It's an issue that will be resolved if you, Father, simply command that woman!」

Thinking that even if the Saintess wouldn't listen to her as a young lady, she would obey the words of her father the Count, Bernetta also chimed in. At those words, the lady finally seemed to notice Princess Kana's presence. Glaring at the princess with bloodshot eyes, she pushed her son forward from within her arms and said,

「Are you the Saintess? If so, heal him. This is an order. If you heal him right now, we'll let this matter pass...」

At his mother's words, both corners of Brine's mouth lifted. He likely thought that since he was being ordered by a Countess right in front of his father the Count, there was no way she would refuse. However.

「Honestly, the two of you are thick-skinned mother and son. As I stated moments ago, I refuse.」

What came back was a refusal akin to mockery. Furthermore, delivering the finishing blow to the three astonished individuals was none other than the Count himself.

「Cut the nonsense! Just how much are you going to pamper him before you're satisfied, Mirabelle?! Do you understand who he directed this at and what he pulled off?! If the Margrave's family presses charges, Brine could even face the death penalty! Why don't you understand that?!」

「Of course I realized that gentleman was Lord Clarence when I arrived here! But the one who actually sustained injuries is Brine! If anything, the victims here are us...」

「That is merely a consequence! The fact remains that this fellow pointed a sword at Lord Clarence. And to make matters worse, using the cowardly method of drawing a longsword against a guest who only carried a dagger!」

Picking up the longsword that had been left lying on the ground, he thrust its tip right at Brine.

「On top of that, without realizing the opponent's true strength, he utterly underestimated him. I thought taking the Knight Order entrance exam would make him realize his own limits, but all he ever thought about was taking the easy route with recommendation letters and more recommendation letters. Not even realizing that the soldiers were intentionally letting him win, this is the result of his hubris!」

Biting his lip in frustration, Brine was unable to offer any rebuttal as Callahan hauled him to his feet, detached the sword scabbard from his waist, and put the sword away.

「I'm confiscating this. You have no need for such an item anymore. Now, take him away at once! And from now on, unless I grant permission, all entry except for a doctor is strictly prohibited! Lock the door from the outside!」

More than the injury, his father's words must have crushed him. With his head hung low, Brine's steps as he was led away by the soldiers were heavy, and he showed no sign of taking in the words of his mother who followed right beside him, desperately soothing him.

Accompanied by Ashton, who suggested having a doctor examine him just in case, Elder Clarence also headed back toward the mansion.

Princess Kana, who had been watching the scene alongside the remaining Callahan and Audra, quickly shifted her gaze toward Bernetta and asked,

「That aside, why were you present at this place?」

At the princess's words, Bernetta hesitated for a moment but then replied,

「Th-That is... I heard a scream, so I wondered what was going on...」

「That is not how it was. I saw you coming from the depths of the garden. If you had been in your room, you should have approached from behind us like the lady did. Yet you came from the front. That is what I am asking you about.」

「Ah, um,...」

「Bernetta. You couldn't possibly have been with Brine...」

Callahan asked his stuttering daughter, deepening the wrinkles between his eyebrows.

「I wasn't with him! Just... a little...」

Bernetta instantly denied it, but there was no way for her to continue past that point, causing Callahan's expression to grow increasingly stern by the second.

Meanwhile, Audra fluttered anxiously between the two, trying somehow to mediate, when a somewhat amused voice chimed in.

「My, Princess. This young lady carries a scent similar to anesthetic powder!」

At the unfamiliar term uttered by Kaou, Burley braced himself, wondering if it was poison again, but the princess raised her hand to stop him and explained:

「Anesthetic powder is a drug that strips away a target's consciousness and causes them to collapse. It is said that when this is used, no matter how powerful a warrior is, they will sleep like a baby, completely unaware even if their arm is cut off during the process. Now then, young lady. Did you have someone you wanted to put to sleep?」

The princess asked with a mischievous smile.

「This is something for me to sleep...」

「Oh? Then why carry such a thing around in the garden? Normally, it's something kept in one's bedroom. After all, if you were to accidentally spill it, it's the sort of substance that would cause you to collapse right on the spot.」

「Hey, Bernetta. I don't know what you're holding, but take it out right now!」

Frustrated by her sister extending a hand with a worried expression and by the princess's words which she felt were deliberately pretending not to know what she had been trying to do, Bernetta clenched both fists tightly and stomped her feet as she screamed:

「Aaaaah, seriously, shut up, shut up, shut up!! What on earth is wrong with you all?! You're a Saintess, aren't you?! Then stop doubting everything people say! A Saintess is supposed to just smile like an idiot and nod yes-yes to whatever people tell her! And you should just silently heal sick or injured people whenever you're told to! Yet when it comes to you, you act all high and mighty and just talk back!」

Even after screaming, her anger apparently not subsiding, she glared at the princess while panting heavily. It was an expression suggesting she might lunge forward at any moment if left unchecked, but Princess Kana was hardly going to be intimidated by something of this caliber.

「You've been arbitrarily deciding how a Saintess should be or what she should do since a moment ago, but who exactly decided that? Besides, the Saintess you speak of sounds like some foolish slave bound by altruism. I have zero intention of degrading myself into such a pathetic creature.」

Laughing heartily, she gave a visual cue to the white foxes, and their front paws drew circles on the ground and stomped down.

「Bind!」

「Strip!」

Instantly, Bernetta was wrapped round and round with cords, dragged down to the ground, and rendered completely unable to move. Furthermore, before she knew it, the outfit she had been wearing was in the princess's hands.

「Here.」

She handed the garment she held to Audra. Puzzled, Audra fumbled around the heavily pleated folds, retrieved a small bottle, cast a somewhat sorrowful gaze at her younger sister, and then handed it to her father.

「If it's something just for sleeping, shall we have you sniff it right now?」

Seeing his daughter's complexion turn pale at the princess's words, Callahan, now certain of the truth, ordered the soldiers to lock Bernetta in her private room, bowed his head to Princess Kana, and walked toward the mansion. Audra ran after the receding figure whose shoulders were slumped, making him look suddenly aged.

Meanwhile, right at the feet of the soldier who raised and attempted to shoulder Bernetta—who was grinding her teeth furiously—there happened to be a protruding tree root through bad luck. The moment he took a step forward, he tripped, and in that instant, he ended up dropping her.

「Gya-bubeh!」

Perhaps because she collided face-first with the ground, a strange sound escaped her. The soldier hurriedly hoisted her back up, but her face was in a disastrous state.

(That... might have broken her nose.)

Watching Bernetta being carried away with her eyes rolled back and blood dripping steadily from her nose, the princess didn't miss the faint smile playing at the corners of Kaou's mouth as he feigned ignorance.

*****

At least her head still attached.

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