– Puuk!

I couldn’t understand what was going on.

I blankly watched as the person who blocked me and his white hair slowly fell to the ground.

‘What just happened?’

“Ugh……”

“Sir Geens.”

My voice came out faster than my brain could think.

Sir Johann Geens plopped down on the theatre floor.

I grabbed his shoulder out of reflex and inspected him.

An anxious Christelle was quickly headed over.

The appearance copying demonic beast, the Esprit, was nowhere to be seen.

“Sir Geens, you’re bleeding.”

“I’m okay, your highness.”

“You do not look okay at all.”

The side of his white shirt was quickly turning red.

Both my voice and my fingertips were slightly shaking.

I immediately closed my eyes and drew the hemostasis healing circle I had memorized in my mind.

I thought that I might not succeed on the first try because I was anxious, but thankfully that was not the case.

I didn’t forget to recite the incantation either.

[I declare that the fountain of the Almighty God will not dry.]

– Shaaaaaaa-

A blue ether circle appeared.

The full circle that surrounded Sir Geens and I slowly started turning clockwise and creating sky-blue colored particles.

The particles then gathered at Sir Geens’ side.

Christelle quickly crouched in front of him.

Her large eyes were wet with guilt and astonishment.

“Oh no, instructor. It’s all my fault. Oh no. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s not your fault, young lady Sarnez…… I just forgot to inform you all about it.”

Sir Geens leaned against a seat.

The blood must have stopped properly as the stain on his shirt did not get any bigger.

However, sweat was visible on his forehead.

“It was my first time seeing an Esprit since I was very young. I completely forgot that they have teeth. We need to be careful when killing them……”

“What the heck? It’s not like its squid teeth……”

Christelle scowled and commented, looking both as if she was smiling and crying.

I gently patted her shoulder. ‘It’s okay. It’s not your fault.’

“Then are the teeth embedded in your body right now? Is it poisonous by chance?”

I asked as calmly as possible. I just needed to open the Detoxification circle if that was the case.

It was only a low-grade demonic beast, so even the beginner-level one that I memorized…

“It is not poisonous. But, mm……”

He smiled awkwardly. Pain was clearly visible in his mint-colored eyes.

“It is slowly digging into my flesh. I think it is planning on going completely through me.”

Christelle and my jaws dropped a bit.

“Élisabeth, is your father at the Count’s Estate?”

Imperial Prince Cédric’s voice was the one to break the silence. I urgently turned my head.

Vice Captain Élisabeth, who had come in at some point, was standing next to the Imperial Prince and assessing the situation.

She answered her friend with a stern gaze.

“He is. Let’s go to my house.”

*

“Sir Geens, the Moutet Count’s Estate is apparently only five minutes away from the theatre. It is much closer than the Imperial Palace. Please hold on for a little bit.”

I quickly got on the carriage as I said that. I was still maintaining the hemostasis healing circle.

The bleeding seemed to stop at first but the teeth were digging into the patient’s body, continuously creating new injuries.

Sir Geens, who was lying down on the carriage, was surprisingly quiet despite the pain probably being intense.

Ganael, who was sitting next to me, handed over some painkillers he brought for emergencies.

It probably wouldn’t do much for an injury this big, but it was better than nothing.

“Ganael, I need to stay here and take care of the incident.”

Vice Captain Élisabeth stood outside the carriage door as she spoke.

Thankfully the front of the theatre was not chaotic because of my Divine Oracle.

However, the Vice Captain of the Imperial Guard was not done with her job yet.

Ganael calmly nodded his head.

“I will inform them properly at your home. Please don’t worry.”

“Okay, I’ll leave it to you.”

The young Countess and the young boy held hands for a moment.

She then silently bowed toward Sir Geens and I before quickly closing the door.

The carriage started to move as if it had been waiting for that.

I placed some painkillers onto a small spoon and fed Sir Geens before slightly raising his head and pouring some water in.

“Here are some painkillers.”

“It’s bearable without it, your highness.”

“Not anybody can be an Archbishop level Holy Knight.”

He chuckled at my comment. He always looked a bit tired but he looked extremely pale right now.

I peeked out the window.

The Imperial carriage with the Imperial Prince was in front of us and the carriage from the Duke’s House of Sarnez was behind us with the others and Benjamin.

I could even see a carriage in the back with some guards for us.

“I did not know that Margrave Moutet’s husband was a doctor.”

Sir Geens mumbled. I nodded my head in agreement.

Healing priests were not the only ones to use medical arts in the QNW world.

There were regular doctors, such as the Imperial doctors at the palace.

Most commoners sought out regular doctors because they did not have the status or funds to meet a healing priest.

Although the doctors could not heal them instantly like the priests, they could at least heal them.

I quietly looked down at the patient and opened my mouth.

“Thank you, Sir Geens.”

“For what, your highness?”

“For saving me. I saw the demonic beast’s teeth flying toward my chest.”

The corners of his eyes curled up.

“I just did what needed to be done, your highness.”

I couldn’t help but scowl at his response.

What needed to be done symbolized his duty to protect me at crown princess Elise’s commission.

‘It’s not like I didn’t know that, but……’

“I still hope you will be more careful with your body.”

I commented. His eyes opened a bit wide as if this was unexpected.

It was probably because in this western-style world, a knight risking their life to save someone was an honorable action.

I also knew that I might have died if he did not get in the way.

That was why saying something like this had some serious inconsistencies.

However, I was a regular Korean person from the 21st century.

Honestly speaking, I was scared of someone else getting hurt and being in pain in my place. I was also extremely sorry about what happened.

Even if this is inside a novel…

“I am not a knight and don’t have many experiences seeing blood. It is okay if you think that I am fainthearted. I am not making a stupid request like asking you not to protect me. However…… I hope that you can be healthy in the process as well, Sir Geens.”

I stopped talking after that. Even I didn’t know what I was trying to say. My mind was chaotic.

“……Your highness, you are just as I have heard-”

– Neeeeeeigh!

A horse’s neigh cut Sir Geens off.

I looked out to see that the grand Moutet Estate was glowing brightly even in the darkness of the night.

I felt the carriage slow down before I heard some iron gates opening.

The carriages soon arrived inside and stopped moving.

Ganael, who was seated by the door, opened it immediately. One of the knights of the Count’s Estate approached us.

“May we ask what the Imperial family is-, oh, young master Callamard?”

“Yes, it is me. Please inform father that there is a patient who needs surgery. His Royal Highness is in the carriage in front of us.”

“Y, yes sir. I will escort you immediately!”

The knight bowed respectfully before quickly turning around and disappearing.

Ganael looked at me and smiled.

‘I thought that he was close to Vice Captain Élisabeth but I guess they are basically like siblings.’

*

Sir Geens was placed on something as soon as he got off the carriage and carried right away to Vice Captain Élisabeth’s father, Sir Michel Moutet’s office.

Sir Michel could not greet us personally as he was preparing for the surgery, but the Imperial Prince didn’t mind.

I sighed in relief and received the greetings from the attendants of the Count’s Estate.

They all seemed very close to Ganael.

“Prince Jesse?”

I heard a familiar voice at that moment.

I turned my head to see Eva Blanquer, who was currently a guest at this place, standing there in her pajamas with a gown over it.

I finally remembered the existence of this young Duchess. ‘Wow, how out of it must I have been?’

“Have you been well, Eva?”

She asked me to be not so formal with her, but I couldn’t do that so we agreed that I would just call her by her name.

Eva responded energetically to me.

“Yes, your highness. It is nice and quiet without my brother. But why are you here instead of Vice Captain Élisabeth…… Eek!”

Her brown eyes opened so wide they looked as if they might pop out.

“Y, your loyal subject greets our esteemed Royal Highness! Hello young lady Sarnez……”

The child’s face turned bright red and she bowed without knowing what to do.

I didn’t know why she looked so embarrassed despite having seen them at the young Duke’s duel, but she was fidgeting and touching the sleeves of her gown and the waistband.

The fact that she managed to maintain a poker face on the day of the duel was surprising.

She did mention wanting a position as a Religious Partner, and it seemed as if she truly longed for them.

“Hello, young lady Blanquer. I couldn’t greet you properly the other day. I didn’t know you were staying at the Count’s Estate.”

Christelle smiled brightly and returned the child’s greeting.

I was a bit worried since she showed a lot of malice to the young Duke, but she thankfully didn’t seem to have such emotions for his younger sister.

‘Well, it makes sense if you consider Christelle’s personality I guess.’

“S, should I go change? I will be back after I change.”

“No, you are going to sleep soon. You are fine as you are. It’s cute.”

Eva turned into a roasted sweet potato at the MC’s comment.

The Imperial Prince silently headed toward the reception room. He must have been here often as he looked as relaxed as if he was in his own house.

We followed him and sat down on a couch. The attendants brought coffee and refreshments for us.

About 30 minutes passed after that.

“I guess I was too riled up. I shouldn’t have sliced it in half like that.”

Christelle mumbled while glaring at the coffee cup.

I gently grabbed her hand to stop her from picking at her nails. ‘It’s going to bleed if you keep doing that.’

“Please relax and have a taste of this, young lady Sarnez. They said that it was a simple surgery. The braised chestnut is delicious.”

I placed two pieces of braised chestnut and a slice of fraisier on an empty plate and handed it to her. She poked at the chestnuts with her fork and put both of them in her mouth.

Her cheeks puffed up on both sides. ‘I guess she’s the type to eat a lot when she is stressed.’

I smiled bitterly.

Even I would feel guilty if I was in her shoes.

Even if I didn’t know about the existence of the teeth and it wasn’t intentional, someone would have gotten hurt because of my actions.

Christelle is an affectionate person, so she will probably worry about what happened today for a long time.

– Knock knock.

“Come in.”

The Imperial Prince responded immediately to the knocking.

A middle-aged man appeared behind the attendant who opened the door.

He had short dark grey hair and deep grey eyes.

It was rare to see the Imperial Prince standing up to greet someone but him doing so made us get up as well. ‘This must be him.’

“Sir Michel.”

“Your Royal Highness.”

The two men shook hands.

Sir Michel Moutet bowed a bit too, but the way he patted the Imperial Prince’s hand with his other hand made it seem as if they were close.

“The surgery went well, your Royal Highness. I immediately burned the teeth we removed. Thankfully, he had no injuries to his organs and the patient has a strong body so he should recover soon.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

The Imperial Prince gave a short response. Christelle and I sighed loudly in relief. ‘That’s a relief.’

“His injuries are something that should heal in about three to four days if you use your healing powers. Prince Jesse.”

Sir Michel looked at me with a polite gaze and bowed.

I bowed back and thanked him. ‘Let’s aim for three days.’

“Let’s see, it looks like my future son-in-law is here too.”

Sir Michel then extended his arm behind me. ‘Excuse me?’

“Father.”

Ganael responded. ‘Hmm?’

“Yes, it looks like you’ve gotten a little taller.”

Sir Michel laughed gently and gave Ganael a hug.

He also gave him a kiss on each cheek.

‘……Huh?’

*

“You’re certain you saw that?”

“……”

Cédric did not respond. Élisabeth knew that this was his way of showing agreement.

It was midnight when she returned home after turning the owner of the Opera and her secretary to the Imperial Capital’s guards, sending the Imperial Guard to get witness statements, and cleaning up any loose ends.

Sir Geens staying here was expected as he was a patient, but she did not expect Cédric, Prince Jesse, and young lady Christelle to all be staying at the Count’s Estate.

It was nice since she had not had so many friends over at her place in a long time but also quite entertaining.

Watching the opening performance of the opera should have been no big deal so how did things end up like this?

‘Cédric, the prince, and Christelle. There is always an incident when the three of them are together.’

“How thoroughly should I dig?”

“From his birth to the present.”

“What? Is it that serious?”

The Imperial Prince looked out the window instead of adding on.

The bright moon was warmly shining down on the Count’s Estate.

He clearly remembered what he saw at the theatre.

The white teeth that were hit by the young lady’s sword and the abnormal trajectory it took…

The direction it flew in was odd and the Holy Knight’s action after that was suspicious.

An air attribute Archbishop level Holy Knight using his body as a shield?

Was he planning on saying that his body reacted faster than his natural instincts of ether?

He was someone who could slam the teeth to the corner of the theatre without even flicking a finger.

The shocked prince and young lady didn’t seem to care about something like that, but the Imperial Prince was different.

The son of Frédérique Riester was not someone who could pretend not to see something he saw.

“It’s suspicious.”

He said in a low voice. It looked as if he would not be able to sleep peacefully tonight.

—
Translator’s Comments

Our clueless MC finally hears the truth of the relationship.

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