Chapter 12

The journey to Pozetta was more comfortable than I thought.

In particular, the role of the status card given by His Majesty was significant. Just by sticking out my arm and showing it, I was treated very warmly. Merchants were going crazy to serve me better, and the nobles kept saying they would escort me, asking why I only had two knights with me.

The carriageman seemed a little thrilled, saying he had never been on such a comfortable trip, and Jayden was also excited.

It was a week ago. Jayden, whom I saw as I opened a small window on the wagon door and was feeling the salty wind, suddenly opened his mouth as he was riding a horse and slowly said.

“The Duke didn’t have to worry about anything.”

“What is he worried about?”

“Of course, he’s worried about the madam.”

I took my eyes off the distant landscape and sat down. Humming, I pretended not to be interested as much as possible and asked why.

“………why?”

Jayden raised one eyebrow slightly as if I was asking a very strange question.

“He’s your husband. You just got married.”

It was difficult to understand.

The one whom he says is worried about me, didn’t even say as much as an empty word before I left and didn’t insist for me to bring more companions. Of course, I would have flatly refused if he recommended it because it will interfere with my plan.

“……what did he say?”

The question that I didn’t want to ask popped out of my head. Why can’t my power heal even broken pride? Although it is questionable whether I have pride in front of Leopold in the first place.

“Well, for example, he said it would be hard to withstand physical shocks even if you put mana around your body, so he suggested we take a clear road even if we have to take a detour. He also said to make sure to prepare fruits together with your meals. At least three or more people should stand guard at your door at night.…. What else was it? I wrote everything down in my notebook. Do you want me to read all of it?”

“No, there’s no need.”

I waved my hand in embarrassment at the explanation. These were instructions that were not of particular importance. It’s a request that even I can make for my friend who’s going on a trip.

Nevertheless, the reason why it feels so special is that my threshold for my husband’s care is too low. A small piece of apple is extremely sweet for a child who has never tasted sweetness.

“Madam! I can see the sea over there. I think we’re almost there.”

Jayden exclaimed loudly. At his words, I stretched my neck and moved my gaze to the point where the tip of his finger pointed.

Pozetta was larger than I thought for a village. Houses huddled in units of four or five were scattered all over the curved coastline, and fields filled in between. Perhaps the pirate was after that coveted crop.

Soon after, as we reached the entrance of the village, a small old man and a middle-aged woman supporting him came into view.

When I got out of the carriage, they greeted me politely.

“I’ve been waiting for you to come. You’re a healer from the capital, aren’t you?”

An old man with a bent back still spoke politely with his hands neatly together.

“Hello. Did you know I was coming?”

The old man smiled softly when I asked again with curious eyes how he knew.

“Yes. Thankfully, His Majesty has given such a favor to such a small town. I’m the chief of this town.”

Then the woman next to him introduced herself cheerfully.

“Hello, I’m Yulia, the daughter of the chief, and I’m in charge of managing the village together with my father.”

“I’m Hazel. But what do you mean by His Majesty’s grace?”

Yulia explained excitedly with an excited face.

“Three days ago, some knights came and repaired all the houses that were damaged after being attacked by pirates. In addition, they brought together injured people so that they could be treated as soon as the healer comes.”

The chief added joyfully.

“In addition, he even promised to incorporate our village under a certain aristocrat and protect it in the future.”

Embarrassed by the fact that I had no idea, I looked up at Jayden. Then he shrugged his shoulders, avoiding my eyes as if he didn’t know. Immediately noticing his strange behavior, I grabbed Jayden’s arm and asked hurriedly.

“Did you know that?”

Jayden still looked away and hesitated.

“It’s the Duke’s instructions.”

Why is that name suddenly coming out all of a sudden? My embarrassment doubled.

“The Duke? You mean Leopold?”

“Yes. You know when you ate with the former Duchess, all the knights were called up. I think Ranette was there, too”

When Ranette’s name, who can be said to be the core of the Knights, came out, my embarrassment quickly turned into a sense of betrayal. How could he not say a word while coming all the way here? I thought he was the only family I could trust and rely on.

Moreover, the fact that the knights had already arrived three days ago was also ridiculous. No matter how physically fit they were, it would only be possible to arrive that quickly if they didn’t eat or sleep all throughout the trip.

I asked calmly, barely holding back my sigh that was about to burst out.

“So, from now on, Pozetta belongs to the Lawrence family? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was told that if I don’t want you to die, I should remain silent. The Duke must have a hobby of teasing people, too.”

I laughed at the threat that is so Leopold-like. And at the same time, it felt strange. I feel like this whole thing shows that he cares about me. The things he asked Jayden to do, and the reason why the knights are here.

However, it would be more reasonable to regard it as His Majesty’s order. I thought again and again that he has no goodwill toward me.

I should not forget that he only wants to stay married for the sake of his reputation, and he is the kind of husband who didn’t even see his wife off.

I asked politely to the father and daughter, who were watching the conversation with interested eyes, after barely trying to calm down.

“I’m sorry, I was a little surprised that there was information I didn’t know. Where are the injured people now? I’d better treat them first.”

Yulia replied as if she had been waiting.

“I gathered them in the temporary tent you see over there. By the way, in the far left tent, there are some people who got separated from the other pirates. We held them prisoner to exchange with the kidnapped villagers, so they are not dangerous since we tied their hands and feet. They’re already hurt.”

“Okay. Then let’s look at the urgent patients first.”

After leaving my luggage to Jayden, I followed the chief and Yulia straight to the tent.

The interior was much more completely chaotic than expected.

Patients were lying on thin fabric on both sides at intervals, and everyone was in serious condition. A man whose bandage is soaked with blood, a man with a torn abdomen, a man with a broken leg.

Cries and painful groans burst out here and there, and the soil and blood tangled together rolled around the floor.

A familiar face came running from the inside with a loud noise while my body was frozen and paused at the cruel sight I had never seen before.

“Madam! You’re finally here!”

Fortunately, I came to my senses for a moment.

“Sir Ranette. It’s urgent at 1 o’clock, so let’s spare the greetings for later, and change the bandage to a new one right away. In the meantime, we’ll take turns to take care of the patients.”

It would be a waste of time to receive the greetings of not only mine but also the other knights. They immediately began to move in perfect order following instructions, as if they felt a sense of urgency in my tone.

Mana healing consumed a lot of mental energy.

It was relatively simple to perform physical healing, such as closing wounds and stopping blood or turning twisted bones into place.

The problem was that the memories of the moment of injury were read together while healing, so terrible situations were forced to be seen.

In particular, my memory of the moment of energy was very clear as my mana was strong. The cruelty of the moment as the arrow penetrates the organs, the fear as the knife cuts the skin, the brutality of being crushed by ruthless ironclad, etc.

It was not easy to keep calm even though I was trained throughout the academy to pretend not to see those memories.

When I endured scenes that seemed to have been experienced in person until dawn and finished all the treatment, the emotion left to me was not relief but anger.

In my memory, pirates simply hurt people for fun. Really, just for fun.

Good people suffered for no reason, there were a few who actually died, and quite a few who would have died if I hadn’t come.

And… …I still had a tent left with pirates.

‘Hazel, keep that in mind. You’re a healer. You shouldn’t look away from sick people. Even if they are criminals, never forget your duty as a healer. It is not up to you to judge the weight of their sin.’

Should I treat them according to my teacher’s instructions? A harsh voice continued to linger in my feverish head.

But apart from my hesitation, my feet began to move first. It’s very natural.

“Are you really going to treat them?”

Jayden, who belatedly joined as an assistant, complained as if he represented my inner feelings.

“It wouldn’t be good to rip them to death. Madam, if you close your eyes, I’ll take care of it.”

I once made a fuss about how he use to call me ‘noonim’*. I said coolly, as my head cooled down by Jayden’s excitement.

(t/n: noonim is a formal form of noona which means older sister)

“Didn’t you hear that we have to exchange prisoners? There are more villagers who have been taken over there, so bear with it.”

“Why do we have to exchange them? How many knights do we have? We can just go and sweep them all away.”

“What if they get cornered and say they’ll kill all the hostages? Are you sure you can save them without hurting them?”

Jayden, who turned speechless, sighed deeply as he scrambled through his hair.

“……I feel the same way as you do. Calm down.”

I was covered with sweat and blood as much as I was taking care of the patients, and eventually took the lead with a calm expression