CH 186

Iona stepped out wearing a pretty white dress, looking a lot calmer than her usual self. Her eyes and smile radiated with such kindness, making him feel like he had never laid eyes on her before.

I feel different from the usual.

She was normally a quiet person, but he could see the tension in her shoulders as she struggled to appear outwardly calm. It felt like she was trying put on the appearance of a proper lady.

As she knelt beside the unconscious soldier, Iona was unaware of the thoughts racing through the man’s mind. Gently placing her palm over the site of the injury, she began to transfer healing energy to the wound. Her hand turned white as the wound began to close. The soldier moaned and slowly opened his eyes, looking up at her with confusion.

“Heron… are you okay?” she asked softly.

“Ca…Captain?”

The soldier’s voice sounded hoarse as he called out to the man.  The man let out a cheer, excited to see that the soldier had regained consciousness.

“It’s a miracle! I really thought you were going to die. If it wasn’t for the Saintess here, you would have died!”

“Sain…tess?”

“Yes! Her.” The excited man gestured towards Iona, looking proud of himself as though he was the one who had brought her over.

At that same moment, Ravis, who had come along with Iona, looked over her shoulder to check the wound that she had just healed. He nodded in satisfaction at the healed-up wound.

“It’s healed,” Ravis said, examining the wound. “The wound should be fine, but you shouldn’t do anything for a while. Your muscles are probably weak.”

“Ah… definitely, High Priest!” the man bowed and thanked Iona.

The healed soldier looked confused for a moment, then he seemed to catch on and immediately bowed in front of Iona. “Thank you for saving me, Saintess! I don’t know how to repay you…” he said gratefully.

Iona smiled kindly and even reached out to put her hand on the soldier’s shoulder, as though to calm him. “No need to repay me,” she said softly. “Just take care of yourself and your fellow soldiers.”

“Not at all. I’m just doing something that His Majesty should be doing. Don’t work too hard for a while.”

She looked like the most merciful Saintess. The soldier touched the hand on his shoulder to show his gratitude for her kindness. This simple act caused Ridrian to flinch. He wanted to cut the shoulder of the soldier that touched Iona’s hand.

The soldier didn’t seem to realize that he was surviving another death and agreed with Iona gratefully.

“Of course! Of course! I will sacrifice my life for the Emperor!”

I just told you not to overwork yourself.

Ridrian could tell what Iona was thinking from her expression and that made him relax a little.

It hadn’t been that long since he had realized that he was able to tell her true intention simply from her facial expressions.  And it seemed like he was the only one who could tell. That fact alone made him feel oddly satisfied.

“Iona.”

He couldn’t wait any longer. He barged into the room, taking stock of everyone present. The wounded soldier’s face turned pale. All the soldiers around him immediately bowed their head in obeisance.

“Your Majesty!”

“We meet the first light of the Great Ivant!”

Iona felt as though the ground was trembling beneath her feet because of the loud rumbling voices of the soldiers as they shouted in unison. Her eyes widened as she spotted Ridrian. He smiled at her in return, thinking to himself that her eyes were the color of the blue sky on a lovely summer day.

As he came closer, Iona chuckled softly and greeted him.

“You’re well, Your Majesty.”

“It was nothing. Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay.”

“Why are you here? And so early in the morning, too. It would’ve been better if you’d rested in the castle.”

“I thought I could help you.”

Iona smiled. She had said that she would come to battle with him quite alright, but she hadn’t meant it this way. Especially as a ‘Saintess’.

Ridrian took notice of the smile but was a little frustrated because he was unable to read Iona’s mind for a moment.

At that moment, Ravis stepped forward and spoke in a rather loud voice.

“Your Majesty, Viscount Lesprey is here with the will of Theres.”

“What?”

Ridrian felt a little disconcerted by Ravis’ tone, but his eyebrow shot up at the word Theres. Just as he was about to respond to Ravis, Iona cut in.

“Very good. I’ll take this chance to explain why I am here to everyone. Your Majesty, could you gather everyone?” Iona answered in a voice quite unlike her usual gentle tone.