Chapter 37

Father told me about the current state and history of the royal family and the Church of the One God, as well as Luisa's history.

There was one more thing I had to ask.

"Um, Father, what was the first folly of the Great Calamity?"

I asked even though I knew the answer.

The folly was the attempt to kill spirits to extract spirit stones.

I wanted to check if that technology had been passed down to the present day by how it was perceived.

"It remains a mystery even now."

If it was a mystery, the technology might have been lost.

However, Father was not an insider of the Church of the One God, so I couldn't be completely at ease.

"…Will the church do that again?"

"It's possible, but probably not."

Father gently patted my head.

"Really?"

"Yes, even though I look this way, I have connections inside the church."

"I see."

"If I notice any such folly being attempted, I'll stop it."

"I feel relieved!"

Then, I could be at ease for now.

Later, I would ask Crow if the Church of the One God was doing anything bad.

"Rulia, is there anything else you want to know? Anything is fine."

"Yes!"

"What is it?"

"Is Marion doing well?"

"……"

Father fell silent. I had a bad feeling.

"Father, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing…"

"Did something bad happen to Marion?"

After a moment's thought, Father said calmly.

"Marion is sick."

"Sick? Seriously?"

I turned around to look at Father's face while he was holding me on his lap.

Then, Father smiled.

It seemed like he was trying not to worry me.

"…It's not a light illness. But you don't need to worry, Rulia."

From Father's expression, I knew I couldn't feel relieved.

He was trying to hide his concern from me.

"What a shame. I want to visit—"

"No way!"

Father's tone was unexpectedly strong.

"Why? Can't I?"

"Do you know what an epidemic is?"

"…Is it contagious?"

"Yes. That's why you can't visit."

"What about the doctor? What kind of illness is it?"

"I'm not a doctor, so I don't know the details. But it seems to cause a high fever."

"High fever. That must be tough."

"Yes, it must be tough."

"Ugh."

I stared at Father's eyes.

"What about the doctor?"

"Of course, I arranged for one. But the doctor is also struggling."

"Will she get better?"

"…Yes, she will."

Father said firmly.

But his eyes betrayed his worry.

"Hmm."

"Even though you can't visit, write a letter."

"Okay. Rulia will write a letter."

I was very worried.

That day, Father held my hand until I fell asleep.

◇

The next morning.

When I woke up, I grabbed Carol, who was standing straight on the headboard as usual.

"Kyu kyu."

"Good morning. Thanks as always."

"Kyu~"

"But, Carol should sleep too."

I picked up Carol and put her in the futon.

While doing so, I searched for Darc with my feet.

"Darc is here."

Recently, Darc has been at the foot of the bed more often.

"I found Darc."

I stroked Darc's fluffy fur with my foot.

In winter, Darc would lie next to me like a body pillow, but with spring, he moved a bit.

Even in spring, my feet can get cold, so it's very helpful.

"Korco is…"

"…Ko"

I heard Korco's voice from outside the bed.

Korco is an early riser.

He gets up before me and patrols the room.

"Come here, Korco."

"Ko"

Korco jumped onto the bed and snuggled into the futon.

It was warm.

"…It must be hot in summer, right?"

If we didn't use the futon, maybe it wouldn't be too hot to sleep with Darc, Carol, and Korco.

While thinking about this, Darc came from the foot of the bed.

"Wafu."

"Yep. Good morning, Darc."

Darc came up to me, whining and being affectionate.

In the past, when Darc was smaller,

he would be affectionate to his nanny, Marion, like this.

"Darc, I'm worried about Marion."

"Wafu."

While stroking Darc, I thought about my nanny.

Yesterday, Father told me about the royal family and the Church of the One God.

But now, I was more worried about my nanny.

"Kyu~n"

Darc must be worried too.

Darc, like me, has been taken care of by Marion since he was very little.

There was only me, Darc, Carol, and Korco in the room.

Still, to be safe, I whispered to Darc's ear while hiding under the futon.

"…Actually, Rulia might be able to cure the illness."

"Wafu?"

"…Rulia has memories from a past life."

"Wafu!?"

Darc barked in surprise, a bit louder than usual.

"Shh."

"…Ahu"

Darc's voice became quieter.

Darc was surprised to hear about the past life, but Carol and Korco were not.

Though it was dark under the futon, I could sense it.

"Carol and Korco knew, right?"

"Kyu" "Ko"

When I met Crow, I talked about Ruisa and other things.

Darc must have heard that too.

"…Was Darc the only one sleeping?"

"Wau?"

Darc was awake then, but maybe he was half-asleep.

Darc is bigger than Carol and Korco, but he's still a baby.

It can't be helped.

"Well, anyway,"

"Wau"

"In my past life… I cured many people's illnesses."

"Wau" "Kyu kyu" "Ko"

Darc and the others seemed impressed.

Ruisa was forced to perform miracles by a slave collar.

This included treating an epidemic that was widespread.

I don't remember the exact number, but I cured hundreds of patients a day.

I did this for twenty days.

By the end, I was almost dead.

I had used up my magic power and physical strength, and I caught the epidemic from the patients I was curing.

"That was… tough."

With a high fever and swelling all over my body, I was thrown into a dilapidated shack, not a livestock shed.

The princess, who was the saint, didn't want me to infect valuable livestock like goats.

"Wafu~"

Darc licked me, worried about my memories of my past life.

"I'm okay. Rulia from the past life cured herself."

It was harder to cure myself than to cure others.

I was exhausted, both physically and magically, and hardly received any food.

The princess, who was the saint, probably wanted me to die.

"Kyu~"

"Hmm? How did you do it?"

"Ko ko"

Carol and Korco seemed to be asking how I cured myself.

"I asked Roa for help… and searched for the cause of the illness… little by little."

"Wafu~"

Darc licked me, as if praising my efforts.

"So, I'm good at finding the cause. Mufu~. I'm even better at curing."

I couldn't use healing magic on my whole body because my magic power and physical strength were almost depleted.

So, I found the source of the illness, identified the cause, and cast healing magic on the most effective areas.

"Magic is forbidden, but I could cure it even without magic power…"

Even though I'm young and lack magic power, I'm sure I can cure it.

I don't know the condition, but if I take my time, I'm sure I can do it.

In my past life, I cured many patients with various symptoms.

"Wafu~…"

Darc seemed worried that I might stop growing.

"I'm more worried about Marion than about my growth. Darc, you think so too, right?"

"Wau"

Marion is worrying, but Darc said he's also worried about me.

"I'm okay."

Saying that, I stroked Darc's head thoroughly.

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