* * *
Dana’s POV
I internally thanked Norton. Thanks for telling me the location of the grain storage and the armory, Norton. It has been very useful.
“Dana, stay focused.”
“Yes.”
I need to focus and concentrate.
I exerted all my strength to keep her eyes open. However, it was a very difficult task. The sound of their horse’s hooves seemed to fade away faintly.
Ah, using this power consecutively is really too much…
The aftereffects of overusing her ability to read the land’s memories were creeping up on me. Moreover, since I had installed explosives in the grain storage with my heavy body, the fatigue was even more severe. But I didn’t regret it.
It’s fortunate.
Thanks to that, I had saved the girl. To be precise, it was Carl who had brought the girl.
Without Uncle’s help, it would have been impossible…
I looked down at the girl sitting in front of me. The girl was sobbing in fear.
“Thank you for saving me, sob, huhu.”
“…Hold on tight so you don’t fall off the horse.”
That was the last thing I could say. I leaned completely against Carl’s chest.
“Uncle, I’m so tired…”
“Oh dear. Hold on a moment.”
Carl stopped the horse briefly. Then, using the rope tied to the saddle, he bound our bodies together. From shoulders to chest, waist to pelvis, and thighs, leaving no gap to ensure we wouldn’t fall.
We were fixed together as if we were one solid mass. Strangely, a bizarre sense of stability washed over me.
“It might hurt a bit, but bear with it. This way, you won’t fall off.”
“Yes.”
“You can sleep now, Dana.”
“Yes…”
“I always think this, but you’re really kind. You really…”
Those words no longer reached me. I closed my eyes, leaning as if I was completely attached to him. His chest was terrifyingly warm and reassuring.
“We have to ensure her premature death.”
Is it okay for the arms of the person who will kill me to be this comforting… ?
With that thought, darkness enveloped me.
* * *
The aftereffects of overusing my power were quite significant.
“Dana, hang in there a little longer, okay?”
My body was burning with fever. In a semi-conscious state, I felt the sensation of the galloping horse and the solid body of Carl, who was closely connected to me. This dazed condition lasted for a long time.
“Dana, try to stay with me, okay?”
Carl Windsor was the one who took care of me. Rushing to a nearby village on horseback as soon as we arrived, he immediately took me to a doctor.
“Her strength has dropped significantly, so she needs to rest for a while.”
“Will she recover soon? What if she dies?”
“Oh dear, Sir Husband seems very worried. Don’t worry, she’ll recover soon.”
“Yes, thank you. And I’m not her husband.”
Carl settled down in the village immediately and willingly took care of me for several days.
Why does it hurt more than before? Shouldn’t using the power more frequently lead to adaptation? I thought irritably in my hazy state.
“Dana, open your mouth a bit, okay?”
Carl Windsor carefully fed me porridge and wiped my sweat-drenched body.
“Poor thing.”
Through my blurred vision, I often saw Carl’s face. Clear eyes, exquisite features, and a gentle face that seemed incapable of any evil.
“Poor Dana.”
It seemed like a genuine concern, a sincere affection…
“Dana.”
A hauntingly enchanting mask.
* * *
When I opened my eyes again, I had arrived at Windsor Mansion.
“Are you okay?”
“…”
Ah. It was my secretary.
I blankly looked up at his face and mumbled. “What happened?”
“You arrived yesterday.”
Lethe skillfully brought a thermometer and checked my temperature. “Finally, your fever has gone down.”
Indeed. Feeling like I could finally live again, I lifted up my lightened body.
“Lord Carl Windsor brought you back in his arms.”
“I see.”
“You must have been very exhausted from the journey to the Kaltusa estate. You had many injuries.”
“Ah, right…” I laughed weakly.
Maybe it wasn’t just because I used my seeing ability that made me sick. Of course, using my power had drained me physically. But the events I had experienced were too intense.
There had been an accident due to Carl’s inexperienced carriage driving. I bled profusely, and then my ankle swelled. With that body, I had moved around, run, and jumped here and there…
More than anything, it was mentally exhausting. That insane, murderous village. And because of the murderous uncle. It seemed like all those things had combined to strain my body at once.
“Tell me what happened while I was out.”
At my command, Lethe immediately reported the events that occurred after I arrived at the Windsor estate.
As soon as Carl Windsor returned, he reported the incident to the Windsor family and the imperial family. The imperial family, shocked by the report, immediately dispatched troops to the Kaltusa estate, but—
“Nobody was there?”
“Yes.”
The estate was empty. Only a few bodies caught in the explosion remained.
Could it be that the survivors all ran away?
Those mad cultists probably hiding somewhere else, pretending to be ordinary villagers. That thought sent shivers down my spine. Moreover, several old corpses were discovered there. Burnt to death, they were the bodies of citizens who had recently gone missing.
The coachman’s words weren’t lies…
The coachman who fled, saying he couldn’t go any further. He said a friend of his had entered the Kaltusa estate and disappeared. Regrettably, they became sacrifices for human offerings.
Horrible. And to think they pretended to be such a kind village.
It was a major incident. Believers worshiping the Moon God were conducting human sacrifices and secretly infiltrating and residing in the empire’s territory. Naturally, the aftermath was significant.
[Illegal Cultists in Kaltusa]
[Is the Moon God a God of Barbarism? The Reality of Human Sacrifice!]
[The Windsor Family Preached the Moon God. Is Windsor Responsible for This Incident?]
One newspaper, having secretly acquired information, released sharp articles.
Impressive. They don’t seem to fear the Windsor family.
However, I soon understood the reason.
“It’s a newspaper sponsored by Marquis Liten.”
“Ah, the banker.”
Indeed, if it was Marquis Liten who had been humiliated by me, he would be grinding his teeth, not missing this opportunity. However, there was no significant impact.
[Saintess Dana of Windsor Saves Sacrificial Victim]
It was because another member of Windsor had managed to mitigate the situation.
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