Mr. Valerie, without seeming to be offended, removed his gaze from the jewelry he had been pretending to look at and looked at me.
“I’m sorry. Of course you’re aware of it.”
And then he laughed softly. Yes, it was the strange feeling I had felt earlier. This guy seemed to be kind, but his eyes weren’t smiling at all.
“…I was adopted by the Count Roynas family on my mother’s side when I was a child, and I am the third son of the Duke of Eldin. This situation was not my intention. I was told that if I didn’t cooperate, they would cut off the support to the Roynas family, and I’m truly sorry for the deception.”
Then he turned his head and bowed deeply towards us.
“Valerie, you don’t need to say that here and now. I was just trying to sound a little nasty, since you were not listening to me too much. I didn’t mean it.”
From behind the partition, I could hear a voice that sounded dignified, as if to move people around.
“But I don’t want my dearest friends to think that I cooperated as a matter of course just because we are father and son.”
Mr. Valerie looked at Brother Sörth with a troubled expression. My brother’s eyebrows were lowered into a figure eight. Somehow, my big brother looked kind of cute. He seemed to be at a loss as to what he should do.
Then, a tall, thin-eyed man came out from behind the curtain, poking his cane towards me.
“It’s nice to meet you, my name is Janglare Reutz Vi Eldin.”
He seemed to be the Duke of Eldin himself. The man had a scar on his neat face and a slight limp on his left leg.
His clothes were the formal nobleman’s attire of silk. The dense and detailed patterns woven into the dark blue fabric brought out intricate shades of light and shadow as the duke moved.
The color of the Duke’s hair and eyes were very similar to Mr. Valerie’s. I guess this is what Mr. Valerie would look like when he got older.
And when he came up to us, he put his left arm in front of his chest and bowed his head deeply.
“Duke Eldin!?”
My brother was in a panic. He could not hide his surprise at being bowed to by the Duke himself.
“I hope you will forgive me for keeping my cane with me. I really wanted to meet you in person to thank you.”
I really wasn’t sure what was going on, so I peeked through the gap between me and my brother, behind my sister, to see what was going on.
My brother and sister had been casually hiding me behind their bodies. So it wasn’t that I couldn’t see because I was small.
“I would like to thank Miss Fiaragent, the youngest daughter of the Marquis Tizar family.”
“What, me? Suddenly, my name came out and it surprised me. My brother and sister also looked back at me.”
“…Um, why are you thanking me?” I looked through the gap and listened fearfully.
“I was saved from the brink of death thanks to the “Saint’s Eye.” I was bedridden, but now I can move again. Thank you. I pledge my gratitude and loyalty to you.”
To my surprise, the Duke knelt and kowtowed with the support of his cane. I was inwardly panicking, but I hurriedly stepped out from behind my brother and sister, crouched down and put my own hand on Duke Eldin’s hand.
“Duke Eldin-sama, the “Saint’s Eye” was made by Fisaris-sama. I had only been able to help him a little. I beg you to stand now. You must not do this to me.”
I put my hand on Duke Eldin’s and urged him to stand. Then I asked him about the wound on his leg, which I was curious about. I felt a faint but black miasma stirring there.
“Um, what happened to your leg injury?”
“Ah, this is because when I was young, I fought against the demons in my territory and was deeply wounded. However, this wound was almost completely healed when I used the ‘Saint’s Eye’ to purify the magical stagnation. With my cane, I can now move around like this.”
I had heard that the Duke of Eldin’s family also had royal blood in them several generations ago. And because of the deep scars of the demons from his youth, the Duke had been bedridden for several years since an early age. The demon wounds were purified many times in the temple, but they could not be completely purified.
Around the time that the ‘Saint’s Eyes’ were created, it was provided to royal officials, and thanks to that, his body had gradually improved.
“I have met the son of the Margrave Fisaris through his father. I thanked him for his kindness. But he told me the same thing you did. However meeting you is not easy, and that is why I have done this. I am deeply sorry for what I have done.”
I thought so. That’s what it felt like. Next, I said what I wanted to say–something that had been bothering me ever since I first saw the Duke earlier.
“Um, if you’ll excuse me for a moment, but may I use purification on your leg?”
Originally, I knew it would be better to go through the Magic Division, but the procedure was time consuming and troublesome, so I decided to get it done right here. The stagnation left on the old demon wounds should not stay there. It was emitting a very unpleasant odor. I decided it was best to get rid of it as soon as possible.
With that,I got on both knees on the floor and held out my hands over Duke Eldin’s left leg.
I didn’t even notice that everyone was holding their breath and watching me. Come to think of it, seeing a purification by someone other than the magical division was not a common occurrence. I found out later, when Sister Marielle told me.
A pale green-gold light flooded out from both of my hands, gathering the magic of purification, brightening up the store. I caught the stagnation that was wrapped around Duke Eldin’s left leg so that it wouldn’t escape.
For a moment, the miasma amplified and tried to escape into the duke’s body, but I didn’t let it. A wisp of gold danced in the light, tearing the black stain apart to engulf it, and then it was gone.
Briefly, while the miasma disappeared, an ash-silver wolf’s head appeared and then faded away.
“Demon Wolf…”
So the demon that Duke Eldin fought and defeated was a demon wolf, I thought.
–Clack!– —The cane slipped from Duke Eldin’s hand and then he stood on his own feet.
Duke Eldin wouldn’t need his cane anymore.
“Oh, my god. My legs move normally–! So the rumor that you are…a Saintess was true. Thank you so much!!”
The Duke of Eldin was walking slowly through the store. An attendant-like person at his side rushed to offer his hand, but the duke refused and walked back slowly.
“Fiaragent’s purification magic is really as amazing as Father says.”
“True, and how beautiful it is. The air changed in an instant.”
Even my sister and brother started saying things like that.
I froze. No…no matter how much they said purification was a holy power, I am not a saintess…
Mr. Valerie stood up, put his hand on his chest, and bowed his head just like the Duke.
“Thank you for healing my father’s leg. Saintess.”
Oh no!!!
“No, um, it’s not like that. Purification is…you know…a job. And I ask that you please don’t tell anyone else about today. Please.”
He bowed deeply.
“Yes, I know. This is a big deal. I understand, and I won’t tell anyone, Miss Fiaragent.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Afterwards, we had some friendly and bland small talk and were served a high class, fragrant tea. And here, too, we were served some ‘Shade Bee Honey Cake…’
“…”
I quietly took it and enjoyed it, but I knew I almost couldn’t take it anymore. I hope that La Dia would soon come up with a new popular pastry.
“Then, Tizar family, please come and visit us at the Duke of Eldin’s estate sometime. You are most welcome. I shall thank you for today’s visit at another time.”
“Oh, it was no trouble, thank you very much. And thank you for the tea. Now, we should be off.”
With that, I left “Eldora” with my brother and sister.
This “Eldora” was run by a relative of Duke Eldin’s, and it is said that it was backed by the Eldin family.
I had been told that they could offer me anything I wanted, but I politely declined. I was only supposed to be going to look at the port city for a bit, but we ending up going off in a direction I didn’t expect.
My brother politely told Mr. Valerie, “Please go home with Duke Eldin.”
Well, I suppose that made sense…
“Please, don’t stop being my friend.” I could hear Mr. Valerie say that to my brother.
“Huh? I’m not going to stop. But I don’t feel good, no matter how much you didn’t mean it. I hope this kind of thing only happens once.”
I thought it was nice that he had a clear, logical way of saying it. As expected of Brother.
“I’m sure Fiaragent has had a tough day. I’ll make up for this by showing you the streets of the royal capital. I will find you a store that you will enjoy. I’m sorry about today. And thank you. Are you tired?”
It wasn’t my brother’s fault, but he still apologized, and I felt troubled.
“I’m not tired, and it’s okay. In that case, I look forward to my next visit to the city. Thank you for coming today, Brother.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you later.”
After patting my head as he left, my brother left the Adalard Trading Company.
All of my brothers and sisters in the Tizar family seem to think I’m small because I’ve always been frail from a young age. From the first time I met him, I was patted on the head like a small child.
Yes, even now, Zak still pats and strokes me on the head a lot. Is it because I am small that I’m easy to stroke? Maybe I still look like a child. It’s not like I hate it, but…
***
From the port city, I returned to my sister’s house in the royal capital, and rode back to Shion Castle in the pick-up carriage where Filgred was playing the role of caretaker.
When I returned to Shion Castle, Zak came out to pick me up, along with Frosty and others. And he hugged me.
I had put unwanted pressure on my body without realizing it, so I was finally relieved when it went away.
“Welcome home. I was worried because Fii suddenly seemed to have used her purification power. You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
Zak seemed to understand that kind of thing about me. In case of emergency, he’d definitely be there.
“I’m home, Zak. Yeah, I’m fine. I purified some miasma out of someone’s body.”
“Well, we can talk about that in private.”
After that, I changed my clothes and we spent some time together, as usual. We talked about what we had been doing today, looked at books on the couch, and had a few cups of tea.
Speaking of which, I had bought a beautiful thin green ribbon at the general store we stopped at before going to “Eldora”.
Gold thread was mixed into the weave, and I thought the ribbon reminded me a bit of my eyes.
In Elementia, there was a tradition to have your loved ones wear something similar to the color of your eyes. The idea was that it would protect that person. The tradition was said to have originated from a husband who had been going off to war, and his wife, who gave it to him as a good luck charm.
I was a little embarrassed to admit it, but I thought that it might make a good souvenir for Zak. I thought it would be beautiful if he wore it in his hair in a bun or braided the sides together with a ribbon…In Elementia, many noble men have long hair, so it wouldn’t feel strange.
“May I touch Zak’s hair?”
“Hmm? It’s all right.”
Climbing up on the couch, I got on my knees, weaving Zak’s hair with my hands and scooping up the hair on the left side, braiding a ribbon into it.
Zak’s hair was full of magic, a beautiful silvery white thread that never seemed to get entangled.
He didn’t usually wear much ornamentation, and the same went for his hair. But since it’s so beautiful, I think it’s okay to wear it once in a while.
“Yes, very beautiful. Well, everything looks good on Zak, though. Ehehe, I got this ribbon as a gift for you today!”
I brought a hand mirror and showed Zak how it was braided. He seemed to be amazed at the finished product and his eyes widened.
It was rare to see his expression like this.
“Fii is dextrous. You can do anything. This color is like the twinkle in Fii’s eyes, thank you, this is my treasure. I’ll cherish it.”
Zak moved his face closer and lightly touched his lips to the faint spot near my mouth. (***T/N: First kiss!?!? Sort of???)
“Ufufu”
I was thrilled. I was so thrilled. That was the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me in my life.
I’m not going to let it go.
***
Duke Eldin’s POV
Rumors about her had reached my ears for quite some time.
For a high-ranking noble family associated with royalty, the movements of Duke Valmonter, who possessed practically the strongest magical power in the entire country and had an overwhelmingly stronger voice than the royalty who currently ruled the country, was always a matter of concern.
Rumors of being retired were whispered, given his age, but he remained young and beautiful when he appeared at the magic division’s event for the first time in decades.
After that, he also continued to oversee the magic division, where a girl who was a potential fiancée, and who could only be called a precious gem in his hand, was assigned.
When it comes to a daughter who had been kept hidden, and raised as a fiancée candidate for the Duke of Valmonter from an early age, anyone who heard of here should be interested.
There were those who wanted to get close to her. Those who would want to use her. And I’m sure, those who would want to take her place. But in reality, even if there was such a person, he or she could not even get close to the girl.
The royal family had been hiding it, but there were rumors that Princess Alexandra’s sudden decision to marry was also related to the Duke of Valmonter. There was always a tail to these kinds of stories, but where there is no fire, there is no smoke (***T/N: This is an idiom that means that when people suspect something, there is normally a good reason for the suspicion, even if there is no concrete evidence.)
And the girl, his fiancée, was also a special being with a very rare magical power.
I wondered if that was the reason. The reason why that person had put himself beside her was to protect her…
The Marquis’ daughter, Fiaragent Lana Tizar. It is said that she possessed the ‘purification eyes.’
It was a secret, but that special magical power was a power that those with royal blood wanted so badly that they would do almost anything to obtain it.
However, her existence came to light, and shortly afterwards, the purification tool called The “Saint’s Eyes” was created.
With that, it seemed that most of the dangers associated with ‘blood stagnation’ were eliminated.
At the time, I had been bedridden and near death, but that magical tool saved my life. Naturally, I couldn’t help but think that if only I knew of her existence and could ask her to purify me, I would be able to live.
The “Saint’s Eye” that I wore half in doubt, sent an indescribable, refreshing wave of purification into my body, gradually cleansing the dark, stagnant miasma inside me from the deepest parts of my body.
First, my mind was saved, then my body was healed. It would be no exaggeration to say that I was mesmerized by her refreshing magic.
I wanted to see her. I wanted to see her and thank her. In order to do so, I wanted to heal myself quickly and be able to move on my own.
Miss Fiaragent had become my hope for life. That is why I asked my son to take care of her.
Today, not only did I get to meet her, but she also purified me of any remaining demonic miasma.
She was not like that magical tool, but her true power of purification was the magic power of a strong, kind, beautiful, heart-healing saint, so strong and gentle that her power could not be compared to that of a magic tool.
Curiously, as rumored, her hair color was not the color of an aristocrat, but seemed to be deliberately created by God as a special mark suitable for her amongst the nobles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
T/N: So now Fii has another high-ranking noble on her side (^_<)〜☆
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