Chapter 29 - The Saintess Visits
Chapter 29 - The Saintess Visits
A week later, having recovered to some extent, I returned to the capital, Athena.
And since my injuries were severe, I received a vacation from the Prince and decided to rest at the mansion.
At the news of a proper, honey-like vacation, I almost failed to keep a straight face in front of the Prince.
And that wasn't the only good news.
"The Emperor has decided to bestow upon you, Edric, the Order of the Iron-Blooded Lion."
"The Order of the Iron-Blooded Lion!?"
『Order of the Iron-Blooded Lion』
It is the third-highest medal one can receive in the Empire, awarded to knights, mages, and officials who have contributed to the Empire.
Any medal higher than this is only awarded when overcoming a crisis on the level of national destruction.
In other words, I was receiving the highest medal a normal subject could possibly receive in the Empire.
And the benefits of this medal were truly extraordinary.
First, I could freely use villas and lodgings belonging to the Imperial family.
In other words, I could travel anywhere I wanted and have my room and board taken care of.
And for free, at that!
Second, there were tax benefits.
Thanks to this medal, I didn't have to pay a single penny in taxes for the 72 billion mansion I received from the Prince.
And finally, the pension.
From now on, I would be paid a pension of 10 gold per month—which amounts to about 100 million Korean won—from the national treasury until I die.
I had been worried about the wages for the servants I brought with me when I moved out of the mansion, but with this, I could pay them without any worries.
'Yeah, this is what makes it worth risking my life to play exorcist!'
The medal ceremony was in a week, and following the Prince's order to rest well until then, I spent my time at the mansion resting without a single worry for the first time in a while.
I sat on the mansion's terrace, tearing into a golden roast chicken freshly fried by the chef, and sipped on top-tier Elven red wine.
The crispy skin, the moist meat, and the taste of salty fat spread inside my mouth.
And the Elven red wine I drank had a refreshing scent of grass that swirled in my mouth, cleanly cutting through the greasiness of the chicken.
It was a heavenly taste that couldn't even be compared to the stew made for health that I had eaten in the hospital ward.
"Yeah, this is sex! No, this is life!"
Although my side still hurt a lot when I moved, and the doctor said that a scar might remain because of the dark magic, if I had a monthly pension of 100 million and this luxurious mansion, a few scars were just glorious wounds.
As I was leisurely enjoying the afternoon sunlight like that, the maid Anna approached carefully.
"Young Master, a guest has arrived. They say they are from the Church."
"From the Church?"
At the mention of a guest from the Church, my mind snapped to attention.
Come to think of it... they said the Church was also involved in this incident, so it made sense that someone might come from there.
It was a shame to have my precious time interrupted, but since it was a guest from the Church, it was only polite to welcome them properly.
"If they are from the Church, they must be a valuable guest, so please guide them to the drawing room."
"Yes, understood."
I wiped the chicken grease off my lips and stood up.
Since I had been lounging alone in the mansion, I was dressed sloppily, so I washed up properly, put on neat clothes, and then went down to the drawing room.
Upon arriving at the drawing room, I froze at the sight of the person who had come as a guest.
"Ah... Azelia?"
"Edric-nim!"
Standing before me was Azelia Wisp, who had been quiet since the Southern riot incident, now boasting the full appearance of a Saintess.
A few days ago, at Sanctuary Sola in the southeast, where the Papal See is located.
Azelia was spending busy days there preparing for her official Saintess Investiture Ceremony.
Meanwhile, shocking news reached her ears.
It was the story that Cardinal Albinus was a worshiper of the Dead King, and that Edric had thrown his body to stop him from assassinating the Princess.
"Edric-nim... is badly hurt!"
"Yes, they say he was severely injured while trying to save the Princess."
To Azelia, the fact that Edric was hurt was even more shocking news than the fact that the Cardinal was a worshiper of the Dead King.
The moment she heard from Cale, the nun who helped her, that Edric had suffered serious injuries, Azelia's heart felt like it had dropped.
As she was feeling anxious and restless over the news about Edric, Cardinal Raul approached and asked.
"Saintess Azelia, I heard that you are exceptionally close with Aide Edric. Is that true?"
"...Yes, he is like a benefactor to me."
Cardinal Raul was a kind-looking, black-haired cardinal with glasses who had been in charge of Azelia's education.
He asked Azelia with calm eyes.
"I see. Saintess Azelia... The Church intends to bestow a blessing of healing at the Church level to restore relations with the Imperial family. Would you be willing to go yourself?"
"M-me?"
Azelia was surprised at Cardinal Raul's words.
She could feel her heart pounding at the thought that she could meet Edric.
The surprise at her heart's pounding lasted only a moment... she decided to do what her heart told her.
"I understand. I will go myself and bestow the blessing of healing upon Edric-nim."
Azelia answered without hesitation.
She packed her bags and prayed earnestly.
'Edric-gyeong, please wait a little. I will heal your wounds cleanly.'
Thus, Azelia visited the capital as one of the Church's official representatives and ran straight to Edric's mansion.
"Wow... so this is Edric-nim's mansion."
"Saintess-nim?"
"Ah... sorry. It's my first time seeing such a big mansion since the Southern nobles' houses... Then let's go in."
She visited Edric's mansion with Cale, the nun who had been helping her since the Southern riot incident, which led to the current situation.
And back to the present, in the drawing room of Edric's mansion,
Edric could not hide his surprise while also being glad to see the Saintess he hadn't seen in a while.
"Azelia, you must be busy as a Saintess, what brings you here?"
As I asked, Azelia approached with her characteristic clear smile.
She happily took my hand and said.
"I heard Edric-nim was deeply wounded. So I came as a representative of the Church to heal Edric-nim."
"My wounds?"
"Yes, wounds from Dead King worshipers won't be easily healed by magic. The Dead King's evil energy hinders healing."
"Ah... so that's why..."
I had heard that white mages had a lot of trouble when treating my wounds.
So that was the reason.
"Don't worry. I will surely heal your wounds with my blessing."
"Yes, thank you, Azelia."
"Hehe, you're welcome. Compared to what I received from Edric-nim, this is very small."
If it weren't for the 'Protection of the White God' that Azelia cast on me, I would have died twice.
What else have I done for her beyond that?
I searched my brain cells, but nothing came to mind.
While I was thinking that, Azelia said.
"Then Edric-nim, shall we go to the bedroom together?"
"...Yes? The bedroom?"
"Sa... Saintess-nim?"
At that moment, the drawing room really turned cold.
Azelia realized she had made a huge slip of the tongue and began to panic.
"N-not like that! To bestow the blessing, I need to see Edric-nim's wounds. So..."
"Ah!... I see. I understand."
It was for treatment... Phew... That scared me.
I said to Azelia as I stood up.
"I will guide you. This way."
"Yes."
"Then I will stay here, Saintess-nim."
"Yes, see you in a bit, Cale."
I guided Azelia to my bedroom.
Upon arriving at the bedroom, Azelia said to me.
"Then Edric-nim, please lie on the bed and show me the wounded area."
"Uh... understood."
Azelia spoke to me with a very firm attitude.
It seemed like Azelia had become much more proactive than when I last saw her.
Was the Papal See very boring?
I had no choice but to take off my shirt and lie on the bed.
Seeing my bare upper body, Azelia's face turned slightly red.
"E... Edric-nim... you have more muscles than I thought."
"I am a knight, after all."
After all, I had received training like the genius Prince and had also passed the squire exam.
As a result, I naturally developed solid, practical muscles, and Azelia seemed a bit surprised by that.
However, she soon saw the nasty, long scar remaining on my side and quickly changed to a pitiful expression.
"You were hurt enough to leave such a big scar... It must have hurt a lot."
"It hurt. I thought I was going to die."
Thinking about it now, it really was like a nightmare.
The sensation of that crazy snake monster's teeth digging into my side was truly horrific.
Touching my wound, Azelia made a pitiful expression.
"I heard Edric-nim's story. You fought the Dead King worshiper to save the Princess."
"Yes... it just happened that way."
"Edric-nim... why do you throw your body away without taking care of yourself like that?"
Because I received a 72 billion mansion and a 100 million pension.
...Unable to say that, I thought of Edric, the Prince's aide and loyal subject, and answered.
"Because... I want everyone to be happy."
The moment she heard Edric's words... Azelia felt her eyes becoming moist.
Ah... yes... she had been saved by this kind of goodness in Edric.
That's why she wanted to see him.
Just once, definitely once more...
"As expected, I..."
"Yes?"
"Ah! It's nothing. Then please lie comfortably for a moment. I will bestow the blessing of healing right away."
Azelia placed both hands on my side.
And soon, a dazzling white radiance burst forth.
The Saintess's true blessing. The scar that hadn't been erased even by the white mages' healing was healing like magic, and new flesh began to grow.
And...
'Ohhh... this feels cool?'
A coolness I hadn't imagined spread from my side throughout my whole body.
I let out an exclamation of admiration at the cool and pleasant sensation without realizing it.
"Aaaa... it feels good, Azelia."
"Does it feel good? Edric-nim?"
"Yes... it feels so good."
"Then... you have a wound on your shoulder too, so I will heal that as well."
Azelia stood up and tried to put her hands on my shoulder as well.
But since Azelia's body was smaller than I thought...
Thump-!
"Eek!?"
She slipped and fell into my arms.
I hugged Azelia tightly so she wouldn't fall over and said.
"Azelia! Are you okay?"
"........."
"Azelia?"
"Yes! I-I'm okay. Th-the... Edric-nim's chest is wider than I thought."
Azelia slowly raised her body from my arms and said.
Phew... that scared me...
But that was when it happened.
The outside of the mansion suddenly became noisy, and the drawing room door was violently thrown open.
Bang—!
"Edric! I heard the news that you were hurt and ran right over..."
The protagonist of the voice was my fiancée who had run from the North, Nataliya Lyudmila.
The scene unfolding before her eyes was truly a spectacle.
Me lying on the bed with my upper body exposed, and Azelia half-hugged in my arms with a flushed face.
"......"
"........."
"............"
I could see Nataliya's sapphire-like eyes freezing in real-time.
Azelia was also flustered and couldn't get up from my body, just staring blankly at Nataliya.
Um... I'm screwed.