I Told You, I'd Show You a Miracle
“……Are you telling me to let them all die?”
Hes tor Viscount's trembling voice drew a cold sigh from me. His shoulders, slumped on the floor, weren't damp with shame but with primal terror. In a medieval mindset, "quarantine" was synonymous with abandonment and execution.
“Viscount, did you not understand me clearly? Restricting movement doesn't mean abandoning them. It means cutting off contact with the outside to prevent spread. Winterfell will supply food and goods directly. If even one person starves to death, know that your head will roll first.”
“Understood, Your Highness. I'll conscript able-bodied men from the other villages in the viscountcy and carry out your orders.”
“And you and I will go to the site ourselves to assess the situation.”
The air in the office froze instantly. The viscount jerked his head up, staring at me in a daze.
“Your Highness! W-what do you mean……! For the empire's prince to go personally to such a filthy, dangerous place? Surely that's not appropriate? You have your dignity to consider, and if anything were to happen to you……”
“Dignity? When my subjects are dying, does dignity feed them? Be firm. There's no option to refuse. You and I will go and see the situation with our own eyes.”
I glanced sideways at Be ti. She was glaring at me, brows furrowed.
“Viscount, if you understand, get out and prepare immediately. We leave in one hour.”
“Yes! Understood!”
As the viscount fled the office like his life depended on it, Be ti strode toward me as if she'd been waiting.
“……Have you lost your mind, Your Highness? What's the point of you going personally? Send the viscount and others to investigate.”
“Be ti, trust me one more time? I may look carefree, but I think things through before I act.”
At my resolute attitude, Be ti bit her lip.
“It's dangerous.”
“Don't worry, Be ti. Do I look like I'm going there to die? I'm going to save lives.”
Even at my calm reply, Be ti's expression didn't soften. She let out a deep sigh, then grabbed my wrist as if she'd made up her mind.
“……Fine. If you're going, I'm coming too.”
“What? Be ti, you need to stay at the castle and oversee supplies!”
“Shut up. Winterfell is my territory. It would be shameful for the owner to stay behind when the prince goes.”
“Still, this is……”
“This isn't a request. It's a notice.”
Her eyes, cool and unyielding, held no room for retreat. My status as imperial prince seemed as light as paper before her resolve. In the end, I raised both hands in surrender.
“……All right. But promise you won't leave my side by even a step.”
“That's what I wanted to say to you.”
Only then did Be ti release my wrist. But that warmth lingered like a brand.
Preparations proceeded smoothly after that. Winterfell's warehouses opened, loading wagons with the massive quantities of alcohol and clean cotton fabric I'd been called insane for stockpiling. On the road east, every subject we passed bowed toward our carriage.
“They truly serve House Winterfell with sincerity. Look at how they bow.”
Be ti smiled faintly at my words.
“Of course. Unlike other nobles, Winterfell governs rationally, ensuring stable lives for its people. That's why they offer true loyalty.”
I smiled quietly at her answer, then whispered so she couldn't hear.
Please let us resolve this quickly. For them and Winterfell. And for us.
At the village entrance's makeshift shelter, as soon as Winterfell's supplies arrived, I had people cut cloth into masks for mouth and nose, and disinfect all tools and hands with alcohol.
“From now on, no one enters the village without covering mouth and nose! Always disinfect with alcohol, and once inside, distribute food and medicine to people first, then tell them to stay in their homes!”
With this modern quarantine concept, I'd halt further infections here.
After sorting supplies, just before site inspection, I caught my breath alone in a small room at the shelter. My heart beat a bit faster than usual. Soon, I'd enter the site itself. Please, let it not be too severe.
Then, a familiar pink window blinked across my retina.
You must be really nervous right now!
“……Wouldn't you be?”
And we were just about to have that sweet café date with our Ice Duchess... I'm so sad too T_T
“Date? You think jokes are appropriate in this situation?”
I let out a hollow chuckle. Thanks to the brat's annoying quip, some tension eased.
Don't worry! Once this is over, Rian, head home and ask her out on that date...
“Stop! Don't jinx it.”
haha. Anyway, you got this!!
“Yeah. Thanks for the cheer.”
After that un-cheer-like cheer from the status window, I stepped out of the shelter. Outside, Be ti, the viscount, and others waited, ready to enter.
“Shall we go?”
“Yes, let's depart.”
“Yes, understood..!”
At Be ti and the viscount's replies, we led the group into the village. The entrance was eerily silent. No livestock cries or children's laughter that should have been there. Behind us, able-bodied men—masks soaked in alcohol as I'd ordered—carried supplies and distributed them to those along the paths.
“……My god.”
Beside me, the viscount gagged, covering his mouth. Unlike the sparse entrance, the village interior was pure hellscape. Uncollected corpses dotted the roadsides now and then, and from every house came moans of agony. Strapping youths barely clung to consciousness; elders gasped on the cold dirt.
Seeing it, Be ti spoke to the viscount in a chilling tone.
“Viscount. What does this look like to you?”
“Duchess, Your Highness.. that's..”
“To me, it looks like reason enough for you to die. Your negligence caused this.”
Speechless before the catastrophe, I stood stunned; Be ti burned with rage. Amid it, one woman in the village square caught my eye.
“Wait.”
At my word, Be ti and the viscount focused on me, and we witnessed a heartbreaking scene. In the square's center, she clutched her child, eyes unfocused. The girl, maybe five or six, slumped lifelessly; each convulsive cough spewed red blood from her lips.
“Ah... aaah... please...”
The woman could only wipe the blood from her child's face with trembling hands. Her voiceless sobs echoed in the empty square.
Be ti's eyes wavered. She must have hated her own powerlessness in that moment. The viscount just backed away, babbling, “It's too late, Your Highness. We must retreat……”
Ha. I hesitated to use it if things were worse than expected, but here we are.
I silently pulled an alcohol vial from my belt, pouring it over my hands. I'd had no intention of using this power at first—just compare records and enforce perfect quarantine.
Right. Save the aces for who needs them most.
A cool sensation flowed over my skin, sharpening my mind. I wasn't just some extra in name anymore. Only I can fix this, right here, right now.
I tied my cloth mask tight over mouth and nose, then stepped slowly toward the woman. Be ti reached for my arm from behind, but I didn't turn, speaking firmly.
“Be ti, watch from here. I'll show you a miracle.”
I placed a hand on the woman's shoulder cradling her child. In the air thick with blood and damp despair, I checked the girl's state in a steady voice.
“Don't worry. I'm here now.”
A stream of white light poured from my fingertips, enveloping the girl's forehead. At first, like dawn mist. But it grew, swelling to engulf the square.
“Ah……!”
The viscount's scream of awe burst from behind. Be ti stood frozen, witnessing it. The light seeped into the girl's lungs, licking rotten wounds, purifying toxins through her veins.
“Cough, hack……!”
Black blood gushed one last time from the girl's mouth. The woman screamed, trying to hold her, but I pressed her shoulder firmly.
“Wait. It's almost done.”
The light faded slowly, silence returning to the square. But not the dead hush of before.
“……Mommy?”
A small, frail voice brimming with life. The girl's long lashes fluttered; she slowly opened her eyes. No shadow of death lingered in them. Color returned to her pale cheeks like ripe peach; her ragged breaths evened to a sleeping babe's peace.
“Mommy, I'm sleepy……”
The girl mumbled, burrowing into her mother's arms. The woman, dazed, checked her heartbeat. Small, steady thumps.
“Ah…… aaah……”
Thick tears fell, wetting the girl's cheek. She hugged her child fragilely, then bowed her head at my feet.
“God…… thank you, God! Thank you!……”
Her sobs turned from despair to joy. Onlookers knelt one by one, eyes filled with awe toward me—and fierce hunger for survival.
I exhaled lightly, standing. Turning, I met Be ti's gaze.
“I told you. I'd show you a miracle.”
Be ti said nothing. But her eyes held doubt, wariness, and an indescribable thrill.