The Prince and the Princess (2)
“If anyone wishes to be treated by the priest, step forward. Those who want treatment may come forward and receive it. I swear on my name that there will be no repercussions.”
Prince Loras raised his voice deliberately, as if aware he was being cornered. His words promised safety, yet his expression made it clear to everyone that the opposite was true.
“Anyone can see he’s threatening them not to come out,” Princess Reciel pointed out incredulously, but Loras merely laughed.
“Sister, have you forgotten how to speak the imperial tongue? I swore on my name. And yet no one steps forward. It seems no one in our subjugation force cares for the grace you’ve shown them. How unfortunate.”
“You’re as skilled at deception as ever. You’d brand anyone who steps forward a traitor.”
“Your name may be light, but mine carries weight. When I swear on my name, I keep my word. Do you truly believe my proud soldiers wouldn’t understand that?”
Since no one had come forward despite his oath, the prince waved his hand dismissively, claiming they had no real need. He seemed eager to send the princess away before she could further unsettle the soldiers.
“I always knew you were petty, but I didn’t think you’d stoop this low. Do you realize how ugly you look right now?”
“That’s merely your opinion.”
“Your pride matters, but the soldiers’ lives don’t?”
“There is no one here gravely injured.”
“How typical of a selfish man. You probably abandoned all the seriously wounded. And is life-threatening injury the only thing that counts? Pain is pain. You’ve always been protected, so you wouldn’t know how miserable it feels to suffer.”
“……”
Princess Reciel was winning the exchange. Though the soldiers hesitated, glancing around, Loras knew many wanted treatment. Ignoring that truth was difficult even for someone as shameless as him—and Prince Loras possessed exactly that kind of “admirable” character.
“I’m not asking for anything in return. I offered free treatment. Will you keep clinging to your pride over something so trivial? I don’t particularly want to do you any favors either, but these soldiers are citizens of the Deltrack Empire. They’re not your soldiers.”
“Anyone listening would think you were the Emperor.”
“Don’t change the subject. What you should be doing is accepting this gratefully, not refusing. You ought to know that refusing only makes you look worse.”
“……”
Unfortunately, Prince Loras refused to yield. He seemed determined to protect his pride to the very end.
“Are you telling me to force treatment on people who don’t want it?”
“Look at their injuries. Does that still sound like the truth to you?”
“If you doubt me that much, I’ll say it once more. This is the last time! Does no one wish to be treated?! I’ve already stated clearly that there will be no disadvantages for stepping forward!”
Prince Loras shouted loudly, but the soldiers only stared at the ground, avoiding his gaze.
“……”
“……”
They were simply watching the prince’s reaction. The fact that no one came forward even after he had sworn on his name proved he held not even a shred of their trust.
“How pitiful. You truly have no right to lead this subjugation force.”
Prince Loras himself seemed slightly confused—whether to feel pleased that no one had stepped forward, or dismayed that his soldiers feared him enough to stay silent despite his oath.
“I warned you to watch your words. You’d best not do anything you’ll regret.”
The princess burst into laughter at his sensitive reaction to the word “qualification.”
“No one believes you. That’s how little your name is worth. A fraud no one can trust. How sad. Don’t move—just stand there. We’ll come to you and treat them ourselves.”
Princess Reciel glanced at me questioningly. I nodded, thinking it better than watching people suffer for having been treated. My team members surrounded me protectively as we moved into the subjugation force. I scanned the area to decide whom to treat first, but no one met my eyes. The fear in their gazes calmed me. Then—
“Very well. Those who wish to be treated, remain where you are. We will leave the stragglers behind and move only those who need no treatment!”
The prince declared that anyone who received treatment from me would be abandoned. “Petty, despicable bastard,” the princess spat.
What he hadn’t anticipated was that the soldiers weren’t merely afraid.
“What, didn’t you hear? I said to leave the stragglers and move the main force!”
Though the prince and his knights advanced, none of the soldiers behind them followed. In the end, only the prince and his closest aides remained as the “main force.”
“I knew this would happen,” Princess Reciel said to me, unable to hide her delight. “Priest Arthur! Treat them at once.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Of course. I couldn’t let those who had mustered their courage end up with nothing. I hurried over and began examining their conditions.
“Are there any other painful areas?”
“No, thank you. I feel much better already.”
“There are many others to see, so this is all I can do for now. Please visit the temple once you’re out.”
“Yes, I understand.”
As I checked each person, I found far more injuries than expected. Many looked fine on the outside but carried deep internal damage. After treating those who weren’t critically wounded, I quietly changed direction toward the woman who had started this incident.
“Your wound looks severe. May I see it?”
“Yes.”
When I approached, she couldn’t hide her relief and quickly unwrapped the bandage. The horrific state of her arm made it clear why she had tearfully begged for treatment.
“You didn’t receive any emergency care? You just wrapped it?”
“There was no way. I didn’t know what to do… I was afraid touching it would make it worse.”
“It must have hurt terribly. You endured it well.”
“Can it be healed?”
“Of course. I’ll heal it completely. So don’t worry.”
With the entire force refusing to move, Prince Loras couldn’t possibly retaliate. They had stayed for their comrades. If only a few remained, they would be branded stragglers, but if everyone stayed, that wouldn’t happen.
“Wow.”
“The pain has lessened a lot, hasn’t it?”
“Yes!”
“The flesh is regenerating!”
Though the regenerating flesh must have itched and hurt, she could only express joy at seeing her arm come back to life.
“It’s fortunate your comrades stood by you. I nearly couldn’t treat this.”
“Ah…! Yes. I’m truly grateful I could receive treatment.”
The woman smiled happily. Though everyone was injured, few would have wanted to oppose the prince. But when a comrade desperately needed treatment and the prince tried to abandon them as stragglers, they couldn’t stand by.
‘It’s admirable that they all thought the same thing at once.’
If even a few had sided with the prince, he wouldn’t have been left speechless. I had never healed people this quickly in my life. The strain was worse because I had already used so much divine power sealing the holy relic. I scraped together every last bit to finish the treatments. Until now I had always poured out abundant divine power, but today I used the minimum amount for maximum effect.
‘Huh?’
Divine power was always better in greater quantities. I had always used it generously for the patients’ sake. It had been a long time since I pushed it to such extremes.
‘I only did this when I was young. Back when my divine power was barely a trickle.’
I hadn’t expected this method to help with training even after growing up. I made a mental note to recommend this kind of practice to the novice healers when I returned, then distributed what little divine power remained evenly. It felt like—
‘Sharing even a single bean, I suppose.’
After using it so frantically, my divine power finally ran out.
“Ah…”
The problem was that patients still remained.
‘Even with fewer people, there are still so many.’
I had treated people showily at first, then focused on the truly urgent cases. Thanks to that, even if not fully healed, they should at least survive the journey out of the Labyrinth.
“Already finished? I thought it would take longer.”
Princess Reciel had been watching me treat the subjugation force soldiers with great interest. She had kept my team nearby in case the prince tried to harm me, but observing me work up close was unusual for her.
“Yes. They’re not fully healed, but they’ll be fine as long as nothing serious happens on the way out. Let’s go now.”
I was deeply grateful she had accepted my stubborn request.
“You finished remarkably fast. You managed to save them all.”
“Th-thank you.”
“Thank you. I will never forget this kindness for the rest of my life.”
As we prepared to leave, the soldiers offered quiet thanks, glancing nervously around. They seemed worried the prince might notice. The princess, perhaps moved by their timid gratitude, spoke to them.
“If the prince tries to retaliate because of this, come find me.”