The Lady Only Deals With the Real Ones - Chapter 79

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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‘Well, that’s not what’s important. She’s not someone who would harm the Temple.’

 

Crescens hadn’t noticed the Captain of the Royal Knights’ condition because of Elisha’s words. It was much earlier than that.

 

From the very first time he saw the Captain of the Royal Knights, he thought something was off about his condition.

 

The divine power he felt wasn’t uniform either.

 

‘I don’t know why she wants to help the Captain of the Royal Knights, but if that’s my sister’s secret, I should protect it.’

 

Crescens, who had been thinking, pushed the door.

 

‘By the way, who else is poisoned by dark magic? At least that’s not something I can overlook.’

 

Elisha, visible in the distance, was walking while reading the materials he had given her.

 

Crescens’s serious expression relaxed in an instant.

 

“Oh my, she’s going to trip walking like that.”

 

Then again, she might show tears like when she was praying in front of the World Tree.

 

He didn’t know why she had been crying though.

 

‘Crying doesn’t suit my sister.’

 

Crescens, recalling Elisha smiling brightly in the viewfinder, started walking.

 

He thought he should tell her about the dark magic poisoning even now.

 

Like when he had given her a hint about the goateed appraiser, perhaps he could give her a small clue now.

 

“C-Cardinal Your Eminence!”

 

However, the priestess who had escorted Elisha earlier blocked his path.

 

Crescens smiled habitually. But his brow was slightly furrowed.

 

“What’s the matter?”

 

“W-well. I was inspecting the sacred ring that the sister returned.”

 

“And? Did it get scratched or something?”

 

“No! That’s not it! It was definitely a sacred object with the lowest grade of divine power…”

 

Crescens’s brow furrowed even more as he looked at the result sheet the priestess handed him.

 

“But it’s showing as intermediate grade, so I thought something was strange! I thought I should ask Your Eminence!”

 

Crescens looked at the result sheet once, then at Elisha’s retreating figure once, before giving the priestess a gentle smile.

 

“There must have been an error with the measuring device.”

 

“D-do you think so?”

 

“Of course. I’ll test it again myself, so you can go back now. Don’t mention this to anyone.”

 

“Ah, yes! Understood!”

 

The priestess hurried away in a fluster.

 

Crescens, who had been studying the result sheet intently, gazed at Elisha’s figure, now barely visible in the distance.

 

“…I am disappointed, after all…”

 

‘Maybe there was no need to be disappointed after all.’

 

“What should I do, our dear sister. There are more and more things I want.”

 

Crescens’s light green eyes, curved in a smile, sparkled.

 

*

 

“He wrote it out in great detail.”

 

The materials the Cardinal gave me contained everything I had been curious about.

 

Although there was no content about dark magic, it was sufficient to obtain information about magic poisoning.

 

‘He didn’t become a Cardinal at such a young age for nothing. Even though his attitude was playful, his work is definitely thorough.’

 

I should buy something and bring it to him next time as thanks.

 

As I continued reading the materials, there was a sentence that caught my attention.

 

[…’The Blessing of Priests’ is effective just by having the priest and the magic poisoning victim in the same space. However, it is believed that the healing speed increases when there is contact…]

 

‘Ah, so that’s why I got tired just from being with the Knight? But it says there’s more effect when there’s contact for more than 5 seconds…’

 

But there was a problem.

 

How on earth could I make contact with a Knight for 5 seconds?

 

I couldn’t just suddenly hug him.

 

Getting sent flying would be the least of my problems.

 

‘If I dared to do such a thing to the Captain of the Royal Knights, I’d be grabbed by the collar and sent straight to prison.’

 

Of course, I could tell Ailren the details and ask for his cooperation, but…

 

‘No. I have to keep the specific healing mechanism secret from Ailren.’

 

He was someone who felt sorry about something as minor as a bruise on my elbow.

 

He was already worried and saying he’d take responsibility for entrusting me with the dangerous hourglass, and if he found out that I was also taking his magic power on top of that?

 

No matter how much I told him there was no harm to me, he might stubbornly insist on calling off the whole treatment.

 

That had to be avoided.

 

‘Having too much sense of responsibility is also a problem.’

 

Wasn’t there a way to make contact without going to prison and without arousing Ailren’s suspicion?

 

As I was going down the stairs, thinking thoughts that would make Grandfather clutch his neck and collapse if he heard them, I suddenly stopped.

 

“Hello, Knight. …Oh my, have you been waiting long?”

 

Ailren, his hair dampened with night dew, was looking up at me from the bottom of the stairs.

 

I hurriedly checked my watch and realized that the promised time had long passed.

 

“Oh no, I’m really sorry. I had no idea it had gotten so late…!”

 

“There’s nothing to apologize for. Waiting for you was my choice. Have you finished your business?”

 

“Ah, yes! I have, but.”

 

“That’s good. The night air is cold, I’ll escort you to the carriage.”

 

Ailren, who had been waiting for me in the middle of that cold night air, walked ahead.

 

Feeling sorry, I carefully spoke up.

 

“You should have stayed in the carriage… Your shoulders are all wet with dew.”

 

“Rather than risk missing each other, it’s better for me to wait. Please don’t mind it.”

 

The more we talked, the stronger my conviction became that I absolutely must not tell this Knight about the healing method.

 

Before getting on the carriage, I discreetly pulled out and hid a few sheets of paper, then got on the carriage again without Ailren’s escort.

 

After clearing my throat, I handed him the Cardinal’s materials and my own organized materials.

 

“This here is what I researched, and this is the material I received from the Temple. Please read through them first.”

 

“…Then was your business at the Temple today because of my matter?”

 

“Ah, well, it was killing two birds with one stone. Haha. Of course! I kept it secret that it was about the Knight’s business, so you don’t need to worry.”

 

However, Ailren was staring directly at me.

 

It was obvious he wouldn’t look away until I told him, so I threw up both hands and feet in surrender.

 

“I received a good offer from the Temple.”

 

“A good offer?”

 

“Well, they asked if I’d like to work as an appraiser for the Temple’s sacred objects. As a consultant. So I went to accept it and also to ask about magic poisoning.”

 

This much should be okay to tell him, right?

 

The Cardinal didn’t specifically tell me to keep it secret either.

 

But surprisingly, Ailren smiled faintly.

 

“Congratulations.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

“I’ve long known from hearing and seeing that your abilities are outstanding. But to think you’ve found a place to display that talent, you should rightfully receive congratulations. Congratulations once again.”

 

I hadn’t expected to receive such a sincere and straightforward congratulation.

 

Those words delivered in a quiet voice felt like Ailren’s genuine feelings rather than mere pleasantries, so I also seriously bowed my head.

 

“Thank you, Knight.”

 

“It’s the result of your efforts. …And, I don’t think you would leak my secret. The reason I asked was simply.”

 

“Simply?”

 

“…Never mind. I’ll read the materials first.”

 

Ailren’s smile faded very quickly.

 

With a stern expression as if he had never smiled, he scanned through the materials.

 

I watched him nervously, worried he might notice the missing content.

 

After a moment.

 

“To summarize, the methods for curing mana poisoning are: first, remove the cause. Second, increase exposure to holy relics and divine power. Third, minimize contact with mana and use of divine power to avoid potential conflicts. Is that correct?”

 

Hearing Ailren’s summary made it clear that the materials were full of holes.

 

‘How is this different from saying to get plenty of rest and drink warm water when you have a cold.’

 

“Yes, that’s right…?”

 

Suspicion aside, what if he’s disappointed because it’s nothing special?

 

As I watched his reaction, Ailren unexpectedly nodded readily.

 

“Like all methods of treating illness, one must stay true to the basics. I understand.”

 

It was truly a statement befitting a knight who walks the righteous path.

 

Though I was relieved he seemed to accept it more easily than expected, I replied quietly.

 

“Still, it would be nice if there were medicine or injections that could provide quick treatment.”

 

It was a thought I’d had hundreds of times while caring for Grandfather.

 

I added somewhat dejectedly.

 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of much help despite speaking so boldly.”

 

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

 

…Is there a problem with my pronunciation?

 

As I tapped my lips in confusion, Ailren pointed to the materials with his fingertip.

 

“If it weren’t for you, I would have been stuck from the very first step. No, I wouldn’t have even known the cause to begin with.”

 

Remove the cause.

 

Ailren pointed to that sentence and gauged the thickness of the materials.

 

Even with his large hands, it was about three knuckles thick.

 

I was newly surprised, wondering if the materials I’d collected for Ailren had really been this extensive.

 

“You have given me…”

 

Ailren’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he closed and opened his eyes.

 

“Help greater than medicine or injections… or rather, greater meaning. So please put aside such words. If anything, I should be the one offering such gratitude.”

 

Since he’s someone who cannot lie, these words must also be sincere.

 

While it was indeed touching, unlike the calm and composed Ailren, I got angry first.

 

‘After Lina, now trying to harm someone like this too—Crodil, are you even human? Huh?’

 

Ailren looked at me with slight bewilderment as I suddenly ground my teeth.

 

Coming to my senses, I greeted him awkwardly.

 

“Hey, I’m helping because I want to. So shall we stop apologizing to each other?”

 

Wait, greeting?

 

‘Right, that was it!’

 

I suddenly realized.

 

A way to avoid going to prison!

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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