CHAPTER 6 - I - THE PRICE OF CONFLICT

 

Not too long after lunch, we set out for the Braunhauer lands.  Maddie was happy to leave the royal capital as soon as possible, and the prince, though he was caught off-guard by the Saint’s decision, had no other choice but to send an armed escort delegation led by one of his ministers up to the borders of the territory still under the royal control.

 

Maddie had specifically stated that she might come back though, in case of another round of talks.  Our plan for negotiations would be to talk to the opposing sides first, before setting an opportunity for them to face one another.  The Saint would serve as the mediator and then iron out the resulting agreements.

 

Hopefully, something would positively happen at the end of everything.  It’s difficult to travel around, looking at the destroyed landscape wherever you went.

 

As I’d said earlier, the royal armed escort went with us up to the borders of the royalty-controlled territory.  As we went far from the Amaranthine capital, the signs of brewing war became increasingly clear.

 

“Oh my…Maddie, Kuro, look at this!” Lily suddenly called our attention.

 

“What?”

 

Upon crossing into rebel-held territory, we encountered several groups of people heading opposite our direction, marching towards the walled city of Amaranth.  Their clothes were mostly dirty and tattered, with a good number of them bearing fresh wounds, as if they came from the aftermath of a battle.  I immediately noticed the strange expressions on the faces of those people…it’s as if they’d seen and experienced horrible things.

 

Is it PTSD?

 

Maddie immediately ordered our convoy to stop, and she quickly got down and dirty to heal the injuries of the people.  Lily and the rest of the paladins also followed suit.

 

“Please get these people to lie down!” Her Holiness’ order to her guards was swift and calm, as if she’d been a veteran for this kind of work.  Once this was done, she dealt with the injuries—be it a severed arm, an open wound (lightly dressed in dirty, makeshift bandages), or broken limbs.

 

With such many people requiring medical attention, I doubted the Saint would be finished soon.  She even resorted to casting that huge magic circle we used before in healing King Rambo.

 

“Kuro, can you fetch the food in our carriage?” Lily asked me, “I’ll go prepare food for these fellows.”

 

“Right!”

 

I did just as Lily said.  Good thing that we took our time to stock our carriages with food, anticipating that we’d take a while on our journey from the city of Amaranth, to the Braunhauer lands, and vice versa.  The only one we left was Jessica, since we determined she might be at odds with the Duke of Braunhauer because of her connection to the royal family.

 

Nevertheless, like Maddie, Lily was also working hard.  Assisted by a few paladins, she prepared food for these people.  It wouldn’t take rocket science to see that they were all tired and hungry.

 

“…”

 

While the Saint heals the injuries of the people, the Head Maid’s focus is on feeding them.  No wonder why they are so close.  They complement each other well…

 

 

In the end, though Maddie may be a powerful Saint, soon I noticed her legs were already wobbling; a clear sign her mana was going way below the tolerable levels.

 

“Hey, Maddie, take a rest!” I told her.

 

“Just one more.” she replied, “These folks need me…”

 

“Nope.  Listen to me, if you want to help them, then you better take a rest and replenish your strength.  You’re still human, though you’re blessed with the power of the gods.”

 

“But…”

 

“No.” I firmly stood my ground, “Let others apply the first-aid for a while.  You take a rest; I’m sure these fellows would look to you for hope, and the last thing that they’d want is to see their beloved saint die on them.”

 

“Silly!  I won’t die simply because of mana exhaustion.” Maddie jokingly retorted.

 

“I know.  But as your fiancée, I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” I patted her head, “So, sleep tight, and I love you!”

 

“T-That’s…Kuro’s that’s low!  You really know how to make my heart skip a beat, huh?”  Caught off-guard by what I said, she teased me.  Nevertheless, Maddie pondered on my words.  Realizing that she had no other option, she quietly retreated to our carriage to sleep for a bit.

 

Well, at least she’s listening now…

 

“Hoh…”

 

“What?” I asked the Marquise of Monfort when I noticed her giving us ‘strange looks’.

 

“I’m just impressed how fast you can now convince Her Holiness to listen to you.” she said to me, “Before, she would always work herself to exhaustion, no matter how much we try to convince her to take a break.  Now, I could see that she grew a lot when you came Kuro.  You have my admiration.”

 

“Oh…thanks!”  But well, I did nothing spectacular; I just wanted what was good for Maddie, since I’m her friend and fiancée.  And besides, she’s a great soul.  It would be only logical for me to support her in any way I could.

 

“Ah anyway, I think the Head Maid is asking for you.” the Marquise of Monfort added.

 

“Hm?  Any idea what she wants from me?”

 

“Just ask the Head Maid.”  The Marquise of Monfort had a contorted face; it’s as if she wanted to tell me something, but it’d be best if I learned about it personally.