Chapter 8
My body felt unbearably heavy.
I wanted to open my eyes, but I couldn’t even move my eyelids.
Sweat trickled down my temples. My skin felt like it was boiling.
My breath was so hot that it gave me goosebumps.
I wanted to throw off the blanket, but my damn arms and legs wouldn’t move at all.
Even an ordinary person would have trouble after being exposed to Leonhart’s killing intent from point-blank range.
So it was only natural that Adrian ended up bedridden.
I just hadn’t expected her to be so weak that she couldn’t even get out of bed for three whole days.
‘Good grief, just how weak is this body?’
A sigh escaped through my parched lips.
‘Haah, this isn’t the time to be sick.’
There was so much to do, and I had already wasted three days.
I’d probably have to suffer for a few more days, too.
I was honestly shocked by how weak Adrian’s body was.
Compared to the body I had when I was a hero, I wondered if she had some kind of chronic illness.
I wasn’t actually injured, so there was no reason to call a priest. That meant I just had to suffer through this naturally, which was incredibly frustrating.
‘Should I get some herbal medicine made?’
Did they even have medicinal tonics here? I didn’t remember seeing anything like that in Part One.
I was thinking about pointless things just to distract myself from the pain when I heard soft voices outside the bedroom.
“Miss, you’re here again today. Please return to your bedroom now. You need to go to sleep early if you want to grow taller.”
“I-I want to see the D-Duke…”
It was the gentle voice of a middle-aged man and the dejected voice of a child.
The butler and Piache.
“I’m sure the Duke wants to see you too, Miss. But as I told you, you can’t see her right now because she’s sick.”
“Uuung…”
“Come now. Sleep for just one more night. Tomorrow, you’ll be able to see the Duke.”
“I-I heard you say that yesterday, too… And the day before yesterday…”
“…Did you?”
“Yes, yes. Can’t I see her just for a little while?”
“You know you’re not allowed to enter the Duke’s bedroom without permission, don’t you? You were scolded for that just a few days ago.”
“B-But, but… e-even if I get scolded, I-I still want to see her…”
“Phew, all right. Miss, then you may only look at the Duke’s face and come right back out. You mustn’t make a sound. Can you do that?”
“Mm-hm! Piache c-can do it!”
I heard the door slowly opening.
Soon, the adorable patter of tiny footsteps came closer and closer.
I could hear the soft, wheezing breaths unique to a child from nearby.
Just imagining Piache resting her tiny face on the bed and looking at me made my heart melt.
She must have looked ridiculously cute.
I wanted to open my eyes.
I wanted to see her.
I wanted to hold the face of the little girl who must be looking so gloomy with worry and tell her that I was okay.
Something soft touched my forehead.
It seemed to be Piache’s finger.
Her tiny voice tickled my ears.
“Hehe, pretty. Sparkly.”
She had promised the butler she wouldn’t make a sound.
What a cute little liar.
“Duke, Piache will blow on it for you.”
Will you?
Are you going to blow on it so your big sister won’t be sick anymore?
“Hoo- Hoo- Pain, go away. Bye-bye.”
Her soft breath spread across my cheek.
My heart ached at her adorable gesture…
‘Huh?’
The pain disappeared.
Was I imagining it?
No, no.
It really didn’t hurt anymore.
The terrible fever slowly went down.
The throbbing headache and the pain that felt like my skin was being pounded gradually weakened, then completely disappeared.
‘W-What is happening…? Could it be?’
Piache was the protagonist?!
I was frozen in disbelief for a moment.
But soon, I couldn’t resist the overwhelming sleepiness and drifted off.
Blink. Blink.
I opened and closed my stiff eyes a couple of times.
As my vision focused, the blurry world gradually became clear.
Just yesterday, I had been in so much pain that I thought I was going to die…
But now my body felt as light as if nothing had happened.
“Hoo- Hoo- Pain, go away. Bye-bye.”
I fell into thought as I remembered last night.
Looking back through my memories, it had been the same on the very first day I possessed this body.
Piache had held my finger and blown air onto it.
Whispering that I shouldn’t be in pain.
Immediately afterward, the body that had felt dull and foreign, like I was wearing someone else’s clothes, became refreshed.
At the time, I had thought it was simply a side effect of possessing someone else’s body…
But…
“Piache healed me.”
Piache, who was as cute as a doll, was actually the saintess.
In other words, Part Two wasn’t an adventure fantasy at all.
It was a childcare story.
‘What kind of childcare story is this Trash Author writing?!’
‘Did they really think it would automatically become a huge hit just because the protagonist is a baby?!’
They must have been trying to follow the latest trend by attempting a childcare story.
Honestly, it was ridiculous.
Fine.
Whatever.
‘But what did I do to deserve this?’
How many years were they planning to keep me trapped here?
Fifteen years?
Twenty?
‘Am I crazy? No way! I can’t do this!’
Just then, as if it had read my thoughts, a cheerful bell rang and a message appeared.
[Ping!]
[Congratulations on finally discovering the genre of Part Two! ★F★R★E★E★B★I★E★!]
[Childcare stories have a feature called, “Oops! I woke up and 00 years had passed!”]
[Don’t forget that, depending on your efforts, the waiting period can be shortened as much as you want!]
‘Ah…’
Thinking about it, the childcare stories I’d read did have things like that.
‘So it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll have to wait more than ten years?’
But that didn’t solve every problem.
The protagonist was far too young, yet her power was overwhelmingly strong.
Divine power wasn’t omnipotent.
It could heal external injuries, but it couldn’t cure illnesses.
If divine power could heal everything, there wouldn’t be anyone in this world who died from disease.
‘But Piache healed me.’
If this was the power of a saintess, that was a little worrying.
If people found out about this, countless people would try to use the child for their own purposes.
Could the title, I’ve Become the Saintess Who Saves the World, mean that she would save the world not from villains, but from disease?
‘Still, since it’s a childcare story, the protagonist probably won’t die.’
And it probably wouldn’t be such a heavy story, either.
I thought I had a rough idea of my role, too.
A cold and arrogant noble who gradually becomes more human after learning love and affection through a child named Piache—a tsundere guardian.
‘So I’m basically playing the role of the cold grandfather or stern father that always appears in other childcare stories.’
That was as far as I could guess.
I’d have to figure out the rest myself.
I stared into empty space before pulling the bell cord.
A moment later, hurried footsteps approached from outside.
The door flew open, and the butler entered.
“Master… You’re awake.”
The butler’s attitude was calm, but he couldn’t completely hide his surprise.
It was understandable.
Someone who couldn’t even open her eyes yesterday had suddenly gotten up perfectly fine.
He placed a hand on my forehead to check my temperature.
“Excuse me, but let me check your temperature for a moment… Hmm. Your fever really has gone down. Are you experiencing pain anywhere else?”
“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“It appears you have completely recovered. I was told it would take another week for you to recover. I suppose that was a misdiagnosis. My apologies, Master. I will dismiss Dr. Albert shortly.”
There was no need to do that…
Dr. Albert hadn’t done anything wrong, but I pretended not to know.
I needed to keep Piache’s power hidden until I had a better understanding of the story.
“More importantly, Master.”
The butler continued speaking calmly, veins bulging on his forehead.
“How could a noble be attacked in broad daylight, of all places, right in the middle of the Imperial Palace? Just how terrible is Imperial security?”
“…”
“If I had known this would happen, I never should have reduced your escort. Who could it possibly have been? I would dearly like to see the face of the bastard who dared attack the Duke of the Empire.”
Leonhart Genetic Philio.
Aka, the third light of Philio.
The butler was furious.
Yet he was expressing his anger in an incredibly calm and composed manner.
Honestly, I hadn’t expected him to react like this.
He must have genuinely been loyal to Adrian.
‘Is this man also the type who, once he swears loyalty to someone, doesn’t care whether they’re good or evil?’
“Master, did you see the culprit? Was it a noble or an attendant? What did they look like? Ah, there’s no point in wasting time. We should call a painter immediately. Let’s make a composite sketch first.”
“W-Well…”
“Surely you don’t remember? Not even a little?”
“No.”
“Please think carefully. Even the smallest clue would be helpful.”
“I don’t know.”
“…”
“It will be difficult to catch the culprit if that’s all we have.”
“I suppose so.”
The butler’s straight shoulders drooped ever so slightly.
At that level, he seemed extremely disappointed.
“Explain what happened. Maybe I’ll remember as I listen.”
“Of course. You’re right, Master.”
The butler immediately called someone in.
It was the maid who had accompanied me to the Imperial Palace.
“Luna, explain the situation to Master. As thoroughly as possible.”
“Yes, Butler.”
Luna bowed her head and obediently answered.
“Even after the meeting ended, Master didn’t come out. So I went inside the main meeting hall to escort you, but you weren’t there. The nobles said they didn’t know anything either. Just in case, I went to the rear garden, where I found Master unconscious on the ground. I was so shocked that I screamed, and the attendants came running. With their help, we brought you back to the mansion.”
“Was I alone in the rear garden?”
“Yes. You were alone when I found you.”
Leonhart must have simply left after dumping my unconscious body on the ground.
I wasn’t disappointed or hurt by it.
Apparently Adrian had even sent assassins after Leonhart.
Considering that, I was just grateful that he had left me alive after I passed out.
“Master, how are you feeling? Do you remember anything?”
“No.”
“…Your skin color, hair color, even your scent would be useful. Is there really nothing at all you remember?”
“I think I completely lost my memory when I fell.”
“…”
“Forget about it. I wasn’t seriously injured anyway.”
I spoke casually as I got out of bed.
Why was it so quiet?
I casually turned my head.
The butler and Luna were staring at me with horrified expressions.
“Why?”
“You are still going to request an investigation from the Imperial Palace, aren’t you?”
“I’d need to remember something before I could request an investigation.”
“You won’t even send a letter of protest to the Imperial Palace?”
“It’s bothersome.”
“What about meeting with the nobles…”
“Why would I meet them?”
“But…”
The butler hesitated slightly before approaching me.
Then he covered his mouth with his hand and whispered confidentially.
“So… are you truly planning to quietly let this matter pass without using it as an excuse to demand concessions from the Imperial Palace, framing someone you already disliked as the culprit, or stirring up the nobles?”
‘Ah, Adrian… What kind of person were you, really?’
