Chapter 5
There was absolute conviction in her gentle voice.
It wasn’t as though the Duke had simply given up.
He had searched tirelessly, away from the public eye, for a way to heal his eyes.
He had summoned renowned physicians, powerful shamans, and even the few people on the continent blessed with divine power.
None of them had been able to cure him.
And yet this little child speaks with complete confidence that she can.
Strangely, what he felt wasn’t distrust.
It was curiosity.
The Duke finally spoke.
“Very well. You’re right. What’s important isn’t how you learned of my injury, nor how you intend to heal my eyes.”
“…”
“What matters is whether these eyes can be cured.”
“From this point on, I won’t ask another question. Heal my eyes, and I will grant you anything you desire.”
It wasn’t an empty promise.
The Duke truly possessed the power to give Liriette anything.
Immense wealth.
A magnificent castle.
Overwhelming authority.
Anything.
But every blessing came with a price.
His voice turned cold.
“However, if you fail… you will pay the price.”
He was speaking of her life.
Realizing the hidden meaning behind his words, Liriette’s face turned pale.
Steadying her trembling voice with all her strength, she answered,
“I understand.”
The Duke had no intention of wasting time.
He immediately ordered her to begin the treatment.
At his command, Liriette glanced at Simon, who had been standing quietly beside her.
Meeting her gaze, Simon’s narrow eyes curved into a gentle smile, silently asking whether she needed anything.
Carefully, she said,
“The method I use to treat Your Grace… isn’t something I can show to other people.”
“You want me to leave?”
“Yes.”
“Butā”
Before Simon could finish, the Duke interrupted.
“Leave us.”
He continued,
“Even if that child were to pull a dagger from her clothes and charge at me, she wouldn’t be able to leave so much as a scratch.”
The Duke of Windsorice was the sort of man who could be thrown before an enraged dragon while blindāand still survive.
He was that absurdly powerful.
So Simon obediently nodded.
“I leave His Grace in your care, Lady Liriette.”
After Simon left, only Liriette and the Duke remained inside the vast room.
It’s even more nerve-racking now that we’re alone.
Taking a quiet breath, Liriette organized her thoughts.
I can heal people with my blood.
But she had no intention of telling anyone.
Not the High Priest.
Not even the Duke.
So…
She chose to lie.
“Your Grace. Although I possess divine power… I’m unable to actually use it.”
Fortunately, after practicing those words hundreds of times, they came out naturally without the slightest hesitation.
The Duke never suspected she was lying.
More accurately…
He simply wasn’t interested.
That wasn’t what mattered.
“I know. That’s precisely why I couldn’t understand it. If you can’t manifest divine power, then how exactly do you intend to heal my eyes?”
“I actually possess a special medicine.”
“Medicine?”
“Yes. This medicine will heal Your Grace’s eyes. Will you permit me to apply it?”
This was the part that worried Liriette the most.
How many blind people would willingly allow an unknown child to put some mysterious medicine into their eyes?
She recalled all the arguments she had prepared to persuade him.
Yet all her preparations proved unnecessary.
The Duke nodded without hesitation.
Liriette stared in surprise.
“Is… is that really alright?”
He found her reaction almost amusing.
She’s the one who suggested it, yet she’s the one looking shocked.
The Duke hadn’t accepted because he naively believed a child couldn’t possibly harm him.
It was simply because…
Compared to him, Liriette was far too small and weak.
No one worries that an ant too tiny to see clearly might pose a threat.
Still, he added one warning.
“If you attempt to play any tricks on me… you’ll watch the temple where you were born and raised burn to the ground.”
Those horrifying words drained the color from Liriette’s face.
She didn’t care what happened to the High Priest.
But Noel…
No.
“I would never do anything to harm you, Your Grace! I swear! Please believe me!”
The desperate sincerity in her voice actually caught the Duke off guard.
For a moment, he felt like a thug threatening a little girl.
“I understand. Enough talking. Treat me already. At this rate, the entire day will be wasted.”
“Yes.”
Liriette stepped closer.
Slowly, she reached out and untied the bandages covering his eyes.
A moment later…
The wounds hidden beneath were revealed.
Deep cuts covered his eyes as though they had been slashed by something sharp.
Yellow pus oozed from the injuries, giving off a foul odor.
Against his otherwise flawless face, the horrific wounds looked even more grotesque.
She’ll probably scream the moment she sees them.
That was what the Duke expected.
But unlike his expectations…
Liriette remained perfectly calm.
I’ve already seen these wounds in my previous life.
Not only thatā
She had healed countless people before.
She had witnessed injuries far worse than this.
Calmly, she reached into her clothes and took out a small knife.
Then she placed the blade against one finger.
The hand holding the knife trembled.
Calm down, Liriette.
You’ve done this hundreds of times before.
It’s nothing.
You can do it.
A moment later…
The sharp blade pierced her delicate finger.
A bright red drop of blood welled upon her pale skin.
This…
was the true identity of the “medicine” she had spoken of.
Enduring the stinging pain, Liriette quietly said,
“Then… I’ll begin.”
She carefully brought her bleeding fingertip to the Duke’s injured eye and gently spread the blood across the scars.
It was an incredibly bizarre sight.
But the blind Duke had no way of imagining what was actually happening.
When she said medicine, I expected something with a strong smell.
Apparently not.
Having lost his sight, his sense of smell had become remarkably sharp.
Whatever she was applying to his eyes…
It carried an incredibly pleasant fragrance.
Sweet.
Like flowers blooming beneath the warm spring sun.
Because of that…
It never once crossed his mind that the “medicine” was actually the blood of a little girl.
Moments later…
Something astonishing happened.
The horrific scars around his eyes began to fade.
The stabbing pain that had tormented him vanished almost instantly.
Liriette quickly wrapped her injured finger with a handkerchief before hiding it inside her glove.
“The poison that entered your eyes is very strong, so I can’t cure it all at once. If I continue applying the medicine over the next several days, you’ll recover completely.”
The Duke didn’t doubt her.
She had applied the medicine only once…
Yet he could already feel his condition improving dramatically.
“You possess quite an impressive medicine.”
Sensing how tense she was, he added,
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of taking it from you. I’m not petty enough to steal from a child.”
“…Yes.”
Relief filled her quiet reply.
The Duke still couldn’t see.
He couldn’t even make out the little girl standing before him.
Even so…
His instincts, honed like those of a wild beast, told him something.
She’s exhausted.
The energy he sensed from Liriette was incredibly faint.
She looked so drained that she might lose a fight to a baby chick.
His intuition was correct.
She had traveled nonstop from the capital.
Then she’d stood face-to-face with the terrifying Dukeāa man who made even hardened adults tremble simply by sharing the same room.
And hidden beneath her glove…
Her wounded finger throbbed painfully.
Liriette had reached her physical limit.
The Duke called for Simon.
Simon entered almost instantly.
“The treatment is finished. Take the child away so she can rest.”
“At once.”
Turning to Liriette, Simon smiled gently.
“This way, Lady Liriette.”
Before leaving the room, Liriette gathered her courage and spoke.
“I hope you have pleasant dreams, Your Grace.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“…Very well.”
With that brief exchange, the door quietly closed.
* * *
Simon watched Liriette as she hurried after him with tiny footsteps, unable to hide his curiosity.
He had only been out of the room for a short while.
Yet during that brief absence…
The Duke’s wounds had visibly improved.
What exactly did this little lady do while I was gone?
His curiosity grew stronger.
But questioning a guest so bluntly was not the conduct expected of a proper butler.
So he swallowed the questions that threatened to escape and instead led her to her room.
“You’ll be staying here during your time at the castle.”
The moment Liriette stepped inside, her mouth fell open.
It’s bigger than ten of my rooms at the temple put together.
And it wasn’t just the size.
A large bed covered with beautifully embroidered blankets.
A dresser topped with a star-shaped lamp powered by a magic stone, softly glowing.
A fluffy pink rug spread across the floor.
Liriette looked around in disbelief.
“I-Is this… really the room I’ll be staying in?”
“Yes.”
“You could have simply given me a small unused room…”
Simon shook his head as though the very idea were absurd.
“Lady Liriette, you traveled a great distance to heal His Grace. You are an honored guest of House Windsorice. Naturally, you deserve the finest treatment. Please don’t feel burdened. Simply rest comfortably.”
But Simon’s idea of the finest treatment didn’t end there.
He brought his hands together with a sharp clap.
Clap!
As though they had been waiting just outside, a group of maids poured into the room all at once.
