My treatments almost always ended the same way.
Out of the dozen or so patients I had taken charge of, the number who could endure until their treatment was complete could be counted on one hand. And every single one of them—even those who survived the process—would stiffen the moment they saw my face. Some offered words of gratitude, yet their expressions were always haunted by terror.
Lord Rein was different.
Every day, whenever a treatment session ended, he would light a green glow at the tip of his right index finger and trace characters in the air.
『Thank you very much』
He had not missed doing so even once. This ten-year-old child endured the kind of pain that would make a seasoned soldier break every single day, and every single day, he composed his gratitude. Even though I was the one inflicting the agony, there was no trace of fear toward me in those pale green eyes once the treatment ended and the light faded.
One day, while I was undoing his restraints after a session, a light sparked at his fingertip. This time, the words that floated in the air were different from his usual thanks.
『Are you not tired, Lady Therese?』
This child was worried about me—the person responsible for his pain.
"I am fine. Thank you for worrying about me."
I couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle. It wasn't the practiced smile of a Saint, but a genuine one. I surprised even myself. How long had it been since I had made a face like that?
Lord Rein's eyes narrowed slightly. It took me a moment to realize he was smiling back.
◇◇◇
I would talk with him for a while before each session. By the time a month had passed, that time before the treatment had become the center of my world.
The burn scars on his torso had mostly vanished, replaced by patches of new skin. His emaciated body was gradually regaining its softness. A thin layer of flesh was starting to grow over his chest where his ribs had once protruded, and the sensation when I touched him was changing.
Lord Rein spoke through Magic Writing, and I responded with my voice. Our conversations were always about trivial things: the carriage journey I took to get here, how frugal the meals were at the Church. When he asked if I had any brothers or sisters and I told him I had none, he looked a little lonely.
Before I knew it, I found myself telling him things I had never shared with anyone.
"I grew up in a Church orphanage. My power awakened when I was six, and I was taken in. I don't know my parents' faces. But I suppose that's just how the world is for someone like me."
I didn't know why I had said it. I had never shared my upbringing with a patient before. Lord Rein watched me intently with his single green eye. He offered neither denial nor pity.
New characters floated in the air.
『You are strong, Lady Therese.』
I hadn't expected those words from him. Not from this child who was enduring three years of trauma and these brutal treatments.
That night, as I absentmindedly combed my hair in my room, I found myself looking forward to the time before tomorrow's treatment. I knew it was dangerous. I had to maintain distance from my patients. If I didn't, my mind wouldn't be able to handle the burden of being feared and the guilt of inflicting pain. But I didn't think I could stop.
Then came the day when Lord Rein’s fingertip stopped as he tried to write his thanks as usual.
"……Thank…… you."
It was a raspy voice—fragmented and faint, as if it might vanish into the air.
I caught my breath. Aside from his screams during the procedures, this was the first time I had heard this child's voice of his own will.
It was only two words, yet they made the depths of my chest tremble.
Lord Rein's white hair swayed in the breeze. In the light streaming through the window, I noticed a faint luster mixing into the white. It wasn't a withered gray anymore. It was a soft color, close to silver—proof that nutrition was finally returning to him.
◇◇◇
About a month later, as the treatment for his burns neared completion, Lord Rein's body had changed visibly. A natural softness had returned to his skin-and-bones frame, and he was regaining the silhouette of a child his age. His height was also starting to increase bit by bit. His once-white hair had taken on a complete silvery gloss, shining smoothly whenever it caught the light.
As for communication, he could now speak in short sentences. Though it was still raspy and prone to breaking, he began to converse using a mix of Magic Writing and his voice. Long sentences were written, while short replies and acknowledgments were spoken.
It was a clear, high-pitched voice, the kind a boy has before his voice breaks. The raspiness made it sound precarious, like a damaged instrument, which only made it linger more in my ears.
I grew to love that voice.
During one of our conversations, I heard about how he had once been forced to cross-dress. I ended up laughing out loud at the story of how he had tried to run away from Lady Katia, only to be caught after a game of tag. I laughed until I was clutching my stomach and tears welled in my eyes. How long had it been since I had laughed like this? In the six years I had spent with the Church, I couldn't remember a single time.
Once the laughter subsided, my mouth moved on its own.
"Say, Lord Rein. Could you stop calling me Lady Therese?"
Lord Rein tilted his head.
"Please call me Big Sister Therese."
The moment the words left my mouth, my face burned with embarrassment. What was I thinking? I was a Saint. I was supposed to maintain professional distance—
Lord Rein blinked, and then he opened his mouth. Not with Magic Writing, but with his own raspy voice.
"Big Sister... Therese."
There was no hesitation.
Something burst deep in my chest. My eyes grew hot, and though I tried to hold it back, I couldn't.
"—...Thank you."
My voice trembled. It was pathetic for a Saint to be on the verge of crying in front of a patient. But this child had responded to my selfish request with his own voice.
Lord Rein traced new characters in the air.
『Then Big Sister Therese, call me Rein too.』
—Rein.
I tried the name in my mind, and tears threatened to well up again.
In the corner of the room, I noticed Mira's posture change slightly. Her smile remained fixed, and her tone was as polite as ever.
"Lord Rein does have real elder sisters, after all. And he has older women with deep connections like myself as well."
Her voice was soft, but her eyes weren't smiling at all.
For some reason, I felt that I didn't want to back down.
◇◇◇
As the treatment for the burns finished, the remaining monumental task loomed before us: the regeneration of his left hand and both legs, followed by the restoration of his right eye.
I decided to start with the limbs. The eye would be the most delicate work, and I wanted to save it for the very end. It would be better to do it once his physical strength had returned and he had a better foundation for enduring the pain.
The regeneration of limbs was on a different scale entirely. It was a brute-force method where flesh, bone, and nerves were forced into existence all at once. The pain was severe enough to be fatal. Only two people I had ever treated had been able to survive this. He had lost both legs from the hip and his left arm from the shoulder. We progressed by roughly a finger's length each day. To regenerate the full length of his legs, the process was expected to take over two months.
On the day we started, Rein's body jolted in a way it never had before.
"—His heart has stopped."
I had no choice but to speak flatly while my hands continued their work. I added that he would recover in a few seconds. This was the price of regenerating such large parts: a cycle of dying and returning from the sheer agony. I couldn't stop. I had no choice but to freeze my heart and continue.
We repeated that cycle countless times.
On the evening the first leg was finished, Rein woke up and wrote with his Magic Writing.
『Tomorrow too, please.』
I felt like I was going to cry. Something hot was wedged in my throat, and I struggled even to swallow. I wanted to protect this child. I didn't want anyone to hurt him. And yet, the one hurting and torturing him was me.
From that day on, I spent every hour outside of treatment in prayer and confession. If I didn't, I felt my heart would shatter.
◇◇◇
The final step was the restoration of the eye.
The eyeball was delicate work. Because it was meant to rotate, the regeneration would fail if the structure was even slightly misplaced. Bit by bit, I poured in magical power as if I were assembling a piece of fragile glasswork. As the days passed, I could see the eye taking shape within the cavity. Throughout it all, Rein's head was held fixed, and he shed tears incessantly from a pain that felt as if the inside of his skull were being stirred.
Nearly half a year after we began, the day finally came when all treatments were finished.
Rein opened both eyes.
The left eye was its usual pale green.
The right eye—the one I had restored—was blue.
"Eh—"
A gasp escaped me. For a split second, I feared I had failed. But the pupil responded perfectly to the light, and his gaze met mine. The function was flawless.
Why had a restoration based on the Ideal Form resulted in different colors? I didn't know. Perhaps the traits of his parents were intricately intertwined in a way I didn't understand. It was a color his body had chosen in a realm far beyond the reach of my power.
Those green and blue eyes looked up at me.
His hair shone with a silver luster. His mismatched eyes were mysterious and captivating. His skin was so white it was almost transparent. His face had fully recovered into a soft, well-proportioned, and androgynous beauty. With his hands and legs fully restored, he looked just like an angel...
My breath hitched.
He was a child. He was only ten years old. And yet, the very atmosphere changed when looking at him. A charm that could only be described as beguiling was quietly radiating from him.
"Big Sister Therese, what's wrong?"
He asked with his voice. By now, he could hold daily conversations without the need for magic. His voice was clear and resonant, the precarious raspiness replaced by a pure, pre-pubescent ring. Something inside me felt as if it had been struck by a bolt of lightning.
"I-It's nothing. Can you see properly?"
"Yeah. It's been a long time since I've seen with both."
He smiled slightly, narrowing his green and blue eyes.
My heart hammered against my ribs. I knew my face was flushed. I tried to feign composure, but my hands were trembling in my lap.
"With this, all treatments are complete. You did very well, Rein."
I forced myself to maintain my persona as a Saint, but Rein simply turned to face me.
His silver hair swayed. His heterochromatic eyes captured mine. And then—
"Big Sister Therese, thank you."
His voice wasn't raspy at all. It was small, but perfectly clear.
He was smiling. It was a small, certain smile, completely free of fear.
—Ah.
The things I had wished for back in that carriage—a smile, and for him to call me by my name rather than my title. This child had given me both.
I had prayed for him to endure. I had wished to heal him completely. And Rein had responded to those feelings.
What settled in the depths of my chest was not peace. It was something heavy, sweet, and filled with yearning. The realization that I would be called back to the Church now that the treatment was over hit me like a physical blow.
I have to find a way to stay.
Before I knew it, I was already searching for a way to convince the Church to let me remain by his side.