I was on my way to Clarissa’s room again today. Mira was by my side, as always. Big Sister Therese had been at the Church since this morning.
When I entered the room, the curtains were drawn wide, and the usual gloom had vanished. On the desk sat a small hand mirror and a pile of letters that seemed to be dwindling day by day. Until recently, there hadn't been a single mirror in this room. She had brought it back herself.
Clarissa had changed decisively ever since her interaction with Big Sister Therese. To put it plainly, she looked at me as if she were beholding a deity. While there had been hints of it before, now it felt like true fanaticism. I had a feeling the same could be said for the Marchioness Ahrens, who was also waiting in the room.
"It seems we are nearly finished," I announced quietly.
Most of Clarissa’s face had already been replaced with smooth skin. Since I had prioritized the most prominent areas, only her jaw and forehead remained. Today, I would be filling in the scars on her jaw.
"I’ll be treating the jaw today. I’ll need you to tilt your head up a little."
As I spoke and approached her, Clarissa, who had come to greet me, knelt on the floor in the center of the room. She clasped her hands in a prayer-like posture and looked up at me. It was a pose that could have been a subject for a religious painting.
Up until now, both Clarissa and I had been sitting in chairs during the treatment. Why was she in such a posture today?
"…Wouldn’t it be better to sit in a chair as we usually do?"
"I cannot. It was a grave error for me to sit at the same height as Lord Rein. For someone like me, the floor is more than sufficient."
It was actually harder to perform the treatment while I was standing. However, sensing from the rigidity in her voice that it would be difficult to persuade her otherwise, I gave up on trying to change her mind.
As usual, I inflicted a wound upon myself to perform the treatment. I couldn't say I had grown used to the pain, but I could endure it.
While the treatment was underway, Clarissa closed her eyes with an expression of pure ecstasy.
After a while, I pulled my hand away. The scars on her jaw had vanished without a trace.
Clarissa picked up the small hand mirror from the desk to inspect the healed area.
"Today as well, it has healed beautifully. To be granted such a miracle… even now, it feels as though I am dreaming."
I was starting to wonder if this treatment method, Transplant Magic, had some kind of side effect when used over a long period. Lina was a girl of few words, so it was hard to tell, but there were signs that her feelings toward me were becoming excessive as well.
Perhaps I really should seal away Transplant Magic, I thought, as I left Clarissa’s room supported by Mira.
◇◇◇
The hallways of the Marquis's Manor were long. A row of narrow windows lined the side facing the courtyard, and the light streaming in cast rhythmic stripes across the floor.
Beyond those stripes, at the end of the hallway, was a three-way junction.
In the middle of that junction, I saw Marquis Ahrens’s back.
He was facing a young knight. The man stood stiffly, reporting something in a rapid-fire cadence.
Mira and I stopped in our tracks.
For me in my nun’s habit and Mira in her maid’s outfit to run up and call out to the Marquis in this situation would be unnatural no matter how we framed it. Normally, a "nun attending the Saint" who was staying at the manor to treat Clarissa would not speak publicly with the head of the house.
"Let’s wait a moment."
Staying where we were, we leaned against the wall and waited for the two to finish their conversation.
There was considerable distance between us. I could barely hear their voices.
However, from the knight’s rapid speech, a few fragments of sound reached our ears.
"…In the direction of the slums…"
"…Fingertips…"
"…Turning black…"
"…Consult with a doctor…"
The Marquis gave neither a nod nor a reply. Deep wrinkles were etched between his brows. In his eyes, which had finally begun to lose their look of exhaustion lately, a dark shadow had fallen once again.
The knight finished his report, bowed, and hurried off down the hallway to the right.
The Marquis didn't move for a while. He turned toward the courtyard windows, simply staring out at the sunlight. Eventually, as if he had made a decision, he turned on his heel and disappeared down the left hallway.
No one came toward the direction where we were waiting.
"…Did something happen?"
"I wonder… I hope it’s nothing serious."
Even as I spoke, I had a faint, nagging feeling that something terrible was about to occur.
◇◇◇
That day, even as the sun began to dip toward the horizon, Big Sister Therese did not return.
I had heard that Church business could sometimes drag on late. I assumed today was simply one of those days. She’ll just be a little late, I told myself.
As I was waiting for the dinner hour, there was a heavy, urgent knocking at the door of the guest room.
Mira opened the door.
Standing there was a messenger of the Marquis. He was panting heavily, his chest heaving as if he had run the entire way.
"Forgive… please, forgive my intrusion…"
Without even a moment to catch his breath, the messenger gasped out his message.
"The Saint—she has collapsed at a church in the city."
The air in the room seemed to freeze.
"She is unconscious… they are bringing her here immediately…"
His voice trailed off.
I had stood up from my chair. I know I stood up, yet I felt as if the floor were giving way beneath my feet.