Four days had passed since we left the capital of the Marquisate of Ahrens.
Our destination was the neighboring Countship of Soest. We had heard that many people in its capital were also falling victim to that same poison.
Four of us were inside the carriage: myself, dressed as a sister with a wimple hiding my hair; Mira, sitting beside me; and Lina and Big Sister Therese, sitting opposite us. Outside, Anton and the knights of House Werl provided our escort. A short distance away, Katia and the unit from House Laufen rode alongside. Occasionally, Katia would glance toward our carriage, her face twisted with envy.
There was a reason for that look. It went back to our first night on the road.
Our party had rented out an entire inn. When it came to the room assignments, the four of us were placed together in a single room. Katia had frozen in shock when she realized what was happening.
"Wait a minute... Is Rein staying in the same room too?"
"The cover story is that he is the Saint's attendant and a Saint-in-training. Besides, he requires protection," Mira replied with a composed face.
Stunned, Katia looked to me for a denial, but since it was true, I simply gave a slow nod.
"That’s... what if something happens...?"
Whatever she was imagining, Katia turned bright red. She looked back and forth between Mira and me several times, lost in thought for a moment, before suddenly shouting.
"I’m staying in the same room too, just to keep watch!"
As she tried to burst into the room, a hand reached out from behind and grabbed Katia by the scruff of her neck. It was Lutz.
"There's no way I can let Milady stay in the same room as a man. Come on, get back to your own room already."
"If you're talking about men, what about Mira and the others?!"
"That's for them to worry about. If Lord Georg finds out I let Milady share a room with a man, he'll kill me."
"Hey, Lutz! Let go! I'm Rein's—"
Katia flailed her arms and legs as she was dragged down the hallway. Big Sister Therese closed the door with a smile. I felt a strange mix of relief and guilt toward Katia.
After that, perhaps feeling a sense of isolation, she would occasionally approach the carriage to talk to me, though she never failed to cast envious glances at our vehicle.
We passed through checkpoints and inns with surprising ease. Marquis Ahrens had sent word ahead of us, clearing the way. However, a different sort of trouble began to emerge.
From the time we passed the first village, things started to get strange.
People were standing on both sides of the road. It wasn't just a few; it felt like every single person in the village had come out to see us.
"It's the Saint."
"The White Angel...!"
People clutched their hands together, praying toward the carriage. Though the knights led the way, the crowds were slow to disperse. The carriage had to maneuver carefully to avoid them, slowing our pace to something less than a walk.
Big Sister Therese opened the window curtains and gave a small wave. The cheers grew louder. She looked dignified and composed, as if she were well-accustomed to such attention.
"Go on, Rein, you too," she whispered.
Prompted, I waved as well. The cheers reached a fever pitch.
It felt like a triumphal parade, and I couldn't settle into my seat no matter how I adjusted myself.
◇◇◇
The next day, as the sun began to dip toward the horizon, the city of Soest came into view.
It was a size smaller than the previous capital, with lower city walls. Gray stone and the pointed roof of a church rose from the middle of vast wheat fields.
A crowd had already gathered in front of the gate, likely having heard the rumors of our arrival.
"Saint...!"
"White Angel, please... please, save my husband..."
It felt less like a welcome and more like a desperate plea. People knelt in prayer. Others wept as they called out names—likely the family members who had fallen ill. Many faces looked exhausted, as if they hadn't slept in days. The look in their eyes was different from the villagers we had encountered along the way. The only word that came to mind was "desperate."
Because the cause was known to be poison, the city wasn't under lockdown like the last one. The gates were open and the market was active, but that didn't mean the victims were recovering. Healers capable of using detoxification magic were in short supply everywhere. That was why I had been called.
The fact that they were still pleading with me meant they were still at the stage of nursing the sick. We had arrived while there was still time. I chose to focus on that.
The lord's manor was located in the center of the city.
The lord, Count Soest, was a man with black hair neatly slicked back. He had the air of a chairman of a large merchant guild rather than a feudal lord. Despite the crisis, his posture was perfect, and his eyes moved constantly as if appraising us. Beside him stood Bishop Jonas, a short, elderly man who bowed deeply upon seeing us.
"This is a letter of introduction from Marquis Ahrens," Big Sister Therese said, handing over a parcel.
In public, she referred to herself more formally. I noticed the warmth in her voice dropped significantly when she spoke.
"I have indeed received it. I heard of your arrival through a letter from the Cardinal....Saint, and you must be the Saint-in-training mentioned in the letter—the 'White Angel.' Rumors of your deeds have reached even this city."
I bowed silently. I chose to ignore the fact that he addressed me as a lady. It had been decided that I wouldn't answer even if asked for my name; the Cardinal had requested this arrangement in his letter. Therefore, a bow was all that was necessary.
Count Soest looked at each of us in turn before beckoning to a boy standing behind him.
"This is my heir, Moritz. He is thirteen. I hope you will become acquainted....In times like these, it is important to establish connections for the young early on."
Apparently, even when the city was in dire straits, he didn't forget political pleasantries.
The boy had brown curly hair and sun-tanned skin. He was about half a head taller than me. He stepped forward energetically to speak—then stopped dead when he looked at me.
"I am Moritz Soest. Saint, and, um..."
Our eyes met. Moritz froze with his mouth open. His ears turned bright red.
"Come now, Moritz. Give your greetings."
"...I—I have heard much of you!"
The greeting that finally came out was high-pitched and cracking. I wondered if he was feeling unwell. This city had been through a lot, so he might simply be exhausted. Even after greeting me, he continued to stare blankly in my direction.
"The treatments will be handled primarily by this child," Therese said. "Her capacity for treatment is superior to mine. I shall provide support. —Now, if we may, please tell us about the situation in the city."
What the Bishop told us was grim.
The first victims had appeared about three weeks ago. To date, roughly eight hundred people had collapsed. After they rounded up and burned the suspicious wheat, the number of new victims had decreased significantly. Nevertheless, there were still over five hundred people currently bedridden. Those who were only mildly affected had begun to recover, but there were only a few doctors and priests in the city capable of using detoxification magic, and they couldn't keep up with the demand. The poor who had collapsed early on had seen their extremities turn black—and several had already passed away. The Bishop exhaled a long sigh after finishing his explanation.
Count Soest took over to discuss the city's affairs. Apparently, the wheat was no longer selling. The citizens couldn't distinguish which grain was safe. As for flour, there was no way to tell at all, leading to deep-seated paranoia. Though the market was open, people avoided the flour merchants and bakeries.
"Furthermore, there is a strange matter," Count Soest continued.
"If buyers withdraw due to such reputational damage, the price of wheat should drop. That is the nature of trade. However—it is not dropping. When I questioned the wholesalers, it seems there were bulk purchases made at low prices... but I cannot understand the logic of rushing to buy in this current situation."
Had someone taken the risk to buy in bulk? Or perhaps they knew how to distinguish the poison? Count Soest’s expression looked more troubled than when he was talking about the victims.
"Do you know who is responsible for distributing the poison?" I asked softly.
Count Soest nodded.
"Shortly before the poison began to circulate, a new batch of cheap wheat arrived. The ones who came to sell it... were a group of unfamiliar people dressed as peddlers, and they supposedly had a unique accent."
"Would it happen to be these people?"
Big Sister Therese produced a sketch of the suspects that had been enclosed with our letter of introduction. It was something Marquis Ahrens had provided. It included descriptions of their accent and their attire.
Count Soest took the sketch and examined it, then called for an attendant to bring some notes. He said they were written accounts taken from gatekeepers and market officials when they investigated the source of the wheat. He compared them side-by-side with the sketch. The furrow between his brows grew deeper.
"...They match. The clothing, the accent. It is safe to assume they are the same group."
"Are they going around the cities one by one to distribute the poison?" I asked. "I feel like selling it all at once would cause more damage..."
"They might be trying to keep their base of operations hidden," the Count suggested. "Many people go peddling in the countryside with wagons, but it's common to leave months between visits to the same village. Therefore, you wouldn't normally pass multiple wagons on a country road. If they had sent them out all at once, the approximate location of their base would have likely been narrowed down by now."
"I see..."
"We can discuss the finer details later. For today, please rest....Moritz. Guide our guests to their rooms."
Count Soest spoke and glanced to his side. Moritz had been completely distracted, staring blankly at me the entire time.
"Moritz?"
"—Y-Yes! Th-This way, please! White Angel-sama!!"
As if snapped out of a trance, Moritz jumped to his feet. His ears were still red. I really did think he might be unwell.
◇◇◇
Once in our room, we were discussing what Count Soest had said when a member of the manor staff brought in some correspondence.
"Letters have arrived for everyone from House Werl."
It was a letter from Father. There was one each for Mira, Lina, Big Sister Therese, and me. I opened mine.
It started with advice like, “Rein's health is the most important, so do not overdo it. As a noble, you must eventually learn that, in the worst cases, you may have to abandon people,” which stung to read. But the main point came after that.
In the letter, Father outlined his plan for how to have the Church repay their debt:
“In preparation for the possibility of a major war—I want the Church to prepare to gather recovery magic users from various territories and send them out en masse upon our request. In other words, what do you think of a promise for the Church to provide reinforcements for House Werl? While not as rare as detoxification magic users, recovery magic users are still quite valuable. Forcing the Church to secretly pull them from their respective territories and prepare for deployment independently of the Central government would require them to exert considerable pressure. Given the current atmosphere, war seems highly probable, but the Central cannot be trusted. Therefore, I have drafted this as a means to keep the borderlands alive without relying on them. We can discuss the specifics later. What are your thoughts?”
The letter ended there.
I didn't have any particular feelings toward the Church. Witnessing the worsening situation firsthand, I felt it was a sound proposal and decided I would reply in the affirmative.
Mira and Lina were also reading their letters. When they finished, they both stole a glance at me. After Big Sister Therese finished reading, her expression softened slightly, and she folded the letter without saying a word. No one spoke of what had been written.
That night, after we finished preparing for bed, the three of them gathered around me.
"Let's sleep in this arrangement today," Big Sister Therese said as if it were the most natural thing in the world, pulling her own bed next to mine.
"For security purposes, I shall take this side," Mira said with a straight face, taking the other side. Lina also silently placed her pillow on the bed.
...I wondered why. I hadn't even started treatments yet, and I didn't feel like I was going to have nightmares. And yet, to sleep in the same bed...
"Um, I haven't even done anything today—"
"It's fine. Just go to sleep already."
No one would tell me the reason. Ironically, it took me a very long time to fall asleep that night.