Until the Substitute Saintess is Loved: The Sister Sent to the Convent as the Villainess Heals Everyone's Hearts with Her Healing Powers - Chapter 17

“Thanks to Lord Landrick, things have settled down considerably, but it seems we can’t let our guard down.”

I nodded in agreement with Mona’s words.

Yesterday, Lord Landrick shared his abundant magical power with us, allowing us to save many patients.

However, a long line had already formed in front of the clinic early this morning. While they weren’t severe enough to be hospitalized, if it was Kuzen disease, they had to be isolated. Even with a common cold, a sore throat could occur. In the early stages, it was impossible to tell which it was.

(If only we had Sennagi grass, this would be solved…)

The Sennagi grass Mona was growing in her room was fine, but the Sennagi grass I had started growing in my room was still too young to use as medicine.

I wonder what happened to the stolen Sennagi grass. If it hadn’t been discarded yet, drying and brewing it would make it usable as medicine. But that was probably impossible. If it couldn’t be sold, it would just be thrown away.

“Even though the healing stones calmed things down temporarily, why did some patients hide their symptoms?”

“Probably because they’d be isolated, right? If they can’t work, it affects their livelihood.”

The mother of the young child yesterday had said she was too busy with work to come.

Many people don’t want to take time off work. Sometimes, taking just one day off could mean losing their job. Such people would just take the medicine and try to manage on their own.

Normally, that wouldn’t be a big deal, but Kuzen disease was particularly nasty. Its early symptoms resembled both the common cold and Zeka fever, so people tended to take it lightly.

“But if you die, you lose everything, work or not. Even though we issued a public notice, some still don’t come to the clinic properly.”

“However, I believe the terror of Kuzen disease is now widely known, so they should come to the clinic without being careless.”

The long line of patients waiting outside the gate was proof of that.

Everyone who made it to the clinic managed to survive. But there were also those who couldn’t come.

And through the sad farewells of loved ones, they must have learned firsthand the horror of Kuzen disease.

“Ah, complaining won’t help. Let’s do our best today too.”

Rolling up her sleeves with determination, Mona and I headed to the dispensary.

The unique smell drifted from the dispensary again today.

I sensed Mona flinch slightly.

“It’s quite pungent, isn’t it? Does it feel even more stagnant today?”

“Ah, Mona, you came to relieve me? Even Lady Lupina!”

“Hey, Pikka! Don’t run. And you’re holding herbs too.”

“Whoa, sorry Mona, I just got carried away. I’m glad you’re here!”

“Are you the only one here?”

“Well, a patient in the treatment room got violent, and two others just ran to help a moment ago.”

Mona and I instinctively exchanged glances.

We hadn’t received any notification.

If we had, we would have come sooner.

“You should have notified us properly too. Then we would have come here earlier.”

“Ah, that! Lord Landrick issued a notice telling everyone not to overdo it, you know?”

“No, that’s not what he meant…”

Mona held her head lightly and sighed.

What Lord Landrick meant was that he didn’t want us doing all-nighters or pushing beyond our limits. Sudden emergencies like this probably weren’t included.

“Huh, was that wrong?”

Mona ruffled Pikka’s confused head through her veil, comforting her, “It’s fine, it’s fine, you’re doing your best.”

“Anyway, let’s open the window a bit. If the herbal smell gets too concentrated, it’ll be hard to breathe.”

To me, it was a familiar, pleasant scent, but the strong herbal odor could make some people feel unwell. In fact, even Mona flinched momentarily, showing how stagnant the air in this room was.

When I opened the window, a gentle breeze entered, making the curtains flutter.

“So, how far along are you? If it was just you, you probably haven’t gotten much done, right?”

“Rizel and Lute were handling the brewing. I was rolling the pills.”

“Ah, so it was their shift. Then the measurements for the various herbs should be fine. I’ll finish preparing the medicinal bath.”

The herbs simmering in the pot just needed occasional stirring. They gradually changed from green to a tea-brown color, making it easy to tell when to turn off the heat.

“Then, I’ll work on preparing the ointment.”

The sores from Kuzen disease could be healed to some extent with ointment. After that, my healing magic could erase the remnants. In advanced stages, we couldn’t afford such luxuries, but for patients whose symptoms had stabilized, it was perfectly sufficient.

(It’s all thanks to Lord Landrick coming that everyone was saved.)

He shared his magical power as if it were limitless, but I had realized it.

That level of magical output must have placed a significant burden on his body.

How many times had I thought to refuse during the process?

But Lord Landrick prioritized the patients’ treatment and my condition.

(He said he’d come again today, but…)

If possible, I wished he would rest.

Thanks to him, the clinic clearly had some breathing room now. We had consumed that much magical power in yesterday’s treatments. No matter how magically gifted the royal family was, it should have taken a toll on his health.

As I mixed the ointment in the mortar, my own fingertips inevitably caught my eye.

Thanks to the high-quality ointment Lord Landrick had donated, my hands, which had been cracked and bleeding, had healed to the point of only slight roughness. If I continued using it, they would probably fully recover in the not-too-distant future.

Yesterday, even though it was for supplying magical power, Lord Landrick had held my hand tightly, yet caringly.

During the treatment, I was too preoccupied to notice, but now, remembering it made me feel embarrassed.

Recalling how close we inevitably were, for some reason, my heart felt unsettled.

I shouldn’t even think about why—I shouldn’t ponder the reason.

(Because the me here is Sister-in-law Lupina. The wicked woman who tormented Lord Landrick’s precious childhood friend.)

I had no right to receive kindness from him.

Lord Landrick simply wanted to save the patients. To do that, he had to transfer magical power to me, the one who could use healing magic. That was all.

Then, to repay that kindness, I would save every patient in this clinic.

Striving for careful, yet swift and efficient movements, I continued mixing herbs in the mortar, creating ointment after ointment.

About two hours must have passed while I was compounding.

Rizel and Lute returned.

“Whoa, Lupina and Mona…”

Rizel muttered, as if without thinking.

Lute hurriedly covered her mouth with one hand through the veil.

It seemed neither of them knew we were coming.

From Mona, I sensed an anger so intense it felt like it could crackle.

“Welcome back, you two! How did it go with the violent patient?”

Pikka, with her fluffy demeanor, unknowingly diverted the topic without noticing anything.

“It was quite challenging, but we managed.”

“He didn’t need to get that violent, really… Because of that, treatments are delayed.”

“Lute. Are you hurt?”

“What do you think? Of course I’m hurt, okay? The patient was thrashing so violently. That kind of thing should be handled by the men, don’t you think?”

“Don’t snap at me like that. Let me treat it, show me your arm.”

“I don’t need Mona to do it, I’m fine.”

“Don’t you notice? Your sleeve is stained with blood.”

When Mona mentioned it, I noticed too.

There was a stain on Lute’s habit sleeve. The habit was primarily black, but the cuffs were white. Since they get dirty easily, they’re designed to be removable, but Lute’s cuff had a red stain seeping through.

“Huh, Lute, when did you get hurt there?”

“I thought it hurt, but I didn’t realize I was bleeding. I’ll go change my cuff.”

“Then at least let me bandage it first.”

Saying “Honestly,” Mona forcibly sat Lute down on a chair and applied an ointment effective for wounds. Since it was the dispensary, all kinds of medicines were available, and there were naturally spare, clean bandages in the drawer.

Skillfully, she wrapped the bandage around Lute’s wrist in a flash, and Mona smiled.

“See, that was quick, right? Faster than treating it one-handed.”

“…I’ll say thank you, at least. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

After Lute left the dispensary to change her cuff, the remaining Rizel looked somewhat uncomfortable.

(It must be awkward for her…)

If possible, I wanted to show through my attitude that I wasn’t bothered, but doing that would clearly add fuel to the fire. So, I continued compounding, emptying my mind to avoid provoking her as much as possible.

“Ah—, that. We’re missing that.”

Abruptly, Mona muttered in a flat tone.

“What’s ‘that’?”

“That is that. Hey, Pikka, could you go get some spare bandages from the Head Sister’s office?”

“Th-then, I can—”

“Ah, it’s fine. I have something else to ask Rizel. Pikka, you’ll go, right? Actually, isn’t it about time for a break?”

“That’s right, I forgot about break time!”

“I thought so. After your break, when you come back, stop by the Head Sister’s office.”

“Got it! Okay, I’ll take a little break then!”

Her smiling face was visible even through the veil as Pikka ran off cheerfully.

“Now, then.”

Closing the door with a snap, Mona turned to face Rizel. Unless Mona moved, there was no way out of the room.

Stared at intently, Rizel took a few steps back.

“Rizel. This is a good opportunity, so I want to ask you something.”

“Wh-what is it…?”

“Why do you all have it in for Lupina?”

Since it was something I had always wanted to know, I stared at Mona in surprise.

“Lupina, well, she certainly has quite a reputation. Rumors like she only treats handsome, high-status men; that she’s arrogant and selfish, and doesn’t even see commoners as people. In the royal capital, there’s hardly anyone who doesn’t know about Lupina’s various misdeeds.”

“Th-that’s right, she’s a villainess through and through! Since such a villainess has been dumped here, nobody wants to get involved, right?”

“Right, everyone either watches from a distance or ignores her. They don’t try to get involved. But you all actively engage with her. You go out of your way to harass her. Why go that far?”

“B-because she’s a villainess…”

“That’s not the real reason, is it? Besides, Lupina is still a Count’s daughter here, right? Her rank is higher than Griffe, whom you serve.”

“In the abbey, social status shouldn’t matter!”

“That’s just for show. You know it. Because when you’re harassing Lupina, your fingertips tremble, don’t they? You don’t really want to harass her, do you?”

Noticing Mona looking at her hands, Rizel overlapped them in front of her chest as if to hide them.

While their harassment had bothered me somewhat, I had never observed them closely.

(Is there some circumstance…?)

Rizel and Lute, who came to this abbey as Lady Griffe’s attendants, didn’t actually need to wear veils.

Perhaps it was related to that as well.

“Hey. What did Griffe tell you?”

“…Lady Griffe has nothing to do with this. This is something I’m doing on my own.”

“I see. Then I won’t ask you anymore. Instead, I’ll press Lute for answers. That girl seems tough but is weak under pressure.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Yes, so?”

“It’s none of your business, is it?”

“Don’t be stupid. You understand, right? Lupina is my dear friend. I can’t just stay silent when my friend is being unjustly tormented.”

Even in such a moment, the word “friend” made happiness well up inside me.

“Stop it already! Isn’t everything Lupina’s own fault? If it weren’t for you, Lady Griffe wouldn’t have had to come to this abbey! Why, of all places, this abbey? Don’t cause Lady Griffe any more suffering!”

Under Rizel’s intense gaze, visible even through the veil, I took a few steps back.

“You are an unforgivable person. You should suffer endlessly!”

“Ah, wait!”

Finishing with a near-shout, Rizel pushed past Mona and rushed out of the room.

Shrugging her shoulders, Mona gave a wry smile.

“Sorry, in the end, I didn’t find out the reason. I wanted to resolve this quickly and stop the harassment against you.”

“No, thank you for asking.”

It wasn’t just simple harassment.

Something must have happened between Lady Griffe and Sister-in-law Lupina.

A Baron’s daughter and a Count’s daughter.

My sister-in-law probably saw no issue in oppressing lower nobility.

And also…

“I was happy when you called me your friend, Mona.”

“Eh, that part? But it’s the truth. Ah, geez, I’m getting embarrassed now. Let’s finish making the medicine quickly.”

Mona smiled sheepishly and started wrapping powdered medicine in paper.

In the afternoon, as promised, Lord Landrick visited the clinic.

“My apologies for being late.”

Even though there was no need for an apology whatsoever, Lord Landrick extended his hand to me. I didn’t understand why it was offered.

“What’s wrong? You need my magical power, don’t you?”

“Will you share your power with me again today?”

“That’s why I came. The healing stones are running quite low. There’s a limit to how many we can allocate here.”

With healing stones scarce and Sennagi grass supplies dwindling, being able to use Lord Landrick’s vast magical power was a blessing.

“Excuse me.”

Gently, I placed my hand over his outstretched one.

His large, rugged, yet gentle hand cautiously squeezed back.

“I heard there was a violent patient this morning.”

“Yes, it seems the pain was quite severe.”

According to rumors from other sisters later, the violent patient had a broken leg but had tried to just take the medicine and leave.

He apparently tried to walk on it, causing the bone to break further, and he screamed.

In such a condition, I wished they had called me, but it seemed everyone was holding back because I nearly collapsed yesterday.

The fact that I wasn’t assigned to treatment duty in the morning, but instead worked on compounding with Mona, was also because the Head Sister knew I had overused my magical power and changed my assignment accordingly.

Thanks to Lord Landrick providing magical power, the critical patients have been stabilized, but there are still many patients waiting for treatment at the monastery.

How many patients will I be able to heal today?

I steal a glance at Lord Landrick. His rugged profile remains stern, with a furrow between his brows as always. Under normal circumstances, he would surely find touching hands with me distasteful.

Yet, I can’t help but feel endless gratitude for his willingness to generously offer his magical power for the patients’ treatment.

We walk along the marble corridor bordering the courtyard, heading toward the patient rooms. The clack, clack of his boots echoes through the hall.

How many rooms did we go through, and how many hours did we continue treating patients?

“Enough healing with magic for now, I assume?”

In response to Lord Landrick’s confirmation, I nod honestly.

Truly, his magical reserves are immense.

Even though I treated more patients today than yesterday, my own magical power has barely decreased. The amount supplied by Lord Landrick was on a completely different scale.

“Thank you so much for your cooperation to this extent.”

All patients with worsening swelling from Kuzen disease have been treated, and the rest should subside with medicinal baths. Even if patients start developing worsening throat swelling again, by then the Sennagi grass will have fully grown.

I bow deeply and express my thanks.

His hand, which had remained connected to mine, twitched in response.

“Is something wrong…?”

“N-no, it’s nothing.”

He pulled his hand away as if shaking it off abruptly.

(I’m sorry for keeping hold of it for so long.)

Why did I keep holding it even after the treatment was over? It was too unconscious.

Lord Landrick covered his face with one hand as if to say “damn it,” let out a light sigh, and shook his head.

“I’m returning to the castle now, but contact me immediately if anything happens.”

“Yes. I believe the head priest will be the one to contact you.”

“Ah, yeah, that’s right. There’s no way for you to contact me directly anyway. That’s fine.”

Just as he nodded and was about to leave—

“Don’t be fooled! Everything was set up by Lupina!”

—a voice denouncing me resounded through the hall.