Until the Substitute Saintess is Loved: The Sister Sent to the Convent as the Villainess Heals Everyone's Hearts with Her Healing Powers - Chapter 27

(“What is Lord Forthner trying to do?”)

Keeping the tent where Lupina and Vetta are resting in the corner of my vision, I hide in the shadows of the trees.

Lupina harmed my youngest sister, Mimiera Rolt, the daughter of the Margrave.

I know he orchestrated this incident as retaliation for that.

I also understand he’s trying to create a suitable flaw in Lupina’s record to send her not to the royal capital but to a suitably harsh monastery instead.

To prevent that, I came along to the Margrave’s domain.

But what was that about the poisonous mushrooms earlier?

As Lupina probably noticed too, they aren’t the kind of thing that would get mixed in by accident. Someone like a soldier of the Margrave’s house would eat them without a second thought if they didn’t know they were poisonous, but they aren’t the kind of thing that would be brought in as food supplies in the first place.

So, when I think about why they were mixed in, Lord Forthner becomes suspicious in light of this whole series of disturbances.

Even if Lupina refused the poison treatment, that incident alone wouldn’t be enough to drive her out of the royal capital. We had already informed them beforehand that poison treatment wasn’t possible.

Fwin – a small sound rings out, and Vetta’s voice echoes from my earring.

‘I forced Lupina to sleep. She was too wound up; she wouldn’t have been able to sleep otherwise.’

“Yeah, you’re right. Thanks.”

‘You’re welcome. I’ll protect the inside completely, so please handle the outside.’

Another small fwin sound, and the earring falls silent.

The reason she doesn’t use honorifics with me, a member of the royal family, is that her actual age is far greater than her appearance.

Bringing Vetta along was the right decision, given the Margrave’s utterly unreasonable demands.

Even so, I couldn’t stop Lupina from being hit.

Even though I had gathered only personnel completely unconnected to Lupina beforehand, it was a failure on my part.

Even if it can be healed with recovery magic, she’s probably never been hit by a man before.

No, she probably has never been hit by anyone at all.

Despite that, she acted bravely and even swallowed Lord Forthner’s unreasonable proposal.

If things are happening like this even before the battle with the Demon Beast King, how well can I actually protect her when the real fight begins—?

I shake my head lightly, dispelling the unpleasant thought.

And at the same moment, I spot a suspicious figure approaching Lupina’s tent.

(“What are they trying to do?”)

It’s a knight of the Margrave’s house.

The tent is protected by Vetta’s barrier.

He can’t force his way inside, but his behavior is strange.

The knight, with hollow eyes, unsteadily draws his sword and, with unsteady steps, swings it down toward the tent.

Naturally, the tent won’t get a single scratch, but I can’t just leave him be.

“What are you doing here? Your tents are in a separate area, aren’t they?”

Even though he should be able to hear me, the knight continues trying to slash at the tent.

“Won’t you stop? What are you thinking?!”

I grab his shoulder firmly and pull him back, causing him to stumble and collapse.

He drops his sword, and his eyes still lack focus.

(“What is this? What’s happening?”)

An unpleasant sweat run down my spine.

He’s muttering something, but I can’t make it out.

(“Could it be poison?”)

The moment I think that, the knight suddenly begins to struggle violently.

“Wait, calm down, please!”

I quickly pin the knight’s arms behind his back as he makes strange movements and groans. Other knights, alerted by the commotion, emerge from their respective tents.

“What are you doing to a knight of my Margrave’s house!”

Forthner runs over shouting, but I want to tell him to look at the situation.

“You can see for yourself. He seems to be seeing hallucinations or something. His words make no sense. I don’t want to resort to rough methods, but I can’t hold him down like this forever.”

“You there! Tie him up!”

Clearly agitated, Forthner orders a nearby knight to bind the struggling knight who is trying to break free.

(“Was he not trying to harm Lupina?”)

I thought he was acting on Forthner’s orders.

That he was sent to harm Lupina.

But the knight’s condition is clearly abnormal, and Forthner is also flustered. It doesn’t seem like an act.

――――Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin――――

An unpleasant screech reverberated through the air.