Chapter 228

Chapter 228

Her rejection was vividly clear. Holding onto someone who wouldn’t come back, all he could do was resent her.

Why bother with something so obvious?

Why both of them would surely be hurtful?

That was his thought.

“So you don’t have to worry about it.”

Lucius said with a faint smile. In the end, Tom couldn’t give any response.

***

“Imperial knights are coming soon!”

Deatrice turned her head involuntarily at the voice of a child shouting as if flying.

The child, who usually admired knights, sat on a rock, delightedly fluttering like a butterfly upon hearing the news from somewhere. The volunteer, skillfully responding to the her interested voice, swiftly wrapped bandages around the arms of another child he was tending to.

As he handed a tiny sugar-coated violet flower to the chirping child, the child gathered her hands and focused solely on the flower. It was a violet flower candy given to every child receiving treatment here. Although it tasted like nothing special, children treated it as a treasure, handling it carefully as if it were precious.

And seeing such scenes, the fatigue from staying up all night making the violet flower candies dissipated. Deatrice explained the precautions to the outgoing child to prevent further injury and then gently caressed her face.

“I don’t know. Maybe they’re bringing relief supplies? They say they’re bringing lots of good things.”

“Why would Imperial knights do that?”

Meanwhile, on the other side, the talk about the Imperial knights was still going strong. Brian, who knew about them well, chimed in with a hint of bias.

“I’ve heard about that too. Apparently, it’s a knight brigade personally sent by the emperor. And why, you ask? Because the lady of the lord is a cousin of the Empress of the Empire. So, the emperor himself is sending the knight brigade. You know, that famous knight who saved the emperor’s life!”

As she was cutting bandages, her hand loosened, and the scissors clattered to the ground. Deatrice didn’t even realize she had dropped them until someone else picked them up.

“Oh, um, what is his name? I only remember they said he was handsome.”

“Yes, it’s a difficult name.. Ah! It’s Lucius Elliot.”

Someone mentioned the name that was in Deatrice’s mind. Deatrice closed her eyes tightly and clenched her fist. She never expected to hear his name here. It was a moment that made all her efforts to distance herself seem futile.

Three months ago, Deatrice had completely left the empire.

Since the time she met Lucius and he told her to leave him, or even before that, the option of leaving the empire had become clear.

As soon as she regained her strength, Deatrice contacted Sophie and told her she wanted to go to Alhenn, to the temple she promised to visit. But Sophie couldn’t accept that she would go to Alhenn’s temple alone, become a priestess, and refused to allow it.

Sophie suggested that if she had to leave, they go to Galaba together, where there were many people in need of the care of a priestess. Since there were many people in Galaba who needed the touch of a priest, if she wanted to serve and live there, she could take care of the needy neighbors and live there.

Since the purpose was to leave the empire where Lucius was, Deatrice didn’t hesitate to leave anywhere, even if it was Frederick’s country. Sophie took Deatrice to the temple in Ponto and brought her to the nearby girls’ school. It was a place where women and children were primarily treated and educated.

For the past three months, Deatrice had stayed here, teaching Imperial language to children, making flower candies to share with sick children, organizing bandages and medical supplies, and cleaning.

At first, she was utterly clumsy.

Ponto, which had been attacked by monsters, was in ruins, and she handled tasks without any system or skill, simply because she didn’t know that even tasks that clearly involved physical effort required organization and skill to be done neatly and quickly.

Now, thankfully, there were fewer injured people. But just two months ago, she was considered useless, nothing more than an obstacle.

“Of course. Miss, you’ve never experienced such things in your life. It wasn’t your destiny.”

Rosalynn, who was efficiently handling the work of one or even two or three people, would often bring warm milk with honey in it during the nights to comfort Deatrice, who would be engulfed in self-blame. Sometimes, she would shed tears before Deatrice did.

“I just can’t understand why you have to suffer like this.”

Being thrown into a new environment without knowing anyone was undoubtedly difficult. But being busy like this allowed her to think less about Lucius, not just the guilt but all thoughts about him.

People often say that the one who leaves is better off than the one who is left behind, but Deatrice didn’t think so. The one who leaves also has just as many memories as the one who is left behind. If anything, it was easier to remember his name vividly in this unfamiliar place, where it wouldn’t rust away.

Deatrice had finally reached a point where she wasn’t burdening anyone and could handle her own share of work. Perhaps with a little more effort, she could carve out her place and adapt even in this sudden place. That was what Deatrice thought until she heard Lucius’s name.

“Lucius Elliot? Is he some famous person?”