Chapter 229

Chapter 229

One of the students she worked with asked. Brian, who had first mentioned Lucius’s name, shrugged and replied.

“He’s quite famous, you know. He’s even been granted a title now. He’s a bastard, but during the war, he saved the Emperor’s life and returned. Since then, he’s become the Emperor’s right-hand man… Oh, and a year ago, there was an incident where he went missing in Mia. I saw him pass by as if in a dream, but I can’t forget him. He’s said to be that handsome. Like a prince.”

“Oh, really? Is he the one with black hair?”

“That’s the Galaba prince. Elliot is blond. Radiantly blond.”

“No, sending the right-hand man to Ponto? What’s going on with the Empire?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

As they expressed their unfavorable feelings towards the Empire, the students turned to Deatrice, who stood aside, and gave her a cheerful smile.

“Oh, of course, we’re not talking about the teacher!”

“By the way, didn’t the teacher come from the Empire too? Have you seen a knight named Elliot?”

That question struck her heart. Deatrice made an effort to shake her head.

“Really? That’s too bad. These kids go crazy for handsome knights.”

“In my opinion…”

Brian opened her mouth seriously.

“He’s probably coming to marry Miss Vivian.”

“What?”

Brian had a habit of mimicking the daughter of a nobleman. If Miss Vivian wore puff sleeves, she insisted on wearing them too. If Vivian went to the temple for three days without eating or sleeping and prayed, she did the same. Vivian was her idol.

People responded with bored expressions and insincere replies. But Brian was serious.

“That makes sense. Why would the Emperor send his own knight here? He must be sending him here to marry his relative, right?”

“You fool. That knight got married a long time ago. It’s been over a year, hasn’t it?”

“Oh, really? Never mind then.”

Brian unintentionally gave the correct answer, but the conversation dispersed. The students resumed changing the bandages of incoming patients and applying ointment.

Deatrice, too, composed herself, greeted the people, and offered short prayers of blessing. Initially, someone had told her to just stand there and greet the people because there was an accident, but as people began demanding that Deatrice continue her prayers, she kept going, and it continued to this day.

A few days later, when the patients were discharged, the school returned to its routine. Students who had gone to the forest brought back mushrooms, fruits, and flowers made of candy.

Here, everyone, students and teachers alike, cooked together and ate together without discrimination. However, no matter how hard she tried, Deatrice had no talent for cooking, so she ended up making sugar flowers every time.

But now that the only thing she had to do was taken care of by someone else – probably Rosalynn – and she just wandered around, repeating tasks like rinsing washed ingredients again and again.

While this was happening, someone shouted in an irritated voice, “Where’s the butter?” It was Professor Suna, who was busy cooking fish right next to Deatrice.

“I used it all up. Someone go buy some,” she replied hastily.

“I’ll go get it,” Deatrice seized the opportunity to speak up. Rosalynn was still busy cooking stew, but she wiped her hands on her apron and looked concerned about sending Deatrice out alone.

“No, I’ll go get it,” Rosalynn insisted.

“But, Rosalynn, you’re…”

The hidden meaning behind her words was clear: “You’re much busier than I am.” Deatrice understood perfectly. She smiled and reassured Rosalynn, “I’ll go by myself. I’m sure I can handle buying one item.”

“But…”

“I’ll be back soon.”

With that, Deatrice took off her apron and headed to the kitchen.

Rosalynn sighed, unable to bear the sight of her young charge running errands. She wondered how long this lifestyle would continue.

Of course, having once abandoned Deatrice, Rosalynn felt she couldn’t refuse to do something herself this time.

She silently prayed that if there were a god watching over this place, they would relieve her charge of her burdens. After offering this prayer, Rosalynn returned her attention to the stew and placed the pasta pan over the fire.

***

Walking through the short forest path and emerging onto the bustling streets, Deatrice realized that all of this had been a mistake.

Seeing the bustling crowd, busier than usual, she was certain that the “Imperial Knight” had arrived in Ponto. Only then did she realize that the handful of students who had left earlier claiming to have something to do had simply gone home to watch the procession.

“How foolish of me not to notice sooner,” she chided herself.

Deatrice pressed herself against the wall, avoiding the throngs of people flooding the streets. The street was crowded with people. Thankfully, it seemed that the procession had already ended, but there were still people lingering about, aimlessly wandering the streets.

Walking down such a crowded street without an escort was a first for her. Throughout the journey, Deatrice remained tense, worried that someone with ill intentions might appear suddenly.

Fortunately, her cautious approach allowed her to arrive at the shops at an appropriate time. The gathered women were all discussing the magnificence of the knights they had just seen. Apparently, Lucius had left for the lord’s castle several hours ago.

Whenever she thought of him, her heart fluttered and her chest ached. Perhaps Lucius was unaware of her presence here.