Chapter 12: Please Save My Brother (3)
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"Just wanted to buy something."
"What do you want to buy?"
Astria lazily rose from the bed.
What's this physician talking about again?
"Oh, an artifact."
Astria, who was staring blankly at Sena, turned her back.
"Lies. Keep hiding like that. There's no advanced payment."
"Oh, no, no. I'll tell you."
Sena began to reluctantly explain the situation.
After hearing the story, Astria spoke with a bewildered expression.
"She stole money?"
Astria doubted what she had just heard.
A maid stealing money? It was the most absurd thing she had ever heard.
"I'll look into it for now."
"With just a word from me, you can see that impudent maid's face within 10 minutes."
"Your Majesty, are you going to kill a child who stole bread because he was hungry?"
Sena put his hand on his hip and spoke seriously.
"Stealing bread was wrong, but it's better to consider the circumstances and move on with a light reprimand. It's better than condemning someone to guilt without understanding the situation."
Astria was quite annoyed.
How dare he lecture me?
It was undoubtedly a case of someone letting loose reins in their mind. Or perhaps he had forgotten the subject after making a fuss.
But curiosity outweighed anger. What kind of situation could lead him to defend himself like this?
"What's the situation?"
Sena remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"…I don't know."
'Are you kidding me?'
Astria's entire body tensed.
Let's just handle this in return this time.
The maid was selected from the palace, and she was the mistress of the palace.
If she let that incompetent physician be, he would surely suffer greatly somewhere. Or perhaps he would forget his place and lose sight of his subject.
"Nevertheless, something must have happened."
But looking into Sena's eyes, Astria changed her mind.
Deep eyes.
She had regretted ignoring the opinions of someone with such eyes before.
"She's your maid. Dispose of her as you wish. But-"
Astria laughed as she looked at Sena.
It was a judgment that she could not understand at all from her perspective.
"How perfect. Don't stand in front of the nobles. You'll lose everything except your underwear."
Sena grinned.
"Then Your Majesty can help me then."
Astria sighed softly.
"...Betty. Grant gold to this idiot."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
But when Sena actually received the money pouch, he looked embarrassed.
"Oh, I don't need this much."
Astria, whose patience was now at its limit, twitched her eyebrows.
"Then give it back. Let's just forget it ever happened."
"Have a good and comfortable night, Your Majesty."
Sena fled immediately.
Astria suddenly remembered what Chris had told her.
-When Sena lies, his hair on the top of his head stands up.
'…Such a peculiar creature.'
Earlier, when he lied to her.
It was true. The hair on his head stood up.
**
He was a good person.
That was clear from the moment she saw him.
'That person seems to sparkle.'
Maid Serilda.
When she looked at people, she assessed the atmosphere. With that atmosphere, she could gauge their tastes well.
Sena's atmosphere was a color she had never seen before. A blinding white. Just walking down the street seemed to brighten the surroundings.
"…Luna."
"Yeah."
The Empress's physician. The number of replacements had exceeded 10, and all the ones who had been in charge had died.
So everyone was afraid. It was rare for harm to come to a maid because the master died, but the dying physicians were all equally nervous.
But this was an opportunity for Serilda. If she played her cards right, she could become a personal maid.
"I'm going to steal that healer's money and run away."
"W-What are you talking about?"
"You know. Ast is sick. With a maid's salary, it would take 20 years to save up. Now, this is the only way."
She has a sick younger brother.
The only way is for a priest to use advanced healing magic.
However, for commoners like Serilda to mobilize a high-level priest, a considerable amount of money was needed.
500 gold. In fact, there was no such thing as advanced holy magic for commoners. But Serilda had put all her hope into it.
"You push. Steal the money and run away when the gods aren't looking."
"I-I can't do that."
"It's for the best. Or do you want to become an accomplice? If you push, you can stop living this miserable maid life."
Before Luna could answer, Serilda moved forward and greeted Sena with a bright voice.
-Hello!
-What's your name?
'Sorry.'
Yes, she knew from the start that he was a good person. There were hardly any cases where Serilda's intuition was wrong.
But Sena was even kinder than she had imagined.
-Then you'll be a maid from today.
-I'm sorry.
-You have a sick younger brother. It must have been difficult.
He gave undeserved grace to them, who were just maids.
Even promoting her to a maid was more than enough. She even left words of encouragement, worrying that she might be harassed.
She knew he was going to die soon. Yet he still had the capacity to care for others.
If saints existed, surely this person in front of her would be one to consider.
But—
Every second was urgent. If it was the maid's salary, it would take two years to save up, but her brother's life was like a candle that could go out at any moment.
"I'm sorry…"
It must have been precious money. Not in terms of the amount of gold, but by looking at the well-preserved bag, one could tell.
She stole something precious from someone akin to a benefactor. The weight of unbearable guilt made Serilda shed tears.
She was genuinely happy when Sena made his choice. She was so grateful, even for the stories she heard about him helping in the future.
All the stories he told her were true. She wanted to be with him as much as possible… if possible.
But she had no other choice.
"The money you mentioned, I brought it."
"The Lord has been touched by your grace."
The elderly priest accepted the pouch with his wrinkled hands.
He untied it and counted the gold coins one by one. Serilda was anxious at how meticulously he counted them.
"Hurry, please. He's in such bad shape he could die any moment."
"Hmm, you're right. Very well."
The old priest chuckled unpleasantly. There were 20 extra gold coins in the pouch. But he decided not to mention it.
The money offered to him by believers was wealth offered to the goddess Justitia. Wouldn't it be better to praise the goddess with as much wealth as possible?
"Please follow me."
Serilda started to guide him.
Over the winding hills, into the alleyways endlessly.
To some slum. A remote place.
The maid's salary was enough to escape the slums, but escaping was futile as most of it was spent on her sick brother's medicine.
The elderly priest covered his nose with his hand, showing signs of disgust at the unbearable stench.
'If you've received the money, don't show your displeasure…'
Serilda had no choice but to endure it. After a while, they arrived at a dilapidated shack.
"Ast."
She opened the makeshift door and went inside. A young boy lay on the bed.
The bedding around him was soaked with blood. He was breathing heavily, barely conscious, but his breath was so weak.
Serilda hurriedly approached. She wiped the sweat from his forehead and spoke with a choked voice.
"As, it's me, your sister. Everything will be okay now. So please hold on a little longer…."
"Is this the child?"
The priest came in, still covering his nose. He seemed very careful not to touch anything inside.
Serilda wiped her tears and said.
"Yes. His health has been deteriorating rapidly for the past year. He vomits blood, has a fever, and hardly eats…"
"You don't need to explain the symptoms."
Approaching as if annoyed, the priest took out a sacred book from his pocket.
Flipping through the pages, he stopped at one place.
It was a page with <Lesser Holy Magic> written on it.
"Lord, please save this lost lamb."
As he muttered, the sacred book glowed brightly. Serilda's eyes filled with hope.
Tap.
The priest closed the book. He turned around quickly to leave. He didn't want to stay in this dirty place for another moment.
"Healing is complete. That's it."
"Now, wait a moment."
Serilda grabbed the priest's robe.
The priest only moved his eyes. There was a subtle anger emanating from him.
"Is it really over like this?"
"How dare you doubt the grace of God?"
"T-That's not it. He still can't get up. Th- The magic you just used, it's 'Advanced Holy Magic,' right?"
Cough, cough.
Astin coughed, clutching his chest in agony.
But even seeing that, the priest didn't bat an eye.
"The offering you gave was merely in exchange for using 'Holy Magic'. If that isn't enough for him to get up, it means the offering was insufficient."
"…!"
"That's it for now."
"But where is it! You said if I gave you 50 gold, you would heal him!"
Serilda grabbed the priest's robe and pleaded. The priest distorted his face like a demon, then kicked Serilda's stomach.
Thunk.
She was hit squarely and easily fell out. The priest clicked his tongue and left.
"These commoners…"
Serilda clutched her abdomen and collapsed.
She couldn't get up for a while. She just stared blankly at the spot where the priest had left.
"…That's right."
It was a fitting end for betraying a benefactor.
"I… I deserve this punishment."
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
"But…"
In her blurred vision, she saw Astin coughing.
His throat was blocked.
"Astin… He didn't do anything wrong. Why… Why…"
Wiping her tears with her sleeves, Serilda struggled to stand up.
She couldn't sit here and hesitate.
Ast was still alive.
She had to do everything she could.
**
On the way back with the heavy gold pouch.
At the door, he met the maid who had stolen the money and fled.
"Um, Sena."
Whatever she was doing, she looked a mess.
Disheveled hair. Dirty maid outfit. White tear stains.
"…Come in."
Sena let her in first.
He set down the supplies for treatment and hung his coat on the rack.
Sitting at the table, Sena spoke to Serilda.
"What's wrong?"
As soon as Sena spoke, Serilda collapsed to the floor.
"My brother is in critical condition. I gave money to the priest, but he didn't heal him. If this continues, he'll… he'll die."
Her half-sobbing made her words incomprehensible at times, but Sena understood the gist.
"I know it's shameless."
"I know I shouldn't speak out of turn to you."
"I'm willing to die. I'll accept any punishment."
"But still, still… I'm desperate. Please, Sena."
"Please, please save my brother."
"What are you doing?"
In the voice close enough to whisper, Serilda looked up.
Through tear-filled eyes, she could clearly see Sena's resolute gaze.
"Lead the way. If it's urgent."
Sena put his coat back on without hesitation.
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