Chapter 39: Princess
"Martine, are you okay?"
"Oh, Your Highness...?"
When Alexis-sama called out, Martine-sama opened her eyes slightly and spoke with a hoarse voice.
I think Martine-sama is around the same age as me. She's a girl with blonde hair and pale pink eyes. She's currently quite thin and worn out, so it's hard to tell, but I think she must be a very cute girl.
Being the same age as me, she's probably only around nine years old. To suffer from an illness at such a young age...
Her breathing is labored, and even moving her body a little seems incredibly painful for her. She probably can't eat much either. There's rice porridge-like food on the table near the bed, but it's barely touched.
The room is filled with the scent of herbs, so I assume the herbalist is doing their best, but it doesn't seem to have much effect.
What kind of illness could this be... Maybe if I cover her whole body with healing magic, I can find out.
"Leon-kun, can you help my daughter, Martine?"
Alexis-sama asked me with a slightly teary voice.
"Yes. I don't know yet, but I will do everything I can."
"Yeah. You're our last hope. Please take care of Martine."
Saying that, Alexis-sama stepped aside and let me have a seat. I moved a chair closer to the bed and sat down.
"Martine-sama, I'm going to use healing magic on you now, so please relax your whole body."
As I said that, Martine-sama seemed to nod slightly.
Alright! I took a deep breath and used healing magic with all my might.
When I covered Martine-sama's whole body with healing magic, I realized that there were many bad things inside her. This reaction is different from when it happened to Mr. Alban, so it doesn't feel like a virus. It feels more like there are bad cells. Could it be cancer?
And... they're moving?
The bad cells seem to be moving along with the blood flow. No, are there bad cells along the blood vessels?
I don't really understand, but I guess this is a blood-related disease. Hmm, I don't have any medical knowledge, so I don't know. If only I had gone to medical school, I could have made better use of this ability!
Well, I don't need to diagnose the exact disease right now. I just need to cure it. I gathered my determination once again.
Anyway, I have to remove all these bad cells or restore them to normal. While imagining everything returning to normal, I continued to use healing magic.
Ugh... This consumes quite a lot of magical power...
My imagination is still too vague, after all. But I can't study medicine now, so I have no choice but to rely on the amount of magical power.
I'm running on a very tight supply of magical power, but since my body is small, maybe I can manage somehow...
I struggled to maintain my fading consciousness and poured magic into it.
I had no idea how much time had passed. It felt like hours to me, but in reality, it might have been only a few minutes.
Finally, the treatment was over. Upon checking, it seemed that there was nothing wrong anywhere.
I was able to heal... I'm glad.
Feeling relieved, I thought that, and then my vision darkened, and I lost consciousness.
Huh? Where am I?
When I woke up, I saw an unusually luxurious ceiling. Wasn't I staying at the Duke's house...?
No! I received treatment and then lost consciousness!
What happened? Was it successful?
I hurriedly sat up in a rush. And there, it was still Martine-sama's room.
I was lying on the sofa, and on the opposite sofa, Alexis-sama and Richard-sama were sitting.
"Leon-kun, have you regained consciousness?"
"I was surprised because you suddenly lost consciousness. I thought it might have been a magic depletion, so I let you sleep. Are you okay?"
"Y-Yes. I'm fine now! But what about Martine-sama? I think I was able to cure her, but..."
"Martine is still asleep. After you lost consciousness, we talked a bit, and she fell asleep right away. However, she said her body felt much better, so I think she's probably cured."
That's a relief. I finally felt like I was released from tension.
"Leon, thank you so much. I can't thank you enough. Is there something you want? If it's within my power, I'll grant it."
"Thank you very much."
Even if I'm asked that suddenly, it's difficult... What do I want the most right now?
I want a convenient mansion where magical tools are used, but I can acquire that on my own from now on.
In order to protect myself and my family, I still want status and power. My abilities seem like heresy in this world.
"Well... if possible, I would like status and power to protect myself and my family. I heard that my abilities could be targeted by nobles and other countries."
As I said that, I glanced at Alexis-sama, who had a quite surprised expression on his face.
Am I asking for too much? Maybe it would have been better to ask for a suitable amount of money or something.
While I was flustered, about to change my request, Alexis-sama spoke.
"I was just a little surprised because what you said was quite mature for a child. You don't need to panic so much."
Alexis-sama said with a wry smile.
"I will grant your wish as much as possible. However, the noble status can only be given after graduating from the Royal Academy, so it will have to wait until then. As for power, don't worry, I will assign a hidden guard to you and your family."
Good! That's a relief. I can handle anything myself, but it would be troublesome if my family were taken hostage.
For now, I feel relieved.
"Thank you very much!"
Just as I finished talking, I heard a sound from the direction of the bed.
Has Martine-sama woken up? His Majesty quickly rushed over to Martine-sama's side.
"Martine, are you awake?"
"Oh, um..."
His voice was hoarse and he couldn't speak well. His Majesty gave him some water to drink. It seems he can drink water slowly.
"Father, even though I was suffering all this time, I don't feel any pain anymore. I don't feel nauseous, and my body doesn't feel heavy."
Martine-sama said that with a puzzled expression. It seems he hasn't fully recovered to the point of being able to get up on his own, but once he can eat, he'll return to normal soon. I'm really glad.
"Martine, I'm really glad... Martine, you see, your illness was healed by Leon over there."
"Leon...?"
Their gazes were fixed on me.
"Martine-sama, nice to meet you. I'm Leon."
"You healed my illness?"
"Yes. I healed it with recovery magic."
"Thank you so much. I was in a lot of pain. Now I feel much better."
After saying that, Martine-sama smiled and then looked a little puzzled.
"But, what do you mean by recovery magic...?"
"Martine, Leon has a special power to heal illnesses with recovery magic. But it would be troublesome if this power became known, so can we keep it a secret?"
Martine-sama pondered for a while but eventually nodded quietly.
"Understood. Leon is my lifesaver. I will keep Leon's secret."
I'm glad she understands. And she really does seem mature as a princess. She gives off an elegant vibe.
"Um... Leon, you can heal illnesses, right?"
"Yes, but why does that matter?"
"In that case, could you teach me recovery magic?"
Martine-sama asked me with sparkling eyes. Huh? What does she mean? Why did the conversation suddenly turn to that?
And, the refined atmosphere from earlier seems to have disappeared...?
While I'm in utter confusion, Alexis-sama also inexplicably agrees.
"That might be a good idea. Martine has a magic power level of five and is of the recovery attribute."
"Yes! I also want to be able to heal people who are sick!"
"Leon, won't you teach Martine magic?"
Huh? Before I knew it, I'm the one who's supposed to teach magic to Martine-sama!?
Why did it come to this... Well, it's fine to teach, but there's a good chance she won't be able to do it because she lack enough magical power. In fact, the likelihood of her not being able to do it is high.
"Um, it's fine to teach, but there's also a high possibility that she won't be able to do it, you know?"
"Yeah, I understand that. Leon is special, after all. But if there's a possibility, I want you to teach her. Martine is also motivated."
Martine-sama's expectant gaze pierces through me. I can't refuse this...
"Yes. If that's what you want, I will teach them."
"Really!? Thank you, Leon."
Martine-sama's face blossomed into a radiant smile.
C-Cute...
I couldn't help but think that, but I shook my head vigorously to dismiss the thought. What am I thinking about when it comes to a nine-year-old child? Wait a minute... But I'm also nine, so is it okay?
While I was panicking and thinking about such things, the discussion about the future was progressing between Alexis-sama and Richard-sama.
"Even if we say we'll teach magic, it will attract too much attention to bring Leon to the royal palace. What should we do?"
"Well, let's see... How about teaching him at the Townsend Duke's residence?"
"At our estate?"
"Yeah, it should be fine for Leon to go to the Townsend Duke's residence, right? So we can send Martine there too."
Will the First Princess be able to go out so frequently?
"It feels strange for Martine-sama to come to our house so often without any reason..."
"Well, how about using the excuse of teaching magic to Catherine?"
"Indeed, Catherine is excellent at healing magic, but normally, it's Catherine who goes to the royal palace..."
"I see... Then let's bring Leon as Catherine's attendant. There should be male attendants other than those who take care of personal matters, right?"
"That's true. Then it should be fine."
It seems like I've been decided to come to the royal palace without even being involved in the conversation...
Well, it's fine though.
"Then, Leon, could you pretend to be Catherine's attendant and come to teach magic to Martine?"
"Understood."
"Leon, I'm counting on you from now on."
"Yes, Martine-sama."
"When Martine's condition improves, I'll have Leon come to the royal palace. Richard, please inform Catherine as well."
"Yes. Catherine will be delighted to meet Martine-sama too."
And with that, this conversation came to a temporary end. The next topic is about what to do from now on.
Martine-sama's illness seems to be generally unknown. However, it appears that most of the servants and knights working at the Kitamiya Palace are aware of it.
The other servants, apart from those accompanying Martine-sama, can say that they have been cured thanks to the pharmacist's treatment, but it seems that the servants and knights accompanying Martine-sama, as well as the pharmacist, would not be convinced.
"I think I have no choice but to tell the truth and keep it a secret from the servants, knights, and pharmacist accompanying Martine. They are all trustworthy individuals, aren't they?"
"But if we do that, there is a high possibility that it will leak from somewhere. It might be better to not be explicit and have Martine-sama say that she suddenly got better when she wakes up tomorrow. That way, it will be considered a miracle. No one would think that an illness can be cured by healing magic."
"I see. Indeed, since we know Leon's abilities, we would think that Leon did something, but those who don't know wouldn't consider that an illness can be cured by healing magic."
Certainly, even if Martine-sama recovers tomorrow morning, no one would think that Richard-sama's servant's child cured her.
"Then, Martine, can you pretend not to be feeling well until tomorrow morning? And when tomorrow comes, say that your condition improved after sleeping."
"Yes. I'm fine with that, but the situation was so critical that anyone could see that my illness could have been fatal at any moment. It's strange to think that it would be cured overnight."
"Indeed, that's true, but even if they think it's strange, they won't know who cured it. We only need to conceal Leon until he graduates from the Royal Academy, so if we can buy some time, it'll be fine."
"I see. Then I will pretend to have recovered when I wake up tomorrow morning."
"Ah, I'm counting on you. Come to the room again tomorrow."
Alexis-sama said so and gently stroked Martine-sama's head.
"Well, let's leave now. Martine, see you later."
"Martine-sama, I'm really glad you've gotten better. Please show us your healthy appearance again."
"Martine-sama, I look forward to seeing you in good health when we meet again."
We said that and the three of us left the room.