Chapter 99: The End of a Festival (III).
Trigger Warning: Mentions of suicide.
The stalls outside the arena are filled with chaos as vendors scramble to pack up their goods and equipment. Crates and barrels are being hurriedly shoved into wagons, the air thick with the sound of hurried footsteps and clattering metal.
One vendor, struggling with a large tent, calls out, "I've got the tent! D-Don't drop it! Just so you know, I have a permit for this!"
They hold the tent tightly, as another person fumbles with the ropes, nearly causing the structure to collapse.
Nearby, another stallkeeper shouts, "Last-minute sale! Get them before they're gone! We're leaving soon!"
They stuff their remaining wares into bags and boxes, some items spilling out as they try to get everything packed.
Amidst the flurry of activity, one vendor is seen wrestling with a tangled mess of ropes, frustration evident on their face. "Ah-! This is exactly why I told you to handle the equipment carefully!"
They tug at the ropes, their hands fumbling in haste.
Then they stop, looking panicked. "Oh… What will my mom say? She'll drag me by the ears all the way across the West Kingdom!"
The festival has come to an end.
…
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Inside the infirmary, now late in the evening.
Professor Fraeya knocks on the door, all tired because somehow she manages to convince all of the professors to let her handle things on her own first but from the looks of it once the Dean of the academy hears what happened…
"I will personally inform the Dean of the situation. Please, do not disturb Lady Evelyn Alarie and Analissa Blanchet in the infirmary, and ensure their privacy is fully protected. Once this matter becomes public…" She steadied herself, putting on a composed expression as she spoke, though the weight of the situation hung heavily in the air.
Who knew how long it would be before the news broke?
The whole match was being watched by not only the students of the academy but also noble visitors, students from other realms and common civilians from outside. It was a disaster!
"We will consult the Academy Dean on the appropriate course of action," (Professor Fraeya) continued.
The two were betrothed- the future rulers of the Western Kingdom.
The consequences of this incident, however, were far-reaching. If it were to get out that the future queen of the West had struck the future king, it would send shockwaves through not just the kingdom, but the surrounding realms. It would be the talk of every court, and worse, it would threaten the very foundation of their alliance.
No one would take seriously a king who couldn't control his own wife.
"Come in."
"Pardon the intrusion." (Professor Fraeya) closes the door behind her, the old nurse frowns seeing the professor.
"Are you their homeroom teacher?" The nurse asks, looking disappointed with the young looking elf. She had mistaken her as an inexperienced woman who doesn't know how to handle their student. "We've given her a few first aid treatments. Analissa Blanchet was it? It's best to let her rest here for now until she wakes up. I'm afraid that I'm unsure when she'll be able to regain her consciousness but rest assured she's okay now."
Professor Fraeya lowers her head, "My apologies truly. I am not their homeroom teacher but they are still my students. I will fill you in on the matters at hand."
…
Professor Fraeye fills in the nurse on the needed details.
"I see that is quite troubling. Is Lady Evelyn Alarie really alright? I can't believe she was poisoned… but she looks fine." The nurse observes Lady Evelyn's body, from the report from the professor that was stated her body was burned through a special kind of poison, the effects on the body won't be healed easily by common magic.
And… somehow it amplified the flame.
The elven professor was afraid of how it even got into the school security system… but knowing with all of her everything that the crown prince is behind all of this she knows that he's got his ways of smuggling in things like these. "Honestly it's not even a poison but somehow it acts like one. I've only seen this a few times, flames that can't be healed by mere simple magic. No matter how much our skilled healers tried, the wounds would not close. I doubt even if we did bring her here in the infirmary you might have not done much."
The old nurse couldn't help but take what the elven professor said personally, "The academy's infirmary is still-! I may have gotten older but I know I can handle anything. It would be better if… I could at least try. "
"My thousands of years of living… I can tell how much mana a person has. I admire your want to help but with your current mana it is not enough." (Professor Fraeya) stares at the bed ridden Analissa and wonders if the girl is aware of her own power.
The nurse's mana is nothing compared to the heroine's, to put it visually her body is a small bottle of vial with its cork open because her mana is flowing as if it is leaking.
"It is nothing short of a miracle… her mana is equal to the first saintess' but at her age… I'm surprised by her ability to control her power. A caster's body breaks if you use light magic too much without much care. She is lucky that the only thing she got was fatigue from the looks of it." (Professor Fraeya) has witnessed the breaking point of the first saintess and her cursed blessing.
Healing magic focuses on restoring the body. It can mend wounds, close cuts, and soothe bruises, accelerating the natural healing process and bringing physical relief to the injured.
Light magic, while capable of the same restorative effects, goes beyond simple healing. It can cleanse ailments, calm and strengthen the mind, and purify harmful energies. In its most powerful form, light magic is even said to possess the rare ability to restore life to the fallen, making it one of the most revered and sacred forms of magic.
"You mean that girl could be equal to the first saintess?" The nurse had to double check, it was extremely rare to have been blessed by the light goddess herself but to be compared by the first saintess ever is amazing. "The legend of Zohariel the first saintess-! Everyone knows that story… It's been rewritten in many versions of books and retold by countless people."
"The first saintess… She was the reason for the light goddess' hesitation to bless more people of such affinity." The nurse recalled the story she has known ever since she was just a little girl. Her grandmother would always say, "Be like Zohariel. The first saintess who was kind just as she was beautiful. Everyone loved her, she healed the sick, provided food to those who were hungry and never asked for anything in return. She roamed the kingdoms solely to help humanity."
Professor Fraeya nodded, happy that the legend still lives on to remember her name.
Zohariel.
The first saintess and her lo-
"The ending was- oh! She fell in love with a prince and lived happily ever after with her many children. It is certainly a wonderful story." The nurse finishes with an innocent carefree laughter.
Truly everyone wanted to be like Zohariel, imagine being born with light magic, being favored by the gods and then even marrying into royalty! Many would say it's merely an overeaggerated tale of a woman who was born with light magic, idealizing the idea of the great power that comes with it.
"..."
Professor Fraeya, who has lived thousands of years, could still remember her face.
The paintings she had of the first saintess were now destroyed out of the anger of her father-
"Why would you dare sacrifice everything for a human who can't even live even half of your life!" He ripped and destroyed everything about the first saintess that was in the elven empire. The Elven king despised humans, he loathed them for yearning and escaping their shackles.
Such beings do not deserve an ounce of freedom, he believed that they can only serve elves as mere slaves.
Everything about her was lost and only a few people can only remember her truly.
Meanwhile the nurse continues to have memories of when she was young, the first saintess was truly such an inspiration. "She was the reason why I became a healer, I loved her stories and well I'm no spring chicken but I did marry a wonderful man."
"To live happily, marry royalty and have children together." The elven professor politely smiles, but her eyes are far off in the distance- such a dream that the first saintess wanted. "Zohariel, the story of the first saintess, truly… is amazing."
"Do you think that girl, Analissa Blanchet could be someone like that? If what you say is true then she should quit studying in the academy and begin preparing her service to the kingdom- there should be private lessons and surely she'll be happy to do many good things for the good of the people! Do you think once the royals have found out of her true power they'll-" The nurse was frantic and began asking questions one after another.
The image of the next saintess just couldn't escape her mind- Analissa Blanchet will do so much for the kingdom as it is her duty after all.
Professor Fraeya looks at the nurse, her voice steady but tinged with concern. "Miss Analissa Blanchet is still a child. One should not give too much responsibility to a child who is not prepared for that path. That is why the academy exists, right? If she is to carry on such a heavy burden in the future then she needs to enjoy her youth while she can."
The idea of having an eighteen year old girl carry on that many responsibilities is concerning, to humans at that age they are well prepared to be an adult but to an elf… it's nothing.
The nurse blinks, pausing to reconsider her words. She tried thinking of an answer to rebute but knowing what path lies ahead for a saintess would mean a lot of times that you'll be alone. "I suppose you're right."
Her gaze shifted to the young woman caring for Miss Analissa Blanchet- the famous heiress of the Alarie family. "And for the Alarie girl to have reached that state because of the duel... It's incomprehensible. We know she's physically alright, but what about her mental state?"
The villainess' mental state was barely hanging on a thread.
The whole time she was up in the arena she suppressed her thoughts of killing.
Killing just to run and search the whole academy for the blonde girl who's now laying on the bed.
Professor Fraeya's face softened, empathy lining her voice.
"Her mental state…" She paused, as if recalling something painful.
The nurse sighed, the weight of the situation sinking in. "By the light- With the way you talked about the whole thing she was most likely at the edge of death. She carried Miss Analissa Blanchet to the infirmary all by herself with no care of her own well being."
"Where is she now?"
"I told her that she could rest on the other side of the bed but she insisted that she stay by Miss Analissa Blanchet's side… I'm afraid of asking her again because she won't listen to an old woman lke myself. It's getting late… she should go home too."
"I'll talk to her."
===
Step, step, step.
Professor Fraeya entered the infirmary, her sharp eyes immediately drawn to the figure by the bed. The pale villainess sat motionless, her body slumped on the edge of a chair, looking lost and distant.
Her dark purple hair, slightly disheveled, framed a face that seemed to have forgotten the warmth of life. Lady Evelyn Alarie's eyes stared blankly at Miss Analissa Blanchet, her gaze empty, as though she were no longer fully present in the world around her.
"..."
The scent of the infirmary hung in the air- a mix of herbal remedies, faint traces of medicinal potions, and the underlying earthy scent of moss that had taken root in the damp corners of the room.
The flickering glow from the enchanted lanterns cast a soft, golden light across the sterile, yet strangely comforting, atmosphere.
Professor Fraeya took in the sight, the weight of the moment pressing down on her.
"Lady Alarie," she murmured softly, approaching the girl who seemed oblivious to her presence. The distant look in Evelyn's eyes didn't waver, as if the young woman's soul had wandered far beyond the confines of the infirmary.
The professor stood there for a moment, her gaze shifting between the two girls.
She smiled fondly, her heart heavy with empathy. 'Their figures- just like ours once were. I often stayed by your side when you got sick, I never left… not until I know you got better. Zohariel, I see ourselves in them.'
The thought lingered in her mind as she observed their silent connection. 'To be loved by the goddess herself is an honor, but to see her fall... to take the sickness and plague of humanity and bear it all on herself... it was a burden no one should bear alone. She was enraged by it- oh for the girl I loved was her favorite.'
The ache in her chest had never fully healed. She could still remember the way her lover had looked at her- eyes full of tenderness, eyes that saw into her very soul, with a love that made her feel like she was the only one who mattered in the world.
And yet, her lover was gone.
She could no longer touch her, no longer hear her voice or feel the gentle pressure of her hand in hers. It was a yearning, a deep and aching emptiness, that never ceased to gnaw at her soul.
And yet, as painful as the memory was, it was also what kept her anchored to life.
'The greed of humans. Everyone called out to her for help, but when she needed help… who did she turn to?' A quiet breath escaped her, hoping that these two girls in front of her would get a much better ending. 'I'm glad that Analissa Blanchet has someone to turn to, however clumsy as Evelyn Alarie is.'
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