“…Who are you? Instead of trying to cozy up to Miss here, why don’t you find a doctor to reapply the medicine to your face? Those bandages are about to fall off.”
“It’s me! I’m Bert von Walstroom! Do you not remember me? We just met two months ago!”
“…Brother Bert? S-sorry… Since your face is swollen like that, I didn’t recognize you…”
Milin bowed her head quite sincerely to apologize to Bert.
She had indeed met him recently when he visited with her mother.
However, she felt her inability to recognize him was justifiable — after all, his face was currently swollen like a giant pig’s head.
Before this eyesore of a face, even his signature bangs were completely overshadowed.
“Brother Bert, tell me! Who beat you up like this? Miss will definitely get justice for you!”
To show her sincerity, Milin patted her chest as she spoke.
“It was me.” Before Bert could turn a resentful gaze toward her, Lian raised her hand in admission.
“I was a bit too heavy-handed with him during the Martial Tournament. I am very sorry, Young Master Bert.”
“…Huh? It’s—it’s fine. Injuries are unavoidable in a match. Besides, my counterattack also put you through a lot of—”
“Braggart! You definitely just got a one-sided, harsh beating from Sister Lian! You can’t even beat me, so how could you possibly make her suffer?”
“Sh-shhh…! If you’re so loud and word gets out, how will I ever show my face again? Please, leave me some dignity!”
Bert quickly put a finger to his lips toward the loud Milin. Lian watched his nervous behavior in front of his crush and let out a helpless, bitter smile.
With that, she grabbed Bert’s arm and led him toward a deserted corner by the stairs. Milin was stunned for a moment but hurriedly followed.
“Wh-what are you trying to do? I’m warning you, everyone else is nearby! If you hit me in the face here, I’ll scream for help!”
Bert was scared out of his wits by Lian’s gloomy expression, leaning against the wall like a mouse cornered by a cat.
He watched helplessly as Lian drew closer and reached out toward his face.
“Stay away from me, ahhhhhhh — huh?”
He closed his eyes… but the expected impact never came.
When he opened them again, he found the maid with her own eyes closed, the index finger of her right hand touching his forehead.
For a split second, he thought the girl was going to drill a hole in his head with her finger, but what happened next quickly changed his mind.
Milin was dumbfounded. She saw the swelling on Bert’s face slowly subsiding, while the purple bruises on his eye sockets and chin gradually vanished.
“Sister Lian, you’re…”
“Y-you’re actually a ‘Holy Maiden’? Your physical condition…”
His appearance restored, Bert touched his face while removing the bandages, looking at Lian with an expression of utter disbelief.
“Don’t worry. I am not a ‘Holy Maiden,’ and that just now was not a ‘Miracle.'”
The “Holy Maiden” he referred to here was not that well-known member of the Brave’s Party, but a title — a Saint title awarded by the Holy Nation of Cerandor to those who possessed “Miracles.”
It was a type of supernatural power that people were either born with or awakened later in life.
Cerandor called this power a God-given “Miracle.”
In the distant past, before the Sage taught Magic to the world, the people of the Holy Nation and the Empire relied on this power to fight against the powerful Demon Race.
This power could achieve effects similar to or far superior to Magic without following the casting procedures established by the Sage.
However, they also had limitations — a person could only possess one type of “Miracle,” and its effect was very singular compared to the diverse variations of Magic.
Furthermore, when using it, the more powerful the effect, the more intense the consumption, just like Magic… except it replaced Magic Power with stamina.
Lian knew Bert was worried about her physical condition for this very reason.
Healing Magic within the realm of Magic was a type of spell that consumed a massive amount of energy but was extremely inefficient.
To be able to recover from external injuries so quickly, in his eyes, there was likely no other explanation besides a powerful “Miracle.”
“This was just simple Healing Magic.”
“How could there be such Healing Magic… To achieve this kind of effect, not even 100 times your Magic Power would be enough to sustain it! You definitely used a ‘Miracle’! I was wondering why I felt better after you patted me that day…”
Lian’s explanation only made Bert more skeptical.
But she truly wasn’t lying to him… because Healing Magic cast with the Magic Power of the Hero could indeed do such things.
Leaving the stunned Bert aside, Lian turned her gaze toward Milin, who had been watching everything.
“…Wow.”
She covered her mouth, her amazement already clear on her face. Lian looked at her with a complex expression, waiting for the words she was about to say —
“Sister Lian, you’re so amazing! I’ve never seen Healing Magic with this kind of effect! I almost thought it was a ‘Miracle’ like Aunt Linxi’s! Teach me, teach me? Pretty please?”
She grabbed Lian’s arm and shook it back and forth, her sparkling eyes looking at Lian as if she were an idol… but this made Lian feel miserable.
Being admired by Milin like this made her feel extremely happy… ‘But if I am her mother, then I cannot be Lian… and if I am Lian, then I am not worthy of enjoying this happiness.’
“…Sister Lian? What’s wrong? You’ve looked so unhappy both yesterday and today.”
Lian’s despondency did not escape Milin’s eyes.
She had always been good at sensing changes in others’ emotions… not to mention that this person was the one she was currently focused on and admired.
“I’m fine.”
“Hey… you clearly aren’t fine. If you’re tired from using a ‘Miracle,’ go get some rest. I’ll explain things to your Butler for you.”
Lian pretended to be calm. But her ability to hide her emotions was truly terrible. Not only Milin, but even Bert was looking at her with a worried expression.
“I said I’m fine!”
“…What should we do, Brother Bert? She’s clearly pushing herself.”
“How should I know? I see her staring at that bottle of wine in her hand… why don’t you take her to have a few drinks? That’s usually what I do when I want to make a girl happy… What’s with that look? I didn’t do anything inappropriate to them!”
Lian’s mind was in a mess. She didn’t even hear the two of them whispering beside her.
She was only looking at something randomly to avoid their gazes — it just so happened that the thing was the bottle of wine in her hand.
“I’ll trust you this once. Anyway, I already got the key for the upstairs from Teacher Sephy Number 777.”
“C-can I go with you? We can all drink together…”
“No. We have secrets between girls that you can’t hear! I’ll come toast you later. Sister Lian, wipe that frown off your face. Come with me!”
As Milin spoke, she grabbed Lian’s hand and led her up the stairs, leaving Bert behind before he could even finish his sentence.
“Sigh… I’m so jealous of that maid. But since she said she’d come toast me later… Ha!”
His dejected appearance only lasted for a moment before he returned to his usual self — a confident, arrogant, and overbearing Young Master of a Noble family.