Mia's breath hitched. She abruptly sat up straight, hurriedly pulling her fingers back to her chest, and stammered, “Lecturing you? N-No, I was just... just...”
Unable to form a complete sentence, her gaze darted all over the room, refusing to land on Lovene's face.
Lovene looked at her awkward embarrassment, not knowing what to do with her hands and feet. The corners of her mouth curved up slightly as she lowered her head, her voice dropping to a soft whisper, as if afraid of being overheard by anyone outside.
“I am willing to...”
“What?”
Mia hadn't heard clearly. She instinctively leaned down, bringing her ear close to Lovene's lips. Her head was tilted, her eyelashes casting a small, fan-shaped shadow over her lower eyelids.
“I said...”
“Hmm?”
Mia leaned in even closer.
Seeing this, Lovene let out a soft chuckle. She sat up, raising her hands to gently wrap around Mia's neck, her fingertips brushing through the loose strands of hair at the back of Mia's neck.
She tilted her head and pressed her lips softly against Mia's cheek.
It was a brief, fleeting touch.
Like a feather drifting down from on high, caught just in time by a gentle breeze.
Having done this, she did not let go. Instead, she leaned in close to Mia's ear, whispering softly as if to a lover in bed, “If risking my life is for your sake... then I am willing to be selfish for once.”
The warm, moist breath brushed against Mia's cheek, leaving her completely stunned.
As if frozen by a spell, she remained bent over, motionless. Her blood-red eyes went wide, her lips parted slightly, and her mind went entirely blank.
Then, a crimson flush spread from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears, before completely engulfing her face. Her originally cold expression was instantly replaced by embarrassment and utter bewilderment.
Lovene had already pulled back the covers and gotten out of bed. Throwing a new holy robe over herself, she pushed open the door and stepped outside. The door closed gently behind her with a soft click.
Mia remained sitting where she was.
Still frozen in that bent-over posture, the heat on her cheeks refused to subside.
What did she mean, if it's for her, she was willing to be selfish for once?
Wasn't Her Highness supposed to be selfless?
Why on earth... would Her Highness say something like that?!
And even if she said it, why did she have to kiss her?! What... what if someone noticed the lip mark?!
She suddenly raised her hand to cover the cheek that had been kissed. Her palm was burning, but even so, it couldn't match the searing heat of her face.
There was no mirror here, so she couldn't see her cheek, but if she had to guess, there was definitely a faint red lip mark left there!
Wiping it away would be simple enough; all it would take was a quick rub of her hand...
Yet, for some reason, she felt a slight reluctance in her heart. In fact, she even felt a tiny, secret spark of joy.
Her Highness kissing her meant that, in Her Highness's heart, she was very...
No, that wasn't right!
Had she come to see Her Highness just to find out how important she was to her? No! She had come to make Her Highness reflect on her actions! Her Highness shouldn't have sacrificed herself for some insignificant passerby!
But looking at it now, Her Highness still hadn't learned her lesson! Not only that, but she was even trying to use Mia's feelings for her to escape punishment!
She hadn't reflected at all!
How vexing!
Her cunning Highness!
Mia gnashed her teeth and turned to chase after her toward the door. Yet, even as she ran, she kept her hand firmly cupped over her cheek, with absolutely no intention of letting it go.
...
Outside the ward, the clinic lobby had returned to its original state.
The shattered floorboards had been temporarily repaired, the overturned medicine cabinets set upright, and the slime and rubble cleared away. The blue-light lanterns cast stable, warm halos of light against the white walls.
The lobby was crowded, with the benches completely packed with waiting patients. Moreover, even more people were pouring in through the front door, forming a crooked queue.
Vera stood behind the counter, leaning over to examine an elderly man. Her hair had been put back up into a neat bun, and the sleeves of her physician's coat were rolled up to her elbows, making her movements look much more efficient.
Hearing footsteps, she looked up and saw Lovene.
The blue light spilled out from behind Lovene, momentarily seeming to outline her holy robe in a faint, golden glow.
Vera's pen paused on the paper, leaving a small blotch of ink. She set the pen down, walked out from behind the counter, and approached Lovene. Her hands clasped nervously in front of her.
“Lady Saintess, you can get out of bed already?”
“Yes.” Lovene tilted her head slightly, glancing at the patients waiting in the lobby. “What are you doing here...?”
“Ah, it's nothing, just...”
Vera followed her gaze, then looked back. She pursed her lips, appearing slightly hesitant, but ultimately decided to speak.
“I was thinking that you will eventually leave the Oswell territory, Lady Saintess. There will always be people here who can't afford medical fees, so I thought I would offer free treatment to three patients every day.”
“But my medical skills are still far inferior to yours. There are so many illnesses I can't treat at all, so I can only offer them the most basic help...”
As she spoke, her fingers unconsciously tightened. But in the next second, a pair of hands reached out, gently grasping her cold fingertips.
Vera looked up.
Lovene stood before her with a gentle smile. Her palms were warm, and that warmth slowly seeped into Vera's icy fingertips, bit by bit.
“But I believe that your achievements in medicine will eventually surpass my healing magic.”
Vera froze. She opened her mouth, about to say "how is that possible," but Lovene saw right through her.
“Why is it impossible?” Lovene did not let go of her hands. “You are still young, and your medical skills can still improve. Moreover, your medicine can be passed on to others, but my healing magic cannot.”
Her voice wasn't loud, yet it carried clearly across the noisy lobby.
“My presence is like a meteor in the night sky—once it streaks across the heavens, it vanishes without a trace. But you can be like the sun in the day, shining over this territory for generations to come.”
“You must understand that medicine, which ordinary people can learn, is the true mainstream way to treat illnesses in this world. Healing magic, in the end, is just a fleeting flash in the pan.”
“The sun should not have its light obscured by a passing meteor.”
Vera's eyes grew hot. She sniffled hard, her voice turning slightly raspy. “Lady Saintess...”
She suddenly felt that all her past jealousy and schemes were like filthy water in a gutter, evaporating the moment they were touched by the sun.
She had once hated the person standing before her, hating how easily Lovene accomplished what she herself could never achieve despite trying with all her might. But standing here now, her hands enveloped in that gentle warmth, she suddenly understood—
She had never hated Lovene; she had only hated her own incompetence.
The gap between them was simply too vast.
If she had once harbored a shred of jealousy toward Lovene, now only admiration remained. In fact, she could no longer understand why her past self had held so much malice toward the Saintess.
“I will work hard!”
Her voice rose slightly without her realizing. Only after the words slipped out did Vera feel she had been too impetuous. She lowered her head, her ears burning.
In response, Lovene merely tilted her head and laughed softly.
“I believe in you.”
As the evening breeze drifted into the clinic, the hem of her holy robe swayed gently, like a white flower dancing in the wind. At that moment, Vera's heart could not help but beat faster.
Rate on N.U.
