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Chapter 250
The Confusion of the Prince’s Aide
Maiara’s POV
What I thought would be an ordinary doctor’s visit to the Divine Doctor Eltherion, turned out to be something more than ordinary.
Revelations.
Moreover, they were shocking revelations.
To be honest, I had doubted Escha’s identity when I noticed that she used what I perceived as Dark magic.
I had wanted to quietly confirm it with her the moment we were alone, and more or less finished with Saintess Eneidaestina’s treatment. The reason being, I wanted to confirm with Prince Manasye and tell him about it first, before acting.
If I were to do it now, it won’t be good because I was sure it would hinder our quest to find a cure for the prince’s precious friend. Moreover, Prince Manasye’s mind was too focused on Eneida now, given that Eneida hadn’t shown any improvement. Instead, her condition worsened. Slowly, but steadily.
It was right when our concerns towards Eneida strengthened that Escha and the others showed up.
And sure enough, a small change brought about snowball effects.
What we couldn’t find back then, we managed to discover now.
I had lots of guesses in my mind. Perhaps Escha wasn’t a pure-blooded elf like what she confessed. But Dark magic users were rare in Cielle elven kingdom, even if she were a rare mixed-blood elf. Unless she was a mixed breed with Oni…
But before I could act on my suspicion, it was confirmed by none other than the person herself.
First, the most shocking revelation about the girl named Kuu being an actual pure-blooded dragon, Carbuncle.
Once her identity was known to be fake, it was natural for her friends, Escha, Reynald, and Ralph to be fake as well. They had no choice but to confess their identities.
Once their real identities were revealed, that was when I thought in my mind.
Aah. It made sense that Escha, no, Lyra can use Dark magic. She is a human, not an elf.
Humans can use Dark magic, albeit rare, at least not rarer than elves with mixed blood.
Now then, what should I do?
On the other hand, Lyra, Carbuncle, Ein, and Clavis are undoubtedly good people who were willing to help Eneida and even myself, though it wouldn’t really be any of help to what their main goal is.
Prince Manasye also sincerely likes them, and they seem to have a good impression of the prince, and their friendships seem sincere…
“…ara…”
But on the other hand, they deceived us from the beginning.
Moreover, what if their mission could harm King Deus, Prince Manasye, and Cielle’s royal family?
I don’t know what kind of a person the rightful heir to the throne, Crown Princess Oriel was… Perhaps if I had my memories, I would have an idea…
But since I don’t know, it is harder for me to predict if it is a good thing to be able to discover her and reunite her with her family, or will it turn the world upside down?
In this case, should I just tell King Deus rather than lying by omitting the truth–
“Maiara!”
Prince Manasye’s voice, coupled with his pull towards my sleeve, made me snap out of my train of thoughts.
“Prince… Forgive me for daydreaming. What is the matter?” I asked with a smile.
My blank memory had been filled with memories of the prince ever since I had woken up with amnesia, and ever since the prince was not even a year old yet.
It could be said that our lives started together, so I couldn’t help but love him a lot.
I was forever grateful to the king and queen, for being given the task of nurturing and protecting this innocent, kind boy, even when I was still building back my life from zero.
I was lucky that they didn’t decide to dismiss me due to my memory loss and injuries.
…Perhaps they felt guilty since I sustained injuries and had amnesia due to my duty in the royal palace, but it was still enough since I knew I had no other place to go to.
“What were you thinking about?”
“That is…,” I stuttered when the prince asked me that question.
There’s no way I can tell him that I was contemplating on telling his father about his friends who committed fraud, right? More importantly, he is rather sharp at unexpected timing like this!
“Don’t you think about saying anything about Lyra and the others! They are my friends!”
How could you guess what was on my mind?
Or was I too obvious?
“But, Prince…”
“After we are done with your cure, we will all gather again. At that time, I will talk with them about it. I hope I can help them talk with my father and solve everything peacefully. Please don’t act before then, you can tell my father and my mother that I ordered you to keep quiet.”
“This, Prince…”
When he could see that I was still hesitating, Prince Manasye suddenly looked at me with what was supposed to be a fierce glare, but to my eyes, he was just cute.
“With a threat. Tell my parents I threatened you.”
“…Alright.”
I can never win against this little prince, huh?
In the end, I decided not to tell the king and the queen about this… for the time being.
“And then, in regards to… matter…”
The prince proceeded to ask another request, one that again, I had no choice but to comply.
***
“We have returned, Your Majesty King Deus and Your Highness Queen Tabitha,” I greeted the king and the queen upon my arrival along with Prince Manasye and Clavis–or I should probably say, Ralph.
“You may rise,” King Deus quickly told us to rise.
“How is it?” Queen Tabitha worriedly asked.
“We found a clue regarding Saintess Eneidaestina’s cure. The doctor is currently preparing for the treatment. Since it might take a while for the preparation to be done, I asked to escort the prince back first, just in case. Escha, Kuu, and Reynald stayed behind to help the doctor. As for Ralph here, Prince Manasye has bonded with him during the entirety of the journey, the two of them are inseparable. Prince Manasye and Ralph requested to stay together since they have a lot to talk about, and since Doctor Eltharion won’t be needing lots of hands to help, we decided it’d be good to bring Ralph back to accompany Prince Manasye.”
I lied without even batting an eye.
“Oh, and…” As if I just remembered something, I quickly added, “It seems that my presence is required, so I need to make a trip back to Divine Doctor Eltharion’s dwelling soon. That is also why I think it’s best to bring Ralph with Prince Manasye.”
“Yes, yes! Without Maiara, I’d be lonely… but Ralph is here with me, so I am good!” Prince Manasye nodded like a chicken.
“Manasye, Ralph is only a few years older than you, right? How is it the same with Maiara being with you?” Queen Tabitha asked with concern.
“I mean… I don’t really have friends, so I only can play with Big Sis Phoebe, Maiara and Eneida… before. Big Sis Phoebe isn’t here. You also told me I can’t play that often with Eneida. And Maiara is needed by Doctor Eltharion… Without one of my friends here, I’d be lonely…”
“Oh, Manasye. My poor son,” Queen Tabitha reacted just as we predicted.
The king was about to open his mouth when Prince Manasye suddenly added, “And… and! Ralph here said he also wanted to accompany me!”
Ralph–Clavis in disguise–nodded enthusiastically before adding in concern, “That is only if I am allowed to, Your Majesties.”
“…Fine, then. But Manasye, you need to be able to come out of your shell more. Befriend other people. Networking is important for you, even if you aren’t going to inherit the throne, alright?” King Deus sighed.
“Yes… That’s why I brought Ralph along with me. Let’s see… I want to try networking with the delegates from Riviera that’s around my age and Ralph’s age… but I would be too scared alone. That’s why I am borrowing Ralph!” Prince Manasye said convincingly.
“The delegates from Riviera?” King Deus raised his eyebrow curiously, “Well, there are certainly some people around Ralph’s age, and they are not far too older than you… well, I guess it’s a good thing if you can network with them, since they are important nobles from our neighboring country… But you also have to network with the elven nobles, alright?”
“Yes, yes, Father! I am treating this as my drill run. I think I won’t be too nervous or afraid of giving them a lasting bad impression of me, since they are delegates that will not be here all the time. I will start practicing with them, and then make lots of noble elven friends next!” Prince Manasye went too far for this magnificent performance of his.
With this, there was no way the king and the queen could disagree.
Yes, this was the prince’s next request to me.
Prince Manasye told me that if we wanted to tell the truth of my being treated, that would mean they would need to tell the king and the queen of his friends’ real identities.
After all, the doctor and his parents should have known what my treatment required, and so far there was no result to finding that almost-like-myth flower.
For it to suddenly be solved when Prince Manasye’s friends were present… of course it would be related to them. And to answer how they could find that flower for my cure would require us telling the truth about their identities–that Kuu was a dragon.
“Later, when you are cured and when Eneida is doing better, let’s arrange a serious meeting between us and my parents! Then, we can tell them the truth and break the good news of you being cured as well! That way, my father and mother will have good impressions of Lyra, Ein, Clavis, and Carbuncle. And then, all problems will be solved!”
Prince Manasye said happily when he proposed this strategy to me and Clavis.
To be honest, I think it would be a bit more complicated than how he made it to be, but when I saw his bright face, I couldn’t help but think that maybe it would work out just fine, as per what this little prince wished.
Let’s take a gamble here.
Prince Manasye treasures me and the king and the queen seem like they also consider me as a precious aide thanks to Prince Manasye.
If Lyra and the others can cure my lifelong curse on top of curing the saintess of Vitae, I think the king and the queen wouldn’t treat them too harshly.
At the very least, I think they will listen to what Lyra and the others have to say.
I didn’t like taking risks, to be honest, but for the sake of the little light in my life that is the little prince, I should be able to take this much of a risk.
***
“W-w-whaaaaa?!”
The last stop I had to go to before preparing for my next departure was none other than the tower where Saintess Eneidaestina resided.
The Tower of Exile.
It had been vacant for a long time before Saintess Eneidaestina finally resided there.
At first, we had wanted to give her a proper accommodation amidst people, but sadly… her powers were so destructive that we had to move her to the most secluded place, yet still safe, in this royal castle.
Based on the information I read, Tower of Exile was one that was used in the past to imprison a member of the royal family who had done something wrong, with no remorse, yet one whom the reigning ruler couldn’t just reveal to the world and execute them.
Or was it to imprison a member of the royal family with a violent tendency?
Not much was known to us about the Tower of Exile and what the right usage was, aside from those of the royal family.
To think such a girl would need to live there… when she was actually the victim…
It made me sad and I really hoped we could finally help her.
So that she would be able to live and laugh alongside others.
Anyway, when we tried to explain what was happening to Saintess Eneidaestina, her small brain seemed to be fried and she could only stutter in saying a word of disbelief.
Yes, I could understand.
After all, it was too much to take all at once.
It took quite a while for Saintess Eneidaestina to calm down.
When she had calmed down, we finally moved on to introducing Fenrir and the method of treatment to her.
At first, we thought that the treatment would need to wait for Lyra, as Fenrir’s contractor, to be present for Fenrir to use his powers and help.
But it seemed like Fenrir alone was enough. And that Fenrir could also work with someone else in cases like this, it didn’t have to be with Lyra.
Although it seemed like he had this much freedom because his contractor allowed it.
He talked a bit about having lived a long life and that most people who came to wield his power would be too stingy to share it with others, or too greedy and evil to use his power for the sake of helping.
Though rare, he had occasions where he was with kind contractors who would also go out of their way to lend Fenrir’s power to help, just like with our current situation. He seemed to have a good time reminiscing about it during our way here.
Moreover, Fenrir judged that it would be more effective with someone the saintess could trust, so he said he would help guide Prince Manasye with Saintess Eneidaestina’s treatment.
I was actually curious to witness the full progress of Saintess Eneidaestina’s treatment.
Too bad that I had to quickly prepare for my next departure the next day.
Today, we only revealed the truth to Saintess Eneidaestina and introduced what she would undergo as treatment the following days.
The treatment will begin from tomorrow onwards.
Tonight, it would be best for them to take plenty of rest.
As for me, I was preparing to depart once again to Divine Doctor Eltharion’s dwelling.
Million thoughts swarmed in my mind as I was preparing for another journey. This one, it would be a treatment to lift off the curse haunting my condition as far as I could remember.
The problem is…
As far as I can remember vividly, I have been living like this all along.
I can’t remember how I lived back then, or what I had forgotten in the first place. This has been my standard of a ‘normal life’.
And since it’s been more than a decade, I’ve gotten used to my current condition, as well as coming to accept that I might never be able to live a normal life like other elves, who are free to dress themselves and can use their magic without anything holding them back.
It was that acceptance and my learning to embrace my life as it is that managed to make me live a fulfilling life as Prince Manasye’s nanny.
Every day was peaceful and good, it didn’t feel like I was missing anything, to be honest.
Now…
More than anything, I am afraid that getting cured will destroy my current good situation.
What good would it be to change the way of my life when I don’t really have any grievance with it?
I used the same coping mechanism with the fact that I had lost my memories as well, thinking what good would it bring to recover memories that I didn’t really feel like there was something important in it?
I felt like nothing would change anyway, but I was also afraid that getting this curse lifted would change everything, and more importantly, making all my hard work adapting and coping so far… becoming nothing but a useless effort.
And what if, after getting this curse lifted, it wasn’t actually as amazing as I imagined it would be?
People are such contradictory beings, huh?
And I guess we are all afraid of changes, especially dramatic ones, even if it could mean a good thing… but it could also mean a bad thing…
I guess we’ll never know ‘til we try, huh?
I just hope that I will adapt to my new life after being cured of this rare curse, and that the power it brings can be of help to the royal family of Cielle, especially to the little prince.
If it turned out to be a hindrance, I would simply continue living like this.
Yes, maybe I shouldn’t complicate things and just let my fate guide me.
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