Damn it! This is why I said there’s no such thing as a gentle man!

Dante, who had lost his reason, was chillingly cold.

Swish, he brushed past me just like that.

I tried to clench my fist with all my might, but my trembling arm wouldn’t stop.

Nevertheless, I turned around and stopped him.

“Weren’t you going to send me to the temple knowing I might die anyway?”

Dante stopped walking and turned back towards me.

“What are you talking about? Why would you think you’d die when High Priestess Ivy cares for you?”

Hillstain thought so. Surely he must know that priestess candidates die in the temple, but does Dante not know anything? Perhaps he literally thought Ivy considered me family and would protect me from such things.

Dante spoke again as if my question itself was strange.

“I heard your healing power is insignificant compared to the High Priestess’s potion.”

“…That’s right.”

Though it wasn’t true.

“If you were to die while receiving that meaningless healing power, Noah might resent me until I die.”

“Your love for your younger brother is terrifying.”

“He’s a sensitive child. I don’t want to hurt him.”

“…”

“So don’t be troublesome and just go back quietly to sleep. Everything will be resolved tomorrow.”

Noah’s screams flowed through the door gap that had seemed to settle down for a moment.

“I can’t do that.”

“What?”

How can you pretend not to know? A child is experiencing pain that even adults would struggle to endure right before your eyes.

“Please open the door.”

“I told you clearly. Your healing power is useless. Even after drinking hundreds of bottles of the High Priestess’s potion, he’s in that state!”

“Please move aside.”

I can’t pretend not to know.

“Do you really want to die?”

“I’ll take care of my own life, so please move aside. I can heal your younger brother.”

Dante stopped speaking.

He said he was afraid Noah would resent him if I died while healing Noah.

I know those words are sincere.

And I know it’s a difficult choice in a different sense as well.

If I die here, I won’t be able to obtain the privileges from Ivy and might have to take a difficult path to help his brother.

After all, only three people determined by the imperial family can receive direct healing from Ivy.

If I don’t get the privilege, I might have to grovel before Crown Prince Killian or the Emperor.

But that won’t happen.

Because I won’t die here.

I approached Dante.

“Give me your hand.”

Dante looked down at me quizzically.

“Please.”

At my persistent request, Dante extended his hand to me with a look that seemed to say, let’s see how far this strange behavior goes.

I carefully overlapped my hand on top of his palm, being careful not to make contact.

This man fought with magical beasts today and hasn’t drunk the potion yet.

Even though he looks fine on the outside, he must be suffering from a headache.

So he should be able to feel it clearly. My power.

The moment the pink healing power seeped into his hand, Dante looked at me with shocked eyes.

“You… What is this…?”

I quickly withdrew my hand, lest I be caught by him.

“Now, let me meet Noah.”

Bang! Dante opened the door without hesitation and chased out all the attending physicians.

“Everyone out!”

“L-Lord?”

“Lord! Why are you suddenly doing this!”

The doctors who were tying Noah’s arms with cloth to prevent him from moving were mercilessly driven out.

Only Noah, myself, and Dante remained in the room.

“Ugh… sob…”

Noah had collapsed on the bed as if drained of energy, letting out faint groans.

I want to heal him without touching as much as possible, but with this level of pain, I guess I’ll have to touch him.

Even for me, who had healed Edan once before, it wasn’t an easy task.

Direct healing was psychologically burdensome, after all.

Still, I have to help. I can’t pretend not to know.

“Excuse me.”

I slowly climbed onto the bed. Carefully, so as not to be sudden, I embraced Noah’s neck.

The body that looked frail even from the outside felt even more emaciated when I actually held it.

“Kuhak!”

As I began to manifest and pour out my healing power, Noah took a big breath as if he had regained consciousness.

And soon he flailed his arms and fumbled with my body in a panic.

“Sob, ugh…”

While crying, feeling relief as the pain gradually subsided, he continued to caress me.

My head, arms, shoulders, everything without discrimination. The desperate desire to escape the pain was conveyed painfully through his bony touch.

So I embraced Noah even more tightly.

“Don’t be in pain.”

I felt like crying.

How much must this young child have suffered?

Again, the past Edan flashed through my mind.

Edan, who was used in politics because of the Emperor’s orders, must have felt terrible pain from the side effects of this ability for the first time.

At about this same age. He must have had to endure a horrible time like Noah.

In a world where everyone only thought of killing him.

“Ugh…”

As time passed, I felt Noah forcibly trying to take away my power.

Perhaps because he was a child, it wasn’t the same sensation as with Edan, but being forcibly robbed of power was decidedly not a good sensation.

“Latieana!”

Dante, who had been anxiously watching us, shouted as my complexion worsened.

I squeezed out my power to the maximum and poured healing power into Noah’s body as if it were exploding. Then I hurriedly detached myself.

“Haa, haa.”

With a body that had become heavy like wet cotton, I escaped from the bed and breathed heavily.

Slumping down on the floor, I brushed back my hair that was a mess with sweat and lifted my head to see Dante checking on Noah. Noah, whose pain had subsided, was peacefully closing his eyes. Dante turned to look at me with eyes full of relief and worry.

“Ha… How about that. I didn’t die, right?”

I told you I wouldn’t die. Breathing heavily, I closed my eyes just like that.

I woke up after seemingly fainting and I’m fine.

My body is.

“May I come in?”

“Yes.”

Dante, after confirming that I had woken up, entered the room and sent out the maids.

“Ahem, ahem.”

Dante cleared his throat and rolled his eyes here and there.

As if he was too embarrassed to look at me properly.

What’s this? Is there something strange about me right now? I checked my appearance in the mirror on the wall.

I was wearing a thin robe, so I looked much less embarrassing than yesterday, but why is he suddenly acting like this?

Of course, inside the robe I was wearing clothes that were no different from underwear, just like yesterday.

I asked if there were no other clothes, but they said this was the only guest clothing available.

They said everyone who comes to the desert wants to wear clothes like this.

Anyway, Dante’s gaze was strange, so I clutched my robe.

“Are you alright?”

“Yes. Well. As you can see.”

I smiled brightly and answered, mimicking the way he had spoken to me.

“Did you move me last night, Lord?”

“Yes. I was very surprised thinking you had fainted. Fortunately, you were just asleep, but was it very difficult?”

“No. It’s not that.”

It’s not that using healing power was difficult. It’s my psychological problem.

I caressed my arms that had embraced Noah.

It was fortunate that I could heal him.

If such a thing happens in front of my eyes again, I’ll do it again.

But yesterday’s event made me more certain. I absolutely can’t live like Ivy.

I can’t do it. So I will never! Never go to the temple.

Noah’s ability, which desired my healing power, pulled at me.

There was no pleasure, but instead, there was an unpleasant sensation. A feeling of my insides churning and falling into an endless tunnel.

To be honest, it was disgusting. Completely unrelated to my sincere desire to heal Noah.

The feeling of another person’s energy entering my body. A chilling feeling like my blood was being violently stolen.

After giving healing, what remained for me was severe mental pain that felt like nausea was coming.

“How is Noah?”

“Thanks to you, he’s returned to how he was before he got sick.”

“That’s a relief.”

Dante seemed to have a lot he wanted to ask me.

It would probably be similar questions to what Hillstain had asked.

“May I ask what happened?”

As expected.

“Let me ask first.”

“Gladly.”

Dante nodded.

“Do others not know that Noah was in pain due to the side effects of his ability?”

The maid clearly said Noah had been attacked by a magical beast. That’s a lie.

“In our family, for generations, when brothers are born, one of them manifests power as an ability user. It was the same for the previous Duke. Father was the one without ability.”

“What? The one without power inherits the family?”

Isn’t it usually the stronger one who inherits the family?

Dante let out a low laugh.

“Ability users must endure endless pain. It would be troublesome if they fell ill due to side effects while handling family affairs. Just like Noah did. Even as adults, they have to suffer like that when using strong power.”

“…”

“So the one who won’t be hindered in handling family affairs inherits the title. That was the plan this time too. I was going to temporarily hold the Duke position until Noah grew up, then hand it over when he became an adult. But he suddenly awakened his ability.”

So as I said.

Life doesn’t go according to plan.

“For Noah to ascend to the Duke position, the fact that he’s an ability user mustn’t be revealed. Other families would oppose it. Perhaps someone who dislikes us might appear and try to take away our title. That’s why we said he was attacked by a magical beast. I have no intention of informing the imperial family about Noah’s power in the future either.”

“So that’s why you wanted Ivy’s privilege.”

“Yes. I was planning to quietly ask Lady Ivy. Then it could be quietly overlooked. But let me ask the question I asked earlier again. What exactly happened? Only the High Priestess is capable of such healing. How…”

I looked straight at Dante.

“I’ll keep the secret about Noah. In return, please keep my healing power a secret.”

“Why? With that level of healing power…”

“I don’t want to go to the temple.”

Just as I finished speaking.

Bang bang! Someone knocked on the door frantically.

“Who is it.”

As soon as Dante opened his mouth, the door hurriedly opened.

“Mind your manners.”

“I-I’m sorry! A big problem has occurred!”

Dante stood up at the sight of his subordinate’s pale face, indicating that something unusual had happened.

“Report.”

The subordinate, who had swallowed hard, pointed out the window.

“The Duke of the North has blown up the city walls!”

What?