After the commotion in the middle of the night had passed, Elysia confined herself to her room on the pretext of being unwell.
As expected, Valentin made no move, and there had been no particular news from Tristan either.
At least that was a relief.
‘Very good. Please never come looking for me again.’
It was a cozy little escape. But in the back of her mind, she couldn't help feeling bleak about how she was supposed to survive from now on when she couldn't even leave the convent.
‘Should I seduce someone? I could get kicked out for having an affair.’
Elysia Gray was a beauty with pink hair and golden eyes. With her pure, feminine appearance, it probably wouldn't be too difficult to seduce one of the Holy Knights who had followed Tristan here.
But even if she did that… what had the poor guy ever done to deserve it? He would undoubtedly end up becoming a victim of those psychos.
‘What if I pretend to have an incurable disease?’
That probably wouldn't work. Not only would it be difficult to prove she was sick, but the compassionate nuns would surely declare that they would nurse her until the day she died.
‘Or should I pretend to be insane? Maybe there's no cure for madness?’
Elysia recalled the moment LOCK MODE had activated while she was on top of the wall.
[System]
[!] LOCK MODE activated!
You cannot leave the convent.
Her body hadn't moved, as though it had malfunctioned.
‘What if I can't be expelled even if they throw me out?’
She might be treated as though she were possessed by an evil spirit or even accused of being a witch.
That would be the worst.
‘I'm going insane.’
No matter how much she thought about it, only the worst possible scenarios came to mind. There was no obvious solution.
Anyway, for the moment….
For Elysia, who wanted nothing more than to avoid the two ticking time bombs, her room was practically the perfect fortress.
At least, it was until someone came to visit the sick.
“Elysia. Are you very ill?”
The Mother Superior asked with a worried expression.
“You don't have to worry too much. I'm… all right.”
“All right? You've already been bedridden for three days.”
She was lying there pretending to be sick, but in truth… she really was fine.
She'd spent three days and nights shut inside her room doing little but sleeping, so of course she was.
There had been some lingering effects from the debuff, though.
[System]
Elysia Gray.
You have adapted to your former trait.
Debuff Status (Pollen Allergy) has been completely removed.
Her symptoms had gradually weakened until, after a certain amount of time, the debuff automatically disappeared.
But the compassionate Mother Superior still seemed deeply concerned about Elysia's condition.
She wanted to stay in her room a little longer to avoid the two men… but at the same time, she felt terribly guilty about deceiving the Mother Superior, who was genuinely worried about her.
“Elysia must have been pushing herself too hard all this time. As Mother Superior, it's largely my fault for failing to look after you properly. I'm truly sorry.”
The Mother Superior gently stroked Elysia's round forehead as she lay in bed.
“My goodness. Look at all this cold sweat….”
She'd hurriedly splashed some water on her face and the back of her neck to make herself look sick.
Seeing the Mother Superior's face twist with distress made Elysia's heart ache as well.
She didn't want to leave this room just yet, but she thought it would be better to reassure her a little.
“I'll be fine after some rest.”
“Don't say that. You've been bedridden for three whole days. No matter how I look at it, this isn't normal. You're very sick, aren't you? Elysia, you haven't missed a single day of work in the past five years.”
She wasn't wrong.
Elysia was healthy, and the world outside the convent was hell itself, crawling with male leads, so she'd worked herself to the bone to make sure she wouldn't get thrown out. Rain or snow, she'd worked without fail and never shied away from unpleasant jobs, determined to make herself indispensable to the convent.
“I had no idea your absence would feel this significant….”
“Sister Veronica….”
“I was so worried that we might lose you that I couldn't sleep at all. I prayed to the Goddess all night for your recovery.”
She'd even stayed up all night praying for her.
Elysia's chest tightened with emotion. Life in the convent had been exhausting, but she'd been able to endure it because she'd had a good superior like Sister Veronica.
“May Arne's blessing be upon Elysia Gray.”
Sister Veronica clasped her cross between her hands and prayed for Elysia.
To think I'm trusted and loved this much. I've lived a pretty decent life, haven't I?
If it weren't for those bastards… maybe this life wouldn't be half bad.
She felt strangely pleased. As she listened to Sister Veronica's prayer, Elysia felt both deeply moved and quietly happy.
The problem came afterward.
“But with Elysia this sick, we can't simply wait for the Goddess's blessing.”
“…What?”
“Doctor, you may come in now.”
At Sister Veronica's permission, the door opened, and a middle-aged gentleman wearing a monocle entered.
“I specially brought a doctor here for you, Elysia.”
…What?
A doctor? Out of nowhere?
Elysia's gaze darted around.
The place where Elysia lived was a small convent in a remote area. The nuns who cared for the sick possessed some medical knowledge, but only the very basics necessary for nursing.
That was precisely why Elysia had used illness as an excuse to ask for medicinal herbs that were good for aches and fatigue, then chosen to rest in her room. Bringing in a doctor from outside was extremely rare.
“Dr. Buckler is renowned as an excellent physician even in the capital. He's highly respected among the nobility, yet he came all this way to make a house call just for you. He'll definitely cure you, so don't worry, Elysia.”
They're going this far just because I've been in bed for three days?
She couldn't believe it.
It was absurd, but if she didn't want her feigned illness to be exposed, she absolutely had to stop this examination.
“I-I think prayer should be enough for me. I mean… I just received the Goddess's blessing too….”
“The Goddess herself warned us that we must always be wary of blind faith that relies solely on belief. She said we mustn't become fanatics who get so consumed by religion that we ignore reality. Illness should be treated by a doctor.”
I'm going insane.
It was such a perfectly reasonable argument that she couldn't even refute it.
“If he's that distinguished, wouldn't the fee be terribly expensive? I'll recover if I get enough rest. I feel a little uncomfortable about….”
“Elysia. Please, enough.”
Elysia tried to come up with another excuse, but Sister Veronica firmly shook her head as she took hold of Elysia's shoulders.
“If you're worried about the money, don't be. The fee has already been paid.”
“…What? Already?”
“Of course. What could possibly be more important than your health? The very survival of our convent depends on Elysia's health.”
“No, Sister Veronica, I….”
“Now, you may begin the examination, Dr. Buckler.”
They'd paid such an expensive fee in advance?
Sure, she'd worked hard… but was she really that indispensable?
Their fussing over her was almost impossible to understand. But by this point, she had run out of excuses to refuse the examination.
In the end, Elysia had no choice but to submit to the extravagant medical examination while feeling like she wanted to cry.
***
“There is nothing particularly wrong with you.”
“…….”
“…….”
Obviously, she was perfectly healthy.
“Could it perhaps be… some unidentified infectious disease? Something extremely dangerous….”
She desperately tried to grasp at straws, but—
“No.”
The doctor was unequivocal.
“If it were an infectious disease, the other nuns should already be exhibiting the same symptoms. You have no fever, and the progression of your condition doesn't resemble an infectious disease either. There is nothing particularly wrong with you, so please don't worry too much.”
When a professional was denying it with specific evidence, there was no way an amateur like her could find a loophole.
After all that fuss. This is so fucking embarrassing.
Elysia's face turned bright red. She was too humiliated to even raise her head, but considering all the effort Sister Veronica had gone to for her, she felt she should at least offer some kind of plausible excuse.
“I see…. I suppose I must have almost completely recovered during those three days of rest.”
“Her face is awfully red. She really is all right, isn't she, Doctor?”
Elysia offered the excuse awkwardly, but Sister Veronica still didn't seem reassured and repeatedly questioned the doctor.
“Yes. She has no fever, and there are no abnormalities in her respiratory system. It seems she was simply overworked.”
“Will she have any trouble resuming her normal activities right away?”
“Not at all. Since you seem so concerned, Mother Superior, I'll prescribe some medicinal herbs specifically to restore her energy and improve her stamina.”
In the end, the doctor prescribed nothing more than some tonics and left.
Only Elysia and Sister Veronica remained in the room.
“Thank you so much for today, Sister Veronica.”
“Not at all. I merely did what I ought to do.”
“…….”
“…….”
Why isn't she leaving?
It was already late, but Sister Veronica didn't seem to have any intention of going anywhere.
“…Aren't you going to sleep, Sister?”
“Of course I am.”
With a benevolent expression, Sister Veronica added,
“I'm going to stay here tonight and keep an eye on your condition.”
“Ah, but I'm fine. The doctor said earlier that there was nothing wrong with me….”
“You never know. There's no need to refuse. I'm doing this for my own peace of mind. I'm sure the Goddess would consider staying here to care for you far more righteous than praying all night.”
Sister Veronica was adamant.
It was burdensome, but after wasting an expensive doctor's fee because of her fake illness, Elysia felt too guilty to flatly refuse.
‘Fine. Since it's come to this, I might as well get some information.’
Valentin de Arcane, who had arrived as the senior priest.
Tristan Loch, who had arrived as Commander of the Holy Knights.
She wanted to know why those ticking time bombs had suddenly appeared at this tiny convent.
‘If the Church sent them, there must at least be some plausible official reason. Maybe I can use that somehow to find a way to survive.’
She wasn't in any position to be picky right now.
She had to try anything she could if she wanted to live.
Elysia, who had been leaning against the headboard, straightened herself.
“Um… Sister Veronica.”
“Yes, Elysia?”
“Do you happen to know why our guests came here this time?”
“Ah, about that….”
Sister Veronica hesitated for a moment before answering.
“I'm only telling you this because you're someone I can trust. For now, it's something we've agreed to handle discreetly… so please make sure it doesn't get out.”
“Of course. Don't worry.”
“Well, you see….”
Only after receiving Elysia's assurance did Sister Veronica cautiously begin to speak.