That afternoon, I left the academy again. My destination, Aunt Sera's home.
Normally, you can't leave the academy during weekdays unless it's a very special circumstance such as a direct relative falling gravely ill. An ill cousin is not enough reason to leave, but fortunately, I have some special privileges in this school. Moreover, I just gave Evelyn a spell to find the dark clouds this afternoon, so she did not mind doing me a favor.
Well, I would have left even without her permission, so it was just a formality.
In no time, the carriage arrived at Aunt Sera's home.
Once I was there, I instantly noticed the tension in the air.
"Cousin!" Andrea rushed towards me and hugged my back. She then started to sob on my chest. "Lina, she…"
"Shh, calm down." I stroke Andrea's back softly. "Let's go inside first and tell me what happened."
Andrea sniffled and nodded. When I entered Aunt Sera's home, I realized that I was not the only one there.
My two maternal grandparents were there too, besides, aunt Dayana and her son, Charlie, were also seated nearby. Aunt Sera and her husband were not here. They probably were in Lina's room.
Contrary to my expectations, though, my grandparents did not seem very happy about seeing me.
Grandfather Steven shot me an angry glare and snorted. As for grandmother, she sighed with a plicated expression and looked away.
I was startled, but Aunt Dayana soon explained the reason to me.
"What were you expecting when the whole capital knows that you are in a relationship with the daughter of the Riea family?"
Ah? So this was the reason?
Aunt Dayana saw my expression and giggled. "Father almost became crazy when he learned you were dating the daughter of the Rieas. Hahahaha, you should have heard him! He called you a naïve brat that fell for a honey trap! He almost got a stroke of the anger, hahahahaha… Father sure is a fool; knowing you, it's obvious that she was the one that fell for the honey trap."
Hey aunt, is that your opinion of me?
My poor heart. I'll make sure of punishing you later.
Sigh, it looks like I should explain the situation to them. Fortunately, my grandparents are not too stubborn, so it should not be too hard to convince them.
After this short interlude, I heard Lina's situation from Andrea's mouth.
"… In other words, is it a kind of mana sickness?" I asked.
"Yes." Replied Andrea dejectedly. "According to the doctor that observed her, her mana was contaminated by something and now it's causing a backlash in her body."
I furrowed my brows. This kind of illness is very rare. To think Lina caught it.
However–
"I don't understand. If it's just mana contamination, the situation shouldn't be so grave, right?"
Andrea nodded with a downcast look. "Normally not. The problem is that the contaminant is very resistant. Moreover, her whole mana pool is already pletely contaminated, so it made the situation even more serious.
"The doctor said that he could do nothing, but we could try asking a priest. We did like he said and invited a priest here, but after he took a look, he told us that this kind of mana sickness can only be healed by someone in the level of an archbishop or the saintess herself.
Mm?
Why do I feel there is something wrong here?
"… Let me make a guess. You were unable to invite an archbishop, right?"
Andrea nodded with red eyes. "Cousin, at this rate, Lina will die."
I sighed and patted her head to calm her down. I then looked at aunt Dayana doubtfully. "Aunt Dayana, with the influence of our auction hall, it should be easy to invite an archbishop. What happened?"
Aunt Dayana extended her hands helplessly. "I tried, but most of the archbishops are not in the city, and as for the few ones around, they are 'too busy' to e here. I tried to offer a juicy donation, but not even that worked… As for the saintess… Someone like me is not qualified to see her."
As expected, there is something fishy here.
I could not help but remember the words Saintness Safelia told me the last time we met.
So this was her meaning, huh.
I'm starting to bee angry now.
Aunt Dayana shivered when she felt my brief flash of killing intent. Fortunately, I controlled it quickly so she thought it was just an illusion.
"Cousin, can you help my sister?" Andrea looked at me as though grasping at straws. Although she did not know of my true powers, she thought that maybe I could use my influence as a prince to help her sister.
I nodded with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll find a way. Can I see Lina first?"
Andrea nodded. She then took me to Lina's room.
Aunt Sera was already in the room. She was seated beside the bed and looking at her daughter with tear-filled eyes.
"… Aunt." I felt pained when I saw my aunt's condition.
Aunt Sera looked at me and smiled weakly. "Claus, you are here."
"I came as soon as I learned about Lina's situation."
"Is it so? Thank you."
I furrowed my brows. I can see the situation is not good just by seeing Aunt Sera's expression.
To be honest, I almost did not recognize her. Her seductive presence was gone, replaced by a tired a downcast look. Her black eyes had lost their usual shine, replaced by a depressing gloom, and her long black hair seemed to have gained a tint of white.
Aunt Sera was just 36 years old, but the current her seemed more like a fifty years old woman.
I sighed and walked towards her. Then, I hugged her body tightly.
As soon as she felt my hug, Aunt Sera broke into tears. I could not help but feel sad feeling her tears drenching my shirt. At the same time, I felt even angrier towards Saintess Safelia.
If she is truly behind this, I'll definitively kill her.
After Aunt Sera calmed down, I put my attention in my little cousin.
Perhaps feeling my gaze, Lina opened her eyes and smiled weakly.
"Cousin, you are here."
...
P4TRE0N: patr-eon./aidnovels
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