The Empress’s Eye (1)
Constel Central Hospital.
Sybil and Elodie were anxiously awaiting the results of Frondier’s examination.
This was the hospital where Sybil had been admitted.
This time, their positions were reversed.
──Sybil was declared as the one who killed Serf.
That was the truth, after all.
When they made this decision, Sybil argued,
“But we know the truth. I couldn’t have done anything without Frondier. Frondier saved that child and saved us. People should recognize that!”
She made a persuasive argument.
But Elodie shook her head.
“Even if everyone knew that Frondier did the right thing, that doesn’t guarantee that Frondier’s image will improve.”
“Why…?”
“…That’s just how image works.”
Will Frondier emerge as the hero who saved the child? Or the murderer who killed a person?
Elodie couldn’t be sure which way the story would go.
However, she believed the latter was more likely.
That was because of Serf’s popularity.
‘Serf was popular in the empire before this happened. Plus, the Indus, which Serf belongs to, has a good reputation among the commoners. On the other hand, Frondier not only lacks popularity, but also has a terrible image. And on top of that, he’s a noble…’
To put it extremely, they might think that Frondier killed Serf and covered up the incident.
That was why they decided to give the credit to Sybil, not Frondier.
Sybil was quite popular in Constel, and she was a commoner, not a noble.
Plus, if they had Elodie’s testimony, the incident would be watertight.
‘I’m honestly a little pissed that Frondier’s achievement will go unnoticed.’
Frondier.
He deserves to be rewarded for what he did.
Just as Elodie was thinking that.
Creak-
The door of the examination room opened, and the doctor came out.
“D, Doctor! How is he? What’s his condition?”
Sybil approached the doctor and asked anxiously.
Elodie smiled bitterly upon seeing her anxious eyes.
'You're lucky, Frondier.'
The doctor gave Sybil a reassuring smile.
“He’s fine. The wound on his side is healing well, and he didn’t lose as much blood as we thought.”
The two were relieved to hear the doctor’s report.
But then the doctor seemed to be thinking about something for a moment before looking at the two.
“By the way, what is your relationship with the patient?”
“Huh? W, we’re friends.”
“Is there no guardian?”
The two nodded at the doctor’s question.
In fact, Elodie had contacted someone. Frondier’s older brother, Azier.
After arriving at the hospital, she had been wondering who among Frondier’s family she should contact.
His father, Enfer, his older brother, Azier, or his mother, who was Constel’s health officer, Malia.
The reason why Elodie ended up calling Azier was simple.
She didn’t know Malia’s number, and Enfer was too intimidating.
Azier was also intimidating, but at least she had talked to him before.
When Elodie explained the situation, Azier seemed to ponder for a moment before saying.
-I’ll leave it to you.
"Yes?!"
Elodie asked without thinking.
-If our family goes, it will unnecessarily stir up rumors. That wouldn't be good for Frondier either.
He still answered matter-of-factly.
Thinking about it, that was right. Frondier's family was all too famous.
The doctor stroked his chin as if troubled.
"Um, I see. I have something to tell the guardian."
"Is Frondier in danger?"
"No, it's not like that. But there's something I need to convey."
"Then please tell me. I will take responsibility and pass it on."
Elodie said, and Sybil nodded earnestly beside her.
"…Hmm, I see. That should be fine. Then, this way."
With that, the three of them moved to the doctor's office.
Sybil and Elodie sat on chairs, tense with anxiety. Despite assurances, the doctor's expression was quite serious.
The doctor spoke again.
"Don't worry too much. The patient is fine. However, I want to caution you."
"Caution?"
When Elodie asked, the doctor nodded and took out two photographs.
"First, he had a deep wound on his side, so we took an X-ray. As I mentioned, the treatment went well. Fortunately, the knife didn't touch the bone or the internal organs, so there won't be any aftereffects. And there will hardly be any scars."
Elodie and Sybil's tension eased a bit at the doctor's explanation.
The doctor took out the next photograph.
"And this is a picture of the mana distribution."
"Mana distribution?"
"Yes. It literally checks the distribution of mana in the subject. You can see the residual amount of mana, where the mana is concentrated, and so on."
Hearing this, Elodie and Sybil looked at the photograph.
And both tilted their heads in confusion.
"I don't really understand. I can't see the mana."
The photograph they were looking at just had a white silhouette of a person.
I can tell this is Frondier, but how do you see the mana distribution?
"You're looking at it correctly."
"Really?"
"The patient had collapsed due to mana depletion. When he arrived at the hospital, there was no mana left."
The doctor's words surprised them, and their mouths fell open.
So that's why the photograph only had a silhouette.
Because it was completely empty.
"Of course, fainting due to mana depletion is a common occurrence. You two have experienced it too. When mana is depleted, a person feels extreme fatigue. Plus, the patient had been moving excessively before the mana depletion, and there was also bleeding."
The two nodded.
They were students of Constel, so they naturally knew the sensation of lacking mana.
Fainting due to mana depletion was entirely plausible.
"Then, this is the next photograph."
The doctor took out another photograph.
It was also a mana distribution photo.
But it was noticeably different.
"...Oh? There's a place that looks blue. Quite a lot."
"Yes. That's mana. This was taken an hour later."
"Wow," Sybil exclaimed in amazement.
Even after mana depletion, to recover mana this quickly?
'So quickly?'
Unlike Sybil, however, Elodie, who is a pure mage…
“That speed seems a bit unusual.”
Thus, Elodie asked carefully.
“……I know this is a strange question, but is it possible to recover mana this quickly after mana depletion?”
