“Thank you very much, Your Highness. But it’s unacceptable for you to be hurt. Because…I want to protect you as well.”
“What are you saying, Fiona?”
Being protected by him made her happy, and she also knew he cared for her. If she wished it… No, she didn’t even have to say anything for Linus to protect her from anything and everything.
That was exactly why she hated letting him spoil her like this. She didn’t want to become the kind of person who gave up on her potential. She wanted to stand proudly and unashamedly next to this beautiful individual.
“I know how to fix this.”
Fiona gently pushed herself out of Linus’ hold and focused on Manaka. The violent magic unleashed by the enraged, black-haired girl was starting to affect the tablecloths, too, their color darkening. She rushed over to stand right in front of her and raised her right hand high. Then, Fiona mustered all her strength to slap her hard on her pale cheek.
The plosive sound echoed in the ballroom, and silence descended on the chaotic space. Manaka’s eyes bulged so wide Fiona feared they would pop right out of her head. She pressed her hand to her cheek, trembling in disbelief as she glared at Fiona.
“Wh-What’s the meaning of this?!”
“The best way to solve a problem is to beat the source.”
Before she even finished speaking, Fiona’s palm found its way back to Manaka’s cheek. She slapped her over and over again, the smacking sound ringing satisfyingly in the atmosphere.
“Fiona, hold on a second. I’m not sure you can apply that in this situation.”
From behind her, she heard Linus say something, but she ignored him and continued rapping the other girl mercilessly on her cheeks.
“The key is to discover and strike at the source early. The earlier, the better is what’s vital. And then, one must attack ruthlessly and completely.”
Honestly, Fiona’s hand hurt so much she almost couldn’t bear it, but she needed to power through and endure the pain. Now was the time to display her mettle as a priestess. Having recklessly decided to carry the spirit of every clergy member in the country, she raised her hand again and devoted herself to attacking the cause of their current problem.
“Ahhh! Stop it already, will you?!”
Manaka’s protests came to naught because of Fiona’s continuous slaps. The girl finally screamed in outrage, unable to bear it any longer. Perhaps due to her attention being diverted to defending against Fiona’s punishment, the magical energy filling their surroundings steadily dissipated, and the corruption stopped at some point.
“All the dishes prepared for tonight were a result of the concerted efforts of the fishermen who caught the fish, the farmers who grew the crops, the tradesmen who delivered everything, and the chefs who cooked the dishes. Many people poured their time, effort, and money into the menu. So who do you think you are to make it all rot before anyone could even taste it?”
Not to mention the damage inflicted on the tablecloths, windows, and glassware. She couldn’t even begin to calculate the enormous sums of money that would be required to repair all this destruction. No amount of waste reduction in the budget would be enough.
“Hmph. I’m a saint. A magnificent, all-powerful one. Slava is prospering thanks to me, so I can do whatever I want.”
“If a saint is considered magnificent and all-powerful, it is because of her achievements and recognition of her efforts. But that still does not give a saint the right to do whatever she wishes.”
Regardless of the abundant harvests Manaka was responsible for, it was intolerable for her to destroy things violently every time she didn’t get her way.
“God, you nag just like Paul does. You are so annoying. Well, if you hate it so much, why don’t you fix it? You’re a saint, right? What was it again? Sea bounty or something?”
“Th-That was the one the Kingdom failed to summon ten years ago. The current saint is the Saint of Cost Performance.”
The prime minister had cowered some distance from Manaka as she’d rampaged. Now, he nervously approached them again and answered in Fiona’s stead. The saint from Slava snorted in derision when she heard his explanation, her expression bored.
“Cost performance? Please. Well, you went on and on about time, effort, and money earlier, so put your money where your mouth is and fix all this.”
Manaka’s mocking attitude made it clear she thought the task impossible, and the prime minister nodded in agreement as he sneered at Fiona, too. They not only imagined her being unable to do anything, they likely wished for just that.
She didn’t mind their doubts, though. In fact, she thought they were correct to be skeptical. However, the reality was that Manaka had not only ruined the efforts of so many of her country’s people, but she had also placed the royals and, more importantly, the king and crown prince in danger. So Fiona could not understand Manaka’s audacity in seeking to prove her a fraud while never uttering a single word of apology for all the wrongs she’d committed.
Then, she finally took note of a hand that had rested comfortingly on her shoulder this whole time. When she looked up, familiar indigo eyes glittered back at her.
“I know you can do it, Fiona, so don’t worry. I’m here for you.”
Linus’ words blew away the anxiety clouding her heart. She hadn’t realized how reassuring it was to have someone who believed in her and pushed her until now. At that moment, she felt like she could do anything.
“Thank you, Your Highness.”
Fiona took a deep breath, then surveyed the ballroom.
The spoiled food and drinks, the dead flowers, the rotting plants and trees, the discolored tablecloths, and the broken glassware. It was an unmitigated disaster. And though the aristocrats in the room looked at her in confusion, they didn’t seem as panicked as before.
Manaka’s power created this foulness. Then, all Fiona had to do was eliminate her influence and rejuvenate everything. In short…purify and heal.
She folded her hands, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply again. It wasn’t whether she could or couldn’t. She would. It would work because Linus was on her side.
A pause. And then.
“Take that!”
She opened her eyes and thrust her fist forward at the same time. The magic she unleashed coalesced into a line of light that drew various patterns and words in the air before bursting into shining ripples all at once. An icy wind blew through, and soon, warm particles of light filled the area.
When buoyant beads of light touched withered flowers, the little orbs disappeared as if gently sinking into the blooms. Then, the crackling dryness and decaying brown slowly reversed course. Soon, the petals trembled with life and color again. Similarly, the fallen trees and potted plants grew lush green leaves once more, and the tablecloths gradually reverted to their original colors.
Evidently, Fiona’s magic only worked on the effects wrought by Manaka’s. The food and drinks were restored to their former state, but the broken windows and glassware remained broken.
Manaka and the prime minister weren’t the only ones standing immobile and slack-jawed. The nobles stared in open-mouthed shock. Just when she found herself amused by the spectacle, a large hand gently stroked her head.
“You certainly don’t disappoint, my saint.”
“Nothing so dramatic, Your Highness. This is just the result of mastering the fundamentals of magic and diligent training.”
Fiona had purified and healed. Though there were differences in power among them, all clergy members learned both skills. Individual effort also helped in improving the abilities. She had been a bit concerned about whether she would have been able to defy a saint’s power, but her daily training proved itself to be a force to be reckoned with and validated her efforts.
“True. But converting it to such a degree takes talent. And you did an incredible job, Fiona.”
By now, Linus had been patting her head so long that she was about to ask him to stop. However, the power of speech abandoned her when her eyes met his gentle, indigo ones. As ever, he remained both beautiful and kind. Then, did this mean…Fiona was the one who’d changed?