I was accidentally injured by God and I just want to be an ordinary person

"So, can you tell me why you were still at the auction house so late? If you were just there for fun, then you'll have to wait until you recover to get a beating from me before you can leave."

No matter how you listen to the impatient tone, it doesn't sound like a joke, but there is nothing to feel guilty about. After all, forging magic weapons can't be considered as fun.

"Hmm... just... cough cough cough."

He opened his mouth slightly to speak, but his throat, which was extremely dry and coughing, immediately felt a pain like a knife cutting.

Seeing this, Tifarian immediately handed the steaming warm water on the table to Ella to drink, and then picked up a small bowl with exquisite floral carvings on the other side - it contained food similar to porridge.

"Forget it, we can talk about it later. Just eat this first."

You can tell that her voice lacks a lot of confidence compared to before - she must be quite unconfident in her cooking skills - Tifarian sat down on the edge of the bed and continued to supplement.

"I've only made it before when Lotte was sick. I've already tried it, so it should be fine."

“Eh…thank you…”

Tifarian's sudden change made Ella a little uncomfortable, or rather, she was completely different from the impression she had in her mind. And now she always felt familiar, as if this scene had happened somewhere before.

However, it was a bit embarrassing to let Tifarian hold it like this all the time, so Ella reached out to remove the cold thing on her head so that she could sit up from the bed.

But he was quickly stopped by Tifarian.

"Can you hold it up in your current state? Just sit still."

As she spoke, Tifarian took out a cushion from under the bed and placed it under the back of Ella's head.

However, Tifarian completely underestimated Ella. Although she was still in a dazed state due to fever, she was not so bad that she could not even hold a bowl. She must have treated herself as an ordinary healer. After all, people generally think that healers have relatively fragile bodies.

Perhaps feeling helpless about the current situation, Tifarian sighed to herself.

"This is a privilege only Lotte has ever enjoyed. Remember this with gratitude. Open your mouth."

Tifarian scooped a spoonful of porridge and brought it to Ella.

She felt that if she didn't do as she was told, Tifarian would force her to drink it, so Ella could only open her mouth obediently, but—

"Hot!?"

"Hmm? Ah, sorry."

Tifarian immediately took the spoon away with an expression like a child who had done something wrong. Given the temperature of the porridge, if she swallowed it without paying attention, her tongue would definitely hurt all day.

Although she felt very embarrassed, her life would be in danger if she let Tifarian continue, so Ella decided to take the initiative into her own hands.

“…I’ll do it myself.”

"no."

While refusing in a firm tone, Tifarian scooped another small spoonful of porridge from the bowl. With the lesson learned from last time, Tifarian began to blow it gently. Her serious look made Ella feel reluctant. Although she didn't know why, Tifarian seemed to be really worried about her - she had tried to kill her with a rapier to snatch the ownership of Lotte.

Out of embarrassment, Ella obediently ate the porridge that Tifarian placed in front of her in one gulp.

"Hey, why does Tifarian care about me so much?"

The ruthless straight shot made Ella immediately realize that she had used the wrong way of asking, but Tifarian answered unexpectedly honestly, with a sense of nostalgia in her tone.

"Lotte had a fever like this once before. My father and eldest brother were out at the time, so I was the only one at home with the other maids. The maids' suggestions were all bizarre and unfamiliar, so in the end, I had no choice but to take charge. Seeing you yesterday reminded me a little of that time—"

"But I'm someone Tifarian hates, you know?"

——Her sister is the other party's slave. No one would feel good if they were in Tifarian's position. It is natural for Tifarian to hate her, and she has always believed so.

As if venting her dissatisfaction, Tifarian forcefully stuffed the spoon into Ella's mouth and spoke through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, yeah, I hate you. I hate the way Lotte likes you. I hate the way you live freely without knowing anything. I hate the way you keep Lotte as a slave. Everything is what I hate—"

Tifarian paused for a moment and took out the spoon that she had roughly stuffed into Ella's mouth.

"But except for the last point, everything else is what I long for. And Lotte is very happy herself. As an outsider, I can't say anything more. Besides, if you had returned in such a sickly state, Lotte would have been the one who would have been worried and had to deal with the trouble. Instead of that, it's better to get cured here first."

[This guy... is a complete sister-con...]

Whenever Tifarian mentioned Lotte, a smile would appear on her face. No matter how Ella looked at it, Tifarian was a person with a strong sister complex, and the behavior that was very sisterly like just now was something she learned for Lotte.

Tifarian didn't stop there, she continued talking to herself.

"Given Lotte's stubborn personality, once she's made up her mind, if she shows her dislike for you, she'll definitely distance herself from me. Instead of that, I'd rather stay close to her... After all, if I hadn't gone on a solo adventure, this wouldn't have happened. Damn it."

Tifarian turned her gaze towards Ella, her eyes filled with unmistakable warning.

"Listen carefully. If you ever decide to do something risky, be sure to tell me in advance. I'll be waiting by your side, waiting for the moment to take back Lotte's ownership. Also, if you ever hurt Lotte or make her cry, I'll beat you up in the most spectacular way possible until you beg for mercy."

"Ah... I'll abide by the latter, but please allow me to refuse the former. I don't want to do anything like an adventurer."

Tifarian scratched her head feeling troubled and put down the bowl of porridge. She had already fed Ella half of it while she was talking.

"Tsk, is that so? Well, that kid will be sad if you die, right? Ahhh, what a hassle."

As if she really felt very troubled, Tifarian stood up and paced around the room. After about three minutes, Tifarian suddenly turned back.

"By the way, you are from the Holy Academy, right? Once I finish my work here, I will go to the Holy Academy and join your team."

She was speaking in a completely commanding tone, but she didn't really care. After all, Tifarian was the one who cared about her when she was sick. The feeling of being taken care of was not bad. She should be very grateful.

"That's fine with me...but if Tifarian likes Lotte so much, she can join now."

"Not yet... not yet. I need to deal with the person who caused Lotte's enslavement and the downfall of our family. After that, I will naturally come to you."

An unhappy look appeared on Tifarian's face.

"Is that so... In that case, come back to me after Tifarian has dealt with those things."

Of course, I won't say anything to make Tifarian let go of her hatred. I can't feel Tifarian's pain since I'm not in Tifarian's position. Talking big words beside her will only make Tifarian impatient and will not have any other effect. So I can only try to provide help within my ability.

After regaining some strength, Ella took out a gorgeous dagger-shaped magic weapon from the warehouse. This was something that the black dragon Vera had given her before. Although she didn't know the effect, it would definitely not be bad.

“What is this…?”

"This gift to Tifarian is the price for Tifarian temporarily leaving Lotte with me."

"Hmph, Lotte can't be exchanged for such a small thing."

Despite her harsh words, Tifarian snatched the dagger from Ella's hand.

"By now, Lotte must have received the notice and should be here soon. Also, for some reason, Lekrik helped you deal with the nobles' obstruction. Once Lotte arrives, quickly deliver the letter to Emperor Tovasarn and leave Zeos City as soon as possible."

"as early as possible?"

"It's only a matter of time before the nobles take action. I don't want you to get Lotte involved."

"how about you?"

"Of course I have my own way of doing things. Don't ask so many questions. Finish the rest of the porridge, change your clothes quickly and go pick up Lotte. Open your mouth—"

Without waiting for Ella to open her mouth, Tifarian roughly poured the remaining porridge, which was at just the right temperature, into Ella's mouth, and then urged Ella to drink the fever-reducing medicine, change her clothes, and go out to greet Lotte.

Chapter 49: Mutation

* February 10, 6187 Genesis, 6:02 AM, Marquis Ars's Mansion in Zeos City

The Marquisate of Ars, located near the royal capital of Paris, "Jaos City," is a territory that possesses both military and financial resources. At one point in history, the people of the royal capital of Jayos City worried about the existence of such a powerful military territory near them. There were even rumors that if Marquis Ars rebelled, the royal capital would not be able to hold out for more than ten days before being conquered.

However, this rumor was completely false. Not to mention that there was a mountain range stretching for several kilometers between the capital directly under the king and the Marquisate of Ars. First of all, the relationship between the Ars family and the king at that time was quite good - a blood relationship derived from marriage. If it were not for the kingdom's rule that the duke must be a direct relative of the king - a younger brother or older brother - then it should have been called the Duke of Ars's family.

Of course, this does not mean that the Marquis of Ars is the strongest of the six nobles. Apart from the Marquis of Ars, the other five nobles also surpass the king in at least one of the military or financial resources. It is precisely because of this background that the Kingdom of Paris is in its current predicament - the pro-king faction and the aristocratic faction each hold their own opinions during the court meeting, and the leader of the aristocratic faction, "Sepro", even openly expresses his contempt for the king.

But the most noteworthy person is the Marquis of Ars, who was able to wander freely between the two factions without being threatened. His political skills and extraordinary intelligence completely surpassed the other five nobles. There was even a saying among the few smart nobles in the kingdom that if it were not for the Marquis of Ars balancing the forces between the two factions, the kingdom might have collapsed from within long ago.

However, even the Marquis of Ars had a fatal weakness - the Marquis of Ars loved his only son, Lecrick, to an irrational degree.

If you think about it carefully, it is understandable. The Marquis of Ars was nearly forty when he had his only son, Lecrick. Now that he is nearly sixty years old, it is impossible for him to talk about offspring. If anything happens to Lecrick, the lineage of the Marquis of Ars will be cut off from him, which is something the Marquis of Ars cannot accept. Therefore, no matter what Lecrick says, the Marquis of Ars will agree without hesitation - provided that it does not involve struggles between factions.

Now, Leklik was sitting on the luxurious soft chair in the study with a distressed look on his face.

After returning from Ryan Town, Lekrik has been like this. Although the Marquis of Ars has expressed his concern several times, Lekrik always evades him with the words "it's okay". Lekrik knows that once he expresses his desire for something, his father will definitely use tough measures to achieve it. If it is just an ordinary item, it's okay, but in this matter, Lekrik only wants to rely on his own abilities.

Lekrik rested his hands on the table, his fingers tangled in his shiny blond hair combed back, his expression constantly switching between distress and a silly smile. If others saw this, they would definitely think that this person had gone insane and needed to be sent to the temple for magical treatment. However, Lekrik was not mentally ill, because he was - in love.

Dude, dunk, dunk.

There was a polite knock on the door. Judging from the time and rhythm of the knocks, it must be his old friend, Lord Florund. Although Lord Florund's title was so low as to be negligible compared to his own, he was the only friend he could talk to casually.

Leklik immediately cleared his throat and re-tidied his shiny blond hair, which was slicked back.

"Come in."

The wooden door opened, and a thin young nobleman who looked like a piece of dry firewood came into view. After entering the room, Florend first looked around and made sure that there were no other maids around before relaxing and sitting down on the sofa on the side of the study without any care.

"Hey, it's actually snowing outside. You didn't know—huh? It's rare to see you in the study without even opening a book. You've been out for two days. What good things happened?"

"Hahaha, I can't hide it from you."

Not caring about Florende's carefree behavior, Leklik touched his chin with some reminiscence. His friend's unrestrained attitude was exactly what he liked. When he was alone with him, he would also drop his aristocratic attitude.

After hearing what Lekrik said, Florend's eyes lit up instantly. He straightened his upper body, supported one side of his body on the table, and looked at Lekrik with an expression as if he had discovered something good.

"Oh? It's actually true. Tell me about it."

"Ah, it's a bit embarrassing to say this, but I seem to have fallen in love with a girl recently."

It was indeed a bit embarrassing to say it out loud, and Leklik's voice unconsciously lowered when he said the second half of the sentence.

Florund raised an eyebrow.

"Who is it? Princess Tifarian? Or the third daughter of Marquis Sepro, known as the 'Treasure of the Kingdom'?"

"No, no, how could it be them? I have absolutely no feelings towards them. You know, they just want to use me so they can manipulate the Marquis of Ars in the future."

"Ah, yes, I forgot you're different from those nobles out there."

Florund picked up the steaming teapot on the table. It was so cold in the early morning of winter in the kingdom that it was normal to want to drink hot tea after coming in from outside, not to mention that it was snowing outside.

"So? Who is it? Let me make it clear first, if it's not someone of a certain status, even if your father loves you very much, he won't agree."

As he spoke, Florend raised his eyes inconspicuously and glanced at Lekrik. The number of people in the kingdom who were worthy of Lekrik could be counted on one hand. And as Lekrik said, those people were political props that wanted to use Lekrik to manipulate the Ars family. Even he himself understood this, so there was no reason for Lekrik not to know it, so Lekrik could not have chosen them. In this case, he could only think that Lekrik was bewitched and fell in love with someone who was far below her in status. As a close friend, he had to remind her at this time.

"Of course. At first, I thought she was just an ordinary person, but I didn't expect her to command an army composed entirely of monsters. Did you know? She controls a quarter of the entire Kingdom of Barris. I'm sure that unless the nobles unite their forces, it's impossible to defeat her. With such a status, she would definitely make my father laugh."

"Hey, hey, you're not delirious, are you?"

Florend stretched out his hand and tried to test Lekrik's body temperature, but Lekrik dodged it skillfully.

"If you said it was some great noble from the empire, I'd believe it, but it's a monster army? And what's with that 1/4?"

"How could I possibly be associated with the Empire? If it weren't for the Seal of Original Sin, the Empire would have swallowed us up long ago. The monsters are from the Coastal Forest. She has subdued all the monsters in the Coastal Forest. If she hadn't been there this time, I wouldn't be standing here right now."

Lekrik's frightened expression made Florend fall into deep thought. Lekrik would never make such a tasteless joke. If the person Lekrik liked really controlled all the monsters in the forest of Baris Coast, then the fact would be just as Lekrik said, 1/4 of the Baris Kingdom would be in the hands of the person Lekrik liked. No matter how you think about it, it would be terrifying. Once the person who controlled the monsters was unhappy, with more than half of the kingdom's troops stationed on the northern and eastern borders, the Baris Kingdom would definitely fall into a considerable crisis.

But if we change our thinking, it would actually be a good thing. If Lekrik could marry that incredible woman, then the power of the monsters would belong to Lekrik - the Marquis of Ars. In that case, the crisis between the aristocracy and the pro-king faction in the kingdom would be almost solved.

The reason why the kingdom is now divided into two factions is entirely due to the extremely small gap in strength between the two sides. If such a large army of monsters joins the fight, no matter which faction Marquis Ars joins, the balance of power will collapse in an instant. Even if they don't actually take action, the nobles on the other side will gradually turn against them for their own interests. It is almost a perfect plan.

Of course, the prerequisite is that Lekrik can win over the woman who controls the monsters. However, Florend is not worried. Lekrik is far superior to other nobles of the same age in terms of appearance, wisdom, character and courage. There is almost no other man of the same level as him in the kingdom. It is almost a matter of time before the two of them are together. No, it is more like a natural thing.

It is naturally a good thing for a small noble like Florand that the kingdom can survive the crisis. With an expectant attitude, Florand continued to ask questions.

"Who is that woman?"

"A woman? No, no, no, she's just... I'm a little embarrassed to say this, but in my opinion, she's still just a child, but she must be at least 12 years old."

Lekrik immediately defended himself. Through the dim light, Florend vaguely saw a blush on Lekrik's face.

"Twelve? It's a bit early, but engagement should be fine. We can wait until she turns fifteen and becomes an adult. Anyway, with her joining the kingdom, peace will be much greater—"

"Hey, hey, hey, hey—Flaulund, when did you become like those nobles? I like her as a person, not because of the monsters behind her. You should be clear about this, right?"

There was a hint of anger in Leklik's tone. In his opinion, Florend's words were simply trampling on his pure feelings.

Florend was stunned for a moment, then gradually turned into a wry smile.

"Okay, okay, I'm wrong. What exactly do you like about her?"

Now it was Lekrik's turn to be stunned. He lowered his head slightly, turned his gaze to the side, and scratched his cheek hesitantly with his hand. He looked just like a boy in love.

"It must have been... love at first sight? I fell in love with her the first time I saw her in an alley."

"Huh—I really can't stand you. You always have a specific thing in mind, right? Personality? Looks?"

"If I had to put it bluntly... her long, golden hair is like silk, her eyes are as blue as the sea, her skin is as white as porcelain, her wrists are so slender that they would break if she were to give them a light grip, her innocent and carefree demeanor, and she's so pretty when she smiles..."

"Why don't you just tell me everything? You're truly hopeless."

"Ah, yes, I'm just hopeless."