My Husband Has Changed - Chapter 141



Only Noblemtl

#141. The Age of Faith
2024.02.18.

Adele decided to gratefully accept Miriam’s kindness.

She realized that hanging curtains was a kind of special favor, but if she refused even this, Miriam would obviously reject her offer at any cost.

Lena, who found out about the situation late, grumbled that she was having a hard time, but eventually packed her bags and followed Adele to the priests’ room.

The already spacious room was crowded with two additional beds.

When they were almost done unpacking, Miriam asked, shaking off her hands.

“Where are the supplies and medicines stored?”

“I’ll show you around.”

Adele took the lead enthusiastically.

They checked the supply boxes one by one, checking the quantity of items, and wrote down a list of things they absolutely had to bring with them when they were restocked the next time. They

were so busy that they could barely eat a few spoonfuls of soup, but this was better.

Even if I stayed still for a moment, useless thoughts would come flooding in. Like Valentin or Padre… … .

“We might not have enough bandages. And stretchers aren’t enough. But this should last me a month.”

A month.

Adele unconsciously bit her fingernails.

Every time she realized how large this expedition was, she felt an inevitable sense of helplessness.

Several times a day, Adele thought that it would have been nice if there were other capable healers besides her.

‘It would cost a lot of money to send healers to war, but even so, Denburg isn’t a poor country that can’t afford a few healers… … .’

As her impatience reached its peak, she turned her resentment toward the emperor for not being able to find a target. There were that many suspicious aspects to this expedition.

Miriam, who had examined the last box of supplies, straightened her hunched back and said,

“The herbs are well-stocked with useful ones. There’s also plenty of mallets for painkillers. We’re a little short on herbs, but since their shelf life is short… … . I think it would be good to put them on the next supply list.”

“… … .”

“Your Majesty?”

Miriam glanced at Adele, who was lost in thought with a gloomy expression, and coughed.

Only then did Adele realize that she had been silent for a long time in front of Miriam. She panicked and opened her notebook, then dropped it.

“I-I’m sorry. I’ll write it down right away.”

“You can take your time.”

Miriam bent down and picked up the notebook for her.

“Now that I think about it, you look a little tired. I heard that you were attacked by monsters just before you arrived at Nassau Castle. Did you rest after that?”

“Of course. I’m physically fine.”

“Oh. I’m not trying to pry. The wounded soldiers were in serious condition, but I heard that Your Majesty healed them all.”

Adele’s eyes widened at Miriam’s knowledge of this. He immediately waved his hand and answered.

“Because of my lack of skill… … It wasn’t proper treatment. I was only focused on blocking the wounds.”

“I heard that if it weren’t for His Majesty, they would have had a hard time surviving. The wounds were that serious. They all said that the treatment was excellent and that it was fortunate for the wounded soldiers that His Majesty was there.”

“But, I… … .”

“Of course, there are some shortcomings. However, they will be quickly supplemented with experience. If this is the beginning, you will soon be able to do the work of three or four priests. Just like other healers.”

At that moment, a loud horn sound shook the castle.

Had a new order of knights arrived? Adele hurried to a nearby window and looked outside.

As expected, she saw knights and soldiers lined up in a straight line passing through the drawbridge. The number must have easily exceeded twenty thousand.

“… … It seems that the size of the punitive force is growing.”

Adele groaned as she looked at the knights with anxious eyes. Miriam, who barely recognized her voice, nodded.

“I’ve heard that the situation has been changing rapidly recently. The leadership seems to think that the number of monsters may exceed our expectations.”

“Is that really true?”

“No one knows yet. However… … .”

Miriam looked around as if afraid that someone might hear her, then added in a whisper.

“I heard that they’re also setting up a defensive line behind us in case the northern wall breaks.”

“The northern wall breaks… … .”

Adele looked toward the barrier with an anxious face.

From this location, she could see a huge barrier towering over the dark forest.

The great barriers that were paired with Ingrida’s Wall had been humanity’s first line of defense since as long ago as she could remember. She could not even dare imagine that they would be broken.

“… … .”

She had a bad feeling about this.

Was it since they arrived at the castle of Nassau? It was as if her sharp instincts were continuously sending her ominous signals, telling her to run away.

Adele held onto the window frame tightly to suppress her emotional agitation. At that moment, a huge cheer erupted from the soldiers gathered below.

“To the glory of Friedeburg!”

“Brauchitsch! Brauchitsch!”

When she looked down, she saw the bannermen of each family raising their flags high into the sky. Every time their family’s flag waved, the soldiers clenched their fists and shouted in competition.

Miriam followed her, leaning her upper body out of the window and speaking slowly as if evaluating.

“Friedeburg, Brauchitsch, Blomberg… … . “Three of the five great noble families of the South have arrived.”

“Four.”

Adele calmly answered, looking at the flag of Reichenau passing through the drawbridge at the very end.

Miriam nodded, letting out a short exclamation as if she had realized the relationship between Adele and Reichenau.

Then she continued as if she had seen something.

“I heard that the Countess of Reichenau is also participating in the war as the successor of the family, and it seems to be true. There were rumors that she had lost her ability as a healer since she had not shown her ability recently.”

“… … .”

“Well, it seems that it was all a lie, judging from how much she came.”

Adele turned her gaze in the direction Miriam was looking, but no matter how hard she looked, she could not find Charlotte.

In any case, it was a welcome thing to have even one more person to help.

“It’s good for us. We are short on healers. Compared to the size of the punitive force, there are almost none.”

“Well, haven’t they always been like that since that incident? They’re being arrogant now, but if they realize the gravity of the situation, the tower will change. That’s because their butts are so heavy.”

Miriam replied sarcastically.

The ‘incident’ Miriam was talking about happened before Adele was even born, but it was so famous that everyone knew about it.

It was a conflict that arose when the healers who had been mobilized for the subjugation order were isolated and ignored by the Great Temple and the Imperial Palace.

Since that incident, the Tower of Dawn has maintained its position that there would be no treatment without proper compensation, and has continued to walk its own path despite pressure from the Imperial Palace and the Great Temple.

“Anyway… … Your Majesty is right. Right now, we need to borrow someone’s hand. The church is also weeding out all the knights who can use their power. We’re also drafting as many ordinary priests with subjugation experience as possible. I don’t know, but the Pope will probably declare this subjugation a holy war.”

“A holy war?”

“Because it’s a time when faith is needed.”

Miriam answered quietly, looking at the northern wall.

From the rumors that the northern wall that protected humans had cracked, to the rumors that Morrig was not responding, to the rumors that the holy power was disappearing, to the monsters attacking the priests through the sacred veil and threatening the authority of the Great Crusade… …

There was only one way for the Great Crusade to quell all this commotion.

If they won the holy war in Morrig’s name, they could use it as proof that God had not yet abandoned them.

Miriam grabbed Adele’s silence and made the sign of the cross.

“Don’t be afraid. Morrig will surely give you the courage to defeat the evil dragon army.”

“… … .”

* * *

The next day, the remaining reinforcements began to arrive one after another.

The headquarters meeting was dragging on forever, and the number of people who had to do the work increased, so the servants were too busy to even open their eyes.

Cleaning the eastern fortress for the lack of rooms, setting up tents, bringing in the lack of drinking water, etc… … The number of people who were hurt by monsters that lurked while moving alone had increased significantly.

“You have to be especially careful when touching these wounds.”

Miriam nodded to Adele while holding onto the struggling man tightly.

Adele followed the order and held onto his arm tightly so that the wound was pointing up to the sky. The wound from the monster bite had swollen and turned into a large pus-filled pus in ten minutes.

“A scratch can heal, but if you get bitten by something with a beak like an insect, early treatment is important. It can cause high fever and abdominal pain, and in severe cases, death can occur within two days. In that case, do this… … .”

As Miriam lifted the blade that had been heated over charcoal, the servant’s struggles grew even more intense.

As the women struggled, another priestess nearby quickly ran over and grabbed the servant’s shoulder.

“You have to drain the blood by cutting the pus with a hot knife.”

As Miriam skillfully cut the swollen pus with a knife, a sour and foul smell began to fill the room.