The Villainess Will Not Bring Dishonor To Her Family

29 - Beneath The Ashes - Part 1

The fairytale scene appeared to be enough to make the ladies swoon, only Claire's mother was currently aware that I was Lily... and the guard captain. That was why he'd been against the duel... even so... to think he was staying quiet...

The atmosphere lightened from our performance, and things seemed like they would return to normal as the guards began their light banter and light chatting. A truly soothing thing for the soul.

"That was all to close... I was so exhausted my shield kept dropping..."

"Yes... I'm glad their commander left when he did or we wouldn't even have lasted until Celeste-sama arrived..."

Ohohoho~ that's right, water contains the power to remove fatigue. If not for that we would've been overru-

He left?

I pulled away from Claire in an instant.

"What do you mean he left?!" No, it made sense, just shortly before the duel was requested the air of the bandits had gotten a bit more confident...

"He left after wounding the captain," the guard reported out confused at my attention to the detail.

That was it, the dark nagging feeling.

With a properly trained commander the bandits should have circled around and attacked the rear. We didn't have enough people to protect both sides because most of the men were injured.

Then... were they guarding something?

I looked to the guard captain.

"What is down this street? Something important?"

The guard captain caught onto my train of thought quickly.

"A our headquarters, some warehouses and houses of some patricians."

...

I turned my attention to the guards.

"Search everything in that direction! Be careful of fortified positions! It isn't over yet! Two of you start the evacuation of the civilians to the castle immediately!"

I turned to Claire. "I know you've just learned to use your magic, but I need your assistance. You need to heal the civilians so they can make it to the castle, no more and no less or you will run out of time and mana."

My sudden change of pace made her timid.

"But then Hero-sama..."

I shook my head. "I can heal myself now if needed. If the people aren't evacuated we will die protecting them."

She was young, but as the heroine and as a healer she needed to be able to take responsibility for her newly gained power.

"I'll do some first aid as well-"

I paused and turned to Lumere.

"Is there a way to transfer magic?"

Lumere nodded and motioned to my lips and then her forehead... Well... as long as it wasn't the lips I suppose it shouldn't be all too much of a problem... probably...

I quickly grabbed Claire in my arms and pulled her close for me to press my lips against her forehead. A normal kiss wouldn't do though... like meditation perhaps? I focused my energy to my lips like I would usually do with my prayers.

"Kyah!" A sweet little sound escaped from the girl in my arms, which I took as a sound of 'it is working'. Unsurprisingly, when I pulled back from feeling a light resistance, she was red like a sunset. I wanted to curse the author of the novel for coming up with such a foolish and intimate way of transferring mana, but for a romance novel for foreigners I suppose it was charming.