Time Healer Ceres

“I hear they’ve developed a new medicine to replace the holy water.”

“A new medicine?”

Whatever it was, he didn’t know and had no interest in finding out. He wasn’t even curious. What mattered was that another source of income had been cut off.

“That woman...”

So now she’s even throwing her weight around as acting head of the family?

“Tch.”

He hadn’t liked her from the start. Even now, he could clearly remember the way that insolent girl had mocked him right to his face. She should’ve kept her head down and vanished quietly.

“Where are the other knights now?”

At Tylo’s question, the subordinate standing silently off to the side hurried to answer.

“They’re probably at their quarters.”

“Gather everyone.”

“Yes, sir.”

As the subordinate rushed out, Tylo pushed himself to his feet.

“What are you planning to do?”

The servant’s question only deepened the scowl on the knight captain’s face.

“What else? Someone needs to make it clear exactly what she’s done wrong.”

With that, Tylo strode out of his office.

***

“What’s all this?”

“Letters of resignation.”

“Hmm. Resignation letters...”

Ceres glanced over the papers covering her desk and barely managed to hold back a laugh.

Now they’re just pushing their luck.

“R-Resignation letters?!”

Unlike the unfazed Ceres, Herion’s shock was written all over her face.

A short while ago, Knight Captain Tylo, the vice captain, and several veteran knights had stormed into the office and dumped a stack of documents onto the desk.

As soon as she learned they were letters declaring the knights’ intent to leave House Ellesia, Herion forgot all about her injuries and sprang to her feet.

“Ugh!”

Of course, that came at a price. Pain surged through her arm and leg, drawing a small groan from her lips.

“I told you to rest. Why do you keep coming to the office?”

Watching Herion lower herself back into her chair with Juno’s help, Ceres clicked her tongue.

Most of the swelling on her face had gone down, but her broken arm and injured leg were still far from healed.

I could turn back time and fix her, but...

Herion was far too knowledgeable about healing arts to be deceived by a half-hearted explanation.

The moment she did, Herion would be on her heels demanding answers about the herbs she’d used, what effects they had, where they grew, and when they could be cultivated.

Pushing those thoughts aside, Ceres turned her attention back to the people responsible for Herion’s condition and picked up one of the resignation letters from the desk.

“And your reason?”

The reason was obvious enough, but she wanted to hear them say it.

“Do you really have to ask?”

“Yes. That’s why I’m asking.”

“We’ve heard that the knights will no longer be receiving holy water.”

At Tylo’s words, Ceres simply nodded like she’d expected as much. The information Juno had brought her a few days ago was correct after all.

“It seems the knight order may be involved in the holy water trade. We’ve received reports that some of the holy water distributed to them is finding its way back onto the market.”

“Hmm. We’ll know soon enough.”

“Pardon?”

“If it’s true, they’ll make a move before long.”

And now, here they were.

They really were kind enough to behave exactly as expected. At this point, she almost felt grateful.

“First the swords, and now you’re cutting off the holy water that’s practically a knight’s lifeline. Isn’t that a blatant sign of disrespect? Why should we continue serving a family that treats us this way?”

Well, they weren’t entirely wrong.

However, wasn’t it a little embarrassing for a group of formally appointed knights to come marching in together and threaten to quit?

Then again, most nobles would’ve backed down by now.

When the knights serving a noble house suddenly resigned or walked away, word spread quickly. Before long, the house would earn a reputation for treating its knights poorly and being unworthy of their service.

And once that reputation took hold, other knights stopped coming. It was an unspoken rule among them.

Naturally, nobles had little choice but to tread carefully whenever their knights pulled out the resignation threat. Their reputation depended on it.

Knights who swore loyalty and devoted themselves to protecting their lord was a story from another age. These days, you were more likely to find that sort of thing in a fairy tale.

“So, you want treatment befitting your standing?”

“It’s only fair.”

Tylo understood the situation perfectly well. The corner of his mouth lifted.

There was only one thing Ceres could do here. If she didn’t want House Ellesia to become a family abandoned by its own knights, she’d have to accept their demands.

“Very well.”

Just as expected, the answer Tylo wanted came from Ceres’s lips.

“Then let’s discuss the conditions we’d like to see addressed—”

Convinced he’d already won, Tylo was about to launch into a long list of grievances when Ceres interrupted him.

“Before we do, there is something I’d like to know first.”

“And what would that be?”

“How much you’re actually worth.”

“...What?”

“How else am I supposed to know what kind of treatment is appropriate?”

“...Are you saying you intend to test us?”

“Yes.”

“...Ha.”

A short laugh escaped him.

“How do you plan to do that? Are you going to pick up a sword yourself?”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

But the result would be a little too obvious.

“There’s no need to worry. I’ve already arranged for someone to do that in my place.”

Tylo’s brows furrowed deeply. He seemed desperate to find something to nitpick.

“Why should we agree to that?”

They were the ones in the stronger position here. There was no reason to play along with her proposal.

“If you pass the test I set...”

“If we do...?”

“Then I won’t interfere in the knight order’s affairs again. Of course, you’ll get everything you’ve been asking for.”

“Lady Ceres!”

Juno immediately stepped forward.

“That’s unreasonable. You can’t just agree to all their demands!”

Knowing what the knights had been doing behind the scenes, he couldn’t accept those terms. Even if House Ellesia ended up with the disgraceful reputation of being abandoned by its own knights, this was something that must be stopped.

“Juno.”

Before he could say anything more, Herion stopped him. She shook her head, silently telling him not to interfere and just leave it to Lady Ceres.

She must have something in mind.

Herion simply smiled. The time she’d spent with Ceres wasn’t particularly long, but it was enough to learn one thing.

Ceres never acted without a reason.

“.....”

Meanwhile, Tylo considered the offer.

It wasn’t bad. He had no idea what sort of test she had prepared, but if they passed, things would return to normal. More importantly, that secretary would no longer have any excuse to stick his nose into the knight order’s business.

It’s not like we can threaten to resign every single time.

Perhaps it was better to settle the matter once and for all.

“However, if you fail, you’ll follow the family’s orders from then on. No arguments.”

“What exactly is this test?”

“If I tell you now, it’ll spoil the fun.”

“You’re not planning to make us do something ridiculous, are you?”

“I’ll give you one hint.”

“A hint?”

“The people you’ll be facing...”

Ceres let the suspense linger for a moment before smiling.

“...are students.”

“...Students?”

“Students from the academy. They study swordsmanship there.”

Tylo almost laughed.

Students? She expected them to fight a bunch of academy children? Has she finally lost her mind?

“What? You don’t want to?”

“...We’ll do it.”

Grinding his teeth, Tylo finally nodded.

Whether they won or not, there was nothing glorious about fighting students. But the reward was too good to pass up.

Rustle.

“Then sign.”

As though she had expected this outcome from the beginning, Ceres slid a document across the desk. It was a contract containing every condition they had just agreed upon.

If the knights failed the test, they would obey the family’s orders without complaint. And if they succeeded, the rewards Ceres had promised were written there as well.

“.....”

After reading through the contract, Tylo signed without hesitation. Ceres accepted the document and rose from her seat, looking very satisfied.

“Follow me.”

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