Chapter 14: The Villainess Awakens!

I knew at a glance that this was not a normal condition.

“Lowell’s hand…
Young Master, w-what is this…!?
What happened to Lowell!?”

“It seems the back of his hand was struck by a magical beast’s claw.
The wound itself isn’t deep, but he’s been poisoned.”

“Poison…”

My voice trembled.

“P-Please, give him an antidote potion!
I’ll pay whatever it costs!”

I clung to the medic in white robes, but he lowered his gaze and shook his head.

“Ma’am, we already used the antidote.
But it didn’t seem to have any effect at all.”

“The antidote… didn’t work…?”

“It’s a rare and extremely potent poison.
As far as we know, there is no antidote potion that can counter it.”

“That can’t be…”

I staggered, and the young master caught me from the side.

“Rosie, please listen carefully and stay calm.
At this rate, the poison will spread, and Lowell will die.”

“…!”

For a moment, my breathing stopped at his matter-of-fact words.

“Isn’t there… isn’t there some way to save him!?”

“If it were holy magic, this poison could likely be erased.
But there is no one in this town who can use holy magic.”

I knew that without being told.

At present, there were only around thirty people in the entire kingdom capable of holy magic.

All of them were members of the royal family or high-ranking nobles related to it.

Every one of them held important posts in the capital.

There was no way any of them would be in a remote frontier like this.

“Th-Then if we take Lowell to the capital…”

All of my half-siblings could use holy magic.

So could my father, the king.

If it were them, they could surely save Lowell.

I didn’t think they would grant my request easily, given how much they disliked me.

But if I bowed my head to the ground and begged, perhaps…

For Lowell’s sake, I would offer up everything I had—

“It’s impossible.”

Philip’s words were merciless.

“When we carried him in here, the discoloration only reached his wrist.
In this short time, it’s already spread past his elbow.
He won’t survive the journey to the capital.”

“Spread—hi—”

I let out a small scream as I cautiously looked at Lowell’s right arm.

The black discoloration that had reached his elbow before had now spread beyond it.

“Rosie, listen calmly.
There is only one possible way to save Lowell’s life.”

“There is!?
How!?
If it’s for Lowell, I’ll do anything—”

“We amputate Lowell’s right arm.”

I couldn’t understand what he had just said.

No, my mind was refusing to accept it.

His arm?

Did he say cut off Lowell’s arm?

This child’s… small hand?

“Before the poison spreads further, we take a gamble and cut off the poisoned arm.
To be honest, I can’t guarantee his life.
But if we do nothing, this child will certainly die.”

Still dazed, I watched as Philip smoothly drew his longsword from its sheath.

The blade gleamed coldly.

Philip looked down at me with an icy gaze.

“I’ll minimize the burden as much as possible.
I’ll do it in a single stroke.”

“Stop it!”

I hugged Lowell’s limp body tightly and turned my back, shielding him from Philip.

“Stop…
Don’t do something so cruel to Lowell…!”

Ah, no—
I knew, I really did.

Philip was only trying to save Lowell’s life, calmly and rationally.

He was right.

This was probably the only way to save Lowell.

But… but…

“Lowell…”

I hugged the unconscious Lowell as tightly as I could.

His pale cheeks.

His bloodless lips.

His faint breathing.

The flame of Lowell’s life was on the verge of going out.

“Lowell, Lowell…!”

I grasped Lowell’s right hand, stained with ominous black.

His small hand.

When he was first born, it had been so much smaller.

Such a tiny hand, and yet it had five proper fingers.

Every time I changed his clothes, I’d been afraid those slender fingers might break.

When he first wrapped that tiny hand around my finger, happiness had welled up from the depths of my heart.

We walked hand in hand on the way back from daycare.

Holding hands, singing as we headed home.

The hand that held a spoon.

The soft cheeks puffed full of his favorite corn rice as he smiled and said it was tasty.

The hand that reached out asking to be picked up.

The warmth when I lifted him and he clung to me, saying he loved me.

Now, Lowell’s small right hand—his right arm—was stained with poison and cold as ice.

“Aaah… ugh…!”

“I know what I’m asking is cruel.
But there’s no time left.
Rosie, you’re his mother.
You must decide.”

“I can’t… I can’t…
I can’t decide something like that…!”

Tears spilled out with my sobs.

No, I couldn’t make the choice to take away his arm.

Even then, there was no guarantee he would survive.

“If only I…
If only I weren’t a failure…
If I could use holy magic like my half-siblings…
Then I could have saved Lowell, this child more precious than my own life…!”

I couldn’t forgive my own helplessness.

“Rosie!”

Philip’s desperate shout rang out.

The black poison had already reached close to Lowell’s shoulder.

No… don’t die…
Don’t leave Mama behind…
Lowell… Lowell…

“Lowell!”

The moment I screamed his name and hugged him—

My magic power exploded outward from my body.

Blazing golden flames enveloped me and Lowell.

“Wh—!?”

Philip’s eyes went wide.

The warm golden fire burned over Lowell’s right arm.

The black poison burned away, dispersing into mist.

The flames then broke apart into tiny particles of light, glittering as they faded.

Left behind was Lowell, without a single wound.

“The poison… is gone…?”

Philip murmured in disbelief.

“Lowell…
Lowell!”

When I called out hesitantly, his long lashes fluttered and his eyes opened.

His blue eyes reflected me.

“Mama…?”

The instant I heard his voice, a different kind of tears overflowed.

“Ugh…
Lowell, thank goodness…
Thank goodness…!”

Still holding a bewildered Lowell, I cried uncontrollably.

“A miracle…!”

“That was… holy magic…?”

“Rosie, just who are you…?”

As I continued crying, Lowell gently patted my head and said, “Mama, there there.”

At the preciousness of that small hand, more tears spilled over.

Ignoring the commotion around us, I kept on crying.