“Linko!”
Flora quickly broke free from the maid’s embrace.
She had no mind to immediately crawl out of the shattered carriage but instead reached out toward Linko’s back.
Judging from Linko’s pained expression and the metallic scent of blood in the air, there was definitely bleeding there.
[Moriyaer, what madness are you up to this time?]
She almost instinctively blamed Moriyaer for this, after all, it was her event—the ball she was hosting—and her cleanup operation.
With all arrangements handled by that woman, could such an “accident” really happen without her involvement?
[Damn it…]
Perhaps Linko had long anticipated something like this, but it didn’t seem that way.
After all, she was the one who gave the warning that allowed Linko to use her body as a shield.
But if that were true, then why didn’t she cast any protective magic on herself?
Setting those thoughts aside, Flora’s foremost concern was to check if there were any splinters or other debris stuck in Linko’s back so she could clean it up quickly and apply healing magic.
Only Linko grabbed her hand, stopping her.
“Don’t…”
Before she could finish, the internal injuries caused by the impact rattled her organs, affecting her ability to speak.
She covered her mouth and coughed uncontrollably.
Flora saw a little blood foam on her hand.
“Let me check your back so I can treat you. Why are you—damn it! Moriyaer, you…”
Flora was about to curse in anger, but Linko released her hand, gritting her teeth in pain.
She struggled to cover Flora’s mouth with her own hand, her voice weak: “I’m fine… the shock was just strong, I need to rest a bit. This injury is nothing, and it probably wasn’t the young lady’s doing, cough, cough. You can’t let my blood stain the gown. Hurry and tidy things up. Maybe it was some noble holding a grudge against the young lady who did this… or it was just an accident.Within the barrier, horses and such can easily lose control due to the magic field…”
After speaking, Linko closed her mouth and adjusted her breathing.
Her body was strong; she was just a bit off balance for a moment.
She hadn’t failed to foresee something like this happening—after all, Moriyaer had specifically instructed her:
“If any attack or accident happens during the ball, you must protect Flora, but you can’t use protective magic. Do you understand?”
No protective spells to reduce the damage—that was the young lady’s order.
To protect Flora, Linko had to either fight or take the hit herself.
She had been prepared for this, but just now she had been distracted thinking about those questions.
Otherwise, a mere shock like this wouldn’t have left her in such a sorry state.
[Sorry, sorry, sorry…]
What Linko felt now was mostly guilt and regret over causing Flora unnecessary worry with her injuries.
From this very order, she knew that Flora’s abilities came with the side effect of sharing pain.
The young lady wanted Flora to use this ability actively and frequently to achieve some unknown goal.
And the choice of Linko was obvious.
The young lady knew better than anyone that Linko was the only person Flora could rely on right now, and Flora seemed particularly unwilling to let anyone connected to her get involved.
Even if that person had done somewhat excessive things to Flora before—like Linko—unless it reached a level of deep hatred, Linko would still try her best to avoid causing harm to others because of herself.
This quality was difficult for Linko to evaluate.
It was foolish, hopelessly foolish, foolish enough to make it easy to understand why she would get hurt.
But it was impossible to dislike her.
It was like she was a saint.
Because of this, Linko’s guilt was unavoidable.
She wasn’t a tool that obeyed her master’s orders without feelings.
Had she not been born into a servant family, she certainly wouldn’t wish to be some noble’s lapdog doing all kinds of filthy deeds.
She couldn’t say these things to Flora—who knew when they might be monitored or eavesdropped on?
And even if she said them, it would only make someone as stubborn as Flora more conflicted and miserable, without any positive effect.
The pain on Linco’s face now was mostly this deep helplessness coming through.
Only at times like this could she use her expression to show her apology to the girl who affected her emotions so much.
[Hopefully this isn’t your doing, young lady.]
Linko thought that such a blatant accident would only increase Flora’s resentment and serve no other purpose, so she doubted it was Moriyaer’s doing.
But in her heart, she wasn’t certain—after all, who could say what a madwoman might do?
“If she chose to stand by and do nothing, she’s still implicated. I don’t believe she can’t stop a runaway carriage during her cleanup, come on…”
Flora wouldn’t change her opinion of Moriyaer just because it might not be her fault.
She removed one of her gloves, roughly exposing Linko’s back to inspect it.
Seeing only torn fabric and some superficial wounds, her expression eased a little.
[Looks like the internal injury is worse, but it’s not serious.]
She gently moved the cloth aside, not wanting to waste extra magic to restore the garment, and focused on the wound.
[Magic is restricted; healing will require more energy. You must have expected this. What exactly do you want from me—show up at the ball looking exhausted?]
As she thought this, the pain Linko endured passed onto her through the healing spell.
Compared to past injuries she had treated, this pain was nothing.
But along with the pain came the guilt and regret, and Flora’s expression darkened considerably.
She watched Linko close her eyes and regulate her breathing, feeling conflicted.
This feeling didn’t lie—just as she feared, it had happened.
Moriyaer really wanted to create an occasion where Flora would have to heal others, taking on even more pain and complicated emotions.
What was the purpose?
Flora couldn’t guess, but she knew it was better not to think about it.
Because bearing such feelings too often could only lead to one outcome: mental breakdown.
When that happened, she didn’t even dare imagine what terrible state she would be in.
But there was no choice.
Since she was just such a hopelessly stubborn person, she had to be prepared to endure whatever torments were designed to exploit her weaknesses.
Flora exhaled slowly, hiding any change in her expression, then glanced toward the curtain.
She vaguely sensed someone approaching the wrecked carriage but didn’t know who it might be.
“Ah, are you alright?”
A gray-haired girl about 1.6 meters tall appeared in Flora’s line of sight.
Her face was full of panic and apology.
Flora noticed her gown was badly torn, clearly the carriage that had crashed into them belonged to this girl.
But her distressed appearance softened some of Flora’s anger.
She replied coldly, “What do you think?”
The girl immediately became flustered and unsure of what to say.
Seeing this, Flora intended to speak again and demand an explanation.
But before she could open her mouth, Linko’s voice rang out.
“Is that the Second Miss?”