The Saintess and the Villainess

Chapter 70

The next few days passed in a flurry of activity.

Since Anne was essentially banned from the Tulin estate and the church was now full of imperial soldiers sent there to guard her, they all had to travel out to the rebel camp each day in order to get anything done.

From the first moment she stepped in the camp, Corvina could feel the hostile gazes of the rebels. It wasn't surprising. Until recently, Corvina had been one of their most powerful enemies. Of course they would hate her.

Of course they would hate her. Corvina knew it was inevitable that they would. But after her conversation with Anne she could finally admit to herself that even though it was inevitable, it also seriously pissed her off. How dare they judge her without even knowing anything about her?

Although, oddly enough, openly acknowledging that she felt that way also gave the feeling less... weight.

Being prejudged that way did upset Corvina, but also it ultimately didn't actually matter that much.

After all, Anne trusted her, and that was what was most important.

"Ouch," said Corvina, wincing.

"I'm sorry, my lady," said Helen. "Please bear with me a moment."

Helen was helping Corvina change the bandages on her wound after a bath, making sure that the healing poultices were properly in place. The Tulin family's doctor made use of minor alchemy in the preparation of the poultice, which theoretically should boost the healing properties, but...

"It really doesn't seem to be healing properly," said Helen, a worried expression on her face.

It wasn't a deep wound, so it should have healed quickly, but whenever they changed the bandages it was clear that it had barely healed at all. It didn't look infected, either, and it was no longer actively bleeding, it just looked as red and raw as it had on the day it had happened. And it still hurt. Corvina winced whenever anything happened to brush against it.

"I wonder if the assassin was using alchemically enhanced gear and weapons," Corvina speculated. "I don't think she could have done what she did without some sort of magical assistance."

"Should we try to find an alchemist to take a look at your wound then?" asked Helen, finishing up with the new bandage. "A dedicated alchemist, not the doctor. Clearly he doesn't know enough about alchemy."

Corvina shook her head, standing up so Helen could help her get dressed for the day. "It's not getting any better, but it's not getting any worse, either. Let's just leave it as it is for now."

As soon as Corvina was dressed, there was a knock on the door and a servant stepped into the room with a bow. "Excuse me, my lady, but you have a visitor."

Corvina's agent, the one she had sent ahead of her to Longren, was standing behind the servant.

Corvina gestured to the agent to come in and said to the servant, "Have my breakfast sent up to my room today."

While Corvina ate she listened to the report from her agent.

"My lady, I was able to find records of several Evas born in the territory within the plausible time frame, but none of them were given up to the church. Just to be certain, I tracked each of them down. One died of an illness at the age of eighteen, one of them works as a baker here in Longren, and one of them appears to have moved to the city several years ago. I found several corroborating witnesses for the identity of each woman."

"You couldn't find any useful details in the church records?" asked Corvina.

"Not in the public records," said the agent. "I have a contact in the church who said she would investigate further on my behalf, but she hasn't been able to uncover anything either."