Chapter 206
That’s why this young lady was absolutely needed. If the Grand Duke had gone all the way to the Academy to propose she become a Tara, her skill was guaranteed. Moreover, if a Manifestor rumored to be involved with his master stepped forward as a Tara, morale would naturally rise.
It was true that being a Tara came with significant risk, but in Giorno’s view, this recent incident was an accident stemming from the Tara’s overconfidence. As long as one didn’t step too far forward, as long as the entire army wasn’t wiped out, their own inherent healing abilities made the probability of death slim.
“I beg of you. I know it’s a difficult request, but please reconsider.”
“That will not do.”
The Chief Knight, unable to stand by, intervened.
“With all due respect, Sir, we are not here to seek your opinion.”
“The healing center is under my jurisdiction. If you will not listen to my opinion, whose will are you following? The young lady will not become a Tara. It would be best for you to look for someone else.”
“Sir!”
Giorno raised his voice in frustration.
“Why are you acting like this, so unlike yourself? Things have just quieted down a bit, and now you suggest she become a Tara?!”
The Chief Knight glanced at Roseline and whispered, low enough for only Giorno to hear. Giorno immediately protested, but the Chief Knight acted as if he hadn’t heard him at all and offered Roseline a kind smile, saying, “Young lady, why don’t you return to your duties?” After briefly looking back and forth between Giorno and the Chief Knight, Roseline gave a slight nod and returned to her team leader’s side.
“Are you going to go?”
Malsen asked. Their team leader, also seemingly curious inwardly, withdrew the magic he was using to heal a patient and glanced back subtly.
“I’m not sure.”
Roseline gave an ambiguous answer, neither affirmative nor negative. At first, she had naturally intended to refuse, but Giorno was weighing on her mind. Just how desperate must he be to act like that?
The Giorno she had seen and known in her past life was a loyal knight, but one with a somewhat shrewd side. It was extremely rare for him to initiate conversation, and even when questions were posed to him, he never answered straightforwardly. It was a skill honed from figuring out what Valen liked and disliked.
Seeing that same Giorno so desperate that he sought her out and bowed his head left her with complicated feelings. On one hand, she felt conflicted; on the other, she felt a spark of curiosity about the duties of a Tara. I survived a place teeming with plague; surely the Carnoc tribe and their monsters can’t be worse than that.
“Come with me.”
Not long after Giorno left, Valen arrived. The moment he stepped inside the healing center barracks, the magical lights flickering here and there all died down at once, and every gaze turned in one direction.
I pay my respects to Your Highness, the Grand Duke.
Starting with the Chief Knight, who barely managed to squeeze the words out, greetings rippled out like a wave, but Valen didn’t even grant them a glance.
“If you don’t want to, I’ll go in myself.”
Holding the entrance flap up with one hand, he asked. Not wanting to create a more difficult situation here, Roseline asked her team leader, “May I step out for a moment?” The team leader nodded repeatedly in permission, and Roseline, saying she’d be right back, moved to leave.
As Roseline approached, he stepped aside, making room for her to exit. Once outside the healing center, he grabbed her by the wrist as if afraid she would run away and led her somewhere. The words “Let go” hovered on her tongue, but considering the watching eyes and Valen’s state, she pressed her lips firmly shut. It was because Valen’s condition seemed so unstable.
Over the past few days, his complexion had grown rougher, and even though his magic wasn’t running wild, the whites of his eyes looked even redder, more bloodshot, than before.
“A Tara?”
Valen pushed Roseline into a tent used for storage and uttered the word bleakly. His hand still gripped her wrist. Roseline, who had been staring blankly at his pronounced jawline, looked down at the arm where she could feel warmth. It was strange. His knuckles were white, his fingernails looking almost blue, clearly indicating he was exerting force, yet what she felt through her robe wasn’t a crushing grip, only warmth.
It was as if he was controlling his strength. A man who, even while applying enough force to seemingly break her fingers, was concerned about Roseline’s pain. And even that concern made him slowly release his hand when she stared at him.
“You refused.”
Valen flicked open the button at his throat. His gaze, filled with an unidentifiable emotion—anger, impatience—remained fixed on Roseline.
“Why?”
“Why?”
“You were the one who first suggested I try becoming a Tara, Your Highness.”
“That was a pretext, Roseline.”
“……”
“It was a shabby pretext to see your face, to exchange a few more words with you.”
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