Chapter 238 – Nobles Can Wait

I didn't know how much mana it would take to regrow her skin, so there wasn't much I could do. Everyone was stable, and I told the other nobles that, unfortunately for them, I would get to them after I'd fixed up the Captain. I had little reason to keep my mana going, so I just waited for the news.

"Lady Alzi, the captain is ready," Grace says.

"Thanks," I say, getting up from the bed. I had thought of curling up, but I thought that might make me look too relaxed in front of everyone.

I'm not far from the Captain, just a few steps, so I can see that they really did skin the poor woman alive. I start up my mana and coat her body. Fresh pink flesh starts to cover her muscles or whatever layer is showing, and it doesn't take long for her skin to heal. Next, I have to pull her eyes out. They're the last part of her body I have to fix, besides her missing limbs, which are still destroyed.

I use a bit of my mana to pry them out of their sockets. My woodworking skills are working extra hard now. They come out with a sickening pop, letting me know that I can start building new ones for her. The empty pits take a lot longer to fill than I thought, but eventually, the Captain can see again. Some eyelids will let her sleep.

"The others next, I guess," I say. "She's going to need too much mana for me to do more right now."

"Yes, my Lady," Shyla says.

I guess one perk of having a maid around you is that you're never just talking to yourself. Someone is always listening, so you can't be called crazy.

Three nobles have lost a limb, and all of them are complaining about the wait to have their limbs reattached. Am I really going to have to watch women die just so that the nobles can get their limbs back faster? Though they are a bigger threat with their mana.

Fuck that.

"Shut up, I'm working on it," I say. "Today was light stuff. I'll focus on nobles more when there's heavy fighting."

"You'd better," one grumbles.

"Glad you care so much about your underlings," I mutter, looking them over. Each has just lost a single limb, nothing serious. Which feels weird to think about. In the village, a lost limb would mean you can't work in most fields. Now, it just means I have to spend a certain amount of my mana and time.

I don't give them any warning, picking one at random to heal. They spit out a string of curses at me as I regrow their limbs. Maybe next time, they won't complain so much.

"Are you done for the day, my Lady?" Shyla asks after the last noble stomps out of the tent.

"I can fix one of the captain's arms," I say. "Both, if someone joins me in bed tonight. I think."

"If that is what is needed, my Lady," Shyla says.

"Good, I may need to start doing it in the middle of the day. Use enough mana before we start, and see how much you regain from it," I say. I do have the other healers available to help out then, if needed. But how stupid are we going to look with three pregnant women waddling around here?

I guess I'll pop before they get that big, and maybe things will all get worked out soon after I give birth? They seem to think that you can only decide to buy, trade, sell, or steal a kid before the child has been born. You have to have some standards, I suppose.

When I get back to her, the Captain is still asleep. This time, I make sure to give her the little leather strip. I doubt she'll stay asleep this time, and she hasn't annoyed me like the nobles did.

I'm surprised to find that I make it all the way to the elbow before her groans of pain indicate her consciousness. Her eyes shoot open when I reach her hands.

Just a few minutes later, I have one of her arms done. I would love to do the other one right now, but I'm getting low on mana.

"Sorry," I say. "I was hoping to get both arms, but I'm getting too low on mana."

Shyla takes the leather strip away, wiping it clean and putting it away in her ring. I need to decide what I should carry with me and if I should let others know about my rings.

"Thank you," the Captain says. "But I didn't deserve this. My entire platoon is dead, every last one of them. You didn't need to save me."

"Well, I did," I say. "I'll see if I can repair the rest of your body later. I know a lot of people get sent back home before they can get fully healed."

"Thanks," the Captain says, her eyes losing focus. I give her a soft smile she doesn't see and head towards the entrance, with Shyla working to shuffle a coat over my shoulders.

"My Lady, it is cold out," Shyla says like I would forget about winter.

"Then work fast," I say, coming to a stop just short of the entrance. "Somehow, I feel hungry despite the shit mana food."

"A few seconds won't hurt your dinner, my Lady. But there is your coat. Now..."

With my coat on, I step out into the cold and remember I had a scarf before. The icy wind whips across my face and forces me to run for shelter.

"My Lady," Shyla says. "Can we get dressed correctly in the future? Please. I didn't have time for my own clothing."

"Yes. I think we should do that," I say, shivering inside the tent. On the bed is the mana bread. It's easier to hand out than soup, I guess. Tastes worse somehow, though. On the table, a smaller version of Hunting Grounds has been set up.

"I was planning on having us play a game after dinner, but your mana comes first," Shyla says. "Our marches from here on out shouldn't be as long, so we should have time to play then. You can also join the men in their communal tent to play against others."

"I'll think about it," I say, moving over to the food. I'm not sure how the game got priority of the table over our food, but I'm more than happy to eat rather than fuck.

I'm really back at the brothel, but instead of giving out massages, I'm healing people. I guess that is a big difference, and I'm not being forced to wash nobles who are completely capable of doing it themselves. Instead, I get women who truly can't do the things they ask of me. I guess I get to choose my partners, too. They're all small things that add up, I suppose.

*** Elora ***

"Elora, you shouldn't join the fight," Geta says. "You're pregnant."

"I'm hardly pregnant," I say. "I'm just a month in, and a third of the children compared to Alzi, and she is doing her part. I can join the fighting. This is an important battle. If we can control this moment, we'll have a chance to push them to the city. From there, we just need to cut them off and try to help my sister and Mother. I'm a Royal, and we have potions that can let us work until halfway through when the baby slows us down."

"Do you think Alzi will forgive you if you lose the child?" Geta says, leaning over my desk.

"Yes. I'm sure she hates that I have a kid of hers in my womb. That is one of the things I'm worried about the least. I have a lot more to worry about getting her to forgive," I say. "And I doubt I can even miscarry her child anyway. She'll be happy if I die."

"She won't be happy."

"Geta, she won't shed a tear if I'm gone," I say. "I have a lot of work to do before she'd cry at my death. I think she tolerates me after the kidnapping, but I doubt she actually cares about me at all. Now, what were the causalities for today?"

Geta shakes her head at my thoughts but gives up on continuing that conversation. "About equal," Geta says. "Fifty or so on each side. If we can stall for a few days, Alzi may get us an extra ten or so women. They likely had more die and won't risk healing the ones that lost a limb. Some nobles are complaining about Alzi's speed. She apparently worked on a few commoners before finishing their healing. That will be a problem."

"Yes, that's something we need to worry about. Alzi won't focus on the nobles like Oriphusa would," I groan. "Has Oriphusa left already?"

"What do you think? Alzi didn't listen to a damn thing she said," Geta says, finally relaxing into a chair.

"That's fine. Alzi has more healing than Oriphusa could ever put out."

"If she doesn't focus on the nobles..."

"I know. I'll have Inanos talk to her tomorrow morning, but we need to be careful. Alzi didn't think the price to get us here was large, so she has more favor in the heavens than just her patron Goddess. Less focus on the nobles may be a new decree from them."

"Mana wins wars. If the nobles are too scared to join the fight because they won't get healed..."

"Alzi will know to heal them. I promise. She knows that her kids are what we are fighting for."

"Fine. You should still stay behind."

"When I start to show, I will," I sigh. "Until then, I will risk my life for my wife. Besides, I'm the commander. I won't be on the field much anyway. I'm more than prepared to simply correct any noble that steps out of line. I'll be careful and step down when I can't handle it."

"Are you sure you know your limits? What about traps?"

"Azula De Vil has been spotted near my sister. We'll be fine for a few weeks, and I'm not on the front line unless a noble comes at us while one of my wives isn't able to combat her."

"The second you show signs of slowing down..."

"I'll listen, then. I have plenty of time until that happens."

"Not even your mother was this stubborn."

"She was when she was fighting for the crown. After that, she had twice the wives I have to make up for her pregnancy and the promise of a fighter that she never used."

"She's using you now."

"I'm using me now. Alzi would be with the kitsune if I didn't snag her, and none of this would be happening."

"Just don't get yourself killed."

"Isn't that everyone's goal in war?"

"Most."