Chapter 1. Kailas
Healing Wing Kailas.
She had a secret past that other wings did not know.
When she worked at the clinic as a wing, all the priests working with her ignored her.
In short, they ostracized her.
The priests, who should have obeyed her orders, were busy mocking her whenever they gathered, rather than respecting her as a wing.
“Today, I had a fight with that human again. Just because I made a small mistake while disinfecting a commoner’s wound, she stared at me.”
“I really hate that look too. It’s better to say something rather than staring silently with a blank expression and saying, ‘I’ll do it, so please leave.’ So annoying.”
It wasn’t like that from the beginning.
A wing of the goddess, as the most loyal servant of the saint, uses transcendental power.
Their power was incomparably stronger than the divine power of mere priests.
Compared to that power, the priests’ divine power was just crumbs.
Challenging a wing favored by the saint was tantamount to risking one’s life.
Even if the wing made the first mistake, they dared not retaliate.
Therefore, when Kailas first took office at the clinic, everyone was cautious and watched her closely.
Some priests even tried to bribe Kailas.
Money was the most important value to the corrupt priests.
Since they always extorted money from the empire’s citizens, they naturally thought that the head of the clinic, Kailas, would like money too.
“…What is this?”
But Kailas’s reaction was somewhat different from what the priests expected.
“It’s a small token of our sincerity. Please accept it graciously.”
Kailas, who had just shed her girlhood, turned her pale face away after looking at the purse full of gold coins.
“Take it back.”
“Pardon, what?”
“I don’t need it.”
Then she turned around without giving them a chance to say more. The priests, who watched her retreating figure in bewilderment, looked at each other in dismay.
“What, what? Why doesn’t she accept it?”
“Is the amount too small?”
“Sigh. I brought everything we collected last month. Is this not enough?”
“What can we do? We have no power, so we have to prepare money.”
The priests, who couldn’t imagine that Kailas would refuse the bribe, extorted twice as much money from the patients visiting the clinic.
They couldn’t be lenient because they also had to fill their own pockets.
When they visited Kailas again with a purse of gold coins that was twice as large as before.
“Take it back. I don’t need it.”
Kailas refused their bribe again. Without any explanation that the amount was insufficient or that she wanted something else.
She simply said she didn’t need it.
With a face even thinner than before, she shut her mouth like a clam and turned away from them.
“Just leave.”
“Ah, understood, Lady Kailas. We will take our leave now.”
The priests were greatly flustered but dared not question the wing. In the end, they had no choice but to leave Kailas’s room, still clutching the purse of gold.
“What on earth is going on? Could Kailas be like Ahwin?”
Ahwin was the only one among Josephina’s wings who did not accept bribes from the priests.
He lived with an upright and incorruptible character, prioritizing the goddess’s will above all. Sometimes, he even dared to speak directly to Josephina, despite the pain of the oath.
Since even his direct remarks came from his loyalty to Josephina, Josephina, who would kill anyone who offended her, acknowledged Ahwin.
“Ahwin? No way, there can’t be another person like that.”
The most wing-like yet unlike any other wing. This was how the priests evaluated Ahwin. They thought there couldn’t be another wing like him.
The priests felt a strange and uncomfortable premonition about Kailas, as if by unspoken agreement.
They sensed that their new superior was somehow different from the other wings. They couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was different, though.
* * *
“What? So you’re saying that Kailas really tried to turn the carriage around to find the father who insulted Josephina?”
“That’s right. When they said it was absolutely not allowed, she cried all the way to the capital inside the carriage.”
“Huh. How can a wing do that? If she were a real wing, shouldn’t she have been the one to capture the father who insulted Josephina?”
“Also, crying on the way to the capital doesn’t make sense. It’s her first meeting with Josephina after becoming a wing. Shouldn’t she be happy?”
“Now that you mention it, hasn’t Kailas never visited Josephina first?”
After the incident of Kailas coming to the capital became known, suspicions grew thicker.
A wing who didn’t accept bribes but wasn’t very affectionate towards Josephina.
The priests felt increasingly uncomfortable with her, who was different from both the greedy Tenua and the loyal Ahwin.
Then one day.
An incident fanned the flames of suspicion.
As the atmosphere of doubting Kailas’s loyalty grew, people naturally began to gossip about her.
While they were eagerly talking behind her back, they suddenly came face to face with her.
“Gasp, Lady Kailas!”
The priests, who had been chattering carelessly, were struck with shock as if hit by lightning.
“We never intended to insult you, Lady Kailas…”
“We were just worried because you don’t often see Saint Josephina…”
“We committed a grave sin. Please kill us! No, just spare our lives, please!”
The priests begged, pale-faced. They had spoken words doubting her loyalty right in front of a wing. They had no excuse even if they were beheaded on the spot.
“…”
Kailas only looked at them silently. This frightened the priests even more.
They wondered if her silence all this time had been to lull them into a false sense of security to extract their true feelings.
“…I understand.”
But what happened next was unexpected. Though they had braced for being beheaded at worst and whipped at best, Kailas turned away after those words. As if she hadn’t heard anything just moments ago.
The sound of her footsteps receded.
The priests stared blankly at Kailas’s gradually disappearing figure.
“Did we survive?”
“Ugh. I really thought I was going to die.”
It felt like the executioner’s blade had come right up to their throats and then pulled away. The priests hugged each other, rejoicing in their survival.
“But why did Kailas let this go?”
“Exactly. If it had been any other wing, we would surely be dead by now.”
In their joy, a sense of unease began to grow.
“Kailas is really different from other wings, isn’t she?”
The news that the priests had doubted a wing’s loyalty and survived spread quickly throughout the clinic.
“Indeed, she is different from other wings, right?”
“Maybe we don’t need to be so afraid of her…”
There are two types of people: those who repay kindness and those who see it as a weakness and seek more.
The priests in the clinic were the latter.
“Well, she must have been so soft-hearted that she cried and begged to find the father who abandoned her.”
“Why didn’t she take our money? Surely, it can’t be because of some ridiculous sense of conscience?”
They began to see Kailas as increasingly weak. It became more common for them to be caught bad-mouthing her.
“Because Kailas doesn’t take bribes, it’s harder to extort money from the patients.”
“Seriously, she’s unnecessarily picky. Doesn’t she care about the situation of the priests here?”
And Kailas, she didn’t punish anyone.
Not even once.
In the end, even when the priests openly mocked and disrespected her, she did nothing.
“Not all wings are the same, after all. The power of healing isn’t that great. It’s not particularly destructive either.”
“Sigh. Why did I have to end up here? My life is so pitiful. My direct superior wing is less than useless.”
“If you want a proper wing, pray hard. For a new wing to appear, the existing wing must disappear.”
The more indifferent she was, the more rude the priests became.
Kailas let all their words pass by.
Even knowing she had the power to crush them, she did nothing.
Because.
Her heart was already too broken to be hurt by a few words.
A cow being led to slaughter.
That was an apt description.
She should not have become a wing. If she hadn’t become a wing, if the power of healing had not appeared.
Her father wouldn’t have abandoned her, nor would he have died in a place where he had no connections.
Even knowing she was in a place that didn’t suit her, she lacked the courage to break free from the shackles.
Living a life of survival, not really living.
Exhausted from managing her festering insides, she only hoped to die quietly and alone…
Until she met Leticia.
* * *
Just after Rehir died and Julios came back to life.
As preparations to return to the principality were in full swing, the wings rushed to Kailas as soon as her consultation ended.
“Sis! How is Her Highness? The baby? Are they alright? That bastard Rehir didn’t do anything, did he?”
Banessa was the first to speak.
“Kailas. I thought I was going to go crazy waiting for you. Is everything alright? Even if something’s wrong, you’ll tell us this time, right?”
Noel, who spoke rapidly, followed immediately after Banessa finished speaking.
“Kailas, please be honest this time. If Leticia is struggling, we need to stop the teleportation spell immediately.”
Ahwin, who seemed calm but equally urgent, added.
“One at a time, one at a time.”
Kailas calmed her colleagues as she spoke.
“Leticia is in excellent condition. The healing power I infused is still fully present. The curse’s aura is completely gone. She’s probably in the best state she has been in months.”
Banessa, who had been extremely tense, staggered as if his legs gave out and naturally hugged Ahwin.
“Phew. Brother, I thought I was going to die from anxiety.”
“Hey! Why are you hugging someone else’s lover?”
Noel quickly pulled Banessa away and stood him behind her.
“Hugging won’t wear him out. Why are you being so picky? We’re both men, anyway.”
“Whether you’re both men or not, you should ask my permission first if my lover is next to me. You can’t just hug him like that.”
“Good grief. Then let me get permission first. Sis, can I hug this guy with broad shoulders?”
“No, you can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. Seeing you grin like that makes me feel bad. If you really want to hug something, hug that tree over there.”
“Oh, come on, what the heck!”
Noel, who teased Banessa to the end, then grabbed Kailas and hugged her tightly.
“Kailas. Thank you so much. This all turned out well because your strength protected Leticia. I’m so glad you became Leticia’s wing.”
“You’ve done a great job, Kailas.”
Ahwin added with a faint smile.
Kailas felt her face flush at their compliments. Hesitating, she hugged Noel back with one hand.
“…It’s thanks to everyone’s hard work, not just mine.”
“Still, Ahwin knocking you out was the best decision ever.”
“…Ah, yeah, right.”
Kailas, who had hit Ahwin in the chest the moment she woke up that day, glanced nervously at Noel.
Ahwin gazed wistfully into the distance, no, the distant desert.
After a few more warm words, Noel left with Ahwin.
Banessa, unable to hug Ahwin due to Noel’s teasing, pouted and watched them leave. Then he turned abruptly and smiled.
“Sis, should we at least hug each other? It would be a shame to end it like this, right?”
Kailas cheerfully shook the poison needle container she always carried.
“If you’re still fine after being pricked, I’ll think about it.”
“Ahahaha. Sis, I love how straightforward you are…”
As Banessa jokingly backed away, he quickly turned and ran off.
Kailas, who had maintained a cold expression until the end, swiftly turned around and covered her mouth with her hand.
“Pfft!”
It was a bright laugh that those who knew Kailas would never have imagined.
‘So this is what it means to be together.’
For Kailas, who had always been alone, it was a very unfamiliar feeling.
Placing a hand near her chest, Kailas unknowingly smiled softly. It felt like a gentle tapping sound inside her chest.
The sound of forsythia buds blooming in spring.
* * *
Upon arriving at the principality, Kailas went straight to the royal castle.
The wings from the empire were to stay at the royal castle until their accommodations were arranged.
Hearing this news made Kailas slightly uncomfortable.
‘There are too many people I don’t know there.’
Old memories kept resurfacing. The looks from those around her who had shunned her.
“It is an honor to meet you, Kailas. I am Kenta, here to assist you during your stay at the royal castle. This is Anne and Nina. Please let us know if you need anything at any time.”
Fortunately, the first impression of the principality was very good.
The palace staff assigned to Kailas were extremely kind. Every action conveyed their sincere desire to help her.
Thanks to them, Kailas felt a bit more at ease.
* * *
Kailas couldn’t fall asleep until late at night.
She eventually gave up trying to sleep and lay in bed, staring out the window.
Was it anxiety about the future?
Memories from the past kept surfacing today.
The priests who had ignored her. Her inability to fit in with ordinary people.
She never wanted to live like trash again. But she didn’t know how to live a useful life.
After tossing and turning, Kailas finally got out of bed.
She put on a thick cardigan and carefully opened the door. The guard stationed outside immediately approached.
“Kailas, is there something you need?”
“No, I’m fine. I just want to take a walk.”
“Shall I guide you?”
“Is there anywhere in the castle I’m not allowed to go?”
“No, there isn’t. The Highnesses has instructed that the wings from the empire are to be treated as royalty and given free access to anywhere.”
“Then I’ll go alone. I need to clear my thoughts. I’ll just walk around nearby for a bit.”
“Understood.”
Despite it being winter, the royal castle in the principality wasn’t very cold. The power of the spirits maintained a comfortable temperature within the castle.
‘If I went to see Leticia… that wouldn’t be right, would it?’
Kailas let out a chuckle.
She was reminded of her younger self who used to run to her father whenever something happened, feeling the urge to lean on Leticia.
‘Huh? What’s that?’
It was then that she saw something strange.
Something yellow and fluffy was sticking out from the brown bushes.
Kailas furrowed her brows.
It looked very suspicious to anyone.
‘Could it be an intruder?’
Though it seemed unlikely that an intruder would use yellow for camouflage, she had to be cautious since it involved Leticia’s safety.
‘How dare they intrude into the palace where Leticia is staying. They must be extremely bold.’
Kailas crept closer. In her hand, she now held a poison needle.
‘Then it’s only right to carve out their guts.’
Her eyes, which had been anxious about her future moments before, turned cold.
The kitten whining before Leticia turned into a fierce lynx.
She planned to grab them in one swift motion and pierce their artery with the needle.
Just as she made her decision, the yellow thing popped up.
“Hello!”
Kailas froze, still holding her poison needle.
“Hello! Nice to meet you!”
A fluffy yellow creature, no, an old woman in a yellow fur hat, smiled broadly.
Whimpering, she pushed through the bushes and grabbed Kailas.
“You came to tell stories, didn’t you? I like that. Let’s tell stories here, okay?”
“Uh, what?”
“You can feel baby’s child, right? So can I. But I can’t feel it just by touching like you. If only the children moved quickly, I could meet baby’s child. So let’s talk about the children, okay?”
“Baby’s child…?”
How many times did she say child?
Did she just call me a child?
Kailas, experiencing this barrage of “child” for the first time, was bewildered. Before she could regain her senses, she was pulled into the bushes.
Inside the bushes were colorful items. Cute bells, pretty flowers, and tiny acorns.
Everything was in pairs.
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