Rules of Biomancy: A LitRPG Healer Fantasy

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Vera told the grieving widow, as she hugged her firmly. She could feel the old woman trembling in her arms. “Reynold was a great man, who could do things we could only dream of. We’re going to miss him dearly.”

That had the floodgates open to the fullest, and Vera felt a wetness growing on her shoulder as she softly held the woman. She idly wondered what the widow would do if she learned Vera was the reason he was dead at the moment, having been the one to order his suicide if he didn’t want his entire family to be executed.

Would she be angry at him or her the most? Maybe both. Those filled with grief rarely acted rationally. Vera could attest to that, having been forced to get rid of several of those, when they tried to kill the ‘reason their loved ones had died.’ She never understood how her bedridden father could be the cause for that nowadays, with how rarely he could talk with others, but that wasn’t for her to say.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” she heard a familiar voice say when she was finally given back her shoulder, and the widow moved over to others wishing her all the best from now on. There had been donations, gifts of all sizes, and promises to assist with everything and anything if needed. Reynold had been quite the known name around the castle, after all, being one of the few left from the ‘old crowd.’ “When I was a child, Reynold helped raise me like I was one of his own. He was… sorry. He was a great man.”

Kind words that had the widow start with the tears all over. Vera had to say she was impressed by the display that her older brother could put on. More so when it was probably earnest. Those darkened eyes were very hard to fake. While she was putting on a ‘face of strength,’ he showed everybody around that this loss would not be easily forgotten.

I’m happy that you came.

She felt a finger poke her thigh, making her look down and see a pair of kids looking up at her. Gray eyes, sharp noses, and curiosity clear on their faces. Grandchildren to the fallen, the parents of the kids looking on a few meters away in horror as they continued poking her leg. They were so worried about offending her, that they weren’t sure whether or not to intervene.

“Yes?” Vera said, hunching down to match the kids’ eye level. She made a point of acting oblivious to the rapidly paling faces of the parents. “Did you need something?”

“Are you the princess?”

The first child, a young girl no older than five, asked that question with so much wonder and positivity that Vera doubted they understood what was going on around them.

“Yes, I am,” Vera replied regardless, smiling warmly at the children as they giggled brightly. “Have you been to the castle before?”

“Yes!” the second child was quick to say. A boy, a little shorter than the girl, and likely a younger brother. “We visited Grandpa. He gave us chocolate. It was good.”

“Do you have any chocolate?”

Vera was very happy that she didn’t know their names, as she took a moment to center herself. Kids were sometimes too good at being so innocent. They didn’t think about anything other than what was right in front of them, and, even then, it could be misunderstood a hundred times over.

“I don’t have any on me, sadly,” Vera said apologetically, seeing the shoulders slouching at her response. That wouldn’t do. “But… if you think you can ask very politely, you can go over to that man over there and ask if they have any in the kitchen that you could have.”

The eyes of the servant met hers as the kids laughed and hurried over to him to ask. She nodded at him to make it clear it was allowed before the servant proceeded to leave the room to find some treats for the children.

“I see you’re getting the kids on your good side,” Phillip commented, having finished his turn with the widow. A low snort left Vera at that, one that she quickly tried to hide with a mild cough. This wasn’t how she was hoping to present herself at the gathering. “Did you know there would be so few here?”

“It was at her request,” Vera explained, subtly pointing towards the widow with her head. “Reynold lived a quiet life. Even if thousands would like to attend, she felt that a quiet goodbye with only close friends would be more appropriate.”

“Ah, I see,” Phillip said, surveying the faces of the rest of the attendees. Most were around the age of their father, having been employed at the castle or having been one of the people helping heavily in the old days. People who had stood by what the country was meant to represent. “Was it you that removed Louis from the list of guests? I saw his and dad’s names weren’t there this morning.”

Oh?

“I removed our father’s name at Alin’s request, as he didn’t want to make his absence seen as an insult, but I had assumed you were the one to strike Louis off,” Vera confessed. “Didn’t the two of you argue rather loudly yesterday?”

“It was for… another reason,” the crown prince whispered by the end, eyes searching for any that were trying to listen in. Finding none, he continued. “He ordered his guards away and went to the brothel once again. Caused a stir while a crowd watched, and enough whispers started that it got back to me before the end of the day. I confronted him, said it wasn’t something somebody of his status should do, and… I think you can guess how he responded to that.”

“He explained in detail how you needed to shove your sword up your ass?” Vera guessed in a whisper, making Phillip cover his face to hide the chuckle from the others. The tears that appeared some seconds after didn’t seem to come from laughing, however, as the situation they were in started to come around once again. “He was a good man, brother. Know that he raised us into the people we are today.”

“He wasn’t a good man,” Phillip corrected, wiping the last tears from his eyes before settling back into his previous state. “He was better than that.”

If only you knew.

The funeral lasted another few hours, with several from the old crowd telling stories about what it was like to work with Reynold. Tales of bravery, of mental strength, of being inspired by the man. It was all wonderful to hear, people laughing, people crying, and people remembering a man without much in terms of flaws.

They remembered what needed to be remembered. The bad parts were best forgotten.

“Did you know that Reynold’s apprentices rejected taking up his role in the castle?” Alin asked as he, Vera, and Phillip settled in the Royal Garden afterward. The sun was still going strong above, the flowers were having a wonderful day as they bloomed to their fullest, and the trio could sit without fearing a single person overhearing them. “They’d both been under his guidance for seven years, yet neither believed they could take up his duties at the needed level.”

“Is that grief making them underestimate their abilities, or will we be sorely missing a Royal Healer from now on?” Phillip asked, taking a sip of the wine they’d brought with them. Vera did the same, enjoying the sweet vintage. Even if it wasn’t the season for them just yet, she’d always preferred the sweeter summer wines.

“The latter, I’m afraid,” Alin answered, making both of the Royals grimace. “I met with them this morning to hear how your father’s treatment would work, now that Reynold no longer could oversee it personally. While they have all his notes and can follow the plan he set in motion for the new months, any adjustments are risky and could become an issue.”

“Seven years of working under him, and they can’t keep one man healthy,” Phillip criticized, shrinking a little under the Earth Mage’s gaze. “Sorry.”

“Your father is not young, and the recent years have not been kind to him,” Alin pointed out in a slow and determined fashion. “If not for Reynold’s help, which is built upon many decades of working with people in need, he would’ve likely already slept in. The fact that his apprentices, who are both your age, do not yet have his level of expertise is not something to look down on. That they can say that they shouldn’t be given the role is a sign of wisdom that we should respect.”

“Yes, sorry, I know,” Phillip apologized again, taking another sip of the wine before putting it down on the table. “I’m just… taking this a little harder than I thought I would.”

That softened the Earth Mage up. For good reason, as well, with Alin having been around since the start as well. He’d watched her father gather allies, fight for freedom, fall in love with Alin’s apprentice, and have three children before losing such an essential part of himself. Alin had watched them grow up, and, just like Reynold, had treated them like they were his children.

Though she didn’t say it out loud, as that would be much too embarrassing, Vera still considered Alin her uncle and one of the few people she could trust with her life and the life of her father.

“Do we have any ideas for who could take up the role in Reynold’s stead?” Vera asked. She had to confess that she hadn’t been as prepared for the Healer to betray them as she would’ve preferred, meaning she had just about nobody to replace him with. Harper had already been put to the task of making a list of potential replacements but it would take time for her Illusionist to work her magic. “Even just at a temporary level.”

“I’m afraid the assistants have to fill up that role for us,” Alin replied, his grimace showing the distaste for that fact. “They can perform nearly all other duties expected of them without fail, and they can help your father as long as his condition doesn’t worsen. As long as we can find somebody to take Reynold’s place within the next few weeks, we will be in the clear.”

‘A few weeks’ wasn’t something that Vera was happy about, but they had little other choice. Hastily finding somebody and throwing them into the role just opened them up for a potential repeat act. Whoever took up the position would need to be thoroughly inspected to make sure they had an actual loyalty to the Royal Family that wouldn’t be broken by a mere sack of gold.

“I’ll trust that the others can do a better job of finding a person worthy of the title than we can,” Phillip said, Vera and Alin offering no disagreement. Anybody who was pushed forward for the position would be vetted by them, of course, but the main chunk of the process would be in others' hands. “In the meanwhile, we need to handle the public whispers that are starting. I’m not sure who leaked Reynold’s death, but his passing has reached the people earlier than planned.”

Vera had heard of that, her people giving her warnings about the nervous air that had come from it. Currently, it was limited to the upper-class district, but the rumors rarely lasted a day there before most of the city knew about it. Servants that didn’t work in the castle rarely kept their tongues tied, after all.

“The next public event is in two months, but waiting that long when a death like this has occurred in the castle… that won’t do,” Vera commented. Her older brother agreed, which likely meant it was the right choice. For every criticism she’d had with his choices over the years, he was well-versed in public relations. While she tried to keep up appearances, he lived to be the image that the public had painted of them.

And he did it well, knowing what to say when.

“I’m not sure if you’ve been notified yet, Alin, but I got a message about the Dungeon acting a little weirdly and sending out more Mana than usual,” Phillip explained. The Earth Mage confirmed he'd heard about it, though he hadn’t been too involved. “The leading theory is that there might be a new monster deeper down that could cause trouble, so I’m hoping to put together a group to take a look in a few days. That should help alleviate some worries.”

“Not a bad idea,” Vera commented, thinking back on how long it had been since she walked the streets in that district. “If we’re hoping to put up brave faces, I wouldn’t mind visiting that area. It has been a while since I’ve updated my wardrobe personally.”

“Are you sure that you don’t want to visit the shops in the upper-class district for that instead?” Alin questioned, knowing Vera’s… refined taste. One that she didn’t deny since it was a fun hobby.

“I have enough dresses to wear for a lifetime, at this point, but I am sorely missing clothes that could be worn on the street without worrying about some jewel or another falling off the fabric,” she replied. It was a legitimate concern for some of her commissioned outfits, though it had been a year since she’d needed to wear one of those. “It’ll be a discreet affair, with just a few of your royal guards in casual wear to protect me. People just need to see me and spread the news that I’ve been around the area. And, if it gets too crowded, I’m sure your people can bring me back here in record time.”

“Oh, that I don’t doubt,” Philip agreed, always happy to hear good things about his underlings. It was one of the easier ways to sweet-talk her brother. “But… Okay, if you think you can stay safe then I don’t have anything against it. Just be careful, alright? We love the people, but we need to remember what they’re capable of.”

A strange way of talking about the common man. Vera didn’t bring up that perspective, just agreeing to be careful.

What were the chances she could bring Harper along, under the pretense of keeping her safe?