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Healing can restore HP and eliminate abnormal conditions. In medical terms, it can heal both internal and external injuries, as well as diseases. However, the Duchess' current condition is not due to the loss of HP, but rather a significant depletion of "vitality."
Unlike attributes that can be quantified, "vitality" is a difficult attribute to measure. It is roughly equivalent to the health of the body. If explained simply using game logic, it is an attribute that affects both the upper limit of HP and fatigue.
Healing can restore HP, but it cannot increase the HP limit. This is easy to understand.
The Duchess's condition did not arise overnight. It was probably the result of years of fatigue and mental stress. As a consequence, she experienced intense mental strain today and finally broke down.
After a moment of thought, he decided not to help her.
Vitality can be restored through healthy eating and exercise, but the quickest way is to use props. Aya doesn't feel sorry for using props, and items that simply restore vitality are not valuable to her at all.
Even if the Duchess were to die from illness, it wouldn't be a problem for her to directly cast resurrection magic.
But the issue is that her nominal occupation is a ranger, not a priest, and exposing her healing abilities in this situation could bring about unexpected trouble.
Although treatment had been used in the village of Ester, there was a significant difference between the remote villages on the border and the prosperous capital at the heart of the region. She had easily gotten away with it by using the excuse of using props back then, but it might not be as smooth here.
Of course, there are advantages. She could do the Duchess a big favor and prevent the changes that might occur from the Duchess' unexpected death.
In a situation where both risks and benefits coexist, it is not easy to determine whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Therefore, the potential benefits cannot be the sole reason for her to intervene.
While she couldn't make a judgment on the interests, Aya didn't feel any particular attachment to the Duchess, whom she had never met.
Thus, she had no reason to help.
Of course, she also had no reason to refuse to help.
Aya now maintained such a balanced mindset.
If the maid, the head maid, or the secretary in front of her asked for her help, Aya probably would not refuse. Unfortunately, it seemed that no one was willing to ask for her help at this moment.
Sipping on the vanilla tea, which wasn't top-notch but tasted acceptable, Aya waited silently. At this moment, she felt something warm and soft brush against her feet.
"Oh?" Aya made a slight sound of surprise and looked down, only to find a beautiful ragdoll cat rubbing its soft body against her ankle.
Bending down, she picked up the little creature and stroked its head.
"This is the Duchess' cat. Her name is Lina." Said the maid.
"Lina? Is that name from the eldest daughter?" Aya had learned Angelina's name from the head maid just moments ago.
"Yes, after the eldest daughter left home to attend school, the Duke felt lonely and kept this cat."
"They have such a close bond."
"Yes, the Duke and the young lady have depended on each other for many years. If it weren't for certain rumors, he would never have allowed her to leave his side."
"It's quite cute, Lina." Aya said, of course referring to the kitten.
"It's strange, though. This is the first time I've seen Lina approach someone other than the Duchess."
"Because cats are very perceptive animals. They know who is kind to them and who likes them." Aya softly spoke while rubbing Lina's chubby face. The kitten meowed happily at her, "She's so smart. She knows who can help her."
Finally, she pinched the little ball of fur and placed the kitten on the ground. Lina stayed there obediently, staring at her with large, sad eyes.
"Okay, okay, I understand." Aya said with a faint, slightly helpless smile as she stood up.
"Wait, sir. Where are you going?"
Ignoring the maid's objection, Aya pushed open the living room door, walked down the corridor, and went straight to the Duchess's bedroom.
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The doctors and priests were still attempting to save the Duchess, but her condition had not improved at all, and there was no sign of her waking up.
The head maid who had gone to summon the high priest had not returned yet, and the Duchess' condition remained dire. The housekeeper, Lena, was pacing anxiously beside the bed.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
The steady knock on the door startled her. She subconsciously thought it was the head maid returning.
However, after considering the distance from the Duchess' Palace to the temple, along with the time it would take to wake up the priest in the middle of the night, she realized that it would likely be quite some time before the maid would return.
Frowning, Lena opened the door, only to be met by an unexpected face.
It was the boy who had saved Angelina.
"I'm sorry, I tried to stop him, but..." The maid following behind the boy wore an embarrassed expression.
"Excuse me, what do you want?" Lena asked curtly. Frankly speaking, if it weren't for the current crisis, it would have been a great blessing in life to see such a stunningly handsome boy late at night. But at that moment, her primary concern was the Duke's well-being, and she couldn't afford to focus on beauty.
Ignoring the housekeeper's words, the boy walked straight into the room.
"Please wait a moment. What are you doing? This is the Duchess' private chambers!" Lena tried to stop him, but just as she was about to move forward, a white figure appeared in front of her, extending a hand to stop her. Aya walked in smoothly.
"Get out of the way." Aya said calmly. The doctor and priest beside the bed subconsciously stepped back. The young man walked forward and took the Duchess's hand.
"What are you doing?" Lena asked loudly, rushing to Aya's side, but she didn't immediately try to pull her away.
The boy first checked the Duchess's pulse, then reached out and touched her forehead. Aya's face showed a thoughtful expression.
Of course, these actions were merely pretenses. Aya didn't know how to take a pulse, didn't care about the temperature of her forehead, and wasn't really thinking about anything at all.
But the others were clearly intimidated by this, and that was enough.
"The third-level healing technique is useless." Aya said, shaking her head calmly.
"What—what nonsense are you speaking..." Lena stammered in disbelief.
"If you don't believe me, ask him." Aya directed her gaze to the priest standing beside her.
"What this young man says is basically correct." The old priest, who looked to be quite aged, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"The third-level [Severe Injury Treatment] can even reattach broken bones and limbs. However, the Duchess' injuries are not external. Her health was already poor, and the emotional shock she experienced was too much for her to recover from."
The old priest himself could only use second-level healing magic, but despite never having experienced severe injuries himself, he had seen the power of [Severe Injury Treatment] on the battlefield. He also understood its limitations.