🔊 TTS Settings
~Chapter 34~
“Good, Shariette. Then I’ll count it as if you trained under me. With the guarantee of a qualified recommender and at least five years of training, you can take the Royal Medical Association exam. Honestly, with your skills, you could pass with your eyes closed, no matter what you make.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes! Whoever your so-called teacher was—no, he doesn’t even deserve that title—he was just a petty, vile man. Forget everything he ever taught you!”
Shariette nodded, feeling strangely hollow.
It was such a simple thing, and yet she never knew.
Of course, it wasn’t strange. In the Marquis Argen family, all they needed was her ability, not her qualifications.
‘And my existence could never be revealed to the outside.’
But now?
Was she someone who could finally step into the open?
“Shasha, if not for you, I would never have lived so miserably.”
Did she even deserve it?
“It’s all your fault. Yours and your mother’s! You thieves ruined my life!”
…Maybe she had drunk too much medicinal tea. Her stomach felt bloated, almost like indigestion. Shariette rubbed her chest.
Noticing her pale face and hesitation, Heron grabbed her shoulders with both hands.
“Think about it. With your skill, and the title of physician to the Rubellot House, you’ll be respected anywhere you go. Don’t let one little license hold you back!”
“Well, yes, but—”
“Shariette, if someone as talented as you doesn’t step into the wider world, it’s a great loss for the kingdom. Think about it. Just like you saved Madam, Lady Nixia, and the young lord, how many more lives could you save?”
He regretted his words immediately.
Young people these days never listened to talk of duty or calling!
“…When do I have to go?”
“Huh?”
It worked? Really?
Heron stared, stunned, at the much younger apothecary in front of him.
But experience beat out doubt. He had to push forward now.
“There’s no reason to delay. Let’s go right now!”
“What?”
What, now?
An hour later, Shariette was riding in a carriage.
Heron sat across from her, while Noxian sat right beside her.
‘Is this really happening?’
She didn’t even have time to question it.
When Heron said he would take her to the Association in the capital, Noxian had naturally decided to come along.
The carriage, lined with expensive mana stones, was so smooth she could hardly feel it moving.
The scenery outside changed quickly.
Shariette stretched her neck toward the window, watching with sparkling eyes.
“Wow…”
Neat rows of stone buildings lined the wide streets. Tall spires and chimneys rose as if touching the sky.
On arched bridges, flags with the kingdom’s crest flapped brightly in the wind.
The sound of bustling crowds, music from unseen instruments, and the sweet smell of bakeries all drifted in.
“Shariette. If you lean out any farther, you’ll fall right out the window.”
Noxian spoke up.
He had been watching her watch the city for a long time already.
Since the destination was important, he wasn’t dressed casually like at the mansion.
His tie was neatly fixed, and even his brooch was in place—none of his usual laziness showed.
He gave a small laugh.
“Anyone would think it’s your first time outside.”
He was right, but Shariette ignored him and kept staring at the view.
When she first came from Willowhill, it had been at night, and they only took the shortest backroads.
So she had never realized the city was so alive and full of energy.
‘It’s so big, wide, crowded, and shiny.’
Ten years underground, two years in the countryside.
Even before that, just a cabin in the forest.
Of course she was entranced.
Seeing her like a country mouse, Noxian asked quietly:
“Is this your first time in the capital?”
“Yes.”
Shariette nodded vaguely. Strictly speaking, it wasn’t only the capital that was her “first.”
“You must have lived only in Willowhill, then?”
At that, Shariette snapped back to attention.
‘What? Does he know something?’
She carefully avoided the trap.
If she said yes, it would be dangerous.
The White Crow of Mayrilly had only lived in Willowhill for two years.
“Not always. Before that, I lived in a place kind of the same—like a small village in the forest.”
“Is that so. I see.”
Suspicious.
Shariette turned her head from the window and studied Noxian’s unreadable face.
Was he probing her? Testing her?
‘He’s been like this for days…’
Then he quietly reached out his hand.
“You’re not a child. It’s dangerous to lean out of a moving carriage.”
His hand pulled her head gently back inside.
Her white hair, fluttering in the wind, settled under his fingers.
Shariette hesitated. Should she be relieved he didn’t grab her by the hair, or nervous that he was holding her head?
“Why are you even coming along?”
She tried to change the subject.
“I have business in the capital too. Two birds with one stone. Why, do you not want me here?”
How did he know?
Her attempt to change the subject had failed. She shut her mouth.
If something went wrong and she failed that exam…
‘That’s just one more person to embarrass myself in front of!’
Heron was one thing.
But this man? She didn’t want to fail in front of him. He would definitely mock her.
Noxian ignored her resentful glare and added casually:
“There’s more in the capital than just the Medical Association. Many eyes and ears, too.”
“So what?”
Just then, the carriage stopped. Someone opened the door from outside.
“I’m here to make sure no one takes advantage of my physician.”
Look who’s most likely to slit someone’s throat with their eyes open…
Shariette gave him a doubtful look, but Noxian calmly stepped down first and held out his hand.
“…!”
Shariette quickly grabbed it and stepped out.
‘What was that?’
‘Take his hand.’
‘I can get out on my own.’
‘Ah, my mistake. You probably don’t even know what an escort is.’
To someone who prided herself on her intelligence, those words sounded like:
‘Tsk, tsk, don’t you even know this?’
It scraped at her pride.
‘That won’t happen a second time!’
Noxian, meanwhile, closed his hand around her small, pale fingers.
…Soft.
‘So small. Fragile.’
And he felt a strange satisfaction.
‘If I prick her pride, she reacts.’
The faint irritation he’d felt all morning was replaced with contentment.
“Did you see that?”
“…Was he smiling?”
“I saw nothing.”
The guards, already tense since the Rubellot carriage had arrived, were shocked by the scene in front of them.
‘Who is that woman?’
‘She’s coming closer—damn, she’s beautiful.’
‘Did you see that? She looked at me.’
‘Idiot, she looked at me.’
‘She’s looking this way—cute—’
But not only the young lady—
“…”
A heavy, invisible pressure pressed down on them.
The guards quickly looked away and fell silent.
“…Huh.”
Heron, who had been almost forgotten, scratched his chin.
‘Since the young lord returned two years ago, he’s avoided human contact. Especially with women. Even the duchess and the young lady couldn’t go near him.’
‘But with Shariette… it’s different. He brought her here himself. So she must have something special. Or maybe… the one with something on his mind is the young lord himself.’
“There’s more in the capital than just the Medical Association. Many eyes and ears, too.”
So he had followed her here… deliberately, so those “eyes and ears” would see.
