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Chapter 94
“Noooo!!”
Her scream echoed down the empty street, but there was no one to help.
Biyu stood by silently and said, “See? I asked you. Have you ever thought how much pain those two patients must have been in?”
Even though she herself had been just as terrified.
“The two patients couldn’t even scream.”
“Are you all right?”
There was an uproar — a physician from Scion had been captured.
Subduing the Scion knights and detaining the lower-rank physicians was done with the help of Lord Ledric’s domain knights.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
I wasn’t particularly bothered. I had seen Louise suffering from the sickness, but tonight would be the critical point, not immediately.
‘It’s horrifying that someone intentionally spread the disease like this.’
I had no intention of letting them die, so I planned to treat them as appropriate. Scion might even have the antidote.
When I went to see Louise, the patient who had gone with me was the uncle who had been struck by the illusion.
He’d been wandering the barracks, collecting evidence from here and there, then had joined in overpowering the physicians.
“Sigh… this is nothing short of shocking.”
Lord Ledric arrived after everything had ended.
“I hoped to the end that it wasn’t true.”
“…….”
“Ah! No…! I don’t mean to imply the physician lied!”
Realizing his misstep, the lord hurriedly defended himself and I nodded.
“Ara.”
It must be hard to believe they were almost sacrificed to a disease someone created and set loose. His domain would have been victimized too if things had gone differently.
“Still, from now on this disease won’t be a big problem.”
“Do you think so……?”
Of course. Lord Ledric’s face darkened; I could guess his worry.
‘Even if a cure is developed… unless the recipe is shared, the price usually skyrockets.’
If the disease had spread into the Ledric domain, he was probably worrying whether he could supply medicine to all his subjects.
“Um, Count, I have a proposal. Would you consider maintaining a good relationship with me?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t worry about this illness or medicines. I’ll hand over the recipe so the Ledric domain can have a steady supply. This was something I planned to do separately.”
“Ah… of course we’d welcome that! It’s actually great news for us. Ahem, thank you.”
Lord Ledric bowed his head to me. I was surprised — it was one thing to be respected, another to see him bow.
‘I wonder why I didn’t meet people like this in previous runs.’
We agreed to handle matters with the Ledric domain gradually. The Count seemed satisfied with that alone and wore a pleased expression.
“Thank you!”
A little later we were inside a warehouse. Inside, the Scion family’s physicians — including Louise — were bound tight.
There were the physicians who had injected strange drugs into patients, the ones who’d released rats last night, and the ones who’d tried to free the rats the man my father had captured earlier.
They were all evenly rounded up.
“We’ve notified the Association. Investigators will arrive as soon as they hear the report.”
Matters concerning the credentials of state-authorized physicians are first verified by the Association. They decide the severity and then strip credentials or mete out punishment.
“Of course their licenses should be revoked, and they should be charged with massacre.”
That afternoon, a group draped in heavy robes appeared in the village.
The person at the front wore a familiar beaked mask.
I stared at the green banner: “Imperial Physicians’ Association.” Also called the Physicians’ Guild.
“I’m Nina Vitz, First-Class Inspector of the Association.”
She stepped forward and showed her badge.
“I heard there are serious criminals here.”
“Lord Ledric, Count of Ledric.”
“Pleased to meet you, Count. Hand over the Scion culprits and the evidence and we will take them to trial.”
They had arrived faster than I expected.
‘No, that’s way too fast.’
Doesn’t it usually take a day to get here from the city where the Association’s branch is?
“There’s someone with abilities over there, too.”
My father, who had me in his arms, whispered. Ah — a wind user would certainly increase mobility. That would explain the speed of their arrival.
The inspector who’d been talking with Lord Ledric swung her head and stared wide-eyed in our direction.
“Who is that? Isn’t that Lady Heuk? Is it really you?”
The woman strode forward and ripped her mask off.
“Nina—! Don’t take your mask off so carelessly!”
“It’s an infected area!”
“Ah, it’s fine. It’s fine. There’s someone from House Heuk here too, right?”
The woman had freckles and a bright face. She looked about my father’s age.
“Wow, it really is Lady Heuk, isn’t it?”
She greeted my father warmly.
“…….”
“You ran away, didn’t you? Now you live here? No — you came back to the Heuk family? Where’s Arin?”
My breath caught.
‘…She knows Mom?’
An inspector should be a high-ranking official. What connection could she possibly have with my parents? Is it okay for Mom’s name to come up here? I grabbed at my father’s sleeve in alarm.
The image of him gripping Sylvester’s neck flashed into my mind and made my skin crawl.
‘Don’t blow up in front of an inspector, Father…!’
I was ready to use diagnosis or call on my uncle and great-uncle for help, reaching for the water jug, when my father gently took my hand and lowered it.
“Don’t worry. There’s nothing to be concerned about.”
Our eyes met, and my father’s gaze calmed.
“She’s someone I used to know.”
“Oh, right….”
I met the inspector’s eyes as she approached. She looked surprised for a moment, then did a quick double-take.
“Eek! What— what is this? You look exactly like Arin! You had a daughter, didn’t you? Wait— the report says the person responsible in this incident is a young physician…”
“Yes, that’s me.”
I placed my hand on my stomach and bowed politely.
“I’m Heuk Biyu, a senior physician of House Heuk.”
“Oh? Oh—”
The woman blinked in surprise, then beamed.
“Wow, you took after your mother and became a physician? Amazing at such a young age. Can I call you my mother’s friend and be informal?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
Informal speech was no problem. I glanced at Lord Ledric and at the Scion people bound behind him.
Then I reached and lightly grabbed Nina’s hand — she was about to ruffle my hair, so it was easy to hold her wrist.
“You’re an inspector, so you stand for justice, right?”
“Huh?”
“I hope those people who did this to me and others will be punished. So many people have died or suffered.”
“…….”
“There are still patients in this village who haven’t recovered. This might not stop here.”
Nina looked me over and scratched her cheek.
“Well, I’m supposed to be impartial. I’ll investigate thoroughly.”
She straightened her tone quickly. Despite her warm greeting, she drew a line.
That didn’t bother me.
“It’s fine, but please make sure, be fair, and punish them if they’re guilty — on the Association’s honor.”
“…….”
These were Scion people. If the incident grows, the clan will intervene.
The woman’s eyes lowered slightly as she looked at me.
“Um, about that…”
My mother’s friend must already understand the situation — it was Scion’s doing, after all.
Still, she couldn’t brazenly say what she knew here — either because my father stood behind me or out of a bit of conscience.
‘So I shouldn’t expect an unbiased result.’
But I wasn’t particularly disappointed.
I hadn’t planned to stop here anyway.
“Ahem, is this the square?”
“Yes, Director.”
A familiar voice came from where we were. I smiled inwardly.
‘Scion really is powerful.’
Then I’d simply use that to my advantage.
“Everyone, stand to attention — an imperial envoy of the Emperor!”
