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Chapter 88
Lately, every single day felt like walking across thin ice for Frek.
The reason was the Crown Prince he served—Yulion.
Please… let Her Highness have some free time today.
Recently, Frek had only one wish.
That Rohiriel would have enough time to spend with Yulion.
Whenever Yulion was with her, he became a different person.
The sharp, intimidating aura that constantly surrounded him melted away, and he relaxed as though an invisible weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
He was never this frightening before…
Watching Yulion’s back as he walked ahead, Frek sank into thought.
When did His Highness become this sensitive?
No… perhaps sensitive wasn’t quite the right word.
“…Maybe insane.”
The thought slipped out of his mouth before he realized it.
His face instantly turned pale, and he clamped both hands over his lips.
Terrified, he cautiously glanced at Yulion.
Fortunately, the Crown Prince wasn’t paying him the slightest attention.
Because once again…
…he was busy doing what Frek privately referred to as another one of His Highness’s insane episodes.
“There are far too many stones on this road.”
Keeping his sword sheathed, Yulion held it upright like a hammer and drove it into every stone scattered across the pathway.
Crack!
Each rock shattered into powder as though it were made of dry clay.
Watching solid stones explode into dust, Frek swallowed hard.
Why is His Highness picking a fight with rocks today?!
Just a few days earlier, Yulion had suddenly ordered every railing in Garnet Palace to be raised higher.
Construction workers had been summoned in a panic.
His reasoning had been simple.
Since many patients visited the palace, if someone happened to collapse and fall over a low railing, the consequences could be disastrous.
It wasn’t an unreasonable concern.
But it certainly wasn’t urgent enough to throw everyone’s schedule into chaos just to renovate the railings overnight.
“It doesn’t look like this garden is being properly maintained.”
Still crushing even the smallest pebbles beneath his sword, Yulion slowly made his way deeper into the garden.
Unable to hold back any longer, Frek finally spoke.
“Your Highness… may I ask why you’re breaking all the stones? Perhaps the gardeners intentionally placed th—”
He regretted opening his mouth before he even finished.
Yulion’s cold gaze shifted away from the stones…
…and landed squarely on him.
A hiccup nearly escaped Frek’s throat.
He desperately forced it down and bowed so quickly his waist nearly folded in half.
“M-My apologies! Please… continue breaking them!”
Yulion stared down at him for a moment before speaking in an icy tone.
“Then perhaps every gardener should be dismissed.”
“…Pardon?”
“A true gardener should prioritize people’s safety over aesthetics. If they value appearance more than the safety of those who walk these paths, can they really call themselves professionals?”
“…”
“What if someone tripped over a stone? Or collapsed from illness while walking through the garden and struck their head on one of them? Wouldn’t that become a serious incident?”
Frek couldn’t make sense of it.
No one was going to trip over stones that were clearly visible.
And the odds of someone collapsing in the Imperial Palace and hitting their head on a rock…
Did His Highness seriously believe that could happen?
Thankfully, Frek’s head was still lowered.
Otherwise, he never would have been able to hide the bewilderment on his face.
Unfortunately, Yulion decided to ask for his opinion.
“You don’t agree, Frek?”
“…Y-Yes, Your Highness. You’re absolutely right. I’ll instruct the gardeners to be more careful.”
“Make sure you do. Tell them not to leave anything behind that someone could trip over.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Cold sweat ran down Frek’s back.
If Yulion had actually ordered the gardeners fired, he would have been so consumed with guilt that he wouldn’t have slept for days.
I’d better just keep my mouth shut from now on.
Only after every stone around Garnet Palace had been thoroughly destroyed did Yulion finally turn back.
As they entered the palace, Frek secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Once he sees Her Highness, everything will go back to normal.
That hope was shattered almost immediately.
“The Crown Princess went to see Count Rivolein? Alone?”
“She took Hemion with her.”
“…Ha.”
Yulion’s face twisted into a deep frown.
Frek lowered his head in despair as well.
Just then, while Yulion strode forward irritably, a familiar voice echoed from the distance.
“Your Highness!”
Running toward them with green hair fluttering behind him was Viscount Pailson.
Of course, Rohiriel would have been the ideal visitor…
…but Pailson was the next best thing.
He always arrived carrying mountains of work.
And whenever Yulion buried himself in official business, he behaved like a perfectly normal human being.
“Pailson. Didn’t you say there was nothing left to handle today?”
“There wasn’t.”
Adjusting his glasses, Pailson continued,
“But now there is. An urgent matter.”
Yulion clicked his tongue.
“Let’s talk in my office.”
Once inside the office, Yulion sat at the meeting table instead of behind his desk.
Frek quickly served tea.
It was Ferriment tea, specially blended by Rohiriel not long ago for fatigue.
Yulion glanced at the cup before lifting it.
Normally, he rarely drank tea.
Yet whenever it was Ferriment tea, he always finished every last drop.
Feeling oddly proud, Frek reached to pour another cup for Pailson.
“…Surely you’re not about to give that to Pailson?”
The instant Yulion’s chilling voice reached his ears, Frek smoothly changed direction and placed the cup beside Yulion instead.
“O-Of course not! Since Your Highness seems to enjoy Ferriment tea, I brewed two cups for you in advance. Hahaha…”
From across the table, Pailson stared blankly between the two of them.
His expression had gone completely flat.
But Frek cared far more about Yulion’s mood than Pailson’s opinion.
Pretending not to notice the viscount’s glare, he prepared another pot.
“Viscount Pailson, perhaps you’d like to try this instead. It’s Earl Grey—excellent for restoring energy.”
“…I never took you for such a petty man.”
Throwing Frek a sidelong glare, Pailson ignored the tea entirely and got straight to the point.
“As petty as this situation is… I still have to report it.”
He looked at Yulion.
“Your Highness, do you remember the completely burned corpse from the fire? The one whose identity couldn’t be determined?”
Slurp.
Taking another sip of Rohiriel’s tea, Yulion nodded.
“Of course. I ordered a separate investigation into it. Did you find something?”
“…Exactly as you expected.”
Pailson handed over several documents.
As Yulion scanned them, the crease between his brows deepened.
“As Your Highness predicted, several resident palace physicians who regularly corresponded with their families suddenly stopped all communication.”
He continued.
“In two cases, their worried families even came to the palace personally because they hadn’t returned home during their scheduled leave.”
Palace physicians were divided into two groups.
Resident physicians lived inside the Imperial Palace.
Non-resident physicians entered every morning and left each evening.
Resident physicians were granted leave every month.
Most spent that time visiting family or meeting loved ones.
Listening quietly, Yulion flipped to the final page.
Three names were listed.
Lionel Crainut (29)
Entered the palace as a medical trainee at age fifteen.
Currently preparing for the Senior Medical Examination.
Works in the Emergency Department.
Jeloy Pian (30)
Recommended into palace service five years ago.
Promoted to Intermediate Physician last year.
Currently assigned to the Pharmacy Department.
Fabrio Tuken (27)
Passed the trainee examination at age twenty and was once mocked as talentless.
However, he rose through the ranks at remarkable speed and became an Intermediate Physician just last month.
Previously served in the Pharmacy Department before transferring to Emergency Medicine.
“So these three…”
“…Yes.”
Pailson nodded gravely.
“We believe they are the most likely identities of the bodies found in the fire.”
* * *
After returning to the palace, I headed straight for the pharmacy.
Since prescribing the Emperor’s new medicine, I had been recording his condition in meticulous detail every day.
“…Here it is.”
I spread the Emperor’s medical chart across the desk.
Beside it, I placed Harkiel’s chart.
Their illnesses were entirely different, so a perfect comparison wasn’t possible.
Still…
The overall patterns were unmistakable.
They’re incredibly similar.
The body’s resistance to medicine.
Its reactions whenever detoxification was attempted.
And countless other details.
The resemblance was impossible to ignore.
“I need a different approach.”
This wasn’t enough.
If I continued like this…
Just as I had lost my mother…
I would lose the Emperor as well.
I reorganized the charts.
I needed information.
Deeper knowledge.
Something I had overlooked.
“Your Highness? Where are you going?”
“I’m heading to the Imperial Library. There’s something I need to research.”
I stepped out of the pharmacy.
Only to stop immediately.
“Greetings, Your Highness!”
A crowd of physicians had gathered outside my laboratory, waiting for me.
“…Everyone… what’s going on?”
Startled, I looked around.
The physician standing at the very front hesitated before speaking.
“W-We apologize for the discourtesy… but there’s something we desperately wished to ask Your Highness!”
He had short brown hair.
Behind him, every physician wore the same earnest expression.
“Oh! Forgive my manners.”
He quickly bowed.
“My name is Lionel Crainut, and I serve in the Emergency Department!”
