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Chapter 21
Was he in his thirties?
The man holding a medical bag glanced around the bedroom and then bowed politely to the duke before speaking.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Adrienian.”
“You were called by Ethan?”
“Wait, there seems to be a misunderstanding…”
Just as Ethan, who had looked slightly flustered since the stares gathered earlier, was about to speak, the doctor who introduced himself as Adrienian responded.
“No, the person who contacted me was not Ethan.”
This time, Enfi’s eyes widened in surprise.
“But he clearly said he was summoned by the young master… Don’t tell me?”
Soon, Adrienian’s next words confirmed Enfi’s suspicions.
“I was contacted by Young Master Kylid Cropot and came here.”
Silence fell.
It seemed no one could believe that Kylid himself had summoned a doctor to my bedroom.
To be honest, neither could I.
“Wait a moment!”
At that moment, Dr. Sara stepped forward. Her expression was more serious than usual, and her voice sharp.
“You there—did you come to examine the lady?”
“That’s correct.”
“I’m perfectly capable of treating the lady myself. I have full confidence in my medical skills.”
Dr. Sara seemed offended by the situation. Understandable—after all, she’d been working as the household physician in Cropot for over a decade.
“Young Master Kylid. If you had doubts about my skills, you could’ve just said so—”
“I think there’s been a misunderstanding.”
Adrienian cut her off gently.
As Dr. Sara shifted her gaze from Kylid back to Adrienian, he continued.
“I don’t treat physical ailments.”
“…Excuse me?”
“What I diagnose and treat are illnesses of the mind.”
Adrienian’s gaze landed on me, lying in bed.
“I was urgently summoned here to assess the mental state of the young lady.”
A mental assessment…?
Mental…
Everyone’s eyes—except Adrienian’s—turned to Kylid.
He stood with arms crossed, leaning against the wall, and merely raised one eyebrow at the attention.
“What?”
“…My apologies, young master. I misunderstood,” Dr. Sara quickly apologized. Enfi followed with a disappointed murmur.
“Well, yeah… There’s no way Master Kylid would call a doctor for the lady…”
Wow, that’s kind of a problematic comment. Adrienian is still a doctor, even if his specialty differs from Dr. Sara’s.
Still—so this world has psychiatrists too? Makes sense, I suppose.
“Kylid,” the Duke spoke coldly.
“Know your limits.”
Kylid responded calmly.
“I am within them.”
“You seem to be under the wrong impression. Treating your sister like a lunatic crosses the line.”
Wait—lunatic? That seems a bit harsh. Surely there’s a softer way to put it.
“Not everyone suffering from mental illness is a lunatic.”
Adrienian, seemingly unable to stay silent as a medical professional, interjected.
Unfortunately, neither the Duke nor Kylid seemed to pay him any attention.
Poor Adrienian. Hang in there. I’m listening, at least.
“I think you’re the one who’s mistaken, Father.”
That faint scent of rebellion again. I turned to look at Kylid.
“I didn’t bring a doctor here just to mock her.”
“What?”
“I’m genuinely curious.”
Kylid unfolded his arms and stepped away from the wall. Our eyes met.
“Whether she’s the crazy one, or…”
“…”
“Whether I am.”
“What did you just say…?”
“I think I’ve maintained my position long enough. I’ll be going. I have work to do.”
“Kylid!”
And just like that, Kylid left the room. Silence descended once more.
The one to break the awkward stillness was Dr. Sara.
“Ahem, well… in that case…”
“…”
“Would everyone please clear the room? I need to examine the lady.”
Her voice grew more firm.
“Please.”
✦
The reason Dr. Sara asked everyone to leave before the examination was simple:
I had to undress.
After inspecting my body, which was covered only by the bare minimum of clothing, Dr. Sara frowned.
“There’s not a single uninjured spot.”
“…That bad?”
“You must’ve been thrown to the floor. Judging from this, you were kicked too.”
A true expert. Evidence never lies.
“That must have hurt…”
“It’s okay. I’m good at enduring pain.”
“…What?”
Dr. Sara’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Sorry. I thought I heard something strange.”
“You must have misheard.”
“I guess so?”
Hmm. Maybe Bella used to complain a lot?
But that can’t be right. Her childhood was rough.
Stealing just to survive before she even turned ten…
…But a tough life doesn’t always mean a strong body. Or maybe it does?
“Anyway, bruises aside, the bigger problem is…”
Dr. Sara pressed firmly on my right ankle. I gasped involuntarily.
“That hurts, doesn’t it?”
“…Yeah.”
“It looks like a sprain. It won’t heal quickly.”
“How long?”
“At least two weeks if you want to walk without limping.”
Two whole weeks…
“If your nutrition is poor, it could take longer. Make sure you eat well. I’ll also prescribe something for the pain.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“It’s my job, after all.”
Dr. Sara stood up and tilted her head slightly.
“But… hmm.”
“Hmm?”
“…No, it’s nothing. I’ll check back in a few days.”
With that, Dr. Sara left the room.
After getting fully dressed again, it wasn’t long before Adrienian knocked and entered.
“Um, milady. May I begin the evaluation now?”
A mental evaluation, huh…
I looked at him and nodded.
In the end, Adrienian’s session took longer than Dr. Sara’s.
After answering numerous questionnaires and interviews, I finally received a conclusion: No signs of mental illness.
Well, obviously.
The entire process took up more time than expected, and as soon as Adrienian left, I collapsed on the bed.
That’s when Enfi appeared in the room.
“Milady, do you need anything?”
“Anything I need…”
Just as I was about to say no, something came to mind.
Ignoring the now-familiar muscle aches, I sat up.
“Could you bring Chloe and Luna?”
Chloe and Luna were maids working at the estate.
They were also the ones who’d stood like criminals in the corner of the bedroom before Dr. Sara kicked everyone out.
Now, I had them sit in front of me—two people who likely knew everything I didn’t.
Even seated, they kept their heads down.
“Chloe, Luna.”
“I—we’re sorry, milady.”
“It was all our fault.”
“Yes. We were very careless.”
“…Calm down. Lift your heads. I didn’t call you here to punish you.”
The two exchanged glances before slowly raising their heads.
After looking between them, I spoke.
“Actually, I think I hit my head before I fainted, because I can’t remember things very well.”
Ah, dear amnesia. Always such a convenient excuse. Thanks again.
Seeing their eyes widen, I hurried to add before they could apologize again.
“So I don’t really remember what you did—or even what I did.”
“…”
“Can you explain? As detailed as possible.”
They exchanged another look.
Eventually, Chloe—seated on the left—turned to me and began to speak.
“Well, it’s like this…”
To summarize the ‘story’ by numbering the points:
-
People began disappearing from the capital one day.
-
There was no common link between the missing persons. The only similarity was that they all vanished overnight, without a trace.
