TFSG 110

Chapter 110

I blinked. Some words came back to me.

I’m sure I said this when I first arrived here.

“Dawm, if you could just take into account that I’m three years old, that would be great. I’m really fragile…”

I wondered why someone with no memories was suddenly playing guardian. So they actually applied that right away?

While I was still bewildered, the head of the family lifted the curtain that had been shielding their body.

The instant the unpleasantly pursed mouth was revealed through the gap, I stepped forward before the head could.

“It’s okay. Father. There won’t be anything dangerous here. Isn’t this the head’s reception room?”

Once we’d reached the reception room, I felt the head wouldn’t harm me further. That feeling came over me.

This person had been testing me, and at the same time, desired me.

You could tell from the fact they’d sent me away to Cheimic even though everyone opposed it. It was only natural that they’d covet the unexpectedly good results I’d achieved in such a short time.

If they’d been truly displeased, they would’ve chased me and Father out immediately.

‘Also, it’s strange there were no guards stationed in front of the head’s reception room.’

I nodded to the man again. He stared at me quietly for a moment, then shifted his gaze.

“Please be permitted to stand in the corridor.”

“That’s a plain order—cheeky fellow.”

“Yes. Consider it the price of being treated like a dog.”

“…….”

“I will take that as acceptance. Thank you.”

The man who had gently put me down turned and strode out.

—He’ll probably try to examine your body. Be careful.

A kindly voice that only I could hear whispered in my ear. I had to bite back from speaking so my lips wouldn’t move.

‘I know too.’

I straightened my posture, muttering the reply that Father couldn’t hear.

…If you don’t even remember anything, why pretend to act so dignified? You’re confusing people.

Now that the door had flown open, I wondered how they planned to hold a private conversation here.

The answer came quickly.

Whiiish—

It felt like wind, then it wrapped lightly around us.

Father’s wind usually had a blue tint when it manifested, but the head’s wind had a greenish hue.

Like now.

And this was probably to prevent our conversation from leaking outside.

“Alright, then, let’s talk.”

A very affable voice was heard.

“Try some tea.”

The head behaved as if we had been a long-time grandparent-and-grandchild pair.

A soft tone, with a hint of fondness underlying it.

‘Totally pretending to be a grandma who’s always cared for me.’

I fiddled with the cup. The tea had cooled to a decent temperature.

Holding the cup, I only pretended to sip.

‘Why would I drink anything in a situation like this. Of course I’d avoid it.’

That’s how nobles were.

They’d smile brightly and call me “our doctor, genius doctor,” while playing tricks on the tea and food.

They probably thought I didn’t know — that if I had just clean water, I could cure any symptom I had. That’s likely why they did it.

Because of that, I developed the habit of carrying a water bottle. And what made it worse was the crown prince who killed me at the end of the third round.

Thinking of him made my teeth grind.

But I collected my emotions and forced a calm smile.

“It’s tasty, but bitter.”

“Oh? Bitter?”

“It’s mountain anemone leaves, right? They say it only grows in the Eastern Continent.”

“…….”

“They say only people with sensitive palates can taste the bitter notes.”

I continued explaining smoothly so as not to arouse suspicion.

The head of a family where I’d once briefly stayed used to collecting Eastern goods obsessively.

‘Don’t you get it yet? You’re one of the Eastern artifacts my father collected. Get lost!’

‘Okay, okay, I know that. Now can you treat me? Your father said if you can’t treat me he will kill me.’

‘…….’

That family belonged to someone I had once considered a “friend.”

One of the eight great families.

My start with him hadn’t been pleasant—what began as a bad fate stretched long, and we might’ve become friends. It might finally end again in betrayal.

Still, I’d learned a lot from that household: how pompous people lived, what they liked.

The instincts of those born into power.

I lowered my eyes. I’d drunk so much of the tea before that I could recognize it from the smell alone.

At the same time, the head murmured in admiration.

“You’re well-informed. Or rather, this wouldn’t be common knowledge…”

“I read it in a materia medical book. The bark of the mountain anemone tree is used as a good medicinal ingredient.”

“Indeed. From the Eastern side, a place without even a single book…”

A sharp question sliced the air. I feigned ignorance and pretended to sip again.

Under the table, my fingers had long since been secretly fiddling to open the water bottle.

“So, are you feeling alright? I heard you were ill.”

You only wonder now, old man?

I smiled brightly.

“I think I overdid it a little. I wanted to make a good impression on you, so I hurried to finish.”

“A little, huh.”

Of course, the time I’d shortened by curing the Cheimic disease was far from a “little.”

If an ordinary senior doctor had attempted it, it would have taken at least three months—no, because it was Cheimic, no one else would have succeeded at all.

“Well done.”

A flat compliment.

But I knew.

The head’s children—the eldest aunt and the third aunt—had done all kinds of things just to hear that one phrase once in their lifetime.

The aunts’ children were also desperate to win Grandmother’s recognition.

‘Mother, it’s because you didn’t recognize me! That’s why!’

I remembered, briefly and distastefully, the desperate cry I’d once accidentally witnessed from the eldest aunt during the first round, then pushed the memory away.

What did their circumstances matter to me?

“Actually, we’ve received contact from the royal house.”

I set the teacup down and looked at the head. It wasn’t surprising news.

‘Not Sylvester, then.’

It would be that other envoy, Detlef Grott—the real old busybody. I could picture him, that meddlesome fellow who’d coveted me the whole time.

He’d surely informed the royal household and pompously announced our house.

Since it was the envoy, the court would have paid attention.

‘That guy offered to treat me next time for money; I guess he liked it.’

It was half-expected good fortune.

“It was discreet, apparently they said the envoy was saved. Very well done.”

I inwardly scoffed.

The child who would squeal with delight to hear such praise—the child the aunts craved so much—had died in round one.

“Thank you!”

I smiled like a child as I thanked them, though I was calculating all the while.

“Since everything’s been resolved, will you give me what you promised?”

“As promised.”

The head’s lips curved.

She seemed pleased.

“From now on, the Eastern manor is all yours. I will also grant you the family’s official senior doctor qualification.”

Turning over land they’d neglected and calling it a “manor,” huh? The cunning old thing.

Given what I’d accomplished this time, even a senior doctor title felt insufficient, but I didn’t say so first.

“Not only that, I intend to recommend you to the royal court.”

What came next was a reward I hadn’t expected.