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Chapter 75
The Terminal Baby Physician Doesn’t Hide Her Genius
‘It’s not entirely clear, but the condition is…’
The Clan Head had given up her eyesight, but in exchange, she had greatly heightened her other abilities.
‘How many times must I tell you—do not touch my child. Speak to me directly.’
Though she had been interrupted by Black Vihu barging in, in that fleeting instant, the Clan Head had managed to examine Black Viyu’s condition.
And the child’s state was…
The Clan Head’s lips curved into a thin smile.
‘How could I have failed to notice such a treasure until now?’
Of course—because her own children had hidden it from her. Serves her right.
Still, she did not feel displeased.
After all, a true genius will shine through eventually. And having her ears catch such brilliance pleased her greatly.
The only problem was that if she ever tried to make use of the child, the sons by her side would not sit idly by. Not just one or two, but three—troublesome indeed.
“If you desire that child, his father, Black Vihu, will only get in the way.”
“…”
“Isn’t he the one who dared ignore the Clan Head’s summons, even with a broken mind? Just a warrior, after all.”
Tap. The opponent moved their piece.
A move that neither blocked her head-on, nor completely diverted her attack.
“So what will you do about Vihu?”
“…I’ll handle it. He bothers you anyway, doesn’t he?”
From behind her own chess piece, the Clan Head could faintly sense her opponent’s hidden presence.
“It would’ve been better for him if he’d kept living without remembering.”
Her sharpened wind and tactile senses alone told her what she needed to know.
“This time, I’ll get rid of him for sure.”
Seeing that the Clan Head did not refuse, her opponent’s lips twisted.
That night.
The surroundings were quiet and dark. A carriage rushed down the shadowy road.
Even at night, its gleaming white and luxurious design stood out.
Knights in full uniform escorted it, marking the entourage’s importance.
Yet, the faces inside were all grave.
Within the carriage sat two men.
One man wrung his hands nervously, staring ahead.
‘We’re already behind on completing our mission as quickly as possible…’
Across from him lay another man, stretched out.
His superior.
At the moment, his superior had collapsed with a raging fever and was unconscious.
It had been three days now.
Each time he awoke, he cried out that he was freezing, writhing in agony.
At every town they passed, they sought physicians, but all only shook their heads, baffled by the unfamiliar illness.
‘It resembles that fever epidemic that once swept through villages… but the diagnosis doesn’t match. And look here—the swelling and redness of the skin, I’ve never seen the like!’
Though he was no expert in medicine, even he could see his superior’s condition worsening by the day.
At this rate… death seemed possible.
‘Absolutely not.’
If his superior died, his own position would be thrown into chaos.
Most of all, they were tasked with an extremely important mission: traveling across the empire to meet with various lords.
That mission was none other than—
‘We must find… the White Fox, and fast…!!’
Fortunately, several large cities lay ahead on their route.
‘Let’s hope one of them has a senior physician.’
Moreover, the Black Family’s territory wasn’t far now.
At the next key town between the domains, they could at least secure antipyretics and move on.
“Cheimik is near!”
“Hurry!!”
“Yes, sir!”
What he did not know—
Was that the town they were racing toward… was already full of people suffering from the same illness as his superior.
“Hey. Black Viyu. What on earth is this?”
A week had passed since meeting the Clan Head. We were currently inside a carriage bound for Cheimik.
The carriage carried my uncle, me, and Gye-won oppa, racing nonstop.
“Kyahng! Kyang! Kyang!”
“Uncle, stop it.”
In my arms was Raon, the baby fox who had only recently become family.
Around my neck, Bambi, the baby one-horned snake, coiled snugly, nuzzling me contentedly.
“Raon’s scared. Put that thing down.”
“This?”
Uncle waggled the object in his hand, grinning as if amused.
“What’s so scary about this? It just looks like a bird beak. Hey, little fox, you need to toughen up, brat.”
“Kyainng!”
“See? He hates it!”
In Uncle’s hand was a beaked mask.
The eye holes had goggles, the beak ended in a respirator, and the headpiece bore a filter canister.
It looked just like the plague doctor masks from European history.
Here, however, it was used by physicians from the Western Continent.
It seemed the Clan Head intended to support us properly, as if dispatching formal physicians—she had sent all sorts of supplies.
‘She said the medicines had been arranged in advance with nearby cities and sent to the village.’
And so, the carriage she provided also carried these masks.
“Wait, are you really going to wear this ugly thing? Is it that necessary?”
Raon trembled as he stared at the mask in Uncle’s hand. Was it the appearance that frightened him?
“Kiiing… whimper…”
His ears were flat, his little body shaking pitifully.
I glared at Uncle, and Black Birang sheepishly lowered the mask.
Though medicine had developed differently in the East and West, the Black Family did not reject Western methods.
So, when dispatched to handle epidemics, some physicians did use these masks.
But for me, they were unnecessary.
‘Not that they’re useless, but…’
Why are epidemics so frightening?
Because even the doctors treating them can be infected—and in the worst cases, die.
But who am I?
A genius physician! And a regressor!
The illness spreading in Cheimik was most likely one I already knew.
And I could cure any illness that afflicted me.
So I didn’t need those heavy masks. A simple cloth mask was more than enough.
‘Besides, Cheimik’s disease isn’t even respiratory-transmitted.’
I kept that to myself and shrugged.
“I don’t need it. It’s fine.”
“What? Just wear it. I’ll resize it for you. Or maybe there are smaller ones.”
“I said I don’t need it. They only sent it for appearances, since we’ll be watched. No need to flaunt that it’s unnecessary.”
“Then what, you expect me to wear it? No way, right?”
“Of course not. Uncle doesn’t need it either—you’ve got the Dragon’s Blessing, remember?”
My father, my uncle, and my eldest uncle, blessed by the dragon, were resistant to common contagious illnesses.
With bodies so sturdy from that blessing, it was almost strange for them to ever contract incurable diseases.
An infuriatingly convenient setting.
But for missions like this, they were invaluable.
‘Damn, I’m so jealous!’
Because of my frail body, I used to catch every illness first and suffer through endless treatments.
‘Back when my skills were undeveloped, it was absolute hell.’
Uncle then gestured at Gye-won oppa, who sat across from us reading a cookbook.
