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Chapter 88
The Terminal Baby Physician Who Didn’t Hide She Was a Genius
I somehow managed to calm my weirdly acting dad down.
But then, a new problem arose.
“Uh, wait—wait a second!”
As I saw my dad’s eyes start to close, I hurriedly shook at his clothes.
“Daddy? Daddy? Wake up, you can’t faint…! If you fall like that, I—ah!”
The problem was that he was about to topple forward—and if he did, I’d be crushed under him.
Save the baby…!
Thankfully, I avoided being flattened to death.
“Are you all right?”
When I looked up, I saw Sylvester holding onto my father, his neck still marked with finger-shaped bruises.
I let out a deep sigh and forced a clumsy smile.
“I’m glad… you’re alive.”
“Yes… I really thought I was going to die. To have all my energy blocked before I could even react—hah, the former strongest of the Black Clan truly is something.”
Sylvester admitted his mistake without protest.
“I seem to have said something too sensitive. Sometimes my curiosity gets the better of me.”
He laid my father gently on the ground.
After checking him over, I realized he’d only fainted. My quick diagnosis confirmed it.
Actually… his condition’s surprisingly stable.
It was as if his health had improved.
There’s a thing in medicine called shock therapy. Maybe Sylvester’s words had acted as a trigger like that for my father.
I sighed again.
If it meant seeing Dad cry like that, I would’ve rather let him remember things slowly.
Just a while ago, he had looked like a lost child instead of a grown man.
“Hey, I have a favor to ask.”
I asked Sylvester to bring the Black Viper, who should’ve been in front of the deputy chief’s house.
“Understood.”
He glanced around, then pressed his hand to the ground. A pillar of earth rose up beneath it.
“I’ll set up some temporary protections before I go. After all, you’re still just a child.”
It was a strange kind of treatment. He respected me as a healer, but still worried because I was a kid.
“Um…”
Maybe that’s why—I stopped him before he could leave.
“The person you mentioned earlier, Mariya. You were talking about her remains, right? My mom’s… ashes?”
“That story?”
He hesitated for a moment but didn’t take long to answer.
“The Black Marquis ran away to marry an unknown woman the family opposed. That woman was a great beauty—and she had special abilities. But one day, she died young.”
“…”
“The Black Clan stole her body. They used it to threaten him. That’s all I know.”
“…Do you know anything about me?”
“Yes. When the Black Marquis negotiated with the clan later on, your name came up.”
Sylvester said he didn’t know more than that, then left to fetch the Black Viper.
A short while later, he returned with him. After saying he couldn’t stay longer, he went back to report to his superior.
“…”
My uncle looked completely devastated.
“So that’s why you were covered in dirt. That bastard brother of mine dropped you?”
Actually, he had caught me even while out of his mind—but I didn’t bother explaining.
“The fact that he dropped you is the problem! Damn that Black Marquis bastard!”
Whoa. Just because Dad’s unconscious, isn’t that a bit too much cursing?
Currently, Uncle Black Viper was carrying my father on his back, with Raon’s bag slung in front.
Poor Raon. I had to get back soon and comfort him.
I’ve absorbed way too much information in a short time. I’m exhausted.
I rubbed my eyes as I walked beside my uncle.
Since he was matching my short steps, our pace was naturally slow.
“Hey, Uncle.”
I told him everything that had happened—including the story about Sylvester’s neck.
“How much do you know about Mom’s ashes? Or about Dad’s deal with the clan?”
My question must’ve been too direct, because Uncle looked taken aback.
After a moment, he muttered softly, sounding ashamed.
“I… don’t really know.”
“…”
“I was always sleeping. What would I know? When I woke up, everything was already over. The second brother’s escape, your mother’s death… and that so-called deal—I didn’t even hear about it.”
His voice was heavy with regret and grief.
“…Do you know why the Marquis can’t leave that house or that tree?”
“…No.”
Uncle let out a deep sigh.
“In that house, there’s your mother’s urn. But it probably only has half her ashes. And…”
“…”
“Under that tree, we buried all the things she loved most. It’s like a grave, in a way.”
So in the end, Dad didn’t want to leave the place where Mom rested.
Even after losing his memories, his instincts held him there—for a very long time.
I bit my lip hard.
“…I don’t know if I should be telling you this.”
Uncle sighed again.
He seemed torn—unsure if it was right to say such things to his brother’s little daughter.
“Your dad couldn’t bring himself to tell you, because he thought it’d hurt you—that he didn’t remember you, but was still obsessed with anything related to your mom.”
“I’m not hurt.”
I really wasn’t. Maybe because I’d seen some of Dad’s memories myself.
He’d been so happy back then.
“They spent more time together. It can’t be helped.”
“If my daughter ever said something like that, my heart would’ve shattered.”
I looked up at him.
“To me, you’re my daughter too. Don’t ask since when—it’s just how I feel.”
“Uncle?”
“So from now on, if things get hard, talk to me. Lean on me, okay?”
“…”
“Sorry that your uncles and I have been the ones leaning on you instead.”
My chest tightened painfully. I rolled my eyes, then smiled.
“You’re being all mature now.”
“…”
He let it pass—maybe because he knew I didn’t want to say more.
We walked silently until we reached the inn we were staying at.
“One day soon, I’ll sit down with Biwon and tell you everything we know about your mother.”
Uncle said that as he laid my father on the bed.
“I get it now—keeping silent isn’t always the right thing.”
“…That’s sudden.”
“Yeah. But the more I look at you, the more I think so.”
He sat on the floor beside the bed, resting his chin on his hand.
“Your mom was from the Eastern Continent. Even as a child, she was an exceptional physician—just like you.”
He stood up, saying the rest would have to wait for later.
My heart pounded at the sudden mention of Mom, but I nodded.
“I’ll solve the epidemic soon, so pick a day and tell me everything.”
“Alright.”
Uncle ruffled my hair. Even though he made it a total mess this time, I didn’t complain.
The next day.
Dad finally woke up in the afternoon.
The strange thing was, he quietly came over to me—but didn’t say a word.
“Do you remember what happened yesterday?”
“…I do.”
From the tone of his voice, it didn’t seem like he’d reverted to the unstable state he’d been in when Sylvester spoke.
He probably just needed time to think, so I left him alone.
“No, no! If you sanitize it like that, it’s not effective! Are your ears blocked?”
“B-but… that’s how my teacher taught me…”
Since I was busy instructing and correcting Coma, who used to be the chief physician.
“Then your teacher’s a quack! Is your teacher better at healing than I am?”
“Th-that’s unfair… no, of course not.”
Thankfully, Coma was obedient, just deflated.
Probably because I’d quietly mentioned that if we failed to heal the lord, he’d die right along with him.
But this still isn’t enough. When will the additional physicians arrive?
