TFSG 95

Chapter 95

The man who strode in proudly, flanked by knights, was none other than Detlef Grote, the Emperor’s envoy. Standing beside him was Sylvester.

“…Envoy?”

“That’s right. You must be the Baron of Bitz’s daughter, no? It’s been ages since I last saw your father.”

“Ah—so you knew my father…”

Nina and the members of the Association bowed politely. The presence of a man directly sent by the Emperor himself carried immense weight.

“But I heard something unfortunate happened here,” Detlef said, clicking his tongue. “Some lunatics created a disease and spread it carelessly, I hear?”

“…The exact suspects haven’t been identified yet. We can’t jump to conclusions—”

“Conclusions, my foot! I almost died because of that disease!”

There was a saying back in my company days—a troublemaker from your team becomes a hero when transferred to another department.

I glanced sideways at Sylvester.
When our eyes met, he gave me a subtle nod.

And standing next to him was my uncle. I’d quickly sent him over to Sylvester the moment we caught Luise.

‘I had a feeling something like this might happen—so I asked Sylvester to tip off the envoy.’

I wasn’t sure if Sylvester would actually help, but… just look at Detlef’s magnificent ability to cause a scene.

The plan was working perfectly.

“Punish them! Punish them all! I swear this on my honor as the Emperor’s envoy—I nearly died, I tell you!”

“But, Envoy, with all due respect, the Association is an independent institution. You cannot simply override the physician’s—”

“Is that more important than His Majesty’s command?”

“…”

“If it weren’t for this very doctor standing here, His Majesty’s decree would have been buried forever in this countryside—along with my corpse! And you still dare argue with me? Who’s your superior?!”

“…My apologies.”

Detlef, in all his impressive troublemaking glory, forced the inspector to order punishment.

Even if Sinion later tried to interfere, they wouldn’t be able to pull out completely now.

‘This guy might be an annoying old man… but he’s effective!’

And on top of that, he even managed to secure an official, sealed decree before leaving.

‘Or maybe Sylvester whispered some advice to him.’

“Didn’t I do great, little one?”

My uncle suddenly sidled up next to me.

“Hug me. Tell me I did a good job~”

Was he asking for a reward for successfully delivering the message to Detlef and Sylvester?

He smiled broadly and opened his arms, and I was just about to hug him when—

My dad grabbed me.

“No. Don’t go.”

“Huh?”

What’s with this man now? I froze awkwardly, looking back and forth between my uncle and my dad.

Alright, let’s just sit back down.

When I didn’t go over, my uncle pouted.

“What’s this? Jealousy doesn’t suit you, brother.”

“I’m her father.”

While my dad and uncle started some weird pride contest, the envoy and the inspector were wrapping up their conversation.

“And do you take me for a fool? I know that woman’s from a branch of the Sinion family. But do you really think a noble house like Sinion would order something so disgraceful?”

“…”

“It must’ve been the work of individuals acting on their own.”

At those words, Nina’s expression relaxed, as if a weight had lifted off her shoulders.

“Understood. Threatening the life of the Emperor’s envoy who carries His Majesty’s decree—such a crime will not go unpunished. We will deal with it firmly.”

“Ha! That’s more like it. You’re efficient after all.”

The knights and soldiers under the inspector’s command led away the people of Sinion.

Nina, the head of the Association, looked like she wanted to say more to us.

“I’ll see you again, Black Physician. I’ll be visiting the Black Family’s territory soon. Give my regards to Arin.”

“…”

My father didn’t respond—not even once. Yet Nina didn’t seem to care that he ignored her until the very end.

She even waved at me before turning to leave.

‘Of course, I recorded everything separately.’

Even with an envoy involved, things might not end cleanly—so I had to be ready.

‘They probably didn’t make just one disease.’

Even they had said as much themselves.

But something still bothered me—among those captured from the Sinion faction, there hadn’t been a single old man.

Where did the elderly man who spoke with Luise disappear to?

“Doctor, did you see that? I must say, ahem, this was quite a remarkable resolution.”

“Yes, it was very impressive.”

Through my uncle, I’d promised the envoy that if he helped us, I’d cure him completely.

And so, driven by his obsession with his own health, the envoy had crushed the inspector on our behalf.

“Ah, and young Sylvester prepared a contract too. I didn’t ask for it, but there’s no harm in having one, right?”

I nodded. Free benefits are always welcome.

‘So it was Sylvester’s doing.’

The contract stated, under the envoy’s seal, that he demanded the severe punishment of the Sinion faction members who spread the disease—

—in exchange for me curing him completely.

A perfectly fair deal for me.

‘I’ve already collected my payment anyway.’

No losses on my end. With Sylvester’s help, I stamped the seal on it.

“I’ll finish your treatment right away.”

I opened my water bottle.

“Please use our services again, sir~”

* * *

“Now this is the last part to handle.”

I took in a deep breath of fresh air—or at least, what should have been fresh.

In truth, the air was still heavy, filled with sickness.

‘There are still patients left who took Sinion’s medicine…’

Those wretched people had even poisoned the medicine, setting it to act only much later.

Thanks to them, my workload had multiplied.

Thankfully, the lesser physicians from the Rederic territory had arrived to help.

‘If I travel around treating people with them assisting me, I can probably finish in two or three days…’

I yawned widely.

To be honest, I was a little dizzy. But I didn’t show it.

If I admitted I was unwell, Dad, Uncle, Great-Uncle, even Brother Gye-won—and now Raon—would all start worrying.

If they told me to rest, it would only delay things further. Better to just finish it quickly.

‘I really have overworked myself these past few days…’

At the moment, I stood alone. I’d been carried around so much lately that I felt like I’d forgotten how to walk. So I sent the three brothers away—each with something to do.

Dad, wearing a grumpy face, was hauling supplies.
Uncle was fetching clean water.
Great-Uncle was playing with the children.

He was surprisingly good with kids, actually.

“Are you okay?”

I turned my head. A small figure stood there, wrapped tightly in a robe. Raon.

He lifted the big hood slightly so I could see his face.

‘Wow… he’s so beautiful again today.’

Under the sunlight, his pale face and long lashes shimmered softly.

‘Still can’t get used to seeing him like this.’

Things had been moving so fast lately that I hadn’t had time to process it—but seeing Raon in human form still felt surreal.

“Weren’t you with Brother Gye-won?”

“Oh, Gye-won went to get some missing herbs.”

Gye-won’s skills had grown so much lately that he could probably pass a low-level physician or apprentice apothecary test now.

‘Maybe I should actually train him as a real doctor.’

Would Great-Uncle object? I chuckled to myself.

Then suddenly, I froze.

“You’re a little warm.”

Raon’s small hand was on my forehead. I blinked.

“When I was sick, my mom used to do this for me.”

“…Really?”

I smiled softly.

“That’s nice. I… don’t have any memories of my mom.”

Raon paused, hesitating. Then, quietly, he said—

With those clear, beautiful golden eyes peeking out from under his hood—

“But you still have your dad.”

“…”

“Actually… everyone’s really worried about you. They all know you’re not feeling well.”