Dead-End Villainess Who Makes Medicine

 

 

To cut to the conclusion, poison was detected in Ares’ blood.

 

Not only that, it was the type of poison I had in mind.

 

“That’s impossible…….”

 

The chief physician muttered several times, as if he couldn’t believe it.

 

He clenched his fist in frustration, his mustache twitching with a mix of disbelief and anger.

 

The hushed murmurs of the attending physicians, who had been observing the situation from the shadows, began.

 

“What’s this? Does that mean the chief physician was wrong?”

 

“Her Excellency’s diagnosis was correct?”

 

“I can’t believe he misdiagnosed him.”

 

“He was supposed to be highly skilled, wasn’t he?”

 

“Could it be that there were patients misdiagnosed by him until now?”

 

“But how did her Highness know?”

 

“Why, she even cured the case of arsenic poisoning flawlessly and made the antidote.”

 

“Could the rumors be true? About her being the Witch of Poisons…”

 

Coincidentally, with both Hemion and Ares being poisoned, strange rumors about me and my abilities were spreading.

 

The chief physician bit his lip nervously under the skeptical gaze directed at him.

 

‘Before the chief physician manipulates the data, I need to get the information out.’

 

As a reward for my earlier wager, I had planned to receive information about the Empress’ illness.

 

I purposely raised my voice and called for the physician who had assisted with the antidote production, emphasizing that the patient wasn’t fully stable yet and should be transferred to the recovery room.

 

“And Julion.”

 

Julion, who had been looking seriously at Ares, turned his head toward me.

 

The usual glimmer in his golden eyes was now absent.

 

“I have some business to speak with the chief physician. Will you stay with Ares? Or will you be returning to your office?”

 

“With the chief physician?”

 

Julion looked at me curiously.

 

I looked at Julion with a puzzled expression. This man certainly had a curious nature.

 

‘Perhaps it would be better to subtly inform Julian as well.’

 

I shrugged nonchalantly, as if it was of little importance.

 

“I made a bet with him that if my diagnosis is correct, he’ll grant me whatever I want.”

 

The chief physician’s shoulders twitched noticeably as if he had been caught off guard.

 

I smiled cheerfully and extended my hand toward the chief physician.

 

“There’s one thing I want. The medical records of the empress.”

 

“The Empress’ medical records?”

 

The one to respond to my words was not the chief physician, but Julion.

 

Given that it was Julion’s mother, his usually bright gaze turned sharp.

 

The chief physician rolled his eyes, glancing back and forth between me and Julion, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

 

“Your Highness, the patient has not awakened yet. How can we be sure if the treatment was successful or not?”

 

“Are you kidding me?”

 

“Your Highness.”

 

“Everyone just heard in the test results that poison was detected. Yet you claimed until the end that it wasn’t poison!”

 

The chief physician’s impudence left me speechless.

 

Julion let out a dry laugh, then sternly ordered the chief physician.

 

“Immediately bring the data as requested by the princess! Unless the Empress has explicitly forbidden it, members of the royal family can access each other’s information.”

 

With my earlier request to the chief physician, Julion had already assessed the situation, so he didn’t need to inquire further.

 

The chief physician tightly sealed his lips, reluctantly lowering his head.

 

“I understand.”

 

And so, I was able to obtain the medical records I desired about the Empress.

 

××××××××××××××××××××××

 

Upon returning to Garnet Palace, I felt like collapsing onto the bed immediately.

 

The tension had drained from my body, leaving me utterly exhausted.

 

For the time being, I took my usual medicine as a quick remedy and then proceeded to spread out the data I had received from the chief physician.

 

“Your Highness, we’ve run out of medicine to feed Hemion Martin.”

 

I would have hesitated had it not been for Zenid, who spoke to me.

 

I stowed the documents in a drawer and made my way to the makeshift pharmacy adjacent to my office.

 

When I arrived at Garnet Palace, I had hastily arranged the room next to my office into a simple pharmacy.

 

And right next to that room was where Hemion was staying.

 

“She hasn’t woken up yet, has she?”

 

“No. However, her complexion has improved significantly. Her fever has also almost subsided.”

 

“I see. I suppose I should prepare more medicine.”

 

Her condition had progressed to an advanced stage of severe poisoning. I didn’t expect her to wake up in just a few days.

 

‘I’m relieved she’s not dead.’

 

She had lost everything because of Cassian.

 

Even though she had thrown an egg at me, the fact that it wasn’t a knife even made me chuckle.

 

She was probably gentle-hearted and had grown up receiving a lot of love.

 

To have her family taken away from her, even if I wasn’t the one responsible, the thought of my own family doing such a thing filled me with an unbearable sense of disgust.

 

‘I want to escape from all this.’

 

I didn’t want to be entangled any further.

 

I wish to sever every remaining thread of connection, no matter how slight.

 

If it weren’t for my damn illness, I would have executed my plans much sooner.

 

No, perhaps it might be a blessing in disguise.

 

If it hadn’t been for me, both Hemion and possibly even Ares would likely have died.

 

“Yeah, that’s enough.”

 

Saving even one more person. That was my dream and goal—saving more lives just as many as those who were sacrificed for Cassian

 

So, I’m not stagnating now; I’m still moving forward.

 

“Oh my, your highness!”

 

That’s when it happened.

 

Zenid urgently grabbed my arm.

 

I felt something wet on my skin. Looking down, I saw that the medication I was supposed to pour into the vial was now on the back of my hand.

 

“Ah.”

 

Zenid quickly wiped away the spilled liquid, her face flustered.

 

I laughed, feeling embarrassed, and helped Zenid up.

 

Damn it, I’ll have to make more.

 

×××××××××××××××××××××× 

 

After preparing the medicine for Hemion and checking her condition, I returned to my office.

 

“Zenid, could you bring me some fruit, please?”

 

Perhaps I had exerted too much energy.

 

It wasn’t yet dinnertime, but I was feeling hungry.

 

A while later, a plate of carefully arranged fruit was placed on the table.

 

Starting with the light items on top, I picked out the fruit and spread out the documents I had received from the chief physician.

 

<She experiences pain upon exposure to light.>

 

<Prominent symptoms include severe eye irritation, headaches, and dizziness.>

 

<Dilated pupils observed.>

 

The Empress’ symptoms were as I had expected.

 

Pain upon exposure to light, and even dilated pupils

 

“But why are the prescriptions like this?”

 

The issue was that there were prescriptions corresponding to each symptom.

 

<Use tincture of Perfenol root and Hefvet in dilution.>

 

<Napirim, Nabulet, Nacilid.>

 

“This is…….”

 

There were remedies to protect the eyes, but in addition to those, there were numerous remedies of a light-blocking nature being used.

 

<9:1, 8:2, 7:3… 4:6>

 

Even the ratios of light-blocking remedies were increasing day by day.

 

At first, they were timidly mixed in small amounts, but gradually they increased, and now they are being used to a serious extent.

 

So, for nearly a year, the Empress had been living while constantly blocking out the light.

 

By now, she was likely living in darkness.

 

“No matter how much she complains of pain when she sees light, this is not a cure.”

 

If this continued, her condition would only worsen, and she would never experience any improvement.

 

Of course, prioritizing blocking out light when the Empress experiences pain might have been the initial approach, but if such treatment continued, it could lead to eventual blindness.

 

‘It’s hard to believe that someone as skilled as the chief physician wouldn’t know.’

 

The Empress’ bedroom was eerily dark.

 

When the empress complained of pain, the head maid administered the medicine as if she were familiar with it.

 

Administering the medication paradoxically dilated her pupils and caused her to lose focus in her eyes.

 

The Empress’ condition had undoubtedly worsened considerably.

 

She might have reached a point where she couldn’t bear even a little light.

 

‘No wonder she stayed indoors during the wedding ceremony.’

 

At the time, I was so preoccupied that I couldn’t examine the Empress’ condition closely.

 

I remember that she briefly revealed her face during the ceremony, which was delayed from its scheduled time.

 

She even wore a semi-transparent veil and only showed herself for a brief moment.

 

And she didn’t appear at the extended celebration due to the Emperor’s illness.

 

Back then, I assumed she disliked me, which was why she behaved that way.

 

“Your Highness, shall I bring something to drink?”

 

Lost in my thoughts, I looked up as Zenid asked.

 

The fruit plate was empty, and I couldn’t remember when I had finished eating.

 

“Yes, please bring something sweet.”

 

“Understood.”

 

I thought long and hard.

 

It seemed that my contemplation would continue. I had to figure out how to inform the Empress of this fact and how to treat her.

 

This disease itself was challenging to treat due to its nature.

 

‘It’s a disease caused by avoiding light too much. We must definitely continue exposing the patient to light to build up immunity.’

 

Even though it would be painful, she had to endure it and expose herself to light, especially sunlight, as much as possible.

 

The problem was that the symptoms of pain when exposed to light had already started, making it difficult to ask the patient to endure them.

 

‘Will the Empress believe me if I reveal the truth?’

 

I had to be careful.

 

This situation was different from the Hemion and Ares incidents.

 

The Empress is the second-in-command of the empire, the one who currently controls the inner workings of the palace.

 

Moreover, she seemed to have a great deal of trust in the chief physician.

 

It would be unreasonable to ask her to follow my prescriptions when she had so little trust in me.

 

Tap, tap. The sound of my fingers lightly tapping on the desk echoed for a while.

 

Amidst the rhythmic sound, another sound is mixed in.

 

Knock, knock.

 

It was the sound of someone knocking on the door of my study.

 

“Rohiriel, would you like to join me for dinner?”

 

Through the slightly ajar door, I could see Julion leaning against the frame.

 

Considering the situation, it might be best to take a break and discuss things with him.

 

“Of course, Julion. Let’s have dinner together.”

 

I closed the documents I had been reviewing and stood up, ready to leave the study for a while.