The chief physician clenched his lips together realizing that there was no way out.
Seeing the chief physician unable to use the medicine, the Empress spoke in a hushed voice.
“Why aren’t you using it? Is there something in it that shouldn’t be there?”
The Empress’ cautious tone was followed by a question that left the chief physician pondering.
His hand that touched the floor turned white from the pressure.
“No, it’s not like that, not at all!”
With trembling hands, the chief physician opened the bottle’s cap.
The key ingredients of this medicine – naphylym, nabullet, and nacillid – are highly addictive substances.
No matter how diluted they were, using this medicine even once would likely make him crave it uncontrollably.
Once becomes twice, and twice becomes thrice… If he continued like that, he would eventually go blind due to the toxicity of the medicine. The chief physician was well aware of that.
Swallowing his dry saliva, the chief physician slowly brought the bottle to his eyes.
His eyes quivering like leaves in the wind, and the contorted expression on his face, as though he were drinking poison, made it clear to anyone, even someone completely unaware, that this was not good medicine.
With a sigh mixed with frustration, the Empress opened her mouth.
“It’s not a good medicine that relieves pain, but rather a dreadful one you don’t want to use, isn’t it?”
“Y-Your Majesty, it’s not like that.”
“Enough. There’s no need to see more. I trusted you.…”
The Empress had a pained look on her face, whether it was physical or emotional pain.
After a while, a command fell from her lips.
“Put him in prison at once, and I will make him pay for his crime.”
“Your Majesty! No, I will use it!”
“You’re being noisy. What are you doing instead of dragging out the sinner?”
“Look, I’m using it! Your Majesty!”
The chief physician hastily let the medicine drip into his eyes.
He was almost pouring medicine, whether it was because of his trembling hands or to show the empress.
The fluid oozed out and trickled down his cheeks like tears, creating a watery trail.
The guards approached and grabbed onto the chief physician’s arms, but he didn’t give up. He crawled towards the Empress, desperately pleading.
“Your Majesty, I used it, haven’t I? Please spare me!”
“What’s the use of it now? Your actions have already explained everything.”
“Oh, no! It’s not like that…”
“Take the sinner away!”
It was at that moment. The chief physician cast a fleeting glance towards Blanche, the head maid, standing behind the Empress.
Then he quickly turned to Blanche with a desperate expression and grabbed onto her clothes.
“Head maid! You know how hard I tried……. Please tell Her Majesty the Empress that she is mistaken……!”
Everyone’s gaze turned perplexed as they looked at Blanche.
The chief physician, too, looked up at Blanche with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. But Blanche ruthlessly brushed his hand away..
“What are you saying? I’m the one regretting having trusted you and left the Empress in your care.”
Blanche’s expression was merciless.
She even turned her head away in a contemptuous manner.
“How could you?”
The chief physician’s face showed shock, as if he had been betrayed by someone he had deeply trusted.
“I’m, I’m……!”
Lost and unsure of what to do, the chief physician rolled his eyes in daze.
The Empress, as if she had seen enough, issued another command.
“What are the guards doing? Bring him out now!”
“No, Your Majesty, please, please!”
The guards hurriedly dragged the chief physician away, his desperate pleas for help echoing through the room. He kept calling out the empress and the head maid.
As the chief physician’s protesting voice grew fainter, the Empress closed her eyes with a long sigh.
“Blanche.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Blanche’s name was spoken by the Empress with a hint of weariness in her voice.
With her eyes still closed, the Empress asked a question.
“Why did the chief physician seek your help?”
It was a simple question, but it carried weight.
If Blanche continued to behave suspiciously here, the Empress’ suspicions would deepen.
“In treating Your Majesty’s condition, the chief physician’s role was crucial. So, I provided him with a great deal of assistance.”
“Assistance?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I solidified his position in the palace and ensured that he could enter Tisseur Palace without any hindrance.”
Normally, anyone entering a palace where the royal family resided would be stopped by guards unless they were specially authorized to do so or were members of the same royal family.
Even high-ranking nobles had to be escorted by a knight, so the fact that a mere physician could enter without inspection was a significant privilege.”
“I apologize, Your Majesty. I allowed the physician to overstep his boundaries. Please punish me.”
Blanche kneeled down before the Empress.
The Empress gazed down at her with a complex expression in her golden eyes.
Even Julion regarded Blanche with a skeptical gaze, but given her genuine admission of wrongdoing and request for forgiveness, there was little more to be done.
Moreover, assisting the chief physician in such a way wasn’t uncommon, so making an issue out of it would prove difficult.
Eventually, the Empress closed her eyes again and extended her hand, palm up.
“It is done. You did it all for me. Just be a bit more cautious in the future. After all, we can’t guarantee that there won’t be someone like the chief physician again.”
“I am grateful for your mercy, Your Majesty.”
Blanche rose from her kneeling position, her expression filled with gratitude, and stepped back.
With her tension easing, the Empress’ pain seemed to intensify as she pressed her fingers to her temple and let out a soft moan.
“Mother!”
Julion, who had been quietly observing the situation, approached the Empress.
“You pushed yourself too hard. I will handle the details of this matter. Please rest.”
“While I would like to personally uncover the truth about the chief physician, my body isn’t cooperating.”
“I will thoroughly investigate and bring the truth to light. But for now, you need to receive a medical examination.”
The Empress nodded in response to Julion’s words.
“Yes, Prince. I’ll leave it to you.”
Finally, the time had come for the Empress to receive a proper examination.
I first instructed a maid to bring ice water and a clean cloth.
Placing my hand on the Empress’ forehead, which was burning with fever. I could feel the heat radiating from her skin and the rapid beating of her pulse.
“Your Majesty, I’ve heard that you spent most of your time within the palace, tending to the Emperor’s needs, before falling ill.”
“That’s right. Going out alone didn’t bring me any joy, so I dedicated myself to caring for the Emperor and his duties.”
“Then, do you recall how often you went for walks, perhaps once a week?”
The Empress furrowed her brow, as if digging up a distant memory.
“A walk. Maybe once… no, perhaps even less.”
“That seems to be the case. My conjecture is that you’ve contracted Latvian disease. It’s an illness caused by little exposure to sunlight.”
“So, you’re suggesting that staying indoors too much leads to this condition?”
“Indeed. It’s particularly common on the northern continent where polar nights occur frequently. It’s a disease that is rarely seen in an empire with plenty of sunlight.”
In response to my explanation, the Empress let out a weary smile.
“Then how can this Latvian disease be cured? I want to escape from this suffering as soon as possible.”
One of the maids had brought the items I requested, and I applied a cloth soaked in ice water gently to the Empress’ eyelids.
“Please close your eyes, Your Majesty. Right now, you should rest while lying down. Your eyes are overheating, and…….”
How could I phrase the rest of my words to make the Empress listen without too much resistance?
This disease required both medication and the patient’s strong will.
The treatment inevitably involves enduring pain.
I cautiously continued.
“Your Majesty’s eyes have been severely damaged due to the medicine prescribed by the chief physician. So, I’ll apply a remedy to revitalize the nerves of your eyes that are deteriorating. Also, you need to expose yourself to light as much as possible.”
“But exposing myself to light is unbearable due to the pain. I can’t possibly do that.”
“Nevertheless, you must try. This disease can’t be cured by medicine alone.”
The Empress opened her eyes in surprise, then frowned and lowered her eyelids once more.
With controlled breathing, she asked quietly.
“Is it truly necessary?””
“I apologize, Your Majesty. I’ll also prepare a remedy to alleviate the pain. However, you shouldn’t stay in darkness like this. Darkness is just as deadly as poison for this disease.”
The Empress couldn’t respond easily.
She knew, too, that once a person contracted the Latvian disease, the pain was like gouging out an eye with a knife.
So many people refuse to see the light of day, preferring to remain in darkness.
Even though they knew it was the path to eternal darkness, they did so, unable to overcome the pain.
“Your Majesty, you can undoubtedly get better. Don’t you want to stand under the sunlight once more, feel the breeze on your skin?”
“……Of course I want to, but.”
“If you continue like this, you might go blind. How about trying little by little?”
Only then did the Empress respond with a sigh in her voice.
“Alright, Blanche, could you… open the curtains just a bit?”
And so, the Empress embarked on a battle against her disease in earnest.
