After Julion left, the palace was filled with tension due to the sudden outbreak of a contagious disease.
However, no one mentioned it publicly because spreading the news throughout the empire could cause widespread panic.
For several days, the Emperor held secret meetings with the physicians.
“Block the Mormic territory and control the roads.”
Finally, they issued an order to blockade the Mormic territory.
And then the next night came.
An urgent cry echoed through the calm and quiet of the Imperial Palace.
“Your Majesty!”
The jail guard, who had apparently run straight to the palace without bothering to send a messenger, spoke up, his face sweating.
“Zikriesen Cassian has disappeared!”
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
On a dark night, along the path leading to the Nartavan Hot Springs.
Among the dense foliage obstructing the view, Liliana’s maid, Cheniel, cautiously moved her steps.
As she stealthily moved, a long shadow followed closely behind her.
“Gasp, ugh…”
Cheniel breathed out quietly, trying to control her rapid breaths and quicken her pace even more.
Exhausted, she paused for a moment to catch her breath.
“Cheniel. Where do you think you’re going?”
A thick, hoarse voice came from behind her.
Startled, Cheniel turned around abruptly, her face stiffening.
“B-butler.”
Why did Ratman, the butler, follow her when he should have been by Liliana’s side, helping her?
Cheniel rolled her eyes in confusion, then awkwardly lifted the corners of her lips.
“I may be a maid, but I’m still a woman……. Why would you follow me at such an odd hour?”
“Then why would a mere maid wander away from her master’s side at such an odd hour?”
“That’s… um…”
Cheniel swallowed hard.
She knew Ratman had been suspicious of her for some time now.
Although she had exercised caution, this unexpected discovery caught her off guard.
‘But still, he doesn’t know anything decisive yet.’
Cheniel maintained her smiling facade as she spoke.
“I’m sorry, but I think I’ll have to quit being a maid now. I just can’t seem to please Miss Liliana anymore.”
“I thought you said you didn’t mind because the pay was good?”
“Well, that’s still uncertain, isn’t it? Why would I embark on a ship that would ultimately sink?”
Cheniel shrugged confidently, changing her strategy.
Ratmon narrowed his eyes at Chaniel’s bold words.
“I don’t believe you.”
“It’s true! I snuck away because I was afraid someone would harm me if I just said I wanted to quit. I’m sorry about that. But Butler, you’ve noticed, haven’t you? Miss Liliana’s been acting really strange lately.”
“How dare you just blurt out whatever you want with your gaping mouth?”
Ratman frowned at Cheniel’s impertinent words.
Cheniel closed her mouth at his stern expression, but it was already too late.
“You’ve committed a grave sin, Cheniel.”
Ratman’s dry eyes bore down on Cheniel, as if to imprison her.
Cheniel tried to escape, but her body froze, unable to do anything.
It felt like she was facing a mighty warrior, and her entire body tensed with the sensation.
‘Ratman, I’ve been suspicious of you lately, but you’ve been hiding this kind of power? I have to somehow report it to the higher-ups…’
But Cheniel’s thoughts were cut short.
Ratman’s large hand reached out towards Cheniel, and soon after, a tearing scream echoed through the mountains.
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When people mentioned the Nartavan Hot Springs, they usually referred to a giant pool located halfway up the mountain.
However, there were smaller springs all over the area that shared the same hot spring water.
From the deepest of these hidden springs, Liliana slowly emerged.
Drip, drip. Water fell, leaving paths in the grass.
After drying off with a towel that Ratman had prepared and changing into fresh clothes, she felt incredibly refreshed.
She hadn’t been able to properly bathe during her time on the run. Still, being able to wash away the dust in this deep mountain area made her happy.
‘I don’t really like being outdoors.’
Soon, she would have a considerable sum of money.
Then this dreary lifestyle would come to an end.
Thinking about it, even this remote mountain seemed charming.
As Liliana softly hummed under the moonlit night, the sound of footsteps crunching on leaves reached her ears.
It was Ratman.
“Are you done?”
Liliana asked in a dignified tone, and Ratman replied casually.
“Yes, my lady. It’s been taken care of.”
“Well done,”
Liliana’s mouth curled upward in satisfaction.
Liliana had sensed Cheniel’s suspiciousness from the moment she arrived.
Cheniel seemed strangely lacking in urgency.
Liliana, who was adept at discerning people’s emotions, found Cheniel’s demeanor irritating.
To have followed her here without attempting to escape after their employer’s downfall, yet showing no desire to help her out of this situation.
‘Hmph, who does she think she’s fooling?’
Liliana’s eyes glowed coolly in the moonlight.
“Which one?”
“…I apologize. I wasn’t able to find out.”
“Well, it’s either my father or Rohiriel, anyway.”
The mention of Rohiriel caused a chill to run down Liliana’s spine.
The mastermind who lured her into this predicament.
Once she regained her wealth, she would surely return for revenge.
“My lady, what shall we do?”
“Ah, naturally…”
Liliana swept a hand through her wet hair.
They had come this far; it was only natural to proceed.
Besides, she’d gotten rid of the spy.
Moreover, this was Narvathan. Her people were hidden all around.
There was no need to be anxious.
“I need to finish it all tonight.”
The floor of Nartavan Hot Springs was lined with Ned ores.
To be more precise, it was a vein of ned ores.
She first approached Erka, a Rivolain lady, with confidential information.
The idea was to make Rivolain think that Nartavan was a dangerous place.
“It was a meticulous plan, and it succeeded in destroying the county.”
After that, it was easy.
The people believed there was something wrong with the hot springs, and the deaths of the Count and Countess, disguised as accidents, added to the chaos in Rivolain.
Amidst the confusion, no one bothered to properly investigate the dangerous Nartavan.
“I originally hoped for Erka’s downfall, but… it turned out better that the young lord of the County ended up that way.”
The foolish Erka, inheriting the Count’s position, made it easier for her to take control of Nartavan.
Since it was a dangerous place, no one was allowed to enter or investigate, and no inspector was sent.
She simply hired people to watch the area around Nartavan.
Although Nartavan was technically part of the Rivolain Territory, it was effectively under Liliana’s control.
‘Now it’s time to reap the rewards.’
Through the people she hired, she arranged for the ned ores to be mined from the vein and discreetly distributed them whenever funds were needed.
There should be plenty of Ned ores piled up since they hadn’t been used for a while.
‘What if there’s too much and we can’t carry it all?’
In that case, should she spare some of those he had bought off instead of killing them all?
Liliana quickened her pace with pleasant fantasies in her mind.
In the distance, a hot spring billowing with white steam came into view.
It was Liliana’s final hope and Erka’s grudge.
It was the Nartavan Hot Springs.
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“Doctor, take this!”
I looked at the small hand extended towards me.
On the thin, white hand like ferns lay a piece of dry bread.
“Meiran, are you giving this to me?”
“Yes. Doctor, you haven’t eaten.”
“But you haven’t eaten, either.”
“I’m fine. I ate a little while ago!”
Knowing that “a little while ago” meant just yesterday, I felt a lump in my throat.
Meiran was the first child I treated when I arrived in Mormic.
She must have been about five years old.
She had the same symptoms as Descartes, so I knew she could be cured, and I immediately drew scarlet blood, just as my mother had done.
Afterward, Meiran continued to linger by my side.
At first, I thought she had nowhere else to go, but it turned out to be an unspoken plea to save her mother, who was dying from illness.
‘But I couldn’t even save her.’
Meiran’s mother was already in the terminal stage.
Despite my best efforts, she was still breathing, but there was no real hope.
All she could do was wake up once a day and hold Meiran’s hand.
But even that seemed to make the little girl happy.
Judging by the way she kept bringing me food to eat,
She somehow knew when I would take a break by the riverside.
“Please eat, Doctor.”
When I didn’t take the bread right away, Meiran held out her hand again.
Finally, I smiled and accepted the bread, cutting it in half.
“Let’s share. They say everything tastes best when shared.”
I held out the slightly larger piece to Meiran.
After hesitating, Meiran nodded and took a big bite of the bread.
Watching her eat the tasteless bread, I felt how difficult her life must have been.
“Thank you, Meiran. Your mother would be proud.”
I gently stroked Meiran’s green hair as she sat beside me.
‘Mormic is truly the worst of the worst.’
Even young children weren’t receiving proper care.
Many patients had progressed from the middle to the late stages due to missed treatment opportunities.
I needed to inform the palace of the severity of the situation and request the dispatch of physicians, but even the person responsible for that was sick.
“Miss!”
I had just finished eating the bread I had shared with Meiran when Zenid called out urgently.
I thought there might be another emergency patient, but behind Zenid stood an unfamiliar figure.
I couldn’t recall their faces precisely, but their clothes were unmistakably familiar to me.
“A palace physician…?”
An outfit only worn by palace physicians. It was also the symbol of the physicians.
