The man who slowly emerged from behind Erka was a face Liliana was familiar with.
He had the same dark red hair and pink eyes as Erka. A man who resembled her not only in color but also in features.
“As you may already know, I am Harkiel Rivolain.”
“……No way.”
Liliana’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Harkiel had been a terminally ill patient whose skin was decaying and on the brink of death.
The latest report she had heard was that he was just waiting to die.
After that, they found her spy, and she hasn’t heard anything since.
The poison wasn’t something that could be easily cured.
Without a special method, it would only worsen and become uncontrollable.
It was supposed to be that way.
It had to be that way.
“Why… are you… fine?”
Liliana muttered in a daze.
It felt like all the towers she had built had collapsed in an instant.
Her once powerful family crumbled, her accumulated wealth vanished, and the adversary she had trampled on was now smiling before her with a clean face.
“You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”
Harkiel sneered as he spoke.
It was overwhelming to accept all these facts.
Her chest felt like it was about to burst as her breath became constricted.
Her fingertips trembled uncontrollably, and a chilling sensation spread throughout her body, making her mind dizzy.
“Ugh…”
Liliana collapsed to the ground, struggling to catch her breath.
Erka glanced down at Lilliana with emotionless eyes for a moment before turning away.
“Restrain her and bring her back to the palace. Let’s go, Harkiel.”
“Yes, sister.”
With Erka’s command, the knights approached Liliana.
As she watched Erka and Harkiel’s retreating figures with wide eyes filled with resentment, Liliana’s gaze slid sideways.
“No, no! I’m not done, not yet……!”
She hasn’t achieved anything.
No power, no honor, no money, nothing……!
Liliana gasped for breath, then slumped down, losing consciousness.
✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧
“Doctor! Please, my son needs help!”
“My wife has had a high fever since last night. Please help her!”
“Doctor, my daughter…”
“Please examine my brother, Doctor!”
As soon as I started treating a few people, rumors spread like wildfire, and the crowd quickly gathered.
The fact that so many people could still move about like this was evidence that the disease hadn’t fully spread yet.
‘Dr. Chavel and Dr. Marvin were right.’
Despite the late hour, I crossed the river without resting because the palace officials had told me that many people in this village were showing early symptoms.
Many people still showed no signs of illness, so it was likely that more people would develop early symptoms in the coming days.
Since the early symptoms typically passed within half a day, the sooner they were detected, the better.
That’s why I took the “sleep-delaying potion” and immediately crossed the river.
The potion kept me awake without feeling fatigued as long as its effects lasted, but the downside was that once the effects wore off, I had to make up for all the sleep I missed during that time.
‘I wouldn’t have used it under normal circumstances… but today, it was absolutely necessary.’
It seemed like there would be a lot of patients to treat overnight.
I started by treating the patients right in front of me.
A mother who begged for her son’s life had just collapsed in a fit.
“I’ll treat the urgent cases first. Zenid, while I’m treating, you differentiate the patients with early symptoms through examination.”
“Yes, Miss.”
Despite the uproar, the crowd quieted down as I began treatment.
However, they began a heated argument over who should receive treatment first, resulting in blood spattering and shouting.
‘I need to do this as quickly as possible. It would have been much easier if Mother was awake.’
Mother had fallen asleep about five hours ago.
Since it was futile to wake her up when she was in this state, I left her at Meiran’s house.
She would probably sleep for at least another ten hours.
Until Mother woke up, my plan was to treat as many early-stage patients as possible before returning.
Pushing aside distracting thoughts, I focused on the patient in front of me.
Just like Mother had done, I inserted the needle into the same spot and drew blood.
When the syringe filled with crimson blood, I moved on to the next spot.
And then the next.
While waiting for Mother to wake up, I sterilized the needles and treated another patient sent by Zenid.
“Cough…”
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes, yes. Thank you, thank you……! Doctor, please save my son, too!”
As soon as I saved one person, another one appeared.
Then came another, and another, and another.
“Miss, the next patient is over here.”
“Doctor, please save me!”
“Doctor!”
“Doctor…!”
Being blocked by patients was a frequent occurrence.
Then, suddenly, I looked up at the dazzling sky and saw the sun rising.
“Phew…”
My head felt fuzzy.
I could feel the effects of the potion wearing off gradually.
It would probably last for an hour.
There were still many patients left.
‘If only there were more doctors who could handle syringes.’
It was lamentable that there were so few doctors in the empire who could properly draw blood from veins.
I asked Dr. Chavel and Marvin, but they said they couldn’t, so I sent them to check the conditions in other villages.
So I have no choice but to work harder. There was no one else who could do it but me.
I continued to save urgent patients throughout the village.
As the effects of the potion completely wore off, my body felt heavy, and I had a headache.
“Miss, shouldn’t you have something to eat or drink?”
Zenid asked, handing me a bottle of water.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten anything all night.
Since it wasn’t mealtime, I hadn’t thought about food.
Zenid hadn’t rested or eaten either, so I felt like I should let her rest, even if just for a moment.
“Let’s finish the next house first. It’s the last one now.”
As long as no more patients arrived here, this would be the last house.
The only ones left were severe patients who couldn’t be treated immediately.
“Doctor, thank you. Thank you so much!”
As we entered the house, a gray-haired man greeted us.
Upon entering the room with the patient, we saw a young girl still struggling to catch her breath.
“Please save my granddaughter, Doctor!”
“It seems she has been running a fever for quite some time now.”
The girl was already in a severe condition, having passed the initial symptoms.
In this state, even drawing blood wouldn’t help.
Feeling disheartened, I approached the girl and examined her closely, but it was already too late.
“Yes, she started running a fever three days ago. Last night, she had seizures, and I thought it was all over…”
The girl’s grandfather gripped his wrinkled hands tightly, visibly distressed.
Despite looking exhausted from caring for her all night, his eyes shone with hope.
Meeting me gave him hope that his granddaughter could be saved.
I mustered up the courage to speak softly.
“Right now… it seems a bit difficult.”
“What? B-but, the neighbors, the Devanes, they recovered…”
“It’s too late.”
“Oh… Oh no…”
Hope faded from the grandfather’s eyes in an instant.
He looked at his granddaughter with a crestfallen expression, his eyes welling with tears.
“So, does this mean there’s no hope left for our Sophie?”
“No, not at all. I’m working on a cure, and I’m sure she’ll get better, so just be patient, Grandpa.”
I held the grandfather’s trembling hand firmly.
The mention of a cure brought him back to his senses, but the dark shade on his face didn’t disappear.
“Thank you, Doctor.”
Despite everything, the grandfather repeatedly bowed, expressing his immense gratitude.
I etched Sophie’s face into my memory and left the house.
The hood I wore fluttered in the chilly wind, revealing strands of hair.
‘I need to dye it again…’
The color had worn off in places, leaving patches of dark blue and white.
I must look quite comical now. Dirty, messy, and covered in blood.
I longed to soak in warm water and rest.
“Zenid, let’s go back now. We need to teach the palace doctors how to use the syringes.”
They must have learned by now, so a little practice should suffice.
Despite having recovered from the illness, I feared I might die from exhaustion if I continued like this.
‘I don’t know if my body can hold out until we get back.’
As the tension eased, drowsiness washed over me.
My head throbbed, and I heard ringing in my ears.
Every step required intense concentration as my vision swayed and blurred.
I wondered if Zenid felt the same, so I raised my head.
“……?”
There, in front of me, was someone who shouldn’t be there.
Was there a hallucinogenic side effect from the “sleep-delaying potion”?
I blinked and rubbed my eyes vigorously, but the illusion remained.
Jet-black hair shimmering in the sunlight, straight eyebrows of a similar hue, lightly shaded eyelids, and swirling golden irises below.
“Zenid, I’m seeing an unbelievable figure.”
I placed my hand on Zenid’s shoulder, hoping she’d deny it, but she too had a bewildered expression as she replied.
“I… see it too.”
“Could it possibly be Julion?”
Zenid couldn’t answer.
Julion’s illusion slowly approached.
It even spoke…
“Rohiriel. I’ve finally found you.”
The voice emanating from the illusion was something I’d longed to hear for the past few months.
