Dead-End Villainess Who Makes Medicine

 

 

It was snowing.

 

It was a heavy snowfall that made my feet sink.

 

I was gasping for breath and pushing forward as the world was covered in white.

 

‘This is…….’

 

I’m sure I was in the middle of interrogating Blanche.

 

I was watching Julion finish and stood up to take a rest, but I collapsed right there.

 

It was odd to suddenly find myself standing outdoors, but strangely enough, the scenery was very familiar.

 

When I looked down I saw very small hands.

 

I was wearing red gloves, and they looked very similar to the ones my mother had given me.

 

I was bewildered, but it was all so nostalgic that it brought tears to my eyes.

 

“Young miss, the weather is not too good today. Why don’t we go back?”

 

I turned my head reflexively at the voice behind me.

 

It was Gail, the tall servant with a mole under her mouth.

 

“Miss?”

 

The moment I saw her, I realized.

 

I was dreaming.

 

‘It’s that dream again.’

 

A winter day when I was nine years old.

 

The day I first treated a patient.

 

I’m staying in a cottage deep in the Hale Mountains because of my mother’s illness.

 

In the mornings, Gail, the cottage’s servant, and I would wander around the mountains gathering herbs, but this day was special.

 

‘Even though it’s a dream, I can feel the cold.’

 

A cold wind blew in, frightening enough to chill me to the bone.

 

The snow had fallen silently all night, piling up to my ankles, making it difficult to move forward.

 

Gail seemed to be hinting that he wanted to go back now, but I remember answering like this without yielding.

 

“Just a little more. I heard there’s an herb that only blooms after a big snowfall.”

 

The words were coming out of my mouth, but because I was aware that it was a dream, I felt a strange sense of detachment.

 

Gail looked as if she didn’t know whether to persuade me further, but then she nodded and started walking.

 

If we stay on this path, we’ll see him. 

 

My first patient.

 

“Be careful, young miss.”

 

As expected, as we went deeper, there was a small lump buried halfway in the snow.

 

As I shifted my sinking feet to get closer, I could see him clearly.

 

Jet-black hair contrasts with white snow.

 

And the frozen cheeks without any color.

 

“A …… person?”

 

My nine-year-old body stumbled backwards.

 

But the sound of ragged breathing stopped me in my tracks.

 

“He’s breathing! Gail, dig that side.”

 

I quickly joined Gail in digging out the snow.

 

Soon enough, a haggard-looking boy emerged.

 

Freezing body covered in dried blood.

 

And for some reason, the long slit in his clothes and wounds made it clear that the boy’s condition was critical.

 

“He’s …… he’s in a serious condition. What should we do?”

 

Gail’s question had me scratching my head. There wasn’t enough time to alert the doctor.

 

In the meantime, the boy seemed on the verge of death.

 

However, I didn’t have the confidence to personally treat something like this. But the warmth of his still-living body moved me into action.

 

“I’ll treat him……, since he’s still alive.”

 

“Okay, but shouldn’t we call someone? We can’t do anything……. by ourselves.”

 

Having made the decision, I urgently checked the boy’s condition.

 

There’s no way to fully cure him right now.

 

But I did know some simple first aid from my mother.

 

“There’s no time for that. Gail, you have a dry cloth, right? Give me that first. And some clean water.”

 

It was my first time performing treatments with my own hands.

 

My heart was beating hard. I felt a rush of heat despite the cold winter.

 

‘Calm down, Rohiriel. Just do what you’ve been taught.’ 

 

The younger me tore the cloth into pieces and gathered my resolve.

 

‘I have no choice but to do this right now.’

 

In hindsight, it was inadequate treatment, an inexperienced touch.

 

But at the time, I did it with all my might.

 

Although I was confused, I warmed the boy’s body, bandaged it, and disinfected it with the medicine I had brought with me.

 

I can still vividly recall the moment when I saw the life that was fading away come back to life at my fingertips.

 

The feeling of accomplishment, pride, reward, relief, and exhilaration poured out.

 

It was a stimulus too intense for a child only nine years old to experience.

 

××××××××××××××××××××××

 

My whole body was damp.

 

The faint sound of someone talking brought me back to reality.

 

“In that case……have……And so.”

 

“First of all…… Next…… Before……to.”

 

Part of me wanted to go back to sleep.

 

I knew that if I kept dreaming, I would see my mother’s face.

 

“To the poison…… symptoms ……And so…….”

 

“……is hopeless…… will die…….”

 

Perhaps I hadn’t fully woken up yet. I was only hearing chunks of the conversation.

 

‘I was just wondering why I dreamed about the past.’

 

Perhaps when the body weakens, the mind also weakens, so I seem to have wandered helplessly.

 

“Take a blood test…….”

 

“……At the longest…… I’ll…….”

 

A few words stuck in my head and I snapped out of it.

 

Come to think of it, who examined me after I collapsed?

 

I made an effort to open my heavy eyelids that didn’t want to cooperate. I could see the ceiling of the garnet palace I’d grown accustomed to over the past few days.

 

And there was Julion, deep in thought with a very puzzled expression on his face.

 

Beside him, a white-haired old man I had never seen before was explaining various things.

 

I opened my mouth and moved my tongue.

 

“……Julion.”

 

The dry, cracking sound of my voice surprised even me.

 

It was no louder than an ant’s, but Julion immediately stopped talking and turned in my direction.

 

His straight golden eyes were focused on me, and when our eyes met, they slightly widened and trembled.

 

‘I don’t know why, but I think they look alike…’

 

The reason why the image of Julion and the frail boy in the dream overlap is probably because I’m still half asleep.

 

“Rohiriel.”

 

Julion leaned down and touched my forehead.

 

For a moment, the warmth of his hand felt good, but then my mind raced with worry.

 

It was because of the word ‘blood test’ I heard a while ago.

 

Furthermore, seeing Julion’s serious expression, it seemed like he had learned something about my condition.

 

“Are you awake?”

 

“Yeah, I’m fine, I’m just thirsty…….”

 

“Oh, wait a minute.”

 

Julion poured water into a glass beside him.

 

“Here, water.”

 

“……Thank you.”

 

I accepted the glass of water offered, trying to assess the situation.

 

Where is Zenid and what is Julion doing?

 

I glanced around the bedroom, but aside from the elderly man who was looking at me with a worried expression and Julion, who had a serious look on his face, there was no one else.

 

As I looked around, Julion seemed to have noticed my question and quietly explained. 

 

“If you’re looking for your maid Zenid, I told her to rest. She couldn’t get a wink of sleep and was taking care of you, so her face isn’t looking good.”

 

“Ah…… yes.”

 

I replied, feeling a momentary sense of strangeness.

 

No sleep, he said?

 

I asked cautiously, feeling uneasy.

 

“Have I been…… sleeping for a long time?”

 

I tried to phrase it vaguely, but Julion, who seemed displeased about something, raised an eyebrow and answered,

 

“You were unconscious for two and a half days, to be exact.”

 

I’m screwed. I seem to have been branded as a sick person.

 

Well, technically, I was, but I wasn’t in pain, and I was going to get better.

 

But I couldn’t tell him that I would get better if I ate the precious Apherium flower of the Golden Garden, so I just forced an awkward laugh.

 

“Why are you laughing? What are you laughing about?”

 

It was a little harsh to be criticized for laughing.

 

“Why are you so angry? I’m sorry I caused such a fuss, but what happened to Blanche?”

 

“Is that important? You’ve been unconscious for over two days, and you don’t even ask what’s wrong with you.”

 

“That’s…….”

 

I was at a loss for words..

 

I didn’t feel the need to ask because I already knew the reason.

 

However, Julion seemed to interpret my silence in a different way, and he sighed, narrowing his eyebrows.

 

“Looks like Dr. Barmid was right.”

 

“Dr. Barmid……?”

 

My gaze naturally shifted to an elderly man who had been quietly observing me for a while. When our eyes met, he bowed and greeted me.

 

“I’m sorry for the late greeting. I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation with His Highness the Crown Prince. I am Dr. Barmid.”

 

“Ah, the one who was able to conduct a blood test at the palace.”

 

“That’s right, your Highness.”

 

He was the physician I had entrusted with Ares’s blood test.

 

I wanted to ask him if he was really from the Kingdom of Yalon, and if he knew my mother.

 

“Dr. Barmid said you would know best what condition your body was in.”

 

But the coldness in Julion’s voice that followed made me decide that the conversation with Dr. Barmid would have to wait.

 

“What are you talking about? The state of my body? I’m ok…….”

 

“Are you going to say you’re fine again?”

 

“I really am fine…….”

 

“I know you’re not.”

 

At this point, I want to say I’m fine until the end.

 

I couldn’t say anything properly, so I just closed my mouth as my fever began to rise.