“This is… cruel.”
Julion muttered softly as he saw Harkiel’s condition. As a knight, he must have witnessed far more gruesome scenes, yet he described this as cruel.
Perhaps it wasn’t a statement directed at Harkiel but rather intended for Countess Rivolain, who had to witness Harkiel in this state.
“Please save Harkiel, Your Highness!”
Countess Rivolain pleaded earnestly, her eyes filled with tears, looking at me.
Julion, with a somber expression, also inquired, “Is there a way?”
Instead of an immediate answer, I surveyed the surroundings. There were two large windows, and the butler, along with several servants, was inside the room.
“First, we need to minimize anything that could disturb the patient. Could you close the curtains?”
As soon as I finished speaking, Countess Rivolain rushed to the window and personally closed the curtains.
“It would be better if all the servants left.”
“Everyone, step back.”
Once again, without any objection, the Countess promptly dismissed the servants.
However, since the butler remained in place, I pointedly included him in the instruction.
“The butler, too.”
For a moment, a hint of doubt flickered in the countess’s eyes, but soon she signaled the butler to leave as well.
“Leave the room. I’ll call you if needed.”
“…Understood, Your Ladyship.”
The butler, wearing a skeptical expression, also left the room slowly.
After making sure the door was closed perfectly, I took the sound barrier pill out of my bag.
Julion, who had now seen it several times, knew what it was at once and brought me a candle holder hanging on the wall.
Countess Rivolain, unfamiliar with the item, only squinted her eyes without understanding.
Placing the pill on the candle holder, I said,
“Give me a moment, Countess.”
I added the remaining pills to the candle holder and positioned them by the window and in front of the door.
Then, examining Harkiel, I inquired,
“Can you tell me what the physician said?”
“…He said he could only last a week at most. He told me to prepare myself and left. But I can’t give up like this. Your Highness, I’ll give you whatever you demand of me. Please, just save Harkiel!”
The Countess pleaded, kneeling in front of me.
I took her hand and pulled her to her feet.
As the smoke rose from the pills, filling the room and creating a thick mist on the walls, I started with the questioning.
“Since when did these symptoms start?”
Of course, as Harkiel was unconscious, the question was directed at Countess Rivolain.
She replied with a pained expression,
“It began about three years ago.”
“No known chronic illnesses?”
“No, he was incredibly healthy.”
“Do you have any idea what the cause might be?”
“I have a suspicion. However, I’m ignorant of medical matters. The physicians only said it’s an inexplicable skin ailment.”
“What are your speculations about the cause?”
“That’s…….”
The Countess swallowed hard and hesitated for a moment.
Her pink eyes focused solely on me, and she finally spoke.
“There is a hot spring on my estate called Nartavan, and since this happened after he went there to investigate, there must have been something wrong with the spring water.”
“Nartavan Hot Spring… I’ve never heard of it.”
“We closed it afterward. We had no time to investigate further due to other calamities in the household.”
“Closed? So, does that mean you prevented anyone from going to Nartavan?”
“Yes… Why do you ask?”
Surprised at the question, the Countess nodded hesitantly, her gaze reflecting a concern that she might have done something wrong.
I resisted the urge to sigh and shifted my gaze to Harkiel.
“Let’s continue this conversation later. First, let’s focus on the treatment.”
“Treatment… Can you really do it?”
The Countess, even though it was what she wanted, blinked her eyelashes with a tremor of disbelief.
“Of course. It may be difficult to recover immediately in such a deteriorated state, but he will gradually improve.”
“Really… Can he get better?”
“Stop being surprised. First, prepare some warm water. Hemion, assist the Countess.”
“Oh, alright.”
I assigned tasks to the still-stunned Countess, providing her with something to do.
She brought warm water with Hemion, but she still seemed unable to believe it.
“There’s not enough. We need enough to immerse the patient’s body deeply.”
“Is that really necessary?”
“Yes, and it must be clean water. Bring pure water without any additives like herbs or essences.”
“Yes, yes! I’ll prepare it right away!”
While the Countess and Hemion prepared the water, I collected Harkiel’s blood.
His body was in such an advanced state of decay that finding an area with intact skin to draw blood was a challenge.
“Your Highness, the water is ready!”
I was adding Harkiel’s blood to the simple test reagent I’d brought along when Hemion informed me that it was ready.
I turned to Ares, who was standing guard outside in the corner.
“Sir Ares, we’re going to move the patient into the water. Can you help?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
With Ares’s assistance, we attempted to move Harkiel into the water, but the Countess hesitated and spoke up.
“…Other physicians strictly warned against letting the patient touch water. Is it okay to not add herbs or something in it?”
“Where are those other physicians now?”
“……that.”
“Since you’ve sought my help, I hope you trust my method. If the Countess disagrees, I’ll stop and leave.”
I heard the sound of the Countess swallowing nervously.
Her reaction was understandable.
It was common knowledge that only a fool would allow pure water, not herbal water, to touch rotten skin.
Especially in this state, conventional physicians would have adamantly advised against it.
It was obvious.
They’d just keep slathering him with ineffective medicine.
“They might not even realize that it’s hindering the treatment.”
It was bitter to think that the physicians, unaware of the nature of the disease, had worsened a condition that could have been easily cured.
“I apologize, Your Highness. I seem to have been rude again. I trust you.”
As the Countess spoke, Ares immediately moved Harkiel into the water.
Seeing about half of Harkiel’s body submerged, I promptly prepared the necessary ingredients.
I had the essential ingredients with me, but the special ones needed to be obtained separately.
I’m not sure if they would be available at the Countess’ manor. Even if they were, many individuals in her mansion were suspicious.
It was impossible to discern who among the servants was untouched by Liliana’s influence.
After jotting down the necessary ingredients on paper, I handed it to Julion. He reflexively took the paper and looked at me questioningly.
“Um… could you go get some herbs for me?”
Julion blinks his eyes rapidly, as if caught off guard by unexpected words. Understanding the situation, he carefully tucked the paper into his pocket.
“All right. I’ll go as quickly as possible.”
“Thank you.”
I felt a twinge of guilt, wondering if I was making the imperial prince run errands too much.
‘Still, Julion is the only one I can trust here.’
Since Ares was helping me move Harkiel and the mansion’s servants were out of the question, considering the unknown reach of Liliana’s influence.
Nine out of ten, Liliana will know what medicine I’m using.
Julion’s shadow extended towards the window, and the smoke from the pills swirled and fluctuated.
I briefly explained to the Countess, who was looking at the scene strangely,
“This is a sound barrier pill; it generates smoke that blocks sound. I installed it because there might be many ears under Liliana’s influence in this mansion.”
“Liliana’s…… ears?”
The Countess’s pupils flickered with confusion.
Unsure of where to begin, I asked first,
“Is this Liliana’s doing?”
Although I didn’t elaborate, the Countess seemed to understand, and her demeanor became sharp.
Just thinking about Liliana seemed to make her angry.
As the Countess seemed about to say more, Hemion, who had been observing Harkiel, let out a short gasp.
“Ah…!”
Reacting instinctively, the Countess also checked on Harkiel, and her face turned pale.
Thank you so much!❤️