The memories of that time didn’t come back as vividly as if they had happened yesterday.
When both Ziggkart and Etern were young, they had barely spoken to each other. It was only natural for those memories to be blurry.
However, one thing remained clear—Ziggkart had been in a critical condition, teetering between life and death.
[Your Highness, we have received word that the young lord of Randster is gravely ill.]
[Is that so?]
The person who delivered the news to Etern was Dora.
As she carefully pieced together her fragmented memories, the scattered puzzle pieces slowly started to come together. Like assembling a broken puzzle, Etern gathered the fragments to reconstruct the memory.
[You must not enter, Your Highness.]
[Why?]
[There is a possibility that the illness is contagious. Even if it’s not, the entire palace is already contaminated with disease. You must not go in any further.]
[But shouldn’t I at least see him once?]
Ignoring the court physician’s protests, Etern stepped into the palace without hesitation.
A bitter stench mixed with a sour, unpleasant odor lingered in her memory.
‘That’s right, there was a strange smell… Did I see Ziggkart up close back then? I think I did. His face was flushed red, and his breathing was rough…’
Her recollection stopped there—right at the moment she had looked down at Ziggkart’s fever-ridden face.
At that time, he was barely conscious. He had only let out the occasional groan of pain, unable to speak. Or at least, that’s how it seemed.
‘There was no one else around. Even the court physicians abandoned him… Using the excuse that he might be contagious.’
And after that?
Etern paced in place, feeling a sudden unease.
Everything beyond that moment was a complete blank.
She could recall events leading up to her death in vivid detail, especially after she had married Ziggkart. But why did the memories of their childhood together keep slipping away?
The only thing she could remember was that she hadn’t felt any emotional turmoil upon hearing that Ziggkart was sick.
At the time, Etern had already lost almost all hope in life. She had no room left to care about someone else’s suffering.
Only now did the guilt set in.
‘I almost left him to die alone in a foreign place, not even his homeland. Even the palace physicians avoided him… Maybe it was a miracle that he survived his illness at all.’
A wave of guilt, spanning an entire lifetime, crept into Etern’s heart.
‘At the very least, I should treat him better while I’m here.’
“Young Lord!”
Etern deliberately raised her voice as she called out to Ziggkart. However, there was no response from inside. Instead, she felt an odd murmur spreading among the palace physicians.
‘What is he doing in there?’
A bad feeling crept over her.
Gathering her layered skirts in her small hands, Etern stepped inside.
The sharp scent of herbs and dried medicinal ingredients stung her nose. The air was so thick with the smell that it nearly gave her a headache.
At the center of it all, Ziggkart stood facing a palace physician.
‘This physician…’
Etern traced her memories, recognizing him immediately.
‘That’s the same person who stopped me from seeing Ziggkart back then!’
In her past life, he had been older and dressed in elegant robes. Now, however, he seemed barely past the stage of a mere apprentice.
“I am truly pleased to see that the Young Lord has such a great interest in medicinal herbs.”
The physician, whose clothes were stained with bits of herbs, tugged at his sleeves while nervously glancing at Ziggkart’s face.
But Ziggkart didn’t respond. He didn’t even spare the physician a glance.
As his silence stretched on, the physician grew more anxious, fidgeting as he hovered around him.
Etern hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to intervene or simply observe.
Then, Ziggkart’s voice cut through the air, sharp as a blade.
“You talk too much. For someone who calls himself a physician of the imperial palace, how can you be this negligent?”
His piercing words sent a ripple of shock through the room.
Even Etern was taken aback.
Ziggkart’s gaze, fixed on the physician, burned like a raging fire.
“I wonder what His Majesty would do if he knew about this incompetence.”
“Y-Young Lord! Negligence? That’s not true! I only meant to be of help—”
“Help?”
Ziggkart let out a cold chuckle and picked up a bundle of dried herbs.
“You can’t even tell the difference between weeds and medicinal plants, yet you claim to be helping? What else could this be but an insult to me?”
“T-That’s not what I meant…!”
“Enough.”
The oppressive atmosphere, as chilling as a winter storm, wavered slightly at Etern’s gesture.
Ziggkart, who had been scolding the physician mercilessly, finally noticed that Etern was standing beside him. He shut his mouth, but his gaze toward the physician remained cold and unyielding.
Etern spoke, her clear voice cutting through the tension.
“The Young Lord is right. It seems you still need training. Rather than wasting time on unnecessary actions, shouldn’t you focus on improving your skills?”
The other palace physicians exchanged nervous glances at her words.
But the one at the center of the issue, the physician Ziggkart had berated, still looked as if he wanted to defend himself.
“Your Highness, I truly only wanted to help the Young Lord…”
“Should I call my dad?”
The court physician’s face instantly lost all color.
It was a childish remark that only a child could make, but the impact was immense. Even the other physicians who had been watching the exchange gulped nervously and hurriedly returned to their work.
Ziggkart examined a few more medicinal herbs before stepping out of the dispensary with Etern.
“We need to sort things out a bit.”
“Sort things out? What do you mean?”
“No matter how many crystals resemble diamonds, they will never be worth as much as real diamonds.”
Ziggkart’s lips curled into a faint smile as he spoke in a meaningful tone.
Only after seeing him smile did Etern fully realize how domineering he had been while scolding the physician earlier.
“…That aside, are you always this terrifying back in your own country? Do you talk like that to officials and other people too?”
“Who knows?”
Ziggkart raised an eyebrow slightly and gave an ambiguous response. Etern let out a small sigh.
“You shouldn’t get so angry at people like that.”
Ziggkart’s eyes widened slightly.
His innocent, nonchalant expression made it clear—he was doing this on purpose.
“There are times when you need to get angry. That physician neglected his duty. Don’t you agree? The fact that I only scolded him and let him off lightly is actually fortunate for him. If I had followed proper protocol, he wouldn’t have survived for more than a few days.”
Etern’s jaw dropped in horror.
“You can’t just kill someone for trying to win favor!”
“People like that are useless anyway, whether they live or die.”
What kind of way of thinking is this?!
‘What kind of education did they give him in his country? He’s already completely twisted!’
Etern refused to back down. She clenched her small fists and argued back.
“You can’t judge people based solely on their usefulness! Don’t you understand that?”
“Why not? You do the same thing.”
“What? When have I ever done that?!”
Ziggkart smirked, as if amused by her reaction.
“You’re the same. You only allowed me into your palace because you deemed me useful. Someone who could, even briefly, help your mother wake up. Someone with at least a sliver of possibility. That’s why you accepted me.”
~~~
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