Episode 72

By the time I left the Chetwind estate, the evening sky had turned into a deep, dark night.

“Are you sure you’ll be all right leaving like this? You could use the count’s carriage to return….”

Catherine, who had come out to see me off, asked with a hint of concern.

“It’s fine. Because….”

I gestured toward a black carriage visible in the distance.

“They’ve come to pick me up.”

“That’s a carriage from the Karsian family. And I see you’re staying at the Karsian villa while in the south. You must be quite close.”

“Well, you could say that, haha…”

Catherine gave me a warm smile and pulled me into a hug.

I found myself wrapped in her gentle embrace.

“Thank you. I hope you have a safe journey back to the capital.”

Instead of promising a future meeting, she sincerely expressed her gratitude to me.

In response, I raised my hands and carefully returned her hug.

Knowing that this might be our last meeting made me feel a bit wistful, and I cherished the brief connection we had shared.

“I’m grateful too, Catherine.”

With those short parting words, I headed toward where Ludwig was waiting.

Together, we rode in the Karsian carriage, which slowly left the Chetwind estate behind.

“Did you enjoy the dinner?”

“Yes, very much. Everyone was so kind.”

They were the sort of people one could easily grow fond of, even in a short time.

“But it seems like something is troubling you.”

Maybe it was because I had seen their pain up close.

My face must have revealed the complex emotions I was feeling.

“Well… we spoke a bit about the young lady of Chetwind.”

I let out a shallow sigh as I spoke.

“Although the investigation has long been closed, I still hope that the missing Lady Isabella Chetwind might miraculously return. Hopefully, while the count and countess are still in good health.”

Knowing that Isabella Chetwind would reappear soon, but that the count and countess would pass away before then, weighed heavily on my heart.

Even though I knew there was nothing I could do to change this outcome, the heaviness in my chest remained.

Sensing my turmoil, Ludwig gently took my hand.

“I’m sure Sierra’s warm heart has provided comfort to the count and countess.”

His words helped soothe some of the turmoil within me.

* * *

That night, I found it difficult to fall asleep. I tossed and turned in bed until I finally drifted into a light slumber.

I was unaware that a faint light was emanating from my mother’s necklace, which I never parted with.

In the midst of my restless sleep, I heard an unfamiliar voice, unsure if it was a dream or a hallucination.

[Finally, waking up from this dreadfully long slumber. Where on earth has the master gone, leaving this little one entirely in my care?]

A warm presence enveloped me, gentle and comforting.

* * *

Time passed swiftly, and at last, Robert’s medicine was fully prepared.

Robert’s study was packed with crates filled with the medication, leaving barely any space to walk.

It was astonishing that he managed to complete such a monumental task in just four days with only five assistants.

“You’ve worked so hard, Robert. I heard from your assistants that you hardly slept while working. Are you all right?”

“I did it because I wanted to. We need to distribute the medicine as soon as possible before the epidemic spreads any further.”

Though Robert looked exhausted, he smiled brightly, truly pleased with the accomplishment.

“All that’s left now is to distribute it…”

Just as Robert rubbed his forehead, feeling the weight of yet another looming task, a lively voice rang out from the open doorway.

“Is this Dr. Robert’s laboratory?”

It was a knight bearing the insignia of Neibon.

While Robert blinked in surprise, I stepped forward and replied.

“Yes, that’s correct. Are you here to help distribute the Meslin medicine?”

“Yes, I am. Are you perhaps Miss Sierra Drenihan, the head of this project?”

Head of the project… it wasn’t quite accurate, but it seemed Ludwig had introduced me that way.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jake Hilven, the Captain of the Neibon Knights.”

I shook the hand he extended to me.

“I’ve gathered all the personnel we can muster, so it should take about a day to distribute the medicine across the entire East District.”

I had expected it to take at least three days, but Jake confidently assured me that it would only take one.

Stepping outside, I saw the streets filled with the Neibon Knights, lined up in formation.

“The knights should take the preventive medicine first to ensure their safety.”

It would take at least a day for the medicine’s effects to circulate through their bodies.

“We’ve already taken the medicine. Since the outbreak first occurred in the East District, we made sure to take it.”

“Since the outbreak first occurred…?”

“Yes, nearly all of the southern residents, except for those in the East District, have taken the preventive medicine.”

Jake gave me a bitter smile.

“We knew the residents of the East District had been neglected for far too long, but as knights bound by orders, there wasn’t much we could do. It was shameful.”

The knights could only act according to the orders from above, so their hands had been tied.

Yet, he carried a sense of guilt for their inability to act sooner.

“We’ll do our best to ensure this matter is resolved completely. Rest assured, we will distribute the medicine to the residents without fail.”

Jake and the knights quickly began loading large crates from Robert’s house.

Then, with swift and coordinated movements, the knights spread out across the East District to distribute the medicine.

Soon, hopeful voices rang out along the streets, celebrating the arrival of the long-awaited cure.

Robert, eager to see the immediate effects on the patients, rushed out into the streets.

I followed behind him with Charlotte, checking on the condition of those who had just received the medicine…

“It’s really working!”

Charlotte grabbed my hand and jumped up and down in excitement.

Just as she said, a patient who had been struggling with bloodied coughing regained their energy as soon as they took the medicine, their coughing ceasing immediately.

Robert conducted a brief examination and then smiled with a look of accomplishment.

As Jake had predicted, the medicine was distributed throughout the East District within a single night, and the majority of the residents had taken it.

Some residents, harboring resentment toward Neibon, initially refused the medicine, thinking it was a city directive when they saw the knights distributing it. However, when they learned that it was Robert’s work, they took it without hesitation.

That was how much trust Robert had earned among the residents of the East District.

The next day, when I returned to the East District with Eve, many things had changed overnight.

No longer were there people suffering on the streets.

“It seems that he truly is a genius physician. I didn’t expect the medicine to have such immediate effects….”

Eve spoke in awe.

“It’s also thanks to Robert pushing himself to make as much medicine as possible and distributing it all at once.”

Robert and his assistants had collapsed from exhaustion, resting in his herb-scented study as if in a deep slumber.

Though Robert had repeatedly credited me with the success, it was a miracle that wouldn’t have been possible without his dedicated effort.

Just then, a familiar voice called out from behind.

“…Miss?”

When I turned, I saw a couple I had met a short time ago.

“It really is you, miss!”

The woman, who had once been pale and struggling to breathe, now recognized me with tears in her eyes.

“Thank you so much. Honestly, I was skeptical at first, but when I saw the medicine being distributed yesterday, you were the first person I thought of.”

“My wife has fully recovered from her illness, miss. We are truly grateful.”

The man joined in, offering their thanks.

“No, it was the physician who worked the hardest.”

“Still, we heard that this whole effort was led by you. All of us in the East District owe you a great debt.”

Hearing those words, I felt a mixture of embarrassment and happiness.

The couple told me that thanks to Neibon’s reform efforts, they both now had stable employment.

They were even on their way to a meeting about the new projects.

I could hear the figurative walls that had once seemed so unbreakable, dividing the rich and the poor, crumbling down in the distance.

It finally felt like everything was falling back into place.

The West District and the East District, originally one city, would soon reunite, and the residents of the East District would reclaim their rightful place.

And tomorrow, I would take Robert back to the capital.

With the situation in the East District settled, I turned to make preparations for our departure.

Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a silver-haired girl dashing down an alleyway.

Beside her was a man draped in a black cloak.

‘Jenna…?’