Gemini Bais (1)
Bang—!!
The golden-adorned throne shook violently with a deafening crash.
Seated upon that throne was Melania’s rival—Ignis de Flamme.
The dragon Ignis was so consumed by rage that she had to sweep her hair back behind her horns just to steady herself.
“What the hell… Why! Why am I only learning this now!!”
“F-forgive me!!”
The lord of Kerens Territory, Hern Kerens, could only bow his head in apology. There was no room for excuses.
The Wellington Baron, burning with resentment toward Melania after losing his son, had been sending regular intelligence reports. To have missed information this critical was inexcusable.
Not even realizing that such a catastrophe was unfolding despite the enemy territory’s lord practically feeding them intelligence…!
It was the kind of failure that would have justified executing the entire intelligence division without a single voice of protest.
“How could you only now discover that washing with soap every single day in Bicken Territory prevents the black plague!!”
“W-well… Didn’t we already submit a report about this?”
Even the intelligence department had its defense. While the lord could offer no excuses, they had indeed filed an official report on the matter.
Everyone had simply ignored it.
Mass-producing soap?
So what?
Who would buy such expensive soap?
Oh~ The thieves are selling it now? Bicken Territory’s economy is supposed to be in shambles—were they really spreading rumors that ridiculous?
During the meeting, everyone had simply cursed the dragon Melania for her wickedness, claiming she was creating overpriced soap to wring every last coin from the commoners. Not a single person had believed the rumor was true.
“Hah! That Melania really is one vicious bitch.”
Even the dragon Ignis had laughed at Melania’s actions, mocking her for having no pride as a dragon, cackling for a good long while.
That was why the intelligence chief now pleaded his innocence.
“It is not the intelligence department’s job to verify whether some absurd rumor is true or not!!”
But such protests were naturally ignored. After all, who had dismissed that very report back then?
The dragon Ignis and Lord Hern themselves.
If anyone was truly at fault, it was those two.
But in the real world, when did superiors ever humbly admit their mistakes and apologize?
That wasn’t society—that was a fantasy.
“If you can’t even say you’re sorry, then we should cut the intelligence department’s budget!”
Every other department seized the chance to tear into the intelligence division. After all, they couldn’t possibly criticize Ignis or Hern directly.
“I’m sorry.”
The intelligence chief of Kerens Territory felt deeply wronged, but he had no choice but to apologize. He had to prevent the budget cut at all costs.
“Haa… So how much of that soap has been sold in our territory?”
“Roughly fifty thousand units so far…”
“Fifty thousand? Then how much has Bicken Territory earned?”
“Approximately ten thousand gold.”
“T-ten thousand! Right now!! Helen! Bring that bitch here. We’ll offer her better terms than Bicken Territory. Bring her immediately!!”
Ignis was practically foaming at the mouth.
Even during the famine, they had paid premiums to buy from other territories—but never from Bicken.
It was only natural. The relationship between Bicken and Kerens was so hostile they had even gone to war.
Buying anything from Bicken Territory was tantamount to arming the enemy.
Therefore, Kerens Territory’s standard policy had always been to purchase nothing produced in Bicken.
Yet faced with the overwhelming terror of the black plague, the people had rushed to buy the cheap soap made in Bicken Territory.
What else could they do?
Would the nobles ever truly care about the lives of commoners?
The only reason they pretended to was because a lack of workers meant reduced tax revenue. Thanks to the priests, these nobles had never known the fear of epidemics.
“We will immediately locate and punish every citizen who purchased that soap!”
“Do it at once!!”
Simply because ten thousand gold had flowed into Bicken Territory, the leadership of Kerens decided to make an immediate example of the offenders.
From a noble’s perspective, anyone who bought that soap was little more than a traitor.
Buying goods from their lifelong enemy Bicken Territory just because of some black plague?
It was unforgivable.
Those who had purchased the soap were hanged in the public square. They screamed and begged, but the executioner paid them no mind.
“Behold! These people helped provide the spears and swords that would be turned against our children and parents! In the name of our lord!”
After loudly proclaiming the justification for their punishment, he immediately triggered the mechanism.
The platforms dropped. Every single person died instantly as their necks snapped from the sudden jolt.
It was a horrifying spectacle.
But the true horror was that half of the ten people dangling from the ropes had never even bought soap from Bicken Territory.
Of course they hadn’t. This was an era without credit cards or CCTV—who could possibly know who had purchased soap made in Bicken?
In other words, these were sacrificial victims created by performance-obsessed guards.
Most were orphans with neither money nor parents, though some had simply earned a minor grudge from the security forces.
And the citizens watching all of this were not blind to the truth.
Their eyes began to fill with terror.
Even among fellow commoners, the security forces now investigating soap purchases had become untouchable. They could point a finger and kill any commoner they wished at any time!
The guards wasted no time abusing their newfound power, and it was obvious that many more victims would soon follow.
*
Inside the conference room of Bicken Territory.
Melania was laughing so hard her massive breasts were bouncing with each breath.
She had every reason to be delighted.
“The incidence rate of the black plague has dropped by thirty percent, and the initial production run of two hundred thousand soaps has completely sold out.”
The plague’s occurrence rate had decreased. That meant the time to recoup Melania’s investment was drawing near.
Humans were living gold mines, after all.
The more of them there were, the fatter the purse grew.
On top of that, they had earned an astronomical sum selling the soap.
Especially since it had been sold to neighboring territories—including Kerens Territory, home of her rival Ignis!
At this moment, Melania was essentially stealing coins straight from Ignis’s own money bag!
Naturally, the dopamine was flooding her system. Legal theft? It didn’t exist, and precisely because it didn’t, the thrill was intoxicating.
“All that commotion and only thirty percent?”
Yet as Wellington pointed out, the soap-selling boom wouldn’t last forever. A thirty-percent reduction in incidence was significant, but it was still ambiguous to credit it entirely to the soap.
“It could simply be that with so many dead, there are fewer people left to infect!”
That was why Melania, even while laughing with joy, did not stop Wellington’s grumbling.
It was a perfectly reasonable argument. If the plague’s incidence rate did not drop more dramatically from here, the territory might truly face ruin.
“If the problem is that the incidence rate remains high, then if you could grant me a little more budget and time…”
Announcing performance figures was Elisa’s role.
Alpha’s role was to handle the unpleasant task of making humble requests like this.
It couldn’t be helped.
In a world defined by social hierarchy, Alpha could not always push Elisa forward the way he once had to squeeze extra budget from the knight order and finance department.
Now that the budget was sufficient and they had gained some breathing room, Alpha decided he would be the one to bow his head.
It would also look better to the current leadership—including Wellington and the other key figures ruling the territory.
How cool…
Watching the scene, Elisa fell even harder for Alpha.
To think he would lower his head in such a difficult situation for her sake, a noble!
Since Alpha was a breeder, there should have been no issue with her giving him orders, but after secretly visiting the breeding chamber with him multiple times, such thoughts never even crossed her mind.
She was ready to bow her own head for him anytime!!
Kyung kyung ❤︎
Elisa clenched her thighs tightly at the tingling sensation spreading through her lower belly.
Squeeze—!!
Seeing Alpha bow his head to other insignificant males, Leona radiated a murderous aura so intense it seemed she might draw her sword and slaughter everyone present at any moment.
She doesn’t seem pleased.
He poked the knight order a bit too much before. Tsk tsk.
Is that guy going to die soon?
The knight commander’s killing intent was more than enough to put everyone on edge. Even the finance minister—who had every reason to hold a grudge against Alpha—looked visibly worried.
One didn’t need words to understand just how fierce Leona’s bloodlust truly was.
Hmm… Is it really that impressive?
On the other hand, Melania—who knew exactly who Leona’s killing intent was aimed at—found her curiosity about Alpha growing even stronger.
This was the lord’s castle and, at the same time, the temporary nest of the dragon Melania.
There was no dragon who didn’t know what was happening inside her own nest.
*
“…”
Gemini Bais could not help but fall into shock, as if she had witnessed a miracle.
“How…”
She was a wandering physician.
And a remarkably skilled one at that.
What she had been focusing on solving most intensely was, of course, the black plague.
The sudden surge in puerperal fever cases had also caught her attention.
“How is this even possible?”
Based on the statistics she had compiled so far, she had discovered two things: since doctors began washing their hands before assisting with childbirth, cases of puerperal fever had plummeted. And as more people began washing their bodies daily with soap, the black plague had decreased by a staggering thirty percent.
Of course, since she had gathered this data by personally asking other physicians for cooperation, it might not be perfectly accurate.
But the fact that the plague’s incidence had dropped in such a densely populated area could only mean one thing—soap was effective.
Gemini felt a burning thirst in her throat.
It was shocking. She had studied medicine to save lives.
Medicine was an incredibly difficult field. One could even say it was on the same level as magic.
Therefore, Gemini had always believed that diseases difficult to cure would naturally have difficult prevention methods.
But such a simple solution had existed all along!!
She always wrapped herself in black clothes and wore that large crow mask, leaving her body sticky with sweat, yet she had never thought to wash with soap—!
This was no different from being a blind man with eyes wide open.
Gemini felt ashamed.
From what she heard, the one who had discovered this truth was the breeder from Bicken Territory…
“There is no high or low in learning.”
Having witnessed the medical revolution unfolding in Bicken Territory with her own eyes, she headed for the lord’s castle to learn.
As Gemini Bais—the most renowned physician among commoners and one of the heirs to the Bais ducal family.