The Sweetness of Power
Master Jerome listened calmly as I explained everything from the beginning. The unknown illness called Soul Wasting Disease, the enormous funds required to treat it, and the fact that his overwhelming talent was essential to make it all a reality.
When I finished, Jerome yawned loudly and leaned back in his chair. “Hmm, Soul Wasting Disease. An interesting subject, certainly. But…” He waved his hand dismissively. “Why should I care? I’m already swamped designing the Empire’s anti-gravity engine model. I have no time to waste on some incurable disease of a single person. I’m afraid you’ll just have to accept your fate, young lady!”
He was openly ordering me to leave. In his eyes, the life and death of one individual was nothing more than insignificant dust compared to his grand research into the laws of the universe. Researchers were always like this—people who became so absorbed in one thing that everything else around them disappeared. As a businesswoman, I understood that R&D was necessary, yet I had often found myself fiddling with budgets while watching researchers chase topics completely unrelated to business. “I’ve wanted to take a scalpel to them more times than I can count.”
Master Jerome was clearly one of those types. That was precisely why he was considered the world’s foremost authority in his academic field. Lysian, unable to contain her anger, stepped forward. “How dare you! This lady is the daughter of the Aquila Grand Duke!”
“Aquila?” Jerome snorted. “So what? Did you bring the head of the Aquila family himself? If he’s not that important, then get out. I’m very busy right now.”
After speaking so firmly, Jerome turned his head and began fidgeting with his fingers, as if gripping two objects tightly. “Or perhaps… you could let me touch something? Heh heh.”
“Y-you insolent—!” Lysian fumed, looking ready to slap him at any moment. I gently pressed her shoulder to stop her, then offered Jerome a faint smile. “Understood, Jerome. We’ll take our leave for today.”
When I withdrew so readily, Jerome looked puzzled for a moment, but soon lost interest and buried his nose back in his blueprints. Lysian’s anger remained unappeased the entire way back. “My lady, why did you simply retreat before such a man? There must be a way to break that arrogant nose of his…!”
“There is a way, Lysian.” As we rode the carriage home, I gazed out at the imperial palace and spoke quietly. “The most certain and simplest method. He already gave us the hint himself, didn’t he?”
“…A hint? I don’t understand.”
“Hmm. Quizzes are more fun when you solve them yourself.”
“Please tell me, my lady.”
“No. Absolutely not.”
The next day, I returned to Master Jerome’s laboratory. This time, I wasn’t alone. The Empire’s sun, Alexandra Great Victorianus, accompanied me.
Bang! The imperial guards flung the laboratory doors wide open. Alexandra entered behind them, wearing a relaxed smile. “Oh my, so this is the famous Master Jerome’s laboratory. It’s more organized than I expected.”
Jerome, who had been buried in his desk until yesterday, scrambled to his feet in a panic at the princess’s arrival. “Y-Your Highness! What brings you here? If you had sent word in advance…”
Alexandra lightly ignored him and walked straight to my wheelchair, gently taking my hand. “I’d like you to treat our Eli. What do you think, Sir Jerome?”
She addressed him not as “Master” but as “Sir”—a subtle yet unmistakable warning. Just as Jerome opened his mouth to offer some excuse, Alexandra continued. “Come to think of it, Sir Jerome received the right to free research from the imperial family ten years ago in recognition of your dedicated service to the Empire. An absolute privilege allowing you to devote yourself solely to your own research with an enormous budget and without any external interference.”
“Th-that is correct.”
Her voice was sweet as honey, yet a chilling blade lay hidden within. “However, that privilege is only valid for research conducted for the Empire’s sake. If you ignore the words of this imperial princess and prioritize your personal curiosity over saving the life of my dearest friend, Eli…”
Alexandra paused, fixing Jerome with a piercing gaze. “The imperial family can revoke that privilege at any time. Along with every last bit of research funding we’ve provided over the past decade, of course.”
In that instant, Jerome’s face turned deathly pale. He was no longer the Empire’s great scholar—only a frail human facing the loss of everything he possessed.
Power truly is an effective blade. Though it’s best not to wield it too often.
Jerome trembled for a moment before prostrating himself flat before me, pressing his forehead to the floor in the most servile posture imaginable. “Your Highness! This humble one was foolish! I will begin all research for the young lady’s treatment immediately! Please… please show mercy…!”
I looked down at him quietly from my wheelchair. Power. It was such a simple, certain, and efficient way to solve problems.
*
After the brief commotion passed, Master Jerome’s laboratory began moving with astonishing speed and efficiency. Once Jerome had prostrated himself before the princess’s icy smile and resolved to begin the research, he transformed back into a genius. His eyes burned not with perverted mischief, but with the pure madness of one exploring the unknown. He converted his entire laboratory into a Soul Wasting Disease Analysis Center, mobilizing countless complex magical engineering devices and personnel with a single gesture.
“Now then, let’s begin the real work, young lady.”
Standing before a massive blackboard, Jerome began briefing me, Lysian, and Professor Elders along with the initial research team. “Soul Wasting Disease. The name itself is highly unscientific. But the phenomenon is clear. Your soul and body are degenerating simultaneously.”
He drew the nervous system and mana pathways side by side on the blackboard and continued his explanation. “This isn’t merely a problem of a weakened soul. The inability to walk properly and the atrophy of muscles are clearly physical issues. My hypothesis is this: an unknown leak has occurred in the microscopic neural network—or mana pathways—connecting your soul and body.”
His explanation was clear and logical. “Soul energy continuously escapes through these leak points. As a result, the soul dries up, and the nervous system of the body, deprived of energy, gradually loses function.”
He wrote three large words on the blackboard: [Diagnosis] — [Delay] — [Reconstruction]
“Our treatment process will proceed in these three stages. First, diagnosis. We must pinpoint exactly where the leak is occurring between your soul and body. We need to datafy everything—your brainwaves, neural transmission speed, even the slightest changes in mana circulation—to identify the root of the problem.”
“Second, delay. Once diagnosis is complete, we must block the leak and slow the disease’s progression. We’ll protect degenerating nerve cells with medication and minimize soul energy consumption through magical procedures. This is only a temporary measure, but it’s the most crucial step for buying us time to prepare for the final stage.”
He circled the last word. “And third, reconstruction. This is the stage where we reconnect and restore the damaged neural networks and soul pathways. From here on, only your will matters most. Medicine and magic are merely splints to bridge the broken connection—the act of walking across that bridge again through rehabilitation belongs entirely to the patient. Your desire to live will send signals back through your nerves and soul, becoming the sole driving force for reconstruction.”
He finished the briefing with a confident smile, but soon added with a serious expression, “However, young lady, before we begin all this, there is one more thing we need.”
“What is it?”
“I am an expert in magic and machinery, not the human body. Especially when it comes to dealing with degeneration of the nervous system and muscles—that is not my specialty. We need a medical expert of overwhelming skill to protect the nerves with medication, supervise the rehabilitation process, and support your body so it doesn’t collapse. Someone at the Empire’s best—nay, the world’s best—level.”
He pointed at the human figure drawn on the blackboard. “I can repair the invisible circuits of the soul, but if the machine containing those circuits—the body—rusts away, it will be useless. We need the world’s foremost medical expert. Only when my magical engineering combines with his medical knowledge can we take the first step toward conquering this unknown disease.”
The world’s greatest medical expert. I knew exactly who that person was. “Don’t worry. I’ll bring him here.”