Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: The Captain's Orders
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Jeok Yunha clapped.
“How amusing. Life is truly full of surprises. Isn't that right, Mr. Heuk Bihu?”
My father stood with his arms crossed, not answering.
Just like when she was worked up earlier, she seemed to know him, didn't she?
“I was so surprised to see you, the man famous for having disappeared, suddenly show up in my shop.”
“...”
“I thought you were here to kill someone. That you were about to unleash your old skills on us—the ones you used to handle your family's dirty work.”
She seemed perfectly fine with my father's silence.
“Are you going to brush this off with the excuse of an irrational impulse?”
“Ah, I'm not trying to brush it off.”
Jeok Yunha shrugged. Then she stood and bowed her head politely.
“I am truly sorry. I sometimes lose my temper. I apologize for doubting you. And to the physician over there, I am deeply grateful for the grace you've shown.”
“...”
“Mr. Undeok is like family to me.”
“The leader of our party will decide whether or not to accept your apology.”
“Leader?”
Jeok Yunha tilted her head. My father gestured toward me with his eyes.
“What are you doing? Make your decision, Captain.”
The gazes of Jeok Yunha and Mr. Undeok focused on me.
I blinked.
*‘Okay, Dada is my subordinate now. You got that?’*
*‘Okay, Dada is my subordinate now. You got that?’*
No way...
*‘So one is family you have to take care of as the head of the household, and the other is a subordinate?’*
Wow, so petty! He's holding such a grudge!
Ignoring my thoughts, my father crossed his arms and declared.
“I will follow the captain's orders.”
The king of petty!
Jeok Yunha beamed, looking thrilled.
“My, my, who might you be to have the great Heuk Bihu as your subordinate?”
...This woman. She heard him introduce me as his daughter!
She was still as playful as ever. So this is how she wanted to play it.
I heaved a sigh and lifted my head.
“I'm Heuk Biyu.”
“Biyu.”
“Dada, be quiet.”
I glared at my father before continuing.
“You pwobably alweady know him, but dis is my dada, Heuk Bihu.”
“It's Heuk Bihu.”
This man, honestly!
“...Hah. I get dat you'we sowwy, and I get dat you'we gwateful. I assume you'we not planning to end dis wif just wowds?”
“Oh my... Such a cute way of speaking, but the words are so mature. It's like talking to an adult. How refreshing.”
“Dat mistew over dere asked me to tweat his son.”
The smile on Jeok Yunha's face faded slightly.
“...Mr. Undeok did?”
“Yes, that's right.”
As Jeok Yunha looked at him, Mr. Undeok nodded.
“I told them I would do anything if he could be cured, Lady Yunha.”
“...”
A look of pity crossed Jeok Yunha's face.
“I understand. Then I should reintroduce myself. I am Jeok Yunha, the head of the White Dragon Merchants. It's a small company.”
Well, even at this point in time, the White Dragon Merchants was no mom-and-pop shop.
It was large enough to hold a certain degree of influence in this massive market.
Considering the market's size, that was incredible. Moreover, most of the merchants were from the Eastern Continent.
*'It's amazing how they overcame the Western Continent bastards' territorialism to rise so high.'*
And in the future, it would become a merchant company that commanded the entire empire.
“I have no intention of keeping my mouth shut for free. That man's son is like a little brother to me, after all.”
“...”
“If you cure him, I will also do anything for you. No, I *will* do it.”
Jeok Yunha's earnest eyes were fixed on me.
“I'm asking you, Miss Biyu.”
“...It's Biyu.”
“...Is that so, Biyu?”
“Heuk, Bi, Bi, Bi... Yu!”
After blinking for a moment, Jeok Yunha burst into roaring laughter.
I huffed, my cheeks flushing red.
My father, who had been staring at me, leaned down and whispered comfortingly.
“There's no shame in having a lisp.”
“...Be quiet, Dada.”
* * *
Not long after our conversation ended, Mr. Undeok brought a boy with him.
*'When he said son, I imagined someone a bit older...'*
Was he about four years older than me? He was around Heuk Gyewon's age.
He limped, but he was handsome.
The boy had a mature air about him, smiling shyly as he looked at Mr. Undeok.
“He was born to my late wife in her later years. That's why he's all the more precious to me...”
From that one sentence, I could tell how much he doted on his son.
To have lost such a child, unable to even treat him...
*'In my third life, he said he'd visited every local physician and apothecary he could find.'*
When that failed, he had sought out the Heuk family, one of the most renowned in the empire. But my family had coldly turned him away.
Light green eyes. The boy was pale, but he was a handsome youth with striking, downturned eyes.
“...I'm Tak... Minjae, cough!”
The staggering boy offered a polite greeting.
To my father, not me.
“The physician is over here.”
My father gently pushed my back. Tak Minjae's eyes widened.
*'He's even more handsome up close.'*
I, too, had only ever heard about him from Mr. Undeok; this was the first time I'd seen him.
“...G-Greetings... to the physician...?”
“Dat's enough.”
I stopped the coughing boy from speaking further.
The time allowed outside the restricted zone is limited. We don't have much leeway, so I need to start quickly.
This was a storehouse filled with clean water and all sorts of precious medicinal herbs, provided by Jeok Yunha.
“I'm just gonna diagnose you, so don't be scawed.”
Jeok Yunha and Mr. Undeok were waiting a short distance away.
“Dada, why awen't you moving away?”
“Because I'm a warrior.”
My father tapped my head.
“I must protect the physician.”
I absently fiddled with the spot where his hand had touched my head.
“And protecting the captain is a subordinate's duty.”
“Ugh, so petty.”
“What?”
If only he knew when to stop.
I pouted and plunged my hand into a basin filled with clean water.
“We'we starting, okay?”
The boy's eyes met mine, and he flinched before quickly nodding.
“Ah... Yes! You, uh, you look like a fairy, so I couldn't help but stare. I'm sorry!”
“Such flattery.”
My father covered my eyes.
Why is he doing this? I grunted and pushed his hand away.
*'Does he think I'm blind?'*
I know I'm pretty. I've suffered plenty because of unwanted attention.
I'm not the type to get flustered by a simple compliment like that.
Besides, it was just a kid's comment. He was only complimenting me the way Heuk Gyewon looks at me.
What is he even on about?
The water surged up. Tak Minjae's body was enveloped in a large sphere of water.
I scanned the diagnostic information flowing into my mind...
And snapped my head up in surprise.
*'What is this? Asthma, a collapsed lung, and even paralysis of the limbs?'*
I glanced at Mr. Undeok. Seeing his anxious expression, I pressed my lips together.
And those weren't his only symptoms.
*'Traces of poison...'*
Administered persistently and continuously.
To the point where there was no more room for poison to accumulate in the frail boy's body.
*'If he'd been left like this, it wouldn't be strange if he dropped dead tomorrow.'*
Did Mr. Undeok make an enemy?
After pondering for a moment, I waved my hand. Streams of water shot out, weaving through the various medicinal herbs.
Some floated up, while others were set back down.
*'Pre-existing conditions, complications, and poison on top of that...'*
This was no simple case.
Of course, it was nothing compared to my eldest and younger uncles.
*'Come to think of it, this is the first person I've treated in this life since leaving the Heuk family.'*
The boy looked at me with slightly anxious eyes.
I gave the boy, floating gently inside the sphere of water, a warm, reassuring smile.
“Don't wowwy.”
“...”
“When you open your eyes again, you'll be healthy.”
Tak Minjae's expression went blank. On the verge of tears, the boy spoke as if he had made a great resolution.
“Yes... my fairy!”
...Huh?