Chapter 59
Chapter 59
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 59
Chapter Title: The Catalyst
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The disciples' expressions splintered.
‘My guess is that not all the disciples were in on the poison. Maybe just one or two of them helped?’
That disciple who'd gone pale was one of them.
“How surprising.”
Dad said, his face betraying no surprise at all. He sounded like a robot.
Looks like he's going to keep up the act...
He should have just laughed like he did earlier.
When he laughed before, it looked like everyone—men and women, young and old—was about to faint.
“That’s wight… A physician feeding a patient poison to kill them, that’s widiculous.”
I scrunched up my face, looking genuinely bewildered and unforgiving.
And I meant it.
Damn them.
Using poison on a patient just to get in my way?
“Physicians take an oath.”
It's like the 'Hippocratic Oath' that all physicians and apothecaries in this world take.
The content isn't exactly the same, but it's similar.
There's a passage in it that goes like this.
[I will not give a lethal drug to anyone, even if I am asked, nor to a pregnant woman with child.]
Deadly drugs are forbidden, so poison is absolutely out of the question.
“A physician who took a sacwed oath wouldn't do that. That's why it's stwange.”
I stared at the two remaining patients.
“If the wemaining patients also have poison in their bodies, that would be stwange, wouldn't it?”
At my words, the five patients' reactions diverged.
The faces of the remaining patients grew pale, while those who had been treated breathed sighs of relief.
In contrast, the crowd's murmuring began to grow.
“...Poison? In everyone Physician Feiman brought?”
“But the miracle physician... has no reason to lie, does she?”
This murmuring wouldn't die down until Feiman's innocence was proven.
Or, perhaps, until his guilt was.
The two patients who had been awaiting Feiman's treatment flew into a panic.
“P-Physician! D-Does that mean we're going to die?!”
“S-Save us! P-Please treat us, too!”
Even as the situation devolved, Feiman remained unresponsive.
‘Is he trying to figure out a way to get out of this alive?’
I glanced at the pale, speechless Feiman and calmed the patients.
“This poison only activates with a catalyst. That means you won't die wight away.”
Of course, the poison would manifest over time anyway, but they must have intended to use a catalyst now.
It's the kind of poison that reacts and reveals its toxicity the moment you smell a certain scent.
“Huh? I-I'm an ignorant man, I don't understand. Please treat me!”
It wasn't hard for me to explain the medical details in a way everyone here could understand.
“The catalyst here is a kind of fwuit.”
When this fruit is crushed, the scent it releases is completely harmless to ordinary people.
But anyone who has ingested the poison will react to it, cough up blood, and die instantly.
And after spreading throughout the body, the poison vanishes within ten minutes.
‘By the time of an autopsy, there would be no trace of poison, only the illness.’
Perfect for framing someone.
That's why, since ancient times, it's been the poison most feared by noble families with complicated successions and even the imperial family.
I learned about it from a book.
‘I was once unjustly framed because of this poison, so I know it well.’
So what did I do?
I just cured the patient before they could die from such a pathetic poison.
So even if the poison had activated, it would have been my victory.
My gaze fell on Jeok Yunha, who had been watching the whole time. I gestured toward the two remaining patients with my eyes.
“Have another physician examine the two wemaining patients. It's the kind of poison that shows up on tests.”
This poison becomes undetectable after it activates, but it can be tested for beforehand.
For such a potent poison, a test was developed. In fact, a test should detect it easily.
“Hurry up and test them. You'll find the same poison.”
“W-Wait!”
As if realizing he couldn't let this continue, Feiman frantically raised a hand.
“Wait, please wait. This is unjust...!”
“Oh my, how strange?!”
Jeok Yunha, who had been listening with rapt attention, cut him off.
“You see, I actually happened to be acquainted with an apothecary named 'Kanin' until just recently.”
Her eyes gleamed as if focused on something. Looks like she's flipped a switch again.
“My goodness! I went to visit him recently and what do you think I found...?”
Who knows how long she'd had it, but Jeok Yunha pulled a bright red fruit from her sleeve.
It was an unusual fruit, dotted with black spots.
“This is the fruit Physician Biyu mentioned, isn't it?”
“That’s wight.”
“How strange. Weren't Mr. Kanin and Mr. Feiman quite friendly recently?”
Wow, even I'd be annoyed hearing that.
“Jeok Yunha, how do you have that?”
I asked casually, pretending not to know, and Jeok Yunha held the fruit aloft.
She smiled, her expression ecstatic.
“An excellent question! There was a fire at his house today, and I helped put it out. And... guess what I happened to find there?”
I'd been wondering where she found the fruit and how she'd managed to grab it in all that chaos.
Jeok Yunha winked at me, then mouthed a few words.
‘Eldest Uncle... Un...cle...?’
Eldest Uncle and Uncle found it and brought it? How did they know to bring it?
‘Wow, my lucky charms. No, my guardians have been working hard.’
I swallowed a laugh and quickly buried my face in Dad's leg. As if he'd been waiting, he lifted me into his arms.
“Daddy, hide me. Quick.”
“...Are you about to cry?”
“No, what are you talking about?! I think I'm gonna die fwom laughing...!!”
“...”
I was a little excited.
“This is one of the few times in my life I didn't have to solve evewything by myself, and it's so satisfying!”
At my quiet whisper, Dad pressed down on my head with his hand. My face was squashed.
Ugh, I can't breathe.
“Laugh all you want now and work on your abs.”
Abs? Why abs?
His quiet whisper continued.
“From now on, I'll make you laugh so much your stomach will hurt.”
...What a strange way to offer encouragement.
* * *
A short while later, it was all over.
Of course, Feiman, facing his end, began to deny everything as if he were having a fit.
Naturally, no one believed the physician who was just screaming about being framed like a mad dog.
“Oh, by the way, I'm currently protecting 'Kanin.' Shall I find out for you?”
The moment those words left Jeok Yunha's lips, one of Feiman's disciples collapsed to his knees and began to beg.
Pressing his forehead to the ground.
“I'm sorry! M-My master ordered me to do it!”
The speed with which he threw his master under the bus was a work of art.
Well, I guess it's only natural if you want to save your own skin.
After that, everything happened in a flash.
Public opinion turned against him, and he was condemned for his audacity.
Those who had defended Feiman, even for a moment, turned on him with even greater fervor out of sheer embarrassment.
Watching the mid-rank physician get torn apart by the crowd was quite satisfying.
As for me? Of course, I didn't hold back. I said everything I wanted to.
“Thwow your license in the twash.”