Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: An Ill-Timed Nap
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‘Did I imagine it?’
I tilted my head and stared at the medicinal herb bush again.
For over a week, I’d diligently gone around gathering what I could, even rummaging through empty rooms for anything I needed, but.
It was still far from enough.
‘The second medicine is fine. But after that, I think I’ll have to go to the market.’
Would Uncle come with me?
‘It seems his waking hours have increased, at least.’
But I wasn't sure if it was enough for a trip to the market.
This city had one of the top three medicinal markets in the empire. I’d visited it often in my past life.
What if I took my uncle to a place like that... and he fell asleep?
I shook my head.
Anyway, it had been a week since I gave my uncle the medicine. It was about time he noticed the effects himself...
‘Is he too embarrassed to acknowledge it now?’
Then again, people were always like that.
‘What does a little girl know.’
‘What does a little girl know.’
‘You're an apothecary? You?’
‘You're an apothecary? You?’
‘We can't trust a physician as young as you, miss...’
‘We can't trust a physician as young as you, miss...’
I was used to the prejudice.
That's why I needed a story.
A story that would make them believe in me, despite my young age.
‘I already have overwhelming ability.’
People always looked for a plausible reason to believe. I wonder if there’s a useful totem or gimmick I can use in this life...
I left the bush and was trotting down the hallway.
*Thud, thud, thud, thud.* I heard giant footsteps, like an elephant running.
“Hey!”
I started to turn, then jumped in surprise.
“Wha-what is dat!”
The person running from the end of the hall was definitely Heuk Birang.
But he looked a little.
‘Like a madman!’
What did I do wrong? All I did was give him medicine!
Any normal person would be scared witless if someone started chasing them for no reason!
When I came to my senses, I was running for my life.
‘Ah, damn it, my stamina is terrible!’
“Hey!”
“Why-y!”
Heuk Birang had to be insane. Why else would he be chasing a toddler at full tilt!
“Why are you running away?”
I glanced back and was dumbfounded by the utterly clueless look on his face.
“Uncoo is... *huff, huff*... chasing me!”
“Ah.”
What do you mean, ‘ah’!
Do I not look scared! You practically suffocated me the first time we met!
“But I'm not chasing you.”
“What?”
That was the last I saw of Heuk Birang's face.
My uncle easily overtook me. Then he spun around and blocked my path.
Ah, wait. Wait.
Collision! We're going to collide!
*Poof.*
“Caught you without hurting you this time, eh?”
I looked up to see his face as he gently lifted me by my armpits.
My uncle grinned.
‘What is he talking about?’
I was too busy gasping for air.
“*Cough, cough, cough-cough!*”
“Wha-what's wrong? Why are you like this...?”
It was hard to breathe. Ah, damn it, my stamina is already bad. Do you know how weak this body is!
“Hey, kiddo...?”
Heuk Birang's face, clearly unaware of this fact, turned serious.
“Are you dying right now?”
What is he talking about.
I pushed his approaching face away. Annoyingly, he was still handsome even when his face was squished like clay.
I finally stopped coughing, wiped away my tears, and looked at Heuk Birang, who was squatting in front of me.
“What, you're not crying?”
“Why wouwd I cwy?”
“No, it's just your expression... Never mind. But why aren't you crying?”
Heuk Birang looked at me as if I were a curiosity.
What does he want from me.
“Anyway. Why did yoo follow me?”
Heuk Birang scratched the back of his neck.
He seemed to ponder for a moment, then dropped his head before snapping it back up.
“Ah, damn it. Whatever. I'm not one for beating around the bush, you know?”
I'm sure you're not.
“What did you feed me?”
My eyes widened. Then I beamed.
He finally noticed!
‘As long as he recognizes the effects, everything from here on out will be a breeze!’
If the female lead's father was on my side, there's so much more I could do. He was a tremendous asset and ally.
Alright, then the story...
*Thud.*
‘Thud?’
Wait a minute!
“Uncoo?”
“...”
I couldn't believe the scene before my eyes.
“Aargh!”
I ground my teeth.
How could he just fall asleep like that!
He’s completely spread-eagled, isn't he? There are two things that really piss a person off. The first is when someone stops talking mid-sentence...
‘So what was it, what were you going to say next!’
I screamed internally.
‘If he doesn’t say it now, I’ll have to wait for days!’
After trailing Heuk Birang for over two weeks, I’d finally figured out a rough pattern to this man’s sleep schedule...
Unfortunately, now was one of those times he wouldn't wake up for at least a few days.
* * *
‘Talk about bad luck! When it rains, it pours!’
Since the sleeping princess—no, uncle—was out cold, I had to figure out my next move.
‘I can only give him the second medicine when he opens his eyes.’
There was something else to do until my would-be bodyguard woke up.
Of course, if I overexerted this pathetically weak body, this life might end at age three, so I had to be careful.
I sorted out the order of things.
‘First, I need to take over this building.’
The West Wing's main building housed outstanding physicians, apothecaries, and the warriors who protected them.
And someone I must one day surpass.
‘Aunt, and among them, my first aunt...’
Lost in thought, I entered a new building.
It was a part of the dilapidated East Wing that was almost never visited.
*Thump!*
“Oof...”
I was rounding a corner. Lost in thought, I hadn't been looking where I was going.
Shaking off the pain, I looked up and saw a boy. Around nine years old?
Jet-black hair, unkempt and sticking out in all directions.
A stubbornly set mouth.
He was a handsome boy, but he had a fierce, obstinate look about him.
‘Is he nine? My memory is a bit hazy.’
I wasn't surprised.
Because I had come to see him.
This was Heuk Gyewon. My eldest uncle's son. My cousin.
And he was one of the supporting characters in the book, his father—my eldest uncle—suffering from a terminal illness, much like my own father.
“Who... are you.”
I didn't panic and gave him a bright smile.
“I'm Biyu!”
I felt the boy flinch.
“...Biyu?”
“Biyu! You'we Gyewon, wight?”
“...How do you know my name?”
“Because we're cuzins!”
“Cuzins? Zin?”
What is he talking about.
Cousin, you brat.
Heuk Gyewon, having finally understood me, furrowed his brow.
“So what about it?”
I paid no mind to his prickliness.
‘He can be as prickly as he wants, but he's not as bad as my uncle. That man started with a curse!’
This kid had started living in the East Wing at the age of five, following his sick father.
‘Caretakers are often as sensitive as the patients themselves.’
Now, at nine, he was probably better at caregiving than most adults.
‘It’s a bit pitiful...’
“I came to see yoo!”
“Hah, why would you come see me? Is it because your dad is sick too? Looking for some shared misery?”
“...”
I faltered. Wow, what venom.
‘It’s true... my dad is sick too, isn't he?’
The current family head has five sons and three daughters.
But in the past, three of these sons—who had been formidable warriors vying for the top spot—each contracted a different incurable disease.
Driven mad by their illnesses, they had seizures or caused casualties for various reasons.
Unable to watch any longer, their grandmother, Heuk Moran, confined the three sick sons to the East Wing.
This was the backstory for Heuk Birang, the female lead's father.
My father's illness is...
No, I'd rather not think about that.
In any case, I didn't come here to bond over our similar circumstances.
“Huh?”
I turned my head to see the boy's back, already far in the distance.
The boy turned around for a moment.
“I'm busy. I don't have time to listen to you whine about your sick dad. Deal with your own father yourself.”
“...”
While I was momentarily stunned, he was gone. What a sharp-tongued kid.
‘But I came to cure your dad...’
I scratched my cheek and got up.
Ah, I got a bump from falling.
“See... being a baby is so inconvenient.”
I walked on bravely.
‘Seeing how Heuk Birang’s diagnosis turned out, it’ll take a long time to cure him. My eldest uncle must be the same.’
Since both will take a while anyway, it's better to start here now as well.
‘There’s something a little scary here... which is why I wanted to bring Heuk Birang as a bodyguard. That plan’s shot. Completely shot.’
* * *
Before long, I found Heuk Gyewon again.
He was surrounded by a group of boys.
“Wow, you're really devoted, aren't you? Huh?”
From their gray hair and matching blue clothes, they seemed to be from the collateral branches of the Heuk family.
“Why bother with something so useless? *Hee hee.* You still haven't given up?”
That one snickering over there—I remembered him.
‘Heuk Daewi.’
My first aunt's son.
‘The greediest and most utterly incompetent apothecary...!’
Wow, to think I'd see him again.