Chapter 78
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: The Lord of Lederick
* * *
The intermediate physician, Koma, answered, trembling.
“S-Seventy percent of the patients have d-died...! Of the remaining thirty percent, more than half are in critical condition. There's... almost nothing the medical staff can do...!”
A little while ago, I had only asked Dad, my eldest uncle, and my other uncle to scare him a bit.
The three brothers had looked at each other, asked me for a moment, and then my uncles took the physician and disappeared.
Only twenty minutes had passed. But now, the physician was kneeling neatly before me, shivering uncontrollably.
‘They said they didn't hit him... Just what did they say without laying a finger on him...?’
I was curious, but it wasn't the most important thing.
The information and reports this man was spilling were more important.
Cheimik's condition was even worse than I'd thought.
‘The disease is progressing faster than I remember.’
I knew because I had investigated the records of the plague in my third life.
In my previous life, it hadn't been this severe at this point in time.
‘If there's a reason, it's probably this guy...’
I don't think he was the one in charge in my previous life. I could find that out by looking around.
But perhaps because the intermediate physician was so terrified, he blurted out something unexpected.
“A-Actually, I have a favor to ask...! P-Please, I beg you to see our lord!”
His attitude completely changed, Koma begged desperately, as if ready to cling to my legs.
“...The lord?”
“Yes! I-If the lord dies, I'm a dead man too!!”
Koma, nodding his head frantically, explained the situation.
Lederick was a large city located near the village of Cheimik.
The lord of that city, Lord Lederick, had contracted the same plague.
Fortunately, he had been touring the borders of his domain on an inspection, so he discovered the illness early.
He had also heard that a plague with the same symptoms was spreading in a village near his city and had taken it very seriously.
Since the plague hadn't spread to the Lederick domain, he had secretly come to this village to find a cure.
‘He chose to quarantine himself for the sake of his domain. That's quite a decision for a lord.’
He was a rare kind of ruler in this world.
“I am so sorry for not recognizing you! Truly! The plaque you carry belongs to a senior physician of the Heuk family. Please forgive my ignorance! I implore you to help our lord!”
I had no idea what my uncles said to him when they dragged him away. He was begging like a completely reformed man.
“Ahem, it seems he finally recognizes our niece's greatness,”
I glanced at my uncles to see them looking proud, like puppies waiting for praise.
‘...Are they serious?’
Gyewon oppa seems more mature than you two.
“Hmph, you. You said you'd eat dog poop if I was a physician, wight?”
“...What?”
“Go on and keep youw wowd.”
From my father's arms, I gave him an arrogant thumbs-down.
Eat shit, you bastard.
This man was clearly a typical physician who looked down on warriors.
And seeing how he initially asked me to see only a ‘special patient,’ I could tell without even looking how he'd treated the common folk.
“Ah, ha, haha... Y-You must be joking, right?”
“Wead the way.”
“...Yes? Yes! Th-Thank you.”
“But I'll see the wowd aftew I check on the patients.”
Koma's face fell, but he couldn't say a word. He only glanced nervously at my uncles.
* * *
As I had declared, I only went to the place Koma guided me to after touring the village and finally came face to face with the lord.
“Um, a mask...?”
“Don't need one.”
“Aha, haha... As expected of a physician from the Heuk family! You're different, even at such a young age!”
The only thing different was that Koma’s attitude had become a bit more polite.
‘It's because he saw a patient's condition improve right before his eyes.’
While making my rounds, I had found a patient who looked like he would die if I didn't take immediate action.
As a temporary measure, I made and administered a medicine to stop the disease from spreading further.
‘Fortunately, the disease is no different from what I remember. It's one of the variants I know.’
I clearly saw Koma's face fill with astonishment when he saw the patient's breathing stabilize.
After that, Koma's attitude changed.
He became transparent, you could say.
‘I suppose it's better than him being deceitful.’
The lord of Lederick, Count Lederick, was a young man who appeared to be in his thirties.
He had slightly tanned skin and golden-brown hair. A man with handsome features.
And he had a very large build.
I had been expecting a bearded man from the Western Continent, so I was a little surprised.
‘His condition is serious.’
His upper body was bare, allowing me to examine the progression of the disease thoroughly.
“Gyewon oppa, a cwean cwoff.”
“Ah, okay...!”
“Uncwe, bwing some watew, and Daddy, make suwe no one comes in.”
I said without hesitation as I approached the patient.
‘Hemorrhagic spots... and signs of necrosis in the extremities.’
Just like the old days.
I turned my head.
“And wastly, thewe's something I need Eldest Uncwe to do.”
I gave my eldest uncle an order. For a moment, everyone looked puzzled.
“Biyak, you really want me to... do that?”
“Yup.”
My eldest uncle also wore a look that asked why he had to do such a thing. But he soon smiled and nodded.
“I must follow your command~”
My eldest uncle went outside to carry out my instructions.
I opened the water bottle in my hand.
*Swoosh!*
A wave large enough to engulf a person rose up. After examining the lord, I quickly realized.
‘If left like this, he would have died within three days.’
Surprisingly, almost none of the measures that Koma had taken were proper.
Even if it was an unfamiliar disease, how could the basics be such a mess?
‘He's supposed to be the lord's personal physician. Why did he hire such a quack?’
When the lord wakes up, I’ll have to see what kind of person he is. If he’s decent, I’ll be sure to give him a heads-up.
I thought for a moment.
‘Oh dear, sepsis too.’
The amount of energy needed to use my ability depends on the severity of the illness and the complexity of the injury.
My hesitation didn't last long.
“Daddy, open the bag fow me.”
The bag my dad was carrying on one shoulder was filled with medicinal herbs I had packed in advance.
“Baem-baem.”
I felt Baem-baem, who was coiled around my wrist, lift its head.
A faint light seeped out from my sleeve. Baem-baem was helping me with its power.
Soon, streams of water moved here and there, creating a medicine.
Then, as the stream of water tried to pour the vial of medicine into the patient's mouth.
“Wait.”
Dad came over, took hold of the patient's upper body, and sat him up.
“I'll do it. It's tricky to give medicine to someone who's unconscious.”
Hmm, I know that perfectly well.
I was about to say I was used to it too, but I held my tongue.
“Daddy, you seem used to this?”
“A memory came back to me. A long time ago, I had to do this for my subordinates and comrades.”
“Hmm?”
...Comrades he used to assassinate people with?
I was about to say that but remembered Koma, an outsider, was still here and kept my mouth shut.
‘Somehow, it feels like the pace of his memory recovery is starting to speed up.’
At first, just recalling a memory would give him a fever and leave him exhausted, but that symptom seems to be fading day by day.
‘This can't be an illness that heals so easily.’
If it were, it wouldn't be an incurable disease that costs me my lifespan.
For now, I tucked that ominous feeling deep into my heart.