Chapter 6
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The Family Physician's Verdict
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I thought it was just a momentary change, but it still felt too strange.
It was like she'd spun around and around until she'd done a full 360-degree turn and ended up facing forward again.
He'd been so exhausted from their daily battles—true wars every time they met, dealing with his shrewish daughter—that he hadn't noticed until now. But suddenly, it struck him: his daughter's neat face really resembled his wife's.
His wife, who had left this world far too young.
'She's a child with no talent at all, so she'll probably be sent away from the family soon enough... but even so, maybe I should pay her a little more attention.'
Thinking something he'd never considered before, Jerome stroked his platinum blond hair, tied back in a ponytail, and let out a deep sigh.
In any case, there was no doubt his daughter's current state wasn't normal.
There is no abnormality in Charlotte.
That was the conclusion the doctors and priests had all reached.
But every single one of them, after examining Charlotte or peering into her condition, would trail off with, "There's nothing wrong with her body...", their faces uneasy, before fleeing the room like they couldn't get away fast enough.
Even family physician Ben, who came for the final check, was no different.
When Ben entered the room, Charlotte was sitting in a bizarre posture.
Her legs weren't dangling down toward the floor. Instead, both were propped up on the chair, feet pointing skyward, each foot resting on the opposite knee—a truly unfamiliar sight.
Her eyes had been closed, but when she saw Ben's weathered face, she flashed a grin and straightened up.
"...Lady Charlotte, may I examine you?"
"Yes. Of course. Please do."
The soft smile. Even the "please."
It wasn't the girl he knew.
Ben hadn't thought she'd changed that much—not even after hearing from Jerome and the priests who'd visited first. Blinking in surprise, he set down his medical bag.
After inspecting various parts of Charlotte's body, Ben tilted his head and asked,
"I can't understand why everyone insists she seems like a different person when she's this healthy... Is there some issue with your memory?"
"No? Not at all. My name is Charlotte Setia. I'm nine years old. My mother is Lilac Bedia Setia, my father is Jerome Setia, and I have one older brother..."
She rattled off the details straight from the books she'd read, and Ben nodded readily.
"I see. That was a needless question on my part. Then... what sort of examination should I perform, and how?"
Charlotte pondered for a moment, then looked straight up at Ben.
The middle-aged man, skinny enough to topple in a breeze, sported a short gray beard that gave him a sharp edge.
But unlike the other physicians who'd treated her carelessly, he was diligent and a bit naive—sincerely mulling things over even for someone like Charlotte.
She had no idea exactly how things worked here, so her plan was to keep her head down as much as possible. Still, she needed one or two allies on her side.
And this doctor seemed like he'd be particularly useful.
No telling if she'd cross paths with Prince Joseph again, but caring for the prince's battered body would require a physician or two.
"Old man."
"Yes, what is it?"
"You know, old man."
She lowered her voice to a whisper.
"It's not just my memory. I know other things too. Old man. Land prices near the capital's north gate are about to skyrocket, so invest there. Don't throw money at some shady spot, embezzle funds, go bust, and get chased out. That land you're eyeing? Underground spring's gonna burst—utterly useless."
"...Pardon?"
Chills raced up Ben's spine as he stared at Charlotte.
His son had just landed a fat sum from a mining job. Letting it sit idle felt like a waste, so he'd been scouting investments.
He hadn't even breathed a word to his own son...
How in the world did Charlotte know?
And embezzling?
"La-Lady Charlotte. I have no idea where you heard such things, but... how could I ever lay a hand on the family's funds?"
Charlotte widened her eyes and fixed him with a level stare.
Ben felt his body lock up, momentarily forgetting whether the girl before him was truly just a nine-year-old child.
Hidden in those soft, grass-green eyes was a lethal, piercing gaze that seemed to see straight through to one's core.
"Really? Even after you blow it all, you're sure you won't? Ben, you know better than anyone. There's piles of unmonitored money around me. Our House Lord grandmother and father couldn't care less about me, so there's no one to manage it properly."
Ben went rigid.
He knew.
He knew too well.
And he'd fantasized countless times about how easy it'd be to skim some off the top.
A few sweet words to the soft-hearted Charlotte, and it'd be done.
'...But to state so plainly, so coldly, that the Minor House Lord and the Duchess have no interest in her. And she's only nine...'
Sweat beaded down Ben's back—tension he'd rarely felt even with grown adults.
Ben slowly looked at Charlotte again.
Then, as if nothing had happened, she let out a soft, tinkling laugh.
That single laugh melted his tension away, like a puppet with its strings cut.
Smiling, Charlotte said,
"So, just listen to me and invest wisely—no problems. I don't dislike you, old man. Sure, you're greedy, but you've actually taken the best care of me out of anyone."
Seeing that innocent, childlike smile return, Ben felt another wave of chills.
'She's really a different person.'
No—same person, yet utterly different.
'How can the difference be this stark?'
Now he understood why the others had fled with ashen faces... and why the Minor House Lord had specifically asked him to take another look.
Ben packed away his tools, stood, and tried to steady his trembling hands.
Charlotte beamed, waved, and added one more thing.
"Oh, right. Your left hand's been hurting lately, hasn't it, old man? Once I've trained a bit more, I'll take a look. Your qi flow's all messed up."
Ben clutched his left hand with his right, mumbling unconscious thanks as he shuffled out.
'How did she know that too?'
All that remained were chilling possibilities.
'...Maybe everything up till now has been an act. Prodigies who shine too young draw suspicion easily.'
If that was true...
'The Setia family harbors a great lion. A cub with massive paws, quietly crouched, biding its time without revealing how grand it'll grow.'
He bowed deeply and withdrew.
Jerome, who had been chatting idly while waiting outside, shot to his feet at the sight of Ben's pallid face.
"How'd it go?"
Ben slowly shook his head.
"Lady Charlotte Setia is in perfect health. Body and mind—nothing wrong at all."
Jerome scowled fiercely.
No—the girl had flipped a complete 180, like a total stranger. So why did everyone keep spouting the same line?
"That's it?"
"That's the answer. And..."
"And?"
"...Nothing. Call on me anytime if Lady Charlotte needs anything. You could even appoint me as her dedicated physician."
Jerome's eyes went wide.
A dedicated physician's path to success ran through their patient's ascent.
Charlotte, practically exiled from the family ranks, had never merited her own—until now, she'd shared the family doctor.
What had changed his mind so suddenly?
Ben was experienced and respected enough to serve as dedicated physician to the first or second heir, but he'd always refused, loath to tangle in politics.
'Something... swayed Ben. Charlotte did—in the space of a mere thirty-minute exam.'
Before Jerome could press further, Ben bowed and departed.
Jerome watched the gray-streaked back of the older man, deep in thought.
'To win over a battle-hardened veteran like that in just thirty minutes.'
They called that sort of pull on others charisma, the mark of a true leader.
'Does Charlotte actually have that kind of charisma?'
He let out an involuntary, wry chuckle at the sheer absurdity of the notion and shook his head.
His wild, tomboy daughter was only nine, after all.
What on earth was he thinking?
Jerome was convinced something in Charlotte had changed—but he couldn't pin down what.
He sat there frowning for a long while before rising and summoning his secretary.
"You called, sir?"
"Yes."
"I heard Lady Charlotte's examination is finished. Shall we return to the main residence?"
"Yes... and one more thing."
"Yes?"
"About that incident today where Charlotte fell into the water... I'd like you to look into it."
Jerome's secretary, Reit, widened his eyes beneath his thin spectacles.
"Investigate Lady Charlotte's... suicide attempt?"
Until now, Jerome had grown colder with every tantrum she threw.
Showing interest whenever his daughter acted out would only stunt her nonexistent potential further—a mantra that had practically become habit.
'What's brought this on?'
But Reit betrayed no shock, merely bowing his head.
There had to be a reason for ordering a reinvestigation of something already reported.