Chapter – 10
“Yulion.”
“You truly never stop working.”
A voice like a soft exclamation brushed against my ears. He strode over and lowered his gaze to the documents I had been reviewing.
“Are those the materials about Her Majesty the Empress that you received from the Chief Physician?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“It hasn’t been publicly announced yet, but Her Majesty is suffering from an eye disease. The Chief Physician said that while the progression can be slowed, a complete cure is impossible.”
Yulion’s golden eyes held me entirely.
It was as if his gaze was asking whether there was another way.
Instead of answering immediately, I posed a question.
“If it were possible to treat her, what would you do?”
“…If it were possible.”
Yulion blinked slowly as he chose his words.
The moment our eyes met—his deep golden ones reflecting a complicated state of mind—I spoke first.
“May I examine her?”
“You mean Her Majesty the Empress?”
“Yes. I can’t give any definite answer without seeing her condition myself.”
In theory, treatment was possible. However, if the Empress’s eyes had already been completely damaged by the medication prescribed by the Chief Physician, then it might not be.
That was why I had to see them myself—what state her eyes were truly in.
“The fact that you say that means there’s a possibility.”
Yulion’s voice sounded slightly lifted.
He let out a small breath, then nodded solemnly.
“Very well. It’s late today, so let us visit her together tomorrow. I will mention Ares’s matter as well and try to persuade her to receive an examination from you.”
This time, Yulion’s eyes sparkled not with curiosity, but for another reason.
He seemed happy at the mere thought that his mother’s illness might be cured.
“Then let’s stop working for today and go have dinner.”
Yulion casually extended his hand to me once more.
It was white, long, and large.
“Chief Physician, the knight woke up this morning!”
The Chief Physician, who had been holed up in his office, shot to his feet.
Anxiety was written all over his face.
But the tactless physician continued delivering the news.
“They say he woke up completely fine! As healthy as a normal person!”
“What…!”
The Chief Physician ground his teeth.
If the patient was fully cured, it would perfectly prove that his diagnosis and prescription had been wrong.
And then his position as Chief Physician would be in danger—it was as obvious as daylight.
After all, that patient was none other than the Crown Princess’s guard knight.
“How could such a thing happen?”
“I know, right? It seems Her Highness truly is skilled.”
“You fool! How could a noble lady possibly know medicine!”
“B-But…”
“It must have been sheer luck! Luck must have played a large part. It may have worked out somehow this time, but relying on such luck is not what a proper physician does.”
Watching the Chief Physician mutter angrily, the physician quietly withdrew his opinion.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Even after the physician left, the Chief Physician continued fuming alone.
It also unsettled him that the Crown Princess had taken all the Empress’s medical records.
He didn’t believe she would be able to understand them all just because she had some mediocre skill, but still, he couldn’t shake the unease.
‘Those medicinal ingredients don’t even grow on this continent. There’s no way the Crown Princess would know them!’
They were herbs that could only be obtained in the Southern Continent.
Hadn’t he struggled greatly to procure them himself?
‘But still…’
It would be best to eliminate the seed of anxiety.
Pacing restlessly around the room, lost in thought after thought, the Chief Physician’s eyes eventually gleamed as if he had come to a decision.
The place the Chief Physician headed to was Tishurit Palace, where the Empress resided.
The palace was as quiet as ever as he entered with a forced cough.
“I have come to pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress.”
Though no one had asked, he announced himself loudly and squared his shoulders.
Ever since becoming the Royal Chief Physician and receiving a noble title, these moments—when he received the envy of guards and attendants alike—were exceedingly sweet to him.
“Chief Physician, Her Majesty is taking her afternoon rest.”
The maid guarding outside the bedchamber spoke softly.
It was a polite way of telling him to return, but the Chief Physician merely frowned and instead grew irritated.
“I have come to check on Her Majesty’s condition. Are you blocking me?”
“That’s not it. She only just fell asleep…”
“One must examine an illness at a fixed time for greater accuracy and a higher cure rate.”
The maid gave an awkward smile.
Though he spoke like that, the times he visited were different every time.
But she lacked the courage to point that out.
“I will inform the head maid first. Please wait a moment.”
“Very well.”
The Chief Physician stroked his beard and nodded in satisfaction.
Indeed, the taste of power was supreme.
Even the Empress’s maid trembling before him—
After a brief wait, a voice from inside finally called him in.
“See? Her Majesty holds me in high regard.”
His nose rose even higher.
The maid merely bowed her head and smiled stiffly.
“Ahem!”
Entering, the Chief Physician bowed to the Empress, who frowned as though fatigued.
“Your Majesty the Empress. How are you feeling today?”
“…About the same as usual.”
Her voice was drowsy, as if she had not fully awakened.
Putting on the most concerned expression possible, the Chief Physician stepped closer.
“Your Majesty. May this servant take a look?”
“Do so.”
With her permission, he approached right up to the bedchamber.
Then he carefully raised his hand toward the Empress’s eyes.
The moment the face of the most noble woman in this land fell into his grasp—
A thrill ran through him as he gently stroked around her eyes.
The Empress faintly drew her brows together in slight pain.
“Even if it hurts, you must receive frequent massages like this. Please bear with it.”
The Empress nodded almost imperceptibly.
After pressing her eyelids and temples several times, the Chief Physician casually brought up a topic.
“Come to think of it, Your Majesty. It seems I may need to learn a lesson from Her Highness.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It appears you haven’t heard yet. Yesterday at the medical hall, Her Highness’s guard suddenly collapsed…”
Since falling ill, the Empress no longer heard much news from outside.
The head maid usually informed her of necessary matters, but this was the first she had heard of it.
“The knight collapsed?”
Her surprised voice filled the bedchamber.
Maintaining the utmost politeness, the Chief Physician continued.
“Yes, Your Majesty. Due to poisoning, inflammation developed in his lungs, leading to complications.”
“Poisoning?”
“Yes. Fortunately, I examined him immediately and was preparing to treat him.”
“I see. Then why does the Crown Princess come into this story?”
The Chief Physician finished the massage and brought out the medicine he had prepared.
He checked the brown liquid, shook it to mix, and opened the lid.
“Her Highness was also in the medical hall. When she saw the man collapse, she declared she would treat him herself and began giving various instructions.”
“She treated the knight herself?”
“Yes. She said she had studied medicine while at the ducal estate.”
“Yes, I heard that. That she even detoxified a poison difficult to cure.”
“…Yes, that is correct. So perhaps she wished to test herself again this time.”
“Test? On a knight?”
The Empress’s brows knit together.
At her evident displeasure, the Chief Physician inwardly rejoiced and continued speaking—while not forgetting to drip the medicine into her eyes.
“She even accused me of misdiagnosis and incited the physicians. But in the end, the patient recovered, so I suppose it all worked out.”
“The Crown Princess did such a thing…?”
The Empress tilted her head, trailing off.
It was entirely different from the impression she had when the Crown Princess had come to greet her before.
Perceiving her doubt, the Chief Physician deftly altered his tone.
“It is only because I was being cautious. As symptoms of poisoning and pneumonia appeared simultaneously, I was contemplating the prescription—perhaps that made Her Highness anxious.”
A manner of speaking that mixes truth and lies can, at times, deceive even oneself.
At some point, the Chief Physician had begun to believe that he had indeed discerned the poisoning symptoms.
That he had known, but had simply been considering the method of treatment.
It was his own consolation.
“Your reputation must have suffered before the other physicians.”
“Not at all. I am merely grateful and content to be of help to Your Majesty.”
“Then why was the Crown Princess at the medical hall?”
For a moment, the Chief Physician’s eyes gleamed.
He had thought the first bait had failed when the Empress only half-bit.
But now she was willingly biting the second—his joy knew no bounds.
“She had come to see me.”
“To see you?”
“Yes. She demanded that I hand over the information regarding the medicine prescribed to Your Majesty…”
There, he deliberately trailed off.
The sharp-witted Empress needed no more.
“The Crown Princess truly meddled unnecessarily.”
“Perhaps she only worries for Your Majesty.”
The Chief Physician bowed deeply.
At a glance, he appeared the very image of a humble and loyal servant.
Had one looked closely, something peculiar might have been noticed in his complexion—but the Empress’s eyesight was currently poor.
The dimness of the room also helped conceal his true intentions.
“Yes, you always work hard.”
“I regret if I have caused Your Majesty concern. Perhaps I should not have mentioned it.”
“No. If not you, who would prepare my medicine? Continue to visit freely.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The Chief Physician smiled inwardly in triumph.
‘That settles it. No matter what the Crown Princess says, Her Majesty will protect me.’
Grinning slyly to himself, he exchanged a few more words with the Empress before leaving the bedchamber.
“Take care, Chief Physician.”
As he exited the palace amid the maids’ farewells—
“Chief Physician?”
At that very moment, he ran straight into the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, who were walking into the gardens of Tishurit Palace.
“I greet Your Highnesses.”
“We meet again here, Chief Physician.”
Seeing the Crown Prince and Crown Princess standing side by side, the Chief Physician was seized by an inexplicable anxiety.
It was not unusual for them to visit the Empress.
They might have come to pay their respects, or for some other matter.
Yet this time, for some reason—
It felt ominous.
The instincts he had honed over more than a decade as Chief Physician began flashing a red warning signal.
