Chapter: 28
The thought, ‘Why is this person here?’ was a strange one.
After all, it’s not strange for a doctor to visit a patient.
It seemed the real source of her discomfort was simply that she hadn’t seen Zayra here before.
“Hello. I’m here to see Rain.”
“What I meant was, why areĀ youĀ here?”
Zayra crossed her arms and looked down at me with a fierce glare. It seemed she no longer felt any need to pretend to respect me.
Well, it’s my fault her lie was exposed, after all.
Besides, with nothing left to feel guilty about, she apparently had no intention of avoiding me anymore.
“I wanted to check on Rain since she was attacked by a monster.”
“Not necessary. What would someone who isn’t even a doctor know about checking on her?”
“But still…”
“A purification stone is more than enough for the likes of her.Ā I’mĀ the doctor for the Argent family, not you.”
Zayra flicked her hand, signalling for me to leave. She had a point.
It’s true that a purification stone would be sufficient to finish the job now. I was only doing it because my method was better.
I was just hesitating, wondering if I should leave, when…
“Ugh…”
A groan came from inside the hospital room.
“!”
I quickly flung the door open, slipped past Zayra, and entered. I then stood before the bed where the source of the sound lay.
“Rain…”
The woman, who always had her eyes closed, turned her head and looked at me.
“Winiel… my lady?”
Rain blinked a few times, her brow furrowed as if trying to focus. My lower lip suddenly jutted out involuntarily.
I was so scared you wouldn’t wake up…
I’d believed she would, but as time passed, a seed of anxiety had taken root in my heart.
After all, I wasn’t a doctor. I’d only ever been at the temple; I’d never directly saved anyone afflicted by corruption.
“I’m alright now. Please don’t worry.”
Rain smiled gently and raised her hand. But perhaps she still lacked control, for her hand stopped mid-air.
I reached out and clasped her hand tightly in both of mine.
“…Thank you.”
For telling me I wasn’t the culprit, and for opening your eyes like this.
But my throat tightened, and the next words wouldn’t come.
“I’m glad it seems everything worked out well.”
Rain spoke as if trying to comfort me, even though she didn’t know the full situation. For some reason, that made my lower lip jut out even more.
“Who gave you permission to come in here? Will you get out or not?”
Just then, Zayra approached from behind and grabbed my shoulder.
“And who might you be?”
Rain’s voice was flat as she asked. It was her usual tone, but after the warmth she’d just shown, it now sounded chillingly cold.
“Can’t you see? I’m the doctor. You came to your senses thanks to me, so why the glare?”
Zayra let out a hollow laugh and flipped her hair back. Rain had merely looked at her, but it seemed Zayra’s animosity toward me had splashed onto her as well.
“I apologize, but even so, to Lady Winiel, ugh…”
“Please don’t get up! You’ve only just woken up!”
Startled, I pushed Rain, who was trying to sit up, back down.
Seeing her continuous frown, she must be in pain.
Even if the corruption was mostly gone, remnants would still linger, causing discomfort.
I rolled up my sleeves. Alright then, I’ll just…
“Tch. Playing sick over a bit of leftover corruption. Anyone would think she’d lost an arm.”
I froze mid-motion.
Playing… sick?
“If she’s awake, you can both leave. I’m busy enough without you two bothering me.”
“…How can a sick person leave?”
“What?”
Zayra, who had been examining medicine bottles on the desk, slammed one down.
“Are you talking back to me right now?”
“I’m not talking back, I’m asking how a sick person can get up and leave the hospital room.”
“Sick? What ‘sick’? She’s awake, that’s it. I thought I told you, I’m the doctor here, not you.”
“Oh, I see! So even though she keeps frowning, can’t use her hand properly, and can’t even sit up, you, the doctor, don’t consider that sick!”
I beamed a smile. I didn’t want to cause a scene in front of a patient, but… I was just too angry. I absolutely couldn’t let that comment slide!
“Ha. You’re a really funny kid, aren’t you?”
At my words, Zayra’s previously annoyed expression vanished, replaced by a venomous glare. She narrowed her eyes as if she were going to devour me.
“You think I don’t know the patient’s condition? I’m the one who treated her!”
“Really? You treated her all by yourself? That’s amazing!”
“Still with the backtalk. Ah, or is it that you want recognition for the partĀ youĀ played? Pushing your way in when a purification stone would’ve sufficed, and now you want credit?”
Zayra curled one corner of her mouth. I kept smiling brightly.
“No, I’m genuinely amazed! You treated her without even entering the hospital room!”
“What nonsense is…!”
Zayra flinched.
“I came in and out of here plenty of times to check on her!”
“But the position of the purification stones was always the same as when I came. There’s nothing written on the medical records on the desk. And dust has piled up on the chair where the attending physician would sit! You must have come and gone like a ghost, treating her without leaving a trace!”
“…!”
For a moment, a crack appeared in Zayra’s composure.
She probably didn’t expect me to have noticed all these details.
Honestly, I wouldn’t normally have checked so meticulously. But the patient was Rain. I was curious if the doctor was treating her well.
I thought she might be coming and going secretly, but… she wasn’t.
Even while seeing the dust accumulate on the chair, I had brainwashed myself into thinking I must be wrong. That the people from the North must be good people, surely they were treating her.
But not everyone is good. Just as there was Rain, who maintained her integrity even among the bad servants who gossiped about Cain, there could be bad ones mixed in among the good servants from the North.
“Yeah, I didn’t come here. So what? DidĀ youĀ do a good job? Do you know how long it took for her to wake up because you were purifying her? For all your boasting about being a Saintess Candidate, you’re useless.”
Zayra poked my forehead with her finger.
“How dare you lay a hand…”
I tightly held Rain’s hand as she tried to sit up behind me, as if to say it was okay.
And it truly was okay.
“Whether my abilities are good or not, the Duke himself has seen them.”
“Hey, you think you’re the only one? So have I. I became the attending physician because the Duke acknowledged my abilities too. So get over your arrogant idea that you’re special, you naive little girl.”
“Hmm, I see. I am just a kid, so I don’t know much.”
I nodded obediently.
“Then, since you’re so knowledgeable about the world, I’ll go ask the Duke about these things. About whether a person in pain, who just woke up, should be called a faker and kicked out of the hospital room.”
With that, I walked towards the door.
“…Stop right there.”
But before I had taken a few steps, Zayra’s low voice came from behind me. Pretending not to hear, I left the room.
In an instant, Zayra grabbed me and spun me around.
“Are you crazy? Why drag the busy Duke into this? Ha, fine. I’ll leave, so do whatever you want!”
Zayra shoved me back towards Rain, then, after glaring at both of us, stormed out of the room. She pretended to be magnanimous, but it was essentially an escape. Even though she said that, she wouldn’t want to show the Duke that she had acted wrongly. And getting caught fabricating things with the purification stone had only just happened today.
Too bad. That was a chance to completely destroy her credibility.
Rain didn’t even get an apology.
But it was okay.
I can just tell the Duke.
My mouth wasn’t sealed shut. I’ll go, tell him everything, and make sure she apologizes. It might be childish, but it was the best way.
But first…
I scurried over to Rain.
“You must be in a lot of pain, right? Let me take a look!”
“…?”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“…It’s nothing.”
Rain shook her head with a dazed expression, as if she’d just witnessed something astonishing.
Hmm.
I was curious about her reaction, but taking care of Rain’s condition came first. Setting my curiosity aside, I gathered holy power in my hand. Soon, Rain’s tightly furrowed brow slowly relaxed.
***
“I expected her to be a nuisance, but I never imagined she’d be this irritating.”
Zayra crossed her legs and leaned back in her chair. She had been avoiding her, not wanting the extra trouble, but in the end, she’d gotten entangled anyway.
The way she talks. What an ill-mannered brat.
From her status as a Saintess Candidate to the smiling face she made at her, everything about Winiel was annoying.
“Hah.”
As much as she wanted to corner her until she cried, Zayra held back. She couldn’t let a momentary emotion destroy everything she had built.
Look how far I’ve come to get here.
Besides, having just heard how that man Tristan had met his ruin in a similar fashion, she was even more determined not to make the same mistake. Even if Winiel went and tattled.
And anyway, enduring this wasn’t necessarily a loss.
“In the end, the only thing that matters is who His Grace believes in the end.”
Zayra picked up a medicine bottle and let out a laugh.
