STIH 10

chapter 10

“Then why are you making such a fuss about it?”

As if he had read my thoughts, Finn gave me a strange smile.

“Sir Scott takes very good care of the Master.”

“I see…”

I wasn’t entirely convinced.

Still, it was a relief that Duke Ambrose was apparently healthy.

I really don’t have the luxury of worrying about someone else’s health right now.

I swallowed a sigh of both relief and concern.

In my previous life, I was diagnosed with the same disease as my mother during the late autumn when I was nineteen.

Of course, the disease itself had probably started much earlier.

Morgan estimated it had begun around two years before that, but neither then nor now could I pinpoint exactly when.

My body had always been exhausted and aching from constant labor.

If my fingertips hadn’t gradually gone numb…

If I hadn’t started dropping things and getting forced out of every job…

I probably never would have thought of getting examined by Morgan at all.

Teacher Morgan cried so much that day.

Strangely, I couldn’t even cry.

Treatment was already impossible.

Instead, all I could think about was where I should send my siblings before winter arrived.

Anyway, less than a year after receiving the diagnosis, I slowly lost control of my limbs and eventually died during a scorching summer at the age of twenty.

Mom’s situation had been similar.

No, actually, Mom was far more stubborn than I was.

She must have noticed something was wrong long before.

Yet she kept dancing until her legs became so stiff they refused to move.

Only then did she finally collapse.

And within two months, she was gone.

As far as this timeline was concerned, that had happened only a few days ago.

I lowered my eyes and briefly resented whatever miracle had brought me back.

…Couldn’t it have sent me back just a few days earlier?

So I could have seen Mom one more time.

Held her hand again.

Asked her something I’d always wanted to know.

Mom, I was in so much pain. How did you endure it all so bravely?

Though honestly, I already knew the answer.

“Bebe!”

Hui and Dido came wobbling toward me.

Both of them were covered in the ridiculous accessories that had come with my gifts.

These troublemakers.

They couldn’t even behave for a little while.

“I can’t survive like this.”

I muttered it out of habit.

Then I ended up laughing.

It was the same sight that always made me want to keep living.

Yes.

Made me want to live…

“Huh?”

That was when I suddenly noticed my hands and knees.

A strange certainty struck me.

This is fate.

“That physician earlier… his name was Scott, right?”

“Yes.”

“I think he’s a miracle doctor.”

“Sir Scott?”

Finn muttered doubtfully, but I barely heard him.

I slowly opened and closed the hand whose wound had nearly disappeared.

I found him.

My doctor.

* * *

After bundling Hui up and sending him out into the garden to burn off some energy, I sat down with Dido at a table inside a small greenhouse that looked like a giant birdcage.

How was the garden still so perfectly maintained even in winter?

Thanks to that, I didn’t have to worry about Hui getting hurt while running around.

Dido looked happy too, practically glued to the sparkling crystal windows of the greenhouse.

I smiled in complete satisfaction.

Of course.

This was Ambrose.

A family that accepted only the best.

Then naturally their physician must be the best too!

I happily swung my leg, where only faint traces of the scrape remained.

The ointment Scott had applied yesterday had to be extraordinary.

Otherwise, there was no way my thin, delicate skin, inherited from Mom, could heal this quickly.

Good.

That eased a huge burden from my mind.

Even if Morgan’s prediction proved true and the disease returned around age seventeen, I probably wouldn’t die as helplessly as I had before.

I now had enough money to buy Black Death Grass and access to the greatest physician in the country.

What was there to fear?

Though prevention would still be best.

Even expensive Black Death Grass could only slow the disease.

There was no cure.

It was so rare that it didn’t even have an official name.

Very few physicians had ever heard of it.

Even knowledgeable Morgan had only read about it in an old foreign book when he was young.

Mom had been the first patient he’d ever seen with it.

The people who knew about it called it:

Wax Disease.

Because the limbs gradually hardened as if coated in wax.

At first, it only caused fatigue.

As it progressed, the fingers and toes became numb.

Then paralysis began.

The numbness slowly spread through the limbs amid unimaginable pain.

And once it reached the body’s core, there was only one thing left to do.

Prepare for death.

Because eventually…

The heart would harden too.

…Terrifying.

I never want to go through that again.

The pain was awful enough.

But lying helplessly in bed while feeling my heart slowly tighten…

Honestly, I’d rather jump into hellfire myself.

At least Black Death Grass delayed the paralysis.

That would remain my last line of defense.

For now, I’ll just keep seeing Scott regularly.

As the best physician in the country, he surely knew about Wax Disease.

And if I carefully encouraged him to study it…

Maybe he’d even discover a cure.

Who cared if he disliked me?

If he could save my life, I was willing to humble myself as much as necessary.

There was only one problem.

Scott looked about as old as Duke Ambrose.

What if he suddenly retires…?

Just imagining his absence made me anxious.

Surely there were other talented physicians training in this enormous ducal estate.

But the title Chief Physician sounded far too appealing.

The chief physician responsible for the direct Ambrose family.

The very best of the best.

Ah.

If only he had an apprentice who inherited all of his medical knowledge.

A young, healthy apprentice eager to learn…

If one doesn’t exist, I’ll create one.

A simple but perfect conclusion flashed through my mind.

Perhaps because I already knew someone suitable.

Feeling as though my problems were solving themselves, I tapped the table with my finger.

Perfect.

I still needed to repay a debt anyway.

Though if an Ambrose princess suddenly contacted him, that timid man might faint on the spot.

The thought seemed entirely plausible.

I chuckled.

Good.

So my illness was settled for now.

The bigger issue is that I need to get used to being an Ambrose princess myself.

Even now, receiving gifts from the Imperial Family felt unreal.

But I couldn’t stay like this forever.

I was going to live well.

This time, I would keep the promise I failed to keep for Mom.

My first goal was survival.

My second goal was raising my siblings well.

And my final goal…

Spending money recklessly!

Goodbye to my miserable life of poverty!

To hell with frugality and modesty!

I was going to spend so much money that people would be left speechless!

Though first I’d need to stop feeling guilty every time I saw the golden bathtub in my bathroom.

I steadied my resolve.

One step at a time.

I’d adapt.

And enjoy it.

The life of a ducal heiress.

At that moment, Hui came running into the greenhouse with a flushed face.

He was clutching something in his tiny hands.

I greeted him as elegantly and gently as possible.

“What is it, Hui?”

“Snake sleeping.”

“…Put it back immediately. It’s still hibernating.”

I instantly dropped the elegant act and chased Hui and the sleeping snake right back outside.

Honestly.

How does he keep finding these things?

Shuddering, I seriously considered something.

Maybe I should take him to the knights’ order after all?

I wasn’t planning to push him into anything.

But if he had talent, it deserved to be nurtured.

A fearless and energetic child like Hui seemed perfectly suited to becoming a knight.

As for quiet little Dido—

CLANG!

I turned toward the sound and nearly had a heart attack.

Dido was hitting the thick crystal greenhouse window with a stone he’d picked up from the ground.

I immediately rushed over and grabbed his wrist.

“Dido! That’s dangerous!”

“Mmm…”

He stubbornly tightened his grip.

Not a chance.

I firmly took the stone away and looked him straight in the eyes.

“No. You can do anything else you want.”

“But getting hurt is absolutely not allowed.”

Dido pouted ever so slightly and turned his head away.

Honestly.

What was he trying to accomplish by sulking?

It only made him look cute.

Still, why had he suddenly done that?

Not that I’d get an answer.

I’ll just keep taking care of Dido carefully.

Watching my youngest brother march away as if he didn’t want to be near me, I sighed.

Even if he was slow, I couldn’t simply leave him alone.

That was the burden of being a guardian.

“Wait. I’ll come with you.”

I followed after him.

Then—

Rustle.

A cat appeared from nearby bushes.

Ah.

The kitten from yesterday.

“…So you were white.”

At first glance I had thought its fur was gray.

But looking more closely, it was actually white.

It was just dirty.

Its eyes were golden too.

My favorite color.

You’d be beautiful after a bath.

Not that I’m going to give you one.

I’m old enough to know better than to casually pick up every stray animal I see.

Whether it understood my cold-hearted thoughts or not, the kitten cautiously approached.

Then it lightly bumped its damp nose against my ankle.

A moment later, it heard the noise Hui and Dido were making and bolted away.

I watched its disappearing figure for a moment before turning back toward my siblings.

I wasn’t responsible for a kitten.

I was responsible for two humans who needed to be fed, bathed, and put to bed.

And so another chaotic day passed.

That night, I generously applied Scott’s special ointment before going to sleep.

And the next morning—

The wounds had vanished completely.