Chapter 167

Throughout the process of moving the blood-covered Arenheit to a guest room for dignitaries, showing him to the royal palace physician, and waiting for the results, Yurik engaged in a dialogue with himself.

Had he killed the Duke?

That couldn't be. He had only resolved to properly deal with the Duke.

He hadn't even decided how to treat him, let alone whether to kill him or not, yet the Duke had collapsed, spewing blood like a fountain.

And right there in the imperial palace, as soon as he was before him.

...If things went well, rumors might spread that he had finally eliminated the Duke who had been a thorn in his side.

Just as irritation was beginning to rise beyond disbelief, the palace physician reported to Yurik.

"Your Highness, I have completed the examination."

"How is he?"

"It seems he hasn't ingested poison. However, it appears his digestive organs are severely damaged, causing bleeding. His collapse was due to pain and sudden excessive bleeding."

"Treatment?"

"I will prescribe medicine to reduce pain and protect the internal organs. And he absolutely needs rest."

"You may withdraw."

The palace physician bowed and retreated.

Yurik observed for a moment the face of Arenheit, which had drained of all blood and become as white as paper.

The Duke was the only bloodline of Hartmann left in this world.

Just as Leandros had revered the former duchess, he tended to be protective of her son.

If not for that, he wouldn't have attempted to escape the castle with Arenheit, nor would he still be by Arenheit's side claiming to be his escort knight.

Did Leandros have some sort of habit of only responding to the Hartmann bloodline?

Yurik's long fingers, lost in thought, tapped the edge of the bed.

Although he hadn't expected a situation like this, it was nevertheless beneficial for Yurik the longer the Duke stayed in the royal palace.

Arenheit had an inseparable relationship with Leandros.

Leandros would come looking for Arenheit wherever he was.

So now that the Duke's safety was secured in the royal palace, Yurik's original goal was as good as achieved.

Even though it wasn't pleasant to pretend to fall for the Duke's petty trick.

'It's a shame I won't hear Sir Leandros's story.'

But it wouldn't matter since he would be able to meet him in person soon.

Yurik said to the green-haired ducal servant standing beside the bed.

"Take good care of the Duke."

With those words, Yurik left the room.

As soon as the door closed, the green-haired servant, who had been respectfully bowing his head, whispered into the ear of Arenheit, who was lying like a corpse.

"He's gone."

At the servant's quiet report, Arenheit's bright brown eyes, which everyone had thought were asleep, opened with a snap.

He sat up abruptly and took out a small, almost empty bottle from his bosom.

At the bottom of the bottle, a clear golden liquid was pooled slightly.

* * *

Throughout the journey to the royal palace, he had pondered much.

Facing Yurik was unavoidable, but he needed to be minimally manipulated by him if possible.

Being dragged around by Yurik would bring no benefit to them.

So the method he came up with.

A strategy based on the saying, 'If you don't attack, you won't be attacked.'

Namely, creating a situation where conversation was impossible.

-The role play we're going to do today is... drum roll, please. A duke on the brink of death and his servant. I'll play the duke, and you'll be the servant.

-Isn't that just Your Grace's usual self? Have I been mistaken? Weren't you always someone who maintained a distance from health?

-No. I'd like you to focus on the 'brink of death' part. And you'll also be known as a 'servant' rather than a physician.

-Are you planning to feign illness?

-As much as I'd like to... I've actually already used the feigning illness trick before in front of Crown Prince Yurik. He won't fall for it this time.

-I've got a good idea. If you jump out of the moving carriage, you won't have to go to the royal palace or talk to the Crown Prince. Isn't this the method of discarding one thing to gain two? No, wait. If you die once, I'll have another opportunity to dissect you. Discarding one thing to gain three! A world where everyone is happy! Hahaha.

-Do you really want to get in trouble? But creating a situation where I need to be bedridden does seem like a good idea. We're having a moment of mental connection.

-What? Huh?

-I can't jump out of the carriage, but instead, I know a method to vomit blood.

-D-don't tell me.

-That method is none other than the tonic created by the ducal family's physician, the genius pharmacist Verde! The century's renowned medicine that puts tremendous strain on the stomach, intestines, and the body!

-That's what I made for you! Don't do it!

-I'm going to chug it right here and now!

-Waaaaaah! Has this duke finally gone mad! Spit it out! I said spit it out! Throw it up!

There was a hidden secret to Verde's tonic.

This medicine was designed to supplement energy and vitality, reinforcing his strength and vigor, which were like withered branches.

Considering the difference between him and ordinary people, it naturally required far more ingredients than what was sold in the market.

It contained not only ingredients known to be good for the body but also insect and animal poisons, and it was even extremely boiled down to make it highly concentrated.

The result of mixing it slightly with water to make it palatable was this golden liquid.

That was probably why Verde had separately specified the dosage and consumption routine, and even prepared a recovery medicine to treat the internal organs that were gradually being destroyed due to the tonic.

But what if he drank only the concentrated tonic, in an amount meant for several months, without the recovery medicine?

Naturally, his stomach would be in turmoil, and side effects would appear.

It was a simple idea: if feigning illness wouldn't work with Yurik, then he should be truly ill.

And the effect was spot on.

"I thought he would hang around, but he left right away. Tell him I won't be able to leave the room for about a week as I need to stay in bed."

"Alright, but would you please take this?"

Verde handed over three small medicine bottles.

After drinking all three medicines without protest, the burning sensation in his stomach, caused by the tonic, slowly subsided.

Meanwhile, Verde was pressing his brow, filled with agony.

"What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking that I should never again joke about asking you to die, even as a joke."

"Why?"

"Why? Because you actually try to die!"

Verde suddenly exploded. How startling.

He pounded the bed and screamed at the top of his lungs, spitting as he did so.

"In all my life, I've never seen such a person! Taking that kind of medicine in such quantities, and then as soon as the Crown Prince leaves, grinning with delight saying 'he left right away'!"

"V-Verde."

"I don't know if it's your original personality or if it's because you can wake up after dying, but in any case, is living like this good for you!"

"But you also said it would be good if I died!"

"That's in the case of homicide! Not when you suddenly attempt suicide by poison in front of me! You might think it's fortunate since you'll wake up again if you inevitably die because of someone else. But you... a still green young man saying you'd rather die than talk to the Crown Prince, and then harming yourself right in front of me, is that normal? Is that normal! And you committed suicide with the medicine I made! What kind of parents raised someone with such a mentality to grow up like this!"

Strictly speaking, Arenheit was an orphan now. Ah, of course, Yoo Yaesung was also an orphan.

So he didn't really know how Arenheit had grown up, as a reader.

It wasn't in the book either.

Verde was gesticulating wildly, jumping up and down as he pointed at him.

"Try it one more time, and I'll lay you down and spank you! Do the attendant or knight who stick by your side know about this? Ah, of course, they're probably too busy pandering to you because you're the duke or whatever! That's why you can do such things without hesitation!"

"Why are Arndt and Leandros suddenly being brought up! They don't know about my unique constitution either. I've never once done anything reckless in front of them."

"What, so you only act like this in front of me? Is this some kind of high-level physician bullying? Even if I gave a trashy impression, isn't this too much!"

"Well, you're... the only person who knows my secret!"

"Even if I'm the only one, shouldn't there be a line that you don't cross? The fact that you don't have such a line is the problem in the first place!"

Hearing this, he felt wronged.

He was just trying to save the world. What was wrong with using his special characteristic?

When he had died in front of Leandros, Leandros had completely detached himself emotionally from him. That was why he decided never to die in front of Leandros.

Thanks to that, things seemed to be going well so far, but why was Verde getting so angry?

It might be unpleasant for him that Arenheit had died using the medicine he had made. But even so...

"Listen well, young master of a noble family who lacks common sense. You need to maintain a minimum standard as a person."

"You're saying I shouldn't use the medicine you made in that way? I'm sorry for that."

"No, that's not the issue. That was something that could be unpleasant, but I'm talking about a more fundamental problem. Do you understand? As a physician who has seen life and death to the point of nausea, I'm advising my patient."

"...What advice?"

"Everyone should maintain a minimum standard toward people. You care for your knight and attendant, and that's a good thing. But what I'm talking about isn't about others. You act as if you've forgotten that you yourself are a person. You need to establish a minimum standard for yourself and adhere to it."

"You're saying I should treat myself the way I treat Arndt or Leandros?"

"In any way! Let's say you need to resolve an issue, and the easiest way is to kill Arndt, me, or Sir Leandros. Would you kill them?"

"What are you saying! Of course not. How could I kill them? I would try to find another way."

"Right. Please treat yourself that way too. Do you understand? You use yourself too much like a disposable item. This is almost abuse. I aim for my patients to lead healthy lives, not to look after patients who live while torturing themselves!"

Verde's face had turned red.

He seemed to have heated up from trying to suppress his anger while speaking.

Watching him pull at the collar of his top to cool down, Arenheit asked.

"I don't think I've heard this before, but how old are you?"

"Why are you suddenly asking that? Thirty-five."

"With that age, you still did a role play with me. That's quite something."

"Now that you know, can you please not do such things anymore?"

Did all adults come to think like that?

But for someone who had been transmigrated into a horror novel and needed to see the ending, it was too much like a dream.

Even if he tried to treat himself well, just watching someone die was no different from abuse for him.

In the end, the way to be good to himself was to see the possible ending quickly without hurting others in this world.

So that he could create a situation where they, including himself, could live peaceful lives.

He couldn't explain all this to Verde. But since there was nothing wrong with what Verde said, he nodded for now.

"I'll try for now."

"It's not about trying- No, never mind. Even that is a great improvement. Alright. I'll be watching from now on."

Verde pulled a nearby chair and plopped down.

As he slowly digested his anger, he asked in a calmer voice.

"So what are you going to do after a week? I don't know why, but you said you were avoiding Crown Prince. But the palace physician will visit for a while, and once your body improves, a report will be submitted right away, and you'll have a private audience with the Crown Prince."

"Don't worry about that. I should be able to drag out the time a bit more."

It would be nice if he could check where Leandros's party was right now.

They would probably send a letter to the townhouse, but by then it would be too late.

At that time, he was just feeling regretful, not knowing that Leandros had already finished the engagement in Martang.