Chapter 136

“What…?”

Nora the cleric asked sharply, sensing something off. At that moment, people burst into the ward.

“Coco!”

Aidan was the first to run to my side. Behind him came Prince Raven, Nicola, the senior cleric, physician/clinic and the rest of the medical staff.

What is happening?

“They say they’ve succeeded in developing a treatment!”

Aidan couldn’t contain his excitement and shook my shoulder.

“Careful. Aidan, step back……”

All I could do was listlessly tap his fingers. My fever raged, leaving me dazed and aching as if I’d been beaten all over. The hives across my body made my skin throb, and I was out of breath with the slightest movement. Seeing my complexion, Aidan hastily withdrew his hand.

“Sorry, Coco. I got too excited. Anyway, you’ll recover soon!”

I couldn’t quite grasp the situation. A treatment developed all of a sudden?

Prince Raven shoved the frantic Aidan aside and explained calmly.

“Literally, they’ve succeeded in developing a treatment that cures the plague.”

“…How? There was no sign of this until very recently.”

At Prince Raven’s signal, the senior cleric stepped forward. Whatever had happened while I lay there, his face looked like that of a living corpse. Now that I noticed, the other medical staff looked much the same. How had they conducted their research…

“After the Chancellor took measures, the disease’s progression slowed and infections dropped noticeably, so we used that as a basis to steer the research toward a treatment. We had cats catch rats, purified the streams, and thoroughly cleaned the clinic. We also had people steep and consume vegetables like ginger, onion, and garlic in water. Additionally, goods coming from outside were brought into the clinic only after a set amount of time had passed.”

I weakly nodded. These were all basic quarantine measures I had encountered in my previous life.

“We also ordered frequent handwashing, worrying about infection after contact. It’s a long story, but to sum up: since the infection rate had slowed, the medical staff gathered opinions to develop a more reliable treatment. We did not report experimental treatments that hadn’t been proven effective to the higher-ups, so as not to raise false hopes. In fact, before the Chancellor arrived, we tried a few treatments and failed, which was disheartening.”

“So this time?”

Nora the cleric couldn’t contain himself and asked again.

“We decided to test all the treatments we had only discussed in theory. That included those we’d postponed because herbs were hard to obtain. The clerics and medical staff took time to go gather herbs themselves—if you don’t know about herbs you won’t even recognize them. The nearby soldiers and Aidan helped a great deal. After desperately experimenting like that, today there was a severely ill patient who showed significant improvement, so we rushed here. I’m sorry, but the Chancellor’s condition can’t wait for experiments on a large number of patients.”

I could hardly lift a finger. I was in no position to be picky about anything.

“Exactly what is the treatment?”

My throat was swollen, and my weak, hoarse voice leaked out like a punctured balloon.

I felt like I could understand how my body was breaking down piece by piece. The senior cleric cautiously presented a bowl of thin medicine. Aidan took it and spooned small amounts into my mouth. This must be the treatment the cleric mentioned. I managed to swallow it little by little.

“The common thread in the Chancellor’s measures was strengthening immunity and maintaining cleanliness to avoid infection. In particular, the streams that were purified daily with sacred power proved effective, so we used holy water. We diluted the holy water and mixed seven types of purifying herbs—those that grow only in clean parts of the forest—in appropriate ratios, and simmered the mixture in a pot all day.”

The condition of the medical staff spoke volumes about how hard they’d worked to find the right ratios.

“I can’t say it’s a perfect cure, but seeing the Chancellor’s condition, we can manufacture a better medicine. The same goes for other patients. If this treatment works well, we can finally escape the plague.”

Prince Raven patted the senior cleric on the back.

“You’ve worked very hard. It’s not easy to accomplish this in such a short time… I will never forget your efforts.”

The senior cleric shook his head.

“Half of it is thanks to the Chancellor’s actions. And… should we send the Chancellor away, who worked so hard for the plague-stricken East, without trying anything? We had to do something.”

“Thank you…”

I wanted to express my gratitude properly but only a weak, hoarse voice came out. The cleric checked the empty bowl and carefully laid me back down.

“It’s important to restore your strength. For now, don’t worry and get plenty of rest. Eating well and resting are the Chancellor’s top priorities. Nutritional intake is the most urgent…”

While he explained precautions to take when taking the medicine, Prince Raven, who had stepped back, left the ward with a stern expression. Nicola gave me a small nod and hurried after him.

The treatment developed by the medical staff gradually showed its effects. The fever that had set my whole body aflame began to subside and the swollen throat went down. Thanks to that, swallowing food and medicine became easier. I still had little strength and the hives remained, but this was a major improvement.

Aidan stuck close by to care for me, and when he went out to gather herbs, Nora the cleric and Nicola took turns watching over me.

“Nora the cleric.”

“Yes, Chancellor.”

“Actually, I heard everything.”

The prickly man, wrapped in cloth with only his eyes peeking out, cocked his head.

“What do you mean?”

“That you’ll become my slave once I recover.”

He flinched for a moment, then wetted a clean cloth and wiped my hand.

“Even without that, you won this bet against the Chancellor.”

That was true—since the treatment was developed and the plague showed signs of abating.

“So are you really going to become my slave?”

“Do you think I agreed to the bet as an empty promise? When I think about that time… haah.”

I let out a small laugh. Rude as he was, he seemed to keep his promises.

“Actually, I don’t need a slave. You’ve apologized for your past rudeness and I’ve accepted it. And… you’re showing it through your actions now.”

He shrugged and tidied the cloth and basin of water he had brought.

“I’ve thought about it before, but the Chancellor is truly generous. Turning a cleric into a slave is unprecedented. It’s really a great opportunity—don’t regret it, will you?”

“I saw your tears, so I know your sincerity well enough.”

Maybe it was an embarrassing past, because Nora the cleric’s face flushed. I chuckled and continued.

“You’re even warning you’ll regret it—what a shame. Then how about this? A sort of ‘neglected slave.’”

“What is a ‘neglected slave’?”

He grumbled and asked back.

“You do your own work. If you go on living like that and eventually meet me, you do as I ask without complaint.”

“The freest slave in the world, then.”

“You’ll have to avoid me well. I only give difficult requests.”

“I’ll do my best to run away.”

Perhaps because that great conflict had been resolved, we became much more at ease with each other. Most quarrels only seem resolved on the surface, but not so with Nora the cleric. It was an unfamiliar experience for me as well.

“Slowly but steadily, you’re recovering. It’s going smoothly.”

The senior cleric smiled with satisfaction. Unfortunately, his gaunt face remained.

“This is nothing short of a miracle. Thank you.”

I sat propped on the bed and drank the revised treatment. Like an ever-revising report—final, final-final, truly final, final-final-final—the medicine kept changing between meals. I heard they were finding the optimal ratios. I had become an unintended clinical subject, but I was grateful nonetheless.

“Among the minor cases, some complete recoveries are starting to appear.”

“Really?”

It was news that made my eyes widen. They said that if the patients’ physical strength could be bolstered, even the severe and emergency cases could improve faster.

‘So it’s ultimately a food problem.’

Prince Raven was right in front of me, so I didn’t voice it, but looking at the meal menus, one couldn’t be unaware of the situation. If the Chancellor’s meals were like this, other patients surely weren’t getting proper food.

I felt we couldn’t wait any longer…….

We really needed to request support from the surrounding nobles before supplies ran completely dry.

“W-wait. Who are you! This ward—!”

Suddenly there was a commotion outside. The murmur grew louder.

“What’s the matter?”

Prince Raven shouted toward the outside. Before anyone could answer, a man barged into the ward without hesitation, and everyone gaped.

“Supreme Justice?”

“Duke of Ariadne?”

“Duke, how did you get here…?”

While everyone was stunned, he paid no attention to them and strode straight toward me, as if he saw nothing around him.

“…Ren?”

Even though the hives hadn’t gone and must look awful, he hugged me without a hint of embarrassment.

“Careful! Don’t come here!”

Startled, I pushed him away, but he pulled me into his arms all the more, as if suffocating me with his embrace.

“How am I supposed to live without you? Why did you try to leave without telling me? Are you really trying to drive me mad?”

His words were so moving and grand, but I couldn’t stop my pupils from wavering at the horrified expressions of the people visible behind him.

There are people here… Is it really okay to make this so public?!