OPDPS 63

“How was the dinner? I imagine it must’ve been uncomfortable. The Lady didn’t make things too difficult for you, did she?”

The Grand Duke spoke in an even tone, as if the words carried no special meaning.

“No, nothing happened.”

There had been a bit of a power struggle, and some loaded exchanges—but nothing he couldn’t handle.

“She’s a scheming woman. Every action she takes is calculated. You’d best be careful.”

“Is that so? Isn’t that fairly normal? Well, Northerners do tend to be more straightforward.”

Wasn’t the Lady from the South? Connie had mentioned it, Aeryl recalled. He brushed it off as unimportant—but the Grand Duke didn’t.

“She’s seen me as a thorn in her side from the beginning. She could try to harm you—because you’re someone I brought into the household.”

“Have things always been bad between you two?”

“There was never a chance for it to be otherwise.”

“Well, true. But don’t worry. I’m not as easy to deal with as I look.”

“I know that, but still…”

“I’ll handle things with the Lady. Don’t worry about it.”

Aeryl gently guided the Grand Duke to sit in a chair at the table.

“Now, let’s begin the examination.”

The Grand Duke couldn’t say anything more and simply let Aeryl take over.

When Aeryl lowered his gaze, his long black lashes fanned down. Watching the man everyone feared so much act so docilely around him—it always stirred something in Aeryl’s chest.

‘Focus, focus.’

He shook off the distractions and concentrated on the examination. Thankfully, since the Derbas incident, the Grand Duke had stabilized again.

“How’s your work going? Any discomfort?”

“…Nothing in particular.”

That was a lie. He couldn’t very well admit that Aeryl’s face kept flashing through his mind all day.

“That’s good to hear. I’ve been monitoring things the past few days—your pheromone levels have been steady. Hmm, this might be the perfect time for a full diagnostic. What do you think?”

“I’ve already purchased the necessary medical artifacts. We can proceed without going to the hospital.”

At that, Aeryl’s eyes lit up.

“You bought medical artifacts…? How much did you buy?”

“Everything that was available.”

“You’re kidding.”

‘Did I really just hear that right?’

For a moment, he nearly forgot who he was dealing with and almost hugged the Grand Duke and kissed him. He clamped both hands over his mouth in shock.

Startled, the Grand Duke looked up—and saw a side of Aeryl he had never witnessed before.

His brown eyes sparkled so brightly they almost seemed gold, and his cheeks were flushed like roses soaked in sunlight after the rain. The pheromones radiating from him were dangerously sweet, enough to make one’s head spin.

“You bought all of it? No way! Not even the Imperial Medical Academy had all that… It must’ve cost a fortune to gather everything!”

“I can handle that much.”

“Wow, Your Grace, you’re amazing. What am I going to do? I’ve forgotten how to use half of them. No, this won’t do—I need to study again. Your Grace, may I go into the archive? I heard there are a few medical texts there.”

The Grand Duke nodded. At this point, he would’ve nodded even if Aeryl had asked for the entire archive. Aeryl’s excitement was that overwhelming—it was dazzling.

“Once all the artifacts arrive, we’ll proceed with the diagnostic right away! I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of this!”

Aeryl clenched his fist with determination. The Grand Duke nodded once more.

Even after the examination was over and Aeryl had left, he remained dazed for a long while.

***

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The loud, urgent knocking snapped Aeryl’s eyes open.

Dawn was just breaking. There was only one reason someone would come looking for him so early—

A patient!

He leapt to his feet and opened the door.

Standing there was the maid who had delivered the Grand Duke’s wife’s invitation yesterday. She looked frantic.

“Doctor, you need to come with me right away.”

“What’s going on?”

“My friend’s been sick all night, and now she’s clutching her stomach in terrible pain!”

“Where is she? Lead the way.”

Stopping briefly by the infirmary to gather supplies, he ran with the maid toward the west wing. The maids under the Grand Duke’s stepmother resided on the second floor at the far end.

The castle was so large, they had to run quite a distance to get there.

“This way.”

The maid led him into one of several rooms.

It was modestly furnished, and on the bed, a woman lay curled up in pain.

“Aah… who… are you…”

“I brought the doctor.”

“Excuse me for a moment.”

Aeryl stepped in politely and began the examination.

She had no fever, and the stomach pain seemed to have settled. She didn’t appear to be in serious condition at all. Despite saying she’d been ill all night, she still had plenty of energy.

“…It doesn’t look like there’s anything seriously wrong, but you said your stomach hurt?”

“Yes? Yes! It started hurting suddenly, like my insides were twisting…”

There were many reasons someone could have stomach pain. Aeryl asked for permission and gently pressed down on her abdomen.

No reaction. No sign of pain, and the area wasn’t firm or distended.

‘She’s fine.’

Aeryl looked at her face. When their eyes met, she quickly averted her gaze.

‘…She’s faking it.’

He was certain. But asking why she was pretending would only make things awkward.

The maid who’d brought him was kneeling beside the bed, holding the patient’s hand.

‘Well… sometimes people just want to feign illness.’

He understood. People were more alike than they thought.

He’d faked being sick plenty of times himself, just to get out of etiquette lessons.

If only it hadn’t been in the middle of the night, when he should’ve been sleeping…

Still, he couldn’t bring himself to be upset—he could tell how worried her friend had been.

“You must have a lot on your mind lately. When stress piles up, it often affects the body. Try resting for a day.”

“Yes.”

“Doctor, doesn’t she need some medicine or something?”

“It’s not that serious.”

‘There’s no medicine for faking illness. You know that, right?’

Aeryl smiled, meeting the patient’s gaze. She smiled back, awkwardly.

Was that early morning visit a sign of what was to come?

The rest of the day was an absolute whirlwind.

When Aeryl returned to his room, got ready, and headed to the infirmary, a patient was already waiting.

Just as he finished treating that one, another arrived—and so it continued nonstop, like links in a chain.

He barely had time to eat, catching bites in between exams.

By the time he finally took a breath, the sun had already set.

Maybe it’s because the infirmary is newly established.

It was sad to realize so many people in the inner quarters were unwell.

Still, no one’s seriously ill. A day or two of effort and they’ll be fine.

He stretched his body, moving this way and that to loosen up.

That was when he felt a gaze on him.

Connie?

He turned his head toward the door.

It was open so patients could come and go freely.

Just beyond it, a child peeked in.

‘Oh—it’s the Grand Duke’s younger brother. Sorel, right?’

The boy was pressed flat against the wall, hiding his body while sticking his head out to stare directly at Aeryl.

‘What’s he doing…?’

“…Young Master, is that you? Please come in.”

Aeryl called out first.

Sorel flinched and jumped, eyes darting nervously from side to side—then bolted.

‘Why’d he run away?’

Wasn’t he here to see the doctor?

Curious, Aeryl looked down the hallway, but the boy was already gone.

If he’s sick, he’ll come back.

Or he’ll send someone.

He was a child of the Grand Duke’s household—he’d be looked after properly.

‘Dinner… hmm, Connie’s not here. Guess I’ll just start making medicine instead.’

Despite the exhausting day, Aeryl’s work wasn’t done.

He’d had to send a few patients away after only examining them, since he didn’t have any medicine ready.

Some of them needed it to recover, and the thought weighed on him.

Just as he stood to head to the apothecary room, one of Lady Merel’s ladies-in-waiting—whom he’d seen before—appeared.

“Good evening. I’m sorry to come so late, but the Lady has asked for you.”

“Ah… do I need to go right away?”

“That would be best. The Lady doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

The weariness on the lady-in-waiting’s face was clear.

When the person above you was difficult, the ones below always suffered.

Aeryl had seen that same look often on his third sister’s maids.

“Alright. I’ll go now.”

He followed the lady-in-waiting to the east wing.

Lady Merel was in the reception room, calmly reading a letter.

At a glance, she didn’t look like someone in urgent need of a doctor.

Aeryl observed her as he approached.

Her complexion was good. No sign of discomfort.

She was a noblewoman in her mid-thirties—still in her prime.

“Lady Merel, good evening. I heard you called for me.”

“Mm. Yes.”

She answered slowly, her attention still on the letter.

It seemed natural enough—but it was clearly deliberate.

‘I’ve got enough to do already.’

He wasn’t inclined to indulge her again like last time.