OPDPS 61

“Doctor.”

“Oh, yes.”

Aeryl was so absorbed in his work that he replied a beat late. In the meantime, Connie had brought a guest into the infirmary.

‘A patient already!?’

Back in the Edge of the World Village, he’d gone a whole month without seeing a single patient. He looked toward the guest with anticipation.

It was a woman in a navy blue dress, wearing jewelry—unlike a maid. Was she a lady-in-waiting?

“Hello, I serve as Lady Merel’s lady-in-waiting.”

“Hello.”

Just as he’d guessed. She was Lady Merel’s lady-in-waiting. Unlike maids, they didn’t do menial chores—they were more like companions or personal secretaries to noblewomen, and were a step above in rank.

So Lady Merel had sent someone personally. What could this be about?

“Her Ladyship invites you to dine with her this evening.”

“Today?”

“Yes. Do you have any dietary restrictions?”

The lady-in-waiting spoke politely. Clearly, refusal was not an option—they were determined to have Aeryl at the table.

‘I figured she’d invite me eventually, but this is sooner than expected.’

He had assumed they’d summon him after gathering some information on him. Or perhaps they already had. As long as he was staying in the inner quarters, he wasn’t someone they could afford to ignore. It was only natural that something like this would happen eventually.

“Please thank her Ladyship. I don’t have any dietary restrictions.”

He had started to mention some specifics but switched to a neutral answer. At the imperial palace, such details might be used to test one’s competence, but here, there was no need for that kind of fuss. No point wasting energy.

“I’ll relay that to her Ladyship.”

The lady-in-waiting bowed and left the infirmary. Aeryl returned to preparing medicine, but then suddenly remembered something important—luckily, Connie was still nearby.

“Now that I think about it, I don’t have anything formal to wear.”

He hadn’t packed clothes when he ran away. As he traveled north, he’d just bought things as needed, so he never had the chance to get formalwear. All the clothes he currently had were casual and practical. Definitely not appropriate for dinner with a noblewoman.

“Is there any way I could get a suit? Off-the-rack is fine.”

“Yes, understood. Is there anything else you need? It’s better to tell me all at once.”

“No, just the suit is fine.”

“…Excuse me?”

Connie’s eyes went round—her expression changed for the first time.

“You’re not thinking of just changing clothes and showing up… are you?”

“I will wash up. I probably smell like herbs.”

“No, not that. I mean your hair, your skin—there’s so much more!”

“Is that really necessary? I don’t even know how.”

Sure, when he was a prince, every inch of him was cared for. But now? There was no need. Honestly, it was just a hassle.

“I’ll help you.”

Connie clearly had other ideas. She offered with a very serious face, and there was something strangely forceful about her tone. Aeryl couldn’t help but nod.

‘…Do I really look that awful?’

He glanced at his reflection in the window. Still not sure.

***

Dinner was to be held on the first floor of the East Wing. Aeryl made his way there via the corridor.

‘…This is exhausting.’

He hadn’t even arrived yet and he was already tired. It was all because of Connie.

She’d been giving him pointed looks since four hours ago and finally dragged him out of the infirmary three hours ago and into the bath.

While he was washing, she rubbed various things into his hair and skin, cut his hair, dried and styled it, had him try on multiple outfits, shoes, and neckties. Just when he thought they were finished, she started picking out colognes—and then, dissatisfied, redid his hair.

‘She was just like the imperial palace attendants…’

Those women used to say their greatest joy in life was sprucing up Aeryl. Connie reminded him of them. Hmm…

Now his hair was sleek and loose, neatly trimmed and no longer a mess of uneven cuts and dye. His once-rough skin was smooth again, and his face seemed to glow.

The clothes weren’t tailored, so they didn’t fit perfectly, but after wearing nothing but loose clothes for so long, this fitted look made his long limbs and slim build stand out. Unfortunately, that only made his dorky glasses more obvious.

Connie had wanted to take those off too, but he’d held firm on that one thing.

“Nice to meet you. I’ll escort you to the dining room.”

Aeryl followed the attendant inside. The room was bright and pleasantly decorated—a stark contrast to the cold atmosphere of the Central Wing. It must reflect Lady Merel’s tastes.

“Her Ladyship and the young master will be here shortly.”

“All right.”

Aeryl stood still and waited for the lady and the young master. Five minutes passed. Then ten…

“Shortly,” huh.

They still hadn’t appeared. But the servants nearby looked calm—nothing seemed wrong.

‘They’re deliberately making me wait.’

It was a common power play—make the guest wait to unsettle them and establish who held the upper hand. But it was a trick the Empress had used so often that Aeryl was entirely immune to it.

He waited a little longer.

“The Grand Duchess and Young Master will dine now.”

A servant announced their arrival. Aeryl turned toward the door.

Lady Merel entered in a deep red dress, and next to her was the Grand Duke’s younger brother, following with a clearly uncomfortable expression.

“Thank you for the invitation.”

Aeryl gave a courteous bow. This time, instead of using the formal palace etiquette he was used to, he kept it simple and just bowed at the waist.

“It must’ve been a sudden invitation, but thank you for coming.”

“If Her Ladyship calls, I must answer anytime.”

Aeryl offered a polite, well-rehearsed reply. The lady gave him a once-over, eyes moving from head to toe.

“You seem different from the first time I saw you.”

“One of the maids helped me.”

“Hm, is this your taste, then?”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. Have a seat.”

Lady Merel took the head seat at the table, with the Grand Duke’s younger brother sitting beside her. Aeryl sat across from her.

“You said you had no dietary restrictions, so we prepared something suitable. I hope it pleases you.”

“If it’s something Her Ladyship prepared, I’ll gladly eat anything.”

With a few light courtesies exchanged, the food was served. Aeryl expected small talk would begin as they sipped the aperitif.

“Welcome to the Grand Duke’s estate. How do you find it? No discomfort, I hope?”

“I’m impressed by the history and grandeur of the Grand Duke’s house. Everyone’s taken good care of me.”

“I see. You’re not from the north, are you?”

“No. I’m from the capital. Circumstances brought me up north.”

“Have you worked for a noble family before?”

This was a tell me where you came from and what you were doing type of question.

“No, this is my first time. After becoming independent from my teacher, I mainly did medical volunteer work.”

“Really? And yet His Grace brought you all the way to the estate. Odd. He’s never allowed anyone I brought into the inner quarters, no matter how good they were.”

“Is that so?”

“So why did he make an exception for you?”

She was implying that there had to be another reason Aeryl had been brought here.

Could she know the Grand Duke’s condition? No—if she did, she wouldn’t be approaching it like this. Aeryl calmly focused on the food a servant had just placed before him and replied:

“Who knows? Perhaps His Grace was impressed by my performance during the Great Purge.”

“Is that so? You don’t seem like just a doctor to me.”

Lady Merel didn’t let him dodge. Her tone was subtly pressing, as if she knew something.

Not just a doctor? She couldn’t have realized he was a prince… right? Aeryl reflexively pushed up his glasses.

“Then what do you think I am?”

“You seem closer to His Grace than a mere hireling.”

Well, that much was true. He was the Grand Duke’s personal physician, after all, and the man did rely on him quite a bit.

She’s definitely heard something. But what, exactly?

That was the part he couldn’t figure out. It was impossible to gauge how far Lady Merel’s information network extended.

“His Grace and I? If that’s how it appeared, I’m honored. I only treated him when he was injured during the purge—pure chance, really.”

Aeryl laughed it off. When uncertain, the best tactic was vague and evasive answers.

“Well, if you say so.”

Lady Merel smiled kindly, as if she knew full well he was dodging the question. Aeryl smiled back.

They continued in that fashion—several rounds of polite conversation. Beneath the smiles, a sharp mental tug-of-war played out between the one probing and the one deflecting.

All the while, the meal progressed steadily. Even while speaking, Aeryl kept eating. In a situation like this, if you didn’t eat properly, you lost. That opened you up to comments like “Oh, you’re not eating—something bothering you?” or worse.

Lady Merel, of course, had cleaned her plate as well.

“Ugh.”

Only the Grand Duke’s brother had left his food untouched, looking like he might be sick from the tension. He probably needed some digestive medicine. He resembled the Grand Duke, but seemed far more timid.

‘Do I even have any digestive meds left? I should make some.’

“Now that I’ve met you, I can see His Grace brought in someone extraordinary. As the senior-most member of the Grand Duke’s household, I can’t help but welcome you.”

It sounded like praise, but the specific phrasing—“someone extraordinary,” “the senior-most member”—meant it shouldn’t be taken at face value. A rough translation might be: “You’re no pushover, huh? But don’t get ahead of yourself—I outrank you here.”

“It’s an honor. I only do my best as a doctor.”

Aeryl responded with the most harmless, unassailable answer possible, pretending not to catch the underlying message.

“Well then. We’ll see. Tonight’s dinner was quite pleasant.”

“Yes. I enjoyed it as well. Thank you again for the invitation.”

Aeryl bowed again. Lady Merel stood from the table and left the dining room, taking the young master with her.

“Phew.”

Aeryl let out a deep breath.

Managed to deflect all questions about the Grand Duke’s condition!

He’d thought she might bring that up, but surprisingly, she hadn’t touched on it. Maybe because the Grand Duke looked so robust. Either way, it was a relief. With light steps, he made his way back to the Central Wing.

Lady Merel returned to her chambers. She turned to her chief lady-in-waiting, who had been with her the whole time.

“What did you think? The Grand Duke’s lover.”