OPDPS 66

He definitely hated Lady Merel, but he’d never shown any particular emotion toward the young master. That icy attitude? He treated everyone that way.

‘If he were like the Grand Duke, he’d actually be decent.’

At least there was something respectable about the Grand Duke. If his older brothers had even half his character, Aeryl would have gladly called them “brother.” As Aeryl stood up, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed again, and the parlor door flew open.

“Young Master?”

Sorel burst in with a deeply furrowed brow.

“Keep it a secret!”

“I will. I won’t tell anyone.”

The boy mumbled and then blurted it out.

“…Thanks. For the treatment.”

And before Aeryl could even respond, he bolted away again. One thing was certain—his ears were bright red.

‘What the… That’s kind of cute.’

Is this what a little brother is like…? Aeryl wouldn’t mind having one like that. Of course, now that the Empress was thoroughly fed up with childbirth and treated Aeryl like a nuisance, there was no chance of getting a sibling.

‘A half-sibling, maybe? That’s possible.’

Maybe there was already a hidden half-brother somewhere. Strengthening his deep-rooted distrust of the Emperor once again, Aeryl sat down on the parlor sofa. He decided to wait five minutes—if no one showed up, he’d go hunt someone down.

Soon, a man he’d never seen before came in. Judging by his clothes, he looked like an attendant.

“You the doctor? You said you brought something?”

“Yes, this is the medicine Madam requested. I thought the maids would come to receive it.”

“Oh, they said they’re busy and made me come instead. They’re always busy.”

The attendant grumbled. He didn’t seem very diligent… Could Aeryl trust him to handle this?

“I know the Madam’s medicine well, so just hand it over.”

“…Alright.”

It felt wrong to refuse entirely, so Aeryl reluctantly handed it over. The attendant took the medicine and frowned.

“This stuff’s right?”

“Yes.”

“Tch. I thought it’d be something serious. She took it once and stopped, and she’s still sick. Why all the fuss since morning?”

He clicked his tongue in irritation.

“What? She still has plenty left?”

As Aeryl’s expression twisted, the attendant gave a sheepish laugh and quickly exited the parlor.

‘She said it was urgent. Said she was out and takes it every day. That’s why she demanded it by this morning.’

She’d called on someone busy, insisted it was absolutely necessary, made him cut into his sleep to prepare it… and now it turned out she took it once and never again? That the previous batch was still sitting there?

It was obviously intentional. And the fact that she hadn’t sent her usual maid, but rather a loose-tongued attendant, made that even clearer.

‘She deliberately wasted my time.’

But for what purpose? Sure, it was infuriating—but what could he do? A lowly physician getting angry wouldn’t change a thing. All that would happen was that the Grand Duke’s estate would gain one more pissed-off doctor. A completely pointless outcome.

‘That’s not what she wants, though…’

Lost in thought, Aeryl began to walk. He’d forgotten this wasn’t a time to relax.

‘If I’d had time, I should’ve at least shoved a piece of bread in my mouth.’

When Aeryl returned to the infirmary from the East Wing, a line of patients was already waiting for him. Since the inner quarters people came during their only available breaks, he couldn’t leave them waiting. He immediately opened the door and began seeing patients.

From then on, Aeryl didn’t get up once. It was as if the entire inner palace had conspired to flood the infirmary. And that wasn’t the only headache.

He remembered something his master had once said:

‘You get a crowd of people? Then there’s always at least one nuisance mixed in! Think patients are any different?’

‘They are! They’re sick people!’

‘Heh. You’ll see for yourself!’

That smug look on his master’s face—he could still see it clearly, and it was infuriating.

The memory came to him for a reason. With so many patients coming and going, that inevitable percentage finally showed up—the dreaded difficult patient.

“I told you, my whole body hurts! My head’s pounding, I can barely breathe! I’ve lost my appetite and dropped weight! And you say it’s just indigestion? Are you serious?!”

A middle-aged man in a chef’s uniform was shouting at the top of his lungs. This was his second visit, the day after his first. Yesterday, he had accepted the diagnosis of indigestion without much fuss. But today, when he came to collect the medicine, he was making a huge scene.

“As I explained yesterday, the human body has an organ called the stomach…”

“What? Are you saying I’m too dumb to understand, huh? Is that it?”

“No, that’s not it, sir. What I mean is, based on what I see, your condition really does seem to be indigestion caused by overeating.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?! I’ve never had a stomachache in my life! And I told you, it’s this—this tightness here in my chest! It’s something serious. It has to be something serious!”

The patient was being completely unreasonable. Aeryl couldn’t understand why he was acting like this at all. Wasn’t not being seriously ill a good thing? A short fast and a bottle of digestive medicine would clear it all up, so what was the problem?

“Huh? A serious illness, you say?”

Connie finally couldn’t hold back and cut in.

“If it’s something serious, you wouldn’t be able to work in the Grand Duke’s estate. I should report it to the butler.”

At her words, the patient jumped.

“No! No, it’s not like that!”

“What do you mean, no? You work in the kitchen, don’t you? If you collapse there, it’ll be a huge problem. I’ll let the butler know so you can resign immediately.”

“Ack—ugh, ahhh, now that you mention it, maybe it’s just a stomachache? Yeah, maybe I’ve just got an upset stomach. I’ll go ahead and take the medicine you gave me.”

Grabbing the digestive medicine he’d refused so adamantly just a minute ago, the man rushed out of the infirmary.

“…What the…?”

Aeryl muttered in disbelief.

“He did that on purpose.”

Connie replied.

“He wanted to get diagnosed with something serious, but got scared he’d be kicked out of the estate, so he ran. He’s one of the cooks in the East Wing—he’s kind of infamous for being money-hungry.”

“Money?”

“Yep.”

Connie clearly knew something.

“Why’s he acting like that, then? What does money have to do with it? If you know something, tell me.”

“…It’s just something going around between us, so even if you give me that look—!”

Aeryl tilted his head slightly and made his eyes glisten just a bit more. It was said to make one look prettier and more pitiful. A secret weapon honed through fierce battles with countless attendants and maids.

Even the most jaded and weathered palace workers melted under Aeryl’s gaze. There was no way Connie—still young, honest, and straightforward like a true Northerner—could resist.

“Ugh… Lady Merel said yesterday, today, and tomorrow we’re supposed to come to the infirmary for checkups! She said she’d give out consolation money depending on how serious the illness is!”

“Whaaat?”

“You remember that servant who came in yesterday saying he had an eye infection? He actually rubbed some random grass into his eyes on purpose! And there are tons of others faking it too!”

“Ahh, that makes sense!”

Aeryl had been wondering—there were way too many people claiming to be sick who looked completely fine.

“There were so many fakers, I actually started wondering if working in the inner quarters was stressful enough to cause psychosomatic pain!”

“They’re all faking! Honestly, working in the inner quarters isn’t that bad! The atmosphere can be kind of rough sometimes, but the pay’s great and the benefits are solid! That’s why that cook earlier panicked and ran off—he was scared of getting fired!”

“I see. I’m glad to hear the work environment’s decent.”

“Ugh…”

Connie bit her lip, then forced herself to speak.

“I wasn’t going to say anything at first. It’s just something we talk about among ourselves, and you’re still new… but you’ve been working so hard, I started feeling really guilty.”

“So that’s why you helped me out just now?”

“Yeah. It’s fine for people to come in for checkups, but pulling stunts like that? That’s just wrong.”

“I see. Thanks for helping me.”

“No, I should’ve explained things earlier.”

Connie flushed with embarrassment. She felt too ashamed to accept thanks—she’d kept too much from him, and because of that, Aeryl had suffered.

“You’re allowed to be mad.”

“It’s okay. I’m just glad they’re not really sick.”

Aeryl shrugged as if it was nothing. His casual tone only made Connie feel guiltier.

“But… you’re clearly overwhelmed with all these people showing up.”

“There was no doctor in the inner quarters before, so it’s a good chance for everyone to get a proper checkup.”

“Doctor… you’re a really good person.”

Connie was touched. Because Aeryl had swept into the estate in the middle of the tense standoff between the Grand Duke and the Lady, she’d been cautious and wary the whole time—but that had all been for nothing. He was so kind.

“Aha, thanks.”

Aeryl gave a shy smile as he replied. Even with his drawn, disheveled look that Connie usually found unsightly, he somehow seemed to glow.

‘Out of all the pretty people I’ve seen, the doctor’s definitely the kindest.’

She couldn’t let someone like this suffer. Connie felt a strong urge to help Aeryl however she could.