OPDPS side story 7

Aeryl left the East Wing burning with determination to make the upcoming party the best it could be and headed straight to the infirmary. Inside, Raeler was holding down the fort.

“Sorry for making you handle everything alone.”

“It’s no problem. I’ve been learning a lot.”

Raeler had shown an interest in medicine, but he had ultimately decided he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an inventor. Life wouldn’t be easy for him as an omega, but Aeryl had taught him everything she could. From here on out, it was up to his own will.

“Starting today, I’m going to come by the infirmary every afternoon.”

“Will you be alright?”

“I’ve had enough time to laze around!”

Aeryl returned to his desk and sat down. It felt like it had been ages, and when he counted the days, he realized just how long he’d been away.

“Can you hand me the prescription records from while I was gone?”

“Yes, here you go.”

Raeler found the ledger and passed it to him. Aeryl skimmed through it quickly.

Most of the patients had either chronic illnesses or minor issues like sudden stomachaches. There weren’t any cases requiring particular attention—such patients would have gone to the outer quarter infirmary or the town clinic anyway.

“And the medicine stock?”

“I got it from the outer quarters physician. We still have plenty.”

“Good.”

There didn’t seem to be anything in urgent need of his attention. He couldn’t be more grateful for how well Raeler had handled things on his own.

‘I really want to help raise him right…’

But Aeryl still wasn’t in a position to take on an apprentice.

‘Come to think of it—my teacher! I haven’t contacted him in so long. He must be shocked.’

So much had happened since he last sent him a letter. He’d fallen in love, had his identity exposed, been taken to the imperial palace, and finally escaped to the north.

‘Wait… does he think I’m dead?’

The emperor had publicly declared the youngest prince dead. There had been an incident at the funeral, but it probably hadn’t reached the public.

‘…Or maybe he already knows I’m in the Grand Duke’s castle. If it’s my teacher, he must’ve figured it out by now. He’s sharp like that!’

Shaking off the creeping sense of dread, Aeryl quickly pulled out paper and a pen. He wrote at length about how he was safe and had settled in the Grand Duke’s castle. But when it came time to write the address, he froze.

‘He said he was coming to the north, but… I don’t know exactly where he is now!’

He wrote down the last address he’d received from him. He was a meticulous person—surely he’d find a way to reach him from there.

‘Just in case, I’ll send a copy to his home, too…’

And then he remembered—without thinking, he had included his teacher on the wedding guest list when Rynello had asked for names. He’d scribbled it down in a hurry while playing around with Hiello.

‘What if he gets my death notice and a wedding invitation back-to-back!?’

The terrible image of his teacher’s fury flashed through his mind, and he gave a full-body shiver.

‘R-right… time to focus on work. Ha ha…’

Shoving away thoughts of hos teacher, Aeryl pulled out all the data and records he’d compiled on Hiello. They included everything from the moment he unexpectedly manifested as an alpha in that village, up to the Winter Festival.

Looking back now, it was impressive that he’d gathered all that data, considering he’d thought of Hiello as a cold, cruel man at the time.

‘I need the most recent data. I’ll have to call Hiello to the infirmary again soon.’

The corner of his lips twitched up at the thought of having him at his mercy. After reviewing the test results, he pulled out a notebook full of notes about him. Even while being forcibly dragged into the purge unit and treated like an outcast, he had kept detailed records—and even jotted down ideas for medication. His notes were thorough, almost obsessive.

‘Past me, you did good. So diligent.’

Praising himself, he began planning how to present Hiello’s case. It might work well to organize it as a case study demonstrating the unique link between a secondary gendered individual’s mind and body, and how traumatic memories can affect manifestation. But he wanted to take it further—something more meaningful.

He had been deep in focus for hours when he suddenly heard someone running toward the infirmary. The door burst open. It was a servant from the Central Wing whom he’d seen at breakfast.

“Oh—Lord Aeryl, I didn’t know you were here! Forgive my rudeness.”

The servant, suddenly remembering his manners, gave a flustered but polite bow.

“Is something urgent?”

Aeryl asked, and the attendant hesitated, raising his head but still fumbling for words.

Before, he hadn’t known about Aeryl’s relationship with the Grand Duke and had thought of him simply as a doctor—just another employee like himself—so he’d spoken comfortably. But now Aeryl was being treated as the Grand Duchess and effectively stood above him. That made him hesitate—was it really okay to speak freely?

“I’m here right now as a doctor. Whatever you say won’t cause any trouble, so don’t worry and just tell me.”

Aeryl reassured him gently. After a moment of indecision, the attendant finally opened his mouth.

“My friend in the room next to mine has had a high fever since this morning. I gave him some fever medicine earlier.”

“I remember,” Raeler answered instead.

“Yes. But even after taking the medicine, the fever won’t go down. He hasn’t eaten anything all day, and just a little while ago he suddenly started shouting for ice. He tried to run outside, so we had to tie him to the bed. I think… I think he caught frost sickness.”

Frost sickness. Aeryl recalled Raeler mentioning that it was going around. That meant it was contagious.

“He caught it inside the West Wing?”

“No. He just got back from leave yesterday, so he probably picked it up outside.”

“What about quarantine?”

“Just in case, we’ve had everyone from that room isolated since this morning. No one’s allowed in or out.”

“Good work. Let’s get together a fever reducer and something for digestion…”

Aeryl stood up to go see the patient. It was second nature to him—but everyone else panicked.

“Your Grace is going personally? That’s… that’s not a good idea…”

“Frost sickness is contagious.”

“She’s right, Doctor. What if you catch it?”

The attendant, Connie, and Raeler all tried to stop him one after the other.

“If you’re afraid of infection, you can’t be a doctor! You know that—so what’s this about?”

He’d seen plenty of patients with contagious diseases before. Their sudden resistance left him startled.

“You’re the Grand Duchess now, Aeryl. You can’t afford to get sick. And no one is closer to His Grace than you are, so you have to be even more careful.”

“There are plenty of doctors. But there’s only one Grand Duchess.”

Aeryl couldn’t argue with Connie and Raeler’s words. They were right.

“Frost sickness is the kind of illness you ride out with medicine and rest. There’s no need for a doctor to intervene directly. I’ll bring the medicine.”

Raeler sprinted off to the dispensary, prepared the medication, and was back in no time.

“Then, I’ll be off.”

He gave Aeryl a respectful nod, exchanged a look with Connie, and left the infirmary with the attendant.

Aeryl quietly watched the closed door for a moment, then dropped into his seat. Connie hovered around him, clearly unsure what to do.

“You don’t need to watch me—I’m not going to sneak off, so don’t worry.”

The words came out more sharply than he intended.

“Watch you? Of course not.”

“I saw you two exchange looks.”

“We were just worried about you.”

Aeryl knew Connie meant well, but that didn’t make his frustration disappear. He rested his chin in one hand, sat in silence for a long while, then suddenly asked,

“If I become the Grand Duchess , does that mean I can’t be a doctor anymore?”

“Well, naturally…”

Connie abruptly stopped.

In noble households, the spouse was expected to manage the estate, attend social events, or focus on hobbies. The higher the status, the less anyone imagined them having a job, so she’d never even considered whether Aeryl might continue as a doctor after becoming the Grand Duchess.

By her standards, it made sense for him to quit—but she knew how serious Aeryl was about medicine and couldn’t say it out loud.

What if he suddenly says he’s not going to marry His Grace…? That’d be terrible. I can’t lose the perfect Grand Duchess for His Grace.

She looked at him with growing worry. Aeryl sat in silence, lost in thought with a complicated expression. He was radiant even now—but what was going on in his head made her nervous.