The Scurvy Diagnosis
Kallen fell silent. He lowered his head for a moment before lifting it again.
“It’s impossible. Now that I know how you’ve been living…”
“It’s fine.”
“Fine? Are you serious?”
Kallen shot back, incredulous.
“You were assaulted by that deranged woman, and you’re saying it’s fine?”
“What I meant was, you don’t need to concern yourself with it. I can handle my own affairs. And…”
In the end, Canna decided to show him her true feelings.
“If I ever felt anything toward you, it would probably be nothing but sheer disgust.”
Kallen was left utterly speechless.
“I don’t want to waste my emotions hating you, so I’ll simply ignore you. You should do the same.”
Canna gave his shoulder a couple of light taps.
“Don’t worry about me. Just take good care of Lucy.”
She ended the conversation on a gentle note.
“If you’re done, would you leave now? I have work to do.”
Silence settled over them.
Kallen stared at her wordlessly before finally giving a curt reply.
“Understood.”
So he could be reasoned with after all.
Once Kallen left, Canna felt a weight lift from her shoulders. That troublesome boy was finally gone.
‘Why was he acting like that anyway? Was he drunk?’
That was the end of it.
Canna immediately began packing her belongings with brisk efficiency. She didn’t dwell on their conversation or sink into sentimental thoughts. She didn’t even remember it.
That was who Kallen was to her.
“Ugh, finally done.”
After finishing her preparations, she sank into a chair and pulled out Lucy’s pouch, gazing at it quietly.
‘Dear Lucy. How adorable.’
She had meant every word she said to Kallen.
She hoped he would stop worrying about her and focus on Lucy instead.
That was all she wanted from him.
* * *
The next morning, Sylvien arrived as promised.
“By the way, where exactly are we going?”
Sylvien was heading to Venecia.
Venecia was a small port city and a vital trade route for ships traveling to and from the Eastern Continent.
Since it lay quite far from the capital, the carriage ride would be long.
‘Ugh, my stomach…’
She endured the journey while fighting motion sickness. By the time they finally reached Venecia, Canna had no energy left to tend to any patients.
‘I’m the patient here, not them!’
Outwardly, however, she showed nothing.
“You don’t need to rest?”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
“Your tongue seems to be getting tangled.”
“What nonsense. You’re imagining things.”
Canna forced strength into her voice and straightened her posture, walking briskly as though she were the picture of health.
“Time is of the essence, so let’s hurry.”
Sylvien studied her pale, slightly greenish face in silence.
Yet he made no move to stop her.
“I forgot to mention something.”
They had just arrived at the ward when Sylvien added, as if it had only now occurred to him.
“Duke Alexandro Addis will be arriving soon.”
Canna’s steps halted abruptly.
What? Her father was coming here?
“One of the physicians suggested the sailors might be infected by the Black Fog. He’s coming to verify that.”
“But if the Duke is already here, why would Father need to come as well…?”
Sylvien merely shrugged, as if the matter lay beyond his jurisdiction.
Irritation flared, and Canna snapped.
“Why are you only telling me this now?!”
If her father came to see the sailors, they would inevitably cross paths!
‘I don’t want to see him.’
If she had known even a little earlier, then…
‘No.’
Canna calmed herself.
She would have come anyway. She couldn’t throw away such a valuable deal just to avoid her father.
Sylvien watched her for a moment, then the corner of his mouth lifted.
“Are you afraid of Duke Addis?”
“No. Not at all.”
“How fortunate. I nearly mistook you for a frightened little girl cowering before her father.”
The moment he spoke those mocking words, a fragment of memory surfaced.
“I’m scared of Father, Your Grace. Sob, you won’t abandon me, will you? Please don’t cast me out!”
Canna’s face flushed a deep crimson.
‘Juhwa, you damned…’
This was a memory she hadn’t known. She couldn’t believe Juhwa had gone that far.
‘She even clung to Sylvien and cried when he had to leave for a monster subjugation!’
Ah, she wished it had never come back to her. Canna wanted to crawl into a hole.
“That’s the patient room, isn’t it?”
She forced a calm expression and stepped inside. Fortunately, Sylvien didn’t tease her further.
The ward was filled with patients. The scent of illness and suffering hung thick in the air. The moment she saw them, every other thought was swept away like debris in a flood.
‘Good heavens.’
Canna’s face paled as she examined the patients. Their condition was far worse than she had expected.
“Sylvien, you’re here?”
At that moment, a man approached. He was tall and dressed in a pitch-black priest’s robe.
Canna recognized him at once. He was a man vividly preserved in Juhwa’s memories.
‘Was his name Raphael?’
Raphael walked past Canna without so much as a glance and went straight to Sylvien. His cold dismissal made her feel like a ghost.
“I wonder if this isn’t a pointless endeavor, Sylvien.”
“Who knows. It might not be.”
That “pointless endeavor” and “might not be” sounded suspiciously like they were referring to her. Canna stared at them blankly before speaking.
“You’re Raphael, correct? We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
Only then did the man—Raphael—finally lower his gaze toward her.
The instant their eyes met, Canna couldn’t help but admire him. His violet eyes were strikingly vivid, almost mystical in their allure. A color that seemed to draw you in.
‘I’ve never seen purple eyes before…’
Though it felt long, the moment lasted only a heartbeat.
He turned back to Sylvien and muttered in a low voice.
“If it’s an infectious disease, the lady will likely become infected as well.”
“……”
“She looks remarkably frail.”
What an unpleasant thing to say.
‘Is he worried about me, or is he being sarcastic?’
Canna replied curtly.
“If you’re concerned for my sake, thank you, but I’m fine.”
She approached the patients and carefully assessed their conditions.
“Ugh… ugh…”
As expected, they were in poor shape. Their gums were so swollen they protruded past their lips, and bright red ulcers mottled their entire bodies.
‘Just as I thought. The symptoms are similar to syphilis.’
But it wasn’t syphilis.
“Would you mind removing your lower garments? I need to examine the genitals.”
“……”
Why was there no answer?
When silence followed, Canna looked up and met Sylvien’s eyes.
“Ah.”
Realizing the potential misunderstanding, she quickly added an explanation.
“There’s a specific symptom I need to check.”
“Luten.”
At Sylvien’s call, one of the healers attending the patients hurried over.
“Yes, Your Grace.”
“You will assist her.”
“Yes, understood. Please tell me what needs to be examined.”
He wanted her to instruct this man instead?
‘Don’t tell me he’s bothered by the idea of his “wife” examining another man’s body?’
No, that couldn’t be it. He was the one who had introduced her as a physician, not a wife.
“Please examine about ten of them. Let me know how the ulcer damage on the genitals compares to other areas.”
Luten followed Canna’s instructions diligently.
“All but four have ulcers. However, they aren’t more severe than on other parts of the body.”
As expected.
‘It’s not syphilis.’
In cases of syphilis, ulcers would concentrate on the genital area.
‘Yet some sailors reportedly have no ulcers there at all.’
Now she was certain. Canna spoke firmly.
“This isn’t syphilis.”
Sailors from Eastern Continent trade ships. Symptoms resembling syphilis. Yet mercury treatment had no effect.
Ever since hearing that story, the thought had been nagging at her. These men were suffering from—
“This is a disease caused by nutritional deficiency. It’s—”
Scurvy.
The illness with symptoms so similar to syphilis was caused by a lack of vitamin C.