Chapter 100
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 100
What is this? What on earth is happening?
I'd never experienced anything like this before. What is this?
I was utterly bewildered.
At the same moment, Kibon threw off his blanket and sprang to his feet.
"Are you alright?"
Despite his illness, his movements were remarkably swift and graceful. He seized my shoulders urgently and demanded answers.
"What are your symptoms? Have you experienced this before?"
"Ah, no..."
I hastily wiped my mouth with the damp cloth I'd been holding.
"My stomach's been a bit unsettled for the past few days, but..."
"Hah... I should have taken you to a hospital back then."
But who visits a hospital for simple indigestion?
I naturally assumed it was just nervousness from the approaching Saint Kairo Banquet.
Yet the nausea that had plagued me had somehow subsided.
I'd only vomited blood, but my physical condition felt remarkably excellent. For the first time in days, I felt hungry.
"Get on my back."
Kibon turned and offered his back to me.
"What? Where are we going?"
"To see a doctor."
"What? A doctor at this hour of the night?"
It was three in the morning. There couldn't possibly be any hospital open.
Yet he immediately hoisted me onto his back without hesitation. My body lifted effortlessly.
This time, the bed where Kibon had been lying moments before collapsed with a heavy creak.
"Hey, where are you going?"
"To the Imperial Palace—the Imperial Palace physician..."
"No!"
Was he out of his mind? Why would the Imperial Palace physician see me? They fundamentally only treated the Royal Family.
"And this... something feels off."
Kibon was already sprinting through the streets outside. Despite the fever I could feel radiating from him, he ran without hesitation.
I leaned close to his ear and whispered.
"Wait, stop for a moment, Kibon. It's not that I refuse to see a doctor. It's just that I've never experienced these symptoms before in my life..."
Just then, a row tree beside us toppled over. Kibon ground his teeth and muttered under his breath, "This hopeless perverted bastard, of all times..."
"There might actually be a faction targeting me. You wouldn't understand, but I've somehow become entangled in Royal Family affairs..."
I had already calculated everything with cold precision.
'I thought the Gaejo Faction would target me at the Saint Kairo Banquet. That's why I decided to lay low starting tomorrow. But what if they've been targeting me doubly from before?'
If that were the case, spreading news of my condition everywhere would be like revealing my hand to my enemies.
I suddenly commanded the hesitant Kibon.
"Go to Luca Class. I know the address of his Boarding House."
I'd learned the address when I'd asked about the Boarding House before.
"You're the only doctor I can trust."
Luca Class. A skilled physician who saved all of Jayden's associates in the original story.
Back then, Jayden had even evaluated him as more capable than the Imperial Palace physicians. So I could trust Luca's medical expertise.
"But the Imperial Palace physicians...."
"That's an order. Don't argue—just do as I say."
I spoke firmly to Kibon, who kept prattling on about the Imperial Palace without understanding the situation.
"I have enemies. If word spreads throughout the entire Imperial Palace that I'm ill, and my situation becomes more dangerous because of it, will you take responsibility? Stop talking and move."
"Then I have a condition."
Kibon, whose demeanor shifted to obedience the moment I said "order," spoke up.
"Tomorrow morning, it would be best to meet with the Imperial Palace physicians immediately. I will inform Crown Prince Kiaros."
"You will?"
"Yes. When I met with the Crown Prince regarding the Howard Alten incident last time, he granted me the authority to contact him directly at any time and place."
Ah, that eldest son of the Olten Merchant Guild who went to the Provincial Area because of that civil servant sexual harassment case....
Kibon had testified before Kiaros, hadn't he....
"Ugh, why Imperial Palace physicians.... What if I contact him for something like this and he scolds me for bothering the Imperial Servants?"
I grumbled in displeasure, but there was no response.
"And it's not 'when I met the Crown Prince,' it's 'when I was received by His Highness the Crown Prince'...."
In the meantime, Kibon hoisted me onto his back and began running toward Luca's Boarding House.
* * *
"Mm."
Luca greeted Crown Prince Kiaros and Namia Loapi in his pajamas.
At first, he regarded them drowsily. But the moment Namia Loapi said "Your rival is dying!", he began examining me with intense focus.
It was because he couldn't send me off before their competition had even truly begun.
After conducting all manner of tests for a long time, he tilted his head and murmured.
"...This is strange...."
Crown Prince Kiaros felt as though his chest was collapsing. So this was what it meant when people said the world was spinning.
At the same time, self-recrimination began.
When I said my stomach felt heavy, I should have insisted on seeing the Imperial Palace physicians no matter what. Or I should have just gone to a hospital....
His heart burned with agonizing pain.
"Ha.... This really is strange...."
Luca kept tilting his head. Crown Prince Kiaros breathed heavily and roughly.
When Namia Loapi coughed up blood, he truly felt the world spinning around him.
Even if it were an incurable disease, he would save her. He would save her no matter what. By any means necessary, no matter what....
"What exactly is strange?"
Namia Loapi asked indifferently. Even now, she remained remarkably unexcited.
Luca smacked his lips as if troubled before speaking.
"Everything is perfectly normal. All of it."
Crown Prince Kiaros, whose tension suddenly released, staggered where he stood.
Namia Loapi let out a sharp cry.
"What?! Everything is normal, so why is it strange?"
"That's exactly what makes it strange. I've never heard of a disease where someone coughs up blood but everything comes back normal."
Luca Class clicked his tongue and continued.
"And you're telling me your stomach was unsettled for days, then you coughed up blood and suddenly felt better? I've genuinely never encountered symptoms like that, Namia Loapi."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Anyway, right now everything is normal. There's no medication to prescribe and no surgery needed."
Luca Class crossed his arms and spoke with certainty.
"But just to be safe, I'll do some more research. Let me draw a bit more blood before you go."
"Understood."
Namia Loapi nodded obediently.
Crown Prince Kiaros watched her quietly as she had her blood drawn.
He couldn't simply accept the word of a Health and Welfare Department employee. He was determined to bring Namia Loapi to the Imperial Palace physician by any means necessary.
"We're seeing a lot of blood today."
Luca Class muttered as he drew blood.
"Hm? What blood?"
"Ah... The High Priest suddenly coughed up blood too. I got an urgent call to examine him, but when I went, he insisted he was fine and refused treatment, saying he had a chronic condition."
"The High Priest...?"
"Yeah."
Luca Class yawned and continued.
"Well, I saw him eating the banquet food just fine, so I felt awkward and just left."
Crown Prince Kiaros's brow furrowed slightly. The High Priest had clearly said his stomach wasn't feeling well earlier.
"...I see."
Namia Loapi answered slowly. The brightness that had sparkled in her eyes even after coughing up blood had dimmed.
After a moment lost in thought, she changed the subject.
"Luca Class, could you also examine Kibon? He had quite a high fever. Even after taking antipyretics, his temperature still isn't back to normal."
"Huh? Why me?"
Luca Class shrugged.
"It doesn't look serious at all, and since he's healthy, he'll recover quickly."
"What if he gets worse?"
"Go to the hospital. It's not urgent. Don't ask someone of my caliber to see such trivial patients."
As far as he knew, every Health and Welfare Department employee's dream was to examine a member of the Royal Family once.
In any case, Kibon had no intention of being examined by Luca Class either.
So he grabbed Namia Loapi's arm as her eyes began to narrow in irritation.
"I should be going as well. I'm truly fine."
"But still..."
"Crown Prince Kiaros said I could contact him anytime, so I should tell him to assign an Imperial Palace physician right away."
"Oh, really?"
Namia Loapi's eyes sparkled with light.
Crown Prince Kiaros flinched.
Just moments ago, she had been dismissive, saying "What Imperial Palace physician?"
'Why did she suddenly change her mind?'
Namia Loapi broke into a radiant smile, and I felt an involuntary surge of unease. Whenever she wore that expression, she became utterly unpredictable.
"When you contact him now, relay a message from me."
"Um... what...?"
"I have a confidential favor to ask—would it be alright if I leveraged Crown Prince Kiaros's name? He'll probably give his consent without much thought, but I need you to bring back that approval."
Crown Prince Kiaros, who had a history of carelessly consenting and becoming "Dragon Brother" as a result, found himself muttering despite his better judgment.
"What, what else are you planning to sell now, and how much...?"
---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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