OPDPS 105

The scene of the bedroom came into view. Aeryl discovered that he was lying in bed. Since he remembered falling asleep, the Grand Duke must have moved him to the bed.

Thud, thud! Thud!

“Doctor! Please wake up! Quickly!”

There was no time to let his heart race—Aeryl hurried to the door and opened it. A servant stood outside. The servant tried to explain, but Aeryl stopped him.

“Let’s talk while we walk.”

Aeryl and the servant rushed toward the infirmary. During the run, Aeryl was able to catch a rough summary of the situation from the servant. A maid had been found collapsed, unconscious, and was urgently moved to the infirmary.

“Where’s the patient?”

“This way.”

Following Connie’s voice, Aeryl ran into the infirmary’s ward. A maid, presumed to be the patient, lay in one of [Read on]the beds. Connie was placing a herb under the patient’s nose to help rouse her, but the patient didn’t stir.

There was no time to hesitate. Aeryl moved to the patient’s side to check her condition. He opened her eyelids and shone a light into her eyes; her pupils reacted, but her breathing and heartbeat were almost imperceptible.

“Hold the bed!”

He immediately climbed onto the bed, positioned himself, and placed his hands together, applying weight and pressure on her chest, then releasing it. He repeated this action relentlessly, causing the bed to shake violently.

After applying pressure, he tilted the patient’s head back, pinched her nose, and blew air into her while releasing the pressure on her nose. He repeated the action a few more times, checking her condition, until her heartbeat and breathing returned.

‘Consciousness… still hasn’t returned.’

Aeryl stayed by the patient for a little while longer before getting off the bed. He’d exerted so much effort that his pajamas were drenched in sweat. However, he paid no attention to his own condition and focused on examining the patient’s appearance.

There were no signs of external injury, but her skin was pale. She appeared to be sleeping at first glance.

“Did the patient hit her head when she collapsed?”

“I-I don’t know! She, she was already collapsed when I found her…”

Another maid, who had been standing in a corner, trembling, spoke. She seemed to be the one who discovered the patient. She was shaking uncontrollably, to the point of looking pitiful.

“It’s all… because of that…”

“What?”

Aeryl had trouble understanding her words at first, as they were mixed with crying.

“It’s all because of the monster! She broke the rules… and her soul was devoured!”

A monster? Broke the rules?

Aeryl was caught off guard by the sudden mention of the monster, but he calmly tried to soothe the maid. He subtly released pheromones to calm her down and was able to hear her thoughts more clearly.

The patient and the maid who found her were close friends, sharing the same room. According to the maid, after the welcoming party, the patient said she had some work left to do and returned to the central building. The maid returned to their room, thinking the patient would come back soon. However, by ten, she hadn’t returned.

“I was worried, but it was already past ten, and I couldn’t leave the room, and sometimes she sleeps in another [visit our site]room, so I thought maybe that was it.”

But when morning came and the patient still hadn’t returned, the worried maid went looking for her. She couldn’t find her in the annex and, feeling unsure, moved on to the central building. There, the patient was found collapsed.

“Where was the patient found?”

“In the central building… on the second-floor hallway. Go right from the central staircase.”

The patient was found in the hallway. The maid claimed she must have heard a strange crying sound but didn’t run away and ultimately said the monster had devoured the patient’s soul. The patient, lying unconscious for an unknown reason, seemed to support the maid’s claim.

‘It’s just like the ghost story.’

The place where the patient was found was the same direction from which Aeryl had heard a woman’s crying. Could this be a coincidence? A chilling feeling ran through him.

Could the ghost story be true?

‘No. The Grand Duke said there’s no such thing.’

Furthermore, the patient was still alive despite losing consciousness. He had barely managed to restore her heartbeat and breathing, just before they stopped completely. If she had been attacked by some unknown being, she would’ve already lost her life.

‘What would happen if I, the doctor, got scared?’

In the midst of the sudden chaos, everyone was flustered. A doctor like him had to show a calm demeanor in such times.

“The ghost story is just a made-up tale. The patient is sick, her soul wasn’t taken away.”

He said more firmly, hoping the others outside the ward would hear.

“But, but… she’s not waking up…”

“Still, she’s alive. If her soul was taken, how could she still be alive?”

“Ah, I-I see…”

“I’ll do my best to treat her. Please trust me.”

Aeryl said with confidence and nodded to Connie. Connie came over to take care [visit our site]of the maid and left the infirmary with her.

The people who had gathered to help the patient all dispersed, leaving the infirmary quiet. Perhaps because of that, Aeryl suddenly remembered the faint sounds of sobbing from the hallway. If he hadn’t run to his room then and had followed the sound…

‘No, no. Let’s stop thinking about that.’

Honestly, there was still a lingering fear in the corner of his heart. But he was a doctor here. If a doctor got caught up in ghost stories, no one would be able to save anyone.

‘I’ll treat her properly and make sure no more ghost stories are spread.’

He steeled his resolve.

However, things didn’t go as planned.

Soon, Raeler arrived at the infirmary, and the trio of the medical staff gathered. Aeryl, with the help of the others, conducted an examination of the patient using medical artifacts.

After spending considerable time on the examination, they had to wait a little longer for the results. While the results were easy to read, interpreting them was another matter, so Aeryl took a closer look at the findings.

The patient was a woman in her late teens. If Aeryl remembered correctly, she had come in during the busy time when many patients were being seen, just to get a quick check-up and was told she was perfectly healthy before leaving. She had no chronic Read on illnesses, and her nutritional status was good. Being young, there was nothing in particular to worry about.

‘It’s not due to an external shock, and there’s no issue with her blood pressure.’

Her body temperature was low, but it wasn’t clear whether it was because she had been left unattended overnight or due to some other reason. For now, they were warming her up, but Aeryl didn’t think the hypothermia was the cause of her unconsciousness.

‘The toxicology test results suggest poisoning…’

The problem was that there was no trace of any toxins in the patient’s body. The mucous membranes in her mouth and nose were clean, and her lungs and stomach were also normal. Aeryl had asked Connie to check her skin, but there were no abnormalities there either.

If it were a toxin strong enough to make her lose consciousness, there should have been some reaction on the skin— discoloration, blisters, or something.

‘Could she have been bitten by a poisonous creature? Like a snake?’

This seemed like the most likely scenario, but the symptoms of being bitten by a snake or insect that Aeryl knew didn’t match. In such cases, the bite marks usually swell up, and bleeding occurs, with impurities found in the blood.

Ultimately, even though Aeryl gave her an antidote and monitored her, there was no effect whatsoever.

‘It’s not poisoning? Then what is the problem?’

Aeryl considered various possibilities and tried treatment.

‘Nothing is working.’

Since leaving the royal palace to practice medicine, this was the first time he had hit a wall.

It really seemed as though only her soul had disappeared, and her body remained intact. The patient couldn’t wake up.

‘If her soul was really devoured…’

He tried to seriously think through this possibility, but then stopped himself.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with an answer. He was letting his mind wander to all sorts of ridiculous ideas. He decided it was time to make a decision.

“I can’t do it. I can’t solve this here.”

“What should we do then?” Railler asked.

“There’s a big hospital in the village. Even though it might take some time, it’s better to send her there.”

That hospital had more doctors, and Aeryl thought they might have more success than him struggling on his own. They would likely be more familiar with diseases specific to the northern region as well.

“Please prepare a carriage. Let’s go right away.”

Aeryl was about to leave immediately, but Connie opposed with a troubled expression.

“You can’t just leave like that.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Because it’s the Grand Duke’s castle. You need permission from the higher-ups.”

Aeryl almost argued that it didn’t make sense, but then closed his mouth. When it came down to it, the royal palace was no different. Both entry and exit were never free, and strict procedures had to be followed. It was necessary to protect the members and maintain security.

“So, we just need permission, right? If I go to His Grace…”

“The Grand Duke isn’t here today.”

That’s right. He remembered now.

Earlier, the butler had said that the Grand Duke had business outside the castle today. He wouldn’t be back until at least late at night, or more likely, tomorrow morning.

‘There’s no point in stalling.’

Aside from the Grand Duke, there was only one other person in the Grand Duke’s family who had the authority to make such decisions.

‘I don’t want to get entangled, especially since the Grand Duke told me not to get involved. But I suppose I have no choice.’

Aeryl quickly made up his mind and spoke.

“I’ll go meet Lady Merel.”