OPDPS 67

“Doctor, you should go in and rest now. I know what’s going on, so I’ll send them away.”

“No, it’s fine. Some of them actually are sick. We should take care of those people.”

“Then I’ll pick out the ones who are faking!”

“Hmm… Alright, then.”

“Got it!”

Connie shouted brightly and headed out of the infirmary. As soon as she left, the smile vanished from Aeryl’s face.

‘What is Lady Merel thinking?’

It was obvious she was scheming something.

Was she lashing out because the Grand Duke brought Aeryl in without consulting her? Or was she trying to make things so difficult that he’d leave on his own?

It was a plausible theory. But Aeryl’s instinct—sharpened over many years—told him that wasn’t the whole story.

‘This is strange. Why is she being so obvious about it?’

If she wanted to torment him, Lady Merel could’ve done it more Read ondiscreetly. Nobles were capable of all kinds of vile tricks inside their own estates. And yet, she didn’t seem to care about appearances at all.

‘Doing this openly is like provoking the Grand Duke.’

Aeryl was the Grand Duke’s person. Harassing him was a direct challenge to the Grand Duke himself. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Grand Duke got angry over this.

‘Wait… is that what she’s aiming for?’

Aeryl’s mind started racing.

Lady Merel harasses Aeryl. The Grand Duke finds out and either lashes out at her or tries to stop her. Then, the Lady pushes back—her pride won’t allow her to just take it.

If the two major powers in the household clash, it’ll draw attention. People in the Grand Duke’s estate will naturally start wondering about the cause.

And the cause? Aeryl, the doctor.

They’ll start asking questions.

Who is that doctor? Why is the Grand Duke so protective of him? Isn’t there something going on between them?

Before long, the rumors will shift—Isn’t the Grand Duke hiding some kind of illness? Once things got to that point, even the Grand Duke wouldn’t be able to dodge the issue anymore.

‘So this is how she’s trying to expose the Grand Duke’s weakness!’

That had to be it!

Aeryl smacked his knee. Everything fit perfectly.

‘Alright. I’ll just stay quiet.’

Eventually, once she realized her plan wasn’t working, she’d have to come up with something else. Now that he knew her motive and had decided how to respond, Aeryl felt much lighter as he walked off.

***

A few days passed.

“Ugh. Maybe I should just go tell him everything.”

Aeryl muttered darkly.

“Tell who what?”

Connie asked as she handed him a strong cup of coffee. Aeryl drank it like he was possessed.

‘Ahh. That hits the spot.’

With his mind back in working order, his patience also returned.

‘I almost ran to the Grand Duke to spill everything.’

Aeryl let out a sigh. These past few days had been rough enough to tempt him into just letting Lady Merel’s schemes slide. As she’d declared, for the first three days, the infirmary had been flooded with patients. A good number of them were obviously faking.

But he kept telling himself to hang in there just a little longer. And sure enough, after that, people started calling for him from every corner of the estate, saying it was an emergency.

But whenever he rushed over, the situation was rarely as dire as claimed—or completely made up. He’d go, anxious, only to return in exasperation. It wore him down quickly. Still, since some cases were genuinely urgent, he couldn’t ignore every call.

And Aeryl’s work didn’t stop at treating patients. The inner quarters infirmary hadn’t been in use for so long that they barely had any medicine. The butler had kept some emergency supplies—painkillers, fever reducers, and blood stanchers—but that was about it. For anything urgent or hard to make, Aeryl had to send a letter to Kyla in the outer quarters to borrow some.

‘Connie’s been running around like crazy.’

Even so, there were limits. What they didn’t have, Aeryl had to make himself. The only time he could focus without interruption was at dawn, so he ended up sleeping in short bursts in the infirmary. Then during the day, he was constantly running around again. His body was starting to give out.

‘Honestly, there’s probably no need to go this far…’

What kept him going was pure responsibility—and stubbornness. He didn’t want to back down from the fight the Lady had started. He wanted to see the look on her face when things didn’t go her way.

“Please go sleep in your room tonight. At least eight hours—properly!”

Connie begged. Aeryl silently held out his cup. It was already empty. With a sigh, Connie refilled it.

‘I need to go see the Grand Duke tonight.’

Even in the middle of this chaos, he never missed the Grand Duke’s checkups. These days, he didn’t stay ​unauthorized copy​to chat—just examined him briefly and left.

‘Yesterday, I told him to go easy. Or wait, was that the day before?’

Yesterday, he might not have come back at all, saying he had work to finish. Now Aeryl wasn’t sure. It was all blurring together. That’s what happened when every day felt too long.

“Connie, did His Grace sleep in the inner quarters last night?”

“No. He was in the outer quarters yesterday.”

“Ah-ha.”

So it was the day before yesterday.

‘I really should be paying more attention to the Grand Duke.’

He had snatched brief moments to read the medical books stocked in the infirmary, but they hadn’t yielded anything useful. Tonight, it might be better to head in early and rest, so he could meet the Grand Duke with a clear mind.

Knock knock.

Someone tapped at the infirmary door.

“A patient, I guess.”

“Phew.”

Connie grabbed Aeryl’s house call bag, and Aeryl changed into shoes he could run in—ready to dash off wherever needed!

But contrary to expectations, the person who stepped in wasn’t one of the inner quarters servant. It was a man Aeryl had never seen before, wearing a large ash-gray robe and carrying a staff—looking every bit the stereotypical mage.

‘Must be someone from the outer quarters l.’

Aeryl had grown familiar with nearly everyone working in the inner palace over the past few days.

“Excuse me. My name is Feyers.”

“Yes, I’m Aeryl. But what brings you here…?”

The outer quartershad its own infirmary, so there should’ve been no reason to come all the way to the inner one.

“The medical artifacts have arrived. Would now be a good time to bring them in?”

Aeryl’s eyes widened and the corners of his lips lifted instantly. Like a flower blooming at the touch of water, life returned to his face.

“Right now!”

“Pardon?”

“Please, bring them in right this moment!”

He seized Feyers’ hand and shook it enthusiastically. Feyers looked mildly alarmed, but Aeryl didn’t notice at all.

When he’d first been told the medical artifacts would be installed in the empty room—or when he’d heard the Grand Duke had purchased them—he had been so excited. Even in the middle of his hectic days, he’d pulled out his handwritten notes to read up on how to use medical artifacts.

As soon as Aeryl gave his permission, attendants began bringing in the devices.

“Wow.”

“Whoa!”

“Wowwww.”

Each time a piece was carried in, Aeryl let out strange, awestruck sounds. The attendants glanced at him with baffled expressions.

“He didn’t seem like this the last time we saw him…”

“Guess he’s changed a lot in the meantime.”

They whispered behind his back.

The medical artifacts were large, so the empty room filled up in an instant. While Fayus went in first to set up and check everything, Aeryl stood by the door, eyes gleaming as he watched.

“There don’t appear to be any issues. Try them out and let me know.”

“Yes!”

Aeryl’s heart was pounding. Who should be the first to try it out? He couldn’t use it on himself. He glanced at Connie.

“Hey, Connie—”

“Would you like some coffee too, sir Mage?”

Connie, quick to read the room, tried to make a run for it. But just then, entirely unexpected visitors arrived at the infirmary.

“Your Grace. Welcome.”

“My Lady, good day to you.”

It was Grand Duke Asirion and Lady Merel.

“You’ve come together?”

“We just happened to cross paths. I came to see the artifacts.”

The Grand Duke responded seriously to Aeryl’s question. At least he gave an answer—Lady Merel pretended not to hear.

“I heard the artifacts was being installed here, and since this is part of the inner quarters, it’s only natural the mistress of the house takes an interest. But isn’t His Grace far too busy with external affairs to be concerning himself with things inside the household?”

“Mistress of the house? I thought we’d already clarified your standing the last time we spoke.”

Though it had only been a few days since they’d last seen each other, sparks immediately flew between the two. Both claimed they came to see the artifacts, but they each had their own real reasons.

The Grand Duke had come to see Aeryl. He hadn’t meant to, but he couldn’t help himself—he wanted to see Aeryl’s face lit up with joy like last time.

‘He looks happy enough, but…’

His hollow expression and the bloodshot veins in his eyes made him look slightly—off.