Chapter 57
It felt as if all the air around me had stopped.
The sounds faded away, and everything except for my master became blurry and indistinct.
My real master…?
I had thought it was possible, no—likely, that it was him.
But actually seeing him with my own eyes was something entirely different.
Did he really not die back then?
How is he alive?
Is he truly such a powerful being that he wields the Dragon’s Authority?
A flood of unanswered questions poured through my mind.
“Danae?”
Baratheon’s puzzled voice came from beside me.
If he hadn’t called out to me, I might’ve just kept staring blankly at my master forever.
“Ah.”
Noticing that my dazed gaze was fixed on the man, Baratheon said curtly,
“What are you spacing out for? That’s the doctor who treated you.”
“Yes, I see.”
I nodded, unable to tear my eyes away from my master.
He, too, was looking straight at me.
But in those pale sky-blue eyes, I couldn’t read any emotion.
“Let’s check your condition,”
he said, approaching me.
The closer he came, the stronger my certainty grew.
His face, his voice, even the way he walked—everything was exactly how I remembered my master.
Wait a minute. The last time I saw him was five hundred years ago, wasn’t it?
And yet he looked exactly the same.
Come to think of it, even in my previous life, he never seemed to age at all.
Back then I had just thought, “Wow, my master’s so youthful!” and left it at that.
But now… everything about it seemed strange.
So many things I hadn’t noticed before.
Obviously—he just didn’t tell me on purpose.
If he had, I would’ve realized he wasn’t an ordinary human being.
While those thoughts swirled in my head, he came right up to me.
I widened my eyes, bracing myself.
All right! Come on, let’s see what you do!
But instead of anything dramatic, he simply placed his hand on my forehead with that same impassive face.
If he was trying to check for a fever, it was pointless—my body was perfectly fine.
“She’s recovered properly. You don’t need to worry anymore.
As long as she rests for a while, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
As expected, the same calm, composed words came from his lips.
Seeing my improved condition—and now hearing it confirmed by the “doctor”—the Grand Duke and the three brothers all visibly relaxed.
If I want a proper talk, I need to be alone with him.
While I was thinking of an excuse to send everyone away, he spoke first.
“Well then…”
Right, he must have plenty to say to me too—
“I’ll be taking my leave now.”
…He doesn’t?
Startled, I hurriedly reached out and grabbed his arm as he turned to go.
“Please don’t go!”
Everyone’s eyes went wide at my sudden outburst—
everyone except the man whose arm I was clutching.
“Um, I just… wanted to discuss my condition a little more…”
I quickly came up with a plausible excuse.
“I’d like to speak privately with the doctor, if that’s all right?”
For something said on the spot, it was a decent reason.
Patient privacy—yes, very important. Sure, that worked.
“Why? Can’t you just talk about it here? I’m curious too,” Baratheon said cluelessly.
Lucas smacked him hard on the back, while Sische clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“There are things people want to keep private, even from family. Especially girls.”
Baratheon tilted his head, confused.
“I don’t have any secrets.”
Yeah, you look like the type who doesn’t.
“Is that something to be proud of?” Sische sighed, shaking his head.
“Please, make a secret or two. Stop telling me things I never wanted to know.”
“What kind of things don’t you want to know?”
“For example, how many moles are on your butt—”
“Three.”
Baratheon answered before Sische even finished speaking.
“Three on the left side. Want to see?”
Three moles on the left butt cheek…
Before I realized it, my eyes drifted toward Baratheon’s muscular rear.
And from Sische’s horrified look, it seemed he was ready to pull his pants down to prove it.
“What the hell are you listening to? I said I didn’t want to know that!”
Yeah. Definitely didn’t need to know that information.
I nodded emphatically in agreement, watching as Sische dragged Baratheon away by the arm.
The Grand Duke and Lucas gave me a knowing look—‘Good luck talking’—and quietly left the room.
Once the noisy crowd was gone, silence filled the large chamber.
Okay, so… what do I even say?
I’d finally gotten what I wanted—to be alone with him—but now I had no idea how to start.
Should I greet him? Say it’s been a long time?
Or demand to know why he lied and disappeared?
While I was overthinking it, he spoke first.
“What was it you wanted to discuss?”
“Huh?”
“You said you had something to discuss about your health.”
“Uh… are you really going to keep playing doctor?”
I hadn’t realized my master was into role-playing.
Blinking at him, I saw him tilt his head slightly, still expressionless.
“I’m not playing doctor. I’m conducting a proper examination. Seriously.”
“What?”
“If you have nothing to discuss, I’ll be on my way.”
“What?”
He wasn’t joking.
He turned immediately and started walking toward the door.
“Wait—Master, please!”
I hurriedly tried to get out of bed and go to him.
Or at least, I tried.
I’d forgotten that after lying in bed for so long, my legs had gone stiff.
The moment my feet touched the floor, they buckled beneath me.
Oh no—I’m falling!
I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for impact.
Even if I wrapped myself in magic, hitting the floor would still hurt.
But before I hit the ground, a strong arm caught me and pulled me upright.
Instead of a hard floor, my waist was encircled by firm but steady arms.
When I slowly looked up, he was frowning down at me.
“Do you even realize you’re a patient who just woke up a few hours ago?”
“I do, but…”
“If you did, you wouldn’t be acting so recklessly.”
He let out a faint, almost inaudible sigh and then lifted me up in his arms.
I blinked in surprise as my body rose off the ground.
He carried me back to the bed and gently set me down.
“After your inner energies were disrupted so severely, it will take some time before you can use your strength properly again.
Start by practicing slow walks. That’s my prescription—as your doctor.”
Wow. That really did sound like a doctor.
“Master, you’re a great actor. You really seem like a doctor.”
“I don’t seem like a doctor. I am a doctor.”
“Are you seriously going to keep this up when it’s just the two of us?”
I narrowed my eyes, staring at him.
Even if he galloped past me on a horse, I’d still recognize that face—it was him.
“In the dream—the black space—you called out to me. You told me not to cause trouble, remember?
Why are you pretending you don’t know me?”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
His feigned ignorance made me let out a dry laugh.
“Your face, your voice, your tone—well, except you’re using honorifics now…”
Everything about him was my master.
I’d spent years with him; how could I not know?
“You’re clearly my master, yet you’re just going to keep pretending otherwise?”
But even with my insistence, his expression didn’t change.
“You seem to be mistaken. I’m not your master.”
“Come on, yes you are.”
“I am not.”
“But you are.”
“I said I’m not.”
His eyes were cold and resolute as he said it.
Staring into them, I began to realize… maybe this wasn’t a joke after all.
…Could it really be true?
The faint smile on my lips slowly faded.
But—
“My illness… only my master could cure it.”
“Then today, you’ve learned there’s someone else in the world who can.”
“You—”
He didn’t let me finish.
Turning his back on me without a hint of hesitation, he strode to the door and pulled it open.
“Don’t forget my prescription,” he said—and left.
My master—or the man claiming not to be him—was gone.
Is he really not my master?
That thought filled my mind completely.
