Chapter 66
A soft cloth brushed gently across my face.
The careful movement—clearly meant not to wake me—made me slowly open my eyes.
“Milady, are you awake?”
Today it was Melissa. She looked down at me with eyes both worried and affectionate.
I moved my arm without thinking and immediately frowned. The familiar muscle pain had come back right on schedule.
After clearing my throat—my voice was still rough—I calmly asked,
“How many days have passed?”
“You slept for a full day after you collapsed and were brought home.”
Melissa’s answer surprised me.
Huh?
That’s… less than I expected.
Is my body actually developing a tolerance to this?
“The lord was really angry, you know. Every time you go out, you come back unconscious. He said he might just lock you in your room. When he returns this evening, you’re going to get scolded so much.”
“Go call Dame Rachel.”
I let Melissa’s scolding pass in one ear and out the other.
Since I passed out in the carriage coming back from District 4, Dame Rachel must have brought my unconscious body home afterward.
I was worried my brother Michael might have unfairly taken it out on her. And… I was also worried she might’ve told him everything.
“I’m not joking—he’s seriously going to stop you from going outside!”
“Even if you beat me half to death, I couldn’t go outside right now. Just call Dame Rachel to my room.”
Melissa tried to insist with a serious expression, but I answered tiredly. As I forced myself upright with a groan, a thought struck me and I grabbed her arm.
“Did anyone come looking for me while I was out?”
Melissa, who was just about to open the door, turned back. She tilted her head as if trying to remember, then shook it.
“No, ever since you went out yesterday, no one has come to see you.”
I nodded and dismissed her.
Rixion Luhanes.
The man who suddenly stopped visiting four days ago—
I wondered if he had come while I was unconscious, but apparently I was overthinking.
Originally, I never wanted him to come. If anything, I hoped I’d never see him again for the rest of my life.
But now… there was something I needed to confirm with him.
“Come to think of it… what if he came earlier to ask about that?”
The thought made anxiety well up again.
Rixion Luhanes might have discovered my secret.
Maybe it was all a misunderstanding or a dream…
But maybe it wasn’t.
Once one memory flickered back, others began surfacing—fragmented but vivid.
And they felt terrifyingly real.
I clearly remembered going to see Rixion, secretly healing him, losing consciousness, and about seven days passing.
I remembered waking up, eating with him…
but everything after that was gone.
When I came to again, another five days had passed.
Given the way things fit together…
I must have treated him again—right in front of him—
while babbling something ridiculous like,
“Don’t ever tell Rixion Luhanes.”
To Rixion Luhanes himself.
“If that really happened… what am I supposed to do?”
The worst, the worst, the absolute worst possible scenario unfolded in my mind.
I stared blankly, mouth hanging open.
“Did I just raise a massive flag myself…?”
I imagined Rixion reporting everything to the Imperial Family…
The Holy Kingdom finding out…
Two nations using me as political ammunition…
Me caught helplessly in between…
I quickly shook my head hard.
“No, no. It’s not confirmed yet. Calm down, Elizabeth Christener. It’s fine. Maybe it really was just a dream. Yeah. It might be nothing.”
I forcibly reined in my runaway imagination.
It had already been days.
If the imperial palace was still quiet…
maybe it truly was just my mistake.
No need to beat myself up by assuming the worst.
I took a deep breath and went to the window.
I opened it wide and let the soft breeze cool my nerves. I deliberately watched the servants bustling around below.
Something felt… different.
Their expressions, their energy—everyone seemed unusually excited.
Just as I was wondering about it, Dame Rachel arrived.
I tilted my head.
“Is something happening today? Everyone seems oddly cheerful.”
“It’s the start of the capital festival today.”
Ah.
Right—that event.
The one where Jieun-ha and Rixion Luhanes had their memorable first date in the original story.
I immediately lost interest and turned away from the window.
“Dame Rachel, how much did you tell my brother?”
When I approached her and asked in a whisper, Dame Rachel let out a long sigh first.
“I said exactly what you told me to. That you went out with a friend to see the plaza, saw grilled meat skewers, ran toward them in excitement, and fell down the stairs. Honestly, I was shocked he believed it without a hint of suspicion.”
“Told you he’d buy it.”
I smirked triumphantly.
I had good reason to be confident.
This body had an impressive track record from childhood.
Running toward food, tripping, splitting my forehead, cracking bones, nosebleeds, fainting—it was practically a hobby.
Michael, who had witnessed all of that for years, was guaranteed to believe such an excuse.
Dame Rachel, however, sighed even deeper.
“In any case, I’m relieved you’re unharmed. But I’m never doing this again. Next time, I’ll report everything to the marquis even if it costs me my job.”
“Okay, okay. I’m really sorry about this time. And… thank you.”
I put my hands together and sincerely apologized. Then I examined her face closely.
“You’re not feeling weird anywhere, right? No fever?”
“I’m fine. I’m more worried about you. A physician came while you were unconscious, but… you did come into contact with an epidemic patient.”
“No really, I’m fine. I was fine last time too.”
She still looked extremely worried.
“As I said earlier, this is absolutely the last time I help with something like this.”
I reassured her repeatedly—yes, yes, never again—and she eventually left, still suspicious.
Afterward, I filled my starving stomach.
Then I went to get today’s gossip paper from the butler.
While receiving it, I casually asked whether anything unusual had happened in the empire or the Holy Kingdom.
If news of me treating that family in District 4 had leaked, it would’ve caused a stir.
“No, nothing unusual as far as I know. But if you tell me what’s bothering you, I can look into it further.”
Even the butler—who sometimes knew more about social circles than I did—had heard nothing.
And today’s fresh gossip paper had not a single mention of it.
“Are they purposely keeping it internal?”
I had been worried they’d cause an uproar about finding the mysterious healer who cured the plague.
But fortunately or unfortunately, they seemed to be discussing it quietly among themselves.
Which, honestly, made sense.
The Imperial Family would be the first to know.
And they had no reason to hand over the key to curing the plague to the Holy Kingdom.
“Still… it won’t be easy for them to find me.”
Pleased with myself, I flopped onto the bed.
I did wonder whether the family I treated was doing well, but going to check would be the dumbest thing possible.
“Criminals always return to the scene of the crime,” after all.
“I really wish I could cure all the excluded-zone people…”
But I could only treat a few at a time—
and then I collapsed like a rag doll.
Hundreds of people in the excluded zone were suspected to have the plague.
Including foreigners, the number would easily pass a thousand.
It was impossible for me to cure every one of them.
“Jieun-ha treated dozens, even hundreds without collapsing… Is it because I’m a bootleg version?”
I clicked my tongue in irritation and grumbled.
