I Possessed the Villain’s Daughter — Chapter 102

The next morning when I set out, I could feel every trace of exhaustion washed away.

My steps felt so light I could almost fly.

Even the horse Ray had given me seemed in far better condition than before — perhaps thanks to three days of Rel’s care.

I galloped straight toward the Kingdom of Siwin.

Just the thought that I might be able to save Rubiana made the whole world look beautiful.

As before, I alternated between riding and passing through magic gates.
The journey went smoothly, and by the morning of the fourth day, I finally arrived at the capital of the Siwin Kingdom.

The sky was bright blue, and the white castle walls in the distance felt unusually dear to me.

The thought that things were almost over made my nose sting with emotion.

The capital looked exactly the same as it had ten days ago when I left.

No—there was one thing different.

“What’s that…?”

I squinted, trying to make out a blurry crowd in the distance.
Then I saw it — a procession of people in black mourning clothes, a funeral march.

A sad, slow dirge was echoing through the city square.

“Mourning clothes… and a funeral song…?”

For a moment, my head went dizzy.

No way.

No, it couldn’t be.

Even so, I was terrified to ask anyone whose funeral it was.

“…The young one…”

“If not for that illness…”

When someone said those words, my heart sank.

The words of Rubiana’s royal physician replayed in my head.

“…The Lugimi disease is a terrifying plague that leads to death within two or three weeks.”
“And since Princess Rubiana has always been frail since childhood…”
“The crisis may come even sooner.”

I could feel the blood draining from my face. My knees gave out, and I collapsed onto the stone pavement of the capital.

Someone gasped and tried to help me up, but I couldn’t focus on anything.

“…Rubiana…”

I muttered under my breath.

Was I… too late?

If I had only known…

Regret crashed over me like a wave. I had come all this way, across such a long journey, only for her — to save her.
And now it was all for nothing. Like a nightmare I couldn’t wake from.

Then, from within the crowd, someone called my name.

“…Lady Laila?”

I turned blankly toward the voice.

I hadn’t misheard.

Standing there was someone I recognized — Ray’s aide, Minuet.
He hurried toward me and helped me stand.

“Are you all right?”

“I… I…”

Seeing a familiar face nearly broke the dam I was holding back — the tears I’d been fighting were about to pour out. Surely he, too, must be grieving Rubiana’s death…

With effort, I managed to speak.

“Rubiana… at the end… was she…”

The words fell apart before I could finish.
When my first tear finally fell, Minuet’s expression twisted strangely.

“Princess Rubiana? What do you mean, ‘at the end’?”

“…What?”

I could only blink at him stupidly.

“Princess Rubiana is still in the palace.”

Minuet spoke gently, as though afraid I might faint again.

“Then… then that funeral procession—? It’s not the royal funeral?”

“The citizens are holding a joint ceremony. You know… there have been so many victims of the Lugimi disease.”

He trailed off quietly.

I immediately stood up with his support.

“Lady Laila—?!”

Before he could stop me, I jumped onto my horse and raced toward the royal palace.

Minuet had been right.

It had all been my misunderstanding.
Though Rubiana’s palace was dim and somber, it was not yet a place that had abandoned hope.

I ran straight to my office.

Following Rel’s recipe, I began mixing all the magical ingredients at once.

As expected of a dragon — his formula produced a potion far superior to any ordinary medicine.
It was nothing short of a revolutionary discovery.

After brewing a full cauldron, I barely let it cool before rushing to Rubiana with the potion in hand.

She was so weak she couldn’t even swallow properly, so I mixed the potion with warm water and carefully helped her drink.

Only then did I allow myself a sigh of relief.

When word spread that I had returned, both Elladin and Ray wished to see me, but I declined.
I devoted myself entirely to tending to Rubiana.

Perhaps my efforts had paid off.

The next morning, Rubiana opened her eyes as if nothing had happened.

Though her body was still slightly swollen from the illness, the red blotches had vanished, and there was no damage to her brain or any other organ.

She was perfectly fine.

Looking dazed, Rubiana blinked at me.

“Lady Laila?”

Instead of answering, I pulled her into an embrace.

The news that Princess Rubiana had overcome the Lugimi disease spread throughout the castle that very day.

Elladin and Laltz were the first to rush in.

“Rubie!”

“Princess Rubiana!”

They threw their arms around her, their eyes shimmering with tears.
Their young faces were haggard from worry — a clear sign of how much they had suffered. They wept openly, thanking me again and again.

Next came the King, Ray, and the rest of the royal family.

The King personally expressed his deep gratitude and declared that I would receive all the rewards he had promised before.

But I refused them all.
I had no greed for wealth or power — Rubiana’s survival was reward enough for me.

Then came the scholars, physicians, and magicians.

They wanted not only to see Rubiana, but also the person who had achieved the miracle of curing an incurable disease.

“Please, teach us just a little!”

“How in the world did you make such a potion?”

By then, I was exhausted, so I declined their visits under the excuse of travel fatigue.
But their curiosity knew no bounds — they kept knocking on my door for days.

Regardless, I had work to do.

I officially published the full recipe for the Lugimi cure.

Rel had told me it was fine, and I knew I alone could never supply enough medicine to save everyone across the continent.

Some people scoffed, saying, “You’re an idiot to give away something so valuable for free!”

I just let their words go in one ear and out the other.

Maybe they were right — if I had charged even a single coin per recipe, I could have built a mountain of gold.

But I already had more than enough wealth from Rosahill.
I hadn’t crossed continents for fame or power.

When I’d seen that funeral procession in the capital, I’d been relieved Rubiana wasn’t dead — but those people had also been someone’s family, friends, lovers.

Watching Rubiana waste away had already taught me the helpless agony of being unable to save someone you love.

I didn’t want anyone else to feel that pain.

If those stricken with Lugimi could recover and cherish life again because of this potion, that alone would be the greatest reward I could ask for.

So from that day on, I shut myself in my office and devoted myself to brewing medicine.

The recipe was free, but the herbs weren’t — I couldn’t provide everything for nothing.
Just as I was worrying about asking my family for funds, Ray generously offered his help.

He supplied the herbs and arranged for me to keep brewing without interruption.

Thanks to him, the Lugimi cure bearing the royal seal of Siwin was sold at an incredibly low price — cheap enough for even commoners to afford.

And Ray wasn’t the only one who helped me.

One day, unexpectedly, Jellan came to see me.

As the head of the Siwin Mage Corps, she was surely busy beyond measure. I remembered how hectic it had been when I myself worked under royal administration.
Yet Jellan arrived looking utterly determined.

“You!”

Her sharp tone made me rack my brain — had I done something wrong to her recently?

No matter how far back I searched my memory, I couldn’t recall anything, so I tilted my head in confusion. Jellan bit her lip, looking furious.

“…You’ve been doing good things lately, haven’t you?”

“Pardon…?”

I blinked, not understanding her intent. She stamped her foot in frustration, as if unable to contain her emotions.

Then she began inspecting my office — peering into jars of herbs soaking in magical solution, staring at the cauldron where a potion was bubbling.
Finally, she spoke again.

“I…”

She seemed about to say something, then shook her head quickly.

“No, never mind.”

Then she raised her chin defiantly.

“I’ll help you.”

“…What?”

Before I could react, she started assisting me as if the office belonged to her.

She wasn’t very skilled in alchemy or herbology, but as a magician, her power proved useful nonetheless.

Soon after, other court magicians and apothecaries also began dropping by to lend a hand whenever they could.

It was a strange but heartwarming feeling — people I didn’t even know coming to help me.

And thanks to them, production grew faster and faster.

At first, the potions spread mainly within Siwin, but as more people joined in, they began to reach the entire continent.

Though the recipe was public, many of its ingredients required magical processing, so people preferred to buy the completed potion.

If the kingdoms or empires importing the medicine had slapped on outrageous fees, many more would have died unable to afford it.

But just as I’d intended from the start — to deliver the cure to as many people as possible, as cheaply as possible — the price barely rose even as it spread across half the continent.

Seeing this success, Ray and the other magicians suggested we try developing more potions.
High-quality magical medicines began selling like wildfire at affordable prices.
Diseases once fatal for lack of treatment were now easily cured if caught early.

Within a month, my name had quietly spread everywhere.

The Miracle Alchemist of Siwin Kingdom.

Across all classes, my potions were in demand, and the Lugimi disease nearly vanished.

Among the poor, my name was almost synonymous with “saint.”
It made sense — when a plague spreads, the ones who suffer most are those already on the margins.
For those living in the streets, without hygiene or care, my potion was nothing less than a new life.

Jellan, watching all this, commented drily,

“I don’t like it.”

“……?”

I blinked at her in disbelief, and she huffed and turned her head away.

Later, I learned she had deeply blamed herself for failing to heal Rubiana — and that watching Ray wither day by day beside his sick sister had been like living in hell for her.
She told me this secret herself one quiet evening.

“…Thank you,” she said.

“Thank you so much,” others told me as well.

All I could do was smile.

And around that time…
someone from the Ulysses Empire came to see me.