004. Can You See the Herb?
I had brought the elephant plushie to make myself appear even more like a little child.
The plan worked perfectly.
On the way out to the garden, the household staff we passed couldn’t help but exclaim in delight.
“Look at the little lady! Holding her doll so tightly—isn’t it just adorable?”
“And waddling along with that round little belly—she’s absolutely precious!”
Even without the doll, I would have looked childlike enough.
No matter that a thirty-something soul resided inside; in a four-year-old body, the natural cuteness emerged on its own.
With that in mind, I started walking out of the mansion.
The count’s estate had a spacious garden. Somewhere in the distance, preparations for a party were underway, creating a bit of a commotion, but the area near the side of the building was quiet.
“Ah, that’s a bit relieving.”
After a few hearty burps while walking, my stomach felt more comfortable.
Perhaps because of the ease in my stomach, I finally noticed the surroundings. Among them, a messy flowerbed along the fence kept catching my eye.
Dandelions that hadn’t been pulled were growing thick, and there was a lot of white trash scattered around.
They said they mostly lived on the estate—could it be that the capital residence wasn’t well maintained? Considering the size, there didn’t seem to be many staff members either.
I stood there, lost in thought, and eventually moved toward the flowerbed. Suddenly, I had the urge to blow on the dandelion seeds.
‘Why do I suddenly feel this urge to blow dandelion seeds? Is it a leftover habit from being Nadia, or is it just because my body is that of a child, making me more impulsive?’
Lost in confusion, I reached the flowerbed—but when I arrived, neither white dandelion seeds nor trash were visible.
[Pu Gong Ying ]
What I saw was white lettering hovering above a young dandelion just starting to bloom.
I reached out to touch the letters, but my hand passed through them as if they were a hologram.
‘This… is the name of a dried dandelion herb, isn’t it?’
Pu Gong Ying refers to dandelion plants harvested and washed with roots intact around the time they flower, then dried for medicinal use.
It’s used to clear heat and detoxify, reduce fever, and counteract toxins. In the past, women often used it to treat mastitis.
Additionally, it’s good for calming inflammation in skin and internal organs, and it can aid digestion.
‘Yesterday I saw the illness of Count Renart. Today it’s the name of an herb… Since it’s written in Hangul, it seems only I can see it. But what am I supposed to do with this?’
The elderly pharmacist I had worked with at a rural pharmacy always said that a pharmacist should leverage both Western and Eastern medicine. She regretted that many young pharmacists nowadays treated herbal medicine as superstition and rejected it outright.
With no particular hobbies, I naturally spent my free time studying herbal medicine—memorizing not only prescriptions but the properties of each herb.
It certainly allowed me to treat mild patients in diverse ways, combining Eastern and Western medicine. The efficacy of my remedies often came from this precise combination.
I snapped back to reality and shook my head.
‘That was back at the pharmacy. There were hundreds of approved medicines, Western or herbal, all ready-made and licensed. What can I do here if I’m shown an herb?’
Extracting juice from dried dandelion or making granules to unlock its medicinal properties was beyond the skills of a local pharmacist like me.
‘If I were to decoct dandelion for medicine, how many grams and how long would it need to boil?’
I had no idea.
I stared at the floating letters and then spun around abruptly.
Still, some lingering curiosity made me glance back at the flowerbed as I walked—and before I knew it, I collided with something heavy and fell onto my bottom.
The elephant plushie I had brought to look like a child tumbled to the ground.
“Ah! Ouch… what’s this?”
Rubbing my backside, I looked up to see a boy about my size sprawled on the ground.
Unlike me, who had landed sitting down, he was covered in dirt on his right side.
[Abrasion]
[Contusion]
Another set of words appeared—floating above his right elbow and shin.
“Are you okay?”
I dusted myself off and approached him.
The collision seemed to have startled him; a tear had formed in his large, dark eyes.
His jet-black hair matched the color of his eyes, which seemed to draw you in like a black hole.
His face was flushed pink from the impact, and his lips were swollen and bright red.
“He’s… beautiful…”
There it was again—his blunt honesty. The boy looked like he could model as a child actor immediately.
He wiped the tears from his eye with his right arm, looking a bit confused.
‘Oh no, the tears might touch the wound.’
Sure enough, he began frowning and examining his body.
“Here and here. Scratched and bruised a bit.”
I gently pointed to the injured spots.
He turned the arm and leg I indicated, eyes welling with tears.
Panicked that he might start crying, I crouched down to meet his eye level and began soothing him.
“Aww, you hurt? It’s okay! I’ll help!”
I blew gently on the bleeding wound. The boy blinked, puzzled.
Then, embarrassed that he had almost cried in front of a stranger, he muttered, “It doesn’t hurt at all.”
“See? It’ll heal just fine with a bit of care.”
“What?”
Ah, there I went, mimicking the way the elderly pharmacist used to soothe children at the pharmacy.
Avoiding his curious gaze, I noticed a water bottle on the ground.
“This yours?”
“Yes… it’s my water.”
“I’ll use a bit.”
I opened the bottle, poured a small amount into the cap, and confirmed it was clear.
If pus or infection develops, I’ll need to rinse it with this water rather than spit.
“Let me have a look.”
“Uh… wait…”
The boy looked startled but didn’t resist.
I carefully examined his arms and legs for other injuries. The floating words only marked two wounds, so nothing else needed attention.
“Okay.”
I let the clean water flow over the injuries.
He winced but didn’t cry out.
‘Judging by his manners, he must be from a wealthy family.’
Despite being dirt-stained, all his clothes seemed expensive.
Could he also be an important character in this world?
Shaking off the thought, I focused on cleaning the wounds.
‘I wish I had some disinfectant… The wounds are shallow, but since he fell on the dirt, they need proper care. No tetanus shots in this world, of course.’
After rinsing off all dirt and debris, I fanned the wounds dry and said:
“All done! Go home, and make sure to treat it properly.”
“…Okay.”
Still seated, he took my outstretched hand.
Seeing the wounds now clean, he grabbed my hand and stood up.
But even after standing, he seemed lost in thought and didn’t want to let go.
Why is he staring so intently?
“Uh… give me your hand.”
“Ah! Sorry, sorry!”
Startled, he raised both hands in surprise, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“No, thanks to you. But…”
His persistent gaze at me left off a strange unease.
‘Why does everyone here pause before speaking?’
Feeling nervous, I swallowed hard, silently complaining as I readied myself for whatever came next.
