Episode 19: The Epidemic (1)
At the duke’s sudden visit, the chief attendant rushed out in a panic to greet him.
“Your Grace, what brings you here?”
“It’s urgent. I must see His Majesty immediately.”
“Ah, understood. Please wait just a moment.”
Seeing the duke’s grim expression, the chief attendant hurried to inform the emperor of the duke’s arrival. The emperor assumed the duke had come to give a favorable answer regarding the request he had made at the banquet—asking him to support the Second Prince. So despite the sudden visit, he allowed an audience without anger.
“Oh, Duke. So, will you lend your support to making the Second Prince the crown prince?”
“Your Majesty, there is a more urgent matter. An epidemic has broken out in the central region.”
At the duke’s words, the emperor’s face contorted in anger, and he yelled:
“What? An epidemic? What nonsense! None of the local officials nor the lords of the central region have submitted such a report!”
The duke waited silently until the emperor’s rage settled. After a moment, the emperor, panting roughly, asked again to confirm.
“Duke, are you certain it’s an epidemic?”
“Yes. I have already sent knights to confirm it. The officials and lords hid the outbreak for fear of Your Majesty’s punishment. Your Majesty must dispatch inspectors at once to keep it from spreading further.”
The emperor groaned and clutched his throbbing head.
It was not something that could be entrusted to just anyone. As he deliberated on the right candidate, his gaze fell upon the duke kneeling before him, and he ordered the chief attendant to summon the Second Prince.
The Second Prince entered the council chamber yawning, as if he had been awakened from a nap.
“Yaaawn… Father, did you call for me?”
“Yes. Go to the central region and handle a certain matter.”
Startled, the Second Prince asked:
“What? The central region? Why?”
“There is an epidemic spreading there. Go stop it, and then punish the officials and lords who hid the truth from me.”
“Whaaat? An epidemic? Father, I don’t want to go. Are you telling me to catch the disease and die?”
The prince turned pale and shook his head vehemently, resisting the order.
“Prince! How foolish! And you call yourself the future crown prince? Your debauchery has ruined your support among the nobles—public opinion is worse! If you step forward now and achieve merit, even your opponents will have to acknowledge you!”
The emperor’s anger burst forth at his son’s childish whining. But even after scolding and shouting, the prince merely shrank back without agreeing to go, leaving the emperor sighing deeply.
For a long time, the emperor alternated between anger and persuasion, trying to send the prince to the central region, but the boy kept his mouth shut like a clam. Just when the emperor’s patience finally snapped and he was about to issue a forced imperial decree, the doors burst open and the Second Prince’s mother—Empress Sophia—ran in, weeping.
“Your Majesty—hic—Your Majesty! Not the prince!”
Despite being a woman with a grown son, the empress possessed a beauty far more seductive and refined than the young concubines who entered the palace, and for ten years she alone had held the emperor’s favor.
She had hurried here the moment a eunuch—her secret informant—told her the emperor intended to send her only son to a region ravaged by plague. She could never let her precious son, destined to be the future emperor, be sent somewhere so filthy and dangerous.
“Empress… what are you saying?”
“I heard everything outside. You intend to send the prince into a plague-ridden region?”
Unable to confess that a spy informed her, she lied that she overheard from outside. Tears welled up as she leaned into the emperor’s arms.
Moved by the tears of the woman he had loved for years, the emperor took her hands and comforted her.
“Empress… but the prince needs a justification to be named crown prince. The elder nobles still oppose him fiercely because he fled the battlefield. If he simply resolves this situation, I can name him crown prince immediately.”
Her heart wavered at that, but in truth, the only prince the emperor favored was her son. The First Prince, born of the empress consort, had died young, and the princess, being a woman, would never be chosen as successor by the old-fashioned emperor. After some thought, she decided she still could not send her son to the central region.
“Your Majesty, next time… he will earn merit next time. But not for an epidemic. If he were to catch it and die, sniff… I would die too.”
Collapsing tearfully at the emperor’s feet, she sobbed so pitifully that the emperor’s heart softened completely. He lifted her gently and said:
“Very well, stop crying. You know how it pains me when you weep… I will assign someone else to the central region. Take the prince and return to the palace.”
As if she had never shed a tear, the empress smiled brightly and left the chamber with the Second Prince. The emperor watched them go, then turned to the duke.
The duke held military authority on the frontier, making him a dangerous man to send away. The emperor had even granted him a residence in the capital to keep him close and unable to return to his own domain. Yet there was no one more suitable for this task. After struggling with the decision, the emperor finally issued the order.
“Duke, you will go to the central region, halt the epidemic, and punish the officials and lords who dared deceive me.”
“I obey Your Majesty’s command.”
With a weary sigh, the emperor leaned back on his throne and closed his eyes.
“You may leave now. My head aches.”
The duke left the chamber, collected the imperial token from the Board of Inspection, and returned to the ducal estate.
Back at the estate, the duke immediately began preparations to depart for the central region.
“Your Grace, you’re going to the central region?”
Ella asked while packing his luggage.
“Yes.”
“Ella, you’ll stay here.”
Her hands froze mid-packing.
“I may only be acting deputy aide, but I’m assisting you with your duties. Why are you trying to leave me behind?”
“It’s dangerous.”
“No. I’m coming with you. Inspecting and supervising the central region will be difficult. I can help you.”
The duke was at a loss for words. She was right. Ella was meticulous and competent in administrative work, and he would undoubtedly need her help in the central region. But he still didn’t want to take her into a plague-stricken area.
“No.”
He refused firmly, without giving any real reason. Ella understood why he wanted to leave her behind, but she was equally unwilling to send him alone.
“You help me whenever you please… but I’m not allowed to help you?”
Seeing the certainty and determination in her eyes, the duke finally relented with a sigh.
“…Fine. Come with me.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Ella quickly finished packing the duke’s things and loaded her own luggage into the carriage as well.
“Ella, what is happening?”
The head maid and butler—who had come to see them off—prepared light snacks and handed them to Ella.
“Head maid, Butler, please be careful. There’s an epidemic in the central region; it could spread to the capital at any time. Restrict outsiders from entering, and stay safe until we return.”
“Yes, understood. Ella, you be careful too.”
Ella boarded the carriage as they saw her off.
The people they encountered on the road to the central region were in far worse condition than the knights had reported. Because of continuous rains, crops had failed and rotted, leaving many starving. And since the central region had many underdeveloped areas, most people died at home without ever seeing a real physician.
The duke and Ella arrived at Herka Village, believed to be where the epidemic first began. At the village entrance, smoke from burning corpses filled the air so thickly that the sky appeared gray.
Since Herka had an imperial official stationed there, the duke went straight to the official’s residence.
As they approached the residence, an old man was shouting and causing a commotion.
“People are dying! Can’t you at least listen to me once?!”
“Get lost! My lord does not listen to quack peasants like you! One more disturbance and I’ll have you thrown in jail!”
Hearing this, the duke caught the soldier’s wrist just as he was about to drag the old man away.
“What the—?”
Already on edge due to the epidemic, the soldier scowled at the unfamiliar face. The duke silently presented his identification token.
“Huh? What’s this? Ruichen Gloys… Duke?! H-huh!”
The soldier turned pale and saluted immediately.
“M-my apologies! I failed to recognize you, Your Grace!”
The old man, noticing the soldier’s sudden fear and salute, threw himself at the duke’s feet.
“Milord…! Please hear me out!”
The soldier tried to pull him away again, but the duke stopped him.
“What is it?”
“I know the cause of the epidemic. Please, listen to me!”
“…What?”
At the old man’s unexpected words, the duke’s and Ella’s eyes widened.
