Hesitantly, after speaking, the healer seemed to regret his impulsiveness, worried he might have spoken too hastily.
Adel, sensing that he might provide the most honest information as an outsider soon to depart, urged him on.
“Please, anything you can tell would be helpful.”
She gestured her readiness to listen by extending her palm with a silver coin. The healer, delighted, pocketed the coin.
“Exactly twenty-two years ago, there were rumors of ‘it’ appearing. I remember it clearly; I was seven years old then.”
“…”
“By chance, Duchess, have you heard of the Nassau family?”
“The Nassau? The… fallen house?”
As Adel hesitated to articulate the full rumor—that the family head went mad—the healer nodded emphatically.
“A hundred years ago, they were as powerful as Ansger, dominating a third of Bichelreben. Linzingen, Schleiden… they owned it all.”
“I’ve heard. They were mighty.”
“The family was rumored to produce madmen every few generations. Some said it was an ancient curse, others that it was the blood of lunatics. ”
Adel was familiar
The healer shuddered as if he had personally experienced the events he described.
“The strangest part was that everyone seemed to have died peacefully, unaware of their fate. It was as if sun-dried fish were scattered throughout the castle, with pale bodies lying here and there.”
Adel took a moment to catch her breath, horrified by the story.
“……Were there no survivors?”
“Less than ten, including servants who were away from the castle. There were no confirmed survivors inside the castle when the disaster struck. There was this one madman who claimed otherwise…”
“Who was that?”
“When I was young, we called him Mad Kouk, a beggar wandering near Linzingen Castle. It’s unclear if he was already insane, or if witnessing the event drove him mad.”
“……”
“Anyway, it was a baffling incident, and rumors of the Bichelreben Dragon surfaced. Later, when the Schleiher family, as a duke, swallowed half of Nassau’s lands, there were rumors that they might have poisoned the well to seize Nassau.”
“……Is that person still alive?”
“Kouk? You mean?”
“I’d like to meet him.”
The healer looked startled by Adel’s response, as if regretting his words. He scratched the back of his head.
“Even if you find him, you won’t get much from him. His madness worsened over time, and eventually, he was confined in a monastery’s dungeon.”
Adel stared at him intently, then placed two more silver coins on the bedside table.
“Where is this monastery?”
“Oh, how would I know…”
She silently added three more coins. The healer, clearing his throat awkwardly, pocketed them. Funding for research at the tower was always costly.
“I don’t know why you want to find Kouk, but the only coherent thing he used to say was that if a real ‘dragon’ infiltrates us, the livestock will notice first. Watch for any unusual behavior in animals. He always rambled such nonsense. Anyway…”
He hesitated, then cautiously spoke up.
“I’ve only heard it was the Schleiher region’s temple. He resisted till the end, claiming he’d be dead if he went there.”
“The Schleiher region’s temple…”
“If it has a dungeon large enough, it must be fairly big. That was five years ago; by now, he’s likely dead. Even if alive, a sensible conversation would be impossible.”
Adel sighed in frustration, feeling like she had lost the only clue she had. Were there other ways? If only she could access the western tower’s library…
Her thoughts were interrupted by the healer’s cough.
“Oh, I’ve overstayed. Here it is.”
Adel placed a bag full of gold coins on the table – forty-five in total, a fair price for two days extending to a week.
The healer, pleased, left some herbs on the table.
“The curse should gradually lift as the monster’s power weakens. Then, the voice should return.”
“Really?”
“As it’s not a physical problem. The priority is psychological stability. Have her drink that herb regularly.”
“……What if the monster’s power doesn’t weaken?”
“It might take longer, but it’s not a life-threatening curse. She will recover eventually. More importantly, I didn’t want to interfere, but there’s something that bothers me.”
“Something bothering you?”
“Lady Adel, could you please extend your hand? Palm up.”
Adel hesitated a moment.
She extended her hand with reluctance. Despite the healer being a professional, he was still a stranger, a man. Had Adel been a typical noblewoman, any inappropriate touch could have led to severe consequences.
Thankfully, the healer didn’t grab her hand, but looked at it closely, furrowing his brow in thought.
“Did you have any severe illnesses when you were young?”
“In my childhood? I don’t particularly remember any…”
“Never stayed in a temple?”
“Well… A priest who was close to my mother used to visit periodically to check on my health, but I have no such memories.”
“Hmm. That’s strange.”
The healer stroked his growing stubble thoughtfully. Adel looked at him curiously.
“I’m somewhat sensitive to certain things due to my unique constitution. Your body, unlike the Grand Duke who has no sacred power, seems to have it but it doesn’t flow smoothly, as if it’s being suppressed. There seems to be a strong power, but…”
“You feel a power in me?”
“I’m not sure if it’s sacred power or something else. Maybe I’m just misinterpreting it.”
He scratched his head awkwardly.
“Sometimes I feel this way when I’m tired. My mentor could have seen it better than me…”
“……”
“If you ever happen to visit Falkenheim, please look for Jurgen in the Dawn Tower. That’s my name.”
Adel nodded, still in a daze. Jurgen nodded back, then reached for the doorknob, as if to leave. Adel called out to him urgently.
“Jurgen.”
“Yes, Lady Adel.”
“Everything you’ve seen and heard here must remain confidential. From the Grand Duke’s condition to our recent conversation, all of it.”
“Of course. I’ll treat everything I’ve seen, heard, and said here as if it never happened.”
Adel nodded, and Jurgen pulled his hood down over his head.
“Then, Lady Adel, I look forward to seeing you again.”
“Lady, Lady Adel.”
As Adel entered the stable, the stablemaster jumped up from his chair in a panic. Almost ashen-faced, he bowed deeply to Adel, with an almost servile smile.
“Oh my, what brings you here…”
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
