132. The Benefactor I Must Heal

2024.02.09.

“The Deposed Crown Princess has entered the Imperial Palace?!”

The soldier flinched at the loud exclamation.

But Hile’s gentle eyes were now blazing more intensely at the gossip sheet in the soldier’s hand than at the wound on the soldier himself.

“Women entering the Black Mansion dozens of times a day—?”

Hile’s normally mild eyes shot wide open.

The soldier, holding a damp, crumpled gossip sheet, had no desire to irritate this notoriously ill-tempered doctor.

Hile, a skilled physician from the Empire, had become an indispensable asset to Torca Archipelago’s navy.

Despite barely scraping by on medicine and supply costs, he stubbornly continued treating them—his accumulated funds seemingly sufficient to sustain his efforts.

Though far rougher and tougher than when he first arrived, his gratitude remained undeniable.

“Hand it over here!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

Hile’s face flushed bright red at the sensational headline.

“After the fiancée, now married women too. A deep dive into Prince Bollonico I’s irresistible charm—?”

Hile glared fiercely at Bollonico’s face, flamboyantly displayed on the cover, his brow furrowing deeply.

Seeing the man who had once forced him into the Black Mansion and ordered a doctor to kill someone now smiling with gleaming white teeth made his blood boil.

“The Imperial romance and war. Why is Prince Bollonico I always the victor—?”

His voice grew louder.

Startled by Hile’s ferocious aura, the soldiers quietly began gathering behind the dark-haired doctor nearby.

Hile flipped through the gossip sheet with speed surpassing even his bandaging of the wounded.

A brief, scandalous introduction and story about the Deposed Crown Prince’s woman stolen twice, and the beautiful seductress who abandoned monster and family for power—Yuan Pelliese—was written in a manner as lurid as a romantic thriller.

It claimed that Crown Princess Yuan Pelliese, suffering from the Deposed Crown Prince’s violent bedroom tastes, had fallen for Prince Bollonico I’s looks and character upon meeting him at a family gathering.

In this ‘novel,’ Yuan was portrayed as a cold, vicious seductress who abandoned her husband and home for another man.

“Nonsense!”

Furthermore, it claimed that the moment the Crown Princess left home, the Deposed Crown Prince seized the opportunity, spending nightly orgies with dozens of women.

“A—Aaagh! What is this?!”

A thick vein Hile had never shown before bulged on his forehead.

Even soldiers who had witnessed Hile’s transformation through countless battles and hundreds of surgeries had never seen him like this.

He gripped the gossip sheet like it was a mortal enemy, trembling violently.

“T-This—this seductress—this is all lies! But the women going in and out of the Black Mansion—that part actually happened, so they’re reporting it, aren’t they?”

He glanced around as if seeking confirmation.

The soldiers, slowly backing away, merely watched nervously.

“Has anyone been to Euphris? Is it true what this gossip says—that the Deposed Crown Prince spent nights with dozens of women?”

A few who had passed the gossip sheet around during their boat ride nodded.

“That’s been a common rumor in the Empire for months. Nothing particularly special. He’s just so famous, we remember it too.”

“Nothing special?!”

“Yes. The Deposed Crown Prince of Euphris was notoriously known for his affairs with women. Many claimed to have heard it directly from courtesans who’d been there. And apparently, he’s just arrived in the south—both the Deposed Crown Prince and Princess! That’s why you can’t go anywhere without hearing about them.”

“You! Did you personally go gallivanting around pleasure districts or something?!”

“N-no! Just had a drink or two!”

As the soldiers grew noisy, Hile clutched his pale cheeks with both hands.

That Yuan was being called an utterly heartless seductress was clearly absurd, but the rest seemed credible.

‘That person has no reason to act that way.’

If she had desired wealth and glory, she wouldn’t have stayed rooted in Roxenhardt in the first place. And if she truly despised the Crown Prince, she wouldn’t have devoted herself so completely to him.

The claim that she’d gone to the Imperial Palace made no sense even to him…

“No.”

Hile suddenly jerked his face up from his hands, a chill racing down his spine.

‘That person is gravely ill—ill enough to appear on death’s doorstep.’

And more than that?

She was someone who had personally witnessed Bollonico attempting to kill Clade Euphris.

Though she had coldly pushed Hile away, the reason was ultimately to save him.

Knowing Hile wasn’t capable of protecting himself, she chose to send him away—not demanding loyalty, but ensuring his survival.

He had already lost her trust once. Ashamed, he fled the mansion, escaping to the southern region, crossing the sea to start anew in the Torca Archipelago.

Fearing repercussions for her family, she had emptied every coin from her cleaning product profits, relocating her entire family here and erasing all traces.

The conditions were worse than when he worked in the Western Parliament, but he lived gratefully—his life, beliefs, and family preserved.

Recalling his own journey, Hile suddenly understood Yuan’s intentions in a flash.

‘Madam intends to kill Bollonico—and then herself.’

Hile’s eyes trembled wildly.

‘Can I just stand by and watch a benefactor who chose death without treatment?’

Can the Deposed Crown Prince ignore his wife who went to certain death to kill his enemy, and live so recklessly?

Can he waste such a hard-fought life—such a future where someone is willing to burn themselves completely to illuminate his path—so carelessly?

Hile turned to look at the black-haired man who had profoundly influenced his decision to settle here.

Despite witnessing Hile’s outburst, the man showed no interest, focusing solely on the patients before him.

Staring at that firm face, Hile repeatedly swallowed hard.

Until now, he had resolved to no longer involve himself in worldly affairs, returning instead to the初心—the初心 of his early medical training—and living quietly.

Thus, he had asked the man nothing, told him nothing, and simply sought guidance.

The man who had told him not to ask anything about himself, yet whom Hile followed simply upon hearing his name.

A man who mastered every herb in the Torca Archipelago, known as a legendary healer who had cured every illness since settling here, walking only the path of healing over profit.

“I have a request, Master.”

Hile concealed his fury and excitement, smoothing a calm expression across his face.

The rough hands, tidying a jar of ointment and surgical scissors, paused briefly. A pair of deep, pitch-black eyes turned toward Hile.

“I need your help. There is a benefactor I must heal at all costs.”

Thinking of Yuan, Hile pleaded even more fervently.

“She is in Euphris. Fortunately, she isn’t far. Please, come with me across the sea by ship.”

“Why don’t you do it yourself?”

“My skills are insufficient. I beg you. Didn’t you once say you wished to become a doctor who could cure every illness in the world?”

“I cannot leave this place. I won’t stop you from leaving. But if I go too, who will mend the wounded soldiers out there, torn apart by pirates?”

“Do not underestimate your disciples. Though they currently practice medicine at the archipelago’s center for a living, if you ask them to step in temporarily and guard the soldiers here, they will roll up their sleeves and come without hesitation.”

The black-haired doctor fell silent for a moment. His large, clear eyes—youthful despite his age—narrowed slightly.

“Why should I?”

The reply was cold.

It was an icy response, hard to believe from someone who had fought alongside him in this battlefield for months.

But Hile did not yield. He held a strange, unshakable conviction that bringing this Master across the sea to meet Yuan would not be in vain.

“Because it is undoubtedly something that will capture your interest as well.”

Hile hesitated briefly, then clenched his jaw and spoke.

Across from him, the man with a thick beard, who had kept his lips tightly sealed, gradually widened his eyes and stiffened his body as Hile continued.

Hile was certain.

No matter what it took, he would heal his benefactor. And once he informed the oblivious, reckless Deposed Crown Prince of her condition, something would happen.

And whatever came next would, at the very least, be far better than the present.

***

The thought of chasing after Tasha vanished from her mind.

Yuan collapsed onto the bed, dazed, not even remembering how she had returned to her room.

Clutching her firm resolve to leave Clade Euphris for Clade’s sake, she had pressed forward through the raging blizzard, facing it head-on toward a faint objective.

She had chosen this path herself, and no matter what came, she had decided to walk it silently.

Yet apart from that, the fact that Clade didn’t despise or ignore her existence—but wished for her to vanish entirely—left her profoundly lonely.

After lying helplessly on the bed for a long while, Yuan swallowed a sob that wouldn’t come, barely managing to sit at the edge of the bed, her head drooping.

“I never asked to be understood.”

I have to finish what I must do.

The moment I die, the only peaceful closure I seek isn’t Clade’s recognition—but the complete eradication of Clade’s enemies.

Her head snapped up.

With still-trembling eyes, Yuan sprang to her feet and locked the door.

Finally, she had time—time free from any surveillance, time to be alone in this room.

If she failed to make use of this priceless moment, she would die with her eyes wide open.

She pulled out the bag she had shoved beneath the bed, waiting only for this moment, and opened it.

Small letters, stored in a sturdy leather pouch, greeted her.