“I’m not a lost cause, I tell you. My sense of direction is just a bit poor. And the times I’ve gotten lost in the imperial city were only because it’s so complicated there.”

I said, getting upset, feeling like I was being treated as an idiot who couldn’t even find her own home every time I was called directionally challenged for getting lost a few times.

“Alright, alright. Still, your sense of direction is quite poor compared to others. So how do you make house calls? There must be many patients, many places to visit, and even places you’re going for the first time.”

“How long do you think I’ve lived in this neighborhood? It’s been over 20 years since I started making house calls with my grandfather.”

“Even so, the alleys are extremely complicated. Narrow and winding, with buildings packed tightly together, it seems confusing. Haven’t you gotten lost?”

Of course, there were times when I got lost. When it got too dark or something. But when it was light out, finding my way wasn’t that difficult.

“I can find these alleyways better than most people.”

“How?”

It wasn’t like that from the beginning. Because my grandfather couldn’t see and I had a poor sense of direction, there were times we wandered the narrow alleys until dawn.

The capital of the Kalovanian Empire was packed with people. Especially the alleyways where the pharmacy was located were more complicated than the West Gate where nobles’ mansions were concentrated.

It was because those who flocked to the capital looking for work illegally extended buildings and lived crowded together. For me, barely over 10 years old, the dark and narrow alleys were an incredibly difficult space.

Especially when I got lost after coming out with my grandfather, I would secretly swallow my tears, feeling sorry for him.

My grandfather, unable to see, would notice me crying quietly and comfort me by patting my back with his warm hand. But I couldn’t just rely on my grandfather’s comfort every time. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention, and I came up with an ingenious method.

“I memorized it with numbers. Even if my sense of direction is a bit poor, my memory is quite good.”

“You can memorize these complicated roads with numbers? I don’t understand what you mean.”

I pointed to the wall with my finger. There were small numbers written on the wall that only I could recognize, which I had left since I was young.

Since I wrote them when I was young, they were lower than my current eye level. The stone wall was slightly worn from revising the numbers whenever they faded.

“I divided the area into large sections centered on the imperial city and numbered them. The numbers get bigger as you go outwards in a spiral shape. The first digit represents that section. The second digit means which alley it is within that section. And when remembering a path, you just need to memorize which building it is from the inside of that alley.”

“Numbering and organizing by section is a good method. But with so many alleys, there must be many numbers to remember.”

“Since it’s sequential, you don’t have to memorize everything. As you check the numbers, you also learn the direction, so you don’t get confused about the way.”

“So what numbers are you following today?”

“7-6-18.”

At my words, he searched for the numbers I had hidden as if looking for a hidden picture, and muttered, “This is 7-3, so we just need to go up a bit more.”

“Easy to recognize, right?”

“If you have such a good method, why do you get lost so much in the imperial city?”

“I can’t just carve numbers as I please in the imperial city. And the imperial city isn’t packed with buildings, so it’s actually more confusing for directions. The spaces between buildings are so wide that when I wander, I can’t tell if I was facing east or west.”

“Maybe we should put up signposts in the imperial city.”

“It’s fine. It’s not like there are many people getting lost in the imperial city anyway. Oh, by the way, there was something I forgot… Ah, right. That soil!”

“Soil?”

“Before, at the title conferment ceremony, I thought it was strange that there was soil on His Majesty the Emperor’s shoes.”

“His Majesty’s greatest hobby is tending to the imperial gardens.”

It was unexpected. The Emperor’s hobby being gardening. To think the hobby of the Emperor who wields the most powerful imperial authority in history and instills fear in the nobles is gardening!

“He doesn’t tend to all the gardens himself, but he spends a lot of time tending to Her Majesty the Empress’s garden.”

“It doesn’t seem to fit His Majesty the Emperor, but it’s quite a refined and elegant hobby.”

I nodded at his words, but I felt like I was forgetting something very important. I couldn’t quite remember what it was. It seemed like it was really important…

“Whatever it is, it’s best not to pay attention to anything related to the Emperor. Getting involved with the Emperor and Empress is a quick way to shorten your life.”

It was too cynical to be talking about his own parents. But having spent years with him, I knew that Ian regarded them not as parents, but merely as the Emperor and Empress.

Not that he hated them or anything. It’s just that they didn’t hold much meaning for Ian to be called family.

It’s bitter, but there are as many family stories as there are diverse families in the world. It’s not my place to interfere.

I hurried my steps to visit as many patients as possible before sunset. The first place I planned to visit was the home of a young child named Cass.

Cass was also a child who had been getting medicine from our pharmacy for a long time, and I had recently met his grandmother in front of the pharmacy.

Above all, he was one of the few patients whose address I remembered.

I visited Cass’s house with a light heart, but Cass’s grandmother was suspicious of us and wouldn’t let us examine Cass. It seemed she thought there was no way people who looked like nobles would visit her and Cass with good intentions.

“Grandmother, we came to check if Cass’s health is alright. We don’t have any other intentions.”

“Lies! There’s no way nobles would help us without reason. Our Cass is just a very young child! I absolutely can’t let you take him away.”

It was my oversight. I hadn’t thought that the grandmother who had endured long hardships taking care of her grandson would be so wary.

Ian said disapprovingly from beside me.

“If they dislike it that much, isn’t it better to just leave?”

Ian seemed displeased that I was insisting on giving treatment when we weren’t welcome. Every time his face showed annoyance, the grandmother would sweat nervously and watch his reaction.

She seemed afraid of getting into trouble for offending a noble’s mood. Nevertheless, she was courageously wary of us for her grandson’s sake.

I elbowed Ian’s side. Due to our height difference, my elbow hit near his waist rather than his side, but it didn’t matter. It wasn’t to give a blow anyway, but to give him a hint.

Cough, cough.

Cass’s coughing could be heard continuously from inside the house.

It seemed he had caught a cold or something in the days since the weather suddenly turned cool. I was worried because for a child with weaker lungs than others, even a mild cold could be fatal.

“I understand you’re perplexed by our sudden visit. But we really didn’t come with any other purpose. We came to check on Cass’s condition.”

“How on earth does a young lady like you know about our Cass to come visit?”

“I studied under Pharmacist Jane. Now that I’ve officially become a doctor, I’m going around to check on the patients Pharmacist Jane has been caring for.”

“Pharmacist Jane?”

“Yes. I’m worried about whether the patients she was in charge of are receiving proper treatment since Pharmacist Jane suddenly passed away, so I came to check.”

Her expression softened a bit when I mentioned my name. She stared at me for a while, then clapped her hands as if she remembered something.

“Ah! Come to think of it, you’re that young lady who was crying in front of Pharmacist Jane’s house, right?”

“That’s right. That was me!”

Fortunately, she seemed to recall that scene. I felt embarrassed that she remembered such an emotional moment of mine. But I was relieved that the grandmother seemed to be letting down her guard as she remembered that scene.

Ian, who had been listening to the conversation, narrowed his eyes and asked me.

“You cried?”

“I didn’t cry. So don’t interfere and stay quiet.”

“How am I interfering…”

I didn’t want to raise her suspicions again with unnecessary conversation with Ian just as her heart was finally softening. I spoke to her with the gentlest expression I could manage.

“How else would I have come all the way here if that wasn’t the case? May I take a look at Cass’s condition?”

“If you’re Pharmacist Jane’s apprentice, I’m grateful. Actually, Cass’s cough has gotten worse over the past few days. There’s even been blood mixed in with his phlegm.”

I opened the door with a worried face. The interior looked too cramped for everyone to enter. I turned to Ian and said.

“Don’t come in, wait out there.”

“I’m going in too.”

“The inside of the house is narrow so it’s complicated for several people to enter, and more than that, if you have such a grim expression, you’ll scare Cass.”

“What’s wrong with my expression.”

“It’s an expression full of extreme dissatisfaction! An expression like you’ll pick a fight and bully someone if they don’t listen to you even a little!”

“That’s…”

I could guess what kind of excuse he was going to make without hearing it. He’d probably say he doesn’t like me treating him carelessly.

“I know what you want to say, so let’s talk later.”

I followed the grandmother into the house.

As the door closed, I saw Ian’s expression of disbelief, but it couldn’t be helped.

Cass and his grandmother, being commoners, would constantly be watching Ian, who looked like a noble, and I couldn’t examine a patient in such an atmosphere. For me, leaving Ian outside the door was the best option.

Cough cough.

Cass, with a pale face, was constantly coughing with his handkerchief-clutching hand to his mouth. The grandmother was pitifully patting Cass’s back.