Chapter 16

The first to break the silence was Maxim.

“He’s a verified doctor. He’s worked for the Adeloff ducal family for the past five years. Miles Eloise. Before working for the Adeloff family, he trained under Orlando Kidel and also has experience working in the imperial palace for some time.”

Elena blinked as she listened to him recite this information. What was his intention?

“…Would it be alright to entrust Leana to Miles?”

He asked in a much gentler voice. Seeing her pale, ashen face, he had no choice. He’d come to deliver hope and dreams, but now felt like a villain who had taken away even the candy she was eating.

That’s how terrible Elena’s face looked.

“Mr. Miles will personally… treat Leana? But she isn’t even a member of the Adeloff ducal family.”

Hazel nudged his side. His eyebrows twitched.

“…She’s a guest of Adeloff, so of course it’s fine.”

“Ah.”

Tears streamed down Elena’s face. The sorrow of searching for a doctor all day yesterday melted away like snow. The doctor she couldn’t obtain even if she offered her entire fortune, he had brought along as if it were nothing.

And Miles, no less. She had heard of him too. In the past, she had searched for all the empire’s doctors to treat Leana’s illness. She’d looked through newspaper articles and research papers.

Having practically lived in the library, she had heard Miles’s name at least once among the countless papers he’d written. Moreover, the doctors in Levonto would give him a thumbs up.

An acknowledged authority among doctors.

These were things completely unimaginable from his naive appearance behind glasses. Elena nodded vigorously.

“Thank you… Thank you so much.”

Miles sat in front of Leana as she hiccupped and stepped back. The small face of the child, who hadn’t regained consciousness all day, was covered in sweat.

He examined her and asked Elena several questions.

She answered faithfully within the limits of her knowledge.

“…I’ve also examined the medicines Leana has been taking. Lady Hazel provided them.”

“Yes, yes.”

“However, several herbs… don’t suit her constitution. Moreover, there are excessively expensive medicinal ingredients mixed in.”

He studied Elena’s complexion. Her face changed color with each word he spoke, which was unusual.

“Wh-what do you mean by that?”

“Do you mean some medicines could worsen her condition?”

Maxim cut straight to the point. Speak more gently. Hazel glared at him.

“That’s correct, Your Grace. With the medicines used here, it’s difficult to expect improvement in her condition.”

“What about those excessively expensive ingredients?”

“They merely serve a nourishing function. They’re medicines commonly used for the elderly, so they have little effect on young children.”

He asked Elena in a voice tinged with sighs.

“Who prescribed this medicine?”

“Someone called Derek in Levonto…”

“And who introduced you to him?”

“My mother. She brought him.”

She muttered unsteadily. Five years ago, as soon as they arrived in Levonto, Leana’s fever began to rise. Cecilia insisted they should abandon the baby, and Elena clung to her crying. She wanted to save the baby no matter what.

[I’ll do everything. I’ll earn money and take care of the baby too… So please don’t do that!]

After that, Cecilia brought the doctor. She pressed her dizzy head. According to her, no doctor would care for a young child with that money. So she hadn’t even thought to look for another doctor.

They’d been giving her the wrong medicine?

“Then Leana can get better?”

“…If that doctor did one thing properly, it would be the diagnosis. This child does have a rare disease. She’ll have to take medicine for life.”

“But that means she can live, right? Right?”

She asked desperately. Tears welled up in her eyes as she clasped her hands together.

“…”

He silently cleaned his glasses. She could live, yes. But would that really be the life this child wanted? He wasn’t sure. There couldn’t be a single day without taking medicine, and she’d have to control her diet for life.

She couldn’t overexert herself or run, and would live a life enjoying less than half of what others enjoyed.

She wouldn’t be able to function socially, so romance, love, friendship, quarrels—she probably wouldn’t know most of the emotions humans experience in life.

He kept his words to himself.

She swallowed.

She had always found a way even in darkness. This time would be the same. She wiped her tears bravely.

“But if she takes medicine, she can live long, right? That’s enough for me. What kind of medicine should I give her?”

He wrote a new prescription.

“You can get these at the dawn medicine market. I’ll be right back, Lady Hazel.”

“There should be an Adeloff carriage waiting outside. Take it.”

“Yes.”

She answered energetically and ran down the corridor. As soon as her footsteps faded, he let out a sigh.

“Do you have the medicine I take?”

“I brought it just in case.”

“Give it to me.”

He stared at the medicine bottle placed on his palm. Living on medicine for life—weren’t he and Leana quite similar? The world he had lived in… was still worth living.

He wasn’t happy, but when people who loved him saw him working, eating, and socializing as usual, they were happy. His parents, Lady Hazel, and his siblings.

That alone was enough for him.

As he was about to leave the room, he turned around and said in a voice mixed with sighs.

“…Even if one lives unable to die, it’s still alright.”

“Pardon?”

Miles looked at him with a surprised face.

“If you see Elena again, tell her that. That Leana’s life will still be worth living. If Elena is happy because she’s alive, that is.”

“…Ah.”

Understanding what he meant, he smiled awkwardly. Hazel watched him with a subdued gaze. His solid back looked very small.

She clicked her tongue and said, “Still can’t sleep?”

“…That’s right. He does fall asleep when there are sleeping pills, but…”

“He has nightmares.”

Empress Riana’s concern and worry were understandable.

“But unlike before, he doesn’t have seizures or…”

She swallowed words too difficult to voice. Meeting her eyes, he shook his head firmly.

“There hasn’t been a single incident like that since then.”

“That’s fortunate.”

She pulled her robe closer. Somehow this warm room felt only cold. That was probably because her heart was unbearably cold right now. She let out a long sigh and asked him another question.

“…You’re thinking of showing Leana to your teacher. Is there really no way for this child?”

He turned his head to look at the child sleeping with difficulty.

“I don’t know the name of her disease either. It’s one of the diseases still being researched, not yet reported in academic circles. If someone accurately defines this disease, it will bear their name. I don’t know what my teacher will say.”

“Does Mr. Orlando know about this disease?”

“He’s been fighting it for a very long time…”

He smiled bitterly. There was a reason he was surprised as soon as he examined her. The disease she was suffering from…

“I understand his eldest daughter also died from this disease in childhood.”

Her eyes widened.

“Since that day, my teacher has been continuously fighting this disease. If there’s anyone in the empire who knows this disease best, it would also be him.”

“…I see.”

It meant there would be some degree of effectiveness. She looked at the child’s small face. She hadn’t noticed when she was smiling so brightly, but the child’s face was clearly marked by illness.

‘For the sake of your sister who’s burning with worry, you must wake up, little one.’

She stroked her forehead. The hot fever she felt on her palm pained her heart.

“Just in case, check on Maxim once more before you go.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

They were all people who worried and required attention. She kissed the child’s forehead.

Hoping that inside this child’s dreams right now would be the sweetest flower path.