TIDSF 11

Chapter 11

Right after failing to sell the medicine due to the young duke’s interference—

The physician stormed out of the mansion, fuming.

“Damn it. What the hell is that little brat? Tsk. Listening to that kind of bullshit—Wood Leafray is really done for.”

He clicked his tongue in frustration.

Utterly hopeless.

He had planned to invest the money he received into a promising business venture, but everything had fallen apart.

‘If I’d begged to stay, it would’ve looked suspicious…’

To avoid arousing suspicion, he had to wait until they came to him, desperate.

“‘Wood of Judgment’? More like ‘Wood of Doom.’”

A dying old man fit better with names like ‘Short-lived Wood’ or ‘Brainless Wood.’

“They don’t even look like they have any more money to squeeze out of that family.”

Still, the mansion and the estate were left. If he pressed harder, he could probably squeeze out a bit more.

“I needed at least one or two more rounds…”

“To think I got stopped by some clueless little brat…”

Cursing his rotten luck, he spat into the corner of the hallway.

“Anyway, I’d better report to Count Rüden that Brainless Wood isn’t worth worrying about anymore. That the operation can proceed.”

He chuckled.

It was a shame he wouldn’t get to see a noble bowing their head before him for a while.

‘I’ll make sure not to help unless that brat comes begging.’

They would regret trusting some kid over him.

Smirking at the future he imagined, he was just about to step out of the mansion—

“Whoa. That’s slander against a noble~”

A voice suddenly called out from behind.

The physician turned around and saw the same young duke from earlier, clapping his hands with bright eyes.

‘He was the orphan the late duke brought in, wasn’t he?’

He might hold the title of duke, but he looked more like a street rat than a noble.

The physician didn’t bother hiding the sneer on his face as he spoke.

“Ah, Your Grace?”

“Yup. I’m the duke. But mister doctor, didn’t you just call me a brat and say a bunch of crap?”

“What are you talking about?”

The physician scoffed and tried to deny it.

“I heard everything though…”

The child twisted his small body and mumbled softly.

“Well, I don’t remember saying anything like that. If you’re having hearing problems, you should probably see a doctor.”

“Ohh, I see. But hey, could I see the medicine again?”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t trust my medicine?”

“Yeah. But after you left, Grandpa suddenly got worse… If it’s good medicine, I want to buy it again…”

The child looked downcast and muttered pitifully.

The physician snorted.

‘Guess seeing the old man in pain scared him.’

Maybe he realized someone could die because of him.

Kids feared that sort of thing.

‘Still, he is a duke, technically…’

If he could just get the child to stamp the contract, there’d be no problem getting the money.

And since he came all this way, he might as well make the sale now.

“Hmph. Well, Your Grace is still young, so maybe you didn’t understand. Once you see it, I’m sure you’ll like it.”

He opened his large medical bag and pulled out a clear bottle filled with a pale yellow liquid.

The child took it, examining it seriously, and popped open the lid. The yellow liquid shimmered.

‘As if there’s a cure for red plague. That’s an incurable disease.’

What he made wasn’t a cure—it was a powerful narcotic painkiller.

It dulled the body’s senses enough to make the patient think the pain was gone.

It slowly shut down organ function and was made with ingredients banned by imperial law, but it was easy to source them in Count Rüden’s territory.

‘Dumping money into an incurable disease—idiots.’

From what he saw, Wood Leafray had two, maybe three years left at most.

In the meantime, he could keep raising the price.

Eventually, they’d run out of money.

If Wood Leafray died, he’d just say:

“It was an injectable drug that needed to be administered regularly. They failed to do that, so he couldn’t be cured.”

‘That way, none of it’s my fault.’

A perfect crime.

‘I need to score big with this investment…’

As the physician fell deep into thought, the child continued sniffing the medicine and holding it up to the light.

‘What would a brat know?’

He snickered inwardly.

‘There’s no one who could recognize a refined drug like this.’

Unless they were a genius in pharmacology.

Yeah, maybe someone like Evelyn Altard, who was executed for treason thirty years ago…

“Wow, this is definitely a narcotic.”

“…What?”

“Damn, you’re nuts.”

The physician, startled by the cynical tone, looked down.

Instead of an innocent child’s face, he was met with the contemptuous gaze of Eve Altard.

“…Huh?”

‘Did I hear that right?’

He rubbed his ear without realizing it.

‘Just a second ago, he was pouting and acting like a child…?’

He blinked hard and looked again.

The child was smiling brightly with the bottle still in his hands.

“What did you just say?”

“Hm?”

“What did you just…”

“I didn’t say anything~?”

With wide, innocent eyes, the child tilted his head.

There was no trace of a lie in his expression.

‘Did I… really imagine it? Damn, I must be tired. Got too nervous about the banned ingredients? Was that a hallucination…?’

This brat wasn’t even a real noble.

‘No way a kid could figure that out.’

He brushed it off and refocused.

He tapped his ear and lowered his voice slightly.

“If you’ve seen enough, how about returning it now and deciding if you want to buy it? If you like it, just stamp this. After all, you are the duke.”

Even if he was young, the duke’s seal made any contract legally binding.

“Okay! I’m the duke, so I’ll stamp it myself!”

The boy bounced up and down excitedly and clenched his tiny fist.

The physician grinned from ear to ear.

“Haha! Excellent decision. Let’s head straight to the office.”

He quickly composed himself and led the way.

The stamping took just moments.

The duke’s seal, then the physician’s signature.

He took one copy of the contract and handed the other to the child.

“Now then, I’ll administer the injection to the duke’s representative right away—”

Just as he bent his thick waist to retrieve the medicine—

Tap.

The child stepped back two paces.

“Hmm?”

“Mister, did you know?”

“…What?”

“In the Empire, trafficking narcotics gets you a minimum sentence of life as a slave.”

The boy shook the bottle playfully.

“This is narcotics, right?”

Then waved the contract in the other hand.

“You trafficked it, right?”

“…?”

He folded the paper neatly and stuffed it deep into his clothes, grinning.

“Mister, you’re a drug dealer.”

“W-what are you talking about…? Hand that over!”

“Wow, you’re trying to steal something I just bought?”

The child’s eyes widened in mock shock.

“You little—how dare you mock an adult!”

“That’s noble slander again.”

“Ha. Who even calls your collapsing house nobility anymore? Return that or Count Rüden won’t let this slide!”

The child tilted his head.

“He’ll let it slide.”

“…What? Pfft, you don’t know anything—”

“Mr. First-Class. How do you think Rüden’s been trafficking drugs for decades without getting caught~?”

Tap tap.

The child took tiny steps and stood on tiptoe, looking up at the physician.

“Cut. Cut. Cut.”

He traced his fingers across the man’s legs—sideways, vertically, diagonally.

Then spread his arms wide.

“Down to the last little coin, cut it all off.”

A shiver ran down the physician’s spine.

‘…Now that you mention it.’

Many of Count Rüden’s associates had mysteriously disappeared over the years.

The Count always said they were “dealt with” because they got careless and exposed their tracks.

Everyone who caused even minor problems was removed.

Just like the kid said.

Cut. Cut. Cut—until nothing was left.

“……”

Gulp.

The sound of his nervous swallow echoed in his ears.