“Of course. By the way, you’ve really grown into a young lady since I last saw you.”
This herb shop had been doing business with my father for a long time, so I was somewhat familiar with the woman here.
After I asked her for a few ingredients I needed for my experiment, I waited for the items to be packed.
“By the way, is Viscount Limone doing well?”
While dividing the herbs into paper bags, she suddenly asked.
“Huh? Oh, yes.”
“I see… I heard a rumor that the Duke of Blaine is gathering skilled doctors lately. I was wondering if your father was invited too.”
What? The Duke of Blaine?
I perked up my ears, about to ask her what she meant, when—
Just then, Verdick returned with the selected herbs and said,
“We’re ready to pay.”
Thanks to him, the flow of conversation completely broke off.
But I wasn’t someone to give up this easily.
As soon as we left the shop, I grabbed Verdick’s arm and asked,
“Verdick, did you hear what the clerk said earlier? Something about the Duke of Blaine gathering doctors?”
He paused and looked at me.
“Is it true? Has my father already been invited?”
Verdick blinked in surprise for a moment, then nodded.
“…Yeah.”
“What the…?”
A frustrated sigh escaped me.
I thought this wasn’t supposed to happen until a year later.
My head was a tangled mess, like a knotted ball of yarn.
Or maybe… the punishment comes a year after the treatment?
I wanted to smack myself for not listening more carefully to what Room 406 had said.
‘My father was imprisoned in the duke’s mansion for failing to treat Lady Lily. Not just my dad—many doctors were called there, and none of them returned. I didn’t even get to say goodbye…’
I shivered at the terrifying future.
This was a full-blown emergency.
***
On the way home, the carriage was filled with my sighs.
Could I have messed up the timeline by coming here?
That thought crossed my mind, but there was no way to be sure.
“The medicine hasn’t even passed clinical trials yet… sigh.”
“Hm?”
“Nothing.”
I kept rubbing my forehead and staring out the window when Verdick, who’d been watching me for a while, finally asked,
“…You really don’t want the Viscount to go to the duke’s mansion, huh?”
“It’s not that I don’t… No, I do hate it.”
Come to think of it, I really did hate it. Killing a doctor just because he failed to cure someone—how could that make sense?
And my dad was a noble, too.
Even a duke couldn’t kill a fellow noble without a cause. That would be a serious crime.
Which meant… there was definitely more to this story.
“Why do you hate it?”
It was unusual for him to keep asking questions, so I glanced at Verdick.
He usually acts like he doesn’t care about others. Why now?
“Do I need a reason? I just hate it. I don’t like Dad being away from the mansion.”
“…Still, there’s no choice. It’s an official invitation from the duke’s house.”
“I know.”
I knew. As a lower noble, my father couldn’t reject the invitation of a duke.
Still, I needed to stay calm and think things through.
“When did my dad receive the invitation?”
“Not long ago. About a week?”
“A week!?”
“Yeah. Your father went on a house call to the Marquis of Arthe’s place, and the marquis was so impressed with the treatment that he recommended your dad to the duke.”
“…”
A week ago… that was when Dad left without even saying goodbye.
“Most high-ranking nobles know each other anyway.”
Listening to Verdick calmly explain all this was starting to give me a headache.
Why did Dad suddenly go treat someone named Erte… no, Arthe?
Right.
That was the day I stubbed my toe on the desk. That same day, Dad came home with an invitation to the duke’s house.
Wait a second…
“So this errand today, was it to buy herbs for the duke’s mansion?”
“Yeah.”
“Ugh…!”
Realizing Dad’s departure was right around the corner made me let out a helpless sigh. I bit my lip in frustration.
Knowing Dad, he’d probably come up with the best treatment this world had ever seen.
But that’s the problem—it would only be by this world’s standards.
“Verdick, do you know when Dad is leaving?”
“…Tomorrow.”
“Then you’re going with him, right?”
He didn’t answer, just nodded slightly.
I stared straight at Verdick and declared,
“Then I’ll go instead.”
***
Knock knock.
Petron, who was packing early in the morning, turned at the sound of a knock.
When he opened the door, it wasn’t his brown-haired assistant who stood there—but his beloved daughter.
“Hmm? What is it, Ria?”
“Dad, take me with you.”
“Huh? What are you talking about all of a sudden…?”
Petron looked puzzled.
“I know everything. You’re going to the Duke of Blaine’s mansion, right?”
“Oh, you mean that. But Verdick already agreed to come with me—”
“He said he can’t go anymore. One of his close friends got sick, and he has to take care of them urgently.”
“A friend is sick?”
Petron looked stunned.
“Yes. So I thought, since you’re busy packing… if I were my kind and warm-hearted dad, what would I say to Verdick?”
I pretended to think, crossed my arms, and tapped my arm a couple of times.
Then, as if I had a big realization, I snapped my fingers.
“I’d tell Verdick to go right away. That’s what you would’ve said, right?”
“Oh… well… of course. If someone important is sick, then—”
“Exactly! That’s why I sent him off.”
I proudly declared it.
With my straightened shoulders and confident look, Dad looked a little dumbfounded—and also amused.
Apparently, I’d gotten really close with Verdick lately.
But… did Verdick have any close friends?
He tilted his head, thinking of the usually quiet and reserved boy.
“Oh, and here are the herbs you asked for yesterday.”
Before he knew it, I had stepped into his room and was packing the herbs into his bags.
Petron hurried to speak.
“Ria, then I’ll go to the duke’s mansion alone.”
He honestly didn’t feel comfortable taking his only daughter with him.
The royal family and the duke weren’t exactly on good terms, and his daughter had a rather unpredictable nature.
But then Adelia shrugged and said,
“Dad, usually when doctors make house calls, their assistants go with them, right? If you go alone, it might look odd.”
“Still…”
“And you know better than anyone—I understand herbs better than Verdick. I’ll behave quietly and not cause any trouble, so please take me.”
Her red eyes met his.
They were deep—so deep, they seemed to contain the world. A gaze filled with indescribable determination.
When did she grow up so much…?
It reminded him of the day he met Bella. The child had the same face and gaze—one that made him surrender completely.
In the end, Petron shook his head with a sigh.
“…I can’t win against you. Fine, let’s pack together. But promise me one thing—when we’re there, do exactly as I say.”
“Of course!”
Adelia replied with a bright smile.
As she ran off to get her things, holding up her dress, a soft smile naturally formed on his lips.
***
To be honest, it wasn’t easy. Verdick was more than a head taller than I, even if he was a nerd.
So I carefully snuck into Verdick’s room while he was packing—and pressed as hard as I could on the cerebral artery in his neck.
(A major blood vessel in the neck that supplies blood to the brain.)
“What are you—!”
“Sorry!”
I apologized quickly, but before I even finished, he let out a dull thud and collapsed to the floor.
