CHAPTERF 08………………………………….
Because the temple monopolized sexual and healing powers, I couldn’t appear before people directly. That’s why Allen had been placed in my stead.
If someone wanted to see me for treatment, they would send a letter to me through Allen.
And because there had been someone urging to meet me for the past month, I had come to this shop after a long time.
“I’m not exactly sure who it is. He said he’d reveal his identity only in front of you, Irina.”
“Hmm…”
I blinked slowly. Though I had been expelled from the Duke family without a single coin, I had been able to repay my debts quickly and make a living thanks to this unassuming little shop.
In a world where the temple monopolized “treatment” and those with sexual power were extremely rare, the only work I could do was to treat someone and receive payment for it.
Just as my father often healed Alicia, my mother, and even me using sexual power.
No one in the empire was unaware of the Rize Duke family, and if I happened to run into someone connected to the family while in the capital, it could be disastrous. That was why I had been earning money while hiding my face and identity.
Once word-of-mouth spread, Allen had begun performing treatments on my behalf.
It was surprising that Allen had both an interest in and a talent for herbalism.
I only appeared in public when my sexual power was needed—when Allen’s abilities alone couldn’t heal someone.
Even if one possessed sexual power, most who sought treatment would have been willing to pay a hefty price.
Usually, it was nobles who had illnesses they didn’t want others to know about, or wealthy merchants without titles, who came seeking me.
“But he was a rather young man. Would someone in their mid-twenties even need sexual healing?”
Allen described the visitor’s appearance.
“I didn’t notice his hair color, but his eyes were sunset-colored. His voice was rough and coarse, and judging by the way he spoke, his personality seemed rather unpleasant too.”
The more I heard, the more it reminded me of Barak Hill Rize.
Sunset-colored eyes, a rough tone of voice, and a bad temper—this sounded exactly like Barak.
Though it would be hard for Allen not to know Barak. He was part of the empire’s one and only Rize Duke family; it would be absurd not to know him.
“Would someone in their mid-twenties even need sexual healing?”
I slumped into a chair and crossed my legs. Most of those seeking sexual healing were considerably older.
As Allen shrugged, the door slammed open with a harsh bang.
Though the shop was located deep in a rarely traveled alley, the noise sounded even louder in the early morning.
“They say even goblins come when you mention them.”
I chuckled at the customer muttering while clicking his tongue, slowly turning my head.
“Here he is. The one who’s been searching for… Sir?”
Allen’s cautious voice echoed in the shop, calling me “Sir.”
Why was that guy here…?
The person who had barged roughly into the shop was someone I knew very well.
A man with a rough, sharp expression, frowning intensely, yet still fairly handsome.
“The one who said he’d come today… that guy calling you Sir.”
Barak Hill Rize.
Huh.
“Basic manners, please, sir.”
I had thought him temperamental, and indeed, it really was Barak.
To think I’d leave the Duke mansion and run into him here. His voice was still as irritable as ever.
“I didn’t come here to talk to someone like you. So, Sir… you said I could meet you tonight, right?”
Having read the newspaper before coming, I could easily guess why Barak had come this far.
It was because of April.
Once again, I realized that Barak Hill Rize’s life revolved around April.
Although a high-ranking noble, if it were discovered that he sought treatment outside the temple, he would be out of favor with them.
That would mean he could never receive sexual healing again.
“I heard from Allen.”
Barak Hill Rize going to such lengths just for April struck me as truly remarkable.
I gently pushed aside Allen, who had been standing protectively in front of me.
“Miss.”
He seemed to have chosen “Miss” because I disliked being called Sir or being addressed by name in front of others.
I lightly gestured to Allen to indicate I was fine.
I approached Barak, who was glaring at me with his usual insolent expression, pretending to be nonchalant with a casual smile.
“What brings the second son of the Duke family to such a shop?”
“You know me well without even having met me once.”
“In the empire, everyone knows the Rize Duke family—even a three-year-old could tell.”
Lian Hill Rize: top of his class in swordsmanship at the academy, youngest ever Knight Commander.
Barak Hill Rize: great talent in alchemy and magic, Vice-Chief of the Imperial Alchemy Department.
And… the daughter the Duke couple lost at age eight and miraculously found, April Hill Rize.
“Even the most provincial citizen would know them.”
And now, me, living as April for the past time.
There was no reason for Barak to find it strange that I recognized him. After all, stories of the Rize family traveled across the empire like a thrilling novel.
I dismissed thoughts of Allen and offered Barak a seat.
“So, what brings you here?”
Barak stood, continuing to observe me.
If he had come all the way here without aides or attendants, it must have been urgent.
That he came to me, with sexual power, indicated that April’s condition was serious.
If he had been looking for me since a month ago, he must have been quite impatient.
“You must have a reason for coming. Are you in pain somewhere?”
Barak had been kind only to April.
I was a fake, a stand-in for her, and he had never once given me his favor.
Given how long that had lasted, I assumed Barak Hill Rize would be unkind to anyone.
Until I took comfort in that assumption.
That was, until the real daughter of the Duke family appeared.
“…I heard… you have sexual power.”
Barak’s voice trembled slightly.
Perhaps because he hadn’t slept, his flushed eyes revealed his exhaustion as he exhaled and tossed a bundle onto the table.
Clink. At my glance, Allen carefully untied the bundle’s string.
Coins spilled out, glinting as though they could illuminate the dark night. Allen gasped quietly.
It was clearly several times the amount I had earned from sexual healing.
“I’ll pay any amount.”
“…”
“If your power is real and the treatment is successful, I’ll give double as a success fee.”
“I don’t understand why you’re offering such a large sum for a request.”
Barak’s eyes quivered.
“My…”
His lips moved slightly, and I knew without hearing the words.
“…Heal my sister.”
The once arrogant Barak crumbled.
I had only ever seen him break down twice: once when April returned to the Duke family, and now.
The shock of realizing that Barak, who seemed unkind to everyone, was actually very tender… he would never understand how immense it was.
To him, April was like a dandelion seed—fragile and precious.
Afraid the wind might blow her away, that she might break if handled wrong, or fall while walking, he treated her carefully.
“You’re perfect for cleaning up the leftovers my sister left behind.”
“Did you think she was really April just because you saw someone here?”
“You’re not April.”
He had always been harsh to me, but with April’s return, he became even harsher.
Sharp, sensitive, irritable, yet delicate—the delicacy was reserved only for his sister.
Should I take this money or not? I tapped the table lightly and pushed the bundle toward Barak.
“I must refuse.”
“But you said you’d give double as a success fee.”
“If it’s beyond my ability, it could even endanger my life.”
“…”
“What?”
“Who knows if I might be secretly killed just for knowing the Duke family’s secrets?”
“…”
“Even if I’m not killed, if the temple finds out…”
At the mention of “temple,” a flicker of alarm crossed his expression.
Everyone who had asked me for sexual healing feared the temple.
Had this been discovered, we would have died together—but the Rize Duke family was different.
Though it violated imperial law, who would dare attack the second son of the Duke family?
They would hush it up. If this were discovered, the only one in danger would be me.
