Chapter 21: Becoming a Royal Physician

“Are you saying you dare disobey a royal command?”

As the turtle minister suddenly objected, Haewon’s gaze sharpened like a blade.

Though the turtle flinched slightly under the pressure, he did not back down.

His instinct to protect his position was stronger than his fear.

“I believe it is a minister’s duty to correct a king’s mistaken judgment.”

“Fine. Then speak.”

Haewon leaned back arrogantly in his throne.

As if to say: Go ahead and say whatever nonsense you want. I’ll listen.

Encouraged by that seemingly generous offer, the turtle minister bowed and spoke:

“First, a lowly human cannot be trusted with Your Majesty’s precious body.
Second, her medical skills have not been properly tested and could harm Your Majesty.
And third, not only is she a human, but also a woman—such an important role cannot be given to someone like her.
Please forgive my boldness; I say this only out of concern for Your Majesty’s health.”

It sounded reasonable on the surface, but in the end, he was saying Cheong couldn’t be the royal physician because she was a lowly human woman.

In other words, he couldn’t stand that someone like her might threaten his position.

“Nonsense.”

Haewon’s face turned cold as he looked at the turtle minister.

“She may be human, but she has no issue touching my body—so the first reason is invalid.
She has already proven her medical skills in front of everyone—so the second reason is also invalid.
As for the third, there are always exceptions to every rule—so that’s not a valid reason either.”

Haewon shut down the turtle’s arguments with clean, sharp logic.

Other ministers clearly wanted to support the turtle, but they couldn’t find any way to counter Haewon’s reasoning.

“B-but still…!”

“Of course, the real cause of all this must be the royal physician’s incompetence.”

Haewon’s cold voice cut off the turtle’s words.

“Or perhaps, even though he was supposedly in charge of my health, he too avoided touching me.”

“…”

The turtle fell silent at Haewon’s biting sarcasm.

Just as Haewon said, the turtle had always avoided physical contact with him.

When necessary, he made lower-ranking servants do it for him.

Even so, the turtle had remained royal physician only because medical knowledge in the Dragon Palace was passed down through his family like an apprenticeship.

Since the turtle’s family had monopolized medicine ever since it became an established field, even someone as powerful as Haewon couldn’t easily remove him.

Wiping out the entire family would also mean destroying what little medical knowledge the kingdom had left.

“Does anyone else oppose my decision?”

Haewon’s cold voice echoed as he looked across the line of ministers.

Cheong left the royal hall as if she were running away.

She couldn’t believe her head was still attached to her body.

As soon as she came out, Gahwa, who had been anxiously pacing nearby, ran up to her.

“What happened? Why did His Majesty call you? Did you really do something wrong?”

Gahwa bombarded her with questions while walking beside her.

She must have been terribly worried while waiting outside—her voice was full of urgency.

But Cheong just silently stared at the ground as she walked.

Her head was down, her shoulders drooped—she looked completely defeated.

‘Something must have gone terribly wrong.’

Seeing her like that made Gahwa’s heart sink.

“Why won’t you say anything?”

Despite the barrage of questions, Cheong didn’t respond. She just walked, slowly and heavily.

Once they reached a quieter path, Gahwa couldn’t take it anymore. She grabbed Cheong’s shoulder.

Her hands were a bit rough as she forcefully turned Cheong toward her.

“Say something! Anything!”

Gahwa raised her voice without meaning to, afraid she might lose her friend.

“Lady Gahwa…”

Cheong finally spoke, her shoulders still slumped.

Her voice sounded pitiful.

Now that Gahwa looked closer, she saw Cheong’s lips trembling slightly.

She thought Cheong was about to burst into tears.

“Something did happen, didn’t it?! I told you again and again to keep that sly little tongue of yours in check!”

Gahwa clutched her chest and started ranting in a rush.

The more upset she felt, the longer her scolding became.

For the first time in her life, Gahwa resented how powerless and unimportant she was as a palace maid.

“I swear, because of you I—”

“I’ve become the royal physician.”

Cheong’s words cut her off.

Gahwa stared, mouth open, not understanding what she’d just heard.

“…What?”

“I said I’ve been appointed as His Majesty’s personal royal physician.”

Even after hearing it again, Gahwa just blinked, unable to process it.

Cheong’s lips trembled again.

But this time, her mouth slowly curled up, and a wide smile spread across her face.

Only then did Gahwa finally understand.

What she thought were tears earlier had actually been laughter she was trying to hold back.

Gahwa smacked Cheong on the back with her small hand, making her yelp.

“Ow! That hurts! Why did you hit me?!”

“You scared me, so you deserve that.”

Gahwa glared, but she couldn’t hide her smile.

“Wait, are you serious? You really became the royal physician?”

“Yes! Would I dare lie about something like this?”

Cheong grinned and pulled something out from her sleeve.

It was a rectangular wooden tag.

“A hopae, huh.”

Of course, Gahwa recognized it instantly.

“Yes. Now I can go in and out of the palace freely.”

The hopae was both an ID and a pass that confirmed her status and title.

The eunuch who handed it to her explained that here, everyone—regardless of gender or rank—carried one.

Especially for officials, it was required to enter or leave the palace, so she must always carry it.

Cheong had now officially become a member of the Dragon Palace.

“Well done. I knew you could do it.”

Gahwa smiled brightly as she handed the tag back.

“You told me to keep my wicked little tongue in check just a moment ago.”

Cheong pouted.

Gahwa cleared her throat awkwardly.

She seemed embarrassed about scolding Cheong earlier and now praising her.

“Well… your tongue is wicked, isn’t it?”

“But thanks to that wicked tongue, I’m still alive and well.”

Cheong answered shamelessly, making Gahwa burst out laughing.

“Oh right! Now that you’re an official royal physician, I’ll have to start using honorifics.”

Gahwa bowed politely with a smile.

“No need for that.”

“Still, we should follow the rules.”

Cheong waved her hand dismissively, but Gahwa wouldn’t budge.

Seeing that, Cheong gently grabbed her hand.

“When we’re alone, please treat me like before.”

“But…”

“I still want you to be my friend. Otherwise, I think I’d feel really lonely.”

Cheong smiled warmly. “You know what I mean, right?”

“…Alright.”

Gahwa nodded with a soft, reluctant smile.

‘I have to focus on doing my part now.’

Cheong was determined to use all her strength to treat Haewon’s chronic illness and earn his trust.

Once she had it, she planned to ask him to send her back to the human world.

To make that happen, she needed to act quickly.

“Lady Gahwa, let’s get going.”

“Yes, we should. There’s a lot to prepare, so let’s head back to your quarters.”

“No. Let’s go to the forge.”

“The forge?”

“Yes. I need to check on the needles I ordered. I have to make sure they’re being crafted properly.”

To work as a royal physician, the most important tool was acupuncture needles.

Cheong planned to visit Palcho’s forge to check on their progress.

“Alright, I’ll guide you.”

As Cheong followed confidently behind Gahwa, she turned her head.

In the distance, the grand palace building where the royal hall was located came into view.

‘Was this the right decision?’

She recalled the red eyes that had looked at her.

Haewon’s gaze felt different now—deeper, more intense, more persistent.

‘No… it’s probably just my imagination.’

Cheong brushed off the feeling and quickened her steps again.