(The Princess’s Grand Kidnapping – Chapter 009):
Even though it was strange to see such a young girl—clearly not a child from the streets—in the middle of the Anubis gang’s hideout…
Oscar was a true professional who never took an interest in his clients’ private affairs.
In this line of illegal medical work, staying out of others’ business was best for everyone’s survival.
However…
“Ahem. I heard from Kiss that you accidentally gave the child some Sally Juice. How exactly did that happen?”
“She… said she wanted it…”
“Excuse me?”
Oscar exaggeratedly dropped his jaw in disbelief, his face clearly saying Are you kidding me?—a small, passive-aggressive payback for all the abuse he’d endured from them.
“My goodness, what were you thinking giving it to her just because she asked? There’s a reason people say you shouldn’t even drink cold water in front of a child!”
“I didn’t—! I mean, that wasn’t me, it was—”
“Well, I did say no, but Mira—”
The two thugs muttered in shame, their faces scrunched in guilt, which deeply satisfied Oscar.
To think that these terrifying clients, always bullying him despite being so young, would react like this—it was a rare moment of vindication.
That surprising sense of superiority slowly crept up, and Oscar straightened up, looking more serious and dignified.
“Well, what’s done is done. Thankfully, the medicine I brought should take care of it. You’re very lucky.”
“R-Really?”
“Yes. But please, please be careful in the future. Sally Juice is fatal to young children even in very small amounts. There are cases where children who accidentally ingest it never wake up again.”
“I do know that—”
“You see, children around this age tend to imitate adults, so avoid doing anything harmful in front of them. Especially with Sally Juice—never leave it within a child’s reach.”
By now, Lavian had composed himself and flared up again.
“Who the hell does this quack think he is, acting all high and mighty? Of course I know that stuff, and of course I wouldn’t do it in front of her!”
“Yeah! What, does he think we don’t even know basic common sense?!”
“Quiet.”
Suddenly, the voice rang out like ice water dumped on their heads, and silence fell.
Lavian and Kiss froze, staring with venomous glares. Oscar turned pale.
“M-My apologies, I didn’t mean—”
“Shut uuuup… my head huuurrts…”
The voice came from Nina, lying like a corpse.
She already felt like dying from the unexpected high fever, and the noise around her was making it worse.
Now that even a back-alley doctor had bruised his authority, Lavian looked angrier than ever.
“Why are you acting like such a grown-up, huh? Tsk. You’ve only learned the worst things from who knows where…”
“Isn’t that a bit harsh for a baby—”
“YOU stay out of this, asshole! This whole mess started because you two were bumbling around!”
While Kiss searched for a way to argue back, Nina let out a ragged breath and lifted her heavy eyelids.
She was desperately trying to hold herself together, but her emotions were slipping out of control—probably from being sick.
“I told youuu not to worry about me…!”
She snapped, and her nose stung unexpectedly.
To hide the tears, Nina buried her face in the blanket and whimpered.
This isn’t right.
Tears of frustration and sorrow kept rising.
She was no different from any other average, snot-nosed six-year-old now.
Just like in the dream… a useless kid who did nothing but cry.
“The boss made the baby cry. And she’s sick, too.”
Kiss muttered darkly, his face gone ghost white.
Lavian tried to ignore the underling who was now glaring at him like he was dirt under his shoe.
What now… why is she crying again?
His mind went blank. No—black.
How the hell was he supposed to interpret this baffling situation?
Sure, he’d been a bit panicked earlier when he realized Nina was genuinely sick. But once Oscar showed up and the situation calmed, Lavian had come to a somewhat rational conclusion:
That this crafty little brat had deliberately faked it to screw with them.
But now…
What kind of act is this supposed to be?
It was then that Oscar, who’d been quietly observing the situation, stepped in.
“Um, excuse me. Would you two mind speaking with me for a moment?”
The two thugs, their souls half-departed from the unexpected sight of noble tears, obediently followed him to a corner.
Oscar tried to sound humble as he cleared his throat.
He didn’t know the full story, but something had been bugging him for a while now.
“From what I can tell, the young lady hasn’t been here for very long, has she?”
Nod nod.
“Kiss, is it true that the girl asked for the Sally Juice herself even though she was clearly unwell?”
“Y-Yeah. It seemed weird at the time, but…”
“Occasionally, I get visits from people who work in noble households.”
Oscar’s tone turned grave.
Instead of scolding the back-alley doctor for cutting him off, Kiss forced himself to match the seriousness.
“So?”
“Every now and then, they come with their employer’s child, begging for treatment.”
“Why? Don’t noble hospitals have pediatrics or whatever?”
“Taking them to the hospital would mean mass panic.”
“…What?”
“It happens more than you’d think. Supposedly ‘well-regarded’ nannies sometimes intentionally feed those drugs to their employers’ children. It makes them sleep, so it’s easier to manage them—and getting caught is rare. Unless something goes wrong and they need to come to someone like me.”
Lavian and Kiss just stared at Oscar, dumbfounded, unable to comprehend what he was saying.
Meanwhile, Oscar’s expression had grown bitter.
“You said the child asked for it first, which is why I’m bringing this up. If she were from the slums, I wouldn’t be surprised. But it’s obvious she’s not…”
“W-Wait a minute, doc—you’re accusing me and Mira of poisoning the baby?!”
“What?! No! How did this turn into that?! For heaven’s sake, read a book sometime!”
It took quite a while for Kiss to fully grasp the context and realize Oscar wasn’t accusing them.
During that time, Lavian stood there in a daze, staring blankly toward the bed before finally muttering:
“…That can’t be.”
She wasn’t just some noble’s daughter.
She was a princess.
The First Princess, no less.
The imperial treasure whom Emperor Leopart doted on so obsessively that her face hadn’t even been shown to the public yet.
Even without special favor, it was unthinkable that the tightly vetted palace nannies would do something so outrageous to the royal bloodline.
At least, not by Lavian’s logic.
And yet…
“Y-Yeah. It doesn’t make sense. The old man must be mistaken, right?”
“I hope I’m mistaken. But either way, we won’t know until the young lady recovers. Here’s the medicine—administer it with honey water every three hours—”
“Get out.”
“…What?”
At the sudden, chilling growl, both Oscar, who’d been unpacking the medicine, and Kiss, who was pretending to listen, froze mid-motion.
Lavian growled with deadly force at their stunned faces.
“I said GET OUT!”
The atmosphere was so fierce it could’ve made even the Transparent Dragon of the Apocalypse hesitate.
Even Kiss couldn’t talk back this time and fled the room in a panic.
“Damn it…”
Lavian gritted his teeth and marched toward the bed.
