episode_0197

The next day. We went to the medical center.

And of course, we couldn’t enter the medical center itself.

“Only authorized personnel may enter the main building.”

It didn’t matter. There was no need to go inside anyway.

Our goal was to wander around this area and search for traces of memory.

I walked around a bit with Marie.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No. The memory will appear soon. Just wait a little longer.”

“Okay.”

Finding a memory without any clues is a very difficult task.

If I wanted to see ‘a specific memory,’ I would need to know the exact time and place where the event occurred.

It’s like wandering through the Dragoness Forest, searching for the Heavenly Pearl, I suppose.

Until now, I had only followed the traces Tia left behind, so I could easily summon illusions.

But using my ability to find someone other than Tia was quite difficult.

But not this time. I had seen Robert’s memory. I also knew that the Royal Physician had been arrested here a few days ago.

…Which made it easy to find.

“Found it.”

The ‘past illusion’ of soldiers taking the Royal Physician and putting her into a carriage.

“Marie, follow me.”

“Yes.”

I immediately chased after the illusion.

Clutching Marie’s hand tightly, I ran through the crowds. I kept my eyes on the illusion so as not to lose it, running after the blurry carriage heading somewhere.

The place we finally stopped after running for a long time was…

…an inn near the harbor, very far from the medical center.

I paused to catch my breath and continued to observe the memory illusion.

The soldiers pulled the physician out of the carriage and entered the inn’s second floor. At the entrance, a single soldier stood guard, alternating shifts.

I fast-forwarded time. But only the guard changed periodically; there was no change even now.

In other words, the physician was still confined to the inn.

“Found her. She’s over there.”

“Then we can go right in. But…”

Marie pointed to the soldier idly sitting in front of the inn.

“That man doesn’t look ordinary. He has a weapon too.”

“Right. He’s a private soldier of the Piolo family.”

The problem was the soldier guarding the inn.

He was disguised as an ordinary guest, guarding the stairs leading up to the inn’s second floor.

Just ‘one’.

Compared to imprisoning the country’s most skilled physician, it was a rather meager guard.

Enough that if Ruyef had been beside me instead of Marie, I would have suggested starting right away.

But Fosao had extended his influence across Deseo.

We had to refrain from causing unnecessary commotion.

We needed to enter the inn as quietly as possible, meet the physician, and leave.

Just as I was deep in thought about how to bypass the guard…

…Marie, who had been observing from a distance, called out.

“Ritsu Oppa.”

“Hmm?”

“I’d like to look around a bit.”

“…Alright.”

It was a good idea.

It would be clearer to walk around the inn, check the building’s structure, and then calmly make a plan.

We observed the inn from as far away as possible to avoid arousing the soldier’s suspicion.

There was nothing special. It was truly an ordinary inn.

The structure consisted of a ground floor selling food and a second floor with bedrooms. What was unusual was that the door was firmly shut. It seemed they weren’t operating since the physician had been confined.

The surrounding streets were a typical residential area for ordinary city dwellers, with no tall buildings. A quick glance showed only a small grocery store, a clothing shop, and a stable.

Behind the inn was a dark, narrow alley, devoid of people, so we didn’t go that way.

“What do you think? Any good ideas?”

After finishing the reconnaissance, I asked Marie for her thoughts.

Honestly, I didn’t have high hopes. There was so little to see that a single walk-through didn’t reveal any obvious way to quietly enter the inn.

But Marie pointed to a corner with her small hand.

“That cart… Let’s borrow it for a moment.”

A small cart was parked there.

I didn’t know whose it was. Perhaps it belonged to someone living nearby. The stack of straw suggested it was used by the nearby stable.

Well, it didn’t seem to be parked for immediate use anyway. Secretly borrowing it for a short while would probably be fine.

As I pulled the cart, Marie said something strange from behind me.

“And it would be good if we had some apples.”

…Apples?

“I’ll create an opening.”

***

Rattle rattle.

The old cart ominously rattled over the stone path.

The cart was piled high with straw, and a box full of apples precariously swayed on top.

It was a common sight, an apple vendor, but strangely, people stopped in their tracks and gazed with puzzled expressions.

And for good reason… the person pulling the cart was none other than a young girl.

The sight of a small girl struggling to pull a cart was rare even in Deseo. Usually, a pony or a mule would be harnessed to the cart, or a sturdy man would pull it.

But seeing her strain with slender legs that looked like they might break, everyone shook their heads and clicked their tongues.

The cart slowly rolled and began to pass in front of the inn.

“…Hmm?”

How welcome must that strange sight have been to the bored soldier guarding the stairs.

He watched Marie, who was drenched in sweat, with interest, sizing her up to see how far she could go in such a state.

Rattle rattle.

Just as the cart had almost completely passed in front of the inn.

“Gasp!”

Thud!

The cart, which had been precariously moving along the stone path, suddenly caught on a step and jolted to a halt.

At the same time, the box on top of the straw bales toppled over, and countless apples tumbled and rolled away.

“Oh-?”

The observing soldier jumped up from his spot in surprise.

Apples rolled here and there across the road. Marie abandoned the cart and diligently ran around trying to pick up the escaping apples.

But it was impossible for her to pick up all dozens of apples.

Even when the girl managed to scoop a few apples into her small skirt, she tripped over a stone while hurrying and spilled them all out again.

“Oh, goodness me…”

The soldier looked around with a troubled expression.

Passersby were busy looking away, and the only person in the vicinity who happened to be the most idle, and who could help this poor girl, was…

…him.

Finally, unable to watch any longer, the soldier descended the stairs and walked towards Marie.

“Hey, little lady! Are you hurt anywhere?”

Now.

The ‘opening’ Marie had spoken of was this very moment.

I stepped out from behind the wall where I’d been hidden and walked towards the inn.

Five steady steps.

The moment the soldier turned his back and knelt to meet Marie’s eyes.

Swish.

I immediately turned and went up the stairs.

No time.

Quietly and quickly, I went up the stairs and opened the door to the second floor.

Creak.

Inside, it was dark. The structure consisted of a long corridor with four bedrooms attached.

Walking down the corridor, I checked and found that all the bedroom doors were firmly locked.

Only the last room’s latch was not secured.

Click.

The moment I carefully pushed it open, a familiar face came into view.

The Royal Physician.

The physician who had barely saved me when I was on the brink of death.

That woman was sitting on the bed, her face exhausted.

“Ah…”

Her eyes widened when she saw my face.

“Hello, Doctor-nim. It’s been a while.”

“You…”

I silently grabbed my shirt and lifted it.

When I showed her the long, hideous scar torn by a bear’s claws, the physician seemed to recall everything.

“…Ritsu. It’s Ritsu, right?”

I nodded.

“Why are you in Deseo? Where’s Tia? No, more importantly…”

She asked, as if she couldn’t understand.

“‘It’s been a while’? Haven’t you met me for the first time?”

“That’s…”

Certainly. I had never met her.

I had only seen this physician treating me through Tia’s memories.

“…It’s a long story. I snuck in, so we don’t have much time. I’ll be brief.”

Time was woefully short, but I briefly explained what had happened in the meantime.

“That’s… really true?”

“Last winter, Doctor-nim exchanged letters with Tia a few times. You also sent methods to treat me, and money.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“But they never reached Tia. Fosao intercepted them in the middle.”

“That’s impossible. That unpleasant person who made those nasty threats to me?”

“And he tried to kill me.”

“How could he…”

I looked around the bedroom.

The physician was confined here, but it seemed she had received high treatment.

There was a decent bed, and bread she had just eaten and left behind. They probably made meals on the first floor and brought them right up.

No matter what, she was the most skilled physician in Deseo. Archduke Piolo must have wanted to keep her alive as much as possible.

“You don’t know why you were imprisoned here, do you?”

“The king was exiled… and I was the physician who served that king?”

“Doctor-nim.”

As expected. The poor physician had no idea why she had been confined.

“The current King of Deseo is Tia.”

“…”

“Tia was a descendant of King Likene. She was his granddaughter. That’s why she was enthroned as the King of Deseo by the nobles. Just yesterday, there was a coronation.”

The physician was so surprised she couldn’t even breathe.

“As soon as Tia ascended the throne, she wanted to meet you, Doctor-nim. But if you and Tia were to talk, Tia would realize that ‘something doesn’t quite match up’ between your stories. And all of Fosao’s evil deeds would be exposed. He feared that. So, he took action first and imprisoned you here, Doctor-nim.”

“…”

“Doctor-nim.”

I knelt down.

“I came to Deseo for revenge. Only for ‘revenge’. To kill that pig-bastard, Fosao… who took Tia away from me, with these two hands.”

Seeing my gaze, she would know that this vow was neither a joke nor an empty boast.

I begged her with such desperation, grinding my teeth.

“Please help me. I need to get into the royal palace. Only I can kill that bastard…”

“…”

My demand was as simple as my plan.

To secretly enter the royal palace and tell me the way to infiltrate the king’s chambers.

“Alright. Just a moment, let me think…”

The physician put a hand to her forehead, looking confused.

After calming down a little, she let out a deep sigh and answered a moment later.

“Indeed. You’re right. The Red Castle is built like a labyrinth. I’ve heard such passages definitely exist. But I only know of their existence; I’ve never actually used a secret passage myself.”

The moment I heard her answer, my heart sank.

Even the ‘Royal Physician’, who had lived closest to the King and secretly communicated with him, didn’t know.

If even this woman didn’t know, was there truly no way to enter the royal palace?

“…But there are still followers of the former king remaining in Deseo.”

The physician said cautiously.

“I didn’t sympathize with them, but some of my colleagues had many grievances about the war the nobles started. After all, we physicians received a lot of patronage from wealthy merchants.”

“Surely not…”

“I’ve recently heard rumors of them plotting a rebellion underground. I haven’t heard the details, but it seems they’re planning to infiltrate the royal palace. Perhaps the information you need might be there.”

It was information that newly wealthy merchants, defeated by the nobles, were hiding somewhere in Deseo and plotting.

I had no intention of getting involved with political factions, but in the current situation, I had to grasp onto anything.

“How can I meet those people?”

“On Pharmacy Street, at the tenth house, there’s an acquaintance of mine. If you tell that man my name, he’ll help you.”

Clank!

Suddenly, a sound came from outside.

We held our breath and waited for a moment. Fortunately, it wasn’t a sound that the soldier seemed to have noticed.

When I collected myself, I realized I had stayed much longer than intended.

“Thank you, Doctor-nim. I will surely repay you for saving my life.”

I quickly walked towards the window.

And opening the window, I promised her.

“So, please wait a little longer. I’ll get you out of here before I start my work.”

“W-wait. Where are you going…?”

I placed my foot on the windowsill.

The dark alley. Directly below where I was about to drop, the cart was stopped.

Thud.

I jumped down onto it without hesitation.

A strong wind briefly enveloped me, then—

Thud.

My back landed softly on the pile of straw.

“Ritsu!”

The physician looked down at me with a bewildered expression.

But seeing that I was safe, she seemed relieved, sighed, and closed the window again.

“Ugh…”

Jumping from the second floor didn’t feel great.

This was Marie’s ‘plan’?

What should I say… If Tia would simply do such a bold action herself, Marie would think of that bold action and tell me to do it.

Anyway, there were no flaws in this plan, so I had nothing more to say.

I peeled off the clinging bits of straw and jumped off the cart.

Then, Marie appeared from the corner of the alley, holding an apple.

“Ritsu Oppa, are you okay?”

“Huh? Yeah. So you do worry about me after all.”

I bit into the apple she handed me.

Perhaps because it had rolled on the ground, it tasted quite good.

“Did you find out?”

“Not yet. But it wasn’t without its gains.”

There’s no change in our objective.

Just a slight detour.

“It seems we might have found people who can help us.”