Night Mischief (1)

Serina laid Mirabilis down on the bed and left her to sleep soundly. It wasn’t a case of sleep deprivation, so she would wake up in an hour or two. She also tried to tidy up the disarray in the Main Chamber. However, even twitching her ankle caused the burned area to ache as if a knife were tearing through her flesh, making it difficult to move.

With her face contorted, she hobbled outside. The moment she closed the door and sighed, the tension released, and the consciousness that had been suppressing the pain turned into a swirling vortex of agony. Leaning against the wall, Serina struggled to inhale fresh air, gritting her teeth to avoid acknowledging the pain.

Perhaps worried that something might have happened, Miella and Alika were waiting near the door. As soon as they heard the door open, they quickly turned their heads and approached Serina. Miella spoke with a mixture of concern and caution.

“Serina, are you alright? It sounded like the Princess-nim was shouting inside.”

“The Princess-nim is asleep now… She was scalded by tea. Please clean up the broken glass and tidy things inside.”

Serina tried hard to endure the pain, but her facial muscles twitched. She was somewhat accustomed to physical pain from being beaten, but the agony of a burn followed a different trajectory. She pointed to her ankle, scalded by the tea, with her finger.

Alika, who had lowered her gaze, gasped. The area hit by the hot tea was flushed red and starting to blister. Miella and Alika exchanged glances and nodded. They took Serina’s arms and supported her as they headed to the treatment room. Each palace’s treatment room had two or three doctors and assistants dispatched from the Royal Clinic.

It was a little better thanks to their support, but her ankle ached as if her flesh was tearing every time it moved slightly. When they encountered another court lady along the way, Miella skillfully gave instructions.

“The Princess-nim is asleep right now, so take a broom, go clean up the broken glass, and tidy up the scattered items.”

Unlike the court ladies, the maids were nobles and of higher status, so while not like Mullaba, they had the authority to give such instructions. The court ladies looked at Serina with pity, but they gathered their tools and left as Miella had instructed.

****************

The treatment room was located on one side of the Rose Palace, and as soon as they entered, the smell of medicinal herbs stung their noses. The doctor, who had been sitting on a chair yawning, was a little embarrassed but also pleased to see Serina, dressed as a maid, being supported on both sides as she entered.

‘Mechio’ was a man who had entered the Royal Clinic and received the position of Vice-Bongsa, after which he was dispatched to the Rose Palace. Like the Librarian Iverenos and the cook, he was a rare man who worked in the Rose Palace on a regular basis. However, these men did not stay overnight and returned outside when night fell.

The patients he treated in the Rose Palace were naturally mostly women, so he appointed one of the palace maids in the Rose Palace as a medical woman to assist him. He had only recently entered the Royal Clinic and had become a mere Vice-Bongsa before being dispatched to the Rose Palace. At first, he had many complaints, but he was getting used to spending his idle time in the Rose Palace’s treatment room, flirting with the medical woman he employed.

As the medical woman laid Serina on the treatment table, Miella and Alika exchanged light nods and stepped out into the hallway. Inside the treatment room, with only the three of them left, Mechio tried to smooth over the awkward atmosphere by clearing his throat with a fake cough, his fist to his mouth.

“Occasionally, a court lady or cook working in the kitchen comes in with a wound or burn, but this is the first time since I started working here that a maid has been burned and needs treatment.”

Mechio was very pleased to have a unique patient after a long time. As he cut and removed Serina’s socks with scissors, the medical woman brought a cloth soaked in cold water. When Mechio placed the cloth on Serina’s ankle, she felt a cool sensation, and the pain subsided a little. He slowly pressed the cloth with his hand and instructed the medical woman who was waiting beside him.

“Bring a bandage and ‘Balhwasan’. And there’s one more medicine to bring, what is it?”

“It’s ‘Seokyeongo’, Vice-Bongsa-nim.”

As Mechio nodded and the medical woman gathered the medicine, he rummaged through the toolbox next to him, looking for something, and took out a small stick. It was a dark and old tree branch, about the length of a person’s arm.

As the medical woman brought the medicine called ‘Balhwasan’ and sprinkled a spoonful of it onto Serina’s ankle with a medicine spoon, Mechio held the stick and waved his hand in the shape of an eight. At that moment, a light chill seemed to spread again from the wound.

“…Were you a magician?”

“There are many doctors outside the palace who cannot use magic at all, but if you are a medical student belonging to the Royal Clinic, you can usually use simple magic.”

Serina realized that even if she spoke, a regular magician, let alone a user of this level of magic, would not feel the power of the hypnotic magic created by Bingalsa.

“What I’m doing now is sprinkling the powder of several herbs that grow in the middle of winter and lightly treating the physical damage caused by the heat inside the ankle with the power of the winter attribute. This will heal the wound quickly and prevent scarring.”

As he finished the magical treatment, the medical woman took his place, applied ointment, and carefully wrapped a bandage around it. As she lay on the patient’s bed receiving treatment, Mechio wrote something on a piece of paper and stamped it with his seal.

“It will heal quickly, but you should still rest for a day or so. It’s going to hurt every time you move anyway, so it’ll be hard to walk properly, right? If you show this letter to the Head Court Lady, she will let you rest in your room for a day.”

****************

As the doctor said, Mullaba instructed her not to come out of her room for a day and said that she would have a subordinate send dinner to Serina’s room. It seemed like Serina was resting comfortably for the first time since entering the palace without worrying about any aftermath.

However, her mind was constantly racing with thoughts. Now that Serina had cast hypnotic magic on Mirabilis and even become ‘Older Sister-nim’, there was no turning back. It was like riding on the back of a running tiger, so now she had no choice but to go all the way. But she wondered what she, a fallen noble with no backing, could do. In the end, she decided to first ask the depths of Mirabilis’s heart.

The next day, the swelling in Serina’s ankle had subsided, and the skin where the blisters had formed was almost back to normal. It felt a little strange every time she moved, but it didn’t seem to be a big problem.

Serina entered the Main Chamber that day as well and woke Mirabilis. It seemed she had drunk a little alcohol the night before, as a bottle of liquor with some left was placed on the table. As Serina shook her, Mirabilis opened her eyes without a word. The Princess’s eyes, visible through the cold, bluish darkness of dawn, looked a little puffy, as if she hadn’t been able to sleep until late. Mirabilis sat on the bed even after getting up and stared at the maid in silence for a while before suddenly uttering a word.

“Is the injury you sustained yesterday alright now?”

It was an awkward apology from the ill-tempered Princess-nim. Serina recalled the sight of the ‘real Mirabilis’ crying and apologizing and smiled faintly.

“It wasn’t a severe burn from the beginning, and thanks to getting treatment quickly, it’s alright now.”

“Is that so.”

Her voice still seemed brusque, but her expression looked a little more relaxed. For the first time, Serina thought that Mirabilis in her usual state was cute.

That day, Mirabilis’s attitude towards Serina was particularly gentle and respectful.