I Became A Wretched Extra In A Healing Story - Chapter 11

The female lead of the healing story was truly merciless.

Just by smiling, she would give away her liver and gall bladder and everything else.

‘What kind of flower is this.’

To her, it was like a lifeline.

Reibella looked at the purple flower with bewildered eyes. The antidote herb that could have easily been ten flowers now had only one left.

‘I want to give it to Sir Carlson.’

At first, she was going to give just one flower.

But like a thread unraveling, names kept pouring out – this sir, that sir, another sir. So in the end, she had no choice but to give them all away except for one.

Even that one almost got taken away when the maids hoped the princess might give them one too, but she barely managed to save it by diverting the princess’s attention.

‘I wonder if there are more of these?’

What if there aren’t any more.

The peace of mind she had felt looking at the abundant flowers became anxious again along with the single remaining flower.

‘Should I trust the Emperor?’

Perhaps the princess’s words that ‘the flowers are pretty’ might reach the Emperor’s ears. If the Emperor were to procure the flowers, they might become as plentiful as described in the novel, enough to trip over.

…But what if I die before that?

‘This really isn’t helpful at all.’

Getting involved with these protagonists only complicated things that were going well. Others say that getting involved with protagonists makes you happy and brings a smile to your face. Why, only I, alone…

‘Next time, I absolutely must not reincarnate into a healing story.’

If someone were to ask whether she preferred the healing genre or the ruined genre, Reibella could answer decisively.

Rather than a healing story where only she is unhappy, a ruined story where everyone falls apart would be better.

‘This isn’t the time. I need to meet that child quickly.’

Reibella, recalling how she was interrupted by the princess while trying to find the gravestone where the boy might come, abruptly stood up.

She wrapped her head with a hood to hide it, checked that the note she had intended to give the boy was still in her pocket, and then carefully opened the door to peek outside. It was to quietly slip out without encountering people.

But for some reason, the usually quiet infirmary was bustling with activity.

It seemed there were many injured as the knights had returned from subjugating demonic beasts.

‘I didn’t know because I was isolated in the room.’

Should I go out through the window?

It might look unsightly, but it seemed better than being seen by numerous people.

Having made up her mind, she closed the door and was about to turn her body when a patient caught Reibella’s eye. Despite having quite serious injuries, unlike others, there was no one by his side treating him.

Even those with light injuries from simple falls were receiving proper treatment.

At that moment, voices conversing from a distance could be heard.

“…have you done it?”

“Yes. But the engagement was prolonged, so the administration was delayed.”

“Looking at his condition, it seems the timing for administration was missed. If left like this, he won’t last even three hours. How about showing him to a mage or priest?”

“This guy is a commoner.”

“Ah.”

The ‘this guy’ those people were referring to seemed to be the knight at the end of Reibella’s gaze.

‘So that’s why, because he’s a commoner.’

In this world, mages and priests were significantly fewer in number, and since they’re special, they were also extremely arrogant.

For lower nobles, let alone commoners, receiving treatment from them was like a dream.

“Is there no way?”

“Well… it doesn’t seem easy.”

Even as the two were conversing, injured knights kept pouring in like a flood. The doctors looked busy dealing with the continuously incoming knights.

Reibella quietly approached him. The wound, seen up close, was indeed serious.

‘Seems he was attacked by a demonic beast.’

Three long gashes across his back. They weren’t too deep, and thanks to timely first aid, the wound area was clean.

However, the wound area was turning purple. It was poison.

‘I heard some types of demonic beasts have poison in their skin or claws.’

Did he happen to be attacked by such creatures?

She moved closer to the knight. Even though he was unconscious, he was letting out small groans. It seemed there was pain so severe that even deep sleep couldn’t overcome it.

‘The poison will soon reach his heart.’

Even though she wasn’t a doctor, that much was obvious at a glance.

‘…With my antidote herb, he would live, right?’

If the antidote herb she obtained could really neutralize all poisons as described in the novel, then this person would probably live.

But the problem was that there was only one flower of the antidote herb left now.

If she gave it to him, Reibella might be in danger instead. No, she would really be in danger. After all, she had to continue working as the princess’s food taster.

‘If only the princess hadn’t taken them.’

I wonder if I could ask for them back.

But they would have already been distributed to the knights, and the knights would treasure the flowers bestowed by the princess like heirlooms, so getting them back was unlikely.

‘As much as I’d like to ignore it…’

But if she turned a blind eye when there was a way to save him, she felt she wouldn’t be able to sleep comfortably from now on.

“…What should I do.”

Reibella, who let out a small sigh, returned to the hospital room. Only the petals were effective.

She immediately plucked the purple flower petal and rolled it up to make it easy to put in the mouth, then returned to the knight. After confirming that no one was looking this way, Reibella quietly said to the knight.

“If you eat what I give you, you’ll get better. Even if it’s uncomfortable, you need to swallow it. Okay?”

Reibella gently pressed his jaw with her small hand. His lips, tightly closed in an attempt to endure the pain, remained firmly shut.

“It’ll only take a moment. You’re an adult, so you can do it. Open your mouth. Say ah.”

As she urged him gently while tapping his jaw, his tightly closed mouth opened slightly. Not missing that moment, Reibella quickly pushed in the small, round thing she had made with the purple flower petals.

“There. Now you just need to swallow.”

“……”

“It’ll be okay. By tomorrow, you might be healthy enough to run around. Don’t worry, just rest comfortably.”

Yet, looking somewhat glum as if regretting the lost antidote herb, she whispered one more thing quietly.

“I’ve lent you my life. Not that I’m expecting anything in return… but if you recover and feel you must repay me somehow, just be on my side later. Okay?”

Though it probably wouldn’t reach an unconscious person, that’s how she consoled herself for using the last antidote herb.

Having finished her task, Reibella hurriedly climbed out of the hospital room window, avoiding others’ eyes, and left the infirmary. She thought about going to the child’s parents’ grave to leave a note, and then exploring the nearby forest a bit.

So she didn’t know. That the knight, who had been weakly gasping in pain, had been listening to her words. That he had been watching her leave with hazy eyes.

* * *

On a night when the moon was high.

Tap tap. Reibella’s consciousness quickly rose to the surface due to the sound that kept coming.

When she opened her eyes, the familiar ceiling of the infirmary hospital room filled her vision.

Deep darkness enveloped the surroundings. It seemed to be late night, or dawn.

Tap.

As she turned her head towards the sound that came again, there was a window in that direction. Something seemed to be hitting the window…

‘…Ah!’

Finally coming to her senses, Reibella hurriedly raised her upper body and approached the window. Beyond the window stood the child resembling the Northern Grand Duke, whom she had been waiting for so eagerly.

Reibella opened the window with a happy smile. And as she was about to approach him, he climbed through the window first and stood in front of her, as if he had been waiting.

The child, seen up close, indeed had handsome features.

“Hello? I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”

It was yesterday afternoon when she had left the message. So she had told herself to wait at least a week, not to be too anxious.

But to meet like this!

“Did you see the message I left? Did you come after seeing…”

“Speak.”

He interrupted Reibella as she was pouring out her excited feelings.

And then commanded in a chilling voice.

“Tell me immediately what secret of mine you know.”