Chapter 7 – Blessing or Curse (Part 2)

It was at that moment. Just as their short conversation was about to end on a positive note, a sharp crash was heard right next to them.

Instinctively, everyone turned their heads toward the sound. Despite the reflexive action, everything seemed to move in slow motion.

Shards of broken glass scattered across the floor, a small, white hand covering a mouth with blood dripping down onto the floor…

“Cough—”

Before fully grasping the situation, another cough was heard, and the beige dress turned more than halfway red.

“…Ria!”

Between the nausea that felt like it would overturn and the dizzying vision, the last thing Ria saw was them reaching out toward her before darkness took over.

“Ria!”

“Call the doctor immediately!”

The hallway became chaotic in an instant. The butler, who had been frozen, snapped back to reality at Eden’s urgent voice and ran to fetch the doctor. The servants dropped everything and moved urgently.

Cherta caught Ria’s body just before it hit the floor covered in sharp glass shards, and held her close to check her condition.

Her tightly shut eyes, her pale face, her mouth covered in blood… All of it proved that the situation was real.

Cherta bit his lip and held Ria tighter. He didn’t care if his clothes got stained with blood. It didn’t matter. He had never been this scared in his life. His hands shook uncontrollably.

“Why… why…”

That was all he could say. At that moment, the doctor came running down the hall with the butler.

“Your Highness, I am the doctor from the Astina Duchy. Please let me examine the young lady.”

Despite the doctor’s earnest plea, Cherta tightened his hold on Ria instead of responding.

He knew it well. He had to show Ria to the doctor and let her be examined immediately. He knew it in his head, but… his body wouldn’t move. It felt like he would lose her if he let go.

“Your Highness! If we don’t act quickly, the young lady’s condition could worsen!”

The doctor raised his voice, risking punishment for his rudeness in front of royalty, but knowing that he couldn’t count on the help of his own master, the Duke of Astina, in this situation.

Moreover, the most important thing right now wasn’t his life, but the young lady’s condition.

‘She has lost too much blood.’

The amount of blood on her beige dress and on the floor was too much. She had stopped coughing up blood for now, but that didn’t mean the internal wounds had healed. She might have just lost consciousness and was unable to expel the blood.

“Your Highness!”

Called again in an earnest voice, Cherta finally loosened his grip, showing Ria to the doctor. Seeing her pale face, the doctor concealed his dismay and began the examination immediately.

“What happened?”

“She took the potion that changes her appearance. After that, she started coughing up blood.”

“The one she always takes?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll take all the remaining potions. The one she took might have traces of the broken glass as well.”

Cherta nodded and instructed a maid to collect the broken glass and hand it to the doctor. Meanwhile, the doctor’s grim expression deepened as he continued the examination.

“We should move her to her bed.”

“What’s her condition?”

“I need to examine her more thoroughly to be certain.”

Cherta, frowning at the doctor’s tense expression, adjusted Ria in his arms and stood up. Her weight in his arms felt pitifully light. Her limp arm swung lifelessly in the air.

To regain his focus amidst his rising anxiety, he closed his eyes tightly and then opened them, seeing Rune still frozen. Though he understood why, knowing how Ria had come to this world, there was no use for someone standing idly in this situation.

“Sir Fernon, go to the palace immediately and bring the royal physician.”

With that command to Kahin, who had managed to gather himself, Cherta began to move.

Ria’s room, though she rarely used it, was clean and warm. This was due to Rune’s insistence on not neglecting her room, despite her always sleeping in his chamber.

Cherta laid Ria on the bed and stood by her side, waiting for the doctor to finish the examination.

Even by the time the royal physician arrived, the examination wasn’t finished. Nearly dragged to the mansion by Kahin, the royal physician, disheveled and hurried, was immediately brought into the room.

“The little sun of the Liberté Empire.”

“No need for formalities. The examination is urgent.”

Seeing the crown prince’s anxious demeanor, the royal physician quickly approached the bed. His eyes widened at the sight of the unconscious Ria.

“What happened?”

The royal physician asked the doctor, who bit his lip and shook his head, whispering softly.

“She took a potion that changed her appearance. But there’s something odd. Please, examine her yourself. You’ll understand.”

Though puzzled by the doctor’s words, the royal physician began the examination immediately. Soon, he understood what the doctor had meant.

“This is…”

With a complex expression, he rechecked her condition.

Then, he knelt on the floor. The doctor followed suit.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Cherta looked down at them coldly. Already anxious from the prolonged examination, seeing them kneeling before him as if preparing to deliver bad news, made him even more uneasy.

“Your Highness, I’m sorry, but… we couldn’t find the cause.”

The royal physician stammered, bowing his head low, and hurriedly continued before Cherta could respond.

“It doesn’t match any known illness in the empire. All we found is that her body is in a chaotic state.”

“Examining the potion might reveal more, but for now, that’s all we know. One thing is certain: it’s not just a minor internal injury.”

“Then what is it?”

Suppressing his urge to draw his sword, Cherta asked in a low, fierce voice. Unlike the hesitant royal physician, the doctor, who had been caring for Ria like his own granddaughter, spoke up without hesitation.

“When the young lady first came here and I examined her, I noticed her body was slightly different from other imperial subjects. It felt as though there was something else inside her that helped her move. It’s difficult to explain, as I’m not entirely sure myself. I’ve been treating it as just a hunch of mine.”

Despite the absurd and bizarre explanation from the doctor, Kahin quietly approached Cherta and whispered.

“If my guess is correct, it seems related to healing magic.”

“Healing magic?”

“Yes. I read once that the first Duchess Astina also had a peculiar ability that made her quite different from others, and she suffered considerably whenever she fell seriously ill. I’m certain because I read it while searching for ways to help the lady walk again with the Duke.”

“So, it’s not entirely out of the question if Ria’s case is almost the same as the first Duchess’s.”

Their speculation was close to the truth. The peculiar ability itself was a gift from the gods, so those who possessed it couldn’t have ordinary bodies like normal people.

It wasn’t that their organs were different, but they had a few distinct parts to hold the great divine power and maintain balance with an ordinary body.

So, their bodily flow was different. The doctor had figured that out from the start.

In fact, it was part of the reason why Ria had collapsed, but there was nothing they could do without knowing it yet. Even if they had known, they wouldn’t have been able to improve her condition, but they would have needed her knowledge. 

In the end, with nothing resolved, Cherta, growing anxious, roughly swept his hair back and ordered.

“Do everything you can. At least get her to open her eyes.”

The two, who had seen countless patients, knew well how unreasonable Cherta’s demand was. Without finding the cause, they couldn’t solve it. But they weren’t foolish enough to say so directly.

Moreover, they didn’t want to say it was impossible without trying anything in front of the patient.

“We’ll try.”

If they couldn’t save the lady, they would die anyway. It was better to try something and die than do nothing.