“Are you really leaving?”
A woman with a large scar around one eye looked at Sena with a worried expression.
Having finished preparing with the last herb, Sena closed his suitcase and stood up.
“Yes. I’ve stayed here for too long.”
“Nobody has offended you, right? Just say the word. I’ll split them in half and leave them in front of your door.”
“Don’t make such scary jokes.”
It had been three months since he was kidnapped by some dark force.
At first, they were ready to kill him for any little mistake, but everyone became as gentle as a big retriever.
It was because he saved the woman in front of him, the boss of the organization, Isabella.
Even though they were kidnappers, a patient was still a patient. Since Isabella had recovered, it was time for him to go where he originally intended.
“Don’t worry. What would you do if you get kidnapped again?”
‘Are kidnappers supposed to say things like that?’
Though he was a bit reluctant, there was no other way.
“Should I assign someone to accompany you?”
“It’s okay. The place I’m going to is quite safe.”
“Alright then.”
Was this Stockholm syndrome?
Now that the time to part had come, there was a sense of regret.
He had grown quite attached over time. But it was time to leave.
Sena gathered the hand holding his travel suitcase and bowed his head slightly.
“Thank you for taking care of me all this time.”
“The thanks should be coming from me. If it weren’t for you, I’d be dead by now. Feel free to contact me anytime. Wherever you go, we, ‘Labella’, are with you.”
She was the boss of the dark organization, always speaking harshly until the end.
Sena started walking. ‘Hamus’, this place, was not far from the capital.
The next destination was Rendel. It was a somewhat remote rural area, where Sena would start a new life.
‘It’s been 21 years since I was reincarnated here.’
It was a common plot.
Originally, Sena was a medical student about to graduate.
But he ended up here after being hit by a reincarnation truck.
It was scary and bewildering at first. But as they say, humans are creatures of adaptation, right? Whoever said that was quite insightful. But to correct it a bit, it should be ‘humans have no choice but to adapt’.
Except for the medieval backdrop, this world was livable. Even the Laperci Empire where he was born was a prosperous country.
But Sena, an orphan of fortune, had to survive the apocalypse alone. He lived by guarding a stale piece of bread with a rock in hand.
In such an environment, he couldn’t afford to have idle thoughts like ‘I’ve been reincarnated! I have to go back!’
Still, now he was somehow making a living as a healer based on his experience of attending medical school. He had some ‘skills’, after all.
Anyway, Sena didn’t ask for much. He just wanted to settle down in a quiet countryside with a beautiful view and close his eyes with a happy heart.
But…
“Are you that healer Sena?”
‘I never thought it would be that difficult.’
Sena sighed as he looked around at the rough-looking men surrounding him.
“Ugh, kidnapped again.”
It was already the third time this year.
**
“Excuse me.”
His hands and feet were tied, and he couldn’t see anything.
All he could tell was that this was the back of a carriage from the rattling sound.
“Could you at least untie me and talk?”
“I need to use the bathroom! I really need to go.”
“It’s fine to kidnap, but you should explain.”
But there was no response to his complaining voice.
‘Don’t these people know how to politely ask for help?’
Not being able to pass by a patient, Sena had reached a point where he would heal them even if they came to him normally instead of kidnapping.
‘Well, whatever.’
He had reached a point where he was resigned to it.
Sena leaned heavily against the wall of the luggage compartment and tried to sleep.
How much time had passed?
Suddenly.
The carriage stopped, and Sena’s stifled view finally cleared.
A knight bowed politely in front of Sena.
“My apologies for the rudeness.”
“Chris?”
Sena’s face stiffened noticeably. He knew the face well.
Chris Pertian.
A genius who reached the status of ‘Master’ at a young age.
According to the rumors he heard last time, Chris had become none other than the Guardian Knight of the Empress.
“S-so, this is…”
Sena’s optimistic nerves began to fray.
“Yes. This is the residence of Her Majesty the Great Empress. The First Garden, Imperial Palace of the Laperci Empire.”
Because the empress of this empire was…
Famously known as a mad, brutal tyrant!
Emergency bells rang in Sena’s mind.
“Sena-nim, it would be troublesome if you were to flee.”
Sena, who was about to jump out of the carriage and run to the exit, was grabbed by the back by Chris’s hand
“Chris, are you really doing this…?”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
“You owe me big time for covering for you at the academy!”
Chris looked polite, but he was a troublemaker. There were endless stories of his antics at the academy.
“Repay your debts now!”
“Well, Sena-nim. I am now the Guardian Knight of Her Majesty the Empress. It would be inappropriate for you to say such things.”
“Oh, I heard about that last time. You’ve made it big. Congratulations. You’ll be dead soon.”
“…You’re still the same, Sena-nim. You’re the only one who makes jokes while smiling.”
Chris sighed softly and handed him a note.
“Take this.”
“What’s this?”
Sena took the note and read it.
[We recommend the Healer Sena as the personal physician of Her Majesty the Empress. He is the only one with the potential to heal Her Majesty, who is in critical condition.]
P.S. If you request him with formal letter, he’ll run away, so please even kidnap him.
– Priest Cruyff Birkender.
“That… that fake priest…!”
Sena couldn’t contain his anger as he read the recommendation letter.
Cruyff was Sena’s benefactor and mentor. He was like the parent who raised Sena in this strange world.
But from this moment on, he was an enemy.
“A fake priest as a candidate for the next pope.”
“Man, he laughed the whole time he wrote this letter of recommendation.”
Sena’s arms trembled.
He wanted to leave right away.
“…Is it true that Her Majesty is in critical condition?”
Even amidst this, he couldn’t bear to simply ignore a patient.
“Yes. Her condition is critical every day. None of the priests have been able to improve Her Majesty’s condition.”
“So, that’s why you called me?”
To be honest, he was a little intrigued.
Especially at the part where ‘no priest’ could heal her.
Priests who mocked and ignored healers were the worst.
In modern times, they would have just been charlatans.
“To be honest, yes. Sena-nim, you have been famous for performing miracles as a healer since the past. That’s why it was very difficult to track your whereabouts.”
“Well, I get kidnapped all the time.”
The bitter truth he couldn’t say.
Sena could only narrow his eyes.
“Will you accept?”
“Do I have the right to refuse?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“…What a kind kidnapper.”
Sena said with a bitter expression.
“But before that, I have one more question.”
“Yes. Please ask.”
“What happened to the priests who couldn’t cure Her Majesty until now?”
There was one worry on Sena’s mind.
What would happen if he couldn’t save her either.
The tyrant he had only heard rumors about, how would she react?
“They died.”
“…?”
Sena’s eyes were filled with bewilderment.
“Hey, Sir Chris.”
“Yes?”
“Do you really think I’m going to do this?”
“…No.”
“Oh, I see.”
Sena clenched his fist lightly.
“So, Sir Chris, are you reluctantly kidnapping me because of orders, but deep down, you remember our old bond and want to let me go?”
Chris shook his head firmly.
“No. I sincerely wish for Sena to take on the role of Her Majesty’s personal physician.”
“Uh… sorry.”
Sena tried to jump out of the carriage again.
This was clearly a situation where he needed to escape.
Of course, he was caught by Chris again.
“L-let go of me! I can’t die here! What kind of healer becomes the personal physician of someone who threatens to kill them if they can’t cure them?”
“Her Majesty simply dislikes lies.”
“Huh?”
Chris placed Sena back in the carriage and spoke seriously.
“The reason they died is because Her Majesty gave them a chance, but they squandered it for their own selfish desires.”
“She gave them a chance?”
“Yes. They accepted it for their personal gain, even though they couldn’t cure her.”
‘But is killing them the right thing to do…?’
Sena’s expression turned troubled.
At that moment, Chris bowed in front of Sena.
“Please. Just once. Meet her and then decide.”
Seeing Chris bow deeply, Sena thought.
Why did that fake priest write ‘critical’ in the letter?
It was to move him. Knowing that seeing this phrase would make him unable to just pass by.
And it did. Even if the patient wasn’t the Empress, but a traitor, Sena wouldn’t have hesitated.
But now, he hesitated.
Empress Astria.
She was clearly a villain who had killed countless people and was still waging many wars.
Wouldn’t saving her life actually result in her killing more people?
Above all else—
Sena didn’t have much time anymore.
‘I can’t help it.’
However, determining whether to save or not as a patient was not something a doctor should think about.
That would be too arrogant.
“…I’ll examine her for now. But don’t get your hopes up too much.”
