IHDOE Ch 55
[Tyron] "Are you out of your mind?"
He scoffed at her.
[Tyron] "You found the cause of the plague? How? How could a useless thing like you figure out something even my investigators couldn't?"
[Satina] "Maybe I'm just more competent than your investigators."
[Tyron] "Cut the crap. Do I look like a complete idiot to you? Did you expect me to bow down and say, 'Ah, is that so? Forgive me for failing to recognize your brilliance, genius Lady Satina'?"
He sneered with exaggerated mockery.
[Satina] "Weren't you the one who told me to investigate the plague? I conducted a diligent investigation as ordered."
[Tyron] "So you uncovered the identity of this epidemic?"
[Satina] "Yes."
[Tyron] "Ha! Fine, excellent! If you insist that much, I suppose I must believe you."
He threw his hands up in mock surrender.
[Tyron] "So Satina, starting today, I am completely washing my hands of everything regarding the plague. I leave it entirely to you."
[Satina] "Hmm?"
[Tyron] "Since you've uncovered its true nature, preventing its spread, investigating its cause, and administering treatments are all up to you. Ah, but don't expect any assistance from me. Since you're so much more competent than my investigators, you surely won't need help from such incompetent fools, right?"
Satina stared at his smirk. Washing his hands of the plague and dumping it on her sounded like freedom from his interference, but a massive trap lurked beneath the surface.
On the flip side, that means shifting total responsibility onto my shoulders.
If anyone died or the fortress fell into chaos, the blame would rest squarely on her.
And he certainly won't offer a hand.
In short, she had to manage the treatment center and develop a cure relying solely on the handful of knights she brought from House Bersabet.
Tyron lost nothing in this deal. If she refused, he could banish her to the capital for insubordination. If she accepted, he could reallocate his troops to fight beasts while washing his hands of all accountability regarding the plague.
Tyron stared at Satina, grinning internally.
Satina, if you possess a single functioning brain cell, you would never accept this offer.
Managing a quarantine facility and creating a cure was impossible with a single order of knights. Previously, failure meant only the Bersabet knights dying, but now, failure meant inheriting the resentment of the entire West Fortress and having her reputation dragged through the mud.
[Tyron] "What? Can't do it? Then quietly pack up and get out of here back to the capital. I'll even graciously summon a carriage for you."
However, he overlooked one crucial fact: if Satina accepted his offer and resolved the crisis, every ounce of fame and praise would belong solely to her.
She offered a subtle smile.
[Satina] "Fine. I'll do as you say."
[Tyron] "What?"
[Satina] "I said I'll do as you suggested. From managing the treatment center to developing a cure, I will handle everything myself, so wash your hands of it."
Leaning across the desk in disbelief, he stared at her.
[Tyron] "Are you out of your mind?"
[Satina] "No, I'm perfectly sane."
[Tyron] "Don't you understand what taking responsibility entails? Is getting cursed out by everyone your secret to a long life?"
[Satina] "Perhaps."
He replied dismissively, brushing off his words. Her aloof attitude—resembling someone ignoring a barking dog—provoked him further.
[Tyron] "Do whatever you want! Even if you end up weeping and clinging to me for help later, I won't lift a single finger."
He ground his teeth.
[Tyron] "Don't even dream of using your status as His Highness' fiancée as an excuse for help. You know better than anyone that even if a wretched thing like you complains to him, he won't bat an eye."
News of the arrangement quickly reached the Bersabet knights.
This time, however, the knights' reactions differed completely. After hearing her offer to investigate the plague alone days ago, their impression of her had shifted slightly. Above all, they had heard that she healed the quarantine patients using holy power.
[Knight] "What? Lady Satina cured the people in the treatment center with holy power?"
[Knight] "Wasn't she unable to use holy power properly?"
Yet seeing the reactions of the locals, they couldn't dismiss it as a mere rumor.
[Citizen] "Are you knights of House Bersabet? Here, this is a freshly baked pie. Give one to Lady Satina and share the other amongst yourselves!"
[Citizen] "It was nothing short of a miracle. I would have been dead without her. I envy you so much for serving such a noble lady."
Receiving praise from outsiders as Satina's knights naturally caused their chests to swell with pride.
[Knight] "It seems true that Lady Satina used holy power to heal people."
[Knight] "Someone dumped an entire armful of bread on me today, thanking me because she saved their life."
Why had Satina been ignored until now? She lacked even an ounce of aristocratic dignity and couldn't wield holy power. But now, she possessed holy power, striking beauty, and nobility.
Is My Lady truly... a saintess candidate?
Pride blossomed in their hearts. Thus, when they learned Satina took on full responsibility for the plague, the first person they cursed was Tyron, not Satina.
[Knight] "That damned bastard Tyron! He's determined to get us killed!"
[Knight] "Filthy behavior, true to his role as the Crown Prince's lapdog!"
[Kellin] "Just give us the order, My Lady. Whatever it takes, we will carry out your command."
Kellin, the Knight Commander leading them, spoke with grave determination, his eyes sharp as if ready to plunge into fire at her command.
Naturally, Satina failed to understand why the knights were acting like this.
Is it because my Fame rose?
With stories of her healing spreading throughout the West Fortress, her Fame score had climbed significantly to thirty. Considering it started at negative thirty, it was an astonishing improvement.
Well, the more hands to command, the better.
First and foremost, preventing new infections was critical. Satina recalled the information Liv had displayed about the disease while she was healing patients.
[Analyzing the patient's condition across 112 Imperial medical texts.
Failed to locate matching illness in Imperial medical texts.
Expanding search parameters to foreign medical texts.
Loading...
Successfully identified an illness matching the patient's condition.]
This is a victory for advanced AI technology.
The plague was Blimara—an illness transmitted through bites from a small, centipede-like insect called a Blima.
Normally docile, Blima inhabited deep forests and rarely crossed paths with humans. However, as beasts grew vicious lately, Blima migrated down toward human settlements, resulting in widespread infections.
Kellin listened with a grave expression.
[Kellin] "An illness transmitted by insects! I will immediately order everyone to avoid getting bitten. Still, it is concerning. Many only notice after being bitten, especially during sleep at night... I should order night watches on rotation."
[Satina] "No need for that. We can weave fine netting to keep the insects away."
[Kellin] "Netting?"
[Satina] "Yes. Blima are large enough to see with the naked eye. Weaving tight nets at night will block them from approaching people."
She was picturing mosquito nets.
[Kellin] "Tight nets... Indeed, for insects the size of Blima, fine netting should suffice to catch them. I will inform the others immediately."
[Satina] "Good. I'm counting on you."
[Kellin] "Don't worry, My Lady. We are knights of House Bersabet."
Word of her advice spread rapidly among the residents of the West Fortress.
People exerted every effort to avoid insect bites, some even weaving and installing fine nets as Satina suggested. Thanks to these efforts, new infection rates dropped to a tenth of previous levels.
However, preventing new infections was merely a temporary shield, not a fundamental cure.
There are still too many remaining patients. My daily healing capacity is limited, so I must find the cure quickly.
She already knew the cure: bark from the 'Palette Pine,' a white tree growing in the western region of the Empire.
Only one problem remained—she didn't know its exact location.
Medical texts mentioned it grew in the western forests, but provided no precise coordinates. Searching that vast forest would take weeks while constantly fending off attacking beasts.
This news soon reached Tyron as well.
Requested by readers—hope you enjoy it! If you do, feel free to leave a rating or review on KakaoPage, Naver Series, Ridi, and Novel Updates.
🫶🏻