Chapter 10
“His Grace, Duke Akanthus, has arrived!”
Edith had thought it was a patient and been startled, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. With a relieved expression, she rose from her seat and hastily straightened her attire.
Edith checked her reflection in the mirror once more to make sure her clothes and hair weren’t disheveled, then hurried outside.
There she saw Akanthus sitting in the examination chair.
“I apologize for the delay, Your Grace.”
“Not at all. I’m the one who should apologize for showing up so suddenly.”
But there was blood on Akanthus’s sleeve. Edith’s face hardened when she saw it.
“Your Grace, have you been injured somewhere?”
“Excuse me?”
At Edith’s question, Akanthus looked bewildered, as if he had no idea what she was talking about.
Edith pointed to the blood on his sleeve.
“There’s blood on your sleeve… Did you not notice?”
Just as Edith was about to hurriedly roll up his sleeve, Akanthus gave an awkward smile and subtly withdrew his hand.
“Ah, this isn’t my blood. Actually, one of my subordinates was attacked by a monster…”
“A monster?”
“Yes, fortunately it’s not a serious injury—just a cut on his arm. He’s outside, so would you mind taking a look at him?”
“Of course, please wait a moment.”
Edith grabbed her bag of herbs and medical tools and hurried outside.
There she saw a brown-haired knight with his right arm wrapped in bandages. His bandages were completely soaked in blood.
His pale face suggested he had lost quite a bit of blood. Assistants beside him were hurriedly administering painkillers and hemostatic herbs.
Edith immediately unwrapped the bandages around his arm to examine the wound. A blackened wound was revealed. The cut was so deep that the bone was visible.
‘It looks like it was slashed by a monster’s claw.’
Judging by how his arm was turning black, the claw must have been poisoned. Left untreated, this wouldn’t just mean he couldn’t hold a sword—he might have to have his entire arm amputated. This was far beyond what folk remedies or herbs could treat.
Edith placed her hand near the wound and focused her mind. A bright light emanated from her fingertips, and the wound began to heal.
The severed blood vessels regenerated and reconnected. Flesh grew back, and the blackened areas gradually returned to their natural color.
“…Wow.”
The knight marveled at the sight. Edith deliberately left a small portion of the wound and withdrew her holy power.
“Alright, that should do it.”
Edith applied antiseptic, placed a healing herb over it, and wrapped it with fresh bandages.
The knight stared at his arm with an astonished expression, unable to believe it had been restored.
Edith smiled at him.
“Would you like to try moving it? Just gently, though.”
“Ah, yes!”
At Edith’s words, the knight seemed to snap out of his daze and nodded. He swung his arm lightly, then bowed his head.
“It’s fine! Thank you for treating me!”
“I’ve healed the wound, but if you overexert yourself, it might reopen. So please don’t hold a sword until at least tomorrow.”
“Yes!”
“There may be a little scarring, but as long as you keep it clean for a week, it’ll be fine. So don’t worry.”
“Understood!”
The knight beamed and bowed repeatedly.
“Thank you so much! I don’t know what would have happened without you, healer. I was worried I might have to have my arm amputated.”
His concern was understandable. This was a place where amputations and trepanations were performed all too readily.
‘He must have been really worried.’
Edith thought this and then asked:
“Couldn’t you have gone to the temple priests or healers?”
At Edith’s question, the knight shook his head.
“Ugh, if you go to the temple, you have to pay a donation. For a wound this bad, I’d have to hand over my entire month’s salary.”
“It depends on how much treatment you receive—the donation amount varies accordingly.”
Akanthus approached and added with a wry smile.
“Goodness, I heard that about thirty years ago, treatments using holy power were available for free. The temple has become so money-hungry.”
“Cedric.”
At the knight’s grumbling, Akanthus spoke up politely. The knight called Cedric quickly fell silent.
‘So that’s why everyone seemed to be using such strange medical practices.’
As Edith nodded in thought, Akanthus sighed.
“It’s simply because the number of people who can use holy power has decreased.”
If that were the case, shouldn’t they have thoroughly sought out those with holy power?
Edith tilted her head in wonder, and Akanthus, as if reading her thoughts, continued:
“Although the number of people who can use holy power has decreased, the temple doesn’t accept everyone with holy power as priests.”
“I think I know why. Holy power usually has a fixed capacity one is born with and doesn’t increase beyond that, right?”
Someone with mediocre holy power wouldn’t be able to do much as a priest anyway, so from the temple’s perspective, it probably wouldn’t be worth it.
“Well, the temple claims it can grow through prayer, faith, and training in the goddess’s name… but no one knows if that’s actually true.”
After Akanthus finished speaking, Cedric added:
“Those who can’t become priests usually become healers, but the temple’s healer training program isn’t free either.”
As Edith listened, she felt dizzy. She had wondered why this world’s medical capabilities were so unbalanced, and now she understood why.
Just then, Cedric’s eyes lit up as he asked:
“By the way, Miss Edith, where did you learn such medical skills? I heard you’re a commoner.”
“I was just fortunate. I’ve picked up some knowledge here and there.”
Edith gave an awkward smile and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
“My parents knew a bit about herbs… and I learned some things by watching over their shoulders.”
“Ah, I see.”
Just as Cedric opened his mouth in admiration, Akanthus interjected again.
“Cedric.”
“My apologies.”
At Akanthus’s warning, Cedric quickly shut his mouth. Akanthus glanced at him and changed the subject.
“Still, it would be wonderful if there were more people like Miss Edith.”
“Indeed. I suppose that’s to be expected from someone who broke the Curse of Kallad.”
The Curse of Kallad. Edith gave a wry smile.
People seemed to believe the Curse of Kallad was something tremendous, but from what Edith had observed while treating patients at the military outpost, that wasn’t the case.
“That’s not quite right. The Curse of Kallad isn’t actually a curse.”
At Edith’s words, Cedric and Akanthus looked puzzled.
“Exactly as I said. It’s not a curse.”
“But people say that if you’re wounded by a weapon used by Kallad, you’re cursed and can only wait to die…!”
“That’s because the wound wasn’t treated properly.”
Edith said calmly.
“If you don’t treat it correctly, harmful substances enter the body, causing muscle paralysis and pain. It’s an infection.”
The true nature of what people called the Curse of Kallad was tetanus.
Akanthus looked astonished at Edith’s words.
“If that’s really the case, is there a treatment?”
At Akanthus’s question, Edith nodded.
“Of course. That’s how I was able to treat the knights and soldiers here.”
Edith patiently explained again.
“As I mentioned earlier, it’s enough to wash the wound with clean water immediately after it occurs and apply a detoxifying herb for two hours. Of course, if any blades or foreign objects are embedded, they must be removed right away.”
“Oh, is that really all it takes?”
“Yes, as long as it’s not left untreated for more than six hours, it’ll be fine.”
After offering a small smile to the astonished pair, Edith cautiously asked:
“By the way, does the temple know about this?”
“Well… The temple monopolizes medical knowledge, so they couldn’t possibly know.”
Akanthus let out a low sigh.
“Perhaps the temple doesn’t know, or perhaps they do know and are hiding it.”
“Indeed, the temple is always going on about lacking faith in the goddess. If it’s called a curse, everyone will flock to the temple, so they’d have every reason to keep quiet.”
Listening to their conversation, it seemed relations between the temple and the imperial court were quite strained.
Edith watched them carefully and cautiously spoke up:
“Are relations between the temple and the imperial court that strained?”
Akanthus was silent for a moment at that. He seemed to be deliberating whether it was okay to tell Edith the truth.
But Cedric spoke up abruptly:
“To be precise, it’s not that the temple and the imperial court don’t get along—it’s that the temple has lost public support.”
Akanthus looked at him and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Cedric, you really need to learn to watch your mouth.”
“It’s not like I said anything wrong.”
Cedric grumbled, then quickly added an explanation.
“As I mentioned earlier, the donations required for holy power treatments are exorbitant. Moreover, monopolizing medical knowledge has severely damaged their reputation.”
“Ah…”
“To be fair, paying a donation for holy power treatment isn’t entirely unreasonable. Though the amount is certainly excessive… since the number of people who can use holy power is declining.”
Cedric said with a serious expression.
“But monopolizing medical knowledge is wrong. If they want to monopolize it, they should at least properly train healers—but they don’t even do that.”
“I see.”
“In fact, the previous healer here only ever called for amputations. Countless soldiers died because of that. I heard His Highness the Crown Prince was so enraged that he drew his sword and beheaded the man with a single stroke.”
Beheaded with a single stroke?
Edith gasped in shock.
