Chapter 9
It was a man with neatly combed-back red hair.
His sharp eyes and finely sculpted nose resembled their father.
Kanna recognized him immediately.
Even though many years had passed, there was no way she wouldn’t.
That’s what family was.
“Lady Valentino.”
As she looked into his green eyes, memories of the past flashed through her mind.
“Move aside, Sister. You’re in my way.”
“A book fell into the garden. Go fetch it, Sister.”
“Don’t talk to me. You smell like garbage.”
The boy who had always called her Sister while treating her like a servant.
Her half-brother.
Kallen Addis.
The child who had once been so small…
“…has become a full-grown man.”
“What brings you here?”
He looked at her with eyes even colder than they had been back then.
“I came because I had some business here. But…”
Kanna’s gaze shifted past him.
He wasn’t alone in the carriage.
Was she asleep?
A young girl sat quietly inside.
However, she wore a wide-brimmed hat draped with a thick veil, making it impossible to see her face.
Who is that girl…?
Just then, a gust of wind swept past.
The veil fluttered dramatically.
The girl’s face was completely exposed.
The instant Kanna saw it, her eyes widened.
That’s…!
“Did you see it?”
Kallen’s icy voice cut through the silence.
Staring at her as if he wanted to kill her, he repeated each word clearly.
“I asked whether you saw Lucy’s face.”
Lucy Addis.
The youngest daughter of the Addis family, born seven years ago.
Shortly after Juhwa married into House Valentino, she’d heard that Lucy had been born.
Naturally, she’d never met her in person.
She only knew of her through stories.
“I asked whether you saw it.”
Of course she had.
Not intentionally…
But she’d seen it clearly.
That face.
So different from an ordinary person’s.
After a brief silence, Kanna couldn’t suppress her professional curiosity.
“Have you taken her to see a physician?”
“Watch your tongue!”
The carriage door flew open.
Kallen stepped down in a single stride and marched straight toward her.
Stopping directly in front of Kanna, he spoke in a threatening voice.
“What you just saw…”
“If you tell anyone about it…”
“I won’t let you off.”
The young girl’s face was horribly twisted.
As though someone had forcibly pulled every facial muscle out of place, her features were grotesquely distorted.
Kanna immediately recognized the condition.
That’s facial paralysis.
Facial paralysis.
In this world, where no proper treatment existed, it was considered a curse or even demonic possession.
“Do you understand?”
“If you breathe a word of this to anyone…”
“Is the treatment going well?”
“…What?”
“I asked if the treatment’s going well.”
Ignoring her brother’s threats entirely, Kanna continued.
“Did you just come back from seeing a physician?”
“What did the doctor say?”
“Can it be cured?”
“…”
A powerful suspicion flashed across Kallen’s eyes.
His sister had left this estate when she married.
For seven long years, no one had seen her.
And yet…
“How long has she been sick?”
“Did you begin treatment immediately after the symptoms appeared?”
Kallen was genuinely bewildered.
It was the first time in his life he’d ever seen his sister speak so clearly, with her head held high.
“This is none of your concern.”
“So return to House Valentino immediately.”
Kanna instinctively realized Lucy’s treatment wasn’t progressing well.
She had seen that expression before.
That voice.
That look.
They belonged only to the family members of patients whose condition showed absolutely no improvement.
“Want me to help?”
“…What did you just say?”
“I’ll try treating Lucy.”
“In return, let me stay here for a while.”
“Hah!”
A mocking smile appeared at the corner of Kallen’s mouth.
Then it quickly hardened into anger.
He rubbed his face several times with both hands, struggling to suppress his temper.
The veins on the back of his large hands bulged visibly.
After a moment, he spoke in a dangerously quiet voice.
“Go back.”
“The greatest physicians in the Western Continent couldn’t cure her.”
“What makes you think you can?”
Lucy Addis.
His seven-year-old little sister.
Her illness had come without warning.
It had begun as an ordinary fever.
Then one day…
Her face twisted out of shape.
No physician had been able to cure her.
Some had even suggested she was possessed and should be sent to the Grand Temple.
And now this woman…
She casually claimed she could cure her?
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“And leave.”
“I’m not talking nonsense.”
“Just give me one chance.”
Kallen finally lost his patience.
He grabbed Kanna by the shoulders and pulled his face close to hers.
“What makes you think you can do anything?!”
Suddenly…
His lips froze.
The words caught in his throat.
Their faces were only inches apart.
Between the strands of her messy black bangs…
Those black eyes.
“Kallen Addis.”
Her voice was frighteningly calm.
“Stop letting your emotions control you.”
“And listen carefully.”
His fury couldn’t reach her.
She remained utterly composed.
Calm.
Seeing those quiet eyes, Kallen suddenly realized just how agitated he himself had become.
Slowly…
The strength left his grip.
“…Don’t you want to save your sister?”
Don’t I?
How could I not?
Of course he wanted to save her.
More than anything.
But no one could.
Every physician had shaken their heads.
“I’m sorry.”
“This is beyond my ability.”
“Your only option now is the Grand Temple.”
The Grand Temple?
Impossible.
That was truly the last resort.
Then who else was there to turn to?
Everything before him seemed to sink into darkness.
It felt as though he were drowning in the depths of the sea.
He desperately wanted to grab onto something…
Anything…
Yet there was nothing.
Then—
A straw appeared before him.
“I’ll ask you one last time.”
“I might be able to cure her.”
“So let me examine her properly.”
“…”
“If you refuse again…”
“I’ll leave without another word.”
Kanna laid the choice before him.
“What will it be?”
Perhaps it was fortunate.
None of the other family members were currently at the estate.
They had all attended a party hosted by the Imperial Family.
“First, I’ll need acupuncture needles.”
“Acupuncture… needles?”
“What are those?”
“They’re tools that resemble needles.”
“I’ll tell you the exact length and thickness.”
“Take those measurements to a magic-stone craftsman.”
“And make sure they’re forged from the highest-grade magic stone available.”
Kallen couldn’t hide his doubtful expression.
He had brought Kanna into the mansion almost as if under a spell…
But what exactly was she planning to do with needle-like tools?
And why did they have to be made from expensive magic stones?
Am I placing my hopes in something completely pointless?
Even so…
He was desperate enough to grasp at straws.
Still…
It’s better than sending Lucy to the Grand Temple.
The Grand Temple.
The sacred domain that purified the Western Continent through the World Tree.
Inside its walls, the Empire’s laws held no authority.
Neither social customs nor common sense applied there.
It was holy.
Transcendent.
And because of that…
Dangerous.
Once someone entered, there was no guarantee they could ever leave.
He couldn’t send Lucy to such a place.
“…Have you actually studied medicine?”
Kanna immediately gave the answer she had prepared beforehand.
“You remember how obsessed I became with alchemy, don’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“The deeper I studied alchemy, the more I discovered it was connected to healing arts.”
“So I naturally ended up learning healing techniques as well.”
“Alchemy is connected to medicine?”
“I’ve never heard such a thing.”
Of course you haven’t.
I literally just made it up.
Nevertheless, Kanna continued without the slightest hint of embarrassment.
“At least, that’s how the alchemy I studied worked.”
“First…”
“I need to examine Lucy’s condition thoroughly.”
Kallen watched Kanna’s retreating figure with conflicted eyes.
She’s become a completely different person.
Has time really changed her this much?
She no longer walked with her back hunched.
She no longer shrank her shoulders or lowered her head.
She spoke confidently without stammering, expressing her opinions without hesitation.
She was nothing like the sister he remembered.
How could someone change so completely?
Just what happened to her all these years…?
Soon, Kallen shook his head.
It doesn’t matter.
Now isn’t the time to dwell on such things.
He quickly followed after Kanna.
