Genius Physician CH 2

After that came nine more deaths.

Each time, without fail, I met the same end.

But my tenth life had been different.

At long last, I had discovered how to formulate a medicine capable of temporarily alleviating the symptoms of my illness.

Thanks to that knowledge, the moment I opened my eyes in this life, I prepared the medicine according to the formula I had memorized and used acupuncture to unblock my obstructed meridians.

But it’s only a temporary measure.

I could not survive for long with the medicinal ingredients currently available to me.

Before my body developed a tolerance, I needed to obtain better ingredients.

The problem was that all of House Yakryeong’s precious medicinal ingredients were kept inside the central medicinal storehouse.

Only those who had passed the official examination and been appointed as medical apprentices were permitted to enter.

Because the ingredients stored there were directly connected to matters of life and death, it was an inviolable rule from which no one was exempt.

Since I was not yet a medical apprentice, I had no right to enter.

I’ll have to find another way.

Bang—!

While I was lost in thought, the door suddenly flew open.

“My lady!”

Hongdan entered once more, carrying a bowl filled with cold medicinal decoction.

“What? What is this? You still haven’t finished?”

I had selected only the herbs I needed to prepare my medicine and left the rest untouched.

Apparently mistaking the sight for me still being in the middle of sorting them, Hongdan dropped the bowl onto the table and folded her arms.

“You really are as slow as one would expect from a dying girl.”

She shook her head as though I were utterly pathetic.

It was always like this.

After Grandfather and Father left the estate, even the servants began treating me with contempt.

They knew that I was so crushed beneath the weight of my guilt that I would never speak up for myself.

Of all the servants, Hongdan was particularly cruel.

“I’m going to sleep for a while, so wake me when you’re finished. If you’re not done by then, the young master will be here, so keep that in mind.”

As though it were her own room, Hongdan climbed onto my bed and pulled the silk quilt over herself.

“Yaaawn…”

After stretching and wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes, she lazily flicked her hand at me.

“My lady.”

I did not answer.

Hongdan continued as though my obedience were a foregone conclusion.

“Go and close the window. There’s a draft coming in.”

I slowly walked toward her.

Perhaps hearing my footsteps, she added without opening her tightly closed eyes,

“Oh, and bring me some water from over there. I’m thirsty—Aah!”

Splash—!

The lukewarm medicinal decoction poured directly over Hongdan’s head.

“Pfft! Ptooey! Aah!”

Hongdan spat out the medicine that had entered her mouth and shot upright with a shriek.

Her hair hung limply around her face, drenched in the dark, murky liquid, while black stains spread across her clothes.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

I stood beside the bed and stared down at her without expression.

Hongdan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Of course she couldn’t believe it.

The old me would never have dared to do such a thing.

I casually released the empty bowl from my hand.

Crash—!

“Aah!”

The bowl shattered against the floor with a deafening sound.

Sharp fragments scattered in every direction, and the bed was thoroughly soaked with medicinal liquid.

But I’m different now.

When I took one step toward her, Hongdan instinctively backed away.

She soon found herself trapped against the wall with nowhere else to retreat.

“M-my lady! What is wrong with you?”

I met her eyes and spoke in a low voice.

“What are you doing? Get up.”

“Wh-what…?”

Hongdan’s lips trembled.

“Hurry up and clean this.”

I glanced down at the drenched bed.

“It’s filthy. My bed, I mean.”

Hongdan stared at me in bewilderment.

Frowning slightly, I looked around the room for something else I could throw.

My gaze settled on a large decorative white porcelain vase.

The moment I placed my hand upon it—

“You little wretch!”

Finally revealing her true nature, Hongdan scrambled to her feet and shoved me with all her strength.

Thud—!

The medicine might have given me some strength, but my body was still as frail and thin as a sheet of paper.

A single shove sent me tumbling backward.

Unfortunately, the floor behind me was covered in broken porcelain. The sharp fragments cut into my palm and scraped several places across my body.

At that moment, the door suddenly flew open, and a familiar voice echoed through the room.

“What is all this commotion?”

Hongdan’s face immediately lit up.

“Young Master!”

She beamed as though a rope had been lowered from the heavens to save her.

I looked down at my bleeding palm, pierced by the porcelain shards, before turning my head.

Slightly wavy, light-brown hair.

Sharp eyes, with green irises that proved he carried the legitimate bloodline of House Yakryeong.

The person standing in the doorway was my uncle’s son, Yeon Dopyeong.

“Hey, dying girl!”

Yeon Dopyeong frowned at the medicine spilled across the floor.

“Don’t tell me you did this.”

Hongdan immediately interrupted with tears in her eyes.

“Yes! The young lady poured it all over—”

“You arrived at the perfect time, Cousin Dopyeong.”

Suppressing the pain, I rose and cut Hongdan off before she could finish.

“What?”

Whenever my work was delayed and Dopyeong came to find me personally, I would bow my head and apologize.

But this time was different.

When I met his gaze with an expression entirely unlike the one he remembered, confusion flickered across his face.

“I had something to tell you anyway.”

I pointed at the disorderly pile of medicinal herbs.

“From now on, you will do your own work.”

“Hey, what are you talking about…?”

Dopyeong stared at me blankly.

“The herb sorting you pushed onto me and the preparations for your examination—everything. From now on, you will handle them yourself.”

I made my meaning perfectly clear.

“They were always your responsibilities to begin with.”

In the past, when my self-esteem had been at its lowest, I was afraid of Yeon Dopyeong.

If I displeased him and caused some sort of incident, news of it would inevitably reach Father, who was already suffering because of me.

Then I would become an even greater burden to him.

I hated that thought so much that I tried to complete their work every day, even with my failing body.

Now, however, I understood.

I understood just how foolish I had been.

After living through countless regressions, I had already experienced far more years than the Yeon Dopyeong standing before me.

And I had learned that if I wanted to protect myself, I could not continue watching other people’s moods and bending to their wishes.

I needed to stand firmly on my own.

“What the hell happened to you?”

Naturally, Dopyeong had no intention of accepting my words obediently.

“You seem unusually healthy today.”

He soon shrugged as though none of it mattered.

“You’re still nothing but yourself. Hey! If you keep acting like this toward me, you’ll be thrown out of the family—huh?”

Slowly, I opened my palm without saying a word.

Crimson blood seeped from the cuts left by the porcelain fragments.

The moment he saw it, Dopyeong’s gaze wavered slightly.

“You’re hurt?”

“Yes. I’m bleeding, so I require immediate treatment.”

I stared directly at him.

“You treat it, Cousin.”

When I held out my wounded hand, Dopyeong opened his mouth, only to clamp it shut again.

I slowly walked toward him.

Close enough for the blood gathering at my fingertips to stain the sleeve of his martial robes.

“Are you insane? Why should I do it? Let one of the other physicians—”

“Any member of House Yakryeong should know how to treat a wound like this.”

I quietly added,

“Assuming they possess the necessary talent.”

“…!”

Dopyeong’s eyes shook violently.

That reaction alone was enough.

My suspicions had been correct.

“Well, if you dislike the idea that much, I suppose it cannot be helped.”

I withdrew my injured hand.

“But surely you haven’t forgotten House Yakryeong’s absolute law.”

Dopyeong flinched.

Of course.

He could not possibly argue against it.

There was only one absolute law within House Yakryeong, the prestigious family of physicians.

“The patient comes first.”

Judging by my present circumstances, it was clear just how thoroughly that law had been disregarded.

But things would be different in the presence of Grandfather, the family head.

When I pointed out the truth without the slightest hesitation, Dopyeong’s expression visibly darkened.

“The only reason you are permitted to enter and leave my room is because Uncle ordered you to monitor my condition as a patient, isn’t it?”

Most people born into House Yakryeong inherited a natural talent for medicine.

But my uncle, who was currently serving as acting family head, was too occupied with managing the family to spare much time for me.

The eldest aunt’s son, another leading candidate to succeed the family in the next generation, was also busy with lessons and training.

That was why Yeon Dopyeong, who was said to possess exceptional medical talent, had been placed in charge of monitoring my health.

“And yet you have never once examined me. Instead, you pushed your herb sorting onto me. The reason is—”

Step.

I moved one step closer to him.

“You possess no talent for medicine.”

It was the most devastating weakness anyone in the illustrious House Yakryeong could possess.

Though it was exceptionally rare, some members of the family were born without any talent for the medical arts.

Within this family, it was perhaps a secret even more shameful than being fated to die young.

Until now, Dopyeong had successfully concealed that truth by forcing me to do all his work for him.

But that would no longer continue.

“Wh-what…?!”

Whoosh—!

Dopyeong’s face turned scarlet in an instant.

The flush spread all the way to the tips of his ears, growing so dark they almost appeared black.

He must never have imagined it.

That the girl who had always obeyed him without complaint would one day confront him so openly.

Just then—

Knock, knock.

A cautious sound came from beyond the door.

“Young Master, the family head is asking for you.”