Genius Physician CH 8

Until now, Grandfather had never met me directly.

Everything he knew about my condition had come through Uncle Sotaek.

That was why he had never sensed that anything was amiss.

But this time, I had personally appeared before him in the main hall.

He had also witnessed how startled Uncle Sotaek and Yeon Hwicheon were when they saw me.

There was a strong possibility that he had realized something was wrong.

If so, it made perfect sense for Heo Jinbyeok to be here.

This is my opportunity to tell Grandfather exactly how the servants have been treating me.

I quietly rose from the bed.

“My lady?”

Hongdan’s sharp voice followed me.

I staggered toward the window.

Creak—

Then I reached out and pretended to close it.

“My lady, what are you doing?”

Hongdan frowned deeply and strode toward me.

“Why are you closing the window?”

“Why? Am I not allowed to close it?”

“Cough!”

I struggled to suppress my coughing as I resisted her.

Hongdan snorted as though she could not believe my audacity.

“Why do you think?”

She pinched her nose with one hand.

“Because it stinks!”

“…What?”

I deliberately raised my voice and widened my eyes, pretending to be hurt.

I needed our voices to carry clearly through the window.

Believing that her words had wounded me, Hongdan became even more triumphant.

“You stink, my lady! Ugh, you smell like a sick person!”

Watching Hongdan speak exactly as I intended, I struggled to suppress the smile threatening to appear on my face.

Then I guided her toward an even clearer confession.

“So you’re saying… the window must remain open because I smell like a sick person? Even though I’m this ill and cold?”

“Ha! Do you only ever think about yourself? What about me, trapped inside this filthy room with a disgusting sick person? What about me?!”

Thankfully, Hongdan still had no idea what was happening and continued ranting without restraint.

I slowly nodded.

“Then…”

My gaze shifted toward one side of the room.

My jade chest was there—the same one Hongdan rummaged through every day as though it belonged to her.

Looking toward it, I quietly asked,

“Why did you search through my jade chest every day?”

“…!”

Hongdan’s tirade came to an abrupt halt.

“Th-that was…”

I deliberately spoke louder and enunciated every word.

“You said I’m filthy. Doesn’t that mean my belongings are filthy as well? So why did you steal valuables from my jade chest?”

As I confronted her for the first time, Hongdan recoiled with the guilt of someone whose crimes had been exposed.

“Y-you gave me permission! It’s not as though I ever took anything without telling you! Right?!”

“I never gave you permission. You simply informed me that you were taking them.”

Still looking at the jade chest, I added,

“You also stole things while I was asleep.”

Hongdan’s eyes wavered.

Humiliation and fury twisted across her face, turning it red and blue.

“S-so what if I did?!”

Hongdan suddenly screamed.

“You weren’t going to use any of it! You’re going to die anyway! It’s better for someone who’s still alive to use them!”

At those words, I finally allowed the corners of my lips to rise into a quiet smile.

Hongdan froze at my unexpected reaction.

Then—

“I have heard enough.”

A cold, dry voice came from beyond the door.

When I turned, I saw Heo Jinbyeok standing there in black robes.

Realizing that the situation had become serious, Hongdan’s lips began to tremble.

“Wh-who are you…?”

“I came here under the family head’s orders.”

Without so much as blinking, Heo Jinbyeok issued a low command.

“Guards. Drag away this insolent servant who does not even recognize her own mistress.”

Hongdan’s legs gave way, and she collapsed onto the floor.

“N-no! This is a misunderstanding! I was only—Aah!”

Heo Jinbyeok’s subordinates, who had been waiting outside the detached residence, immediately entered and roughly seized both of Hongdan’s arms.

“Let go! Who do you think you are?! My lady! My lady!”

Hongdan screamed and reached toward me.

“My lady, please save me! I was wrong! I did everything wrong! Please…!”

I stared down at her as she begged, tears and mucus streaming down her face.

“You said I was going to die anyway.”

Remembering the violence and humiliation that had been repeated over so many years, I spoke clearly.

“Now, which of us do you think will die first?”

As though I had nothing more to say, I stepped back without hesitation.

Hongdan’s face contorted with terror.

“Aah!”

She was dragged out of the room.

“Whew…”

Only then could I release the breath that had been trapped inside my chest.

“Greetings, my lady.”

Heo Jinbyeok approached and bowed respectfully.

I gladly accepted his greeting before finally saying something I had wanted to say for a very long time.

“Search Hongdan’s quarters and return everything she stole from me.”

“…”

For a moment, an unreadable expression crossed Heo Jinbyeok’s face.

I calmly added as though it were nothing.

“…Father gave those things to me, so make certain they aren’t damaged.”

“Yes, my lady.”

After giving Heo Jinbyeok his instructions, I picked up the bowl of porridge again.

I had expected it to be completely cold, but when I brought the spoon to my lips, a faint warmth thankfully remained.

Even that tiny amount of warmth filled me with a sense of contentment too profound to describe.

It felt as though it were gently enveloping a wound that had been festering inside me for a very long time.

For some reason… I’m sleepy…

Perhaps it was because the tension had finally left my body.

Once I had eaten enough to fill my stomach slightly, exhaustion overwhelmed me again.

My eyelids drifted shut.

In the end, I fell asleep after only a few more spoonfuls.

Fifteen minutes later—

“What?! Father has already heard about what happened to that child?!”

Yeon Sotaek’s furious roar echoed throughout the main hall.

The people following behind him hurriedly lowered their heads and hunched their shoulders, anxiously watching his expression.

Damn it. What am I supposed to do now…?

Sotaek released a deep sigh and rapidly considered his options.

“Dishevel my clothes. Immediately.”

“Pardon? What do you mean…?”

The servants who had rushed over exchanged bewildered looks.

“What are you standing there for?!”

When Sotaek’s face twisted viciously, they could no longer hesitate.

“Please excuse us, my lord.”

One servant loosened and twisted his collar with trembling hands, while another slackened his belt.

The neatly fastened jade belt tilted to one side, and his previously straight collar fell open.

The attendants hurriedly wiped his temples and the back of his neck with damp cloths.

They then smeared faint traces of medicinal residue onto the ends of his sleeves, making him appear as though he had just rushed away from treating a patient.

Sotaek roughly rubbed the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand.

His eyes quickly turned red, making his already pale complexion appear even more exhausted.

“It is done.”

When one attendant gave the brief report, Sotaek looked over his disheveled appearance.

“I’m going to the detached residence.”

He strode swiftly down the corridor and soon reached the path leading toward my residence.

“Stop.”

At that moment, a weighty voice halted him.

Turning his head, Sotaek found Yeon Baekyu and hurriedly bowed.

“Greetings, Father.”

“Are you going to see Ryeonghwa?”

Dressed neatly in white robes, Yeon Baekyu approached him.

“I have just visited her and am now returning. She is sleeping soundly, so do not disturb her unnecessarily.”

Sotaek assessed the situation in an instant and looked at his father with an expression filled with concern.

“Yes. I heard that Ryeonghwa’s maid had been neglecting her duties in secret, so I was on my way to the detached residence out of concern.”

He immediately bent deeply at the waist.

“This is my fault, Father.”

When Sotaek apologized before anything could be said, Yeon Baekyu swallowed the words he had been about to speak.

“Follow me. There are too many eyes here.”

Yeon Baekyu turned and led the way with his hands clasped behind his back.

Sotaek slowly raised his bowed head, revealing a chilling expression.

“The rest of you will remain here. I will follow him alone.”

After signaling to the attendants behind him, he followed his father.

The two entered the main hall’s private chamber, a place accessible only to the family head.

Even the family’s retainers were forbidden from approaching it without permission.

Once the door closed, a subtle silence settled between them.

“My attire is disordered because I hurried here in the middle of treating a patient. Please forgive me.”

Sotaek, who had been following behind, was the first to break the silence.

Only then did Yeon Baekyu turn and examine his son.

Sotaek truly appeared as though he had just rushed away from a patient’s bedside.

Yeon Baekyu released a quiet sigh and gestured toward a seat.

“Sit down first.”

“Yes.”

The two sat across from each other with cups of tea between them.

Sotaek bent deeply at the waist and bowed to his father once more.

“From now on, I will strictly supervise everyone responsible for Ryeonghwa’s care and ensure that nothing like this ever happens again.”

“Are you claiming that you knew nothing about this?”

At Yeon Baekyu’s question, Sotaek’s eyes twisted almost imperceptibly.

“That is…”

His face turned pale as he hurriedly offered an excuse.

“The servants conspired with one another to deceive their superiors. Perhaps I might have noticed one or two of them, but how could I have discovered the truth when all of them were determined to deceive me?”

“Then are you saying that, besides that maid, there are others who dared to mistreat Ryeonghwa?”

Sotaek hesitated beneath Yeon Baekyu’s piercing question.

A self-deprecating smile soon appeared on his lips.

There was something strangely cold about it.

“It is not Ryeonghwa’s fault, but it is true that her illness has thrown the household into turmoil.”

Sotaek continued in a cautious tone.

“I believed it was unavoidable that some people would view her unfavorably.”

It was a cunning attempt to shift the responsibility onto Ryeonghwa.

Yeon Baekyu slowly closed his eyes before opening them again.

“You disappoint me.”