Genius Physician CH 5

Grandfather’s gaze immediately fell upon me.

When I met his green eyes, which held a mixture of surprise and confusion, my shoulders instinctively tensed.

“Aren’t you supposed to be lying down after taking your medicine?”

His voice was firm.

“I do not know how you managed to come this far, but you should not be wandering around the main hall in your condition.”

“I will escort her back to the detached residence immediately.”

The Chief Steward stepped forward as though he had been waiting for those words.

“Do so. Many people pass through this place, leaving the air muddled with different scents and energies. It will not be good for Ryeonghwa’s body.”

His words felt less like the concern of an affectionate grandfather and more like the cold assessment of a physician.

I have to explain myself properly.

Suppressing my nervousness, I swallowed dryly.

Then I deliberately answered in a bright, clear voice.

“Grandfather, I’m fine.”

Only then did Grandfather look directly at my face.

He immediately seemed to notice that my condition had improved, and his eyebrows rose.

“How did you…?”

Before he could finish his question, I quickly held out my bloodstained hand.

“Before that, please treat me first, Grandfather!”

Grandfather valued principles above all else.

There was no possibility that he would send an injured patient away untreated.

“Treat you?”

His gaze dropped to my hand.

As expected, his eyes narrowed coldly.

“You have injured your hand.”

“I will have an attendant treat the young lady’s wound—”

“Is an attendant a physician?”

At Grandfather’s curt rebuke, the Chief Steward lowered his head, his face turning pale.

“It is a sin for anyone in House Yakryeong to see a patient and turn away. No matter how urgent one’s other duties may be, how can someone call themselves a physician if they cast aside a patient?”

The surroundings fell deathly silent.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Yeon Baekyu issued a weighty command.

“Let her enter.”

“…Yes, Family Head.”

The Chief Steward finally stepped aside.

“Ryeonghwa, follow me.”

Without another word, Grandfather turned and entered the main hall.

I stared at his broad back for a moment before cautiously stepping after him on my small feet.

The atmosphere changed completely the moment I entered the main hall.

Outside, the people’s whispers had scattered chaotically upon the wind.

Inside, however, it was as quiet as the depths beneath the water.

Massive pillars rose around us, surrounded by the heavy scent of incense and the subtler fragrance of medicinal ingredients.

Only then did I truly understand why this place was called the heart of House Yakryeong.

My uncle, Yeon Sotaek, stood beside a large table in the center of the hall.

A mild smile rested upon his face, but a faint trace of greed lingered in the depths of his eyes.

Beside him stood Yeon Hwicheon, the eldest grandson of House Yakryeong, with his hands neatly folded before him.

Yeon Dopyeong stood a short distance away.

What a remarkable expression.

The moment Dopyeong saw me, his face twisted with silent shock.

His wide eyes seemed to be asking what I was doing there.

Grandfather, however, did not spare their agitation so much as a glance.

I followed steadily behind him, struggling to keep pace with his long strides.

Then he suddenly stopped.

“…Your hand.”

It was a brief command.

When Grandfather turned toward me with a frown, I promptly opened my injured palm.

Beneath the hardened blood, the wounds were tinged an inflamed red.

After examining my injury closely, Grandfather abruptly called for Hwicheon.

“Hwicheon.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

Yeon Hwicheon stepped forward with flawless posture.

The hem of his blue robes swept smoothly across the floor.

As always, a gentle and perfectly composed smile rested upon his face.

“You will treat Ryeonghwa’s wound.”

At those words, Hwicheon’s expression stiffened almost imperceptibly.

Of course. He’s still hiding his true nature.

Yeon Hwicheon was the son of my eldest aunt, whose husband had married into House Yakryeong, and the family’s eldest grandson.

My father, the Young Patriarch, had no children besides me.

Since his only daughter was terminally ill, Hwicheon was considered one of the strongest candidates to become the next family head.

Pale skin and dark green hair.

Green eyes proving that he possessed the Black Tortoise’s bloodline.

From his neat appearance and perfect posture to his refined speech and conduct, he never revealed a single flaw in front of anyone.

People often praised him as the pillar that would one day support House Yakryeong.

But I knew the truth.

I knew just how rotten that pillar was inside.

In one of my previous lives, I had also been deceived by his pristine appearance.

I believed he was different from Dopyeong, who tormented me openly.

I thought his gentle manner of speaking was sincere.

I believed the hands examining my condition carried genuine concern.

It had all been a complete delusion.

“Bring me water to wash with immediately.”

“I touched something filthy.”

Was it during my third life that I overheard him?

He would smile warmly in front of me, yet behind my back, he regarded me as a disgusting source of contamination.

Whenever he thought I could not hear him, he would sneer and spit out the words—

“A filthy mass of disease.”

Naturally, he could not have been pleased by an order to treat me personally.

He might have appeared calm, but inside, he must have been trembling with disgust.

I could guess why Grandfather had entrusted my wound to him.

He wants to see how much Hwicheon’s abilities have improved while he was away.

Grandfather intended to personally assess the skills of someone being considered as his successor.

“…Yes. I will do so.”

Forcing a smile, Yeon Hwicheon took one step toward me.

At that moment, Uncle Sotaek hurriedly interrupted.

“Father, allow me to do it. Am I not Ryeonghwa’s attending physician?”

“For someone who calls himself her attending physician, you seem entirely unaware that your patient’s condition has improved.”

Realizing his mistake, Yeon Sotaek’s expression stiffened.

“Hwicheon will treat the wound. You will give me a detailed report on the progress of her treatment.”

Yeon Baekyu’s green eyes turned cold.

“You have no objections, I trust.”

“…No.”

Yeon Sotaek could no longer interfere and retreated one step.

He must have known that openly opposing the family head would only risk exposing his true intentions.

Hwicheon respectfully lowered his head once more.

“As you command, Patriarch.”

He addressed him as Patriarch, not Grandfather.

The moment he sensed Grandfather’s displeasure, he immediately adopted the proper formal courtesy.

No matter who looked at him, his conduct appeared exemplary.

But when he turned and extended his hand toward me, a trace of displeasure passed through his eyes—so faintly that only I could have noticed it.

“Bring your hand… closer.”

I obediently held out my injured hand.

Hwicheon retrieved a clean cotton cloth from the medicine chest beside him.

His movements as he cleaned around the wound were composed, and he did not apply excessive pressure.

Then, for the briefest moment, his fingertips stopped.

Our gazes met.

A perfectly pleasant smile remained on his lips, but coldness had seeped into his eyes.

How dare someone like you.

In a previous life, I would have lowered my head the instant I received such a look.

But I no longer avoided it.

Instead, I stared even more directly into his eyes.

Hwicheon was the first to look away.

He resumed moving his hands and took a fine medicinal powder, sprinkling a thin layer over the wound.

It was a powder used to dry the area around an injury and stop the bleeding.

“Cousin Hwicheon.”

His fingertips stopped at my quiet call.

Hwicheon immediately erased the contempt from his eyes and smiled kindly.

“Hmm? What is it, Ryeonghwa?”

“You shouldn’t use medicinal powder on my wound.”

At those unexpected words, the entire main hall instantly froze.

Hwicheon’s green eyes wavered slightly.

“What did you say…?”

I calmly pointed to the wound.

“Please look more closely.”

Beneath the reddish, hardened blood, an extremely faint black energy was spreading.

Hwicheon’s expression stiffened when he finally discovered it.

“This is…”

“It’s a pathogenic infiltration. It is probably a symptom caused by my illness. Whenever I’m wounded, this black energy seeps into the injury.”

Yeon Hwicheon had overlooked one crucial fact.

I was no ordinary patient.