“Now, now, please sit down. I don’t even know how to express my gratitude to my Gothberg teacher.”
Falkenhayn warmly welcomed me and served hot tea.
Hmm, lemon.
I never used to like it much, but lately, after indulging in sweet things, my taste buds seem to be changing.
I used to be quite the gourmet, you know.
“What? The hair loss medication was a fair price for helping me at the last hearing.”
“Haha, I never expected I could buy something worth its weight in gold with just a word.”
“I’m glad you’re happy to see me, but…”
“Hmm.”
Falkenhayn nodded with a knowing smile as if he understood the meaning.
“There aren’t many healers at work today. Excuse me, but may I ask about the situation of the factions?”
Falkenhayn let out a bitter smile and explained flatly.
“Just as you predicted. Ever since His Highness was ousted, many have transferred to other factions. The greatest advantage of the Second Prince’s faction was the additional salary. With no budget approval from His Highness, the basic salary alone became less appealing.”
Despite everything, it’s clear that Georg had a knack for money management.
He displayed his financial prowess during the trial by combat as well.
With nobility visiting Togin Palace frequently, he must have been constantly creating business opportunities.
“Did you not feel okay following them, Sir Falkenhayn?”
“The ousting of royalty is quite a strict measure. The number of escort knights allowed is three, and the only possessions one can carry are ten gold coins.”
“I have been a wandering soul for three years without the care of an attending physician. It’s certainly tough.”
“Since it’s His Highness Georg, I don’t think he will suffer any further, but with this, I have become useless.”
I suddenly noticed an envelope beneath a pile of documents on Falkenhayn’s desk.
“Are you really considering retirement?”
“Haha. Honestly, it’s long past the time for me to retire. I got a bit carried away, enjoying the royal lifestyle in the Inner Palace, and here I am.”
Falkenhayn glanced around his office. It seemed like he was reminiscing.
“I thought that if I were to lose power and retire, the one who would stab me would undoubtedly be Alberich.”
“I apologize. That was not my intention.”
At my apology, Falkenhayn widened his eyes and waved his hands.
“No, I wasn’t blaming you. There seems to have been a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“The collapse of the Second Prince’s faction in the Inner Palace is not your fault. Even without His Highness, there are my students and assistants. There were loyal individuals who would have endured even if their salaries were cut for about three years. The ones who took away the core healers were someone else.”
This meant that numerous conspiracies stemming from my actions had already taken place behind the scenes.
I never knew there were such cunning healers in the Inner Palace.
“Who is that?”
“The attending physician of First Prince and current Crown Prince Gunter, Judge Simon.”
Simon. I remember seeing him at the hearing.
He remembered me because he was cloaked in a dark hood, exuding a sinister atmosphere, unlike a healer.
The title of judge was due to his former fame as an infamous inquisitor before joining the Inner Palace.
“Are you saying the First Prince’s faction attacked the Second Prince’s faction?”
“As far as it unfolded in the Inner Palace, yes. Most of my healers were taken by him, and the few who remained were caught up in strange incidents, becoming stiff.”
“I find it hard to believe that the First Prince Gunter would go to those lengths.”
“It seems to be Simon’s own doing. He has always been quite dissatisfied with the First Prince’s lukewarm attitude towards expanding factions. I believe he viewed it as a perfect opportunity to consolidate his position in the Inner Palace.”
I couldn’t understand what the attending physicians in the Inner Palace were doing without the intention of healing patients.
“If this continues, it will be as if my marrow is being drained. Rather than being outrageously chased out, I’d rather think about retiring and preserving my honor. I probably should have just cared for my grandchildren all this time.”
Falkenhayn said bitterly.
“Are you satisfied with that, Sir Falkenhayn?”
“Life is a process of increasingly compromising between satisfaction and dissatisfaction.”
He was like an eagle with clipped wings.
Equipped with skill and experience, but reduced to merely being devoured by the younger generation, a once-glorious old eagle.
As Falkenhayn’s powerless words hung in the air, silence drifted momentarily.
Thud.
Suddenly, without warning, the office door burst open.
A healer cloaked in black from the corridor stared at me and Falkenhayn, with only his eyes moving.
Creak, creak, as he stepped forward, the sound of his high heels echoed through the room.
Judge Simon stood before us.
“Are you ready to follow your lord and retire, Sir Falkenhayn?”
Hearing his authoritative voice, it was as if an earthquake had shaken an ice cave, and Falkenhayn bowed his head.
“I have given you enough time. If you wish to be treated with the respect due to the longest-serving attending physician in the Inner Palace, you should get out of that chair right now.”
“Ugh, umm.”
His wrinkled hands holding the zucchetto trembled.
“This office will be used by the healers of the Sun Palace for the greater good. For His Highness Prince Gunter.”
“What? Wait a minute.”
I abruptly stood up, confronting Simon.
His hollow, dark eyes were fixed on me.
“This office is set to be used by the Moonlight Palace, and I have received permission from Sister Ambrosia.”
“Gothberg. You should learn to understand the places where you can and cannot insert yourself.”
“Thank you for the advice, but this is precisely where I belong. I need this office right now.”
“And why is that?”
To avoid climbing the stairs when I go to work tomorrow.
“To create the medication I will present to His Majesty the Emperor. Surely, you don’t mean to oppose the Emperor’s command?”
Clump.
Simon took a step closer to me.
The scar on his eye loomed menacingly.
“There was no command to move offices.”
That guy is sharp.
Maybe it’s because he was an inquisitor, but his rhetoric is skillful.
“Gothberg, this is the matter of the Sun Palace and Togin Palace. There’s no room for you to interfere.”
“Is there truly none? I’m just unsure about the judgment.”
I immediately picked up a quill and scrawled a message on a nearby piece of paper.
It was a request for wise judgment regarding the disputes in the Inner Palace.
Tying it to the leg of one of the communication spheres in Falkenhayn’s room, I displayed the message for Simon to see.
“Ask directly?”
It was a communication sphere that would fly straight to the Emperor.
Seeing my reckless action, Simon momentarily fell silent.
It was only natural that misusing the Emperor’s sentiments for a mere faction fight in the Inner Palace would cost all factions points.
Both Simon and I would probably receive considerable punishment from our lords.
Yeah, let’s see how you play the tyrant. If it backfires, that’s just part of the plan.
“… Either way, if Sir Falkenhayn accepts, it will end. Even if that communication sphere flies away, it won’t have any effect.”
Simon struck the core point.
If I detonated myself, it would only end up with Prince Gunter scolding Simon, and it wouldn’t change the fact that the office belonged to him.
But the fact that he brought it up meant he was probably feeling anxious.
I turned to the silent Falkenhayn and said.
“Sir Falkenhayn, are you truly considering retiring like this?”
“… Umm.”
His gaze shifted toward the resignation letter.
“What will happen to the hair loss medication without me?”
“That… will have to be given up.”
“Your retirement would be a great loss for the Inner Palace. If a healer as skilled as you quit, many patients that could have been helped will continue to suffer from their ailments.”
At my words, life returned to Falkenhayn’s eyes.
“The skill level of the healers who could learn from Seongho would noticeably drop.”
Using a metaphor, I said to him.
“A garden that has just begun to grow needs water to thrive.”
Falkenhayn pulled his tightly closed lips. It seemed he was recalling a long-forgotten beginner’s spirit.
He must have had those experiences when he first became a healer, curing patients.
And that experience must have held much more meaning than the tedious faction disputes in the Inner Palace.
What I threw at him was an invitation to join us at the Moonlight Palace as a senior healer.
It was like headhunting for an executive in a company.
If the Second Prince’s faction was to disappear anyway, it was undoubtedly better for me to have it. Bringing in someone of Falkenhayn’s stature would quickly stabilize the organization.
And it held true even when I meant hair.
I took the hair loss medication as hostages.
After a moment of contemplation, Falkenhayn finally covered the resignation letter completely with a folder and confidently replied to Simon.
“There will be no retirement.”
“What?!”
“I have no intention of surrendering any resources owned by the Second Prince’s faction to the First Prince’s faction within the Inner Palace. Get lost!”
Upon hearing Falkenhayn’s answer, Simon’s expression instantly twisted into that of a demon.
However, just for a moment, he returned to his impassive state and unleashed a loud shout without any preparatory actions.
“Demonic scum!!”
“Geez, that startled me.”
Why did he suddenly shout like that?
Thanks to him, I dropped what I was holding.
Flap, flap.
Oh, the communication sphere.
I looked out the window to see the pigeon flying away and turned back to Simon.
“Hey, was that because of you?”
“What, no!!”
Simon rushed to the window, but the communication sphere had already soared swiftly toward the Emperor’s Imperial Palace.
“Demonic scum! To prepare something to truly send to His Majesty, are you out of your mind?!”
“Who are you calling a demon? You look way more like a demon with that twisted neck of yours right now.”
“I will not forgive! I will hunt down the demons!!”
Simon stomped his foot in anger and stormed off.
I turned to Falkenhayn and extended my hand for a handshake.
“I look forward to working with you, Sir Falkenhayn.”
“I can’t give my office to that lunatic. I will fight on until the end, Gothberg.”
I clasped his hand firmly.
And the next day.
“So, you want me to determine which of your two attending physicians is superior?”
I was kneeling before the Emperor alongside Simon.
Simon repeatedly muttered ‘demonic scum’ while keeping his head down, seemingly pouring out malice toward me.
“It’s a trivial incident that occurred in the Inner Palace, Your Majesty. I humbly submit that it can be ignored…”
“Isn’t it simple?”
Before Ambrosia could finish asking, the Emperor interrupted her and directed his command at Simon and me.
“An attending physician is one who protects the health of their lord. Show me how to make the lord healthier with new methods apart from your specialties.”
“Your Majesty, when you say new methods…”
At Ambrosia’s question, the Emperor smiled faintly and replied.
“I mean that Simon should use healing spells, while Gothberg should develop methods beyond medicine.”
“New methods…”
Simon looked flustered.
Well, naturally, the most intuitive method for someone to become healthy is through healing spells.
“One more thing, I will also adopt the method of the victor.”
The Emperor spoke as if attending an entertaining show.
At his bombshell announcement, the attending physicians stirred nervously.
The Emperor had an impulsive side, for sure.
‘This could be interesting.’
I felt that with the situation escalating, an opportunity had finally arisen.
“I will obey the Emperor’s command.”
“I will obey.”
We both answered.
Now, I had to improve Asella’s health through methods other than the potion I had previously displayed in the Inner Palace.
The idea came to me immediately.
‘It’s time to cook.’
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