I Opened an Illegal Animal Hospital in Another World - Chapter 38

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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38

Medical Chart 3. Rierem District Hospital (1)

Maria received the contract that Anais handed to her. Since they had already agreed verbally beforehand, there was nothing new in the contract’s contents. Maria looked up after checking that everything was written properly.

“We don’t really need to write up a new contract.”

“No, we need to make it clear. That way you’ll feel more at ease too, Maria.”

“We’ve been doing this for years now. I trust the Wentworth Family as my employer.”

“The longer you want something to last, the more thorough you need to be about these matters.”

“You’re still as meticulous as ever…”

“I’m entrusting you with my most precious treasure. I need to do it properly.”

Anais smiled brightly. It was a bold and spirited smile that didn’t match her deer-like elegant long neck and delicate features. Whenever they talked about their daughter, the Wentworth Couple would smile with exactly the same expression. It was the face of parents who couldn’t contain how proud and beloved their daughter was to them.

Now she seemed to be enjoying a gentle and elegant social life as the Duchess of Wentworth, but before giving birth to Shana, Anais had made a name for herself as a rare 7th class mage.

This was because the Wentworth Couple had mingled with the Knight’s Order and went around defeating monsters near the Capital City until they had their child. Thanks to this, their personal reputation was as impressive as their noble family’s prestige, and they were popular among commoners as well.

Meeting Bailey, Ella, and Maria was also thanks to connections from that time.

Anais was originally the second daughter of the Lepoer Ducal Family, and after meeting Duke Wentworth at the Academy and fiercely fighting, they ended up married. This was a story Maria had heard before.

‘Duke Wentworth was also skilled enough to be close to a Sword Master, so it was quite a commotion whenever they fought…’

Kail was now Duke Wentworth, one of the main pillars of the Nobility Council, pretending to be somewhat dignified, but just a few years ago, his current well-behaved appearance would have been unimaginable – he was a complete scoundrel.

He was taciturn and cold, with no manners, but his skills, status, and looks were good enough that he wasn’t easy to mess with.

His Academy classmates all agreed that meeting Anais had made him human.

The previous Duke only said “I can pass on the title if it’s with Anais” after Kail married, and retired to the Family Estate. Now he manages the estate instead of the Duke.

Anais seemed sociable at first glance and was friendly with others, but she was actually a colder person than Kail. In truth, she didn’t give her heart easily and was meticulous and thorough like a mage.

After the incident where her own nanny kidnapped her daughter, Anais had almost completely cut ties with the Lepoer Ducal Family. This was because the nanny committed suicide before the mastermind could be discovered.

Thousands of letters claiming innocence poured in, but Anais said she had no intention of maintaining relations until she properly found out who was behind it. This was separate from her belief in her parents’ innocence.

‘Thanks to that, saying they need to be fair, Duke also only exchanges letters with Father…’

Staying at the ducal house longer than expected, she had unintentionally learned about various circumstances.

Anais spoke as if she was renewing the contract to put Maria at ease, but in truth, they wanted to confirm Maria’s true feelings once more.

Though she grumbled inwardly that they didn’t need to worry about betrayal, Maria understood the Wentworth Couple’s oversensitive reaction to some degree.

With their barely 7-year-old daughter going in and out of the slums, it would be strange for parents not to worry.

“You actually gave permission.”

Maria casually revealed her true thoughts.

Like Ella and Bailey, Maria was thoroughly opposed to this matter. Not knowing how scary the world was, that’s why she was so brave and reckless.

Shana was certainly mature beyond comparison with her peers, but she was still a child. She didn’t know the world. She was innocent and pure.

Anais couldn’t be unaware of how dangerous it was either. Even with the Royal Guard protecting her, she had still been kidnapped – no matter how thoroughly they prepared, it was impossible to completely avoid danger.

Anais’s smiling face instantly crumbled. Anais said with a tearful expression.

“I can’t help it…”

“Pardon?”

“What if Shana hates us after we say no…”

“…You were so confident in front of Shana.”

“I’m a parent. I want to look cool…”

“…”

“I want to let Shana do everything she wants to do. I promised, and Kail and I vowed not to become parents who restrict her because of safety concerns… But that’s separate from worrying.”

“…If you’re really that concerned, instead of assigning me, you could just follow her around yourself…”

“Shana doesn’t like that…”

“No, Shana likes her parents, doesn’t she?”

“Our Shana is such a good child that she can’t do what she wants in front of us…”

Anais sighed. Maria thought to herself that this was true. She had been childishly mature since her newborn days when she couldn’t even crawl.

‘As expected, our young lady is the best. A genius. So cute.’

Maria listened to Anais while thinking she wanted to pinch Shana’s white, soft cheeks.

“Please be careful from now on, Maria.”

“Don’t worry. My skills aren’t dead yet. My rank dropped because I couldn’t take requests while working here, but my abilities haven’t…”

“That’s not what I mean.”

Anais lowered her voice.

“Shana is receiving attention in noble society too.”

“Of course I know that…”

She seemed to think it wasn’t a big deal, but studying alongside the Crown Prince couldn’t be taken lightly. Moreover, Shana was 5 years younger than Raven.

“Thanks to that, there’s been a commotion about her being a candidate for Prince Raven’s fiancée and such. But that wasn’t just Empress’s stubbornness – it was necessary. You know that Empress was under a curse.”

“Shana completely cured her! As expected of our young lady.”

“From what I can see, that wasn’t a curse that humans could cast.”

Maria’s eyes widened. Anais continued matter-of-factly.

“The Demon Clan was definitely involved.”

“You mean…”

“Since Shana cleanly broke it, do you think they’ll just stay quiet?”

“…They’ll try to find out Shana’s identity.”

“That’s right. If it gets out that Shana was the one who broke the Empress’s curse, they’ll definitely target her. That’s why we kept Shana close to Prince Raven. That way, even if it’s discovered that she visited the Empress back then, she won’t be suspected. She can also receive protection from the Royal Guard.”

“But wouldn’t that expose her to even more danger instead?”

“Besides us, the only person who knows about Shana’s abilities is Viscount Baltyr. Prince Raven’s safety is more important to him than anything else, so I made it clear that if he betrays us, Prince Raven’s life would be at stake too. As a bonus, I also got a promise from the Empress that she’d risk her life to keep the secret.”

“….”

The Empress’s life was just a bonus.

Anais was really good at making threats. Maria looked at Anais’s elegant and delicate smile and awkwardly smiled back in return.

She thought she understood why Bailey was closest to Anais.

“I was already worried about what to do when Prince Raven enrolled. I tried to catch the demon during that time, but they hide so well that I couldn’t even catch their tail….”

“Ah, wait. Lady Anais….”

“If you act as Shana’s double and play the role of a doctor, there’s a possibility the demon will appear after hearing the rumors.”

“….”

“Since you were also working at the Wentworth Estate, they might think you were the one who broke the Empress’s curse?”

“It’s not ‘might,’ is it? It’s ‘will’!”

“That’s why I said it would be dangerous!”

“You never mentioned demons would be involved! Let’s rewrite the contract!”

“I knew you’d say that, so I prepared one! Here it is.”

Anais was a person who left no gaps. Maria grumbled as she received the new contract. The clause about danger compensation was set quite generously.

“Well, if it’s this much….”

“You can refuse if you want?”

“…I have no intention of leaving the young lady’s side at this point.”

Maria answered sulkily. Anais was definitely being mischievous while knowing everything.

“We’re grateful that you care for Shana, but….”

“We’ve received a lot from Lady Shana too.”

Maria smiled gently without realizing it.

She had lived as a mercenary for a long time, crossing between life and death. During that time, the most important value wasn’t people, but money. And her own life, and her body which was her business capital, and a few comrades.

Settling down somewhere was no different from a grave for a mercenary. Maria had always thought it would be a very boring thing.

Even when she came to love someone, she would quickly grow bored of being by their side. Maria was someone who hated being bored more than anything.

Shana was cute, but when she was young, that was all. She planned to leave soon once a sitter was no longer needed.

If Bailey’s son hadn’t been sick.

Bailey’s son had been sickly since birth, and healers had determined he would die before turning five. Bailey, Ella, and Maria used all their connections and wealth to find healers, priests, and apothecaries, but everyone said Aile wouldn’t survive.

Time flew by like an arrow while she kept postponing her departure, saying she’d leave once Aile got healthy, healthy enough to travel with them.

How could collapse happen in such an instant?

As Aile’s condition worsened, Bailey became weaker, and Ella and Maria also realized they weren’t the same as before.

Just as no matter how strong a person is, they can’t beat time, Ella and Maria were also gradually aging.

Since it was a profession that used the body, as aging progressed, accumulated problems were revealed, and this led to deteriorating condition.

The three people who had been active as mercenaries since childhood were older than they looked. Aging was a natural phenomenon. Since they had overworked their bodies from a young age, they accepted that their condition would deteriorate early as inevitable.

But every time they realized they weren’t the same as before, anxiety accumulated in their hearts. Their confidence was gradually eaten away. This one body and the skills they had steadily built up were all they had.

Then one day, Ella’s old scars disappeared.

Bailey and Maria’s small scars and even minor pains disappeared as if washed clean. Though they couldn’t really be called illnesses, once the pain that had been consistently bothering them disappeared, their condition improved too.

It was obvious whose doing it was.

‘I knew Lady Shana used healing arts, but I didn’t know she could heal us even when we weren’t injured….’

Maria, Ella, and Bailey felt as if Shana had returned everything to them.

‘And the person who healed Aile must definitely be Lady Shana too.’

Even so, Shana had a calm face as if she knew nothing. Far from taking credit, she didn’t say a word and just casually asked about Aile’s well-being.

Bailey declared that morning when Aile became healthy like a miracle that he would settle down at the Wentworth Estate. Ella didn’t say anything different, but seemed to feel the same way. Among the three, Ella had grown the deepest affection for Shana.

Maria felt the same way. Shana was cute, she wanted to protect her, and above all, she was interesting.

‘Being attacked by demons could happen, that’s more dangerous than most A-rank requests….’

How thrilling. Always new. Danger is the best.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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