My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 10
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 10
* * *
“Hello, Lucy.”
Lucy Adis was huddled beneath her blankets.
“Lucy. You don’t need to be afraid. Will you come out and see me?”
“U-uh….”
A whimper emanated from beneath the blankets. The facial paralysis had twisted her lips, rendering her speech unintelligible.
Kanna Adis, experienced in treating young patients, soothed Lucy with practiced ease.
“It’s alright, Lucy. You’re only ill for now. With the right medicine and treatment, you’ll recover completely.”
“B-but….”
A muffled sob came from beneath the blankets.
“Y-you s-said you c-can f-fix everything….”
“I’ve met many people who suffered from the same condition as you. I’ve even treated some of them myself, so you’ll be one of them too.”
I spoke with unwavering conviction to earn the patient’s trust. Perhaps that confidence showed through? Lucy slowly lowered her blanket.
And finally, a face grotesquely contorted by the paralysis was revealed.
Kalen’s fist clenched silently as he watched from behind.
Until now, every other physician had gasped or groaned the moment they saw Lucy’s face.
How deeply had his sister been wounded by those reactions?
He glared at Kanna Adis’s back with dark, menacing eyes. If she hurt Lucy, he would never forgive her!
But then.
“Now, let’s close your eyes for a moment and open them again. Try blinking. Can you blink both sides together?”
Kanna Adis was already examining Lucy’s face with casual indifference, touching it gently as she conducted her assessment. Her demeanor was as though she were observing a perfectly ordinary condition, not something shocking at all.
It was Kalen who found himself stunned by her composure.
‘Why isn’t she shocked?’
How could she remain so composed?
Before that twisted face that everyone called demonic, how could she?
Even he had frowned when he first saw Lucy’s face. His sister and mother had convulsed and pointed accusingly!
“Lucy, how does it feel? Can’t you close your right eye?”
Lucy herself was amazed.
Every physician, even family members, had screamed at the sight of her face, whispering that she must be possessed by a demon.
Yet this woman treated it as though it were nothing.
Truly, as though she were merely observing a fleeting illness.
Hope blossomed softly in Lucy’s heart. This woman was different from everyone else!
‘Let me see… what could be the cause?’
Meanwhile, I examined Lucy carefully, my mind working through possibilities.
It wasn’t because of Lucy’s grotesque appearance. I had treated facial paralysis patients many times before, so I was accustomed to it.
‘First, I need to determine the underlying cause.’
I had confidently assured Kalen that I could definitely cure her, but truthfully, it wasn’t that simple.
‘If it’s caused by a stroke or a brain condition, treatment could be difficult. The medical facilities here are far too primitive.’
A blood test or brain MRI would easily reveal the cause.
But in this world, I couldn’t afford such expectations. I had no choice but to examine the symptoms and their prognosis one by one.
“Kalen, does Lucy often fall ill in her daily life?”
“She’s had minor ailments from time to time, but nothing as severe as this.”
“Before she contracted this illness, did she have a fever or cough?”
At those words, Kalen’s eyes widened.
Indeed, that was exactly what had happened.
Not long before this, Lucy had fallen into the Pond while boating. After that, she’d been bedridden and listless, and the physician had diagnosed her with a common cold.
“That’s correct. She did have a cold, but it passed quickly.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Pardon?”
Kanna Adis turned her gaze away from Kalen and looked at Lucy instead.
“Lucy, after that incident, did your ears hurt at all? Or did you hear a ringing sound, like a buzzing in your ears?”
“No, Lucy has never mentioned anything like—”
Kalen’s voice trailed off as Kanna Adis firmly raised her hand to stop him.
“I wasn’t asking you, Kalen.”
Kalen’s brow furrowed.
If he didn’t know, who would? Surely Lucy wouldn’t have hidden her pain from him…
“…Y-yes. I have.”
…She hasn’t?
That couldn’t be right. So why was Lucy nodding her head?
Lucy’s timid nod struck Kalen like a blow to the back of his head. But Kanna Adis wore an expression of complete understanding.
“Just as I thought.”
Fever, cough. And ear pain.
These were the classic early symptoms of facial paralysis caused by viral infection.
‘And it’s also the most common cause. All the facial paralysis patients I’ve treated had this condition.’
A sigh of relief escaped me. It was truly fortunate for Lucy—and for me.
‘If that’s the case, I should be able to cure it.’
* * *
Shortly after, I moved to his Study along with Kalen.
“Can you cure it?”
“If the preparations are thorough enough.”
“What preparations are necessary?”
“A medicinal herb compendium from the Eastern Continent.”
As expected, Kalen’s expression immediately darkened.
“A medicinal herb compendium from the Eastern Continent?”
The Eastern Continent.
The land first discovered by the head of the Debor Trading Company.
A new continent where trade had begun less than ten years ago, it remained largely unknown and shrouded in mystery.
Yet perhaps because of that very mystery,
the culture and goods of the Eastern Continent held a mystical allure for the people of the Western Continent and had become enormously popular. The tea culture of the Eastern Continent had become something every noble now enjoyed.
‘If my memory serves me right, Eastern Continent medicinal herbs have flooded into the Western Continent as well. Herbal tea has become quite popular among the nobility.’
Since my mother was a physician, I had listened to such conversations with considerable interest.
‘However, information about them remains scarce. Especially regarding Eastern Continent medical practices—they’re hardly known at all.’
All that circulated were fragmentary tidbits: that brewing white peony root from the Eastern Continent helped with anemia, and little else of substance.
There was nothing about the detailed formulations of herb combinations that produced opposing effects when used together, or the forbidden pairings that should never be mixed—nothing approaching the comprehensive knowledge I possessed.
That was why Eastern Continent herbs were utilized merely as health-promoting tea.
‘It doesn’t matter. All the knowledge I need is already in my head.’
Perhaps because of this attitude, Kalen regarded me with eyes that had instantly lost their trust.
“Do you believe an Eastern Continent medicinal herb compendium would be useful?”
“Yes.”
I wanted to verify whether all the necessary herbs were documented within it.
Kalen appeared skeptical, but as if deciding to simply trust me at this point, he nodded.
“Understood.”
Shortly after, servants entered carrying an armful of Eastern Continent medicinal herb compendiums.
‘Astragalus, Chinese angelica, white peony, Sichuan lovage, peach kernel, and safflower.’
These were the herbs I needed to prepare the decoction prescribed for facial paralysis. I flipped through the pages frantically.
And Kalen watched me in silence.
There I was, black hair cascading ghostlike as I turned the pages. Watching me, he felt a sudden hollowness wash over him.
‘What am I doing right now?’
My sister, who had left as though driven away, had returned home.
And now she sat on my sofa, consulting an Eastern Continent medicinal herb compendium—it made no sense.
And yet.
‘She doesn’t seem to be spouting nonsense. She discovered that Lucy Adis had suffered from fever and cough. Moreover… she even deduced symptoms I myself wasn’t aware of.’
Kalen’s expression darkened rapidly.
After Lucy Adis’s fever subsided, she had complained of ear pain and tinnitus. But why hadn’t she mentioned these symptoms to him?
For some reason, his chest felt tight and suffocated. He couldn’t bear it and opened his mouth.
“Why did you say that?”
“I’m looking for something right now and need to concentrate. Don’t talk to me…”
“When Lucy Adis confessed that her ears hurt.”
Ignoring my words, Kalen continued speaking.
“You had an attitude as though you understood what she was hiding. Am I mistaken?”
“No. You’re not mistaken.”
I answered flatly.
“I thought perhaps she hadn’t told you everything.”
“Why would that be?”
“Because I would have done the same.”
For a moment, Kalen’s words caught in his throat. I continued calmly.
“You said she even visited a physician. Yet she kept saying it still hurt—that must have felt awkward. Perhaps she was afraid of being called a liar, of hearing that she was just faking illness.”
But Kalen Adis, you could never understand this.
You, who have been revered and cherished by everyone since birth, could never empathize with it or comprehend it.
“That’s impossible. I’m doing everything I can to make sure Lucy is comfortable here at the estate.”
Kalen’s rebuttal came only after a long pause. I couldn’t suppress a scoff.
“Do you live alone in this house?”
“….”
“Lucy is the maid’s daughter, isn’t she? No matter how well you treat her, your older brother Orsini certainly won’t, will he? And your younger sister and mother absolutely won’t either.”
Since Kalen seems to be the only one treating her decently, that’s probably why she complains about her pain. At least someone listens to her.
…But why does Kalen show such kindness to Lucy?
‘How curious. He never showed me such consideration.’
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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