My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 56

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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 56
This was a peculiar affliction that had once been deemed incurable even in the world from which Ju-hwa came.
A disease that had plagued sailors frequently since the Age of Exploration began in the fifteenth century.
The reason seafarers on long voyages contracted it so often was simple enough.
Voyages between continents were grueling marathons, and the quantity of fresh provisions that could be preserved aboard a ship for extended periods was severely limited.
In essence, it was a malady born from the inability to consume foods containing vitamin C.
Thus, the cure was almost disappointingly straightforward.
Simply ensuring adequate vitamin C intake would resolve the entire matter.
Yet if I remained silent, scurvy would torment this world’s people for countless years to come.
After all, even in the modern era, “vitamins” were not discovered until the twentieth century.
That was precisely why no one here could identify the underlying cause of scurvy.
I had no choice but to explain it as simply and plausibly as possible.
“These men recently traveled to the Eastern Continent, correct? They would have been confined to a ship for an extended period, consuming only limited provisions. The lack of diverse nutrients caused internal hemorrhaging—bleeding throughout the body—resulting in this condition.”
Fortunately, both Silvien and Raphael seemed convinced. Silvien posed a question.
“Do you believe there is a remedy?”
“Yes. The treatment is quite simple. We need only replenish the missing nutrients.”
In the modern world, a few vitamin injections would suffice to cure it. But such things did not exist here, so I would have to rely on food sources alone.
“Please prepare the fruits, vegetables, and medicinal herbs I request. For now, as an immediate measure, I need oranges, lemons, limes, and….”
“This is preposterous!”
At that moment, a man who had been quietly observing from the corner suddenly erupted.
Was he in his forties? A physician clad in medical robes strode forward purposefully.
“I, Aizek, have practiced medicine for half a lifetime, yet I have never heard of such a treatment!”
I frowned sharply. But it was unavoidable—such skepticism was entirely natural for someone of this era.
However.
“Feeding fruit for syphilis? How typical of a woman—truly a shallow and foolish proposal, is it not?”
I could understand his disbelief in the treatment, but being disparaged for my gender was intolerable.
I responded swiftly.
“Listen, Physician. If this were syphilis, mercury treatment would have proven effective. Yet I understand that not a single sailor has recovered thus far, have they?”
“That is….”
Aizek’s expression darkened.
“If it is not syphilis, then perhaps they have been infected with Black Mist. The fact that mercury treatment proves ineffective suggests a possible Black Mist infection.”
“If someone is infected with Black Mist, their mind would collapse and their hair and eyes would turn black.”
“No! Not all infected individuals undergo such transformation.”
“But most do, do they not? Among the patients thus far, has even a single person exhibited such symptoms?”
Finally, Aizek fell silent.
Yet he refused to yield entirely, stammering as he added further.
“…Perhaps the Black Mist of the Eastern Continent is somehow different.”
At this point, he was merely grasping at straws.
Even he seemed embarrassed, his face flushing, yet he persisted in his criticism of me.
“At the very least, it is more credible than the nonsense that eating fruit will provide a cure! Your Grace, what could a woman who has merely arranged table settings at home possibly accomplish? I beseech you to reconsider….”
In the midst of his desperate plea, Aizek’s words abruptly ceased. And immediately, he regretted it.
Silvien was not smiling.
“I-I apologize, Your Excellency. I was….”
“For the time being, you are barred from entering this Hospital Ward, Physician Aizek.”
It was an unmistakable dismissal. Aizek’s face flushed crimson as he trembled, bowed deeply, and withdrew.
Silvien spoke with casual composure, as though nothing had transpired.
“I shall have everything you requested prepared shortly.”
“Thank you. Oh, and I’ll go see the medicinal materials myself.”
“Very well. I shall assign an escort Knight Guard to you shortly—until then, you may remain at my estate. That is where Miss Kanna will be staying.”
If I did that, wouldn’t an entire day slip away without accomplishment? The sailors’ condition was far more grave than I’d anticipated, and I had no time to waste.
“No, I’ll go now. Instead, I’ll take one of the Hospital Ward’s guards with me. And.”
I fixed my gaze upon Silvien, infusing each word with deliberate weight.
“I’ll be staying here in the Hospital Ward, not at your estate.”
I looked directly at him with eyes that conveyed: I wish to avoid your presence as much as possible.
Of course, that was not my only reason.
“The patients’ conditions are precarious, so it would be better for me to remain stationed at the Hospital Ward.”
“As you wish.”
Silvien smiled gently—a smile whose true understanding remained inscrutable.
“As Miss Kanna desires.”
* * *
“Why Raphael…?”
It was not a guard escort, but Raphael himself, who followed behind me as I departed.
“I know a reputable medicinal materials dealer. Allow me to escort you.”
How strange. I would have thought he’d prefer not to exchange words with me at all.
‘Well, since it concerns Silvien, I suppose he has no choice.’
Throughout the carriage ride, Raphael did not so much as glance in my direction.
“Um, by the way.”
When I spoke first, Raphael cast a sidelong glance toward me.
“That priestly vestment you’re wearing.”
“…?”
“Do you wear it even in summer? Doesn’t it get hot? It’s black, so it must be even hotter. Isn’t it difficult in the summer?”
He wore priestly vestments. More precisely, the funeral garb of a defrocked priest.
‘The Grand Temple truly is merciless. Not even a convict’s uniform—he must wear this for the rest of his life.’
Ordinary priestly vestments are pure white. But Raphael’s—a priest stripped of his holy orders—were black as darkness itself.
‘It resembles a priest’s cassock.’
Raphael, assured he had heard correctly, asked with genuine seriousness.
“Why are you curious about that?”
“It’s merely idle curiosity.”
“…I have never been particularly sensitive to heat, so it is manageable.”
“I see. Then in winter—may you wear a coat or something over it?”
By this point, Raphael’s gaze had shifted to one of suspicion regarding her mental state.
After all, the usual Kanna—that is, Ju-hwa—despised Raphael thoroughly and would never engage in such idle chatter.
‘Yes, yes. I’m not losing my mind, I’m not losing my mind.’
True, Ju-hwa had behaved abominably in the past. She had committed countless wrongs, but the worst among them all was.
‘Pretending to love Raphael.’
There had been exactly one occasion when Ju-hwa had devised a scheme.
A jealousy operation, as it were.
“I love you, Raphael. I always have. No—I’m in love with you.”
She had deliberately seized the moment when Silvien was watching, launching into a reckless confession before hurling herself at Raphael and embracing him.
In that instant, Raphael had frozen completely.
Rigid as a tree struck by lightning, suspended in that single moment, rendered speechless as though his tongue had been severed.
Yet Silvien had not been deceived. He had merely laughed it off with a dismissive snort.
The problem was that Raphael had believed it with genuine sincerity.
Perhaps it was because he had once been a priest? Despite his sharp, blade-like demeanor, he possessed an unexpectedly naive side.
“Why do you behave this way, madam?”
Had memories of the past surfaced?
Raphael’s voice was bitterly cold.
“I am well aware that you despise me. Please, do not toy with me.”
Yes, I had despised him. To be precise.
‘I had been jealous.’
Silvien and Raphael had been excessively close. Raphael was the only person to whom Silvien spoke without formality.
I had even written in my diary, wondering if perhaps the two of them were in a relationship, and harbored suspicions.
‘Ju-hwa, are you an idiot?’
To have fawned over the maids while causing Raphael endless trouble behind his back—it was hardly a wise course of action.
“I had no intention of mocking you.”
Yet Raphael turned away without responding. He was shutting me out.
‘Of course he must despise me intensely.’
As I recalled what Ju-hwa had done to Raphael, only sighs escaped me. There was nothing but sighs.
* * *
The Medicinal Tea House was extraordinary.
I had expected something akin to a Korean tea house at best, yet the entire boundless plain stretched out as the Medicinal Tea House itself.
‘Drinking tea in a place like this would be true immortal leisure.’
Though it would be an expensive indulgence.
None but the wealthy could afford entry. The basic admission alone cost several hundred gold.
“Here, please.”
Kanna handed over the paper upon which she had written the necessary medicinal ingredients.
“One moment, please.”
While Kanna remained seated, Raphael sought out a staff member to request the ingredients.
It was not a task she had assigned him. Raphael, being well-acquainted with this establishment, had voluntarily taken it upon himself.
‘Of course, since I am Silvien’s wife, he treats me with deference.’
Considering what Ju-hwa had done, it wouldn’t be easy for me to do the same.
“The quantity of medicinal herbs is substantial, so the packaging will require considerable time. Would that be acceptable?”
“Is that so? Then I’ll go help as well.”
“…Madam?”
“Yes. The patients’ conditions are deteriorating, so wouldn’t it be better if one more person helped to finish quickly?”
Raphael’s expression hardened with visible displeasure.
“No.”
“Pardon?”
“It is not work befitting a lady of your station.”
“…?”
I was puzzled, but soon understood his meaning.
As he said, packaging medicinal herbs required expert skill. Careless handling could damage the materials.
“If you’re concerned that I might package the herbs clumsily, there’s no need to worry. I can do it well.”
“That is not the issue.”
“…?”
Then what was the problem?
I looked at him with questioning eyes, but Raphael offered no answer. Instead, he changed the subject.
“How would you feel about touring the Medicinal Tea House?”
“…Yes. That sounds lovely.”

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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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