The Immortal Duke’s Physician Is an Internist - Chapter 18

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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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The pre-dawn darkness hung gray and still.
Blassion sat in his office, quietly studying his bandaged hands.
Lionel had refused to let him leave, insisting on staying.
“My conscience won’t rest easy otherwise. Please, at least let me do basic dressing. I know it won’t change much with a 4th-degree burn, but still.”
Her stubbornness had left him no choice but to submit to treatment in her clinic.
Though it amounted to nothing more than disinfection and bandaging.
“The injury is severe, so recovery may take longer. Please come show me the progress again tomorrow without fail.”
While Lionel emphasized this with such earnest concern, Blassion’s mind had drifted elsewhere entirely.
‘Why did my heart race like that?’
From his long experience, he knew that his heart would quicken when he sustained injury.
That happened with severe wounds—the kind that severed a limb—and it continued to beat lightly throughout recovery.
But could it happen this way? Just one violent thump, then stopping entirely?
“Doctor, how serious is this burn compared to losing a limb? Which would you say is the more severe injury?”
Lionel blinked at his question.
“Well, losing a limb does carry more risk of hemorrhage and complications, so I suppose that would rank higher. But why are you asking this? Is your heart racing now? Should I listen to it with my stethoscope?”
“No, that’s not it. I was simply… curious.”
‘It was because I saw the doctor crying. That’s when my heart jumped.’
He could never say such a thing aloud.
Lionel’s eyes had brightened with hope, then dimmed again almost at once.
“Well, given how your body remained unchanged even through the Rapid Aging, I suppose expecting quick results is unrealistic. In any case, go rest now. The faster you sleep, the faster you’ll heal.”
And so Blassion had returned to his office. He sat quietly for some time before a knock pulled him upright.
“Your Grace. We’ve completed the work.”
Everain and Kaelen entered. Both looked exhausted, yet their expressions were bright—the marks of a job well done.
“First, we’ve thoroughly stripped the Dorset estate. We’ve placed Liens on the mansion and its valuables, but that barely covered the debt, so we’ve also seized the farmland.”
Kaelen finished his report and handed over a prepared file. As Blassion reviewed the contents, another report followed.
“Furthermore, we have testimony that the Count and Countess engaged in cruel treatment of the farmworkers and servants.”
Blassion let out a short laugh at Everain’s words.
“They were so eager to lecture me about keeping up appearances, yet they’ve been showing their true colors all along. How many victims?”
“Approximately twenty. Cases include beatings, assault, and sexual harassment of minors. The couple has been detained, and the son has been sent to hospital.”
“Like father, like son. Absolute garbage.”
Kaelen and Everain nodded their agreement. Blassion set down the documents and commended them both.
“You’ve done well.”
“Not at all, sir! It’s been ages since we wrapped up something this big. We’ll be eating all the peaches and grapes we want now!”
“Kaelen. Restrain yourself. That’s hardly good news for someone in the pre-diabetic stage.”
“Ugh… you always have to dampen the mood. And it’s not just about the fruit—the orchards themselves will be a real asset to House Carseido!”
As his subordinates bickered in their usual way, Blassion’s thoughts turned inward. Then, abruptly, he called them both.
“Aide. Knight Commander.”
The two straightened at the summons, standing at attention.
“What is it, Your Grace? Are there additional targets for collection?”
“The Knight Order stands ready for anything.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Blassion had formed a hypothesis.
‘Whenever Lionel Frenscia cries, my heart beats.’
The first time could have been a mistake. Even twice could be written off as coincidence.
But three times? Three identical reactions mean the hypothesis becomes fact.
To confirm it, he would need to…
‘Make the doctor cry again.’
Having reached that conclusion, Blassion finally spoke.
“How do you make a woman cry?”
The bodies of his two previously eager subordinates went rigid.
Blassion realized his mistake the moment the words left his mouth, but it was far too late.
The mighty Duke of House Carseido, wielding wealth and power beyond measure, had in an instant become something like a lecherous old fool.
“Your Grace… For someone who has lived seven hundred and twenty years, this is quite an unexpected question to pose to us. Who exactly are you trying to make cry? Surely not… Doctor Frenscia?”
Kaelen’s eyes filled with disgust. Blassion found himself unable to confirm or deny, responding instead with a hollow tone.
“That’s not what I meant…”
“Good heavens! After she’s endured such hardship, the least you could do as an adult is console her with maturity. But to make her cry instead…! I, Kaelen, am genuinely disappointed. Farewell!”
Kaelen stormed out of the office, thoroughly convinced of his misinterpretation.
Everain did not react with such dramatic intensity, but his demeanor had grown equally cold.
“I’m not pathetic enough to answer such a question, Your Grace. I suggest you find your own way. I shall withdraw.”
The Knight Commander left the room, contempt lingering in his gaze.
Blassion stared blankly at the closed door, muttering to himself.
“So it was a misunderstanding, then.”
* * *
Three days later, Adrian’s medicine came into my hands.
After analyzing the substance, it proved to be a psychotropic drug, just as I’d suspected.
However, we couldn’t determine exactly which Dark Sorcerer had supplied it.
“So Dorset Young-sik was a victim of illegal drugs after all. I’ll investigate whether this substance has spread elsewhere,” Kaelen reported.
I nodded at his words.
“Yes, especially in high society. Noble ladies are always desperate to maintain their figures.”
“The Magic Tower has also begun investigating this matter, so we should have results soon. ……And, Lionel Frenscia. Please take this.”
Kaelen returned my pocket watch, wrapped in a handkerchief.
His face was filled with apology.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. I went to great lengths to find specialists who might repair it, but they all said it was impossible.”
“It’s alright, Kaelen. Just having it back is enough.”
The watch was indeed utterly destroyed, as he’d said.
The minute and second hands were bent, and scorch marks covered the entire surface. The internal components couldn’t have survived either.
I spoke with a bitter smile.
“……It’s completely stopped.”
Suddenly, I realized this broken watch resembled the Duke.
An Immortal whose cellular clock had frozen at the age of twenty, forever suspended in a single moment.
A seven-hundred-year-old wanderer who lived in solitude, scarcely bothering when his own body sustained injury…….
‘What am I supposed to do now?’
The Rapid Aging Operation had failed. And I had no clever ideas left to make the Duke’s heart beat again.
More than a month of the promised year had already passed. I had no time to spare.
As I tore at my hair in frustration, something suddenly came to mind.
‘Wait. Now that I think about it, the original work did mention it. A way to bring the Duke to a near-death state, if not kill him outright.’
However, implementing that method would require a rather complicated series of steps.
I hesitated for a moment, then called Kaelen over.
“Kaelen, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“What is it, ma’am? I’ll do my best to help with anything you ask.”
Kaelen’s eyes brightened. I pretended to hesitate, then opened my mouth.
“I……want to know more about Everain Carseido.”
His expression grew blank for a moment before he suddenly gasped and covered his mouth.
“Ma’am, surely you don’t……?”
“Hush, Kaelen! It’s just curiosity. If rumors spread, I won’t be able to work here. So……you understand, don’t you?”
I deliberately looked away and let my voice trail off—a carefully calculated move.
“Ah, yes. Of course, I understand. Ha, I see. Well, that man doesn’t seem like he’d make a particularly good lover, but……. Yes, I’ll help however I can. What exactly do you need?”
Kaelen reluctantly agreed to assist me, despite his obvious reservations.
I spoke shyly, asking for what I wanted.
“First, I’d like to know Everain’s daily schedule. When he takes his meals, when he trains. Things like that.”
“Understood. Since most of that is fixed routine, I can prepare documents for you straightaway.”
“Thank you so much, Kaelen! You absolutely must keep this secret, alright?”
“Of course.”
People were indeed weak to those who had saved their lives. I continued playing the lovesick girl as I thanked him.
Everain Carseido.
Once an orphan wandering back alleys, he had caught the Duke’s eye and inherited House of Carseido through his skill in Swordsmanship alone.
I knew well the second face hidden behind that composed exterior.
He appeared briefly in the original work “The Flower That Never Withers,” only to meet a swift and miserable end…….
He was a Dark Sorcerer’s informant.

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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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