The Immortal Duke’s Physician Is an Internist - Chapter 53

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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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Count Marseya had been groaning to himself for a moment when his eyes snapped open. He recognized us surrounding him and went pale with fright.
“L-Lionel! And even the Duke—why are you all here?!”
“That’s what we’d like to ask you, Count. What are you doing in a place like this?”
I questioned him without bothering to be polite anymore—he hardly deserved it. The Count’s eyes darted up and down as he sat frozen on the ground.
“Ah, no. That is… I had some business in this area…”
“Business? What business could you possibly have in a place like this, with no village and no people?”
“Lionel, wait a moment.”
Devrait suddenly stepped forward and bent at the waist. Sniffing around the Count like a dog searching for scraps, he spoke.
“There’s a magical aura here.”
“A magical aura? You can distinguish that by smell?”
“Pure mana doesn’t really have a scent—you just sense it naturally. But this bald one here is giving off an unpleasant artificial odor.”
Everain immediately struck the Count’s backside with the hilt of his sword.
“What are you hiding?”
“Y-you lowborn wretch! How dare you lay hands upon my person!”
“Every Gold we find on you means a hundred lashes.”
Those words had come from the Commander of the Carseido Ducal House Knight Order, guardian of the Empire—words I would never have believed could leave his mouth. Yet their effect was remarkable.
Count Marseya immediately prostrated himself flat on the ground, his shoulders trembling violently.
“P-please, I beg you. Spare my life, I—”
Theo swiftly snatched the Count’s backpack and brought it to me. The moment I opened it, Devrait’s eyes widened at the sight of its contents.
“Are these Mana Stones?”
“Mana Stones? Those are… stones that hold magical power, yes?”
Devrait explained kindly in response to Theo’s question.
“Right. Naturally occurring Mana Stones form over long periods in places like mountains—natural magical energy accumulates and condenses into stone. But these are artificially created Mana Stones. And look, they’re hollow inside.”
“You mean they were made by people?”
“Exactly. Since natural Mana Stones are rare, some mages create them like this in various sizes using their own magical power. The problem is, I can sense the presence of a Dark Sorcerer in these stones.”
I never expected to hear the name of a Dark Sorcerer brought up here.
When I turned my head in surprise, the Duke was already standing near the Count. Everain spoke to him, as if making sure the Count had no escape route.
“Your Grace, what is the typical market price for artificially created Mana Stones?”
“For stones this size, roughly fifty thousand Gold each.”
“There are roughly thirty of them in the bag, and at fifty thousand each…”
Everain paused to calculate, then lifted his head.
“I shall deliver one hundred and fifty million lashes.”
“Count me in!”
“Hieeeek!!”
“Everain, Theo. I don’t mind if you two beat the Count, but ask your questions first, then strike.”
The Count’s face had turned deathly pale. Regardless, the Duke asked calmly.
“Count Marseya. Explain yourself. Why are you here, and why do you possess such a large quantity of Mana Stones?”
The Count answered in a tone of complete resignation.
“I… I came here because… the Dark Sorcerers threatened me to excavate the Mana Stones they had hidden in this field…”
I gasped and rushed forward to stand before the Count.
“What? What leverage do the Dark Sorcerers have over you that you’d take on such a dangerous task?”
“That is… it’s all your fault, Lionel! I invested so much in Count Dorset’s orchard!”
The Count suddenly shouted at me, his voice cracking.
“And then the Count borrowed money from me and never repaid the principal—he went bankrupt! Because of that, I now have a Red Seal notice on my estate!”
It seemed Count Dorset’s revolving scheme had extended far beyond House Carseido alone.
I looked at the Count with contempt.
“What nonsense. When you were happily playing with money and raking in those exorbitant interest rates, where were you then? This is entirely of your own making.”
“Ugh…”
“So the Dark Sorcerers promised to cover your debts if you brought them the Mana Stones? And you weren’t even afraid of the monsters here?”
“I had no choice! My estate was about to be seized! I had to do something!”
The Count’s pathetic struggle could wait.
I turned to the Duke with a proposal.
“Your Grace, let’s take this fool with us to my homeland.”
The Count reacted with great agitation to my words.
“Wh-what? Why me? Why must I go with you all?”
“Because I don’t know what other schemes you might try, so I’ll keep you close where I can watch you.”
“Schemes?! Did I not tell you I only came to excavate Mana Stones?! That is all!”
“Yes, fine. I understand. Then you’re on your own. Whatever the monsters tear into you is your own responsibility, understood?”
The Count, who had been raging moments before, suddenly became docile at the word “monsters.”
Seeing his slumped shoulders, I turned around and took stock of the situation.
“Come now, let’s continue on our way. Theo, please bind the Count’s hands securely. And do look after the backpack.”
Our party, now six instead of five, walked along the riverbank for a long time.
Devrait, walking ahead of us, gestured for me to come closer.
“Lionel, Lionel.”
As I drew near, he lowered his voice and asked me a question.
“Why did you insist on bringing him along with us? We could have had Theo escort him back to the Knight Order camp.”
I glanced back at Theo and the Count walking behind us.
Theo, now tasked with watching the Count, burned with such a sense of duty that he never took his eyes off him for a moment. The Count walked with a mournful expression, staring only at the ground.
“It’s just that I’m curious why the Dark Sorcerer would go to such lengths to bring the Count all this way. Would they really send an old man like that to a place with monsters?”
“You mean to say that while he claims he was coerced through debt, there might actually be another reason?”
“He might have volunteered to come, even.”
Somewhere along the way, the Duke had inserted himself into our conversation. I nodded in agreement.
“In any case, I thought it best to keep a closer eye on him from nearby. I know it’s an inconvenience to everyone, but I’d ask for your patience.”
“It’s fine, Lionel. We don’t have much to worry about anyway. If anything, the inconvenience falls on you.”
“Didn’t you say he was pestering you from the age of seven? I ought to ensure he can never spout such nonsense again by cutting out his——”
“Everain, calm yourself. Please, calm down.”
It was time to soothe Everain, who looked ready to draw his sword that very moment.
The Duke tapped my shoulder lightly.
“Teacher. We’ve arrived.”
I stopped in my tracks and looked up.
I mumbled the words carved into the half-rotted wooden sign.
“Welcome to the village of Luxia.”
It was my first homecoming in thirteen years.
We entered the village slowly, following the path. The long-abandoned town was desolate beyond measure.
In that bleak landscape, I pointed to a house with a red roof.
“That’s the house I used to live in.”
“Let’s go see it.”
I opened the gate to my old house together with the Duke.
The rusty hinges creaked as the weathered door swung open without resistance.
I stood silent for a moment, then offered a greeting that could never reach its destination.
“I’m home, Mother.”
Where had things begun to go wrong, that I had to lose my mother so helplessly?
In the hollow cavity of my chest, memories from childhood slowly began to surface.
* * *
Mother was always kind and good-hearted. That’s why I already knew she wouldn’t scold me even if I came home with my clothes filthy and torn.
“My little Lionel. Where have you been wandering today to come home covered in dirt like this?”
“Hehe! Look, look! See this? This is a daisy, isn’t it? The same flower as your name, Mother!”
“Oh my. Did you bring this for me? Our little Lionel has such a sweet heart. Let me fetch a vase right away.”
A rural village with a population scarcely exceeding a hundred souls. That’s where I spent my childhood with my mother.
As I grew older, I naturally came to understand that I didn’t have a “father” like the children next door and across the way did. But I never felt lonely.
Because my mother was someone who made me feel not a shadow’s lack from his absence.
“Lionel, shall I read you a picture book today?”
“I don’t like picture books. I like string games.”
“All right then. Let’s play string games, and I’ll teach you your letters. Then you’ll be able to read picture books by yourself even when I’m not here.”
“No, I don’t want to. You should just read them all to me.”
I loved the time when Mother read to me.
Whenever I heard her tell the story of the cat knight and the doggie princess, my eyelids grew heavy. As I nodded off, Mother would scoop me up and carry me to bed.
“Lionel’s fallen asleep again. Is my voice really that much of a lullaby?”
A soft murmur from my sleep.
“Sleep well, my little one. I’m always grateful you grew up so well. I love you, always.”
In those days, I loved nothing but my mother’s embrace and thought of nothing else. I simply believed we would live together like this forever, just the two of us.
And then—on a certain day.
“Have you heard? There’s a nobleman from the capital at the village square right now.”
The arrival of a nobleman, rare in these rural parts, caused quite a stir.
Hearing this from the neighbor across the way, I pulled my mother’s hand toward the square. Sure enough, a bald-headed man I’d never seen before was standing there.
The moment our eyes met, he bared his yellowed teeth and grinned widely.
“Hello there. You’re a cute one, aren’t you? What’s your name?”
That was the beginning of my misfortune with Marseya, the Count.

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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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