The Immortal Duke’s Physician Is an Internist - Chapter 8

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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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Adrian Dorset. Lionel’s eighth cousin. A stalker living in a constant delusion since the day Lionel arrived at the Barony at age seven.
He was also one of the reasons Lionel had wanted so desperately to escape from Frencia House.
“So, this fool has been rejected by me countless times since childhood, and I honestly never imagined he’d track me down here.”
Blashion nodded at Lionel’s brief explanation. Kaelen asked quickly.
“Shall I drive him out?”
“No. I can’t trouble all these people. I’ll go handle it myself and come back.”
Lionel bowed her head slightly and left the Medical Office. Blashion, left behind, shrugged as if mildly surprised.
“The world has changed quite a bit. A hundred years ago, approaching someone who’d rejected you would’ve been unforgivably shameless.”
“That’s still what pathetic men do, sir. It seems Miss Frencia has somehow entangled herself with an inferior specimen. Shall I resort to force?”
Blashion stood up after a moment of thought.
“For now, we watch. But prepare for contingencies.”
“I shall obey your command.”
* * *
Lionel opened the Reception Room door. The uninvited guest inside shot to his feet.
“Lionel!”
“Adrian. What brings you here?”
Lionel answered coldly to his heated voice.
The young man, his face covered in acne, came rushing toward her, gasping for breath.
His belly spilled over his belt in nauseating rhythm with his ragged breathing.
“What do you mean, what brings me here! Sure, a lot of people oppose our love, but there’s no need for this. I’ll have a good word with your aunt, so let’s go back together!”
Lionel answered without a flicker of emotion.
“I’ve told you how many times? I hate you. The sight of you makes my nerves recoil, and rage boils up in me. Are your ear canals blocked solid with wax?”
Whether Lionel denied him or not, Adrian’s delusion persisted.
He finally pulled a ring case from his pocket.
“It’s time you stopped denying your feelings. Lionel, will you marry me?”
As if he’d seen this somewhere before, he dropped to one knee and opened the ring case. Lionel felt like she might actually scream.
“Five children sounds perfect. What do you think?”
“Get out while I’m asking nicely. Otherwise, I’ll embed that Diamond Ring into your cheekbones and give you dimples.”
“Ah, my angel speaks such harsh words! Your mouth has grown rough from hardship out in the world. I must care for you with love.”
Adrian exhaled heavily. This had become utterly unbearable. Lionel looked at him as one might regard an insect and turned away, intent on escaping this place as quickly as possible.
“I don’t have the patience to listen to your nonsense anymore, Adrian. Leave. Don’t let our paths cross again—this has been filthy enough already.”
“Why do you say such sad things, Lionel? You’re breaking my heart trying to push me away, aren’t you? Stop hiding it now—you love me!”
It was the moment when the persistent stalker reached out his hand.
Thwack—!!
Bang-crash!!
Suddenly Adrian flew backward through the air.
Lionel spun around in alarm, and someone landed gracefully beside her. Long hair flowed like waves.
“The physician.”
At first she’d thought it was the duke again—a moment of déjà vu—but it wasn’t. The man who’d dispatched the stalker with a single kick now checked on Lionel’s well-being.
“Are you unharmed?”
Black hair tied high. Clear, brilliant blue eyes. A neat uniform and a sword at his waist.
Lionel found herself calling out his name.
“Everaine Carseido?”
“……Do you know me?”
How could she not?
A character from “The Undefeated Flower,” the duke’s Escort Knight, and the one who harbored unrequited love for the heroine.
Everaine was Lionel’s sore spot—no, her sore investment. Throughout reading the novel, she’d rooted so desperately for him and the heroine to end up together, only to be so deeply disappointed.
While Lionel briefly recalled the original story, Adrian pressed her.
“Lionel! Who is that man? Did you—did you really get involved with another man besides me?”
When had he ever been so certain of his own infatuation with her…. Everaine stepped between them as Lionel regarded him with contempt.
“Forgive the interruption. However, I could not stand by while someone laid hands upon a lady.”
“Not at all. Thank you for saving me.”
“As for this specimen……how do you wish to dispose of him?”
Everaine’s gaze turned back to Adrian.
Adrian, sensing a chilling aura, scrambled backward on his knees. He didn’t manage to get far, though his sagging belly hindered his retreat.
“……Dispose?”
“In my experience, men who cannot humbly accept their own foolishness and cling to romantic delusions tend to escalate to violent behavior. I would recommend, as a preventative measure, severing one Achilles tendon or so.”
Everaine grasped the hilt of his sword without hesitation. Adrian let out a cry of terror.
“Eeeek!”
Everaine Carseido. True to a man who’d earned his castle through swordsmanship alone, he carried himself with considerable violence.
Thinking so, Lionel waved her hand dismissively.
“He’s taken quite the beating, so he won’t be causing any more trouble. ……Isn’t that right, Adrian?”
“I, I was wrong! I won’t do it again! P, please spare me……!”
“Your words are too brief. Apologize properly.”
“I am deeply sorry……. I, I shall never trouble Lionel again!”
Everaine clearly regretted being unable to “finish” the matter; he glared at Adrian for some time before finally stepping back.
“Your Grace. The situation is concluded.”
“Well done.”
Blashion had approached without warning. He picked up the Ring Case that lay scattered on the floor and tossed it down bluntly.
“I may not know the history between you and that man……. But I’ll offer you this counsel: any man who pawns a fake diamond as real and then proposes ought to be eliminated.”
“W, what are you talking about? It’s real……!”
Clang!
The ring that grazed Adrian’s face struck the wall and shattered into fragments.
The Duke, having just finished evaluating the diamond, laughed openly at him.
“It suits you perfectly, I must say.”
Ugh…….
Adrian, thoroughly beaten and thoroughly humiliated, flushed crimson. He scrambled to his feet and cried out to Lionel.
“Lionel!! I, I’ll definitely get you out of this cursed place! Just wait a little longer……!”
“You’re insane. Have you still not come to your senses?”
“If you keep eating only Jerky at every meal, you’ll go mad too. B, but I’ll feed you plenty of delicious things! Just wait for me!”
Adrian departed in a flurry.
Holding back Everaine from pursuing him, she gazed at the Jerky scattered on the floor.
“Ha ha……. So serving Jerky to guests really does earn poor marks. But we truly have nothing else in the kitchen…….”
Kaelen laughed awkwardly as he made his excuse.
It was frustrating, but Lionel found herself agreeing with one of Adrian’s parting observations.
“But……do all of you really eat only Jerky three times a day? Every servant in the household?”
She’d been too distracted until now to ask, but in this Mansion, only Jerky and Juice had appeared for every meal. At this rate, constipation was assured.
The Escort Knight and the attendant exchanged a secretive glance before answering.
“The servants sometimes eat other things when they’re outside. However, all food kept in this Mansion is Jerky and Juice only.”
“With such excellent welfare and benefits at this Mansion, it doesn’t make sense to have nothing but Jerky for meals. Don’t you have a chef?”
“There is no chef in this Mansion……. There is only Jerky and Juice.”
Now it seemed only the Duke could reveal the truth. As Lionel had anticipated, the Duke explained why he maintained such an unusual diet.
“I do not need to eat to survive. Sometimes, when I feel hunger, I keep Jerky on hand—it stores easily. That is all.”
“By the way, I’m the one ordering the Juice. We do occasionally bring in other sweets and bread and such……. But every time we do, the servants’ eyes light up and they devour everything, which is why only Jerky remains in the end.”
An Immortal who had lost all appetite, and the servants suffering beneath him. How tragic.
Of course, gaining weight like Adrian wasn’t ideal either. But how could a person survive on nothing but Jerky?
‘Even fitness fanatics who chug protein three meals a day eat vegetables.’
Here, a thought suddenly struck Lionel as she stood facing the taciturn Blashion. She asked him directly.
“How long has it been since you’ve lived on Jerky alone? Or rather, how long since you’ve stopped eating proper meals?”
“I don’t recall exactly……. But it was after the Second Holy War, so it’s been roughly three hundred years.”
“Your Excellency has certainly achieved the ultimate in cost-efficiency.”
A smile of conviction bloomed across Lionel’s face. She turned to the Duke with genuine delight.
“I think I’ve found it—the way to move your heart, Your Grace.”
“……What is it?”
“From today onward, we shall—”
Lionel declared with absolute conviction.
“Pursue Accelerated Aging.”

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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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