The Quack Lady - Chapter 49
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 49
“But Rudel, grandmother is….”
The child hesitated and then firmly shut his mouth.
Rudel, who knew what that meant, smiled reassuringly.
“She doesn’t dislike Lady Ditten. Rather, she likes her too much.”
“But grandmother and mother don’t even exchange a single letter with each other.”
At those words, Rudel’s mouth shut tight.
While relationships between people are difficult, perhaps the most difficult is the mother-daughter relationship.
It was a relationship that was hard to get close to, yet also hard to distance oneself from.
Recalling this, she smiled bitterly.
“Don’t worry. She still knows that the Duchess is staying at the marquis’s mansion.”
The close sisters had even gotten pregnant in the same year.
Of course, compared to Brien’s due date being close, Ditten’s delivery was still quite far off.
‘Still, it’s too much that the Duchess hasn’t shown her face at the count’s manor even once.’
The servants had much to say about this.
Some said it was because of the child Ditten had given birth to, others that the mother was heartless.
The reactions varied, but what remained unchanged was that the visits that had stopped at some point never resumed.
This was in stark contrast to her staying at Hartwin Baronial Residence to help with Brien’s delivery.
‘That’s why she sent me. To check on the Duchess’s condition.’
Ditten, who showed no change in expression as was publicly known, was often compared to ice.
However, Rudel knew.
She too was just an ordinary woman who thought of her mother while pregnant.
“Really?”
“Yes. So don’t worry too much. Above all, we have a mission.”
Rudel made a gesture of holding a baby with both hands.
Seeing this, a shy smile spread across Demian’s face as well.
“Right. We have to see our cousin.”
A new birth was always an exciting event.
The two smiled at each other.
Not knowing what hardships lay ahead for them.
* * *
The girl who had regained her strength introduced herself as Beria.
And the child’s older brother was Neujzen.
As expected, the children were orphans who had lost their parents.
“We haven’t had parents since birth.”
“What?”
“Beria is right. We’ve never seen people called parents even once.”
It was impossible for them to be living alone in this forest cottage without parents. But it seemed meaningless to ask the children any more questions.
I spoke loudly to the children on purpose.
“So what if you don’t have parents? We can create our own universe.”
“Universe…?”
“Yes. Something bigger than the world.”
When I roughly spread my arms wide to draw a large circle, the children’s eyes sparkled.
Sweet love they had never tasted even once, and touching emotions that made their hearts swell.
It was a place where everything existed.
“For that, you both need to receive treatment well. Can you do it?”
I spoke to the two siblings.
Neujzen also showed various wounds and signs of infection.
It seemed to be because they had been abandoned in the forest for a long time.
After that, Eruten and I helped the children and gradually changed their world.
Eruten brought an axe from somewhere and cut down trees.
Then he used those trees to repair the house and made fires to warm the home.
Of course, in the middle of it, he scolded the kids harshly when they burned off half their hair while staring at the fire.
What did I do?
I naturally took care of Beria, who suffered from poisoning symptoms every night.
Though her body was improving, perhaps due to lung damage, Beria suffered every night with unstable breathing.
During those times, I stayed by the child’s side and made medicine suitable for her.
Especially the chelating agents used for heavy metal detoxification required periodic administration, which was more concerning.
And so, on the second day.
‘Oh, the lung sounds have definitely improved.’
Not only the crackling sounds as if water had filled the alveoli, but her swollen belly was also showing improvement.
A condition that would have appeared in just a few hours in modern times was only beginning to show after two whole days.
I quietly came outside so as not to wake the sleeping child and threw my fist into the air.
“I did it!”
My pounding heart was beating joyfully.
Just as I was throwing my fist into the air like that.
“Are you that happy?”
When I turned around, Eruten was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, smiling as if I was cute.
“If a bird had flown overhead, it would have been knocked out.”
“My punch is pretty strong.”
Today, even his teasing was welcome.
“You really seem to be in a good mood.”
“Yes. The child’s condition has improved a lot.”
“It seemed that way.”
Eruten smiled as he said that.
Suddenly, I was grateful to him for helping make this moment possible.
“Thank you. Eruten.”
“For what?”
“Thanks to you, I could focus on treatment.”
Indeed, while I was taking care of Beria, Eruten taught Neujzen various things.
Most of them were very basic things for survival, like how to hunt, what to eat, what not to eat, how to make fire.
Thanks to that, I could focus solely on caring for Beria.
And I knew all of this was Eruten’s consideration.
“A doctor should treat patients. What else would I do.”
He smiled as if everything was fine.
The word “doctor” that came out naturally made me feel both proud and somehow burdened.
“By the way, did you tell the kids? We have to leave in two days.”
“Ah….”
Only then did I remember Eruten’s words from last night that we absolutely had to leave in two days.
‘We can’t be late for our appointment with the marquis.’
It wasn’t a matter that needed objection.
“We should.”
But I was still worried about the child’s unstable condition.
Above all, if I left this place, no one would be able to look after the children’s condition.
‘But I can’t go out to get herbs either.’
Even though herbs were everywhere, this happened to be a forest located on Rocky Mountain.
Since the ecosystem was different from the start, it was a place with more herbs I didn’t know.
“Don’t worry too much. I know the geography of this place somewhat. I’ll take you to the marquis’s mansion and then come back here to take the children to the orphanage.”
Eruten also seemed concerned that this wasn’t a good environment for children to live in.
The sounds of wild beasts heard every night, or the dangerous terrain around Rocky Mountain.
Above all, Eruten must also be worried about the children who don’t even know the most basic things.
“So let’s do our best as much as we can.”
His red eyes reflected in the moonlight sparkled.
At his gentle yet reliable gaze, I smiled along with him without reserve.
“Right. We’ll do our absolute best.”
He smiled back at me as if satisfied with my words.
* * *
When I stretched out from my hunched position, it felt like my whole body was screaming.
“Ugh-!”
I got up stretching my stiff body. The unfamiliar yet familiar scenery of the cottage came into view.
Dim darkness had settled lightly. Night was already approaching.
‘Ah, when did I fall asleep.’
From treating patients day and night, the boundary between day and night had become blurred.
As I was just blinking my eyes, Eruten set down some appetizing food.
It was well-ripened apples and deliciously cooked chunks of meat.
“There was a rabbit in front, so I caught it.”
He spoke casually and nodded his head.
It meant he had roughly gone to the grass and caught it.
I suddenly noticed blood on his sleeve and stared blankly at him.
As if realizing his mistake, he hurriedly rolled up his sleeve to hide the blood.
“It’s rabbit blood.”
His words, which sounded like an excuse, strangely sounded sad.
Something felt strange and I was about to ask him.
“But Eru…”
“Where are the kids?”
“Huh?”
I snapped to attention. When I hurriedly looked around, the children who should have been there were nowhere to be seen.
‘Oh my! Did they go out again?’
Once the children got a bit better, like well-raised beagles, they couldn’t stay still inside the house.
“Older Sister! Can I just go out front for a little bit?”
“Sister! I’m fine now! I won’t eat anything, so can’t I just go play out front for a little while?”
Naturally, I opposed it because running around would strain their lungs.
But taking advantage of the moment I dozed off, these little rascals seemed to have lightly ignored my words and escaped.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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