The Quack Lady - Chapter 87

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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 87

I desperately glared at Mr. Pairon.

‘When did I ever do that!’

I spoke through ventriloquism, but Mr. Pairon just glanced at me with a face that looked like he was about to cry.

Ugh! This is driving me crazy!

“…Ha, yes, it does seem like that…”

I thought, whatever happens, happens. I endured it thinking I’d at least eat my meal comfortably.

“I misunderstood, Hanel.”

“Right! Then now reduce my workload a little…”

“I can’t do that. Go back and finish your work first. We’ll discuss future matters next time.”

Mr. Pairon smiled broadly at Mr. Hanel. Looking at his smiling face, it seemed his anger had subsided somewhat.

‘Well, I’d be angry too if my close friend drugged me.’

I nodded slightly.

Just as Mr. Hanel was turning around dejectedly.

“Rtemeia. You stay for a moment. We need to prepare for your trip to the Marquis’s mansion.”

Was it already time for that?

Come to think of it, it had already been over three weeks since I came here.

Since we agreed to visit once every three months, considering travel time, it wouldn’t be bad to start preparing soon.

“Yes, I understand.”

“Hanel, you should head back now.”

“I was going to leave anyway without you telling me.”

Mr. Hanel grumbled but seemed to be in a good mood despite everything.

Mr. Pairon saw him off with a smile.

Click. As the door closed, Mr. Pairon got up from his desk and came to sit across from me.

“You’ve had a hard time.”

“Pardon?”

“Putting up with Hanel’s unreasonable demands.”

At those words, I couldn’t say anything.

Mr. Pairon smiled warmly and said.

“Given your personality, you would have needed herbs more than Hanel. Above all, there’s no way the Marquis’s mansion would have specifically asked Hanel for help in such a chaotic situation.”

“…”

“Was Hanel helpful?”

Mr. Pairon asked quietly with a comfortable expression.

Honestly…

“Obsession and doing one’s best are separated by a hair’s breadth. It’s hard to distinguish between them.”

Looking back, I understood what Mr. Pairon’s words were referring to.

The fact that not wanting to lose the Duchess led to pursuing the best course, and that such desire ultimately became obsession.

‘She could have passed away peacefully.’

The CPR I performed with all my might at the end weighed on my mind.

It must have been so painful. It must have been so agonizing. Just because of my selfish desire to save a life…

The fact that it created a painful moment for that person instead…

“It seems he was helpful.”

Mr. Pairon nodded as if that was enough. Then he slowly continued speaking.

“Hanel comes at the most important moments. And then he says exactly what’s needed at that moment. As if he knows my heart.”

“…”

“Often, words that seem insignificant end up being exactly what I need most.”

“…”

“Because I trust Hanel, I thought there must have been a good reason when he tried to hide something from me. But this time, something felt different. Above all, since you were involved, I wanted to get it straight.”

“That’s…”

Honestly, I thought it was just a childish fight over whether he gave me medicine or not.

“So don’t worry about it. The uncles will solve the uncles’ problems.”

“…”

“Well, it’s just a matter of sorting out my own feelings.”

For a moment, deep longing settled beyond Mr. Pairon’s gaze.

And I know that look in his eyes.

‘He’s thinking of his daughter.’

Though it was certainly less than before, Mr. Pairon would sometimes look at me and make a sad expression.

Considering that a child’s death is buried in one’s heart for life, it wasn’t surprising.

But wait a minute.

‘She fell off a cliff, so why wasn’t a body found?’

Come to think of it, that was strange.

Usually in cases of fatal falls, parts of the body might break but they don’t disappear.

Due to weight alone, they would fall to the ground or get caught in trees, or at the very least, blood…

‘Wait.’

As I finished that thought, I felt an inexplicable feeling.

I asked Mr. Pairon very carefully.

“Mr. Pairon…”

“Yes?”

“But… I don’t know if it’s okay to ask this…”

“What is it that makes you hesitate like that. It’s fine.”

“You said the place where your daughter fell was a cliff.”

Mr. Pairon hesitated for just a moment at the mention of his daughter.

But soon he composed his expression as if it was okay.

“Yes. It was a cliff with a rock face jutting out, and it was very high.”

“Were there no bloodstains found by any chance?”

“…There weren’t any. The white stone floor below the cliff was clean.”

Mr. Pairon answered with a bitter expression.

“There were no trees nearby either?”

“There were… trees, I think.”

“Then did you see her falling?”

“…”

Mr. Pairon shook his head.

He seemed to be struggling a bit, so I couldn’t ask any more.

“But why are you suddenly asking about that?”

“Because something seems strange.”

I laid out what I had been thinking.

“Surely in the case of a fatal fall, blood would splatter everywhere due to the impact, but it’s strange that not a single bloodstain was found.”

“…”

“Above all, even if animals carried it away or it was washed away by rainwater…”

“…”

“It’s strange that nothing was found.”

“That’s because I didn’t have the confidence to see it, so I looked for the child after time had passed…”

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly Mr. Pairon’s eyes widened.

“That’s right. Bloodstains that seep into stone don’t disappear easily.”

Especially if it was a white cliff face, there would have been traces left in some way.

I looked at Mr. Pairon and lifted one corner of my mouth.

“She might really be alive somewhere. Mr. Pairon.”

Blood.

The blood circulating in the body is used as an indicator of life, but it also applies in the opposite sense.

For example, losing one’s life due to excessive bleeding.

“The absence of bloodstains means there were no external wounds. If there were no external wounds, something might have caught the child when they fell from that height.”

“….”

What came after this was beyond my expertise.

I could only determine that there were no external injuries on the child’s body.

“Perhaps searching again might….”

I spoke cautiously, but Mr. Pairon shook his head.

“We searched the entire area. The child even knew the geography of that area well. If….”

Mr. Pairon let out a somewhat labored sigh.

“If the child hadn’t died, they would have returned home.”

His expression looked as if he had imagined this hundreds, thousands of times. But soon, seeing the determination that appeared on his face, I bit my lower lip.

Of course, I had considered the possibility that the child might have difficulty moving due to the impact of the fall….

‘No. If they had fallen, internal injuries aside, there definitely would have been traces of external wounds.’

It was my intuition as a doctor.

However, I didn’t have the confidence to make him understand all of this.

Having no choice, I bowed my head toward Mr. Pairon.

“I’m sorry. For asking about such painful memories.”

“It’s alright. Thanks to you, I was able to think of the child once more, so that’s good.”

“….”

“We searched, but nothing was found. So I thought God had taken the child. I didn’t have the confidence to face any more traces of the child.”

Mr. Pairon chuckled softly and lowered his eyes that held a tender light.

“Because that seemed like the only way to survive.”

With those words, Mr. Pairon pressed his lips together and smiled.

“It would be best to end this story here. It’s not exactly a pleasant topic.”

“Yes. I will. Thank you for answering even though I asked so suddenly.”

“Not at all. Your words were comforting to me.”

Mr. Pairon seemed to vaguely think that his child, who had disappeared without a trace, might be alive somewhere.

However.

‘No. Be realistic.’

It wasn’t just a vague feeling.

Certainly, if it was a person. They would be alive.

But the world I’m standing in is still a place where people believe in demons and gods.

It was a world where people who could use magic, even simple magic, existed.

So I couldn’t give a definitive answer.

I pressed my lips tightly together and clenched my fists.

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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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