The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 44

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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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Episode 44
Yeon Hui-cheon exhaled deeply, pressing down the emotions that threatened to boil over.
“It’s hardly proper for outsiders to meddle in Yak Ryeong-ga’s affairs.”
He looked the boy up and down.
“Since this appears to be your first time here, shouldn’t you introduce yourself first?”
The boy didn’t so much as blink at those words.
His face was utterly unbothered, as though Yeon Hui-cheon’s warning barely registered.
It was then.
An attendant hurried over from a distance.
“Young master, the Family Head is looking for you.”
Yeon Hui-cheon’s expression shifted.
He looked between me and the boy in turn, then reluctantly turned to leave.
“…We’ll call it a day for now.”
As Yeon Hui-cheon led the way, Baek Cheon-ho followed close behind him.
Only after the two of them vanished down the corridor did I exhale softly.
“Whew…”
Then I turned back to the boy still standing before me.
“Thank you.”
“I didn’t do it to be thanked for it.”
The boy answered plainly.
I would have liked to talk more, but this wasn’t the moment for it.
“Ryu Jin.”
“Yes, Master!”
“We need to find the needles first.”
We immediately set about gathering the Silver Needles scattered across the ground.
Fortunately, most were intact despite being covered in dirt. A few had slightly damaged tips, but they didn’t seem unusable yet.
“I think we’ve found them all now!”
“Good. Let’s head back and examine them properly.”
I rose to my feet, clutching the Needle Case firmly to my chest.
That was when.
“Just going to leave like that?”
A quiet voice came from behind me. I stopped and turned around.
The boy was still standing there.
The truth was, I’d been concerned about his condition since before.
After we parted ways at the Marketplace, I’d wanted to ask whether he’d received proper treatment and if all the poison had been cleared from his system, but with the commotion with Baek Cheon-ho and the needles scattering everywhere, I hadn’t found the chance to speak.
Only then did I examine the boy properly.
“How is your body? And that poison from before?”
“Thanks to you, I’ve gotten past the critical stage. There’s still some poison lingering, but I’m receiving treatment, so it’s fine.”
“The poison is still lingering?”
My eyes widened without my meaning to.
I’d certainly taken measures to get him through the acute crisis, but it seemed this wasn’t the sort of poison that could be completely eliminated with a single treatment.
“It’s not severe.”
The boy added quickly.
“That’s why I came to Yak Ryeong-ga—to finish receiving treatment.”
“I see…”
Only then did I feel a measure of relief.
The boy’s gaze shifted to my fingertips.
“You’re bleeding.”
Looking down, I saw my fingertip had been cut slightly while gathering the needles.
“Master!”
Ryu Jin started in alarm, but I waved my hand dismissively.
“It’s fine. This will wash away when we get back.”
The boy studied me for a moment, then spoke abruptly.
“I’ll testify for you.”
“What?”
“About what just happened.”
His gaze turned toward the direction Yeon Hui-cheon had disappeared.
“It was clearly deliberate. I could tell the Family Head about it.”
It was an unexpected offer.
But I quickly shook my head.
“It’s fine.”
The boy’s brow furrowed.
“Fine how?”
“I appreciate that you want to help, but… I’d rather solve this myself.”
“Yourself?”
I held the needle case in my arms a little tighter.
“The reason my brother looks down on me is because he thinks I’m weak.”
So I didn’t want to end things by letting someone else step in for me.
“I want to show him what I’m capable of. So he can never treat me lightly again.”
The boy fell silent for a moment.
“That will take some time, then.”
When I added awkwardly, he slowly opened his mouth.
“I understand that you want to handle this yourself.”
His gaze traced across my dirt-caked clothes and the tips of my fingers in turn.
“But refusing help when it’s available isn’t strength either.”
……
“If this happens again tomorrow, will you say the same thing?”
My chest stung, sharp and sudden.
“That’s…”
“Enough.”
The boy turned away as if he had no interest in hearing more.
“It’s your business. Do as you see fit.”
His black robes receded into the distance.
I stood there, gazing blankly at his departing figure.
“Are you all right, miss?”
“Hmm?”
“I mean, that young master is strange! If he went to the trouble of helping, the least he could do is say kind things the whole time!”
As Ryu Jin fumed, I couldn’t help but pout.
‘Exactly.’
As if he understood what brought me all the way here.
He was infuriating.
“Let’s go, Ryu Jin.”
“Yes!”
I pulled my gaze away from where the boy had vanished.
‘There’s no reason we’d see each other again anyway.’
* * *
That evening I checked the needle case and fortunately found the silver needles largely undamaged.
A few whose tips had bent slightly were still salvageable.
I wiped away the dirt and carefully returned each needle to its place.
Only after slipping the last silver needle into the case did my heart settle.
‘Thank goodness.’
It had belonged to Grandfather for a very long time.
If I’d broken it before even using it once, it would have weighed on my mind forever.
But the relief was short-lived.
I looked down at my fingertips, which were trembling ever so slightly, then quietly tucked them into my sleeve.
This had been happening more frequently of late.
Even after taking the medicine pills, my body didn’t feel as light as it once had, and sometimes—like now—strength simply wouldn’t flow into my fingertips.
‘The medicine’s effectiveness seems to have weakened somewhat.’
My condition hadn’t worsened dramatically all at once.
But the medicine I’d made was never meant to cure the illness in the first place. It was meant to suppress the symptoms and buy time.
‘I can’t rely on just this.’
Suddenly my chest tightened with urgency.
I had no way of knowing how long the regression would continue.
There was no guarantee I would open my eyes again after this life ended.
‘This might be the last one.’
The thought chilled me to the bone.
So in this life, I had to survive by any means necessary.
I had to find a way to cure the illness.
And I had to gain the strength to become Family Head and protect Yak Ryeong-ga.
‘I need to solidify my place more surely than ever.’
Strength alone was not enough. I needed more people within the family who trusted me and would follow my lead.
I was turning this over in my mind when it happened.
“Young Miss, the Family Head is calling for you.”
“Grandfather?”
I rose from my seat.
I was curious why he’d summoned me so suddenly, but I didn’t think it was anything grave.
With Ryu Jin beside me, I headed toward the Reception Room in the Main Hall.
The moment I opened the door and stepped inside.
“Ryeong-hwa.”
Father called out to me.
“Greet our guest.”
‘A guest?’
The instant I looked deeper into the room with confusion, my feet stopped dead.
Familiar blue eyes met my gaze.
‘……No.’
My eyes widened.
‘What is he doing here?’
The boy I’d thought just moments ago I would never see again sat there, perfectly composed.
The boy rose from his seat.
With an entirely different bearing from before—polished, unruffled—he offered me a proper bow.
“I offer my greetings.”
He spoke evenly.
“I am Byeok Cheong-yeon, Young Patriarch of the Geomcheon-ga.”

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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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