Time Healer Ceres - Chapter 36

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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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“Mother…….”
“Good heavens, Jen……!”
But not long after Seres fed something to the child, she became certain her judgment hadn’t been wrong.
At the sound of the small, delicate, yet clear voice, tears welled up in the woman’s eyes.
The terrible fever that had been pouring from the child’s body moments before was nowhere to be found.
“It’s only improved a little — full recovery will take more time. You’ll need to give him medicine for about another two weeks. I’ll tell you what’s needed, so go to a nearby apothecary and have them prepare it.”
“Thank you so much!”
The physicians had shown no real improvement no matter how many she consulted — how was this possible?
The woman bowed her head again and again, bewildered yet overwhelmed with gratitude.
Seres, observing this with an odd expression, tossed out a question.
“You’ve been near an Appli Tree before, haven’t you?”
“An Appli Tree?”
The woman nodded hastily.
An Appli Tree was easily found in the nearby mountains — a common fruit tree in these parts.
Tiny red berries the size of a fingernail grew year-round, and since they were quite sweet, both children and adults enjoyed them.
“There’s a parasite that lives on them.”
A tiny creature, so small it’s nearly invisible to the eye.
“Occasionally, when people are bitten by that insect, they suffer like this child.”
Usually, even if bitten by the insect, most people experience no symptoms and recover easily — but in very rare cases, there are those like this child whose condition deteriorates rapidly.
Because it wasn’t a common case, any physician the woman consulted would have simply prescribed cold remedies over and over without understanding the true cause.
“I truly cannot thank you enough! As for the fee…….”
“Forget the payment.”
“Pardon?”
She wasn’t officially practicing medicine as it was, and accepting money would be illegal.
Seres shook her head at the woman, who was already reaching for her purse.
“Let me ask you something instead.”
“Of course! Ask me anything.”
The woman nodded vigorously, her eyes bright with the determination to do whatever she could.
“Are the people of the Elrusia Countess House always like that?”
“Like what, exactly……?”
“Prioritizing nobles and making everyone else wait endlessly regardless of their condition.”
Seres asked the question knowing full well what answer would come, yet clinging to a faint hope nonetheless.
That today was simply an unlucky day. That circumstances had gone poorly.
That it wasn’t usually like this.
Quietly hoping for some such assurance.
“I only lined up for the first time today, but from what others told me, it’s always been like that. You need to be prepared to waste at least several days standing in line.”
The woman’s shoulders sagged.
Though she’d already known this to be true, watching the noble sweep past in casual haste while her child lay in urgent need had finally robbed her of reason — her eyes had gone wild with fury.
“And that administrator — he comes every time, not just today, right?”
“Yes.”
“Damn…….”
Seres barely managed to swallow the curse that was forcing its way out.
When her eyes met those of the child staring blankly at her from his mother’s arms, she clicked her tongue lightly and let out a short sigh.
‘They put someone who isn’t even a physician in charge of the front gate?’
Even when she had been there, long lines had always stretched out.
But in those lines, there had been no distinction between commoner and noble.
No matter how high one’s rank, even royalty had to wait in line to receive treatment from the Elrusia Countess House.
The only exception was when a patient’s condition was critical — those with severe cases could be seen immediately, even if they arrived late.
‘That’s why the Front Gate Administrator is so crucial.’
When she had served as the head of the Elrusia Countess House, she had considered the Front Gate Administrator the most important position.
Treatment is only possible when the patient is still alive.
Assessing a patient’s condition and setting priorities was not something anyone could do.
So the person in charge of the front gate was typically a physician of exceptional skill.
‘And yet this one doesn’t know the Healing Art at all?’
Recalling the administrator she’d met moments ago, Seres let out a bitter laugh.
He wasn’t just filling in temporarily today — this meant he managed the front gate in that fashion every single time?
“They’re playing around.”
“Pardon?”
The child’s mother’s eyes widened in surprise, and Antonien, who had been standing quietly to the side all along, approached her gently.
“That wasn’t directed at you. She gets like this sometimes—don’t take it to heart.”
“Ah, understood.”
Even after that, as Seres continued to flash sharp looks and voice her discontent in a low murmur, Antonien found himself heaving a long sigh.
What on earth had riled his sister up like this?
Was it because of that administrator just now?
“Whatever the Elrusia Countess House does or doesn’t do—it has nothing to do with us. Calm down, please…….”
“My head’s all muddled right now. Here, have some candy and go play by yourself for a while.”
“Who do you think you’re treating like a child!”
Antonien had bristled indignantly, but in the next moment his eyes caught Seres’s expression, and he swallowed hard.
He let the words he couldn’t quite bring himself to say spill out silently in his mind instead.
Sister, you do remember that you were supposed to get a consultation today at the Elrusia Countess House, right?
We walked here for an hour!
And besides that.
“But sister, how did you know that boy’s illness was caused by parasites living in the Appli Tree?”
Before losing her memory, Seres had lived a life far removed from the Healing Art.
So how could she…….
“I was studying while making medicine for Julia.”
Seres brushed off his question without a second thought.
Lie boldly enough and even falsehood sounds true. If I can pull it off, then what’s there to doubt?
As expected, Antonien’s expression grew uncertain.
With a heavy sigh, Antonien decided to set everything else aside and focus solely on the reason they’d come to the Elrusia Countess House in the first place.
‘I should suggest we go get that consultation right now…….’
“Madness.”
….
Forget it.
One look at Seres’s ice-cold gaze was enough to make Antonien quietly seal his lips.
That resolve, too, was gently crushed beneath the weight of her lingering fury.
* * *
“Jay.”
“Yes?”
“Is something troubling the young lady?”
“I’m not quite sure. Ever since she went out with Antonien yesterday and came back, she’s been like this the whole time.”
Mark, whose arm had been broken, had come to the shop after a long absence to help with the work.
Moving his arm still felt awkward, but handling the smaller tasks posed no real difficulty. It seemed that before long, he’d be able to take over the kitchen work entirely as he had before.
“She looks to be in quite a poor mood.”
“That she does.”
The problem was that today Seres’s state was absolutely dreadful.
She wasn’t directing any hints at them or behaving in any notably different way.
But the atmosphere that emanated from her, even when she stood completely still, was glacial.
“Say, is Persha the Grand Duke here right now?”
“No, he isn’t.”
“Then why does the air feel so heavy?”
“Lower your voice. Tone it down.”
The customers, too, seemed to have sensed that chill radiating from Seres, and all of them were treading carefully around her.
Chime.
It was then that a small silhouette slipped through the door.
“Big sister.”
It was Julia, Seres’s younger sister, who came pattering over and threw her arms around her.
The moment the child appeared, a faint smile broke across Seres’s face as if the frost had never been there.
A silent sigh of relief seemed to escape from several corners of the room. Finally, people could breathe again.
“Julia?”
But as Seres’s eyes took in the child’s face, her brow furrowed slightly. She noticed that Julia’s eyes were badly reddened.
“Have you been crying?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Big sister…….”
Seres tilted her head up to look at the butler Collin, who stood behind the sniffling Julia.
“What is it…….”
A brief sigh escaped the lips of the man who had brought Julia from the Academy.
“It seems that Dave’s father has been arrested.”
Hearing Collin’s words, Seres immediately grasped the situation.
Dave’s father. Nox.
Not long ago, he had been taken away by the Guard Force after neighbors reported him.
It was because he would bolt from the house at all hours, morning and night, wailing like a madman—and what he said was deeply disturbing.
‘I was wrong! I, I made a mistake! I never meant to kill her! I swear!’
‘Aaahhh! Yes! I killed her! I killed that woman, I say! Aaahhh! Please, just make it stop!’
‘Ugh… ugh-sniff! Please… please… stop…’
Once taken into custody by the Guard Force, Nox confessed to everything he had done. That he had killed his wife and son with his own hands.
It seemed he had already been pushed to the psychological brink and made no attempt at defense.
“Sister…”
“Yes.”
“Dave… Dave…”
“…”
And somehow, all those events—the fact that Dave had lost his life at the hands of his own father—had reached Julia’s ears as well.
‘There are no secrets at the Academy, are there?’
How had news of this reached even such a young child?
She’d heard that children had already picked up the rumor about Dave’s mother running off with him after her affair was exposed.
‘None of this is something children should be hearing.’

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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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