Time Healer Ceres - Chapter 48

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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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Everyone stared at Cheiyan as though he’d grown a second head when he announced he was going to work.
“If my secretary’s going, I’d better come too.”
…….
Don’t laugh. It’s getting to me.
Seres shook her head lightly as she watched him break into another bright smile.
‘Does she really not care?’
Either way, thanks to him they’d managed to slip into the Elrsia Estate without trouble.
Seres’s gaze shifted to Kreel, the current patriarch, walking ahead of them.
The Fake Ring still sat snugly on his finger.
‘This household’s running smoothly, isn’t it.’
When she’d been here before, she’d felt the same thing—nothing in this place seemed to function properly.
Not the man managing the front gate, not the healers tending to the wounded. Not a single one of them had their head on straight.
‘And now the patriarch himself is wearing a fake ring.’
Seres barely swallowed the sigh threatening to escape.
“Seres? What are you brooding about?”
“Just wondering what to do first.”
“What do you mean first? You’re not doing anything—just stick by my side. Everyone else will handle their jobs.”
“Ugh… I knew this would happen. I knew it!”
“That’s right! You came here to play, not to work!”
“Oof… Luka, please get here soon.”
The other mages following behind them all grabbed the backs of their necks at Cheiyan’s words.
Meanwhile, Seres let his comment go in one ear and out the other, her gaze drifting toward the window.
‘First…’
A large fountain stood in one corner of the Garden, spraying water generously.
‘Find the ring.’
* * *
“Herion, what in the world are you doing!”
“Me? I’m studying right now?”
“So you know what that book is and you’re reading it anyway!”
“This?”
Herion, who’d been reading the Medical Text, was forced to her feet by several people approaching her.
Whoosh!
“Ah……”
A shadow fell across the woman’s face as the Medical Text was snatched from her hands.
But her colleagues paid no mind.
“Only a select few are permitted to read this Medical Text.”
“But Aesli said I could read it……”
Herion, who had received direct permission from Aesli, the deceased former patriarch, offered an awkward smile toward her juniors, who stood with a menacing gaze.
“The current patriarch, Kreel, has not granted permission.”
“That’s… well, true.”
Herion scratched her cheek and nodded vigorously in agreement.
“I won’t read it anymore.”
Their faces contorted sharply at her bashful smile.
It was always like this.
They couldn’t understand how she could smile like that, humiliated in front of her juniors.
‘Does she have no pride?’
They would have stopped long ago and left out of embarrassment.
Herion, who had been learning here for over ten years, was actually in a position that they couldn’t treat carelessly.
Yet for some reason, she had fallen out of favor with Patriarch Kreel Elrsia.
Knowing this, the members of House Elrsia tacitly chose to ignore her.
Recently, her work had even been relegated to herb redistribution—a task usually given to newcomers just arrived.
“Are you done organizing the herbs?”
“Yeah, all done. But Rona.”
“Yes?”
“About that patient of yours, Robes. He was saying yesterday that he has trouble digesting. Did you know about that?”
“Why? I already prescribed digestive medicine.”
“Right, but Robes is being treated for Kruu Disease. One of the ingredients in the Kruu Disease treatment medicine is the Alto Fruit.”
“Who doesn’t know that? What are you trying to say?”
Herion’s body flinched slightly at the irritated tone of voice.
Yet her eyes still gleamed with that bright, sharp clarity—enough to make the junior healers who’d been pestering her moments before falter.
“I wondered if the poor digestion might stem from the Alto Fruit. Some people’s constitutions simply can’t accept it, you see. When we administer it to those folk, it can trigger indigestion.”
“…….”
“If it persists, it can eventually cause severe pain. I know it’s probably unnecessary worry on my part, but wouldn’t it be better to confirm and adjust the medication?”
“W-well, I know that much already!”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Seems I was being overprotective. I’ll be on my way then. Thank you all for your work.”
The healers watched Herion disappear with a bright smile and a wave, their faces all wearing the same unmistakable displeasure.
“It’s infuriating.”
Among them, Rona—the one whose method had just been questioned—bit her lip.
“Somehow she’s got actual skill.”
“Tell me about it.”
“So why does the lord despise her?”
“Didn’t you hear? The previous lord favored Herion more than he favored Kreel.”
“Is that actually true?”
“Who knows. But apparently the current lord sees her as a thorn in his side because of it.”
“Then why doesn’t he just drive her out? Why let her stay?”
“Casting her out without cause would damage his reputation, wouldn’t it? If she’d leave on her own, that’d be perfect, but she’s holding firm. Must be giving those above him quite the headache.”
“Herion doesn’t seem to realize she’s being harassed at all.”
“Truly oblivious, that one.”
They all shook their heads, watching Herion’s figure disappear far into the distance.
* * *
“Hmm.”
In one corner of the Garden.
In a shadowed, seldom-visited spot, someone had been crouching for the past thirty minutes, intently examining something.
It was Herion.
She was turning over a small plant with tiny blue flowers, each blossom smaller than a fingernail.
“I’m sure I saw this in a book somewhere. What medicinal herb is this again?”
She’d definitely glimpsed a picture of it long ago, but the memory wouldn’t surface.
What was it good for?
“Dyke Flower. It treats skin lesions.”
“Oh! Dyke Flower!”
Herion clapped her hands together in delight at having solved the riddle.
“Huh?”
Then she realized the voice was unfamiliar, and quickly spun around.
“You’re Herion?”
“Who are you?”
A woman she’d never seen before.
The young woman, who appeared to be in her mid-to-late teens, approached and crouched beside her, gazing at the same plant Herion had been observing.
‘She seems to be a healer.’
Given how accurately she knew the herb’s name.
But why had Herion never seen her before?
‘Is she a new recruit who just joined?’
The stranger clearly knew who Herion was, yet Herion didn’t recognize this face at all.
Had they crossed paths before?
“The previous lord trained you directly, didn’t he?”
“You mean Aesli?”
At that cherished name, Herion’s expression dimmed.
Every time she thought of the previous lord who had passed from an illness of unknown origin, one side of her chest ached.
After she collapsed, Herion hadn’t even been able to see her face properly.
Kreel had barred all visitors, saying the master needed rest.
‘I wanted so desperately to heal her.’
They hadn’t had time to properly identify the illness. The progression had been so swift that there was no chance to act before she had to bid her master farewell. That bitterness still cut deep.
No—she hadn’t even managed a proper examination. She couldn’t even see her face.
And she still didn’t understand.
What disease had taken Aesli from them?
“She was a warm person. Even though I knew nothing, she taught me so much.”
Remembering Aesli—her master who, despite how tedious it must have been, always answered her questions with patient kindness—Herion’s eyes reddened almost instantly.
“I think that’s what led the previous lord to her death.”
“What? What do you mean…….”
At the woman’s quiet, muttered words, Herion’s eyes went wide.
Led to death? What do you mean by that?
Could it be that this woman knows what illness Aesli has?
“Do you know how long this herb needs to be dried?”
“One week, ma’am. It must be dried in the shade, not in direct sunlight. That’s how it retains its potency.”
Herion answered without hesitation. Now that she knew the herb’s name, information about it came flowing back effortlessly.
“What is Guks Leaf used for?”
“It’s excellent for relieving pain. Especially when used on patients suffering from severe stomach upset, it works beautifully. However, prolonged use can lead to habitual indigestion, so caution is necessary.”
“A child began running a fever a fortnight ago. She was diagnosed with a simple cold and given medicine, but it showed little effect. Her condition only worsened, and she began vomiting before eventually losing consciousness. Should I continue giving her cold medicine?”

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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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