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THAT night, she and Arthur got a room at an inn in the capital. They both kept telling each other how exhausted they were. They ate dinner then went up to their room.
“Olivia, I got to say, I don’t like that Derek guy,” said Arthur.
“I don’t either. We can’t leave things as they are, though. Having your blood drawn and thrown away every day… No matter how I look at it, I can’t imagine that would be good for you. But I’m also worried about you getting fired from Freddy’s Pharmacy.”
“Freddy gave me permission for this sort of thing. He told me he’d never once complain if I took time off work to protect you.”
Hearing that told Olivia how much people loved her grandparents. “It’s thanks to my grandparents he’d say something like that. Those two took me in and loved me, and they’re still protecting me. They left me with something valuable I can’t even see.”
Arthur nodded slightly without saying anything.
The next day, Charlie, the Darleys’ driver, came to find them, and he seemed quite flustered. “Something horrible has happened,” he said. “Mrs. Darleys told me to bring you as quickly as I could.”
Olivia tried to ask what was going on, but Charlie just kept saying, “I don’t even know.”
All I did was give him water and warm him up. That wouldn’t make his illness worse, thought Olivia, but she was still nervous as they entered the Darleys & Co. building.
The company was in an uproar. There were royal guards armed with swords talking to servants. What could possibly have happened?
Olivia was in shock, but Arthur moved over close to her side. “Looks like it’s a pretty big deal,” he said.
“It does.”
And then Olivia heard a cheerful call. “Olivia! It’s been too long.”
“Doctor Ulysse?” said Olivia. “You’re already here. Thank you!”
“I’m so glad you sent me that letter. We’ve been trying to catch this fake doctor forever.”
“Fake doctor…? Fake? Doctor Jean isn’t a real doctor?” Olivia asked.
“Well, more accurately, former doctor. He used to work as a doctor in another country but got obsessed with this bloodletting treatment and apparently caused several nobles to waste away to death. They took away his doctoral qualifications and were supposed to imprison him, but he escaped here to Sandwald before they could. And he’s just gone right back to this bloodletting business. The master of this household was in bad condition after several rounds of this ridiculous treatment.
“Which is why I called the guard the moment I got that letter from you. They were quick to act once I explained to them Jean was a known criminal currently being searched for. Once they were ready to catch him, I had the family call for him.”
“Oh my,” said Olivia.
“Thank you for contacting me, Olivia.”
“It was nothing. But, Doctor, how is Mr. Darleys?”
“I had a look at him myself. It wasn’t good. He was severely weakened after several months of bloodletting and will likely need quite some time to recover. I believe his original illness is in his liver. But, in his case, I think he could still live a long life so long as he doesn’t push himself and lives a healthy lifestyle.”
Olivia felt comfortable with Doctor Ulysse’s opinion, since he was young, hardworking, and known for his skill and knowledge.
“I hate to think about what might have happened if you’d come a little later, Olivia,” he said. “But Jean will likely be tried in his home country now, and I’ll be taking over caring for Mr. Darleys.”
“Thank you. Hearing that makes me feel much better.”
Bethany called over to them, so Arthur and Olivia left Ulysse and went into Bethany’s room.
“Olivia, thank you so much for what you’ve done. Not only did you save me, my daughter, and Charlie, but you’ve even saved my husband. I will never forget what we owe you. I know you said you don’t need a reward, but please, take this.”
“No, thank you. I don’t help people just to get rewards. I’m fine without, really. But thank you.”
Bethany kept trying to say it was to show her gratitude, while Olivia kept refusing. Derek came in and said, “Mrs. Darleys, the guards are asking for you.”
Once she left, Derek said to Olivia, “Mrs. Darleys won’t be able to make time for you for a while, not with how busy the company is at the moment.”
“I see. We’ll be leaving then,” said Olivia.
“Goodbye. You’ve done us a great service,” he said, but thought, How dare you ruin my reputation! I was the one who introduced Doctor Jean to the family. A bumpkin apothecary shouldn’t stick her nose in where it doesn’t belong.
Underneath his veneer of courtesy, he was lashing out at Olivia. Her expression stiffened and she asked, “Derek, may I ask, who was it that brought Doctor Jean in?”
“My apologies, I cannot discuss company matters with a non-employee.” There is absolutely no way I can let them know I met him at an illegal gambling den. I just hope he doesn’t talk now that they’ve caught him.
“Right, well, I’ll just be saying goodbye to Doctor Ulysse, then we’ll be on our way,” said Olivia.
“Of course.”
When Derek remembered the gambling den, Olivia saw a brief flash of a cat there.
Olivia and Arthur then went into Samuel’s room.