Chapter 38
YUKI went to Fol Castle and was led to the innermost chamber by a guard; she had terrible memories of this same chamber. The chill and griminess of the place had changed since then. At least it was cleaner and didn’t reek of death anymore. She shut her eyes to hold back the memory of the young girls Isis turned into dolls.
“I said I’d come for you, sweetheart. Did you get sick of waiting and come for me instead?”
Before her was the despicable chair Isis had sat his fat rump on. In Isis’ place sat the copper-haired young man—Rhad. His long hair trailed down his back in a tight ponytail.
“So you are the most important person here,” she said giving him a pointed look.
Rhad shrugged his shoulders. “Among the people present, yeah. So, what do you want? Did you actually come to see me because you couldn’t get enough of me last night?”
“I did not… I have a proposition for you.”
Rhad arched his eyebrow. “Heh? Go ahead then.”
Yuki nodded. “Currently, the people of Fol—the people suffering from the Ten Day Fever in Fol—are being cared for individually by their families at home. But I believe that is highly ineffective. The more caretakers you have nursing the sick, the higher the chance you have in infecting more people. The best thing to do is to gather everyone in one place rather than have them spread out.”
“I see. And?”
“Err, I was thinking the largest place that could house so many of Fol’s patients is Fol Castle and I was hoping we could turn Fol Castle into a kind of makeshift hospital. It’d be great if the people here will help out as well…” Yuki fidgeted.
Rhad answered her without any apparent change in expression. “…I understand what you want. But why do we have to take part?”
“Why?” she repeated, blinking back at him as he crossed his legs.
“Yes, I want to ask you why. We’re Knights. We’re not doctors. What logic dictates us taking in highly contagious sick people? Furthermore, you run the risk of infecting this city’s only army.”
“Why? How can you ask that?! Aren’t you people here to protect Fol? If your men catch the Ten Day Fever, we’ll look after them here. Once they recover they’ll never have to fear the Ten Day Fever again.”
“…Is your head screwed on wrong? Did they let a madwoman in here? The chance of recovering from the Ten Day Fever is close to nonexistent,” he demurred, tapping his fingers on the plush armrests.
“I’m here with a doctor. His medicine can cure it. The family and sick at the inn where we’re staying all made a complete recovery,” she snorted in retort.
Rhad propped his elbow on the armrest and rested his cheek against his hand as he worked through the information she laid out.
“Face it; Fol’s soldiers have nothing to do outside of routine patrols until Maruk makes its move. They have too much time on their hands making them overthink things and get jumpy. Don’t you think it’s smarter to have them keep their hands and thoughts occupied with helping the sick and accomplishing something? Besides…” she stopped and looked at the soldiers standing by in the room. She spotted a few familiar faces from the bar.
“…Having some connection to the people of Fol will help motivate your men to want to protect Fol.”
Her gusto rapidly lost its initial strength the more she spoke. The confidence she walked into the room with was chiseled away by burrowing stares from all sides.
While what I’m saying may sound absurd, it’s not wrong. She gave herself a mental pep talk and squared her gaze at Rhad and Rhad alone. Plus, I have what Vigo and Selena said on my side.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, but you won’t be getting any assistance from Adolunde. In that case, nurse the sick back to health inside this castle and get food and supplies from their families as payment for the medical fees. My associates and I don’t need money.” She layered Rhad with a provocative look. He tapped his finger against his cheek and shut his eyes.
“Hm, personally your conditions are tantalizing. Doctors who will hand over their medicine supply for free. And the people of Fol who will give us rations in return for our manpower. If any of us fall ill, our compatriots can nurse us back to health… It does sound appealing.”
“Doesn’t it?!”
I did it! Yuki schooled her features to hide her internal desire to leap for joy. She was about to discuss how things would work when Rhad spoke faster than she could.
“But, you know, it’s not like Fol Castle belongs to me. The person above me left me in control. My decision means nothing without their permission.”
The person above him? Is he talking about the person he said is traveling through the land of dreams?
“But aren’t you the most powerful person here?”
“I don’t have the authority to do anything.”
“Authority? What good does that do for someone who isn’t here to know the suffering of the people firsthand? What do you believe your superior officer would do if they were here right now?”
“Mm, I’m fairly sure they’re someone who gets the job done. They’d probably take your offer.”
“Then give the order in their place! If your superior officer suddenly shows up and has an issue with it, I’ll talk to them directly!” Outrage for Rhad who sat elegantly in Isis’ despicable chair overtook Yuki’s emotions. “What the heck is your problem anyway?! You keep saying you aren’t the most important person here while you sit on that throne! I mean, aren’t there only soldiers living here? This castle is huge and laid out like a freakin’ maze! Sectioning off one of the tunnel-like halls shouldn’t cause much inconvenience!”
Rhad watched her tremble with anger in astonishment before he laughed aloud. “Ahaha! You’ve got guts. I can say that much at least. You’ll make a fine woman someday.”
Yuki raised an eyebrow and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “I don’t need you to come for me in three years.”
“Too bad. Now then, are you finished taking up space in my audience chamber? We might not look the part, but we’re busy.”
“What?! How could you still say—”
Rhad spoke over her objection, “We have to make appropriate plans to accommodate Ten Day Fever patients. So, when are you saying this great doctor will come to the castle?”
“Pardon?” Surprised, she lifted her head and saw his devilish smile.
“At the rate things are going, Fol won’t change. The end will come for us if we don’t change something. I, at the very least, am grateful to you for knocking some sense into the men here, my future bride.”
“Like I already said, I won’t be your bride!” she objected, but the effect was lost because of her smile over him listening to her plea.
Rhad deliberately lifted one shoulder in a half shrug. “How cold. The least you could do is reward me for finally deciding to take action in Prince Luca’s place.”
“…What did you just say?” Yuki’s jubilation froze in place.