My office wasn’t so famous little gourt hole-in-the-wall with limited-edition specials, but knights kept pouring in like a tidal wave, all shouting at once.
“Professor, the plague just won’t go away. Please, we beg of you!”
“Our unit’s training has been suspended for five days! The commander’s gonna blow his top!”
All of them looked desperate.
So were clearly feverish, their words slurred—obviously down with colds.
“Cover your mouths first. I’m ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ not dealing with anyone who steps within ten ters of without one.”
“We’re really desperate here, please hear us out. Just yesterday, over half the knights were down, couldn’t even clean the barracks—”
One of them in particular was running his mouth a bit too much.
Bruno walked up and silently planted himself in front of the guy.
“Back.”
“Wait, I just wanted to say—”
“Back.”
Bruno’s towering bulk lood over them, and the knights quickly deflated, retreating all the way to the office entrance.
Tanya and he had been taking turns covering shifts lately, and honestly, in tis like this, Bruno was surprisingly handy.
“First question. Who told you I was the one handing out aspirin?”
“Oh-ho! So it’s called aspirin!”
“Is it really dicine? Or is it a sacred artifact solidified with divine power?”
“I heard it from Captain Gott, sir.”
The sa captain who signed a contract with .
So he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. I should’ve reined him in more firmly.
Still...
dicine doesn’t belong to just one person.
It should spread. The more people who benefit from it, the better. That’s the whole point.
Even Hippocrates, the father of dicine, would’ve agreed.
The fact that so many were coming on their own to ask for treatnt? That was a good thing.
The wider I spread dical knowledge, the more my achievents grow, and the better the odds of getting a good ending. This was an opportunity.
“Alright, listen up. Aspirin is a drug that alleviates the symptoms of the current outbreak. It was made possible thanks to a scientific discipline called dicine, and... ugh, I’m tired of explaining.”
I couldn’t go on giving the sa lecture to every single person who asked.
Maybe I should write a book soday.
No, too much hassle. I’ll make an assistant do it.
Wait, I don’t have an assistant. Or a nurse.
Other royal physicians had entire factions trailing behind them, dozens of aides. Why was I still doing all the grunt work myself—formulating dicine, making masks...
I really should put out a recruitnt notice.
“Anyway, bottom line: I’m not handing out any aspirin.”
“What?!”
“Why not?! Isn’t this the Imperial infirmary?!”
The knights were caught completely off guard by my response, gasping in disbelief.
The reason was simple.
I was out of stock.
Only about a week left until the martial tournant. Just making enough for Moonlight Palace personnel and First Company of the Second Regint was already cutting it close.
But no need to expose my hand.
We were already being looked down on—I couldn’t afford to give anyone more reasons to underestimate us.
I leaned back in my chair and spoke.
“Judging by your insignias, you’re from First Regint—First Princess’s faction. And you’re from the Third—First Prince’s. Why the hell should I do favors for people who’ll just take the dicine and pretend nothing happened?”
“We wouldn’t—!”
“I get that you’re desperate, but there’s a proper order to things. You can’t just barge into my office in the middle of the workday. And shouldn’t you be offering so kind of compensation?”
“Y-you’re right. We apologize.”
The knights looked flustered, clearly trying to read my mood.
I understood—so of them were bedridden from the flu. They were in a rush.
“I won’t give you the ds, but I can share a few thods that’ll work better than healing spells.”
“Really?!”
“Yeah. You see what I’m wearing?”
They nodded.
“We’ve been wondering what that was.”
“Thought maybe it was the latest fashion trend.”
“Actually... it kind of makes you look better?”
I pulled out a spare mask from the drawer and showed them how it was made.
“Doesn’t need to be exact. Just make sothing similar from cloth, cover your nose and mouth, and wear it around. It won’t cure you, but it’ll cut the chance of infecting others by, oh... about ninety percent.”
“Sothing like that really works?”
“The Moonlight Palace knights were all wearing them. They looked completely fine.”
“So that’s the secret! Thank you, Professor!”
The knights bowed deeply, then rushed out of my office like a flood.
They’d probably raid the royal wardrobe next, demanding mask supplies. They were simple creatures.
“Easy to deal with.”
In fact, they might be the only honest ones left in the palace.
Not driven by politics, just sticking with whoever gave them decent als.
Tanya was the sa way.
The Moonlight Palace knights were an odd bunch. Too sensitive to political nuance.
Well... Moonlight Palace was basically a freak anomaly in every possible category.
“But hey, Bruno... think this’ll be okay?”
“What do you an?”
“I an, colds take over a week to get better naturally. Even if they start wearing masks now, the other factions’ knights aren’t gonna recover fast enough for the tournant.”
“Makes them healthier, right?”
“Too healthy is bad. If I help the other factions get strong again and we lose, Asella’s going to torture with magic.”
“...Is that your thing, sir?”
Bruno asked with a very serious face.
I let out a short laugh and leaned back in my chair.
“Thanks for the answer. Good to know you’ve confird it.”
God, knights are sothing else.
***
The next day, my office was hit again—this ti by another outsider from one of the royal factions.
“Doctor Gotberg! So you’re the one they say is Asella’s new personal physician!”
It wasn’t often soone dared to speak to so informally in the Imperial Palace. It was almost refreshing.
Even more telling—this woman could call Asella by na without consequence. That alone said plenty about her standing.
“I greet Your Highness with all due respect.”
I shot up from my seat and offered a proper bow. Being charged with lèse-majesté wouldn’t do any favors.
She had the sa golden hair as Asella, but her eyes were a lavish shade of turquoise, reminiscent of precious jade. Her shoulders were bare beneath an opulent gown.
“Oh my, they said you were a notorious troublemaker in high society, but look at you—so properly trained! Must’ve been nonsense spread by jealous brats, huh?”
The Second Imperial Princess, Lauga von Württempelt, let out a tinkling laugh as she stroked my arm.
A remarkably forward princess.
“I heard Asella dragged her unemployed fiancé into the palace and gave him a job. Honestly, I thought you were just her boy toy. But turns out the knights actually seem to like you?”
She liked gossip, her tone was flippant, and her speech was borderline ridiculous.
Everything she said fit perfectly with what I’d gathered about her—both from Asella’s accounts and from my own background checks.
Lauga was the fourth-born among all the imperial children, but as the Second Princess, she shared the sa mother as the Second Prince, Georg.
Despite her status as a successor, it was clear she stood far from the line of actual power.
“Haha, it’s an honor that Your Highness even knows my na. I did have so chances to bond with the knights, but I didn’t expect those stories to make it all the way to the Forbidden Palace.”
“So you already know what my private quarters are called, and you've finished checking out all the royal ladies? Such a pretty face... No wonder Asella fell head over heels. Must’ve been all that skill of yours.”
She grinned, teasing with sparkling eyes.
“There seems to be a misunderstanding. The only skills I take pride in are dical and therapeutic.”
“Oh hush, don’t be so serious. I’m joking.”
Lauga burst into giggles again, clearly enjoying herself.
This lightweight of a princess seed to live in a world permanently tinted rose-pink. Surely she knew Asella and I were engaged out of political convenience.
“And what brings the radiant jewel of the Imperial Palace all the way to this humble place?”
Lauga reached a hand out toward my chin.
Sothing about the casual gesture rubbed the wrong way, so I pulled my head back. Her eyes narrowed like a perturbed bird’s.
Did I offend her? Surely she wouldn’t accuse of disrespect just for that.
“You and Asella react exactly the sa when I do that.”
Wouldn’t anyone? A stranger suddenly reaching for your face—it’s not exactly welco behavior.
“It’s nothing serious. Just... about this thing called a mask—you made it, right?”
“I did.”
“I saw the knights from Moonlight Palace wearing them the other day. I tried asking Asella about it, and she threw out cold. Can you believe that? I’m her closest sister in age, and she treats like a stray cat.”
Not sure how we got from masks to family drama.
Talking to Lauga took an imnse amount of ntal energy. Her train of thought was impossible to track.
“What piqued your interest in the mask, Your Highness?”
“Oh, right. Make one for , too.”
So that’s what this was about.
“The masks were a gift, a tribute, to Her Highness Princess Asella. Distributing them without her permission would be an offense.”
“Pfft, I’ll smooth it over with her.”
“They're designed to prevent infectious diseases, so even a lookalike version would be effective. But I’m quite busy with my duties as physician, so I wouldn’t be able to make enough for your entire entourage...”
“No, no. Just one. For .”
That caught off guard. Lauga waved her hand dismissively.
“Just yours?”
“Mhm. You know how Asella has those soft, full cheeks? But when she wore the mask, her jawline looked so slender. Honestly, she's still my little sister, but I got the feeling she’s going to grow up into a true beauty.”
She had a good eye.
One of the lesser-known perks of the mask was its visual effect—an aesthetic buff, so to speak.
Lauga wanted to be what people call a “mask beauty.”
“Well? You can make just one, can’t you?”
“Hm, one unit is within reach.”
Not that I had any real reason to do it.
Unless there was a reward.
I threw her a subtle look, and Lauga caught on imdiately. She probably had plenty of experience at social functions.
“Greedy, aren’t you? A marquis’s son and a royal physician, you must not need gold coins.”
Actually, I do.
You can never have too much money.
My father is one of those rare, incorruptible nobles. He funnels all our family’s wealth into public funds, so the Gotberg household doesn’t exactly have a mountain of private assets.
And more importantly, I can’t even access any of it for personal use.
Right now, I’m nothing more than a salaried employee.
“If I gave you one of the Imperial Treasures, would you sew it yourself for ?”
She batted her eyes, her gaze brimming with allure.
That kind of look might’ve chard half the noblen at court into giving up their estates, but it didn’t work on .
She was Asella’s sister, after all.
She had the sa kind of aura—one that triggered more warning bells than temptation.
My more imdiate concern was the upcoming martial arts competition, where I needed to demonstrate the strength of our faction.
If we raised our standing, my own position in the palace would improve.
Maybe even get us a better office.
“Your Highness doesn’t seem particularly concerned about the tournant. Is that right?”
“The martial arts festival? The one with the sword and magic showcases during the flower viewing season? It’s fun to watch.”
“Your knight order is competing too, isn’t it?”
“They can handle it. Sweating together in youth—that’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“If you’re not planning to shine in it yourself, then when your knights face other royal factions, might I ask for a little strategic cooperation?”
“What kind of strategy?”
Lauga tilted her head.
I answered casually.
“It’s called trolling.”
Turning enemies against each other is always the most efficient move.
Let’s throw a wrench in the works.
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