Chapter 13
“Of course I remember. It was quite an unforgettable first greeting: ‘What are you two planning to do, did you come to die together with me?’”
“Don’t dwell on trivial matters. I’m serious! If you carelessly go outside this village…”
“Wasn’t the only plague victim you witnessed just one? Whether their belly was swollen from rot or they returned after a spat with a colleague and shared knife wounds, how would I know?”
Nathan’s eyes bulged with excitement. Was he dismissing my experience and insight? With that level of injury, I could have recognized it immediately…
A multitude of voices filled his mind. Yet, not accustomed to verbal sparring, the most primitive words escaped his lips.
“Are you disregarding me?”
Arno bit his lower lip, clearly struggling to suppress a smirk.
“Who would disregard you, esteemed professor? I’m merely asking you to enlighten a simpleton like me. You know, ‘medically speaking.'”
“…”
“If not, I’ll have no choice but to drag you out for the sake of my employer.”
Arno’s tone was flat, but both Nathan and Alice were convinced he could carry Nathan out like a sack of potatoes if it came down to it.
He was more than capable of handling rough situations, both physically and temperamentally.
Nathan sighed as he looked up at the ceiling before proposing a solution.
“You said tomorrow?”
“Yes. Tomorrow at noon.”
“If you can go outside the village and return in one piece by then, I’ll follow you on my own.”
“Really?”
“Really… Whenever you decide to do it, just call me when you’re ready.”
After finishing his meal, Nathan stood up with a thud as the door to the second floor closed behind him.
Arno mumbled with food still in his mouth.
“Do you think I’ll be scared by that? Just give me a few pieces of bread the lady brought; I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”
“Are you really going out?”
“Dragging that scrawny guy out is no big deal, but if something goes wrong and I leave a scratch on his face, I won’t be able to show my face to my employer.”
“…”
“Why the uneasy expression, miss? I thought med school raised smart people, but maybe I was mistaken. Do you also believe that stepping outside the village means death?”
In front of Arno’s frowning face, Alice unexpectedly asked a question.
“It depends on the interpretation. Do you know about scurvy?”
“Hm? Isn’t that the disease sailors used to get? They’d recover by eating lemons.”
“Correct. But in the past, some believed that scurvy was cured not by lemons, but by the land itself. They thought that returning from the sea and receiving the earth’s energy was the cure.”
“Hah… What nonsense.”
“But here’s the thing: ‘If you never leave the land, you’ll never get scurvy.’ That’s not entirely wrong, is it? The role of a scholar is to analyze such superstitions and extract the useful parts.”
“Oh.”
“Shall I give another example? Long ago, while villagers were dying from a plague, a herbalist living alone in a remote house survived. She was accused of being a witch and executed. But modern analysis revealed that the cause was a contaminated village well, while the herbalist survived thanks to using a stream…”
“I get it, I get it.”
Arno raised both hands in surrender.
“So, you’re saying you don’t believe in curses, but until there’s a scientific explanation, you’ll stay in the village, much like sailors staying on land to avoid scurvy?”
“That sounds about right.”
“Hah. With my foolish common sense, if this village is indeed the source of the problem, then getting away from it as quickly as possible seems like the safest option.”
“You might be right. If you decide to leave, I won’t stop you. The more cases we have, the easier the analysis.”
“…”
“Would you like some bread to take with you? We have leftover pancakes too.”
Arno glanced between the clinic window and the table before letting out a long sigh.
“No… Let me think about it.”
“Take your time. Whatever you decide, the professor will still blame you and complain, so don’t feel too pressured.”
“Damn it.”
Arno scoffed and cursed under his breath. Meanwhile, Alice stuffed her mouth with leftover pancakes and suddenly spoke up as if an idea had struck her.
“Arno, could you make this again for breakfast tomorrow? A little extra would be great.”
“Why, planning to go out yourself?”
“No. I’m going to use it as bribery when I visit Dr. Esha for information on ‘treatment.’”
“That’s quite an admirable thought coming from you, but after taking a round earlier, those people didn’t seem like they’d open their hearts for just one snack. They barely even acknowledge greetings, and I haven’t even seen Dr. Esha’s face.”
“Better than not trying at all. Especially if snacks can—”
Alice observed Arno’s grimace and added belatedly,
“It was really delicious. Thank you for dinner.”
“I appreciate the heartfelt compliment. It would have been nicer if you had said, ‘Next time, I’ll cook!’”
“Unfortunately, my only talents are analysis and dissection. If you ask me to prepare meat, I’ll make it look nice.”
“Hah, as if you’re going to hunt the meat yourself?”
“You’re speaking as if you’ve never relied on a butcher. And did I ever say I’m meeting Dr. Esha for my own sake? I’m trying to find a way to ensure all of our safety.”
Faced with Alice’s unwavering stance, Arno pondered briefly before replying,
“It seems you’ve inherited your teacher’s habit of speaking.”
Arno had successfully provoked Alice into anger with remarkable efficiency and returned to his quarters with a victorious smile.
Alice took a moment to reflect while staring at the wall. Just a brief moment.
‘Is it so wrong to suggest we each stick to what we’re good at? Besides, if a woman says, ‘I’ll make the next meal,’ no one takes it as a polite gesture. They start expecting it as a matter of course!’
She had experienced similar situations both in the lab and in the boarding house where she stayed while her father’s inheritance was still intact.
With irritation, Alice swept and mopped the first-floor floor. Internally, she cursed. Damn it, even though we all gather in one space, it’s ultimately my responsibility to clean up.
‘Fine. Let’s just get some sleep quickly. I need to catch up on what I missed last night…?’
Alice paused while pulling at the wrinkled bed sheets caused by Cherry. The scattered bloodstains on the sheets were expected, but…
‘What is this powder?’
Each time she tugged at the sheets, very fine powder flew up into the air.
It must be that powder clinging to Cherry’s hair. Until yesterday, she thought it was dandruff, but now she couldn’t reach such a simple conclusion anymore.
‘It’s too fine and uniform to be naturally shed skin flakes. The possibility of it being lice eggs is even lower. Are there skin conditions like this? Cherry’s skin looked dry but didn’t seem problematic.’
The undeniable conclusion was simply that ‘I can’t figure it out with my current abilities.’
All she could do was roll up the sheets and shove them into a corner.
Before getting into a clean bed, Alice meticulously washed herself. Fortunately, there was plenty of water today.
‘It’s going to be busy this morning… so let’s not think too much and just sleep…’
Her eyelids closed first as her gradually sinking consciousness finally submerged beneath awareness. The lights of the underworld flickered on to welcome her.
The only source of light in her dreams was a small lantern hanging from the roof.
It took her back to the days when she shared her father’s lap with Auber, each taking turns listening to stories read aloud by their father.
Her father read books while Alice listened happily, but Auber fidgeted in boredom.
What made Auber laugh were the moths gathering around the lantern one by one. When Alice squealed, Auber became even more excited and giggled louder as he reached out for the moths.
“Look, sister!”
“Ew! Don’t bring it here! You’ll get in trouble! Dad!”
Her father laughed at their antics.
“It’s a hawk moth; isn’t its pattern beautiful?”
“It’s gross!”
She reflexively replied that way, but the geometric patterns of white, black, and brown on its wings were… somewhat tolerable upon closer inspection. She thought there were such moths too.
Her father reached out to Auber, saying, “I remember making specimens when I was young. Do you want to try it too, Auber?”
As their father set down his book and touched the moth, its wings fluttered wildly. He then searched for insecticide he had left by the door.
And then… in a blink of an eye, the moth drooped lifelessly; someone picked up Auber and pinned his naked body as he curled up with pins in Canery Medical School’s archive…
“Auber!”
Alice looked around for someone to help her but found that more moths continued gathering around the lantern as her surroundings grew darker and darker.
She felt suffocated by excrement. No! She couldn’t save her brother like this…
…No. Who was saving whom?
‘Ah.’
Alice realized her predicament. At some point, needles had been driven into her chest as well.
***
The next morning, Arno, who had no intention of making pancakes for a perfectly capable woman, was forced to abandon his resolve the moment he stepped into the clinic.
“What happened last night? You look terrible.”
“I had a nightmare… I didn’t sleep well.”
“You must be quite sensitive. Just like you look.”
“You’ve hit the nail on the head.”
Though Arno could be insufferable, at least he asked how she was doing and made pancakes. That was more than could be said for someone who didn’t even bother to ask or help set the table. Nathan asked Arno,
“Is today the day? The day you go out and spill your guts?”
“I’ll think about it until the errand boy arrives in the afternoon. Oh, and I won’t drag you out against your will.”
“An errand boy is coming? Then it’s simple! Just send a letter. Ask Count Serda to send mercenaries to take over this village—”
“The king wouldn’t plot such destructive plans in someone else’s territory.”
“Sometimes destruction is the answer! Just like there are diseases that only vanish when the host is killed!”
No one responded to that statement. Nathan huffed a bit and then stormed up to the second floor.
Alice sighed and gathered the pancakes.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Have a safe trip. Come back as quickly as possible; I’d rather not be left alone with that guy.”
An automatic “yes” didn’t come out right away. That would depend on the villagers.
Her first destination was Dr. Esha’s house.
In this town without any signposts, fortunately, his house was listed in the rules.
[1. Residents wishing to leave the village should receive treatment at Dr. Esha’s hut. The world beyond is harsh to us. We recommend you return quickly.
Dr. Esha’s house: Near the forest, purple roof.]
Still, something about the wording nagged at her.
‘It’s suspicious that it only says “residents.” Does it apply to guests too?’
Once she started thinking, annoying questions kept popping up.
Return quickly? Is this “treatment” just a temporary measure? What kind is it?
Pills, ointments, inhalants… Alice ran through every type of treatment she could imagine. But all her medical speculation vanished the moment she arrived at her destination.
“Wow…”
Before her stood a detention center building that was unremarkable except for its purple roof. However, behind it, a cabin made from tree bark looked like it could belong to a witch—it had an eerie atmosphere about it.
‘What if a real witch comes out?’
While she didn’t believe in magic or curses, people who claimed to wield magic by spilling others’ blood certainly existed.
Taking a deep breath, Alice knocked on the detention center door.
