The Doctor Cured The Villainess And Ran Away-Chapter 26: The Princess’s Magic (1)

As soon as I mentioned Asella’s debuff, her expression visibly shifted to wariness.

She must have hated the idea of anyone finding out.

But as her personal physician, I couldn’t just ignore it—so I pressed on with the questions.

“Your Highness, do you often experience abdominal pain or nausea?”

“No.”

That was firm.

She’d already said she wasn’t in pain, so I expected that.

I couldn’t tell if she was bluffing or if she’d simply gotten used to the pain after enduring it for so long.

“Are there times when it worsens?”

“...Not sure.”

That evasive answer sounded like a bluff to me.

But there was no need to keep pushing if she clearly didn’t want to talk about it. No point in souring her mood over it.

“In that case, please take this when it gets bad.”

I handed Asella a vial of painkiller.

It was a finger-length glass bottle, the kind usually used for small {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} mana stones. Pretty sturdy, too.

“What is it?”

“It’s called a pain-nullifier. If the pain ever becomes intense, taking this should help relieve it significantly.”

“Is that really true?”

Asella looked doubtful.

Lucie, the head maid, cut in on her own.

“Your Highness, if I may speak.”

“Go ahead.”

“During the selection exam, when His Lordship gave this to the injured knight, the man said his pain vanished immediately.”

“...Hmm.”

Asella tilted the bottle with her fingertip, the pill rattling faintly inside.

“Lord Gotberg, if you’re entertaining some wild theory, stop. It’s wrong.”

“Your Highness.”

I leaned in slightly, putting on a more serious face.

“As your physician, I ask that you do not lie to me. It is my duty to fully understand Your Highness’s condition.”

Even if I’m a quack, I’m still a physician—and just this once, I insisted.

Asella held her neutral expression for a moment, mulling over my words, then tucked the bottle away.

“I’ll keep it for now. But Lord Gotberg.”

“Yes.”

“There must not be a single baseless rumor circulating in the palace regarding my condition.”

A command, laced with sincerity.

She wanted me to keep her illness a secret.

It made sense. Illness was a fatal weakness for someone sincerely aiming for the throne.

If that was why she kept up the bluff, I could understand it.

“Of course. A doctor must take patient confidentiality seriously, even if it costs him his life.”

Asella gave a small nod, apparently satisfied with that answer.

“That concludes the morning consultation. Since your blood pressure’s fine, your mana levels are likely stable as well. You’re free to go about your day.”

I disposed of the remaining blood by mixing it with pre-prepared mercury.

Just as I was packing up and standing, Asella called out to me.

“Lord Gotberg. You wouldn’t ever lie to me, would you?”

“Not where it counts. Of course not.”

“Is that how you knew? Because you gained your talent, too?”

Her golden eyes pierced into mine.

She was asking if I’d figured out her pain because I’d also paid a price for my talent.

“I don’t know what you mean, Your Highness. That medication was crafted using alchemy, nothing more.”

The silence lingered as Asella kept her eyes on me.

“...You’re dismissed.”

I offered a polite bow and turned to leave her chambers.

“Phew.”

My gut twisted after that round of psychological warfare.

That last lie hadn’t come from Las the doctor—it came from Las Gotberg, her betrothed.

...I figured that much was probably okay.

A few days passed since I officially began work as Asella’s physician.

“Switching shifts, entering protection detail.”

Tanya, now perfectly adjusted to the workflow, reported from my office in the royal infirmary.

“Doctor, shall I tidy up?”

“I know where everything is.”

The place was already cluttered with all the medical tools I’d crafted.

Tanya frowned at the floor, now cluttered enough that it was hard to find a clear step.

She handled daytime duty while Bruno took night. They said they’d rotate periodically.

It was a grueling two-shift system with no weekends or real rest—but no matter how many times I told them to rest while we were inside the palace, they didn’t listen.

Tanya insisted it was her responsibility and always remained close by.

“Asella shows no anomalies today, either.”

I continued writing on the observation sheet.

Her blood pressure and general health remained in good shape.

I had checked her diet too, and although nutritionally unbalanced, it wasn’t terrible. I was considering proposing a new menu.

But that would require a consultation with the palace kitchen, so it would take some time.

More than anything, Asella barely ate.

She picked at her food like a bird, yet somehow managed to grow into that future self of hers over the next decade.

She’s not an elf or a mana-absorbing lifeform... is she?

“...Probably because of the pain.”

Putting on airs, of course.

It suited her, sure—but now that I was her physician, I couldn’t stop worrying about it.

I ended up imagining it.

A little imperial princess, born into royalty.

Four years old—no, maybe three. Or perhaps even a newborn.

Her magical talent awakened.

And along with it... came disease.

One that brought excruciating pain.

In an environment where dignity and formality had to be upheld, you weren’t allowed to show weakness just because you were a little sick.

If a member of the royal family displayed any sign of vulnerability, it would bring down the prestige of the entire imperial household.

Especially someone with succession rights—even if it was the weakest faction.

In truth, Asella was the next Empress. There was nothing “weak” about her from where I stood.

And her mother, Empress Camilla, was notoriously power-hungry.

Given those circumstances, it only made sense that Asella had grown to believe she couldn’t show any signs of pain.

Either that, or she’d come to accept her suffering as something natural.

No wonder the stress piled up.

“...So what. Big deal.”

That didn’t mean the things Asella had done could be justified.

I wouldn’t go so far as to call myself her greatest victim, but still.

“For now, I’m just doing my duty as her physician.”

This was my chance to live as a doctor for once.

I didn’t want to mess it up by getting swept up in emotions.

Whether I hated her or pitied her—even a little—those were feelings I’d deal with later.

“Let’s say her pain really is the price of her talent.”

Then, like my own debuff, it might be some kind of incurable condition.

But if it wasn’t...

If it was something I could actually cure with medicine—something I could fix—

Then by removing the debuff, the pain, I might also erase the very talent that pain came with.

I could completely destroy the creation of the so-called Golden Witch.

“That’s not just blasphemy—it’s treason.”

So what exactly is Asella’s condition?

Diagnosis didn’t work on her, so I couldn’t say anything definitive yet. I needed to observe her more closely.

That’s why I was sticking to her side during her daily schedule, watching her every move.

As her personal physician, I said it was necessary—and she accepted that.

“She is, for now, my assigned patient.”

And it was a doctor’s job to keep their patients at ease.

“Unless a skill stronger than Diagnosis appears...”

I opened my status window.

――――――――――― fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

○ Medicine D

A skill used to treat patients based on knowledge of modern medicine.

· Diagnosis C

Allows you to partially assess a patient’s condition.

· Prescription C

Slightly improves the condition of a diagnosed patient.

· First Aid Mastery D

Allows you to perform emergency treatment more quickly.

· Blood Test D

Provides detailed information about the patient’s blood.

―――――――――――

Both Diagnosis and Prescription had reached Rank C.

It was about time for a new skill to unlock.

“Time to pick a skill tree.”

I tapped on the details to open the skill map.

There were three basic skills given at the start:

[Diagnosis], [Prescription], and [First Aid].

Each of them branched out like tree limbs, leading to similar skills waiting to be unlocked.

[Blood Test] had branched off from the [Diagnosis] line.

The next skill I could unlock was on either the Diagnosis route or the First Aid route.

Two unopened slots were blinking on those paths—it was easy to tell.

“[Prescription] seems like a pharmacological skill line, and [First Aid] might lead to more dexterity-based skills.”

Since I already had alchemy, I didn’t see much reason to prioritize the prescription line.

“So it’s best to follow the [Diagnosis] path for now.”

I needed to properly understand Asella’s condition if I wanted to do anything about it.

“Blood Test is basically a CBC. A skill that requires modern medical devices.”

If I had to choose the most universal diagnostic tool—

“Then it’d be X-rays.”

What, was I going to shoot laser beams out of my eyes now?

That would be ridiculous. I laughed under my breath.

Well, technically X-rays have shorter wavelengths than UV rays, so they’re invisible to the naked eye anyway...

“Doctor, it’s time to begin today’s schedule.”

Tanya’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts, and I rose from my seat.

The Imperial Palace was the most extravagant waste of talent I’d ever seen.

Just one step from Asella, and clunk-clunk, an entire herd of servants and guards followed in her wake.

I walked beside her like a guard myself, but she already had her own escort. Tanya was also glued to my side as mine.

It made for a weird-looking group.

Then again, I guess it wasn’t a total waste. Job creation was important, after all.

“Asella, keep your shoulders straighter! And hold your gaze—don’t lose focus!”

But her daily schedule... it was so boring I could barely suppress a yawn.

After breakfast, Empress Camilla personally oversaw Asella’s studies.

And after lunch? More studies.

After dinner? You guessed it—still more studies.

Imperial etiquette, political theory, formalities, dance, horseback riding.

No clue what it was all supposed to prepare her for, but the level of intensity put even the most obsessive private tutors to shame.

Was it Gangnam or Gangbuk? I couldn’t remember—it had been too long.

It was practically a Spartan regime, leaving no time for rest.

That evening, Asella’s instructor handed Empress Camilla the graded exam Asella had taken that day.

Camilla twitched her brow, then strode toward Asella and said:

“Your results are disgraceful. It seems your little vacation at House Gotberg went on far too long.”

How bad could it have been?

I glanced at the test—she’d only missed two questions out of thirty.

...That’s actually pretty damn good, isn’t it?

Asella stood perfectly straight, her face unreadable, but I saw her throat twitch. She must’ve swallowed hard.

Come to think of it, the one person Asella had never been able to stand up to was Camilla.

Even ten years in the future—or now—I’d never seen her act submissive to anyone but her.

Watching it with my own eyes felt weirdly refreshing.

“Everyone, leave. I’m taking Asella to the workshop.”

At Camilla’s command, the attendants and guards all promptly turned and exited the room.

Only Tanya and I stood there, blankly trying to process the situation.

And then—

[No. 058 : Magical Torture 48% → 62%]

[In Progress]

Another bad ending probability had just gone up.

“...There you are.”

At this point, I almost felt happy to see the numbers.

Yeah, would’ve been lonely without you.