IWIAHC Chapter 36

The next day, when she entered the annex to refill the holy water and headed to the bedchamber, Lily actually began to suspect that some tremendous ability might have been dormant within her.

An evil spirit purifier, or at least something like a soul meditation instructor. That's how remarkably recovered Julius's soul was—to the point of being unrecognizable.

Actually, she'd expected it to some degree while refilling the holy water and checking the ring. But estimating from the sparkle clinging to the ring versus confirming it through a human-shaped soul produced vastly different levels of impact.

Just yesterday, Julius had been darkly corrupted in face and body, with light returning only in patches.

That very soul of his had now cleared as if several layers had been peeled away. If before it had been like pitch, now it resembled a water bottle shaken with fine sand. Above all, the clarity in his eyes was different.

"Spiritual physician Lily Dienta pays respects to the Empire's ruler."

She bowed deeply from the waist. Julius then commanded in clear pronunciation:

[Rise.]

"Did you pass the night peacefully?"

She offered a morning greeting while fumbling in her basket.

[I did. It's been a while since my mind felt so refreshed.]

One could tell at a glance.

Thanks to that, her hand searching for the glass rod grew increasingly slower. She'd grown anxious about whether she could deceive a perfectly lucid Emperor.

Still, she couldn't very well skip what she'd done every time, so she steeled herself and pulled out the glass rod.

Lily placed the rod in Julius's mouth as usual. After a moment, she removed it and narrowed her eyes while holding it up. Julius asked:

[What can you discern from that? Is it not merely an ordinary glass rod?]

As she'd feared, Julius was beginning to suspect. It was a perfectly reasonable doubt.

Fortunately, Lily had already prepared herself mentally, so she could respond with perfect nonchalance.

"What others cannot see is visible to my eyes, after all. The soul's traces remaining on the rod appear clearly to me."

She held up the rod conspicuously.

"Today Your Majesty's soul heat is remarkably stable. A very positive situation. Did you meditate diligently?"

[I did.]

His gaze followed the hand placing the rod in the basket.

[Continuously after you left. While thinking of my family.]

"Good. Shall we continue yesterday's conversation, then?"

Lily sat opposite Julius.

"You said that wretch never met Her Majesty the Empress even once. It's difficult to understand in common sense terms. Could you explain in a bit more detail?"

Julius observed her for a moment.

His gaze, with reason substantially returned, was markedly different from yesterday's. He neither viewed her as an equal, nor did that dazed expression of being helplessly overcome appear any longer.

She swallowed. Even though his soul wasn't completely purified, he was already troublesome to deal with.

[The moment that wretch opened his eyes, he immediately sent Themis and Otto to a country estate. He never sought them out even once afterward.]

It was a far more extreme method than Lily's imagination, which had only considered them not encountering each other within the imperial palace.

She couldn't fathom the reason. Was it because they'd been close, and he feared being exposed? By that logic, people like the Chief Chamberlain or the imperial guard should all have been replaced as well.

Into Lily's puzzled ears came Julius's voice.

[How is Aiden's condition? Is he showing improvement as well?]

Julius wore an expression of concern, as if worried for his friend.

Such shameless behavior, considering he'd shown the disgraceful spectacle of fleeing in panic after seeing Aiden's soul.

However, in shamelessness, Lily was no less accomplished. She sighed and rattled off her patient's condition.

"His Grace originally maintained excellent soul purity. However, recently he's been steadily deteriorating."

Lily continued in a regretful tone.

"It's the influence of improper anger possessing his soul. I sensed verbal abuse and distrust, and the biggest problem is that he's begun refusing treatment."

[Aiden isn't such a weak fellow...]

Julius muttered while staring directly into Lily's eyes. He appeared not to believe a word she'd said.

'I thought he only had a persecution complex, but he understands His Grace rather well.'

Those cold eyes seemed to say shallow tricks wouldn't work. One would expect thoughtless celebration at the downfall of such a despised opponent.

The tension was incomparable to deceiving an irrational soul—her palms grew damp.

With the single-minded determination not to appear guilty, Lily lowered her eyes respectfully and spoke.

"I merely reported without omission what I observed in order to follow Your Majesty's command. Despite the fact that disclosing a patient's symptoms violates a doctor's duty."

Anyone of the Emperor's caliber would have caught that this meant, 'You ordered me to speak, so what's with the suspicion?'

Julius didn't easily withdraw his doubt even at Lily's plausible protest. A tense silence briefly filled the bedchamber.

Lily exercised patience, keeping her hands—which felt ready to tremble at any moment—demurely folded.

'Don't get worked up... Hold on... Endure... I'm biding my time.'

Truth be told, Lily had no talent for endurance and preferred to do anything at all to ruin suffocating atmospheres.

But this once, she couldn't behave so impulsively. No adventures were necessary. Irregular situations, risk factors—all must be eliminated.

If she stumbled awkwardly into an unexpected situation and got caught in her alliance with Aiden, she'd lose one precious card.

Therefore, Lily maintained careful silence and recalled her objective.

Julius had to believe perfectly that Aiden's condition was deteriorating.

That Lily Dienta was merely a naive healer with an irreplaceable skill, taking no one's side.

Thus, her ultimate goal was to plant in Julius's mind the misunderstanding that with just a bit of persuasion, Lily Dienta could be easily exploited.

Lily's patience was rewarded. Julius broke the silence first with a question.

[Then I'm deeply concerned. What caused my friend's sudden mental change? If you're truly a capable healer, you naturally identified the reason long ago. If there's any way I can help, I shall.]

It was a tone that anyone ignorant of the circumstances might believe genuinely worried for a friend.

However, the contents beneath would differ.

He was obviously weighing how far to trust Lily Dienta, whose side she was truly on, whether she had other ulterior motives.

Thanks to Aiden's warnings hammered into her ears, Lily could grasp Julius's thoughts as if holding them in her hand. Aiden truly never tired of repeating himself daily—saying the same things again, and again, and again.

If you decide to deceive Julius, you must do so flawlessly without gaps; even when both parties know they're deceiving each other, you must superficially create perfect logic with no flaw to be found, and so forth.

"I apologize, but Your Majesty cannot help. Because all such changes in His Grace are..."

She deliberately dragged out her words to bring Julius's interest to its peak, then spoke simply and clearly.

"Your Majesty's fault, you see."

[Because of me?]

Sure enough, he asked back in confusion.

Until now, he'd likely never encountered a commoner who openly blamed the Emperor right to his face.

"Yes."

Lily opened her eyes innocently.

"I cannot know precisely which aspect of Your Majesty touched His Grace's heart. However, it's clear that Your Majesty was the cause. He began distrusting me from the point I took on Your Majesty's treatment."

Julius didn't grow angry at this utterly rude manner of speaking, but instead gestured for her to continue.

"Actually, he'd already been asking me to postpone going to the annex. To concentrate only on his treatment first."

She tilted her head, pretending to recall.

"He said that once he recovered, he'd personally lead Your Majesty's treatment then, that he'd invite high-level personnel to provide better treatment. However, as a matter of medical principle, how could I turn away from a critical patient before my eyes? Especially the Father of the Empire himself?"

Since it wasn't truly a question seeking an answer, Lily didn't wait but continued immediately.

"So I disobeyed His Grace's orders and began traveling to the annex... and afterward, he's been in a state of refusing treatment, saying he can no longer trust me. He grows angry every time he sees me, so the distortion of his soul is also worsening. Therefore, all this has Your Majesty as its cause."

She paused her lengthy lies for the moment and studied Julius's expression.