TLNTAAM Chapter 12

A Bone-Chilling Fastball

"Eat this."

I looked back and forth between the herb held out in a white-gloved hand and the doctor's face. The man with his red hair carelessly tied back had said exactly one thing the moment I arrived.

A remarkably terse individual. Whether that was a virtue or a flaw, I couldn't say.

'At least he's not asking questions. That's something……'

I chewed the herb thoroughly and thought about what had happened at the dining hall earlier.

'That was the first meal I've ever eaten while being stared at from every direction.'

The moment I'd stepped through the door, it felt like my face had become a target. All those eyes. Deeply mortifying.

'Better than I'd feared, at least.'

No one asked directly. No one did anything strange. They talked to the person beside them, ate their food, worked their embroidery, and glanced over once.

'Just frequently……'

Every single one of those maids looking over once added up to something that felt like being taken apart one thread at a time.

'And yet I ate anyway. Very me.'

I'd even tucked the small round fruit that came for dessert into my apron pocket on the way out. Walking out of the dining hall, I'd thought: thank goodness Nina's nerves are thick. When I'd been Lee Hwayun, I'd been fairly sensitive. But somewhere between will and circumstance, those nerves had toughened.

'Lee Hwayun would have gotten indigestion.'

I rubbed my stomach and exhaled. Fortunately, nothing hurt. If anything, digestion was proceeding peacefully.

"Stomachache?"

The doctor seemed to have mistaken my stomach-rubbing for pain. I quickly shook my head.

"No. Nothing."

"Tell me if there's any other reaction."

The moment those words left his mouth, my whole body started itching. The same type of discomfort as before.

'What a charming life I lead.'

I sighed deeply and pushed up my sleeve. On the thin arm—nothing but bones, really—red hives were packed in dense clusters. The doctor examined what had appeared on my arm from various angles, then wrote something in his notebook.

"Even the young shoot causes hives."

"Is it the same as the fruit from last time?"

"The young shoot of the oil tree. I thought the leaves wouldn't produce symptoms. But they do, apparently."

I clenched my fist and endured the itching. I touched my face lightly. Hives there too.

'This is a little sad.'

They'd disappear soon, but it was dispiriting. Such an unpleasant thing appearing on Nina's perfectly pretty face.

'This face needs to be looked after.'

I'm sorry, Nina. I apologized internally and took my hand away.

"Don't scratch. You'll scar."

Then don't give me things that cause this in the first place. I know—that's why I took my hand away.

The man adjusted his monocle and kept writing. I glanced sideways at him. The quill nib moved without pause.

'Dio, was it?'

When I'd arrived, the soldier guarding the medical office door had mentioned a longer name, but I couldn't recall it. I really should have memorized it.

'This place is rather chaotic, isn't it.'

It was called a medical office, but it was closer to a laboratory. Packed shelves held reagent bottles in every color, and books were stacked in every direction. It must have been a very large space originally, but all the documents and books had turned it into something like a maze.

'How he finds anything is beyond me.'

In this chaos the man managed to locate a crumpled bundle of papers and check something within them. With nothing to do besides endure the itching, I dragged a chair from the corner and sat down.

The moment I sat on the wooden chair, the man's brow furrowed slightly. I caught myself immediately.

"Should I stand?"

"No. It's fine. Never mind."

He went to the bookshelf and opened a drawer. Watching the carelessly tied red hair, I tilted my head.

'Everyone here has long hair.'

The king had long hair. Most of the soldiers had hair at least to the chin. Come to think of it, the only person in this castle with short hair was me.

'Is it some kind of custom?'

I was deep in contemplation of Iberian hair-length practices when the door suddenly flew open and a man in armor walked in.

"Dio, is that thing I asked you about not done yet?"

The red hair turned slightly to look at the knight who'd entered. I let out a small sound.

'Oh. Short hair.'

By modern standards, a buzz cut. The kind of length that doesn't suit most people, but this one's head shape was decent enough that it held up reasonably well.

'The affable sporty type.'

Basketball, maybe. Or volleyball. But looking at the thickness of his neck—enormously muscular, it seemed.

Big build. Thick neck. Short hair. Taken together it might suggest organized crime, but the pleasant expression made him look approachable.

"Leo, it's been a while."

"Oh, hasn't it. How long has it been?"

"You left for the border region last autumn, so half a year."

The man walked straight in and laughed openly. Healthy white teeth. One dental care advertisement, fully embodied.

The border region, though—a knight, then. Someone of rank?

I'd been observing too much. I deliberately looked at the floor. I wiggled my toes and endured the itching. Every time the man moved there came a sound.

Clank, clank.

Iron plate armor.

'He moves well for something that heavy.'

That much muscle? Take off that armor and there'd be something extraordinary underneath? Do enough good deeds and maybe someday I'd get to see it? I like muscles.

"Heading back again?"

"No. Handed it off to my replacement."

"Makes sense—concentrating forces in the capital is probably better now."

"Can't be helped, with what His Majesty's done. But, speaking of——"

The man ran a hand over his short hair and suddenly turned his gaze to me.

"Why is there a maid with hives all over her face sitting in here?"

All the good feeling evaporated. I worked hard to hide the expression shifting on my face.

'Not a big deal. And yet I'm suddenly furious.'

The specific irritation of wearing a nice outfit somewhere important and discovering a run in your stocking.

"Research."

"Ah, that. You don't usually bring people in here, Dio. I was quite startled to find something small in the corner."

Please. I would like to be ignored.

I exhaled quietly and looked at the middle distance. A mountain is a mountain; air is air. Pass, this moment. Showing annoyance would be my undoing. Because that man is someone of rank, and I am very much at the bottom.

Suddenly I felt sorry for myself. Ridiculous! A country with no labor protections! I miss it! South Korea!

Children should be in school. A child this age shouldn't be working.

"Hey, kid. How did your face end up like that?"

And yet the knight had the cheerful gall to approach me with that pleasant expression. I worked to keep my face neutral and looked at the monocle.

'Red hair, you did this to me. You explain it.'

He seemed to read my look, because the monocle spoke.

"Research. She has a particular constitution. She'll recover shortly."

"What kind of constitution does that? Sounds like prime research material."

"It seems to be related to divine power. She's a poison-taster."

"Oh, you mean those kids the temple sends? Hey—did you come from the temple?"

I had no choice but to respond. I gave a small nod.

"We don't need a taster, do we? Why'd they send her?"

"A suitable subject has emerged, hasn't it. She's fragile as a bird. For safety, anything will do."

"She can actually detect poison?"

The knight suddenly patted my back. Twice. He probably didn't think he was using much force.

I had a different experience.

Thud——.

I fell off the chair. I lay on the floor and blinked, genuinely surprised. Even the red hair looked taken aback and stared at the knight.

"Oh. Sorry."

The doctor gripped both my shoulders and stood me back up.

I'm going to have a bruise on my backside. A deep one.

I exhaled at length. This morning had been thoroughly difficult. I didn't believe in omens, but today was a genuinely terrible day.

'What kind of day produces this much bad luck.'

The knight carefully sat me back in the chair. I bit my lip lightly.

"Kid, are you hurt anywhere?"

Just as I was about to shake my head again, the monocle spoke.

"Leo doesn't need to concern himself. She's not particularly important."

I bit down hard on my lip.

The nerve of him. Right now there are hives from the toxic herb you made me eat, and I just fell off a chair because of the person who appears to be your acquaintance, and the thing I get to hear is not particularly important?

'The truth of it makes it worse.'

Right. Not particularly important. Come when called. Leave when told. Eat what I'm given.

"Dio, I think she's angry."

I caught myself. I breathed in slowly and brought myself back down. Endure. You must endure. I should have cultivated some enlightenment back when I was Lee Hwayun.

"Kid, anyway—I'm sorry."

I looked at the knight. Those open, good-natured eyes held genuine apology.

Sincerity gets through.

"It's fine, sir."

One fall hadn't reduced me to pieces, and the pain was already gone, so I really was fine. It was only the apron getting dragged across a dirty floor that bothered me.

I was dusting off the white apron when I noticed the fruit I'd tucked into my pocket. I took it out and looked it over—the unnamed fruit, about the size of a tangerine, had gotten a little squashed.

'I was going to give this to the soldier guarding the door. Doesn't look like that'll work now.'

A gift I'd brought to make a good impression on my role model guarding the medical office entrance, and it was damaged. I was wondering whether I should just eat it myself when——

"What are you researching?"

"The fruit and young shoot of the oil tree."

"That gives you hives, doesn't it. Even just touching it."

"That's why I'm developing an antidote."

The knight rubbed his chin and continued.

"They grow abundantly at the border. Press them for oil and it burns well, but just touching the plant makes you itch, so cutting them back is a whole job in itself."

"And when it burns it spatters, which is another problem."

"If they could be made usable, it'd be convenient. I keep saying—only Dio could manage it."

"I'm only doing what needs to be done. And a useful subject has conveniently come along."

The knight glanced at me examining the fruit and tilted his head.

"You're testing her with that?"

"She heals quickly."

"Isn't she a little small for this? I just barely tapped her and she fell off the chair."

"She's fine."

I wanted to pout. I puffed my cheeks up and let the air out. I am not fine. Do you know how much that itches, Monocle?

"Look. The hives on her face are already gone."

The knight suddenly leaned his entire upper body toward me and peered at my face. I startled, my shoulders flying up, and the man actually grinned.

"They really are gone. Remarkable."

I pulled my head back as far as it would go in a way that said what is happening. The knight looked even more delighted and broke into a wide smile.

"Leo, stop tormenting her."

"She's cute. After nothing but hulking fellows, seeing a girl around is practically an event."

The red hair shook his head with an air of resignation and beckoned to me. Come here. I got up promptly and approached the monocle.

"How are the hives?"

I pushed up my sleeve and showed him the arm, back to normal. He nodded and handed me something.

A fruit.

The same fruit from last time.

I wanted to headbutt the monocle directly in the face.

'You——'

The itching had barely faded. And now I had to eat it again? Regardless of being a human litmus paper for poison, wasn't this a bit much?

"This time I made an antidote. You can eat it without worry."

I took a steadying breath. How generous of you. His Majesty's grace is truly boundless. You certainly make efficient use of your resources. Doctor.

Waves of misery washed in from somewhere vast. I pushed them all the way back down. Endure, for now.

'Such is my lot.'