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nThis confrontation has already happened twice. It was enough of catastrophe to drain me.

nI wanted to run away.

nI wanted to escape.

nI wanted to pretend I didn’t know anything.

nBut I can’t.

nNo, I can’t be shaken or thrown into confusion anymore.

nI took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

n‘I can’t stay like this.’

nWhen I struck it twice, I heard a call to come from inside the room.

nMy sweaty hands grabbed the doorknob, slipping slightly, but I was able to open the door without difficulty and entered the room.

n

n

n“Hi, Igelto. Did you sleep well?”

nI had a sore throat from Alastair, but fortunately, I didn’t have much trouble talking.

n“It’s dawn—what is it?”

nIt was a tone soaked in tiredness.

nAfter my confrontation with Alastair last night, I didn’t sleep.

nAll night I looked out the window and sighed.

nWaiting for the sun to rise.

nInternally, my head was spinning with tumultuous thoughts. But I strengthened my dignity and composure outwardly.

nAnd so I decided when the sun rose, to see Igelto. When the sun rose, I would explain the full circumstances to Igelto. When the sun rose, Igelto would surely know how to fix the situation.

nWhen the sun rose… I hope this painful situation would end.

nI waited for the sun to rise with such an earnest heart.

nMy fingertips tingled with impatience as I tapped them on the window sill until they went numb. My chest was clogged up, and I could only draw up harsh, painful, heated breaths.

nWhen the sun finally started to rise, I couldn’t wait any longer.

nIt didn’t rise entirely yet, but I ran to Igelto.

n“Uh, yes, it’s dawn—I’m sorry. But I have something to say to you.”

nI was a little apologetic that in my panic, I didn’t consider Igelto at all —only fretting about my situation.

nI sheepishly smiled and awkwardly apologized.

n“You don’t look well. Are you sick?”

n“I’m fine.”

nI was always fine.

nAlthough what happened yesterday was unsettling, I wasn’t dead. Wasn’t I alive?

n“Really?”

nI thought he would take my words at face value, but his expression turned out to be dubious.

n“So what do you want to say to me at dawn?”

nI retook a deep breath. This time, I controlled it so that he could not hear it.

nIt took courage to say this.

n“I’m sorry, but I’d like you to start concocting the medicine now.”

n“…………”

n“You still need some time to recover, but there’s a crisis—that isn’t a little thing— so I’m in a hurry.”

n“……..”

n“Please, Igelto.”

nI implored, almost begging.

nIgelto, whose lips were sealed, listened to me quietly. They parted for a moment, opening as if trying to say something, but he didn’t say anything.

nThere was a very short moment of silence, but long enough for me to start sweating.

n“I see.”

nHe nodded his head without hesitation.

nIt was the expected answer, but hearing it directly, in person, made me feel overwhelmed.

n“Why are you looking so sorry? Don’t do that because it doesn’t suit you.”

n“It’s natural to be sorry. I’m asking for favors from a patient who hasn’t fully recovered yet.”

n“Now, don’t pretend to be conscientious now.”

nWhat kind of impression did I give him?

n“Anyways, I was thinking of making medicine starting today or tomorrow. It doesn’t hurt that much so I was sorry I was still lying down.”

n“………..”

n“Isn’t this a deal anyway? I make medicine, and you let me go back I’m also grateful for being rescued from slavery, but I was feeling embarrassed for not doing anything while relaxing here in the mansion due to your kindness and hospitality.

n“……”

n“You’ve been treating me too well. So you don’t have to be sorry, Serina.”

n“Thank you, Igelto.”

n“You don’t have to be grateful. I want to make medicines and go back. It’s good for me to start working quickly.”

nHis real motive seemed to be contained in his last words, but I was grateful to him anyway.

nHe decided to make medicine today.

nThen, now that the medicines that were going to be made… It was time to tell him about Alastair’s symptoms.

n“Igelto, the person you are going to heal is the host of this mansion.”

n“I see.”

n“The owner of this mansion, ·····, is in pretty bad shape.”

n“What are the symptoms of the person I need to treat?”

nWords do not come to me easily.

nI paused for a moment. My chest is stuffy.

nIgelto didn’t say anything and waited silently for me.

nWhen my hardened tongue relaxes, I opened my mouth:

n“He’s addicted to Amalion.”

n“You said he’s addicted to Amalion…?”

nHe asked in disbelief as if the dilemma was more severe than he first initially thought.

nAmalion.

nThat’s a name he knows well. Unlike humans, it is the best poisonous plant among the toxic plants known to the elves.

n“Did he take a drug that extracted a special part of Amalion?”

n“Uh…”

n“Ji?” t1v: I’m guessing it’s a name of a drug extracted from Amalion

n“No. he took Amalion itself.”

n“……How much Amalion… for how long?”

n“About six years.”

n“What?”

nHearing the period, he was terribly surprised.

nWhen I began to study Amalion, I also had a similar reaction to Igelto’s.

nThe situation was more severe than I thought

n“It doesn’t make sense… Think again. Are you mistaken?”

n“It’s six years. He took it once a week for six years, sometimes twice a week.”

nThe more I spoke, the more Igelto’s pupils trembled.

nHe couldn’t believe me.

nHe wouldn’t—

n“It doesn’t make sense…. Humans can’t survive that amount….”

n

n

n“I wonder what his limit is,” said a person who was my mother.

nHer eyes were bright, curious to what Alastair’s capacity was. Thanks to that, he had been to the river of death many times.

n“It’s a year at the longest. Six years is impossible….”

n“Whether it is possible or impossible… the fact that he has been taking Amalion for six years does not change.”

n“………”

nIgelto looks complicated. But I wasn’t finished talking yet.

nThe actual commencement to curing him was starting now.

n“He was brainwashed.”

nHis body, leaning on the bed and looking at me, slipped exaggeratedly in utter disbelief.

nWithin a moment his face that looked complicated was completely disfigured.

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