The Genius Physician Princess - Chapter 19

“Anyway, things have been going according to plan so far.

Although it was frustrating dealing with the many foolish people in the Holy Kingdom, I managed to gain the trust of several high priests.

Soon, I might meet the guardian that the Holy Kingdom is hiding.

If I’m lucky, I might get a clue about the destruction through that guardian.

As Michael was contemplating his various plans and counting the stripes on the wallpaper, he suddenly stopped.

Just now, the high priest had mentioned a name he never expected to hear again.

Michael looked curiously at the high priest.

“Hanson? Are you talking about the low-ranking priest Hanson? Did he come to see you?”

Hanson.

He was the very priest who had been next to Michael a few days ago when he collapsed from a pneumothorax.

He was also the bastard who tried to kill the unknown little girl who saved Michael.

“Yes. He came to see me last night, saying he had something very important to tell me about Lantus. He said that the child Lantus cherished has a secret.”

…Well, well.

Michael’s lips twisted into a sneer.

Hanson, that piece of trash.

He must have promised Lantus to keep his mouth shut about the child in exchange for sparing his life.

“Lantus cherished a child? That’s an interesting story. What exactly did he say?”

“I don’t know the details. The guards sent him away immediately. A low-ranking priest coming to see me so late without following proper procedures was just too presumptuous.”

The high priest’s anger seemed to stem from more than just Hanson’s breach of protocol.

Michael, carefully observing the high priest’s expression, asked,

“High Priest, did he ask for a reward?”

“Yes. He said Lantus would kill him and begged for help to escape to a safe place. Basically, he was asking for money in exchange for information.”

“The man has completely lost it.”

Michael feigned shock, covering his mouth with one hand, struggling to suppress his laughter.

“So, what will you do now?”

“I was going to ignore it, but I think I should check it out. If I can find Lantus’s weakness, I need to use it.”

“Shall I meet Hanson for you?”

“You?”

The high priest looked at Michael curiously. Michael pretended to be concerned and lowered his eyes.

“I know the low-ranking priest Hanson very well. He’s a piece of trash who can barely use his divine power. Whatever information he has, it’s likely not very valuable.”

The high priest, who hadn’t known about Hanson’s lack of divine power, looked at Michael in surprise.

“What? He can’t even use his divine power properly?”

“That’s right. There’s no need for you to waste your precious time on the nonsense of a piece of trash like him.”

Michael’s golden eyes held a lazy smile.

“I’ll check it out and report back if there’s any useful information. But if it turns out to be just as I suspect, and he’s trying to deceive you…”

Michael’s eyes turned cold.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Take care of it?”

“He broke an important promise…”

Michael whispered chillingly, his head tilted at an angle with a smile on his face.

“Of course, he must be killed.”

Lantus, you soft-hearted fool.

You should have killed him then.

“Hmph. You’re right.”

The high priest, mistaking Michael’s reference to the promise as the information Hanson had promised to provide, snorted.

“Alright, I’ll leave Hanson to you. Handle it neatly. Make sure he pays if he tried to deceive me.”

“Understood, High Priest. I’ll make sure he’s dealt with.”

Michael smiled and bowed his head.

This was turning out to be quite an entertaining situation.

He naturally thought of the small child who had brought this joy to him.

The little one who, despite being in a mess because of Hanson, had worried about Michael.

It seemed only right to take care of Hanson for her.

In the land of beasts, the Guardian of Nubellun, Michael, smiled like a painting.

After all, cats do tend to repay kindness.

* * *

Kite tilted his head and asked,

“So, you’re worried about that priest Michael you met before?”

“Yes. He has a very dangerous chronic illness. What if it comes back?”

Yeo-ul looked at Kite nervously, but Kite just waved his hand dismissively.

“Oh, Yeo-ul. Why worry about that? If his illness flares up, another priest will heal him. There are plenty of priests around.”

“That may be true, but…”

But a priest can’t prevent a brutal ending!

Yeo-ul was on the verge of tears when a thought suddenly struck her, and she looked up.

“Actually, I think I had a prophetic dream about him!”

“A prophetic dream?”

Kite’s eyes widened.

He glanced around to ensure the sound barrier was working correctly and then lowered his voice.

“Do you mean a wanderer’s prophetic dream?”

“Yes, I think so.”

Yeo-ul quickly explained what she knew about Michael’s death. Kite, listening intently, stroked his chin.

“Hmm. Murder, huh. That’s serious.”

Kite, frowning in thought, asked,

“You don’t know when or by whom he will be killed?”

“I only know it’s a few years from now. I don’t know the murderer or the exact place, except that it’s in the Holy Kingdom.”

“I see.”

Kite nodded seriously. He didn’t care much about a priest’s death, but Yeo-ul would.

‘Yeo-ul is too kind.’

After a moment of contemplation, Kite shrugged.

“Well, I’ll tell Brother Lantus when he returns.”

“To Lantus?”

“Yes. Brother has mentioned that priest a few times. He thought Michael seemed to have strong divine power and would be useful if we could capture him.”

“Capture him?”

Yeo-ul asked, feeling a sense of dread. Kite replied casually.

“Yes, kidnap him. The Holy Kingdom has been taking our priests from Wizardian lately. We’ve been hitting back each time, but it doesn’t solve the fundamental problem of a shortage of priests. A sudden outbreak of disease could be disastrous.”

“Oh.”

“Michael, with his strong divine power, could fill the gap for a while. That’s why capturing him came up.”

Of course, actually doing so would provoke retaliation from the Holy Kingdom.

It would be on a completely different level from before.

Though the Holy Kingdom and Wizardian had been fighting, both had respected certain boundaries.

The Holy Kingdom hadn’t invaded Wizardian’s mainland, and Wizardian hadn’t directly harmed the Holy Kingdom’s priests.

Crossing that line would mean war, and both sides knew it.

‘Though some here think war would be better.’

Kite licked his dry lips.

No mage believed the current skirmishes would continue indefinitely. Continuing attrition would only lead to Wizardian’s eventual collapse.

Lantus was holding things together for now, but there would eventually be a breaking point. The Holy Kingdom knew this and was waiting for Wizardian to self-destruct.

‘Self-destruct? No way. Even if I die, I’ll take at least thirty priests with me.’

Finding a way to heal people with magic could help in the short term, but the current research progress wasn’t promising.

‘Why does magic work the opposite of divine power? It’s so frustrating.’

The principle behind divine power healing was simple.

The divine power absorbed the ‘black energy’ that constituted diseases and injuries from the patient’s body.

In contrast, magic was an ‘expelling force.’

This was why mages could heal themselves to some extent but couldn’t heal others.

‘Yeo-ul wanted to bring medical knowledge from her world to help us, but… it won’t be easy.’

The chance that her brother’s knowledge remained intact was slim.

“Anyway, that priest could be useful in many ways. If you’re concerned, it might be best to capture him. We might come up with a good plan.”

Kidnapping a priest from the Holy Kingdom.

The old Yeo-ul would have been horrified, but now she wasn’t.

Michael would certainly die otherwise.

Right now, she was willing to consider kidnapping to save him from a brutal end.

‘But it’s too dangerous.’

Yeo-ul knew the risks of such an action.

If kidnapping a priest was a good idea, they would have done it already.

Given Lantus’s nature, he would have taken all the priests by now.

As Yeo-ul chewed her lip, feeling torn, Kite suddenly spoke sharply.

“Hey! Yeo-ul! Stop right there! Stop thinking right now!”

“Wh-What?!”

“You were just thinking, right?”

“Huh?”

“Is it really okay to kidnap a priest? Wouldn’t it burden Wizardian? But I can’t let Michael die. What should I do?”

“Eek.”

Kite laughed at Yeo-ul’s startled expression.

“I’m not the youngest elder for nothing. I can see right through your thoughts.”

Another strange word had slipped in, but Yeo-ul was too overwhelmed by Kite’s insight to worry about it.

“I said you could ask for anything you wanted, but since you don’t believe me, I’ll bring a witness. Just wait, okay?!”