ALL NOVEL Chapter 248
Under Acella’s command, the wedding preparations progressed in an instant.
The pace was so fast that I couldn’t keep up with everything. It felt like every time I turned my head, another decision had already been made.
“Lars, which ring do you like?”
“Is it an artifact? Does it have any functions…”
“Right side, I agree with that.”
She had already made up her mind. Asking me was merely a formality.
By the second day, a schedule was already out, and Acella was sending invitations across the continent via special communication spheres.
Seeing this, I asked Tanya, “Why is she in such a hurry?”
“It’s the hospital director’s fault,” Tanya replied flatly. It wasn’t surprising anymore.
“Right. When something goes wrong, it’s usually my fault.”
“The hospital director has a bad habit of trivializing and not resolving critical misunderstandings.”
“ misunderstandings? Is there something Acella and I are misunderstanding?”
That was news to me. Tanya looked at me with pity and shook her head.
“Of course not. We’ve spent so much time together recently, we’ve been too engrossed in catching up. And I heard the railway has been developed in the Empire?”
“It’s a sensitive matter, so I’ll refrain from intervening. It’ll be resolved once you two get married anyway.”
“What’s this misunderstanding?”
“Are you okay? It’s a private matter.”
“When have we ever cared about those things?”
Tanya whispered quietly in my ear.
“The Royal Princess thinks that a man and a woman can only form a relationship if they are married. That’s why she’s rushing the ceremony.”
“What the heck does that even mean?”
Tanya had a talent for digging into people’s minds with her gentle voice.
So, in simple terms…
“In short, she’s keen to devour the hospital director…”
“You don’t have to put it that way. It’s fine.”
I reached out and covered Tanya’s mouth. If I let her keep talking, strange imaginations would begin to arise.
Hmm, regardless.
So Acella is like that.
The date was set for ten days later. Considering the schedules and various circumstances of the guests, it was a very tight schedule indeed.
Acella was busy preparing the ceremony while assisting with the hospital and former country management. Still, she made sure to come to me right on time for dinner, which I found commendable.
“Lars, the venue has been set at the riverside villa. We expect about a thousand guests. The lady will handle them, so we can focus solely on the ceremony.”
“The lady?”
“Neria Gothberg.”
Hearing such a title from Acella made it feel both strange and more real.
“I’ve made an appointment at the tailor, so go get your suit fitted tomorrow. Any other questions?”
“No, you’ve worked hard.”
“Right, then let’s get some sleep now.”
Acella’s attitude, oddly transformed into something oddly professional, made her feel like a capable career woman.
She meticulously handled everything from start to finish, which made it easier for me.
“Uh-huh.”
Still, she couldn’t shake this habit of wriggling into my arms as she crawled into bed, which was somewhat peculiar.
However, compared to before, she didn’t seem restless or uncontrollable while sleeping. Was her head filled with thoughts of the ceremony? I was relieved she had her hands full.
“…Phew.”
But judging by how she trembled her ears while smelling me, I thought otherwise.
The next day, I decided to follow Acella’s orders and go to the tailor. I took a carriage around the city for errands.
As it was a rare chance, I decided to take a look around the outskirts of the border. Many distinguished guests would be attending the wedding, including Princess Persiya. I wanted to check the roads to ensure everything was safe.
“Looks nice and tidy; I like it,” I said.
“There are many new buildings in the city. The Marquis is focusing on developing the territory,” Bruno, who was assigned to guard today, explained. Since Tanya was now a high official, she didn’t need to accompany each event as she used to.
She would join important schedules but would usually stick with Acella when possible.
My father never knew how to hoard resources but invested a lot in the territory. I felt proud seeing the rapid growth of the former country while I was asleep.
“That riverside bank looks like it needs repairs. If it rains heavily, it could flood,” I remarked.
“Let’s check it out.”
We momentarily stopped the carriage, and Bruno and I examined the terrain, taking notes. With many immigrants coming to the former country recently, both the population and residential areas were increasing. Since the territory wasn’t small, we needed to address these issues before they became problematic.
However, at that moment, trouble arose.
“Oh no, thieves!”
The driver was thrown out of the carriage as he shouted. The carriage took off recklessly.
“Thieves? What about the guards?”
“All are with the hospital director…”
The knights were in a panic. Those idiots, they fell behind.
There were five of them, yet they all fell off the carriage to guard me. If I had known this would happen, I would have brought Gishta along.
I dashed toward the vanishing carriage, enhancing my strength.
“Director!”
Bruno shouted desperately, but I was just as anxious.
The carriage contained my formal wear for the ceremony. If I lost that, I would definitely catch some heat from Acella. I couldn’t afford to lose it.
With a whoosh, I leaped a distance of twenty meters and grabbed the carriage’s cargo hold, jumping inside.
“Where the hell did he come from?!”
“Grab him!”
Inside, three thieves were already waiting. While we were checking the river, they must have been hiding in the backwoods, planning to steal the goods.
They all looked quite young—no older than their late teens, around twenty years of age.
“Take the carriage; I just need to grab one thing.”
“Are you kidding?!”
The thief lunged at me.
Talk about courage! After all, I was the one who had just defeated the Demon King. I immediately drank a mid-tier strength enhancement potion. A local thug would be no problem to deal with.
I thought I could handle it easily.
But I was a bit foolish.
It seems my health had improved, and I forgot I was a clumsy fighter, overestimating my abilities.
I knocked one down, but the one who rushed me from behind was impossible to shake off. They were pros at back-alley brawling, especially when outnumbered.
The thieves dragged the carriage into their hideout and tied me up in a corner.
Perhaps thinking I looked like nobility and didn’t want to make a scene, or because it was unexpected for them, I wasn’t beaten too badly. Instead, I was tightly bound with ropes.
“You said it was a medicine carriage! We can’t find any meds inside!”
“Is that my fault? It’s clearly marked with the Gothberg emblem; who wouldn’t see it as a medicine delivery? You lot also planned to loot it!”
Then they began bickering among themselves. Their hideout looked like a ramshackle lair filled with lowlife.
“What do we do if we kidnap him? We should have left him behind!”
“What do you mean? He saw our faces. Look at him. He’s obviously someone well off. If a bounty goes out, we’re done for.”
“Should we kill him?”
The big thief asked as the scraggly one started to panic.
“If we kill him and get caught, we’ll be in huge trouble! Don’t you know how ruthless the former country’s guards are? They have no mercy for criminals!”
“What about those girls? What do they eat to be so strong?”
“I heard the former country is quite nice. Even the homeless can earn silver for a day’s work at construction sites.”
“Silver? That’s crazy.”
“It must be that dangerous. They probably lose fingers.”
“No, the hospital is amazing. They say they can even regrow missing fingers with healing spells.”
They started chatting among themselves, and I started to get bored.
“So, what do we do with this nobleman?”
“I don’t know, should we threaten him for money? We need cash to buy medicine.”
“Why do we need medicine?”
The thieves were startled and turned to look at me. I spoke to them nonchalantly.
“Why do you need it? Go ahead and tell me.”
At my words, the scraggly thief stepped forward with a grim look and shoved a knife in my face.
“Weren’t you supposed to be quiet? Do you not understand your situation?”
“Oh, I completely understand. I’ve been captured in the most absurd situation—held by teenagers who turned to thievery out of poverty. Did you wander in from the Count’s territory? If you keep acting that clueless, I’m sure your thief license will get revoked within a day.”
“Shut that mouth…”
“Why do you need the medicine? What kind? Who will use it? What are the symptoms?”
“What are you to ask those things?”
“A doctor.”
My response silenced the thieves. They exchanged glances until the big one spoke up.
“It’s for my little brother.”
Seeing their lack of argument suggested they were indeed siblings.
“Show me.”
They hesitated, so I lightly thumped the floor to regain their attention.
“You guys can read, right? Patients need to see a doctor, not carelessly use any medicine that could kill them. More than anything, I can’t stand anyone who doesn’t read the medicine instructions.”
After deliberation, the scraggly thief released my hands and tightly grabbed his waist.
“Don’t try anything funny.”
“Just don’t touch the bag. If that’s damaged, you’re in real trouble.”
With Acella being the one you’ll cross.
When I went up to the next floor, there lay a girl, supposedly their sister, on a tattered blanket.
“Severe congestion. Respiratory failure, renal failure. How long has she been like this?”
“Five days.”
“Has the patient been in contact with a pond or any animals within the two weeks prior to the outbreak?”
“The pond… I remember! We hid in the water after getting caught stealing bread from the guards.”
One of the thieves recalled.
“Leptospirosis. A parasite invaded the bloodstream to create these symptoms. She needs antibiotics and aspirin, and lots of rest. There might be psychological disturbances, so emergency sedatives may be necessary too.”
First, I administered a shot to lower the fever and eliminate the inflammation in her body. As soon as I channeled the healing spell, the patient’s condition began to improve quickly.
“Wow…”
“This is healing? I’ve never seen this before.”
The thieves marveled, occasionally patting their sister affectionately.
What close-knit siblings they were. They must have resorted to thievery in the Count’s territory, and when their sister fell ill without a way out, they decided to steal medicine from our former country.
“…Why did you help us?”
The scraggly one asked. I shrugged.
“Taking care of patients is my job. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m not a priest or anything.”
I answered while drinking a strengthened strength potion. This time, I could manage a 4 to 1 against thieves without problems.
“I will give back what I need to.”
Crash!
I hurled the scraggly one out of the window in an instant.