ALL NOVEL Chapter 50
“Gothberg-sensei.”
Falkenhayn, who stood up, walked toward me solemnly.
As soon as he stood close enough to block the other attending physicians’ view, he relaxed his expression and whispered softly in my ear.
“Is it true that a medicine to revive hair exists?”
The desire for hair is often stronger than any greed for wealth or power. He was completely on my side after catching a glimpse of the hair loss treatment I casually mentioned.
It was essential to involve Falkenhayn in the testimony I was about to give.
“It depends on the case, but it’s possible in Sir Falkenhayn’s case.”
“Whoa!”
The diagnosis for Falkenhayn was ‘Alopecia Areata.’ It wasn’t a debuff from lack of talent; it was simply due to aging.
“There are two types of hair loss. The M-pattern baldness where the hairline recedes and the Alopecia Areata that leaves the crown bare.”
“Indeed, I have Alopecia Areata.”
“Judging by the state of it, it hasn’t progressed for long. Maybe six months at most.”
“That’s correct. I’m five months in.”
M-pattern baldness is hereditary, making it impossible to treat without hair transplants. However, Alopecia Areata is triggered by stress or environmental factors, meaning it can be slowed down or, if lucky, fully restored.
Since it was late in life for Falkenhayn to start experiencing Alopecia Areata, I reckoned that his original health condition was good and that he had a low number of hair loss genes.
I handed Falkenhayn a prepared vial of medication.
“This is a medication that counters the effects of hair loss enzymes in your body. Simply put, the rate of your hair growing back will surpass the rate at which it falls out, allowing for recovery in a few months.”
It was a version that mimicked a hair loss drug called Finasteride. While the detailed ingredients had slight differences, the enzymatic inhibition ability had been enhanced through enhancement.
“Oh my, to think such treatment exists. I have never seen anyone whose hair regrew in my lifetime. If I could just get my hair back, I would even make a contract with a demon.”
“Not a demon, a doctor. This is a month’s supply. Be careful, as there are side effects; you should take half a pill per day, and be mindful that taking more won’t increase the effectiveness.”
“I will remember. You, sir, truly deserve to be called a saint.”
After carefully tucking the vial away, Falkenhayn returned to his spot.
“Sir Falkenhayn, what now?”
“I verified several suspicions regarding Gothberg-sensei. You may proceed with the hearing.”
He responded to another physician’s question with feigned innocence. It was a signal that he was ready to defend me.
Alberich continued with his speech.
“Attending physician Gothberg. Even if the medication you use seems to heal patients immediately, there is no doubt it’s an extension of folk remedies.”
Alberich was ready to pounce on me like a dire wolf. ‘He must be the religious type.’
While healers from the Empire, like Falkenhayn, serve the goddess, they also seek mutual benefit. But a bishop from the Kingdom of Law outright denies anything outside of Healing Magic like this.
I thought there would be some conflict, but I never expected him to direct the confrontation so abruptly.
“The healer you employed was dismissed for using folk remedies prohibited in the inner palace. Did you know this?”
“I was aware.”
“Then you must have utilized that healer’s skills to create this ‘medication’?”
“No.”
“No? So far, the causation is clear. You’ll need a proper explanation to refute this.”
At this point, it was time to clarify things.
“I utilized my knowledge. The study of medicine, that is. That healer merely had talent; I taught him.”
“You admit it!”
Alberich shot up, pointing at me. What a rude old man, especially as it was our first meeting.
“You disrupted the order of the inner palace with skills that are not Healing Magic. The goddess denies and blasphemes, damaging the faith of the Empire’s citizens. You are neither a proper attending physician nor a healer!”
Such exaggerated interpretations, yet I could understand his strong rhetoric. When seeking something, one starts with an overwhelmingly large demand to secure their goal.
‘He must want to tarnish my credibility.’
It probably had to do with controlling the growth of the Moonlight Palace faction.
In this situation, getting angry would only play into his hands.
It was time to use the scenario I had prepared.
“There seems to be a misunderstanding, Bishop Alberich.”
“What kind of misunderstanding?”
“The one who revealed to me to use medicine was none other than the goddess.”
“…What?”
Of course it was a lie.
Seeing the attending physicians rustling about, I succeeded in startling them. While they were accomplished physicians, they had all been somewhat devoted to the goddess and had diligently nurtured their faith.
No one in the room was ignorant of how significant it was to claim to have received a revelation from the goddess.
“The goddess asked you to use that technique?”
“Yes.”
“Are you saying you are a healer full of such overflowing faith that you received a revelation?”
“Indeed.”
Alberich, finding an opening to attack, grew fiercely confident unexpectedly.
“To blaspheme the goddess is a significant disqualifier that would lead to expulsion from the inner palace. You do know this, right?”
I genuinely felt bad for disappointing Alberich’s expectations, but I had insurance.
“Surely you don’t lack such common sense. Just so happens that someone here can verify my faith for you.”
“Indeed.”
Falkenhayn answered as if he had been waiting and began his eloquent speech.
“As you all know, I possess talent. I can see faith. I can easily tell who a great healer is. This has allowed me to train and reach this position without wavering in my faith.”
Falkenhayn spoke with unwavering conviction in a powerful voice.
“Gothberg-sensei is a talent I brought in directly from my training ground. I shall testify clearly here today.”
With his palm extended towards me, Falkenhayn confidently declared.
“He is the most devout healer I have ever seen in my lifetime. I can see that his righteous heart burns more passionately than anyone else in this room.”
Alberich, displeased, countered.
“Sir Falkenhayn, we are here to determine the truth of the significant disqualifying act of blasphemy. Can you take responsibility for those words?”
“Responsibility? Are you asking the chief physician of Togin Palace to take responsibility for my words, Bishop Alberich?”
Falkenhayn too raised his voice, standing his ground. He was the head of the healers of the second prince’s faction. He could not afford to remain silent toward a subordinate.
“Are you doubting the talent bestowed upon me by the goddess?”
“I do not doubt the goddess at all. I doubted your distorted faith, which is more loyal to your lord than the goddess.”
“Are you saying I falsely shield Gothberg-sensei at the command of my lord? Ha, it seems the news in the palace circulates slowly.”
“Then you’re saying it isn’t so? Do you truly believe a young healer like him can possess the strongest faith in this room?”
“In my view, you are just a young lad.”
“Lad? This old man has finally lost his mind. Have you plucked all your hair out in your old age?”
“Before my hair falls out completely, you’ll cross the Jordan River first.”
“Given how destiny is designed, even if my life is short, it will be longer than yours, who seems to be on the verge of passing. If you’ve gone senile, retire and change your grandchild’s diapers.”
The sight of these old men spitting and squabbling like children was quite pathetic.
Still, it was amusing, and I had no intention to intervene.
“After all, it’s just empty words. There is no evidence anywhere that Gothberg has an overflowing faith.”
“Sure, I’ll show you my evidence.”
Falkenhayn pulled out the holy scripture. Holding it close to his chest, he raised his other hand, closing his eyes reverently as he made an oath.
“With all due respect to the venerable goddess, I pledge to speak only the truth, and by divine eyesight, Dr. Gothberg has much deeper faith than Saint Alberich.”
Flash!
A strong light burst forth from behind Falkenhayn, creating a halo around him. The potent divine power emanating from him created a circle of light.
This was a phenomenon only seen in highly skilled healers and clergy.
“Such pure divine power.”
“There’s no wavering in the halo.”
“It means he vowed without any lying that would tarnish his faith.”
“Is it true that Dr. Gothberg is such an outstanding talent?”
The other physicians murmured amongst themselves.
“To swear over something trivial…”
Alberich looked stunned, evidently unprepared for Falkenhayn to go this far.
He should’ve moderated his provocations better.
I stepped forward and spoke.
“It seems the proof has been presented. As I mentioned before, my practice of medicine is not an extraneous matter.”
“It isn’t a matter of mere practice. Healers raise prayers; they do not poison their patients!”
Alberich still raged with veins popping on his neck.
At that moment, the assembly room door bang opened, and heavy footsteps echoed.
A strong-willed woman strode in, billowing her cape behind her.
It was the First Royal Princess, Heike.
All the attending physicians conducting the hearing bowed their heads in respect, and I did the same.
Heike swiftly scanned the assembly room before issuing commands like a soldier.
“Remove all but Alberich and Gothberg.”
Immediately, the physicians vacated the room.
Hmm, I had almost forgotten the weight of the royal bloodline just moments ago due to Lau’s presence.
This was the true weight of utterances from the royal family.
“Alberich, I ask you. Why did you convene a hearing to dismiss Dr. Gothberg?”
“Your Highness, this gathering was not intended to dismiss him but rather to clarify suspicions and verify his qualifications…”
“That’s the same thing. Don’t waste my time. I have already wasted enough by visiting Gothberg’s office.”
Heike had visited me directly.
I certainly didn’t have a good feeling about this.
Lau also had the habit of delivering a month’s worth of conversations in one visit, leaving my head spinning.
This was bound to be bothersome.
“I ask again, why did you convene this hearing?”
Alberich, sweating profusely, slowly replied as if making excuses.
“…It seemed Your Highness was inspecting the healing budget of the Moonlight Palace and wary of the growth of the Third Royal Princess’s faction.”
“In a broader sense, that is correct.”
“Then, then this means there is no issue here.”
Thud!
Heike stomped her foot, glaring fiercely; Alberich flinched and lowered his head.
If I were in charge, I’d avoid that gaze within a second.
While Asella looked like she’d come at me with malice, Heike felt like an emotionless killing machine, capable of dispatching me just for pressing the wrong button.
“Bishop, what is your profession?”
“…I’m an attending physician.”
“Do you think I appear so incompetent that I would leave political judgment to my physician?”
“There’s no way that would be the case.”
“Did I instruct you to constrict the healing budget of the Mokhwi Palace? I commanded nothing but not to hinder the Moonlight Palace. I make that decision. Am I wrong?”
“All one hundred sentences are absolutely correct.”
Alberich’s mouth puckered, and he merely nodded along with Heike’s comments, looking like he’d lost a bit more of his sanity.
“Now then, Dr. Gothberg.”
“Your Highness, it’s an honor to meet you.”
Finally, she sought me out.
From the conversation between the two, it seemed like it revolved around penicillin.
“I wish to recruit you into my faction.”
An unimaginable proposal came forth.
Alberich stood there, gaping in disbelief at Heike’s unexpected action.
“May I ask the intention behind this?”
“It’s exactly as it sounds. I desire you. Become my deputy physician and introduce a new healing mechanism.”
Taking personnel from another faction is common in the royal family.
Even the royal knight order frequently changes factions.
It seems my position as Asella’s attending physician doesn’t pose any issues for Heike.
To them, a minister is merely an object. It felt as if they were taking away a toy from a younger sibling for fun.
Even with a decade-age gap.
“Are you saying to employ medicine openly?”
“Correct. I will provide an environment to actively develop, mass-produce, and monopolize medications.”
Well, Heike’s subordinate, it appears.
From the conditions, it’s not bad at all. This is the highest faction in the royal palace, and if Asella doesn’t become the next Empress, Heike has the highest chance of taking that position.
She is a woman who calculates her costs accurately. The rewards for loyalty are guaranteed to return.
However.
“I’m afraid I have to decline, Your Highness. I have already pledged my loyalty to Princess Asella.”
Getting too deeply involved with the royal family would only be detrimental for me, not beneficial.
If I sink halfway into quicksand, I wouldn’t be able to escape.
After all, my goal is merely to erase bad endings. Joining Heike’s faction would only lead to more trouble and could make my future return home more difficult.
“Why is that? Isn’t it merely a contractual relationship as an attending physician?”
“Haha, while I am an attending physician, I am also a betrothed.”
“Are you implying a betrothal forced by your family for political reasons?”
Heike keenly grasped the flow and was digging for openings.
“Do you wish to have a nominal engagement with the royal family?”
“Yes? I wouldn’t say that…”
“Just so happens I have no betrothed.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Preceding marriage, power struggles between families often culminate in broken engagements and remarrying. Isn’t that common sense, Dr. Gothberg?”
Heike locked eyes with me, her tone turning serious as she asked.
“Do you desire this?”