The Doctor Cured The Villainess And Ran Away-Chapter 68: Sleeping Together (2)

"Young Master, wh-what do you mean, sleeping together?"

Asella's fluster was obvious the moment she heard my declaration.

I understood how she felt.

Sleeping alone is always more comfortable. If someone snores or grinds their teeth beside you, it’s irritating.

But right now, a strong prescription was necessary.

If Asella kept pretending she wasn’t in pain, then I had no choice but to push harder.

“If Her Highness won’t talk to me about the abdominal attacks, then I’m left with no alternative. As her physician, I must check on her personally every night.”

“Do you even hear yourself right now?”

“If something happens to Her Highness because I wasn’t thorough, that would make even less sense.”

“No, I mean—”

Even I had to admit it was a flawless argument.

The great Asella was left speechless, just opening and closing her mouth like a fish.

Now then, who’s the one getting punished?

Honestly, even if I had to sleep in Asella’s room every night, it wouldn’t bother me one bit.

Her room was as big as a training field—plenty of space to stretch out and lie down.

All I needed was to toss in a sleeping bag and call it a night.

Thanks to my time with the Hero’s Party, I was used to sleeping on stone floors. ƒreewebɳovel.com

I’m sensitive to movements, too—if Asella so much as groaned, I’d wake up instantly.

“Young Master... are you serious?”

“Have you ever seen me joke about my work?”

At my answer, Asella puffed out her cheeks and grabbed a pillow—then started smacking my shoulder with it.

“Get out.”

“Hold on. I need a clear answer first. We haven’t resolved anything—”

“Out!”

And just like that, I was forcibly kicked out of Asella’s room.

Seriously, she always does whatever she wants.

As I smoothed out the wrinkles in my gown, crumpled from her shoving my face around all night, I noticed a surprising number of people standing out in the hallway.

Bruno, who was on night duty, was there, along with Tanya, the head maid, and all of Asella’s escort knights.

Looked like they’d all gathered, worried about Asella after what happened tonight.

But why the hell were they all grinning like that?

“Welcome back, Young Master,” Tanya greeted me first.

Young Master again. What the hell.

***

The Celestial Imperial Palace.

A massive crimson structure built in the very heart of the imperial grounds—grandest and most splendid of all.

Only a chosen few nobles and foreign envoys were ever granted entry, and that only after waiting for months.

Naturally, all for a single reason:

To gain an audience with the Emperor—the supreme ruler of the Empire.

“Cough, cough... Hmmph!”

As the Emperor’s cough deepened, his three attending physicians moved swiftly.

After examining the Emperor slouched on his throne, one of them held up a hand toward the noble currently in audience.

“That will be all for today.”

“B-but I—”

The allotted time hadn’t even run out. He hadn’t finished reporting matters concerning his territory.

But it couldn’t be helped.

The noble was ushered out, and the Emperor rose to walk to his office.

One of the court physicians continued casting healing spells nonstop, but the coughing didn’t let up.

“Your Majesty, please rest for today.”

“There is much work yet to be done. Bring the documents.”

At the Emperor’s command, the chief secretary presented a stack of pending paperwork.

Budget reports from the royal household, deployment requests from regional nobles, foreign affairs briefings...

Thanks to the Emperor’s conquests in his youth, the Empire had grown enormous.

It was far beyond what any single person could manage.

And yet, the Emperor refused to delegate the core affairs of state.

Because in his eyes, the only ones truly worthy of trust were his own children.

Entrust something important to others, and it always strays from your intent—or worse, leads to betrayal.

That’s why even after the wars ended and the Empire expanded, the Emperor continued to handle crucial matters himself.

Even now, in his old age.

Though it’s gotten a little better lately.

He’d begun to entrust regions to Gunther and Heike, who were of age.

Georg, Lauga, and Asella were still young, still inexperienced.

But soon enough, each of them would support one pillar of the Empire.

Gradually, the Emperor’s burden would lessen.

Until the day came when all the other heirs fell away, and the burden fell on just one.

As it had once fallen on him.

The Emperor had never tasted failure.

So he firmly believed the path he’d taken was the right one—and he was now repeating it for the next generation.

“Cough, cough!”

“Your Majesty...”

His court physicians were deeply worried.

The Emperor sensed clearly that he didn’t have long left.

Still... he wanted to at least witness the moment when his children pushed themselves to their limits and crossed swords in earnest.

Who knew? Maybe this retreat from court would awaken something in Georg, letting him outshine Gunther or Heike as a ruler.

If he died before seeing his children grow, he would leave behind the shameful legacy of an emperor who failed to choose his successor.

The Emperor didn’t want a single blemish on the life he’d led.

That’s also why he’d begun to regulate the use of war magic.

Magic carried too many risks of unintended catastrophe.

Especially Camilla.

That witch had too much ambition.

Maybe he should never have taken her in, no matter how tempting her powerful magic weaponry had been.

“Still... Asella is more promising than I thought.”

At first, the Emperor had seen Asella merely as one of the royal family’s weapons.

But now, looking at the state of Moonlight Palace after Camilla’s departure, his prejudice had begun to shift.

Despite her youth, Asella showed uncommon brilliance and a keen sense of governance.

He had assigned each heir a palace so that he could test their abilities in exactly this way.

“The knights she showcased at the dueling tournament were excellent. She has economic acumen, too. A talent for attracting capable people.”

Flipping through the reports, the Emperor’s gaze landed on one from Moonlight Palace.

“Gotberg.”

An amusing young man.

The report had been written by him.

Flip. He turned the page to see recent details on volunteer work conducted at Moonlight Palace.

The treatment statistics were neatly organized.

Most notably, the effectiveness of the cough medicine Gotberg had created was immediately apparent.

It claimed that over 90% of patients had shown improvement with no side effects, even among the elderly.

“Hmm...”

The Emperor didn’t remember every word of their conversation during the duel tribunal.

But he was certain of one thing:

Gotberg was a man who kept his promises and proved his claims.

“Ambrosia.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

He summoned his First Physician.

“I will try the medicine Gotberg brought.”

“The medicine... Understood.”

Ambrosia was a little reluctant, but the Emperor’s command took precedence.

She immediately prepared the medicine.

Given Gotberg’s recent track record with the Imperial Clinic, she judged there was no intent to cause harm.

The Emperor placed the jet-black pill in his mouth and swallowed it with water.

“Hmm.”

A moment later—

For the first time in ages, his coughing stopped.

His chest felt clear, and he could breathe freely.

“Ho...”

The corners of the Emperor’s lips curled into a smile.

He turned to Ambrosia and said:

“Go to Gotberg and deliver my word.”

***

“So His Majesty would like additional medicine delivered?”

“That’s correct. It seems he was quite pleased with your remedy.”

Ambrosia, First Physician to the Emperor, had come herself to deliver the royal decree.

When receiving such a decree, proper etiquette required one to act as if the Emperor were present.

So I was currently kneeling in my office, out of nowhere.

But it was hard to stay serious when the person in front of me looked like a girl Neria’s age.

Well, Ambrosia wasn’t actually a child.

The side effect of her exceptional healing ability had stunted her physical growth.

She was apparently a distant relative of a former Saintess.

Now that I think about it, we might even be distant cousins.

Do all Saintesses have growth suppression as a side effect?

“I shall obey the imperial command.”

I paid my respects and stood.

“Good! That’s great news... Now for production...”

“If you need assistance, please let me know,” said Hugo.

Chloe chimed in too, just as enthusiastic.

“Hm-hm, a fine opportunity. Expand your influence in the Imperial Clinic.”

I wanted to grow my faction a little more.

But with my office this cramped, it wouldn’t be easy.

I needed Ambrosia’s help.

Even a single comment from her to other factions would make negotiations far easier.

Time to coax her a little.

“Thank you for the advice. It’s just... the Imperial Clinic’s internal factions are rather rigid at the moment.”

“I’m well aware. With the 2nd Prince’s faction in shambles, Bishop Alberich has been making a lot of noise.”

“Ha ha. But surely the one with the greatest influence in the Clinic is you, Sister Ambrosia.”

“Hmph. You do know how to tell up from down. Quite right.”

Ambrosia stretched her tiny body proudly and puffed out her chest.

“Bishop Alberich seems to forget that Sir Falkenhayn is still watching over things. If I—the Emperor’s personal physician—so much as feel like it, no one can dare oppose me.”

Being the Emperor’s physician, she didn’t need a faction.

But if she wanted influence, she could claim it instantly.

“Of course. In both faith and sacred power, none surpass you in the Clinic, Sister.”

“Oh-ho. But I won’t be granting any favors to the Third Princess’s faction just because of sweet words.”

Still, she didn’t seem to dislike my flattery.

“It’s not just words. To me, you appear as the greatest of giants, far beyond any physician.”

“...Well, the girl is of great spirit.”

Ambrosia let out a pleased little chuckle.

Yup, she liked that.

Ten years from now, Neria would have the same complex about her short height thanks to her growth suppression.

She loved being called big.

“Hm-hm. Physician Gotberg, is there anything you need in order to fulfill the royal command?”

Got her.

“Well, if I may... I’d like to put extra care into preparing His Majesty’s medicine.

But given the current state of our facilities, I worry about the quality.”

“Hmm... you may have a point.”

She glanced around my office, cluttered with equipment and documents, and nodded.

“Are there any spare offices on the first floor? Ideally something around 200 pyeong.”

“You need that much?”

“I’ll need space for a storeroom, a production room, a surgery room... several areas, really.”

“There is space. Georg’s faction is practically defunct now.

Speak with Sir Falkenhayn. If you come to an agreement, I’ll make the arrangements.”

“Ha ha, thank you. Your generosity knows no bounds.”

“My generosity... Hmm-hmm. Yes, I am rather generous, aren’t I?”

After hearing my praise, Ambrosia puffed out her chest again, visibly pleased.

Once she left the office, Chloe muttered:

“She’s not generous.”

“Shh.”

Tanya, having overheard, gave a slightly disapproving shrug.

“So you are planning to relocate, Doctor.”

“Kuh-kuh. Did you think I’d keep climbing four flights of stairs forever?”

“You should build more stamina.”

“I am working out. I just hate situations where I’m forced to do something.

You get what I mean, right?”

“No.”

Tanya shook her head, staring at me like I was pitiful.

Harsh.

I popped a candy into my mouth and went off to meet with Falkenhayn.

“The head of the Empire just took my medicine.”

This might be my chance to spread modern medicine—still in its infancy—across the Empire in one big sweep.

I should make full use of the opportunity.

***

After a long day, I got ready for bed.

I changed into sleepwear and laid out my blanket—click, the door opened without a knock.

I thought it was Bruno again, but the person who stood there was unexpected.

“Your Highness?”

Asella stood there in pink pajamas, looking thoroughly sulky.

She was hugging a huge pillow to her chest.

Half her face was hidden behind it, the bedside lamp casting flickering shadows over her in the dark.

“...What are you doing?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that, Your Highness?”

Asella chewed her lip for a long while.

She fiddled with the doorknob like she didn’t know what to do—then quietly closed the door behind her and ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) leaned her back against it.

Then, in a barely audible voice, she whispered:

“...Didn’t you say we’d sleep together?”