Thud!
Belinda shoved Rozalin's shoulders firmly, pinning her down onto the bed.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Rozalin screamed and began to struggle, but Wendy grabbed her legs, holding them down forcefully.
"Let go! Let go of me!"
No matter how hard she thrashed, she couldn't break free from their grip.
"Butler! What are you doing?! Call the soldiers! Arrest these bastards, all of them! What's everyone doing?!"
Her shrill screams echoed through the manor, but the butler, visibly troubled, avoided her gaze.
As much as he thought forcing treatment was excessive, he couldn't defy the marquis's command.
'If this fails, there will be hell to pay.'
If the treatment failed, it wouldn't only be Ghislain and his group facing the consequences. The soldiers and servants who failed to carry out the marquis's orders would also be in danger.
The butler regretted recommending Ghislain to the marquis. He hadn't imagined things would escalate to this mess.
Seeing that struggling and screaming didn't work, Rozalin's strength eventually waned.
As she lay there, grinding her teeth and panting heavily, Ghislain leisurely entered the room.
"This isn't much different from catching a wild beast… It would have been better if you'd just accepted the treatment."
Rozalin glared at him, her eyes filled with murderous intent, and shouted.
"You! Do you think you'll get away with this?! Do you even know who I am?"
"Well… I came here to treat you, so I'd hardly be ignorant of my patient."
"I'll kill you!"
"Well, if I fail to treat you, I'll be dead anyway."
"You… you lunatic…"
Rozalin was at a loss for words.
She had never encountered anyone this unreasonable in her life.
"First, I'll check your condition. Hey, someone get more light in here."
As Ghislain finished speaking, several servants entered, pulling back the curtains and lighting up the entire room.
As the room brightened, Rozalin's eyes, hidden behind her mask, began to tremble.
"W-what are you planning to do…?"
"I need to check the condition of your face. Let's take off the mask, shall we?"
"No, don't…!"
Rozalin began to struggle again as Ghislain approached.
'The sunlight's coming in! I can't take the mask off now!'
But Ghislain ignored her resistance and spoke firmly.
"Even if you're embarrassed, it can't be helped. To treat you, I need to remove the mask."
"I said I don't need it!"
"Yes, yes, of course. You don't need a mask. I'll make sure you never have to wear something so dreadful again. Trust in me, and blessings will follow."
With that nonsense, Ghislain removed her mask, and his expression hardened at what he saw.
Rozalin's face was red and raw, as if it had been badly burned, with patches of peeling skin.
They'd said her condition had worsened with past treatments, but he hadn't expected it to be this severe.
The others gasped, covering their mouths in shock.
"Ahh!"
As sunlight from the window hit her face, Rozalin screamed and squirmed violently.
In that brief moment, her skin deteriorated even more.
Ghislain quickly shielded her from the light and shouted to the servants.
"Close the curtains, now!"
Even after the curtains were drawn, Rozalin struggled to calm herself, tears welling up in her eyes.
"You…you bastard…"
Cursing was all she could manage. How could someone come to treat her and end up making her condition worse?
Seeing her murderous glare, Ghislain scratched his head, turning slightly away.
'This is worse than I thought.'
Not stopping the servants from opening the curtains had definitely been his mistake.
But nothing he'd seen in the records indicated her condition was this extreme.
Still, the nature of the illness hadn't changed, so his treatment plan should work—as long as she could endure it.
"Alright, the examination is complete. Let's begin the treatment in earnest."
At his signal, the waiting servants brought over the medicine.
"From now on, you'll drink this twice a day, morning and evening."
Rozalin scowled at the black, foul-smelling concoction.
"You think…I'm going to drink that?"
"Oh, you'll drink it."
"…?"
Ghislain held the bowl in one hand and gently pressed on her neck muscles with the other.
Against her will, her mouth opened. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't close it.
With a nod, Ghislain poured the bitter liquid into her mouth.
Gulp, gulp!
Though some spilled, most of the liquid went down her throat.
"Ugh!"
She gagged as soon as it was down.
The taste was horrific, like something dredged up from the depths of hell.
How did he mix this concoction to create such a revolting flavor?
She wanted to vomit it all up, but for some reason, she couldn't.
"You bastard… I drank it, so let me go! We're done now, aren't we?"
"Done? Hardly. This is just the medicine to assist the treatment. The real treatment hasn't even begun."
"You really think you'll get away with this?"
"If I don't cure you, I'm dead anyway. Your temper is the least of my concerns."
Realizing words wouldn't work, Rozalin gritted her teeth.
"I'll kill you, no matter what."
"Once the treatment is complete, I'm sure you'll feel differently."
Understanding that resistance was futile, she simply panted heavily, her eyes glinting with a murderous glare.
Seeing the situation settle, the butler cautiously asked.
"Can you… really cure her?"
"Well… I know what the illness is, more or less."
Everyone looked at him in surprise, and the butler asked urgently.
"You really know what's wrong with her?"
"Yes, I do."
People looked skeptical, but Ghislain took it as a given.
'While I don't know the details, I do know the solution. I did a lot of research.'
The Marquis Branford was well-known, which meant there was ample information about him. Rozalin's illness and treatment were also documented.
But saying "I came from the future and already know" wasn't an option.
Avoiding their curious looks, Ghislain was about to begin treatment.
The butler, however, wasn't ready to let go of this chance to uncover the cause.
"What… What is the cause? Neither renowned doctors nor priests could determine the cause."
Ghislain was slightly caught off guard.
'I have no idea… What's causing this, anyway?'
In truth, he had no clue. He knew the problem and the solution but not the underlying mechanism.
And that was natural.
'I skimmed through to the answer.'
Historians loved leaving detailed records, with hundreds of pages documenting the cause of the illness and the experiments to find a cure.
'The text was way too long…'
No matter how great his memory had become, he couldn't know what he hadn't read.
But he couldn't say he didn't know now.
Ghislain decided to vaguely package what he knew and hope it passed.
"Well, you see… it's because her balance is off."
"Her balance?"
"Yes, her body is too cold, which has caused problems."
Rozalin's symptoms were due to cold energy blocking her mana flow.
So the treatment was simple: dissolve that energy with mana to open the flow.
'Though, I have no idea why she has this cold energy.'
Before anyone could ask more questions, Ghislain hurriedly concluded.
"So, by removing that energy…"
At that moment, Rozalin snorted, laughing mockingly at Ghislain.
"I have a lot of heat in my body right now, you quack."
The butler added a comment as well.
"That's correct. Younglady is always warm and sensitive to heat."
Everyone looked at Ghislain with doubt.
A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead.
Right… Why would she feel hot if her body was cold?
"Ah, miss, you must have been surprised. You're cold inside, which is why the heat escapes outward."
"Surprised? You mean you're the one who's surprised."
Without blinking, Ghislain continued boldly.
"Since your inner body is too cold, heat escapes outward, and that's why your skin reacts so strongly to sunlight."
He cobbled together what knowledge he could to make it sound convincing.
Everyone nodded, seeming to find it plausible.
'Did…did they buy it?'
Even Rozalin seemed silent, as if she were buying it.
'Phew… being a doctor isn't easy.'
Relieved, Ghislain prepared to start the treatment again.
At that moment, Claude interjected.
"Then, why did she get this in the first place?"
'Are you kidding me?'
I don't know. How would I know why she got it? Just treat her and be done with it!
…He wished he could shout that, but too many people were watching.
Ghislain put on a gentle smile and grabbed Claude's shoulder.
"Our head butler has a lot of questions. Why did she get this? Well…"
"Ow! My lord, you're hurting me! Ease up on the shoulder grip, please!"
"…It's something she was born with."
Saying she was "born with it" left everyone looking doubtful, but they didn't have any counter arguments.
'What are they going to say about her being born with it?'
With that one phrase, Ghislain silenced everyone.
"Time is short, so let's keep the explanations brief. No more questions."
With that, everyone stepped back, exchanging uneasy glances.
'Phew, now we can finally begin.'
Though the treatment was finally starting, that was just the beginning. Treating her condition in such an advanced state was extremely risky, even more so given Rozalin's lack of trust in him.
This treatment would be agonizing—painful enough that she might wish for death. If she couldn't endure it, there was a real possibility she might not survive.
'In her past life, she somehow managed to endure it… but I'm not sure if she can this time. Back then, she probably had the fuel of constant scorn and resentment to keep her going.'
Ironically, it was Rozalin herself who had discovered this treatment method in her previous life.
Even after her arranged marriage, she remained secluded, unable to step outside. As the daughter of a powerful noble family, people didn't openly mistreat her, but she couldn't ignore the contemptuous glances cast her way.
Enduring such humiliation over time had only made her tougher.
With her keen mind and relentless will, she eventually found a way to treat herself.
'But by then, it was far too late.'
Though she managed to cure the illness, her body was so damaged from the blocked mana pathways that the treatment was only a partial success.
Even after curing her illness, she continued to suffer and eventually passed away a few years later.
This time, Ghislain could only hope she would endure the agony, painful as it might be.
'Please, just hold on. If we fail, it won't be just you who dies.'
Failure was not an option. If it came to that, both Rozalin and he would face grave consequences.
[T/L: Please support me and read extra chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]