WeTried Translations

Translator: Hydrogen B

Editor: Hydrogen B

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 427: Diagnosis to Doctors, Nursing to Nurses

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When I saw her again after so long, she was wearing an unfamiliar nurse's uniform. She said she was an actress, so had she taken up costume-wearing as a hobby now? I looked Hilde up and down.

"What are you doing here in a nurse's uniform? Did you get a job?"

"I'm quitting soon. They don't pay me, and they work me to the bone. The uniform is the only thing I like. If it weren't so pretty, I'd have run away last night."

Hilde grumbled unhappily, then seemed to remember something. With a playful smile, she tapped her uniform.

"What do you think, Father? Of 'me' in a nurse's uniform?"

"Clothes do make the person."

"You mean I'm pretty? Hehe! What's gotten into you? You're actually complimenting me?"

"I was complimenting the clothes."

Wasn't this outfit too nice to be worn only by people who cared for patients? No, I should think of it the other way around. This outfit existed because people caring for patients needed it, so I should be grateful for their beautiful hearts.

Not the person in front of me, of course. I asked Hilde,

"What kind of information are you hiding here to gather?"

"Shh. Let's go somewhere without people first. Put this on for now."

Hilde roughly wrapped bandages around my head and body. She turned me into a patient in an instant, led me into an empty hospital room, and closed the door. Then she wedged a sheet of paper into the gap beneath it. After setting up her makeshift trap, Hilde moved farther into the corner and spoke.

"So Father came here after all."

"After all? Sounds like you found something out."

"Don't pretend you don't know. You knew from the beginning, didn't you?"

Hilde reproached me with her eyes, folded her arms, and continued.

"Tyrkanzyaka's control has weakened."

"Oh. Because she was gone for three hundred years?"

"That's part of it, but it seems Tyrkanzyaka's pure 'control,' not just her political power, has weakened as well. Tyrkanzyaka was the heart and brain of the Duchy, and every vampire she created was no more than one of her limbs. Rebellion should have been impossible from the start..."

She said she had once belonged to the Holy Sword Corps, didn't she? That was probably why she knew so much about vampires. At least she hadn't been wandering around without knowing what to investigate.

Hilde gave me the most important information she had uncovered.

"The vampires are plotting a rebellion. The thralls of dead Elders are the most active, but... they aren't the only ones."

"Seems you found evidence."

"One of Luscinia's bloodline was killed by Tyrkanzyaka. But while dying, they apparently left some kind of message. After hearing it, the others in his bloodline began to move. I don't know exactly what it was, though..."

"It was probably this: 'Even the Progenitor cast aside the shackle.' I was there, so I'm sure."

"Ugh. Then the worst hypothesis has become reality. The Progenitor has lost some sort of influence. The control that makes her the Progenitor. And..."

Hilde naturally pushed me against the wall. My back hit it with a thud, and she pressed in close, her expression sharp as she questioned me.

"You did it, didn't you, Father?"

I immediately played dumb.

"Me? Did what? How?"

"Don't play innocent. There were reports that the Progenitor's thralls seemed weaker than history recorded. Yuel couldn't see well through the darkness, so she couldn't get reliable data, but... if Tyrkanzyaka's abnormality began before she came out of the Abyss, then either Mr. Shei or Father must have done something."

"Mr. Shei did it."

"If Tyrkanzyaka had followed Mr. Shei, I would have believed that. Don't make me violate my filial duty, Father."

Overwhelming power could make someone confess the truth even without mind reading.

It couldn't be helped. The more facts came to light, the harder it became to lie. I readily admitted it.

"It was a side effect. I didn't intend for Tyr's power to weaken. I only granted Tyr's wish."

"What did you do?"

"I returned Tyr's heart to what it was when she was alive."

"What? Someone else's heart, and the heart of the vampire Progenitor at that? How? The dilemma... Was that also the power held by the King of Humanity?"

"Probably."

"Then that means the vampire Progenitor has been resurrected."

Hilde tried to picture the situation for a moment, then frowned. Even someone who had overseen the darkness of the military state would have trouble grasping the full picture in a foreign land where she knew no one.

"Even 'I' can't predict what will happen next at all~. Where is this situation even going? Still, one thing is certain. A huge storm of blood will soon sweep in, and 'we' have two choices. One is to run away at once. The other is..."

Hilde let out a long, troubled sigh.

"To fight on the Progenitor's side. We warn her of the rebellion somehow, gather Tyrkanzyaka's allies, and defeat the rebels. The first is safe, but we gain nothing. The second is dangerous, but we can gain much from the Duchy."

"This is completely palace intrigue."

"Father is the devastatingly beautiful concubine who created that rift~. 'I' would be the maid who struggles behind the scenes to serve her arrogant master~."

"What kind of maid leaves her master behind to wander around?"

"A maid's role is to work in place of a lady who has difficulty moving. In any case, Father. Will you run, or will you stay?"

"I can't run from something I caused."

Even if I left, I had to watch it through to the end. I had sown all these seeds, after all. I said it with firm resolve, but Hilde took it a little differently and nodded.

"That's right. We have to win here to gain everything. If we run, whether the rebels win or the Progenitor wins, neither side will look kindly on 'us.'"

"Hilde, please work hard. I'll be counting on you."

"Father needs to work too! This is for your beloved Tyrkanzyaka, the military state that will become Father's, and for 'me' and Father himself! If the Progenitor loses, the rebels will first execute the concubine who threw the country into chaos and that concubine's maid!"

"All right. First, I warn Tyr so she can nip the rebellion in the bud, right? Sounds like work suited to a concubine."

"Seduction is Father's specialty. I'll leave the pillow talk to you~."

Hey. Someone might misunderstand if they heard that.

"What pillow talk? You keep trying to make me sound like some woman-crazed bastard, but I'm not. It wouldn't be so unfair if I really were."

"What? You aren't? Yet you've only been traveling with female vampires~?"

"The Duke of Crimson Blood attached them to me on his own. Besides, vampires don't have senses, so the kind of thing you're imagining never happened."

Things were different now that I directly inscribed sensations, but Hilde had no way of knowing what went on at the top floor of the Castle of the Full Moon. She looked at me with pity.

"Is that so~? What a shame. Tyrkanzyaka may be infamous as a vampire, but she's also famous for her beauty. Even as her concubine, Father can't enjoy any of the benefits... Ah!"

Hilde suddenly covered her face with the wooden board she carried. A moment later, she removed it, and 'Tyr' stood there with a playful smile. Hilde approached with an expression Tyr would never normally wear, tapped my chest, and whispered.

"If you want, just let me know anytime. 'I' can imitate Tyrkanzyaka's body and face while still perfectly alive. Instead of a beautiful but unfeeling Progenitor, I'll serve Father when his frustrations build up~."

Why did she keep trying to frame me like this? Just as I was about to protest Hilde's slander, I stopped and gave it some thought.

...Come to think of it, there might not be anything bad in it for me.

"Thanks for the offer. I'll make good use of it later."

"...What?"

"Unfortunately, I'll receive the nurse's services later. I only slipped out for a moment myself."

I pointed to the sheet of paper Hilde had wedged beneath the door. The paper, infused with energy, trembled as it detected faint vibrations. Someone was approaching this room.

Hilde noticed it too and prepared to leave. She covered her face with the wooden board again, returning to Hilde's face, then lowered it slightly to cover her mouth as she spoke.

"Just in case, don't do anything that upsets the Progenitor too much, all right? You could win the gamble and still lose everything."

"Upset her? Like what?"

"Flirting with other women, like you did just now. I'm keeping it secret because it's 'me.' If Tyrkanzyaka really has regained her heart as rumored, making her jealous could put Father in danger too."

"You were the one who started it, yet you're demanding chastity from me."

"Call it the fate of a concubine. I'll be going now."

Leaving behind that strange warning, Hilde climbed over the windowsill and vanished. It was a stealth technique so silent she slipped away like a snake over a wall. The instant Hilde left the room, the door opened, and the sheet of paper wedged in the gap fluttered to the floor.

Count Erte looked curiously at the paper that had fallen out of nowhere, then spotted me inside and approached.

"It's finished. I apologize for causing concern. Ain who lose their Elder tend to grow violent, like horses with their reins cut loose."

"As long as Rutrik is dead, it's fine. I don't care."

"...If the concubine says so, that is a relief, but the death of an ain is a matter requiring much attention in the Duchy. How about returning to the Castle of the Full Moon first? Inform the Progenitor and see to your own safety. You will be safe while staying at the Castle of the Full Moon. In the meantime, I will report to the Duke of Crimson Blood and finish handling the aftermath of the traitor Rutrik."

That sounded similar to what Hilde had said. Receive Tyr's protection and prepare for what came next. Hmm, it was certainly a reasonable suggestion, but...

"Wait. If I tell Tyr what happened just now, she'll assign guards to me, right?"

"Of course."

"And I won't be able to go out so easily. There'll be guards with me every time I leave."

"That will be the case, but only for a while."

"I'm sick of vampire 'whiles.' How long is a while, exactly? A month? A year?"

"At least until the night ebb recedes..."

"What? That's way too long!"

Count Erte blinked at my complaint. As she stood there speechless, I made the sort of suggestion a thoughtless concubine would.

"Let's keep it a secret from Tyr. It can be as though I was never attacked here."

"Why would we? There is no reason to hide this from the Progenitor. Your safety is what she values most, and if she learns of this, she will take the proper measures."

"But I can't stay trapped in that castle the whole time, can I? Even if I go out, it'll be suffocating and stifling if I have guards hanging all over me. Isn't hiding this better? Tyr has a lot to do too, so she doesn't need to worry over something so minor!"

Wow. I had sounded exactly like a thoughtless young noblewoman just then. Count Erte seemed to feel the same and looked at me again.

In a less favorable light.

"Please reconsider. That is..."

"Count Erte, you should reconsider too. I'm Tyr's concubine. Who understands Tyr's feelings better? Me. Then shouldn't things concerning Tyr be decided as I wish? Besides, the Duke of Crimson Blood assigned you to attend to me, didn't he?"

Once I invoked the Duke of Crimson Blood's orders, Count Erte had no choice but to follow my wishes. She spoke as though she had attained enlightenment.

"...Very well. But whenever you leave, you must bring me with you."

'His actions seemed sudden, but I thought he moved with certainty. Looking at him now, perhaps he simply lacks a sense of danger? This is troubling. Unlike vampires, humans die far too easily. How am I supposed to protect him? If there are two or more ain, even I would struggle...'

She was a vampire who had been through her share of hardships. She knew humans did not always make wise choices. Count Erte had begun to see me as a thoughtless child.

"Shall we look around the hospital a little more? It's interesting."

"There was a battle here just moments ago... No. Do as you wish."

'They say a country falls into disorder when a concubine gains influence. To think that would happen exactly as they said, in the Duchy.'

The loyal retainer's worries only deepened with the Duchy's darkness.

Footnotes:

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