WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Haruto

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Dark Fantasy Doctor Was Mistaken for a Saint ◈

Chapter 64: What’s Your Name, You Bastard? (2)

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* * *

As always, by the time I had finished seeing patients in a frenzy, the sun was setting.

Though in this city, the smog meant it hardly mattered whether the sun had set or not.

Still, when evening came, I returned to the estate in Otto’s car.

“Good work today, Otto.”

“Take care, young master.”

I returned Otto’s greeting through the car window.

Considering that eight years ago, Otto had made it clear in every way that he did not want us to become friends, this was a great improvement.

The first place I headed after returning home was the kitchen.

Today’s menu was boudin noir aux pommes.

In Korean, that translated to grilled blood sausage.

Served with roasted apples, vegetables, and scrambled eggs.

When the finished dishes were placed on the table, Father let out an admiring sound.

“Julian, what is this sausage made from?”

“Pig’s blood. Nobles in the southwestern region often make sausages from pig’s blood.”

“Is that so? Thanks to you, Julian, I feel as though I’m traveling all across the Empire from the dinner table.”

The reaction was good.

Ever since my engagement problem had been resolved, my parents no longer interfered with my cooking.

The marquessal House Hausen, which I was marrying into, did not seem to mind that I cooked.

That left my parents free to simply enjoy my food.

Clink, clink.

To my parents’ left and directly across from me, a small boy was battling his fork.

It was Fried, now seven years old.

“It’s tasty, big brother.”

Sausage, roasted apples, scrambled eggs.

Of course he liked it. It was a combination any seven-year-old would enjoy.

The problem was the salad pushed to one side of his plate.

Pretending to pick up sausage with his fork, Fried was slowly pushing the vegetables into the corner of his plate.

He seemed to think he was being subtle, but it was painfully obvious.

“Fried, I sautéed them in butter to make them easier to eat. Do you dislike them that much?”

“Mm... Sorry, big brother.”

At that moment, Freya’s fork headed for Fried’s plate.

Scrape, scrape.

The salad that had been pushed into the corner was moved back to the center.

“...Little big sister?”

“...”

Freya played innocent.

Whenever Fried secretly pushed the salad back into the corner, Freya restored it to the center.

...I wondered whether it was really appropriate to use physical enhancement against a seven-year-old, but still.

The more this repeated, the more Fried’s lips stuck out.

Just as the hand holding his fork hesitated over a carrot,

“Nom.”

Eri, who was sitting beside me, rose and extended her fork toward Fried’s plate.

The salad disappeared before Freya had time to react.

Fried’s face brightened.

In contrast, a crease formed between Freya’s brows.

“Big sister. How can you indulge Fried like that?”

“When you’re young, you should grow up eating what you want. Once he’s older, he’ll take care to eat vegetables himself.”

Fried beamed at Eri’s words.

“Thank you, big sister!”

Eri snorted and brushed his hair back once.

“I’m only eating the carrots. You eat the spinach.”

“Mm...”

Fried drooped again and stabbed the innocent spinach with his fork.

Freya smiled in victory beside him.

Watching my younger siblings from across the table, I casually changed the subject.

“Freya, your first year in the High Division is almost over, right?”

“Yes, brother.”

“It’s already been a year. How was it?”

“Honestly, it was difficult at first. The classes are much more intensive than studying at home.”

Freya dabbed at the corners of her mouth with a napkin.

She was currently attending the Academy’s High Division.

Most hereditary nobles did not attend the Academy’s High Division.

There was not enough time as it was to learn their family’s arcane magic.

They only attended the Academy once they entered the Academic Division.

But Freya’s circumstances were a little different.

“There’s too much law to memorize. It’s difficult.”

She wanted to become a magistrate, following in Father’s footsteps.

Our parents supported her dream.

So Freya was currently studying Imperial law in the High Division’s law department.

“Still, I met a wonderful senior in my study group, so I was able to adjust well.”

“Her name was Valeria, right?”

“Yes. That’s right. She’s graduating this year.”

Valeria.

The top student in the High Division’s economics department, and one of my scholarship students.

I remembered her because she was the saint candidate’s older sister.

It was reassuring to hear that she was guiding Freya.

Even apart from being the saint’s sister, she had been a child with outstanding potential.

The funny thing was that I had not connected the two of them.

Valeria had joined the student council to get ahead, while Freya had joined because she wanted to enter public service.

They got along well and naturally became close.

When I first heard they were friends, I thought the world was a small place.

“Freya, are you the head of the disciplinary committee?”

“Yes. Senior Valeria recommended me, so I think I’ll become vice president next year.”

It seemed Valeria had taken a liking to Freya.

Though I did not know why.

‘It’s not as if she has ever shown me her personality.’

I had eaten with the other scholarship students several times and had gotten a rough sense of what they were like.

But I still could not figure Valeria out.

Whenever we ate together, she stayed quiet and only gave safe answers.

There had not been a single clue to infer her personality from.

All I had learned was that she had a severe case of little-sister obsession.

At that point, Father, who had been listening quietly, nodded.

“I should send a graduation gift to Valeria’s family sometime.”

“Would that be all right, Father?”

“Freya, she has taken such good care of you. Can we not show at least this much gratitude?”

I nodded as well.

If Father sent a gift, Valeria’s mother would probably be pleased too.

While I was at it, I should send her a graduation gift as Director Schun.

“By the way, does Valeria have any interest in public service?”

At Father’s question, Freya shook her head.

“No. She plans to become a trainee accountant at the Merkuer Trading Company. Since she received a scholarship from the company, she has to work there for ten years.”

“That is a shame, but it will be a good thing for her. These days, I hear many children are choosing the Merkuer Trading Company over public office.”

“Right? Isn’t she amazing? You know how amazing she is...”

Stars lit up in Freya’s eyes.

She put down her fork, clasped both hands, and leaned forward.

“Her internship lasted one month, and when it ended, the trading company president personally offered her a permanent position. To an intern. And she had not even graduated yet!”

“That is certainly impressive.”

Freya’s voice grew higher and higher.

I had felt this during the Founding Festival as well, but she was especially like this whenever she introduced someone else.

Ask her to introduce herself, and she spoke in a voice as quiet as an ant. But when it came to someone else’s accomplishments, her eyes sparkled as she talked as if they were her own.

Come to think of it, she had been like that during the Founding Festival too.

‘Does she brag about me like that elsewhere?’

That would be a little embarrassing.

In any case, once Freya got going, she did not stop praising Valeria.

Thanks to that, I was able to get a rough idea of Valeria’s personality, something I had failed to learn despite dozens of meals.

Before long, dinner ended.

Father went up to his study first, followed by Mother, who took Fried up to the second floor with her.

Only Eri, Freya, and I remained at the table.

I stopped Freya as she was about to leave.

“Ah, Freya.”

I took a check from the inner pocket of my vest.

“This is your allowance. Buy gifts for the people who helped you at the end of the term.”

It was all networking.

It was necessary if she wanted to enter public service.

Of course, Freya could have handled it with her own allowance.

But it might not have expressed enough sincerity.

That was why I gave her extra money like this.

Freya accepted the check with both hands, her eyes widening.

“Brother, isn’t this a little too much?”

“You need to buy a graduation gift for Senior Valeria too. From what I heard earlier, it sounds like you owe her quite a lot.”

“...Thank you, brother.”

Freya politely folded the check and put it in her pocket.

Then Eri, who had been watching with her arms crossed, shook her head.

“Teacher, haven’t you completely lost your sense of money? Who gives allowance with a check?”

“Would coins be better for your snack money, Eri?”

“Come to think of it, I think it’s nice because I can feel Teacher’s affection in the amount written on the check.”

I gestured toward Eri with my chin.

“Come to think of it, today is your transfusion day, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right, Teacher.”

“Come upstairs. I have the heparin ready too.”

Eri followed me.

Freya remained in the dining room and bowed deeply in thanks.

* * *

A few days later, the morning was no different from usual.

They were days no different from before, with me going to the clinic, seeing patients, having Eri handle blood pressure checks and infection screenings, and eating lunch at Wangcho’s restaurant.

Wangcho begging me for gout medicine was the same as always.

And me nagging him to stop eating meat was the same as always.

“Teacher, I can’t give up meat.”

“Then I can’t give you medicine either. I won’t be coming here often soon, you know.”

“But...”

“For the record, I have told the other healers what you look like, Wangcho. They will nag you exactly as I do, so if you stuff yourself while I’m gone, they’ll scold you.”

“...”

I was continuing afternoon consultations when the magical communications device in the corner of the examination room rang.

It was the Merkuer Trading Company.

‘At this hour?’

The regular report was on weekends.

It was rare for the company to contact me on a weekday afternoon.

With that question in mind, I switched on the communications device.

[Young master. I apologize, but there is something urgent to report.]

It was the voice of someone from the company’s secretarial office.

They sounded extremely tense.

“What is it?”

[It concerns the scholarship students. Two scholarship students affiliated with the foundation have been unreachable for three days.]

“Unreachable?”

[Yes. We checked with the Academy, and they have not attended class for two days. Their belongings are still in their dorm rooms, but they themselves are missing...]

“What are their names? I have more than one or two scholarship students.”

[Eli from the alchemy department, and Kal from the swordsmanship department. And...]

“And?”

[She is not a scholarship student, but Lady Freya Nihirit has also not been seen at the Academy today.]

“Secretary.”

I drew in a deep breath and spoke to the secretary through the communications device.

“Deploy the Ironclad Special Task Force. Immediately.”

Footnotes:

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