I’ve Become a S*ave Bride - Chapter 38

After taking a stroll through the market, Lenette was on her way back to the abandoned palace.

“Lady Leneta?”

Hearing a slightly trembling voice that came with age, Lenette turned around.

It was Mahat, who had previously suffered from pneumonia.

“Lady Leneta, it’s been a while.”

After she cured his illness, he began to treat Lenette with respect, just like the soldiers of the abandoned palace.

“It’s been a while, Mahat.”

“Have you been well during this time?”

“I’m always about the same. How about you, Mahat?”

“I’m the same, heh heh.”

Mahat, having overcome his illness, looked somewhat different. If he had seemed like a frail old man before, now he resembled a senior man enjoying life.

However, before she could finish that thought, Mahat coughed roughly.

“I should have come to thank you, cough, cough.”

Lenette narrowed her eyes.

“Are you still working?”

“Heh heh heh….”

He turned his gaze away, seemingly avoiding the difficult question. Lenette let out a light sigh at his response.

“If you keep working, you’ll only get sick again.”

“But at my age, I can’t learn a different skill….”

Lenette chose not to add more words. This was not a matter she should involve herself in.

“If that’s what you wish, then it can’t be helped.”

“Still, I’m now going to a physician to get my medicine.”

Lenette’s reaction, mixed with resignation, seemed to embarrass Mahat, who subtly raised what he was holding in his hand.

From the way it was wrapped in cloth, it looked like medicinal herbs.

“It’s expensive, but after suffering so much, I thought money was not the issue. So now I go to the physician regularly.”

“Regular medicine probably won’t help with the cough.”

“That’s true, but… Ah, they said this medicine is very effective. It’s a new batch, and they say it makes you forget the pain completely.”

Normally, Lenette would have just replied, “I see,” and moved on.

But for some reason, those words—”makes you forget the pain completely”—bothered her.

So, acting out of character, she reached out her hand.

“May I see it?”

“Ah, yes. Of course. Please, take a look.”

He handed over the bundle of medicinal herbs he was holding. It wasn’t very large, so Lenette immediately unwrapped it to check.

However…

“……!”

As soon as she saw the brown lump inside the yellow cloth, Lenette’s eyes widened.

“Why is this here….”

It was as if she had forgotten how to breathe; she stared at the brown lump inside the cloth with a serious expression.

At her reaction, the faces of those around her also changed uneasily.

“What’s wrong, Lady Leneta?” Nazan asked, stepping closer.

But whether she heard him or not, Lenette was solely focused on the mysterious medicinal herb in her hand.

Then, her voice, now cold and different from moments before when they exchanged pleasantries, slipped from her lips.

“This, the physician gave it to you?”

“Yes… that’s right, but is there a problem…?”

“How did they instruct you to use it?”

“Well, it’s a bit unusual….”

As Mahat searched for the instructions, Lenette couldn’t wait and spoke up first.

“Is it similar to the method of burning tobacco leaves?”

“Oh, that’s right! They said to inhale the smoke.”

Upon hearing the answer, Lenette’s face contorted in disgust.

“Have you received it before?”

Seeing Lenette’s face turn frighteningly grim, Mahat timidly shook his head.

“No, this is the first time I’ve received it today.”

“So that means you’ve never smoked it before?”

“Yes.”

She stared intently into his eyes, as if trying to confirm whether his answer was true or not.

Then, she finally said,

“Alright. I’ll take this.”

“Excuse me?”

“And where is that physician?”

“Over there, but… wait, are you really taking my medicinal herbs?”

“Yes. Instead of this medicine, I’ll prescribe something else for you.”

Lenette’s skills were already famous in this town. In fact, Mahat was one of the beneficiaries of her exceptional abilities.

Perhaps because of this, he stepped back without further protest.

“Ah… understood.”

“Come to the palace the day after tomorrow.”

“You mean not now?”

At Mahat’s question, Leneta looked at the brown lump in her hand and replied,

“Yes. I have something urgent to attend to right now.”

* * *

“Is this the place?”

“Yes, that’s true, but….”

Hosanta, who was guiding Lenette to the physician’s house that Mahat had visited, trailed off as he looked at the building.

“The door is closed even though it’s still daytime.”

It wasn’t just the door that was closed. The windows were tightly shut as if to prevent even a sliver of light from entering.

‘I knew it would be like this.’

Her heart raced.

Why were such complicated and troublesome matters arising in this small town?

“Open the door.”

One of the guards raised his hand to knock on the door, but Lenette grabbed his hand and pulled it down. Without hesitation, she kicked the door open herself.

“Lady Leneta…?”

Everyone was taken aback by her uncharacteristically rough behavior, and Lenette quietly instructed the guards.

“Just wait here for now. If I don’t come out after a while,”

She glanced at the brown lump she had handed to Nazan earlier and continued,

“Something has happened, so come in. And when you enter, make sure to cover your mouth and nose with a cloth or your sleeve.”

“Excuse me?”

Confused by her words, the guards were bewildered, but Lenette urgently spoke to Nazan.

“Nazan, gather all the medicinal herbs that look exactly like that one.”

With that, she said what she needed to and slipped inside the physician’s house.

“Nazan… shouldn’t we dry that out?”

However, Nazan was just as flustered by the situation. After a moment of daze, he turned to Hosanta and said,

“I’ll go fetch Kazen. Until then, please make sure no one else goes inside.”

“Alright, understood.”

* * *

Upon entering the physician’s house, Lenette frowned deeply.

“This is nothing short of a raccoon den.”

Though she covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, her eyes were helpless. The smoke filled the room, making it hard to see and causing her eyes to sting.

“I didn’t expect to see Tariak even here… Hah.”

Lenette approached the nearest window and flung it open wide. Soon, she opened every window in sight.

After opening about five windows, a weak voice came from deep inside the house.

“Who… is it?”

Following the voice, she found a man half-leaning against the wall in a narrow space with no windows.

Lenette glanced down at the pipe that resembled a large tobacco pipe lying next to him.

“……”

She slowly closed her eyes and then opened them again, tilting her head.

‘It really is Tariak.’

What on earth was that devil’s toy doing here?

‘Why is that here?’

Her head ached.

Not from the smoke, but from the memories stirred by that ‘devil’s toy.’

Regaining her composure, Lenette squatted down closer to the physician.

“How much of that are you smoking?”

The physician’s dazed eyes instantly sharpened at her question. Seeing the wary look in his eyes, Lenette mentioned Mahat’s name.

“You just prescribed it to Mahat, right? He said it works well, so I came to find you.”

“……Mahat?”

“Yes. Mahat the stonemason.”

“……”

According to Mahat, he and the doctor had known each other for quite a long time.

Perhaps that was why? When Lenette brought up Mahat, the doctor’s intensely guarded expression relaxed.

Lenette subtly sat down beside him and said.

“I’m a doctor too, and I’d like to get my hands on some of this medicine… Where did you get it?”

“A doctor, my foot…. Just a beast’s bride.”

The doctor chuckled, as if what he said was funny.

‘It seems he hasn’t been using Tariak for very long.’

Considering he had enough clarity to identify who Lenette was.

“I’m not going to steal your living, so just tell me who sold this to you.”

The doctor opened his mouth wide and looked up at her. After seeming to think for a moment, he chuckled again and said.

“Sarman sold me all he had.”

“…Sarman? Are you talking about the Sarman Merchant Guild?”

There was no reply to her repeated question. The doctor closed his eyes wearily and leaned his head against the wall.

“Aish… It all went out because of the windows…”

As he said, the smoke inside the house was slowly clearing.

The interior of the house, which had been blurry due to the hazy smoke, started to become clear.

Knowing it would be useless to ask the doctor anything more, Lenette decided to move herself.

She hadn’t gone far when she discovered a small jar containing Tariak.

“Is this everything?”

At her murmur, the doctor, who had his eyes closed, snapped them open.

“You… you…! Wh-what are you doing…! Give that back…! That’s all I have left…!”

“For it being the last of it, you were quite generous to Mahat with that much.”

Was he not fully addicted yet, or was their friendship deep?

Lenette sighed deeply as she looked at the doctor trying to stand up.

Just as she expected, he couldn’t get up properly. The doctor stumbled onto the floor several times, flailing his arms and legs.

“Give it back right now…!! Or I’ll kill you!”

But was his voice quite loud?

“Lady Leneta! Are you alright?”

Hosanta’s voice came from beyond the window.

Lenette quickly looked around and spotted a small wooden pestle that doctors use to grind medicinal herbs.

“This should do.”

Saying that, Lenette raised it high and brought it down.

“Eek…!”

The doctor, who thought she was going to hit him, was startled and covered his face.

Thwack!

“Wh-what are you doing!”

However, the place where she brought the pestle down was not the doctor’s body, but her own thigh.