I’ve Become a S*ave Bride - Chapter 67

“Kazen. Everyone must have seen me with the Markal in that herb garden for the past five days, right?”

“Presumably.”

“The Markal wouldn’t be unaware of that either.”

Kazen’s brow furrowed.

“What are you trying to say?”

“I mean there was an intention behind her conversing with me in such a public place.”

“An intention.”

“Yes.”

“You think she showed you off to people on purpose?”

“The possibility is high.”

He stroked his cheek, lost in thought for a moment.

“True. That clever old woman wouldn’t maintain meetings for five days out of pure intent. Especially not in front of everyone.”

Persuaded by her words, Kazen smiled with a sharp glint in his eyes.

“Lene, giving you instructions to examine her health likely follows a similar context.”

“I think so, too. It’s probably an intention to provoke the people within the palace.”

“To provoke them, you say.”

He understood up to this point, but as if the logic beyond that wasn’t clicking, Kazen sat down and set his jaw.

“What kind of provocation is she trying to trigger?”

Though not stated directly, there was a lot packed into that sentence.

Kazen was the eldest son, yet he was the child of a slave with no power base, and Lenettette was the wife of such a man.

On top of that, she was a wife from a slave background herself.

By using such a woman to provoke others, what could she possibly gain?

Lenette lifted her head to look up at the man standing before her. Due to the height difference, she could only see Kazen’s jawline, which was as sharp as his gaze.

As Kazen lowered his face to match her movement, their eyes finally met.

Lenette looked straight into the eyes watching her intently and spoke.

“We’ll have to wait and see.”

In truth, Lenette already knew.

She knew exactly what The Markal wanted.

“I dislike that kind of peace. That is why I crave deficiency. However, I do not know how to create it. Thus, I must find another alternative….”

‘An alternative to deficiency.’

Many things came to mind.

However, there was only one word that fit this current situation perfectly.

‘Instigating competition.’

Competition is just as good a driving force for progress as deficiency is.

‘It seems she intends to use me as a card to provoke her own grandchildren.’

As expected, was Kazen truly a disposable grandson to the Markal?

‘If I am flaunted like this, I might end up being threatened by others.’

But from Lenette’s perspective, it wasn’t a bad situation yet.

In fact, it might even be a great opportunity.

‘The Markal, you probably didn’t create this opportunity for the sake of Kazen or me, but I intend to exploit it thoroughly.’

The light she had lost since being exiled from the Eckaron Kingdom began to shimmer in her eyes once more.

—

The rumor that Lenette had begun tending to The Markal’s health spread rapidly throughout the palace.

Just as The Markal intended, the Carta Palace was in an uproar.

However, there was a place even more turbulent than the palace: the medical bureau located on one side of the Underwater Temple.

“A foreign slave acting as a physician?”

“How can she dismiss so many physicians while listening to the words of a foreign woman!”

The junior physician who had brought the information wiped away his beads of sweat, explaining between ragged breaths. He had rushed there the moment he heard the news, leaving his words disorganized.

“It seems that woman is quite well-versed in herbs.”

‘That woman.’ He was referring to Lenette. Since she had not yet had a formal wedding—and was of slave origin—none of the people here felt any need to address her with respect.

“And so, they say she spent five whole days discussing herbs with the Markal—”

“Does knowing a bit about herbs make one a physician?!”

As a middle-aged man shouted in anger, the elderly Chief Physician shushed him with a hollow chuckle.

“Getting angry here accomplishes nothing. So be quiet and let us hear the rest of the story.”

“But…!”

“Now, now.”

“…Understood.”

The junior physician’s explanation continued.

“According to the warriors from that woman’s side, she practices a medical art that is somewhat different from the Empire’s.”

“Tsk, it’s likely nothing more than the medical practices of that fallen kingdom.”

Because Tazetra was a Great Empire, people secretly looked down on the small nation of Ecaron.

“The thing is… that might not be entirely true. The loyalty of the guards at the Abandoned Palace was quite extraordinary.”

The middle-aged physician, who had been listening with a crooked posture, still looked displeased, but the Chief Physician reacted differently.

“Are you saying she practices a medical art that is actually useful?”

“Yes. It seems more than just a few people have benefited from the medicine she performed.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

The Chief Physician adjusted his glasses, lost in thought.

‘For the Markal to take in a woman no one has ever heard of before…’

Though elderly, the Chief Physician possessed a wealth of experience equal to his years. Having witnessed the history the Markal had built with his own eyes, he was a living witness to her reign.

Therefore, he was certain.

‘That woman is nothing more than bait.’

The Markal’s true objective clearly lay elsewhere.

‘Haha… Well. She truly never changes.’

Though he had a rough idea of what that objective was, the Chief Physician decided to feign ignorance and take a step back.

He turned to the indignant physicians and spoke.

“Everyone, do not act rashly for no reason. Keep quiet.”

“But how can we stand by and watch a woman with no pedigree run rampant!”

Usually, they followed the Chief Physician’s words faithfully. However, because their opponent was a woman—and one from a slave background of a fallen kingdom at that—the backlash was severe.

The Chief Physician let out a sigh and pointed out the blunt truth.

“Enough with the ‘buts.’ Did you all come here because you truly wanted to practice medicine? You didn’t.”

“……”

The physicians all fell silent.

“Both you and I are sitting here, holding our positions for the glory of our families. So you should know well. One does not create the current; one rides it. We simply need to throw ourselves into the current The Markal has created. Just as we have always done.”

“……”

There was no reply, but their faces showed they had understood his meaning.

“So, if that woman comes and requests medicinal ingredients, provide them generously. That is what The Markal wants. Is that understood?”

—

The Markal’s diagnosis came quickly.

It was so-called “Meat Deficiency.”

Meat Deficiency is a condition that often appears in those who do not consume enough meat.

The symptoms of those suffering from meat deficiency are as follows:

*First: They easily feel fatigued and frequently fall into a state of lethargy.

However, those with chronic meat deficiency become so accustomed to the fatigue and lethargy that even they themselves fail to realize they are tired. Consequently, both the individual and those around them simply think, “That’s just how they are—easily exhausted and prone to mood swings. That’s why they’re so angry and prickly.”

It was just like how everyone dismissed the Markal’s irritability and fastidiousness as her personal traits.

“But according to the investigation of the palace maids, she became even more sensitive after she began insisting on a vegetarian-centered diet.”

The second symptom of meat deficiency: Pale skin.

“Unfortunately, this is something I can’t easily detect.”

Their complexions were different. Unlike Lenette, who had fair skin, the people of the Tazetra Empire had dark skin. To Lenette, who was not accustomed to such skin tones, it was still difficult to distinguish what constituted a pale complexion versus a healthy glow.

Thus, she focused on the third symptom.

“Anaemia and respiration.”

They suffer from symptoms of anaemia more frequently than average people and become short of breath easily. From what she had observed, The Markal was exactly like that.

Beyond these, many other symptoms aligned with meat deficiency. It was said she had long suffered from dizziness and headaches, her heart would suddenly race, her hands and feet were extremely cold, and her fingernails broke easily.

“Of course, there are other illnesses that come to mind.”

However, based on the examinations performed using the stethoscope and various tools she had crafted at the Abandoned Palace, all her organs—including the lungs and heart—were normal.

“The potential cause is clear, and the symptoms match. Therefore, the probability of it being meat deficiency is the highest.”

—

The habit of abandoning one’s home for safety when war breaks out is not unique to humans. Wild animals do the same. Consequently, as the Ecaron unification wars dragged on, the supply of meat became unreliable, and the concept of “Meat Deficiency” naturally began to emerge.

In truth, it was not a disease like pneumonia that leaves one hovering between life and death or makes daily life impossible. However, the danger of Meat Deficiency lies in the fact that while it seems like no big deal on its own, it gradually eats away at the body by triggering subsequent complications.

Furthermore, from the perspective of the King of Ecaron, he had no desire to lead soldiers whose morale had plummeted. Thus, he began searching for foods that could replace meat. During this search, he accidentally discovered a group of extreme religious practitioners who had lived deep in the mountains for generations. They despised the taking of life and lived solely on vegetables and fruits, yet for some reason, they were remarkably healthy.

Under the King’s orders, various studies were conducted on their diet. One of the foods Lenette was about to present to The Markal was a direct result of that research. In the Markal’s case, she had been maintaining a diet centered on raw vegetables because she felt digestive discomfort. While her reasons weren’t religious, her eating habits were very similar to those who followed vegetarianism as a creed.

“I can’t force someone who says their stomach feels unsettled to eat meat.”

Besides, The Markal was not the type of person to listen even if she were forced.

“So, I have to approach this with food that won’t cause any repulsion.”

Fortunately, Lenette knew of a perfect food that could resolve Meat Deficiency without triggering a vegetarian’s resistance.

“Nubeto.”

It was a dish made using beans.