Chapter 183
How long had I been moving frantically with Taran? During the process, I noticed something strange. The treatment was proceeding more smoothly than expected. There was one reason: all vital spots had been avoided. However, without treatment, the victims could still die from blood loss.
‘What is this?’
It didn’t seem like damage from random attacks, but rather like deliberately inflicted wounds. In other words, it meant an attack carried out intentionally with some purpose.
‘This is strange. If the First Prince is targeting me, it would be to keep me tied to the clinic. But I wasn’t planning to leave anyway? Is there really a need for this?’
Though I felt uneasy not being able to guess the purpose, I needed to focus on the patients before me. Gradually, families of the victims were gathering, having heard the news. The small waiting room of the clinic was packed, and the shouts and sobs of people looking for their families made it chaotic.
“Taran! Send home those who are cleared to leave first!”
“Yes!”
While managing the situation as best I could, I focused again on the patients. The person before me was the same. Though they had lost a lot of blood, it wasn’t a fatal wound. It was an injury that would heal sufficiently with suturing.
It was as treatment was nearing completion.
“F-fire!”
“…!”
Someone’s cry was heard. Screams of panic filled the treatment room. Vivid red flames flickered beyond the waiting room windows. Everyone rushed to the entrance, trying to escape.
“Young Master!”
Taran, who always called me Master in the clinic, urgently searched for me. He was near the entrance and was being pushed outside by the crowd. While everyone was trying to escape, he alone was trying to come inside. That was impossible.
“Everyone, stay calm!”
I shouted loudly, but few maintained their composure in the face of the fiercely burning flames. Still, a few people responded to my voice.
“Doctor! Escape!”
“I can’t.”
Since I couldn’t suture the flesh of someone fully conscious, some patients were still unconscious from the anesthetic made from Rumolica leaves. I couldn’t just leave them.
“Please move the patients first.”
“What about you and that person, Doctor!”
Asked a person who had hoisted a patient over their shoulder.
“I’ll manage somehow.”
He hesitated briefly, then shouted with what seemed like determination.
“I’ll be right back!”
I hurriedly finished suturing the wound. Given the situation, I couldn’t be thorough, but at least I could stop the bleeding.
The smoke was getting increasingly acrid. I squinted my eyes to assess the situation. Judging by the faint sounds I could hear, it seemed there were attempts to extinguish the fire from outside.
‘I can see flames outside all the first-floor windows.’
This wasn’t a natural fire. Was this why patients had been pushed into the treatment room in large numbers?
‘To involve innocent people as well.’
I felt anger rising against the person who tried to turn a place of healing into a massive crematorium.
Creak, creak.
At that moment, strange sounds began coming from the building. Exactly like signs of collapse.
‘No.’
I tore a piece of cloth, wet it, and covered my nose and mouth. Then I lay down as flat as possible on the floor to avoid the smoke that filled the interior. I dragged the last patient I had just treated, moving little by little.
Meanwhile, I sensed someone approaching. It was the man who had carried other patients out when the fire broke out.
“Can you help move this person too— ugh!”
Thud!
While speaking with relief, pain spread from the nape of my neck. Simultaneously, my vision swayed. The blow had given me a concussion.
‘So he was the First Prince’s man.’
The man dragged me as I staggered, struggling to maintain balance. Through the smoke obscuring my vision and dizzy consciousness, I managed to speak.
“You’ll… die anyway…”
It seemed like we were climbing stairs. The fire that started on the first floor was burning up to the second-floor outer walls, making it hotter than expected. But more serious than the heat was the smoke.
“There aren’t… just one or two… witnesses.”
What kind of loyalty would drive someone to do this? Thinking that if it wasn’t loyalty, perhaps he could be persuaded, I continued to speak. If he responded in any way, I intended to press that point.
“Do you really think… he’ll care about you? Is it worth… cough cough… risking your life?”
“…”
The man remained silent. I wondered where we had arrived when he threw me somewhere. I could see smoke seeping through the gaps in the wooden floor. I covered my mouth and nose with my sleeve, enduring the acrid smoke.
The man simply stood in the space, expressionless. No emotion could be read from his blank face. He seemed prepared to die.
“Do you… truly follow… kugh… someone who would do this… for his own revenge?”
“That’s not it.”
For the first time, the man spoke. Unlike his face that seemed to have erased all emotion, his voice carried a faint trace of anger.
“I saw how you value the lives of others, Doctor. …But with your death, I can protect something very important.”
The man sat down heavily in front of me.
“As punishment for taking a good doctor away from people, I will end my life here with you. I hope that will serve as some atonement to you, Doctor.”
He doesn’t know who I am. He’s not the First Prince’s confidant. He was merely someone used as a discarded card in this incident due to some circumstance.
“If I… survive… I can give you… whatever it is.”
“How could someone who’s just a doctor do that?”
“…I am… Vi—”
Was it because I had inhaled too much smoke, or because of the blow to my neck? My consciousness was foggy. But not wanting to die like this, I used all my strength to speak.
“…Vinter’s… son. I can… do plenty for you.”
“If that’s true, then all the more reason why I can’t. As you said, there are many witnesses. There’s no way they’d spare me for trying to kill a high nobleman. Both of us must die here.”
My dizziness was getting worse. There wasn’t enough time to persuade the man. I felt like I was about to lose consciousness. I couldn’t pass out now.
Just as I was thinking that throwing myself out of the second-floor window might give me a better chance of survival.
“Young Master!”
How strange. No matter when, Luwen’s voice always came through clearly. Had he safely left the imperial palace? Or had he fled to kidnap me? Either way, it didn’t matter. Hearing his voice filled me with relief.
“…My person has come.”
Could Luwen make it up here? Wouldn’t the first floor already be completely engulfed in flames? The creaking of the wood had been getting increasingly worse. It could collapse at any moment. So I hoped he wouldn’t come.
But…
‘I want to see him…’
Tears fell. I just wanted to see if he was unharmed.
Crash!
“Young Master!”
The voice was close. Even through my hazy vision, I could tell Luwen had arrived.
Luwen… why did you come here? How could you jump into a pit of fire?
“Damn it!”
The man jumped up, but something flew through the air with a thud. The sound of it hitting the floor with a splash sent chills down my spine. A head separated from a body rolled around.
“Young Master! We need to escape—”
Crack, crack—
The ominous sound grew louder. I quickly shouted to stop Luwen.
“Luwen! Don’t come!”
But he lunged toward me. His wet cloak fluttered. Water droplets from his hair touched my cheek. Luwen seemed to be smiling briefly. He seemed to say, I’m glad you’re safe.
Crash! Boom—!
With a loud noise, I felt the heat. The smoke was so thick that nothing was visible. Did my body take a hit? I wasn’t sure. Now I couldn’t feel anything.
* * *
“Let me go! Just! Let! Me! Go!”
Taran stomped his feet and shouted, but people wouldn’t release him. Luwen, who had grabbed a water bucket meant for putting out the fire and doused himself, had gotten in so easily. But he couldn’t get in. All he could do was relay that he had seen someone drag Young Master to the second floor.
“No! What could you do if you went in? We can’t let you die too!”
“Mister!”
“Taran! If the doctor is gone, you’re our physician. We can’t lose you too…”
“…If Master is gone, I have no reason to be here.”
Besides, even Luwen had gone in. The building engulfed in flames looked precarious, as if it would collapse at any moment.
Despite Taran’s desperate feelings, those holding him showed no sign of letting go. Instead, they called others to hold him more firmly.
That was understandable, as in people’s eyes, entering the clinic meant certain death. It seemed inevitable. After all, no one was coming out anymore.
The one hopeful thing was that people from the surrounding area were gathering, having noticed the fire at the clinic. Even now, more people were joining to help extinguish the fire. Their number seemed to exceed forty.
Some were nursing the injured who had escaped from the clinic, while others worked together to fetch water from a nearby lake and continuously sprayed it. Fortunately, the flames were gradually subsiding, but the survival of those remaining inside couldn’t be guaranteed.
“We’re almost there!”
The expressions of people encouraging and supporting each other were full of worry and concern. Having a clinic nearby where one could go anytime without financial concerns when sick was a blessing. Moreover, the beautiful doctor protecting the clinic was kind, thorough, and always welcomed everyone with a smiling face—a reliable person.
‘Please be safe.’
While praying constantly in their hearts, everyone desperately poured water. It was when the fire was finally under control.
Crash! Boom—!
Without any warning, the building collapsed.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
