The Doctor Cured The Villainess And Ran Away-Chapter 63: Lifting the Curse (1)
“Antibiotics, antibiotics, antibiotics here too, and this is... huhh—Doctorrrr.”
As always, Chloe greeted him while stammering.
When he told her the duel trial had ended well, only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.
“H-How was the antidote?”
“The antidote. It worked. Well, if you think about the mechanism, it’s a similar word.”
“Yees. Because it was a poison made with black magic.”
Antidote. A process to dispel curses.
“I’d let it slip my mind for a bit because of the duel.”
He had straight-up declared at the party that he was going to dissect Asela.
“The problem is this.”
He used the recording function of the status window to check the X-ray image transferred into the crystal orb.
While researching shadow poison, he’d found the same mechanism in Asela’s image.
The tangled black mass inside Asela’s abdomen was judged to be a curse.
Poisons he could detoxify. But for high-level curses that couldn’t even be identified through diagnosis, he needed to know exactly what they were to respond properly.
If he cut her open carelessly, the curse could explode that very moment.
“Chloe, do you know much about curses?”
“N-No. There are dedicated healing specialists for curse breaking.”
“Curse healers, huh.”
I’m going to need one.
“Who’s the best curse healer in the Imperial Clinic?”
“U-Um, probably Hugo... I think?”
“Hugo? ‘Black Hand Hugo’?”
“Huh? You know him?”
Know him well. From ten years in the future.
—A warrior sent by the hated Empire! I’ll repay the grudge I’ve held for ten years!
—A healer, eh! You’re from the Empire’s clinic, right? I’ll never forgive those devils!
The memory of Hugo, dramatically delivering lines like a raid boss, rose in his mind.
He opened the status window.
[No. 025 Curse of the Black Hand 21%]
Hugo had been the leader of a black magic cult that worshipped the Evil Dragon.
He’d been a formidable opponent, wielding fairly powerful curses.
‘He was kicked out of the clinic after some incident and walked the path of a black magician.’
“Where is he now?”
“Umm. Probably... still working on dispelling the Evil Dragon corpse?”
“He’s still doing that?”
“Y-Yes, apparently it’s proving quite difficult.”
The corpse of the Evil Dragon, defeated in the martial arts competition, couldn’t simply be burned or buried. The curses stored in its body would scatter everywhere.
“Isn’t a dragon corpse incredibly valuable? Even a single tooth should go for three gold at least.”
“It’s enormous. The faction handling the curse removal gets to keep it, so everyone’s scrambling over it.”
Extra money is always ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) good.
But an Evil Dragon would hold top-tier curses, and while Las could handle some curse breaking, he was only capable of low to mid-level at best.
“Guess I should go meet Hugo soon.”
Since the side effects of the strength enhancer used in the duel trial were starting to kick in, he decided to take the rest of the day off.
***
Some time later, Las headed to the underground of the clinic, where curse removal operations were underway, but the news he got was far from good.
“Hugo was fired?”
A healer, sweating bullets as he restrained the Evil Dragon’s corpse with sacred ropes in the underground altar, explained.
He was a friend from the Heike faction, meaning under Bishop Alberich.
There were many staff here, and naturally, they tended to group by faction. Being an Imperial native, he was relatively friendly to Las.
“Well, the faction Hugo belonged to was disbanded recently. He was under Sir Armin, the Crown Prince’s eldest son.”
“Right, he was recently granted the rank of viscount and went independent.”
“Yes. That seems to have caused some kind of issue... I’m not sure of the details, but Hugo left the clinic months ago.”
“Do you know where he went?”
“He worked here for over ten years, so maybe he found a house somewhere? I heard he has a family.”
“Oh, that guy? He’s flat broke.”
Another healer, overhearing the conversation, joined in.
“Healer, what do you mean?”
“Ah, Doctor Gotberg. Hugo paid more in healing fees than he earned. I bet his debts are massive.”
“Why would a healer need treatment at the clinic?”
“Maybe because of that blackened hand? I heard he got injured during curse removals.”
“Right, his hand. The guy couldn’t use healing spells. Spent his entire fortune on his daughter’s treatment. The little girl was always sick.”
“His daughter, huh.”
The reason Hugo harbored such hatred for the Empire was now clear enough.
He couldn’t even cure his own family at the job he’d worked his whole life. Only bled money.
Maybe he dabbled in black magic as his knowledge of curse breaking grew, dreaming of revenge.
Seriously though, no employee discount? No occupational injury coverage?
The Imperial Clinic, a true dream workplace.
“Guys with debts like that have nowhere to go. They can’t get past checkpoints, so they can’t leave the capital. They just hide out in the slums.”
“The slums... come to think of it, I’ve never seen a resident from there.”
“They have no reason to come here for treatment, of course.”
In other words, a blind spot in the healthcare system.
“Must be crawling with patients.”
“P-Probably?”
A good idea struck him.
He also had to prove the efficacy of the cough medicine to the Emperor. He needed a lot of data.
‘There were tons of drugs I wanted to test anyway.’
It would help level up the now sluggish medical skill.
‘And I might even lure Hugo in.’
No guarantee Hugo would cooperate, but at least it was a chance to delete his bad ending.
There was a lot to gain.
“Agh, it’s happening again!”
“Cover it, cover it!”
“Bishop’s going to chew us out again!”
A viscous black fluid oozed from the Evil Dragon’s severed neck. The healers scrambled to wrap the head in fresh sacred cloth, grunting all the while.
“If Hugo were here, we’d be done already.”
“Exactly! Of all times to quit, he picked the worst.”
Las folded his arms and watched the curse removal scene for a moment, then moved on.
The next stop was the Wood Ash Palace.
Delivering the aspirin and penicillin with Chloe in tow, he was met with great satisfaction from Heike.
“Right on time. I’ll have the payment sent to Moonlight Palace.”
“Sounds good. How about the reward for taking down the Dustquake Palace?”
“We agreed to split the 2nd Company and its barracks with Asela, who was aligned with that faction.”
“Good to hear.”
Asela really didn’t miss a beat. She’d already snatched up one of the four barracks belonging to the Imperial Knights.
Heike might have yielded a lot in goodwill, not yet viewing Asela as a threat.
But the day he regrets it will surely come.
“Gotberg, have you thought about what reward you want?”
“I appreciate you asking. It’s nothing too grand.”
Las paused briefly before replying.
“I’d like to borrow some healers from Your Highness’s faction. About ten of Imperial origin.”
“Healers? What for?”
Heike looked curious.
Las answered with a light smile.
“Just a little business trip I’d like to take.”
***
“Phew.”
Hugo finished a grueling day of labor and held a small handful of wages in his hand.
Most of the day laborers he worked with were homeless. Living day-to-day.
Those with slightly better means stayed in inns, but most were sleeping rough. Usually, the wages went straight to drinking at taverns.
But Hugo couldn’t afford even that. He had to save every coin to hire a healer.
His gloved hands were hiding something. Beneath them, curses had taken root.
Not just a single curse. Like dirt accumulating under the nails, remnants of countless curses had built up over years of curse removal and seeped in.
“...Tch.”
He tried releasing holy power, but it came out blackened by the taint. If he used healing magic in this state, he’d just transfer the curse to the patient.
Hugo shoved his gloved hands into his pockets and hurried his steps.
He was heading to an undeveloped clearing on the capital’s outskirts, now dotted with tents.
The slums.
Until not long ago, he’d worked at the Imperial Clinic. Now, he’d hit rock bottom.
Yet his eyes were clearer and more resolute than ever.
Hugo walked until he reached a tent barely worthy of the name “home.”
“Eri, Daddy’s home.”
“Daddeee...!”
Inside, a girl around five years old lay under a blanket.
Her jet-black hair was just like Hugo’s.
“Did you do okay while Daddy was out?”
“Uh-huh...! I played with Charlie and Maxie. Cough cough.”
She was referring to the dolls placed neatly beside her pillow.
Though she said that, it was clear Eri had been too weak to even move all day.
“Eri, let’s sit up and drink some water.”
“Okay....”
Hugo carefully poured water into a small paper cup and helped Eri sip it.
Even while swallowing, she soon coughed it back up.
‘It’s been over three months since her last healing.’
Hugo felt a tight knot in his chest.
Eri had been born healthy. She started getting weaker and coughing all the time three years ago.
Maybe her health had only seemed fine. His wife, always frail, had passed away after giving birth to Eri.
What pained Hugo most was that, as a healer, he couldn’t heal his own daughter.
‘I spent every coin I had trying to cure Eri.’
No matter how much he healed her, she only improved briefly, then declined again.
Treatment at the clinic was expensive.
He’d used every connection to get her treated more often, and when he came to his senses, even their house had been sold.
Still, without those treatments, Eri might already be dead.
‘If only I could’ve kept working...’
His greatest misfortune had been choosing the wrong faction.
Patients cursed enough to need curse healers were rare. Most healers handled it on the side.
But when Sir Armin declared independence, Hugo wanted to follow.
Upon learning that he couldn’t take Hugo unless he cleared his debts, Armin immediately cast him aside.
In the end, the world ran on money.
‘And no other faction wanted me.’
He’d been discarded in an instant by the job he’d worked at his whole life.
‘So much for the Emperor’s grace.’
A simmering resentment toward the clinic and the Empire began to rise within him.
It was absurd, but... if something happened to Eri...
Then the ones to blame would be the Empire bastards who failed to heal her.
“Cough, cough!”
“Eri!”
Hugo could only lay her down and stroke her forehead helplessly.
Eri slowly opened her eyes and murmured with her small lips.
“Daddee....”
“Eri, is there anything you want to eat? I’ll go buy it for you.”
Eri shook her head.
“Just stay here....”
She gently grabbed the hem of his coat with her tiny hand.
How lonely must she have been while he was away?
Hugo was furious at a reality that gave him no time to be with her.
It was then.
“Hey, big guy in there?”
A voice from outside—another slum resident. Hugo pulled aside the tent flap.
“You looking for me?”
“Yeah, you. Didn’t you say your daughter’s sick?”
“...I did.”
“Bring her out. Quick.”
“What’s this about?”
The man gestured urgently, voice excited.
“Starting a week ago, someone from the clinic’s been here. A personal physician, even! They’re treating everyone for free. Hurry and bring her!”
“The clinic came here? Treating patients for free? That makes no sense.”
Hugo frowned, skeptical. The man clicked his tongue.
“Man, you’ve been living under a rock. Fine, whatever. But they’re even giving out some good stuff called... uh, SCP or something.”
“You mean aspirin?”
“Yeah, that. Whatever it is.”
Hugo’s eyes widened.
He’d heard a rumor just before he was fired, around the time the martial arts competition began.
“Eri, let’s go out for a bit with Daddy.”
He picked her up, blanket and all, and rushed out of the tent.
He ran toward the crowd gathered in the distance.
“Diagnosis. Scrape—apply antiseptic. Diagnosis. Ah, coughing patient. You’re the one I was looking for. Take this regularly and record your condition every day. If you take the medicine and run, this knight lady will spank you, got it?”
A man in a white coat stood at the front of the line, patients stretching out before him.
Hugo knew that man’s name.
Before getting fired, he’d heard all about the newly rising private physician of the Third Imperial Princess.
“Doctor Gotberg!!”
At Hugo’s booming voice, everyone turned to look.
In the midst of shocked silence, only Gotberg looked at him—and smiled, satisfied.
