Chapter 63: A Bargain with Life

The carriage came to a stop at the entrance of the Boronia Palace.

As soon as the door opened, Eirene was the first to jump out.

“Wow… Wooooow.”

She lifted her head and stared straight ahead.

The golden reliefs carved above the palace’s main gate, the embroidered banners draped over marble columns, even the lustrous, gleaming doors.

She couldn’t take her eyes off any of it.

“How much would all this fetch if I sold it…?”

Even after stepping into the lobby, her awe didn’t cease.

No, it had gone beyond awe—she looked as though she might start drooling any moment.

She ran her fingertips over the ornaments, knelt to inspect the marble floor up close.

“It’s gold leaf, gold leaf. They put this even on stone… This is insane.”

Count Nidro, who had followed behind, let out a cough filled with discomfort as he watched her.

“…Ahem.”

“Ah, sorry. Sorry. But is the owner of this place the one who called for me? How much do you think they’d pay if I worked here?”

“…”

He had never met such a brazen woman in his life.

Count Nidro began to question whether he was truly on the right path.

Why did His Highness the Crown Prince seek out this woman?

“Hey, old nobleman? Could you not look at me like that? I have some sense and thoughts of my own, so it makes me a little uncomfortable.”

“Grr…mm.”

The Count almost shouted at her, but managed to hold himself back at the last moment.

At that instant, someone descended the staircase.

“You’re here? You arrived sooner than I thought.”

It was Rohan.

“Who’s the kid? Whoever your parents are, you sure are good-looking!”

Her unabashed words continued, and this time Count Nidro couldn’t hold back.

“Kid, you say? How dare you! Watch your tongue before His Highness the Crown Prince!”

The veins on his thin neck stood out visibly.

“The Crown Prince…? Wait, is this the Crown Prince’s palace?”

“Y-you…!”

“Calm yourself, Count.”

Unlike the fuming Count, Rohan simply chuckled and soothed him.

“It’s a pleasure, Eirene. I’m Rohan Schubert.”

“Rohan… Your Highness the Crown Prince? But what’s with your tone? You sound like an old man!”

The Count looked like he might faint from her continued words.

“Count, thank you. I’ll be sure to properly express my gratitude later.”

He was telling the Count he could go and rest now.

Knowing his own temper, he had likely been beside himself from the first moment he met Eirene.

“Your Highness… I shall take my leave.”

Rohan nodded, and the Count trudged out.

“So, why did you call for me? Is there something wrong with you, Your Highness?”

“It’s not me. It’s my father.”

“Your father…? Ah! His Majesty the Emperor?”

Her eyes sparkled.

“Then I’m here to treat His Majesty the Emperor? Incredible!”

She clenched both fists, unable to contain her excitement.

“Does it make you that happy?”

At Rohan’s question, Eirene nodded eagerly.

“Of course! Isn’t His Majesty the richest person in the Empire? If I treat someone like that, I’ll earn more money than I ever have in my life!”

“Haha.”

It was a thoroughly typical Eirene thought.

If the Count had heard this, he’d surely have fainted on the spot… but Rohan, already well aware of her personality, was unfazed.

‘Eirene, the Divine Doctor of Death.’

She first rose to fame when Marquis Fabian ushered in the era of war.

The northern front, locked in a biting blizzard.

Within a besieged forward camp, a woman with silver hair tightly bound, drenched in sweat, remained at the bedsides of soldiers in comas—he still hadn’t forgotten that sight.

She diluted poisons herself and injected them into veins, bit down on thorn-grass sap to stoke fires and raise fevers.

Healing with poison.

No one believed it at first, nor did anyone trust her with their life… but in the end, the surviving soldiers returned to the world of the living.

‘The healer who bartered with death.’

It was not a title of honor.

Her medicine was strange, even bizarre.

Yet precisely because of that, the results were undeniable.

Hearts thought dead beat again; those who should have never walked managed, however painfully, to take steps.

As such stories spread, her fame grew, and people called her the ‘Divine Doctor of Death.’

The treatment could easily kill you, so unless you were truly prepared to face death, you dared not seek it.

Rohan let out a short breath inwardly.

‘Of course, she is someone who spends a lot of money…’

Eirene was a woman who cared deeply about money.

It made sense—her poison ingredients were all rare and difficult to obtain.

Thus, she charged wealthy patients hefty sums, while treating the poor for free.

Naturally, to those who didn’t know, she might just seem materialistic.

Rohan, however, understood and admired Eirene’s higher purpose.

Her small actions could be a divine touch to someone standing at death’s door.

He beckoned her and spoke.

“You’ll need to come with me to the main palace soon.”

“To see His Majesty the Emperor?”

“That’s right. And before that, I’ll tell you about his symptoms. If you need any medicines, I’ll make sure you can buy them—no matter the cost.”

“…!”

Eirene’s eyes glinted with madness.

“E-even the expensive stuff?”

“Of course.”

“This is amazing, just amazing…”

She pulled out a notebook and looked at Rohan.

“So, what are the symptoms? You have to tell me every single detail, even the tiniest things, understood?”

Determination blazed in her golden eyes—she wouldn’t miss a single detail.

---

Four days later, in the evening.

Before the Emperor’s bedchamber, deep within the main palace.

Standing at the door, Rohan spoke quietly.

“Father, it’s Rohan.”

Beside him, Eirene stood lost in deep thought, holding her notes, even before the Emperor’s heavily locked room.

A wooden box, as large as her own body, was slung across her back.

“Come in.”

The palace guards straightened up all at once, and, at Rohan’s signal, the door opened quietly.

Inside, the room was shrouded in dark curtains, heavy with the scent of incense.

A stillness pervaded the air—one had to be careful just to breathe.

“Father.”

At Rohan’s call, a shadow behind the curtains lifted its head.

Emperor Beltar was sitting up on the bed, his body gaunt.

“…You’ve come.”

His condition was worsening by the day.

“Father, as I told you, I’ve brought a healer.”

“Mm.”

With an attendant’s help, the Emperor straightened up with difficulty and gestured them closer.

“Come near.”

He turned and regarded Rohan and Eirene as they approached.

“A woman?”

He frowned for a moment at the unfamiliar figure, but soon nodded.

“So, this is the healer said to bring even the dead back to life.”

“That’s right.”

“Hoo… I already suspected as much when I received your letter. Since when have you known about my condition?”

He wiped cold sweat from his brow and asked with effort.

“To be honest… I’ve known for quite some time.”

“Ha… I see. I tried hard to hide it, but it must have shown.”

His hair hung limp, his shoulders slumped.

It was a pitiful sight.

“By now… even that Marquis must know you’re unwell, Father.”

“I suppose so. And that is why, all the more, I must rise again, Rohan.”

“Yes, Father.”

Rohan nodded at Eirene.

His father must be desperate, clutching at any straw.

‘The expected time of death is in two months.’

In truth, Rohan wasn’t sure if Eirene could truly restore his father.

He knew all the finest medicines had already been tried before.

‘But that’s exactly why this might be the best chance.’

If all those medicines had failed, it meant a different method was needed.

“I’ll do a quick examination.”

Eirene’s expression turned serious.

She might talk oddly, but she was more devoted to medicine than anyone.

“Your arm and leg muscles are noticeably weaker than the average adult male.”

She pressed here and there on Beltar’s body, lifted his eyelids, checked him all over.

She took his pulse, measured his skin temperature, examined his pupils’ reactions, then finally listened to the Emperor’s breathing up close. A faint wrinkle appeared on her brow.

“…This is.”

After a long examination, she stood up straight and spoke.

“Just as I thought.”

“If you expected it, then what…?”

“You don’t have long to live.”

At her blunt, direct words, everyone’s faces froze.

“Yes, I suppose so.”

Except for one.

Beltar, who had long foreseen his own death, neither raged nor objected.

“But,” Eirene continued, “the illness is very advanced, and your internal circulation is completely broken down. Even your own immune system won’t stop attacking you. Still, even so…”

She smiled faintly.

“I can treat you and extend that time.”

“…!”

“Is that really true?!”

At her confident declaration, Beltar’s eyes widened.

“No one ever knows when death will come, right? Even the young and healthy can die suddenly, while the old and frail might live longer… It may be difficult, but if you want to extend your life, it’s not impossible.”

She remained bold, even before the Emperor.

“Haha, what an amusing woman.”

Beltar gave a weak laugh.

“The royal physician said that, even if my life is extended, I have at best two or three months left.”

He sighed.

“But that’s far too short to make amends for all my mistakes. It’s not that I’m greedy for life… I just wish for more time to put things right.”

How pitiful is the face of a man facing death?

Rohan tasted bitterness in his mouth.

Even if he hadn’t grown so attached to his father.

Man to man, and from one son to his father, he felt sorrow.

“I’ll gather the necessary medicines and come back. Until then…”

Eirene opened the wooden box she’d brought and took something out.

“Light this incense in your chamber. It will at least slow the progress of the illness.”

The attendant accepted the incense.

“I need to talk with my son for a while. Everyone, leave us.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The attendants withdrew, and Eirene left as well, her face alight with excitement.

No doubt, she was looking forward to exploring the dazzling main palace.

“That woman… Is she really trustworthy?”

“She’s a wandering healer. In fact, she’s not even from the Schubert Empire.”

“What! Then wouldn’t it be hard to trust her with my treatment?”

Beltar looked shocked, but Rohan smiled slightly in contrast.

“But if you ask whether she’s trustworthy… I can say so with certainty.”

Her character and skill had already been proven in his previous life.

“If Eirene said she could treat you, Father, then I am sure she will.”