109. The Red-Haired Shaman’s Memory

“The human body must always maintain a balance of bodily fluids! All bad things that happen to the body occur because there’s too much blood in it. At those times, you need to extract the dead blood. Then everything naturally gets better!”

As a result, even though Owell had left the North of his own accord quite some time ago, he still hadn’t settled down and was reduced to frequenting salons, wondering “Could I possibly get a position through connections?”

The salon staff were giving him looks that suggested they wished this incompetent doctor who just took up space would leave already.

“You treat people by drawing blood? My goodness, that’s quite an interesting treatment.”

He was rambling alone about bloodletting that no one showed interest in, as usual, when it happened.

Whoosh, as if a bouquet of flowers had been thrust before his eyes, a fragrant scent captured Owell’s senses.

“L-Lady Lily!”

An attractive woman stood before him, smiling brightly.

Lady Lily. Though called “Lady” as a conventional title for young ladies, no one knew anything about Lily’s true identity. How old she was, which family she came from, where she was born. Or even if she was actually human.

But all that became understandable when one saw Lily’s enchanting appearance. There were plenty of young women in salons frequented by the capital’s notables who dreamed of turning their lives around based on their beautiful looks.

Lady Lily was someone who had established herself in the capital’s underground social scene faster than anyone among the flowers of the night that had appeared one day.

As Lily’s hair, which looked as if it had been forged from molten gold, swayed gently before his eyes, Owell forgot his lamentations and became entranced.

“Hoho, the chatty doctor has suddenly become a fool.”

“Ah, th-th-that! What was I talking about?”

“Bloodletting, was it? As you know, I haven’t been in the capital long, so there’s still much I don’t know. Would the kind doctor explain it to me? It sounded quite interesting.”

When the rising star showed interest in the has-been doctor, people’s reactions changed.

“Bloodletting, come to think of it, the doctor here used to be quite distinguished!”

“Ah, we’ve forgotten because lately he’s been holed up in a corner just drinking. Tell us about it too. This beautiful lady is particularly interested, after all!”

White skin and a pure appearance like a lily laden with dew. Even those who normally sniffed and spoke ill of courtesans as filthy beings couldn’t help but blush before the angelically beautiful Lily.

As young men who admired Lily encouraged Owell, he unconsciously straightened his shoulders.

“So, if I were to tell you how many people I’ve cured with bloodletting until now…!”

‘Bloodletting.’

The mysterious beauty who had suddenly appeared in the social scene one day smiled kindly at the foolish doctor blabbering in front of her.

‘How convenient that people willingly offer their blood. I thought it would be difficult to collect blood through spells like before because of the temple’s vigilance against demonic beings.’

“My, to think that just by bleeding, bad energy leaves the body. You’re truly amazing, doctor.”

‘Using that incompetent doctor would be a great help to the Demon King.’

Just as Lily was smiling her knowing smile….

“Aack!”

“Lady Lily!”

She collapsed with a terrible scream as she felt an intense pain in her heart.

〈Inkheart……! I may leave like this now, but I will surely have my revenge! If not on you, then on your bloodline! Ah, revival was so close! Ah, Demon King!〉

The burning mountain tribe’s temple. Inkheart leading an army to invade and destroy the altar. Lilith herself fleeing from the soldiers with the completion of the great work right before her eyes.

As she lost consciousness, memories from 1,000 years ago came back as vividly as if they had just happened. With the feeling of her heart being squeezed, Lilith found it difficult to regain her senses.

‘Why?’

That incident had ended a very long time ago. Inkheart had subjugated the mountain tribe without capturing the shaman who was an accomplice of the demonic beings.

The ritual to revive the Demon King by filling the number of sacrifices at the mountain tribe’s temple had not succeeded, but unholy energies that Inkheart had failed to purify had accumulated in the ruins of the mountain tribe’s temple. She had used that.

At that time, she, who was merely a shaman, was reborn as a demonic being by using the grudges of nearly a thousand innocent mountain tribe people. Lamenting that she hadn’t killed more people earlier to achieve the Demon King’s revival.

‘It’s already an old finished matter, so why is it coming back now!’

It was the first time she remembered a long-extinct tribe.

Thump-thump, her heart beat unpleasantly. As if warning of something.

“Lady Lily, are you alright? Poor thing, you’re as delicate as you look.”

As her distant consciousness returned to reality, she felt hands touching her body along with noisy voices.

How dare these inferior humans lay their hands on my body.

Though she wanted to take out her hidden claws and tear the surrounding humans to shreds right away, Lilith barely restrained herself.

“I’m fine. I think I tied my corset too tightly. I haven’t worn corsets much before.”

When Lilith spoke, the salon’s attention immediately focused on her.

“I’m truly happy to have such kind friends as all of you. Will you continue to help me in the future?”

“Of course. Just say the word.”

“Then let’s play together tonight too. Until dawn breaks. The priest would point fingers at our corruption if he knew, but I gave up on heaven long ago!”

“With Lady Lily, hell itself is heaven! How could the place where such a beautiful lady resides not be heaven!”

“Is that true?”

“I will escort you until the very end!”

“My, that’s something I like to hear……”

‘Lady Lily’ languidly traced her red lips with her tongue.

Looking at the flies jumping into the hot pit of fire, not knowing they were burning themselves.

The status of a courtesan is really convenient.

No one questions where such a strikingly beautiful woman suddenly appeared from, or why she can’t be seen during the day.

Not only that, just by sitting quietly in the center of pleasure, she can hear all the passing conversations. Men’s lips open easily to her who smiles like a flower.

From trivial gossip about an incompetent doctor who was driven out of the Inkheart grand ducal family, to fairly important information like the queen still not having captured the king’s heart.

Though she was just a rising star in the underground social scene now, Lilith’s status was about to change.

‘Ah, I want to kill them.’

Tap, tap. Lilith tapped her red lips with her finger. Seeing those stupidly smiling faces made her appetite surge.

Still, she had to hold back for now. The humans who followed her still had many things to do for her.

The memories of the past she suddenly recalled had already disappeared, pushed aside by the things she needed to do.

* * *

Barbarossa had come to see Anette today as well, to check whether the approval documents that he had to obtain, even if it meant confining Anette to her office, had been signed.

He went to the office thinking she would be working diligently by now, but the seat was empty. Eventually, Barbarossa asked the maids and found his way to the reception room where Anette was said to be…

“Anette.”

“Are you feeling better now? You always say you’re fine, so I can’t really tell if you’re actually okay.”

“With you by my side, I’m always fine.”

‘This doesn’t seem like a good time to enter.’

Hearing the affectionate conversation flowing through the door crack, Barbarossa was about to wait a while before entering, but soon clicked his tongue.

‘The Grand Duke must know I’m here.’

How could the Grand Duke, a renowned swordsman who had reached the level of Sword Expert, not sense someone’s presence outside the door?

Moreover, their eyes had clearly met once as he waited outside the door.

So he thought the Grand Duke would appropriately end the conversation and inform Anette that someone was outside, but what was this?

“Have you eaten?”

“Not yet. You probably haven’t eaten either.”

“I can’t believe this. How can you skip meals just because I haven’t eaten? You’re already weakened as it is.”

“Lately I’ve been having meals with you regularly, so a dining table without you feels awkward somehow……”

It was flattery. The Grand Duke was looking down with drooping eyes and flattering his wife.

“Cough, cou…gh.”

“Darius!”

“I’m sorry. My throat feels ticklish, I think I might be coming down with a cold.”

“Should I get you some hot water? No, I should call a doctor right away!”

‘How is that a sick person?’

Having never been acquainted with colds in his life, he awkwardly imitated a coughing sound, making his expression unnatural, but only the Grand Duchess didn’t notice.

“I think I’ll get better just from Anette stroking my head……”

“Oh come on, how would one stroke make all your illness go away?”

I agree. But the Grand Duke didn’t give in.

“Still… Maybe it’s because I haven’t been out of bed for long. I don’t want to see a doctor again.”

It was known that the Grand Duke had been injured during the monster subjugation process when he climbed the northern mountains.

But the fact that he had given half his lifespan to the Spirit King and used great power was not only difficult for ordinary people to believe, but also the fact that the lord had suffered a fatal wound was not something that should be widely known, so it was being kept quiet.

‘But from what I can see, he’s completely recovered.’

Already a long time ago. Probably the moment he got up from that bed.

Watching that detestable malingering, Barbarossa began to understand why the Grand Duchess had been unable to work and had been absent from her post while the Grand Duke was confined to bed.

Clicking his tongue at the Grand Duchess who, with blinders on, treated that robust knight as if he were a fragile boy who might fly away with a gust of wind, Barbarossa finally left.

That Grand Duke definitely has no intention of giving way.