NOVEL WEB Chapter 17
There are moments when hearing something utterly bizarre can cause one’s mind to freeze.
At this very moment, Princess Victoria found herself in such a situation.
“Sister, are you an idiot?”
Suddenly, a madman had barged into her Audience Chamber and started hurling profanities.
Naturally, it was the first time she had experienced such an event. Though Victoria wore a military uniform of black-green color with a tricorn hat due to her rank as an army sergeant, her actual status was far from that of a mere lieutenant colonel.
In fact, aside from the emperor, she was one of the most honored beings in the empire. No one could treat her lightly.
‘Did I hear that wrong?’
At that moment, the charming and unexpected guest spat another insult, as if confirming that she wasn’t imagining things.
“Do you hear me? Are you stupid?”
“Anais!”
Victoria had no choice but to accept the fact that she had just been cursed at by her younger sister.
However, the sense of absurdity hadn’t disappeared. If Siena had acted like this, Victoria might have just bitterly thought, “Ah, so this one is finally finished.” But now, it wasn’t Siena challenging her—it was Anais, her youngest sister.
Anais had always been kind and pure since childhood.
Victoria had always been fond of her.
In fact, just a month ago, she had given her advice regarding matters of sexuality. Anais had mentioned a senior at the Academy who was slightly on her mind, hadn’t she?
The vivid memory of Anais’ excited expression came back to her mind, and now Anais was cursing at her. Instead of anger, Victoria felt a pang of pity.
‘Just by looking at her gaze, she’s clearly not in a rational state.’
Eyes that were once likened to black jade were now clouded, and the face that usually held a gentle smile was now filled with ferocity.
“Would you do me the favor of explaining why you think I’m stupid? Is it because of Count Sowon?”
“…That man has been trying his best lately to gain favor with our maternal relatives, hasn’t he?”
“While it’s understandable you might feel upset that some nobles supporting you are slipping away, it’s not because of me. As you know, I have little interest in forming factions. My uncles just happen to help with state affairs.”
“That doesn’t matter much. It’s because of the morphine.”
“Just because of that?”
The medicine called morphine that was introduced to the military hospital out of goodwill just yesterday.
She had accepted Alan Medoff’s earnest request, though it was partly because it seemed like he was showing loyalty to Siena who had become protective of her.
‘Is Anais upset that this ultimately benefits Siena? There is certainly some tension between them.’
Victoria sighed, deciding she needed to comfort Anais.
Even though the words were unpleasant, she could overlook them this once. After all, fighting with a half-blood sister seven years younger would be inappropriate.
“Anais, it’s not that big of a deal. It’s just opium.”
“If it’s not a big deal, then?”
“It is opium. It started being administered yesterday. But from what I’ve heard, it’s decently effective but nothing extraordinary.”
“Decent…? It probably just sounds that way because the hospital is trying not to offend you by praising something brought by one of Siena’s associates. But from what I see, it’s—no, it’s almost certain—it’s not just opium.”
“…”
“Even if I stopped everything at every hospital I could, you’ve ruined it. It can’t be fixed anymore.”
Anais confidently stated her certainty, then closed her eyes, as if realizing it was all wrong.
Victoria found her dejected younger sister strangely perplexing.
Trying to block the introduction of morphine? Why would she pressure them when no one would likely accept it anyway?
“You’re being too hysterical.”
“Hysterical…? Sister, it’s you who’s being complacent! …Take psilocybin for example. I initially thought it was just a peculiar mushroom. But when I asked the herbalists to find similar species, we couldn’t. People died during the trials.”
“For a moment, people died?”
“That’s not the point right now!”
Anais, tearing her nails in frustration, started pacing.
Victoria now sensed a strange discomfort.
Reflecting further, didn’t Siena bring the Empress Lianhua, once confined to her bedroom, back to an active, perhaps overly active life? Recently, the emperor had mentioned how much he appreciated Siena. It was unlikely she had suddenly mastered pharmacology, so she must have another secret.
But, even so…
“Anais, even if what you say is true, there’s no reason to get angry.”
“W-what?”
“Proper treatment for the wounded is the most important factor in maintaining morale. If the efficacy is good, it’s fine to pay the appropriate price.”
“No…! Ugh, forget it.”
Victoria observed her defeated-looking younger sister with pity, still convinced that Anais was being overly hysterical.
—
Morphine is a god.
That was the thought of Malik, an army sergeant who had been staying in the military hospital for a month.
Perhaps he might have even said it out loud. But it didn’t matter; no religious group would come after him for praising morphine.
Malik had been a part of the royal third artillery brigade.
With no specific career options, he had joined the military and led a fairly satisfactory life until one month ago, when an accident occurred.
An unintended explosion had happened during artillery training.
Two soldiers had died, and Malik had narrowly escaped with his life.
But it was not unscathed. A piece of shrapnel had pierced his ribcage, and his arm was so badly damaged that it required amputation. Luckily, a knight acting on the request of a superior officer had quickly performed the procedure, which provided some comfort.
Since then, Malik had been living in the hospital for a month.
What tormented him the most was the pain from the wound. Sometimes, it was so intense he felt like fainting. He barely slept.
Morphine was what had saved Malik from that agony.
‘Isn’t it about time?’
The administration time was noon.
He had checked the time numerous times with anxious anticipation. Malik’s face showed the signs of his restlessness.
It had been 11:40 when he last checked, so should it not be noon by now? Surely, it wouldn’t be just 50 minutes? At least 55 minutes must have passed by now. That meant 5 more minutes to wait. But if it’s not 55 but 54 or 53 minutes, what then?
‘Forget this, I should just ask.’
A nurse passed by at that moment.
“Excuse me, is it close to…?”
“45 minutes.”
“45 minutes? There’s still 15 minutes left?”
Malik’s face reflected his disappointment.
Fifteen minutes.
Maybe he should read a book to pass the time. He had one, but even the book only made sense to him after taking morphine. Before that, it was just an array of crude characters.
‘What should I do while waiting, then?’
While Malik nervously glanced around and swallowed saliva, his roommate, whose knee had been crushed after being kicked by a horse, clicked his tongue and looked at Malik.
“Can’t even wait 15 minutes?”
“Why the sudden quarrel?”
“It’s not a quarrel. I’m just suggesting you think back to before you took morphine. Don’t you remember how we survived back then? Isn’t this much more tolerable in comparison?”
“Ah.”
Upon reflection, there was truth in his words.
Malik and the other patients had encountered morphine only two days ago.
Before morphine, they were completely reliant on opium. They would frequently drink concoctions steeped in opium multiple times a day.
At times, they would consume 2 grams of opium in one sitting, and on worse occasions, 3 grams.
On some days, they would ingest a cumulative total of 20 grams of opium but found little relief from the pain. Consequently, the dosage kept increasing, and eventually, their stomachs began to hurt so much they could barely endure it.
But the efficacy of morphine was on a different level.
“15 milligrams, they said? That’s ridiculous.”
It was essentially just powder? Somehow, dissolving that small amount in unusually bitter water was enough to magically alleviate the pain.
The pain from the shrapnel wound in his ribcage, the phantom pain from his amputated left arm, and the gradual soreness in his spine from the long period in bed—all vanished as if by magic. Even the despair that came with the pain disappeared too.
“Malik, was our old life back then even human?”
“It wasn’t.”
“Every day was filled with agony. Complaining in the morning and at night when the pain was unbearable. I couldn’t sleep because of these moans. Watching others suffer and fight over nothing made me just want to die.”
“That’s true.”
“Compared to that, this is heaven. Just endure.”
It was a valid point. He had endured a month of nightmares; surely, he could endure 15 minutes.
While chatting with his roommate, the time seemed to pass swiftly. Soon, the nurses would arrive with the morphine, distributing it kindly among the patients.
Malik waited with his mouth closed, anticipating noon.
Just 9 minutes left.
“Ahh… Ahh…”
6 minutes.
“They are coming! No, wait…”
3 minutes. Time was almost unbearable.
Finally.
“Medication time.”
The dreamlike voice of the nurse echoed in his ears.
At the sound of it, sighs of relief, clapping hands, and soft laughter erupted from every bedside.
Malik was no different. A cheerful smile spread across his face, and had both his arms been present, he would have applauded.
‘It was worth the wait.’
Now, Malik could not even imagine life without morphine—nor did he need to. There was no reason for such good medicine to be discontinued, especially when the patients clearly loved it.
Malik awaited his turn with reverence.
He even adjusted his posture despite his discomfort, so excited was he to greet Lord Morphine.
As Malik eagerly awaited, he overheard an unusual conversation.
“We’ve run out of the samples we received. What should we do?”
“Shut up, idiot…! The patients might hear.”
The nurses seemed suspicious. Malik’s expression grew serious as he glanced around and noticed similar expressions on others’ faces. The behavior of the nurses only heightened their suspicion.
“They’re out of medicine…?”
Chaos quickly spread through the ward.