The Doctor Cured The Villainess And Ran Away

Bad Ending [The Sin of Commoners]

With the Demon King’s army attacking, the wheat fields across the Empire were tainted with plague, leading to an unprecedented food shortage.

Acella prioritized the remaining wheat for the Demon King’s expedition troops and ignored the commoners dying from starvation.

When the commoners gathered in front of the Imperial Palace, screaming for bread, Acella mocked them.

She didn’t resort to the cliché “eat cookies instead of bread.”

―“In fact, I have placed a curse on the wheat fields. Humble commoners should starve and perish.”

The commoners were too hungry to even revolt, and the Empire met its demise.

It was only later that we learned this truth, and the despondent Hero gave up his expedition, allowing darkness to engulf the world.

As you can tell from that ending, it’s clear Acella has no good feelings towards commoners.

“It seems that resentment towards commoners accumulates in such small inspections.”

I can somewhat understand it.

If I were leisurely enjoying tea time and encountered a thug trying to extort me, I’d likely feel a surge of resentment too.

And I, too, was equally infuriated with this jerk.

My peaceful time had been interrupted.

What’s more, if they weren’t from my territory.

Just imagining that they’d been treating my subjects like this makes my fury double.

I walked up, turning my back to Acella.

When facing trouble, the loudest voice usually wins.

Strike first for victory. While it might lose some decorum, acting like a rogue is the more effective approach.

“I took a stroll after a long time and found a bunch of beggars here in my yard, selling without permission. What the hell are you doing?!”

The leader of the thugs was a big guy.

He puffed up his chest as he leaned into me, ready to threaten.

“Watch your mouth, you street rat. A fool like you, blinded by money, trying to charm empty-headed women in broad daylight.”

“Ha.”

Look at the way this guy talks.

Did I appear to him as a host trying to seduce Acella?

He seems to be living on borrowed time or something.

“Have your ears clogged? Didn’t you hear that this is my front yard?”

“What are you talking about?”

The man pointed at the emblem on his chest.

“All the land of the Empire belongs to the Shupre Trading Company. Know your place.”

“Yeah! Get lost right now, you scoundrel with a flapping hat, looking like a gigolo!”

His crew was all pumped up too.

I sneered.

“The name may sound fancy, but you’re basically a delivery service that just sucks up the fees. And this? It’s just an old vest!”

Pah!

I swatted his vest with the back of my hand, sending dust flying.

“What are you even good for? You look dirty and it’s clear you’re just some laborer. Ugh, what a stench.”

Whack!

I shoved his vest again.

“And what does it matter right now? Why are tradesmen like you acting like thugs in someone else’s territory? Huh?”

“I only demanded a legitimate loan. With a name like ours, we should be able to lend you some gold coins, right?”

“You guys just came to transport goods via river! How could you expect me to lend you money when you don’t even know when you can pay it back? And you, at the bottom of the hierarchy, keep flaunting your name?”

I could see his temper rising as his eyebrows twitched.

“This bastard…!”

If I pushed him any further, a violent incident might ensue, so I contemplated revealing my identity, but his movements were quicker.

His left fist came flying at me.

As they say, hot-headed folks are the worst.

There was a significant size difference. If I took a hit, it would surely be devastating.

But I’ve got experience; my reaction speed’s pretty solid.

I turned my head and narrowly dodged it.

“Wait…?!”

The confusion was evident on his face as if he didn’t expect me to evade it.

I wouldn’t just stand by after being hit first.

I clenched my fist, ready to counterattack.

…But I was a bit weak.

Very weak, actually.

Would I even be able to inflict any damage with a counterattack? Just as doubts crossed my mind…

[Diagnosis D has been activated]

A message popped up in my status window, revealing a certain fact.

[Injury Status: Fracture]

[Injury Location: Right Arm]

The information about the man’s right arm being fractured was clear as it glowed red on part of his body.

“Ah, so he wasn’t left-handed; he was planning to hit with his left since his right arm was hurt?”

—Bang!

Without hesitation, I threw a straight punch at the red-marked area.

“Hiyaak!”

The guy who had been speaking in a low tone let out a shrill scream, collapsing right there.

Oh boy, that must’ve hurt.

Given his reaction, it seemed like a comminuted fracture. That’s no joke.

He might’ve been a rough hands-on worker, and must have recently sustained an injury.

Not missing the opportunity, I kneeled on the fallen thug and subdued him immediately.

“Boss!”

“You bastard!”

As the other two rushed towards me, I pulled out a dagger from my back pocket.

“Hey, if you don’t want to see your friend get hurt badly, you better stay put!”

They recoiled in fear at the sight of the sharp blade.

“What, what the hell?”

“This lunatic really is out of his mind…! Call the guards!”

With the commotion, more bystanders began gathering.

I didn’t care. My focus was solely on one person, Acella.

[No. 021: The Sin of Commoners 25% → 23%]

Acella was still watching my actions.

I wondered if she felt threatened or disgusted by these thugs.

Let’s assume that the accumulated resentment toward commoners produced this bad ending.

“What’s happened has happened, and I must redirect this resentment.”

I shouted loudly enough for the onlookers to hear.

“Guards? Call them! Let’s see who they work for in this territory!”

I tossed away my hat.

The pride of Gothberg, my shining white hair sparkled in the sunlight.

“Th-that person!”

“Lars! It’s Prince Lars!”

“Is that the wild card of the Marquis family?!”

The crowd, recognizing me, exclaimed in astonishment.

After all, it’s hard not to recognize me in this street.

How could anyone be rude when referring to a prince? That’s quite the reputation.

“P-Prince? The Marquis’s offspring?”

“White hair… is it real?!”

My underlings were now panicking, like they had tossed a stone to catch a crab only to find a poisonous spider.

I sheathed the dagger and leaned down to the commander, asking quietly.

“Hey, why do you need money?”

“Y-yes? Well, that’s…”

“Answer fast, or I’ll make you disappear before anyone knows.”

The commander, still grimacing in pain, spoke as if struggling.

“W-well… the head of the trading company is here, and he broke a box of high-class goods meant for delivery this morning. We need that compensation…”

“Oh, so it’s the head’s fault?”

“N-no, not really—it’s my fault…”

“I’ll ask you again, say it straightforward.”

“Y-yes?”

“Speak or die.”

I cleared my throat and shouted loudly.

“Shupre Trading Company! You’ve always bullied my subjects and terrified them! I won’t let this slide today!”

Some bystanders agreed with my outburst.

“That’s right!”

“Those guys cause problems every time they show up!”

“Prince! Beat them more!”

It’s likely that this was the first time these thugs came to our territory. They might not have been around for long.

Yet the company’s rough handling would have always been a given.

I anticipated the bystanders would side with me.

Grabbing the commander by the hair, I shouted once more.

“Speak! Why, as a commoner, did you try to extort another commoner?”

“T-the head of the trading company ordered it!!”

The commander hollered at the top of his lungs.

Good, he was saying what I wanted to hear.

“Ah, so I presumed there were nobles above me! It’s always the dimwitted commoners being exploited by the nobles. I’ll have to settle this between the Gothberg family and the Shupre Trading Company directly!”

I released the commander and stood up.

The crowd began muttering among themselves in excitement.

“Hey, Prince Gothberg is going to confront the trading company for our territory?”

“I thought he was just a rogue, turns out he’s got affection for his land.”

“Prince, that’s so cool!”

“Love the audacity!”

Yeah, sure, but my face was on fire.

I was utterly embarrassed.

It was as if I was reading lines in a cheap theater production.

Acts were never my talent, so what gives?

I subtly glanced at Acella, the source of this whole spectacle.

…Acella was watching me intently while savoring her coffee.

So she was in the mood for a show all along.

[No. 021: The Sin of Commoners 23% → 5%]

On the flip side, the chance of a bad ending had recovered.

It even dropped slightly lower than before.

I’d call that a success.

“What are you staring at, onlookers? Huh?”

As I growled at the surrounding crowd, they quickly resumed their paths.

I then turned to the still sprawled-out commander.

“Hey, you’ve all seen enough, so get lost. Don’t bother me anymore.”

“Are you okay? I’m really sorry about today. Please, let’s just leave the trading company out of this…”

“Shut up. Oh, by the way, what was that item meant for the trading head?”

If it was a high-value item purchased from our territory, I could guess the answer.

“It was top-tier holy water. About twenty bottles…”

So it was just holy water, after all.

Twenty bottles is quite the amount.

I guess the trading head must have some important sickness to remedy.

Since it was useful information, I decided to let him off the hook.

“Alright, now actually get lost. Don’t flaunt that broken arm around and find something to wrap it up.”

“W-what? How did you know it was broken? And wrap it?”

He was being annoyingly slow.

It would have made more sense to hit him a few more times to teach him a lesson. But this nonsense was getting on my nerves.

I grabbed the stick he had been holding and used it as a splint, wrapping some rope around his arm tightly.

“Minimum two weeks with that. Unless you want to visit a healer.”

“What the…? I don’t know why, but this feels much better… Thank you. I’m really sorry for the trouble.”

They all bowed their heads to me and Acella before hurriedly running away.

Sometimes, having power is convenient.

‘Huh?’

―――――――――――
· Skill rank has increased.
· Emergency Treatment Mastery E → D

You can now perform emergency treatment a bit faster.
The effects of emergency treatment slightly increase.
―――――――――――

I gained skill experience, causing my rank to rise.
‘That was quick. Is it because I have some medical knowledge?’
Thanks to that, my overall experience in [Medicine] also increased.
‘I should be getting new skills soon.’
I turned back to Acella.
“Sorry for the trouble, Your Majesty. I hope you didn’t find it unpleasant.”
“I was very displeased.”
Acella gently placed her coffee cup to her lips, then continued her assessment.
“But it was excellent as a snack to enjoy with this coffee.”
Seeing me act like a clown must have amused her, distracting her from commoners and whatnot.
Yeah, that felt familiar, just like it was ten years ago.
The Hero party, including me, felt like clowns performing a circus for Acella’s entertainment.
Well, as long as the outcome was good.
“Your cup has disappeared.”
“You didn’t order again?”
“You said not to give gold coins.”
“Good job. Let’s go back and just drink some water.”
As I shook my head and sat back in my chair, the owner brought a new cup of coffee.
“Here’s the coffee you ordered.”
Sounds like he had it ready already.
I thought positively about his thoughtfulness, but as I reached for my silver coin, the owner waved his hands.
“Oh no, I received the payment from this lady here.”
“Received? How?”
Since he only had gold coins, there’s no way he could have made a payment.
Just as I was about to glance towards Acella suspiciously, the owner replied with a satisfied grin.
“I took flowers in exchange. Fresh and bright ones would be great for decoration. They cover the price of the broken cup. Now, please enjoy your time, Prince.”
The owner said that and walked away.
In front of me sat warm buttered coffee.
“What kind of socializing is that?”
Turning my head, I found Acella avoiding my gaze.
“Flowers?”
“Good for carrying around, aren’t they?”
I promptly exchanged the flowers I bought from the kids.
That was a smart move. If I had taken credit or used my family name to get freebies, it would have tarnished my reputation.
Tap, Acella set her cup down and spoke to me.
“Prince Lars.”
“Yes.”
“If another situation like this arises, will you step forward again?”
“Of course.”
I answered without hesitation.
If the red numbers keep climbing, it’s natural for me to respond.
Acella subtly smiled at my response.
At that moment, a bit of butter foam clung to her baby-fat cheeks.
“You have something here.”
With my thumb, I reached out to wipe it away.
I had to respect the dignity of a princess.
“Shall we go once you’re finished?”
There was no answer to my question.
Looking at Acella, she bit her lip tightly, avoiding eye contact.
Why is she angry again?
“Prince.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t do that.”
What do you mean?

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