The Doctor Cured The Villainess And Ran Away

Heh.
I exhaled heavily.
My head was spinning.
No matter how many times I blinked, my vision remained hazy.
It was dark all around, whether it was dusky night or not.

What was going on again?

I remembered successfully finishing the practical exam and returning to my room with a rather cheerful mood.

I couldn’t stand the smell of goblin corpses and the earthy, moldy odor from the underground, so I took off my clothes first…

And that’s where my memory cut off.

Gulp, gulp.
I coughed involuntarily.
I wanted to say something, but all that came out of my throat was the scratching sound of goblins I heard during the day.
What’s this? Why is this happening?
First, let’s check the status window.

―――――――――――
· Diagnosis D has ranked up to Diagnosis C.
· Medicine E has ranked up to Medicine D.
· Blood Test D skill has been unlocked.
―――――――――――

My medical skill rank went up.
Thanks to joyfully using medicine during the practical exam today.
I dealt with real patients all day, so I couldn’t help but gain experience points, even if I didn’t want to.

“A blood test skill. How far can it go?”
Usually, the blood test done at the hospital is CBC, which requires fasting.
Analyzing the components of blood – red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelet counts – helps understand a wide range of illnesses the patient might have, making it a basic and versatile test.
If it’s a skill with that kind of capability, I should be able to understand the patient’s condition in more detail than a diagnosis.

But why is my body like this?
As I scrolled down, I found the reason.

―――――――――――
· Talent has ranked up to D rank.
· Debuff: Inflammation damage E (growing, irreversible) has ranked up to Inflammation damage D.
―――――――――――

Ah, that means the debuff has also grown as my talent has.
Hah, how delightful.
Ugh.
The tingling feeling from above has become stronger.
It seems like stomach acid is eating away at my insides.
I have about 4 health points left. The maximum is 11.
I must have used a lot during the practical exam, and it seems the debuff has been continuously decreasing.
‘I’m just dying easily.’
Even the best can’t take care of their own body; I can’t use the diagnosis on myself.
From the symptoms, it seems like a stomach ulcer.
‘The amount of health loss must have exceeded the amount cured by the candies.’
Thanks to collapsing into a comfortable position, it seems the amount reduced was less while I slept.
Even now, my head is pleasantly supported by something soft and fluffy.
…Huh? What’s that on the floor?
I slowly turned my head.
Looking up at the ceiling, two glowing golden eyes were stared daggers at me from the darkness.
‘Ah.’
I think I just had a mini heart attack for about two seconds.
Fortunately, I’m still alive.
“You’re awake.”
Acella’s cold voice buzzed in my ear.
“Your Highness, why are you here… cough, cough.”
I couldn’t finish my answer and ended up coughing.
Fortunately, I covered my mouth, so my putrid saliva didn’t splatter on Acella’s face.
But perhaps I hurt Acella’s feelings, as her eyes narrowed.
“Prince, even coughing?”
“It was just a brief spell.”
“You were lying on the floor.”
I wonder if she’s doubting my bad condition.
It’s not a good thing to let my patients know the attending physician can’t even take care of themselves, especially when it’s their own fault.
It tarnishes the trust in my profession.
“Me? That’s impossible. I merely collapsed from fatigue after the exam.”
“On the floor?”
“I found it comfortable.”
“While changing clothes?”
“I was that sleepy.”
Acella narrowed her eyes and stared at me.
But right now, is Acella supporting my head?
When did she enter my room?
“Your Highness, why is my head…?”
“Do you dislike it?”
If you ask me whether I like it or not, of course, I dislike it.
From the feel, what’s supporting my head seems to be a knee, and Acella’s hand is resting on it too.
It’s like having my head stuck in an alligator’s open mouth.
An alligator that had already scratched my face several times.
I wanted to get up before further angering her, but my body just wouldn’t cooperate.
When I didn’t respond, Acella spoke.
“Lucy usually does this for me.”
“Who is Lucy?”
“My head maid.”
Ah, that’s the name of the lady who monitored the exam with a blank expression.
“I don’t know how this happened, but I think there’s a misunderstanding. After all, Your Highness is a lady, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to enter a man’s room alone.”
“But you are my betrothed.”
“Well… that’s true.”
“Did I misunderstand something?”
“The sun shines white and strongly at noon, but turns orange and sticky in the afternoon.”
You can’t always understand the essence just by looking at what’s in front of you.
It conveys the meaning that my body is fine.
“Why are you lying to me?”
“It’s not a lie. Even if it were, it wouldn’t be something for you to worry about, Your Highness. Reducing concerns for the patient is the attending physician’s job.”
“…Really?”
Acella seemed somewhat suspicious but accepted my explanation, as she didn’t press further about my condition.
Thank goodness.

…A moment of silence passed.
During that time, swish.
Acella placed her hand on my cheek and leaned down.
It was a refreshingly cool touch.
From my lying position, her face appeared upside down.
“Prince, do you want to stay like this forever?”
Acella asked a question hard to decipher.
I guess she was starting to get bored since I was lying still for too long.
I wanted to move.
I wanted to move, but I had no strength.
“Your Highness, may I ask one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“Could you bring me some candy?”
“What’s the price?”
Indeed, there’s nothing free from the princess.
“…I’ll give you one.”
Acella smirked at my response.
“Where is it?”
“Ah, it’s inside my discarded shirt. Right behind me on the bed.”
“Where… …There are quite a few. One doesn’t even break even.”
“It’s one. That’s what we agreed, right?”
I heard a rustling sound.
Acella took out two candies and tossed one onto my chest.
“Do you want me to unwrap it too?”
“Of course not.”
I can’t even imagine what I’d have to pay for such a favor.
Unwrapping the candy, I put it in my mouth.
A text popped up saying the sweet honey scent increased my health points.
It offset the health loss, but I needed to find another way to recover health quickly.
“So this is how it tastes.”
Before I knew it, Acella also had a candy in her mouth.
Crunch, a sound of candy rolling around her teeth.
“Do you like it?”
“No, I hate sweets.”
I originally felt the same way.
“But this one is quite tasty. It’s special because it’s taken from you.”
“I’m glad you’re satisfied.”
Her unique way of thinking is just astonishing.
How does the wicked woman enjoy stealing, plundering, and others’ pain so?
Acella took the candy she was rolling in her mouth, pop, took it out, and wiggled it in front of my eyes.
“Taking something precious from you and eating it all would surely increase your sense of loss, right?”
“Absolutely.”
If that makes you happy.
It seemed she liked my answer, as she couldn’t hold back a smile.
“So what should we do with this?”
“If you’re going to throw it away, give it to me. I don’t want to waste it.”
Acella gasped and pulled her head back slightly at my response.
“…Are you going to eat something I was eating?”
“It’s a candy I like.”
“Absolutely not.”
Acella said firmly and swiftly pulled the candy back into her possession.
She wouldn’t give it to me even if she was going to throw it away.
Well, that makes sense. Do as you wish.
…Why does it sound like something is crinkling again?
Acella was carefully putting the candy back into its wrapper.
What the heck is she doing?
“Prince.”
“Yes?”
“How was the exam?”
“I advanced to the final candidate.”
“Of course, it should be that way.”
Acella said calmly and tucked the candy into the inner part of her dress.
Ugh.
Thanks to the sugar, I felt a bit of energy coming back, and I decided it was time to get up.
“Your Highness, it’s dinner time. Shouldn’t you go eat?”
Even though I politely suggested it, Acella remained seated, showing no intention of moving.
“Your Highness?”
“Wait.”
Acella extended her palm towards me.
Am I supposed to be waiting like a loyal dog?
No, I guess I have to for a while.
“Why shouldn’t you get up?”
“You told me to wait.”
Upon closer inspection, Acella was fidgeting with her legs.
Her tiny big toe was wiggling about, unable to find a comfortable position.
Her legs must be tingling.
“Your Highness, when that happens, massaging from the upper thigh helps relieve the symptoms more quickly. Now, follow my posture. Gradually straighten your knees and lean your upper body forward…”
“Prince, get out of my room.”
“But it’s my room.”
“…Then at least put some clothes on!”

Acella turned her head sharply and shouted.
This is a problem. She’s reached the stage of irritation.
That meant I must have done something very wrong.
If I further riled her up, my head would definitely roll, so I quickly grabbed my shirt and ran out of the room.

*

I sent Acella ahead for dinner.
In the meantime, I focused on the rose candies thoroughly.

With my current state, even using enhancement won’t increase the recovery amount.
I figured it was a problem with the ingredient being weak, so I used Property Change to modify part of the rose medicine’s components and then Enhancement it.
The effects of how the components would change relied on chance, so I spun the gacha several times.
And then, bingo.

―――――――――――
Special Rose Honey Candy (crafted, modified, synthesized)
Effect when consumed: Heals 0.6 health over 6 hours from internal bleeding.
Extremely sweet!
―――――――――――

Finally, I created a candy that could cover my health loss.
Thanks to that, I wasted twenty precious candies, but I could always make more.
The health loss would surely increase more and more over time.
“What’s the big deal? Just keep recovering health.”
It’s good for refilling sugars regularly.
I need to be careful not to develop diabetes.
As I treated myself, a curiosity arose.
“What kind of debuff does Acella have?”
It would be simple if I used diagnosis, but since I’m not the attending physician yet, I can’t use skills on her recklessly.
Especially with how sensitive Acella is to magic; she would immediately notice if I used a skill on her.
Moreover, my current diagnosis rank is low, so there’s no guarantee I could accurately determine it.
“The cost of talent is essential. If I were to remove the cost debuff…”
The talent would also disappear.
Given that the debuff seems like an incurable disease, the possibility appears quite slim.
But if that happens, it might be possible to delete multiple bad endings at once.
Just weakening Acella’s magic would significantly reduce the number of events she could trigger.
“That’s a story that can only happen once I become the attending physician.”
The final exam is tomorrow.
I decided to sleep well tonight for tomorrow’s sake.