The Doctor Cured The Villainess And Ran Away

Acelia has insurance now, and she doesn’t have to worry about participating in the attending physician exam.

‘Well, let’s look at it positively.’

The advantages of becoming the imperial family’s attending physician.

The salary is excellent. The annual salary easily exceeds a hundred gold coins. And being in charge of royal family members? You might see two hundred!

Working for just five years could let you buy a mansion through the system.

The social status is quite significant.
In the 9-rank social hierarchy, it corresponds to the 3rd rank. Comparable to a mayor.

Even within the imperial family, I’m above the chief butler.

‘I still have many personal achievements to reach.’

Having secured a promise of support, I can build achievements as a doctor.

The closer I am, the more opportunities I have to erase the bad endings caused by Acelia.

There’s also the chance to get involved in imperial politics.
It becomes much easier to prevent incidents that could lead to our family’s demise.

‘If I had to name a downside to offset all that.
I have to see Acelia’s face every morning,
I have to see Acelia’s face every lunch,
I have to see Acelia’s face every evening.’

Thinking about it, I don’t need an ending list.
Seeing Acelia naturally brings back flashbacks of all the scenes where I died.

It’s like I’m living in a video that needs editing.
She still has a round baby face, not fully matured.

Forget it. The direction is set, and since I’ve decided, there’s no need to whine about it further.

‘The exam will be supervised by the head maid, so I must prepare.’

The written test has already been completed, and a batch of candidates has been filtered out.

What remains is the practical exam. I still have to take the written test separately, but that’s a piece of cake.

The important practical exam to select the final candidates is in a week.
I need to prepare for that.

But.
‘Let’s finish deleting this today.’

[No. 003: The Execution of the White – 31%]

The bad ending where Acelia gets inspired from the incident of presenting yellow roses to the Empress.

Acelia is looking around at the flower crown.
After much deliberation, she nods as if she has made a decision.

“Yep, this is good.”

Acelia stands up with the flower crown in hand.
She walks over to the balcony.
The head maid comes to meet her and prepares to escort her.

“Where is Your Majesty?”

“She is in the Main Hall having a discussion with the Marquis.”

“I’ll go meet her.”

“Understood.”

Without looking back, Acelia leaves with poise.

I glanced back at Max.
With her tongue bitten and eyes sparkling, she looked at me like the only cotton candy in this thorny field.

“I’ll be back too, Max.”

As I patted her head, she replied, “King.”

*

Following the garden path from the East Wing to the Central Hall,
I ended up trailing behind Acelia.
The precious royal princess was surrounded by maids, while I strolled along alone.

It seemed she didn’t notice me following her.

The Empress was conversing with my father in front of the Main Hall, in a well-kept discussion yard.

I stealthily hid behind a willow tree and watched.

‘It was Empress Camilla von Württemberg, right?’

Surely a faction with not much power within the imperial family.

‘Silver hair. A witch.’

The Empress was undoubtedly a sorceress.
Her hair color, faded from extensive use of mana, shimmered faintly.
It was the very color Acelia would acquire in ten years.

‘Did the witch, having fallen out of favor with the Emperor, wish to leverage our family’s power?’
I believe the political marriage between Acelia and me had the Empress’s intention behind it.

Acelia, standing silently at a short distance at the entrance of the Central Hall, seems to be waiting for the Empress.
My father noticed Acelia first.
He speaks to the Empress about her.

The Empress seeks permission from my father and rises, moving towards Acelia.

They change their location, sneaking into a shaded area for what seems to be a secret meeting.

I moved to the nearby willow tree to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Acelia, what brings you here?”

“I have a gift for Your Majesty.”

Acelia carefully presents the item she was holding in her arms.
It was the yellow rose crown I made.
A surprise gift from a daughter.

Thinking about it, would I earn some brownie points if I gave my father something like that? Just as that thought crossed my mind, the Empress’s cold voice struck my ears.

“What is this?”

“It’s a yellow rose.”

The Empress accepted the crown, slowly turning it around and examining it.

“Acelia.”

“Yes.”

The Empress’s voice had now frozen to the point it pierced my eardrums like a spear.

“Didn’t the Marquis order you to behave gracefully and modestly?”
The Empress stroked the crown’s roses with her wrinkled fingers before plucking a rose off the stem.

“To think you interrupted such an important meeting for something like this, I can’t believe it.”
The Empress admonished Acelia sharply.
Acelia could only bite her lower lip and said nothing.

“Understand the gravity of the matter. Do you think I traveled all the way to this countryside just to choose your attending physician? Without the cooperation of the Gothberg family, we can never seize power in the imperial family.”

So they pushed the engagement forward with such purpose.
This kind of thing is commonplace in social circles.

Many factions exist within the imperial family as well. The nobility always weighs where to align themselves.

My father is a devout believer, making him weak in politics.
Geographically, the Gothberg family’s territory is far removed from the system.

However, when considering the future, it could become a valuable family.
‘A family of healers, so the probability of a saint being born is high.’

Though it’s a peaceful era now, if a Demon King appears, it’s natural for the faction that possesses a saint to gain power.
The Empress probably bet on that and had her sights on our family.

The Empress continued to lash out at Acelia.

“So go back to your room and prepare to seduce that foolish ruffian. You two are stupid enough to make a perfect match. This engagement must not be broken under any circumstances. You must use your body to keep that ruffian in line.”

Did that lady just call me foolish?

“Otherwise, your head might just fall off your body like that someday.”

The Empress held out the yellow rose she had pulled off to Acelia.
She cast a spell.
It seemed to have a poison attribute. The rose sizzled and melted in an instant.

In a flash, the vibrant red liquid drained down and fell limply to the ground.
Acelia stood there, expressionless as if she were a puppet, watching the scene unfold.

The Empress let go of the crown.
The rose Acelia had carefully chosen crumpled to the ground.

The Empress turned away, leaving Acelia behind.
Slowly, Acelia bent down to pick up the crown.

The letters lit up in red as the probability increased.

[No. 003: The Execution of the White – 31% → 77%]

I couldn’t help but smack my forehead.
‘Who doesn’t understand the gravity of the situation now?’
The probability has more than doubled.

No, it means I should have intervened sooner.
Is this my fault?
‘This is ridiculous.’

Well, calling me foolish is something I can tolerate.
But
‘Calling me foolish is something I cannot tolerate.’

I walked toward Acelia.
She turned to look at me.
She didn’t seem to expect my presence, her demeanor was like that of a child caught doing something wrong.

I snatched the crown from Acelia’s hands.
Suppressing the rising veins with grace, I called out to the Empress.

“Your Majesty, it’s an honor.”
The Empress turned to me. I bowed slightly and made a small gesture.

Her expression briefly flickered in surprise, then quickly blossomed into a cheerful smile.

“Oh my, Gothberg Prince. I didn’t realize you were here.”

“Haha, even from afar, the radiance of Your Majesty is too dazzling to capture. Please forgive my rudeness in rushing over.”

“What are you talking about? Thanks to you….”

“However.”
I interrupted her words.

She looked more shocked than I expected, as if she had never anticipated such rudeness towards her.
If she’s this shocked already, it’s only the beginning.

“It seems Your Majesty harbors quite a dislike for our family.”

“Prince? What do you mean by that?”

“It’s about this crown.”
I edge the yellow rose crown toward her.

“The yellow roses are a specialty of the Gothberg family, bred directly by our first head, and cultivated ever since.”
Of course, that’s a big fat lie.
I have no idea who the first head was.

“Oh, I see. I wasn’t aware.”
A look of embarrassment gently settled on the Empress’s face.

“And I made this crown myself. It was intended as a tribute for Your Majesty.”

“Is that so…?”
The Empress has no arguments now.
If Acelia hadn’t communicated that this was my tribute, it would become a flaw of the betrothed, leading to deductions.

However, if she claimed she had no intention of accepting the tribute, it would be seen as an even greater faux pas against our family.

While the Marquis is lower than the imperial family,
the Empress, though certainly fallen from favor in the Emperor’s eyes, still needs our family.
She doesn’t want to be at odds with my father.

But what if the Marquis’s offspring throws a fit because the imperial family acted displeased?
The meeting, the engagement, and everything else will be in jeopardy.
Even against the royal family, it’s possible.

I’m a notorious ruffian after all.

“…Prince.”
It’s a dilemma.
The Empress probably thinks this is a trap I’ve laid for her.
Seeing her eyes sharpen, there’s no doubt I’m courting her displeasure.

But I’m not scared of you at all.
You can’t kill me, but Acelia can actually kill me.

What are you going to do, lady?

But if I remain like this, the stalemate will never end.
I proposed a deal to her.

“If you accept the tribute even now, I doubt my family head will ever hear about this.”

“…Very well.”
The Empress slowly accepted the crown from me.

Her nose continuously flared, clearly getting agitated.
It’s a bit funny.

“…It seems you are not just an ordinary ruffian after all, dabbling in politics.”
She muttered under her breath dismissively.

“Ha, how amusing.”
What a stubborn person, trying to maintain her pride by adding one last comment.

If she had accepted graciously, this would have ended well.
I’m not the type to ignore a provocation.

“Oh dear, one flower has fallen.”
I produced a single rose from my robe.
The one I had stowed away in my suit for safety, whose thorns were still not trimmed.

“Please take this as well.”
I pushed the rose into the Empress’s reluctant hand.

“Ouch…!”
The Empress’s face twisted in pain.
It’s fine; I didn’t poke hard enough to draw blood.

The twitching of her lips was like she wanted to curse but swallowed it down.
What can she do?

Eventually, the Empress gritted her teeth and departed.

‘Phew. Now let’s take a look.’
I check the system window.

[No. 003: The Execution of the White – 77% → 0%]
[Changed]
[Ending has been deleted.]

‘Done.’
A triumphant cheer surged within me.
The moment my future of being beheaded vanished.
What a sigh of relief this is; yes, yes.

As I enjoy the sense of liberation, suddenly I felt a tap on my back.
“Prince.”

I turned my head and was startled by Acelia’s face right in front of me.
I instinctively stumbled backward.
Still not getting used to it.

Holding my startled heart, Acelia approached me, stomping through like a scene from a horror movie.
“Prince, I’m curious about something.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“What’s your name?”

Oh, she still didn’t know.

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