The Doctor Cured The Villainess And Ran Away

“Is it a saint, not a holy one?”

The Empress asks me back.

I point at the artifact and reply.

“That holy grail is an item that helps blossom talent. If a saint were to be born from the union of you, Your Majesty, and our family, it would be the greatest blessing.”

“Indeed.”

“The blood of Gothberg runs thicker through me than Neria. Just look at my hair color.”

I tilt my head back, urging her to see.

Snow-white hair.

Hair of a white hue is a trait of those born with strong Divine Power.

And it was clear to anyone that my hair was much closer to white than Neria’s.

“If I open my talent, wouldn’t the likelihood of being chosen as a holy one be much higher?”

The Empress’s face showed a hint of skepticism.

After all, the same guy who pricked his hand during the day suddenly comes out very cooperative in the evening—it must be confusing for her.

Her confusion is the goal.

Was the flower crown incident earlier just an impulsive action?

Was the hand prick a simple mistake, or is this guy really just a foolish hoodlum? She must be filled with all sorts of doubts.

People tend to let their guard down when the other party seems easy to handle.

What the Empress needs is a material she can securely keep politically beneath her.

She must have chosen Neria because she seems docile.

But a foolish hoodlum is much easier to handle than a righteous character.

Now is the time to play the fool she wants.

“Would you like to have this artifact?”

“Not really? Statistically speaking, I mean.”

I shrug my shoulders as I respond.

“Lars, being a holy one comes with a lot of responsibilities.”

“Oh, I’m not really that aware of such things. If any problems arise, my father will take care of it, right?”

“Hmm…”

“Father, don’t you think you should retire from your position before I have kids? You know I hate any troublesome matters.”

I laugh heartily and pat my father’s shoulder. I down a bottle of wine and let out a loud burp.

“Hey, we ran out of alcohol! You should keep filling it up without me asking!”

I shout like someone heavily intoxicated.

The Empress looks at me with a horrified expression.

How about it? I’m a docile hoodlum who won’t betray and will stay in this family for life. I have put the leash on myself.

Not stopping my laughter, I say to the Empress.

“Oh, now Your Majesty is starting to smile a bit. It’s been all serious talk, and I thought you were going to doze off. Have you been down to our territory? The street food is to die for. If you have time tomorrow, we should go together…”

“Prince, hold on for a moment. Let’s wrap up the artifact discussion first.”

The Empress hurriedly interrupted me. She must be anxious about things getting muddled.

It’s her frantic personality that keeps her from establishing a position in the Imperial Family.

She’s jeopardizing what she doesn’t even need to show us.

“Then do you, Prince, have any intention of using the holy grail?”

“If it’s something beneficial for my body, I’d gladly accept it.”

“…Do you know how much this artifact is worth?”

“Ah, how would I know such things? But is it really that good? It only makes sense that the eldest son should use it before Neria, right?”

I subtly hint that if it were to be given to Neria, she would throw a fit.

Even if I don’t plan to keep it, I can’t stand being underestimated.

It’s pure child-like petulance.

The Empress looked back and forth between me and the artifact and then asked my father.

“What does the Marquis think?”

“If that is Lars’s intention, I have no intention of opposing it.”

At that moment, Acella interjected.

“Why not just give it to the Prince?”

She seemed a little interested now after being bored until now.

“The Prince, after all, has stronger Divine Power. Just think about what it would be like if he became a holy one.”

Acella’s eyelashes flutter down slowly.

“It could be fun if he becomes my attending physician, right?”

“…I’ll think about it a little more.”

The Empress took the artifact and left the banquet hall, followed by knights and attendants.

Acella raised the corners of her mouth toward me and followed behind her.

After they left, my father, Neria, and I talked for a moment in the lounge.

“Lars, I thought your earlier actions were an act. What was your intention?”

“That artifact is an item called [Grail of Revelation]. It helps unlock hidden talents but requires a price to be paid.”

“A price?”

“In this world, nothing can be obtained without a price. For every talent you gain, you must give up something else. You can consider it a curse.”

Acella had said something similar.

Now, what should I ask her for? I guess I’ll have to think about that later.

As I mentioned, using the grail can unlock a talent skill tree, but it also brings about a debuff.

The type of debuff is random, making it a risky artifact if the talent level is low.

But as someone whose S-rank talent is locked, it’s to my advantage to use it even with the debuff.

“Um, big brother….”

Neria called out to me, her face showing a bit of fear.

“Thank you….”

For what?

If Neria uses it, she might unlock the talent of divinity and be chosen as a holy one later.

But with the debuff, it hinders her growth.

Neria will remain exactly the same age and appearance for the next ten years.

‘With that kind of debuff, it’s practically free.’

Moreover, I have two talents.

It’s a buy one, get one free sale.

How can I resist that?

To get that artifact outside, you’d have to pay at least five thousand gold, and you could wait forever since it wouldn’t be easy to find.

What a great opportunity.

The Empress is probably impatiently hoping to quickly hand over the artifact while my father patted my shoulder.

“Lars, that was a truly meaningful action.”

Really?

“It wouldn’t have been enough justification to outright reject the Empress’s proposal. If Neria accepts it, there’s no other option. I’m so ashamed as a father that you sacrificed for Neria while knowing everything.”

All I was thinking was to take something for free.

“Neria is still young, and her future is bright. I can’t let her use that dangerous artifact. As her older brother, I must protect her.”

“Lars…!”

My father placed his hand on my shoulder, moved.

What a naive man. Without that Empress’s charm, he could have spent his days leisurely farming this rural territory.

With a knock, the door opened, and the attendant reported to us.

“Marquis, Young Master, Miss. The Empress has finished her thoughts.”

The old fox has finally risen.

“Let’s go, Father.”

I confidently walked back into the banquet hall.

*

Neria Gothberg was the child of a concubine.

Her father was a powerful nobleman, but her mother was a commoner, specifically an innkeeper.

When Neria came of age, she was already a fine young lady of the Marquis family.

Being the concubine’s child didn’t bring any discrimination.

Her father had passed away more than ten years ago, and her half-brother was the extent of her knowledge regarding the Gothberg family’s circumstances.

Compared to other noble families, they seemed quite ordinary and peaceful.

But since her mother didn’t come to the family after handing over Neria, she grew up a bit lonely.

Her father was stern.

That much was bearable.

But.

‘…Big brother is scary.’

He often drinks and causes a ruckus in the streets.

At night, if strange noises were heard from the mansion or if things were breaking, it was always him.

Fortunately, there were guards in the mansion, so he never resorted to violence.

Her father had isolated him in the annex long ago, so Neria had no problems with him.

Thus, Neria, who would meet him directly for the first time in nearly three years today, was filled with dread.

“I need to be on my best behavior and not cause any trouble for the family.”

Her big brother would definitely hate her, being the child of a concubine.

With that thought, Neria took a deep breath a couple of times, straightened herself up, and entered the reception room.

After the initial greeting, she thought she had made a mistake.

Put off by his sharp gaze, she unconsciously avoided his eyes.

What if he curses at her? Her heart raced, but he spoke to her with a kind voice.

“The dress suits you well. It makes you look taller.”

‘Huh…?’

Neria slowly lifted her head and looked at his face once more.

The brother she knew, who looked like a delinquent.

That face now bore no trace of anger or rage, replaced instead by a gentle smile.

her worries about him lessened a little.

But the tension remained.

Her body still remembered the fear of him, especially since today was an important day to present herself before the imperial family.

“It’s mealtime. You didn’t eat anything, did you? Have this. Sweets will quickly lift your mood.”

He offered her a piece of candy in his palm.

What does this mean? Is it not something terribly bitter? Is he just playing tricks?

Such suspicions dissipated as soon as she put the candy in her mouth.

The sweet aroma of honey blossomed in her nose.

The sugar filled her head, and her eyes widened.

‘Is my big brother a magician?’

Feeling the sudden uplift in her mood, Neria was amazed.

But that good feeling didn’t last long.

The mention of possibly becoming a saint weighed heavily on her mind.

When she thought of that, the first image that came to her mind was the legend of the hero party that fought against the Demon King she had heard in her childhood.

The legend spoke of them bravely battling together, sacrificing their lives in the end to bring peace to the continent.

‘I… I don’t want to die….’

She didn’t want to fight the demons either.

Why did the Empress suddenly bring this up to someone she just met?

Do adults say such things so casually…?

Her father was merely watching her.

What can she do… she has to answer.

“…If it’s for the family…”

“Wait a moment.”

A voice interrupted.

Hearing his proud and loud voice, Neria felt assured.

Her big brother would stick up for her.

‘Hehe…’

Neria propped her chin in her hands, looking at Lars as he put on a show in front of the Empress.

As soon as they finished their meal, despite knowing it was a bad habit to eat snacks right after, she absentmindedly popped the candy Lars had given her into her mouth.

‘My big brother…’

The girl’s chubby cheeks were already filled with trust toward her big brother.

*

Sipping tea after the meal, the Empress brought up the matter.

“Prince Gothberg, can you really awaken as a holy one by using this artifact?”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Come on, it’s a no-brainer. I’m blessed with Divine Power like you wouldn’t believe. The girls from the training hall just scramble around in front of me.”

Hearing my words, the Empress made her decision.

“Understood. I will transfer this artifact to you, Prince.”

Great, we’ve made it through.

“Hmm.”

My father cleared his throat, looking somewhat dissatisfied.

“Let’s set the use date for two days from now. Marquis, what do you think?”

“Two days, huh…”

My father seemed to hesitate. It seemed he was troubled by the fact that the debuff I mentioned felt similar to a curse.

I might have scared him a bit too much.

I interjected to smooth things over.

“Is there any benefit to waiting? Since we’re talking about it, why don’t we just do it right now?”

Everyone looked at me in surprise.

With the attending physician examination coming up soon, what sort of nonsense is this about waiting two days?

When there’s a deal on the table, you need to close it right away; if you wait a day, the human heart changes.

“Right now?! That’s…”

“Is there a problem?”

The Empress couldn’t refute my question.

I glanced at Acella.

She looked at me with an approving smile.

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