69: Stage Actor Brandon / More Light / Highly Nutritious Spicy Soup 5

It was bad.

It was bad, bad, extremely bad.

“D-damn it, someone, call a doctor……！.”

It was Maureen who immediately responded to the manager’s scream. She went out of the private room at once and caught a waiter to explain the situation. Carol, flustered, carried chairs and tables to the corner of the room. She probably did it out of consideration for when the stretcher arrived.

Jill wasn’t able to move immediately.

It was not because her judgment had been slow.

It was because she had already made a judgment.

“Excuse me, Manager.”

“W-what is it!”

“You just mentioned contraband white powder (face powder), right?”

“Ah, yes, that’s…….”

The manager hesitated, but Jill persisted regardless.

“Don’t misunderstand, I did not mean to blame you for contraband. If there is a secret, I would keep it. I am asking if he had lead poisoning.”

The manager nodded as if resigned.

“……Probably.”

“I would like to know for certain. Doctors would probably say the same thing when they arrive.”

“I will bring Brandon’s personal belongings.”

The manager left the room.

“Master, do you have some knowledge about this?”

“I could use healing magic. I was not good with fractures or massive bleeding, but when it came to detoxification……it was my area of expertise.”

Jill’s magic had been extremely elaborate.

Its peculiarity lay in giving or taking away heat, or manipulating the flow of water. On the other hand, Jill also had the knowledge of healing magic taught by her actual father―King Alan.

Basically, Jill did not show it to others. She never boasted. Fixing small injuries or burns might be one thing, but she never thought to examine the seriously ill, nor had she any intention of hanging a signboard for a hospital or a clinic.

“……Master, your face look pale. If it’s difficult, it’s better to leave it to a doctor.”

“No. It’s probably more certain if I did it than having a doctor see him.”

That was not humility.

It was because there had been a terrifying past that she wanted to keep as far away as possible.

After Jill was taken away from the care of her Uncle Conrad, she was raised by her actual parents. She learned magic from Queen Bazarde, who had been the foremost witch, but at the same time she learned the recovery and healing magic that King Alan excelled at.

However, Jill was not Alan’s disciple. At least, that was not how those around her recognized it. Alan had stopped teaching Jill magic less than a year after he had begun. It was because Alan had given up on her. Even though recovery magic, which required delicacy, was far more suitable for her than offensive magic, which required great magical power, Alan had given up on teaching Jill.

She had done detoxification to a hateful degree. She had healed her own body many times. She had not used it for the past few years, but……she still remembered.

For Alan, magic that healed wounds, purified poison, and saved lives was a terrifying weapon above all else. In order to show Jill an example of magic, Alan tore off his own arm right before her eyes, then healed it instantly with magic. Alan had not even changed his expression.

Also, Alan had made Jill drink poison. He had mixed it into her daily meals as if it were natural, and Jill had noticed the changes in her health and had desperately treated herself. Within the casual conversation during meals with Alan, there had been mentions of the poisons given to her and tips for detoxification magic in order to heal them. In exchange for the scars on her heart, Jill had healed her own body and thus learned the magic.

But what had been most terrifying was that Alan had shown Jill his own procedures. One day, assassins had appeared before Alan. Those assassins had been well-trained and had never revealed anything to the palace knights. But before Alan’s torture, no matter how steeled one’s will was, it had meant nothing.

There, Jill’s heart had been completely broken.

She had prostrated herself, weeping, and begged that it was no longer possible. Alan had a resemblance to Conrad, yet their natures were completely different. No, it was impossible to see him as the same human being. Jill had feared her mother, Bazarde, as a human, but when it came to Alan, she feared him as nothing but a monster.

“B-but…but……lead poisoning, could it be dealt with by magic……?”

“Just ordinary recovery magic would not do anything. Nor would ordinary medicine.”

“Th-then, how……?”

“We should remove the lead that had continued to accumulate in the blood. That is the only way.”

Jill had manipulated fluids and liquids freely.

She had controlled the density of dyes exquisitely and could dry them freely as well.

And the blood that continued to circulate through the human body was also a liquid.

Could she find the heavy metals contained within it and extract only those?

“【Liquid Manipulation】.”

Jill could do it.

If she could not, she would not have lived until today.

Contrary to those memories filled with pain, Brandon’s face gradually became healthier.

◆

“I was truly surprised when I was suddenly called.”

“I-I am sorry, I was a bit upset as well…….”

This was Jill’s mansion deep within the Forest of Temptation. It was one of the drawing rooms inside.

On her way back from the theater, Jill had brought an apothecary to the mansion.

Jill alone had been insufficient, so she had asked the apothecary to help with the treatment.

Now that the treatment had settled down for the time being, she had brewed tea as a form of thanks.

“There would be no problem with stopping the bleeding. However, since the blood had decreased, please do not push him too hard.”

“It would help if he listened, but……he seemed to be rather reckless.”

Jill sighed and looked toward the drawing room.

There lay Brandon, sleeping quietly.

“Mr. Brandon, was it. I never imagined I would see his face in such a situation.”

“Yes. He suddenly collapsed during the meal after the performance ended. I thought it would probably be useless even if I showed him to an ordinary doctor, so I brought him here.”

“It was lead poisoning. If it had been severe, it would have been a fatal illness…….”

At the apothecary’s words, Jill nodded heavily.

“It seemed that he had been habitually using contraband face powder. Why would he do such a thing…….”

“The white powder made with lead had more vivid color and was popular. It still remained…….”

“Did it still circulate even after it became contraband?”

“It seems so.”

“That’s……like shaving off one’s life…….”

“I also warned customers about it many times in the past……but the world of performing arts was fierce everywhere, and they hardly ever listened to what doctors or apothecaries had to say.”

The apothecary’s words carried a note of futility.

He had probably witnessed deaths caused by lead before.

Such was the voice that came to mind.

“That’s……sad.”

“However, Lady Jill, I never imagined lead poisoning would recover so quickly. This was…….”

“Ahh, well, it’s something I learned in the past……I’m good at detoxification.”

At those words, the apothecary’s face became even sadder.

Jill realized that she had carelessly let out something poisonous. For a royal like Jill, who was neither a doctor nor an apothecary, to say “I’m good at detoxification” was practically confessing that she had been forced to drink poison. Especially an apothecary who sometimes visited the royal capital or served at the request of nobles might guess the circumstances to some extent.

“Ah, no, please don’t mind that. More importantly, I was saved because you helped me. With my methods alone, I couldn’t make up for the lost blood…….”

Jill could use her magic to remove foreign substances from inside the human body. She was particularly good at removing the heavy metals that had accumulated in the blood. At the same time, she could also treat the fine wounds or inflammations in the body or organs, making her more adept at curing poison than most doctors.

However, she was poor at treating fractures or large burns, and there were many illnesses that magic could not cure at all. Also, when removing foreign substances from the blood, it inevitably involved bleeding, causing a loss of blood. If they ended up dying of blood loss while trying to remove the poison, that would be pointless.

“But no one else could have cured him. I believe it was an excellent decision.”

“I appreciate it. And please keep this matter a secret…….”

“Don’t worry. Whether about the patient or the method of treatment, I always keep them secret even if not asked to. Keeping secrets is something I do all the time.”

The apothecary smiled.

Jill felt grateful and at the same time understood. Otherwise, the lord and his wife would not have favored him. It was not something measurable by pure skill alone, but also trustworthiness as a person. Jill thought that even though she ran a general store, there was probably something to learn from this person.

“Well then, I think I shall return for now. If you need any medicine, I will fetch it, but it’s probably more important to be mindful of rest and meals than medicine.”

“Yes, that’s right. Well then…….”

Just as she was about to say she would see him off, the door opened.

“Umm……where is this……?”

“Ah, have you awakened?”

“This is strange……I felt good……?”

Brandon stared blankly at Jill and the others, and then, before long, he strode straight ahead without hesitation.

“Did that lady over there treat me? Or was it you?”

“Well, directly speaking, it was me…….”

“This is amazing……! Truly, thank you……!”

“Ah, um, please don’t push yourself. You lost blood when we removed the lead. First, rest slowly…….”

“It’s been so long since I woke up feeling this refreshed! I felt like I was either going to retire or die, but now I feel like I can still do my best!”

No good, he wouldn’t listen.

Jill began to formulate a plan in her head to calm him down a bit.

But Brandon’s next words blew away Jill’s intentions.

“Now I can manage even if I collapse again!”

“……………………What did you say?”

A hard voice escaped Jill’s mouth, harder than Jill herself had expected.