The Villainous Young Lady Would Even Risk Her Life for Her Beloved ～ Her Fiancé, the Prince? By All Means, Please Be Happy with the Heroine! - Chapter 1.40

The Margrave and his wife must have known about Frey. That explains why the Margrave had been so flustered. And the Margravine likely stepped in to subtly prevent me from getting angry and doing anything to Frey.

Now, as I sat in the modest guest room of the infirmary, sipping tea, I watched the sulking, gaunt middle-aged man in silence.

“Please, please forgive him!”

“I’ll make sure to speak with him thoroughly!”

“My Lady, the man may speak harshly, but he’s kind at heart! If punishment is needed, let it fall on me instead!”

After Frey had stormed off, the knight, Gauche, and even a nearby adventurer had rushed to his defense, one after another.

“Enough! I understand, so be quiet until the treatment is done!”

Clearly, he was an indispensable figure here. It’s not like I plan to charge him with lèse-majesté and sentence him to death or anything. Though, I do repay rudeness in kind.

“The fee will be sixty percent of the standard rate at this infirmary. Furthermore, half of that amount will be paid by the House of Lias. Please inform the patients of this arrangement.”

Considering how severe those injuries were, it was a bargain. Surely, no one could complain.

“Hah! You even know how much we charge here? Your kind of noble wouldn’t be able to afford a single loaf of bread!”

“Enough! That’s enough out of you!”

“Using us as props in a child’s game… what a joke.”

No matter how much Gauche tried to calm him, Frey wouldn’t listen. What a tiresome man. Frankly, I didn’t care about the money. And Frey should know that. He must know that.

“By the way, Lord Gauche, I’d like to ask about Lord Fred’s treatment.”

I had no intention of wasting my time on an eternally sulking man. Whatever grudge he held against me, I wasn’t concerned. It’s well known the House of Flores is disliked, so it’s probably related to that.

“I’d like to know the type of healing magic used on Lord Fred, and the total amount of magical energy infused. I wish to compare it with other patients.”

“Should I include the post-recovery treatments as well?”

He glanced sideways at Frey, clearly keeping an eye on him in case he did something inappropriate, but still answered me.

“I see… yes, please include them. I heard Lord Fred’s recovery took quite some time—did the symptoms appear during that period?”

“Before any symptoms appeared, his body was severely weakened… He slowly regained his strength over time, with some ups and downs. We only noticed the symptoms after it seemed he had fully recovered.”

Indeed, after the body is purged of the parasite causing Ice-Stone Disease, those with the financial means often continue receiving healing magic to restore their strength. Fred, who had been on the verge of death for so long, had apparently undergone significant post-recovery treatments.

“As I suspected, he received a disproportionately large amount of healing magic over a much longer period.”

“What is your interpretation, Lady Lydiana?”

It was still just a hypothesis, but… Gauche wasn’t paying attention to Frey anymore; he was sincerely listening to my opinion, even though I was a child. It seemed I had earned his respect with the treatment I performed earlier.

“My theory is that somewhere in the body, magical energy flows through pathways—like veins or channels—and when those were overwhelmed, something ruptured.”

“I see. Much like how we flooded the parasite with magic and caused it to burst. Since both monsters and humans rely on magic, it’s certainly a plausible explanation.”

Having a veteran healer acknowledge the possibility of “rupture” was a relief.

“Hah! I’ve figured it out! There’s no way a Flores would ever reach the answer!”

Suddenly, Frey jumped into the conversation. Wait—did he just say he knew the answer!?

“If you want to know, you better apologize first!!”

“I sincerely apologize!!”

Before Gauche could even scold him, I apologized. Though what exactly I was apologizing for remained unclear. Gauche stared at me, eyes wide and mouth agape. Frey, on the other hand, was so stunned he froze. The knights looked at me with expressions of disbelief and despair.

“Enough already!!!”

After a brief pause, Gauche finally exploded. He was furious—face red, grabbing Frey by the collar and shouting as if he’d bite his head off.

“I can’t defend you anymore! This Lady is doing everything she can for Lord Fred! You saw her treatment! Are you truly so blind that you think that was child’s play!?”

“Please, Lord Gauche, it’s alright! Now then, Lord Frey, please tell me the answer!”

I raised my voice as well, refusing to back down. I was used to meaningless apologies—I’d given them daily in my previous life. If that’s the price to pay for an answer, I’d bow my head a thousand times, even grovel. If it means everyone can be happy—especially if it involves Lord Finley—I have no pride to lose.

“How… how can you… damn it!”

He glared at me with a pained expression, tears welling in his eyes. It was almost unsettling, and I began to wonder what sort of grudge he had against me. Still, I couldn’t address that now.

“Please, Lord Frey! I’ll apologize however you wish later—but if you know something, I beg you, share it for Lord Fred’s sake!!”

You said it yourself—apologize and you’ll talk.

Seeing my desperation, Frey finally spoke through gritted teeth.

“…Do you know the treatment method used here?”

“Healing magic, correct?”

As far as I knew, that was the only method available here.

“Hah! And here I thought a Flores would know better—you haven’t studied enough, have you?”

What a thoroughly obnoxious man.

“I apologize.”

For now, I offered an apology. Now, hurry up and get to the point.

“At this infirmary, one application of healing magic with a certain degree of effectiveness counts as a single treatment. The total cost is determined by how many applications are needed.”

Gauche kindly explained. I had heard of this system before from my uncle. He had mentioned that clear pricing made it easier for people to seek treatment.

“Unlike you nobles, we can’t afford some custom-made treatment.”

“I see. Clear pricing makes it easier for adventurers to receive care, then.”

“And since that young lady’s spell earlier was just one application, that’s all she can charge for, you know!”

He said it with mocking disdain, clearly expecting me to react with a How dare you! outburst. Does he really think I’d get all flustered and angry?

“How is that relevant to Fred’s condition?”

Just get to the part I care about already. Apparently, the fact that I wasn’t losing my temper annoyed him.

“…Let’s say someone comes in with a broken arm. Normally, it takes three applications of healing magic to fully recover. But that guy can only afford two treatments, so we do just that. Then, before it’s fully healed, he heads back into the monster forest to make money to cover the rest. But fighting like that just lands him back here again. And so the cycle repeats…”

“I see! That’s it!”

Gauche seemed to have grasped the point—but I was still lost.

“When you use the arm before it’s fully healed, the bone ends up healing improperly. Then he injures it again, gets more incomplete healing magic applied, and repeats the process. Eventually, the misshapen bone becomes fixed in that state—as if it were normal.”

So, the body ends up ‘healing’ into a form that isn’t natural.

“So in Fred’s case, the abnormal condition—where his magical energy is leaking—is now recognized as normal, and healing magic has cemented it into that state?”

“Exactly!”

Can something like that really happen? This… might be an answer no one from my household could have thought of.

“Somewhere in his body, the path for magical flow was damaged, and before it could properly heal, it was subjected to healing magic again and again, causing the condition to become permanent…”

Gauche’s voice trailed off as he spoke.

“Fred kept training with magic even during recovery. It must’ve put a lot of strain on him.”

“It’s my fault! I could only cast incomplete healing magic…!”

Gauche cried out in anguish, blaming himself.

“It’s not your fault! If it weren’t for you, Fred wouldn’t even be alive! You know that!”

Unlike how he had treated me, Frey was now speaking with genuine care, sincerely trying to comfort Gauche.

“He’s right. Lord Gauche, don’t blame yourself. Let’s focus on what we can do from here.”

“…You’re right.”

He still looked downcast. It seemed he couldn’t forgive himself so easily.

“Alright then, if you won’t forgive yourself, Lord Gauche, I’ll just have to tell the Margrave everything about Lord Frey’s behavior today!”

I heard Frey mutter under his breath, “Tch, go ahead, see if I care,” but Gauche finally lifted his head.

“Now then! Is there a treatment for this condition?”

At my question— “There is.”

“There sure is.”

—They both answered at the same time.