The Doctor Cured the Villainess and Ran Away

20 – 20. Knee Pillow

“Cough.”

He gasped for breath.

His head was spinning.

Even blinking several times, his vision remained blurry.

The surroundings were dimly lit in the darkness of night.

What happened?

He vaguely remembered successfully completing the practical exam and returning to his room feeling quite cheerful.

The goblin corpses and the foul underground soil, the scent of moss; the protagonist couldn’t bear it any longer, so they took off their armor first…

It cuts off there.

“Cough, cough.”

A cough involuntarily escapes.

They wanted to say something, but all that came out of their throat was the sound of goblins scratching that they heard during the day.

What is this? Why is it like this?

First, check the status window.

―――――――――――

· Diagnosis D has been ranked up to Diagnosis C.

· Emergency Treatment Mastery E has been ranked up to Emergency Treatment Mastery D.

· Medicine E has been ranked up to Medicine D.

· Blood Test D skill has been unlocked.

―――――――――――

Their Medicine skill rank has increased.

It’s because they enthusiastically used medicine in today’s practical exam.

Since they dealt with real patients all day long, it couldn’t be helped that their experience points accumulated.

“A blood test skill, huh. How far can I go with it?”

In hospitals, the usual test for drawing blood on an empty stomach is called CBC.

It is a basic and versatile test that analyzes components of blood such as red blood cells, white blood cells, platelet count, etc., to determine what potential diseases the patient may have in a wide range.

With such a skill, they can assess the patient’s condition in more detail than just diagnosis.

But why is my body like this?

Scrolling down, they could see the reason.

―――――――――――

· Talent has ranked up to Rank D.

· Debuff Stamina Decrease E (Growth type, Irremovable) has been ranked up to Stamina Decrease D.

―――――――――――

Ah, it means that debuffs have also grown alongside their talent.

Ha, this is frustrating.

“Gah.”

Somehow, a stinging sensation intensified from above.

It seems like the stomach is corroding from the inside.

There’s only about 4 points of stamina left. The maximum is 11.

It has been quite taxing during the practical exams, and it seems to have been continuously decreasing due to debuffs.

‘I’m easily dying, aren’t I?’

Even my name can’t take care of my own body, and I can’t diagnose myself.

Judging by the symptoms alone, it could be a gastric ulcer.

‘The decrease in stamina exceeds the amount of candy recovery, so that’s why it turned out like this.’

Thanks to collapsing in a relatively comfortable position, the decrease seemed minimal while asleep.

Even now, my head is comfortably supported by a soft cushion.

… Huh? What is supporting me on the floor?

I slowly turn my head.

Looking towards the ceiling, I saw two golden eyes shining in the darkness, staring at me.

‘Ah.’

I felt like my heart stopped for about two seconds just now.

Fortunately, I’m still alive.

“You’re awake.”

Asella’s cold voice echoed in my ears.

“Princess, why are you here… cough, cough.”

I couldn’t finish my answer and ended up coughing.

Fortunately, I didn’t accidentally spit my saliva on Asella’s face.

But it seemed to have upset her as she furrowed her brows.

“Gongja, are you coughing too?”

“It was just a momentary twitch.”

“You were lying on the floor.”

Could she suspect that something is wrong with my condition?

It wouldn’t be good if she found out that even the attending physician cannot control their own body.

Especially when it concerns the patient they should be taking care of.

It would damage the trust in their profession.

“But me? That’s impossible. I just collapsed from exhaustion and slept on the floor.”

“… On the floor?”

“I am more comfortable this way.”

“While changing clothes?”

“I was so tired.”

Asella narrowed her eyes and looked at me as if she could see through me.

But wait, is Asella supporting my head right now?

Since when has she been in my room?

“Your Highness, why is my head…?”

“Do you dislike it?”

If you ask me if I like it or not, of course I don’t.

From the feeling of support on my head, it seems like it’s her lap, and Asella’s hand is also on my head.

It’s like putting a head between the gaping mouth of a crocodile.

And it’s the same crocodile that has scratched my face several times already.

I wanted to get up from my seat before getting angrier, but my body simply wouldn’t listen.

As I didn’t reply, Asella opened her mouth.

“Lucy mainly does this for me.”

“Who is Lucy?”

“My personal maid.”

Ah, the name of the lady who had been silently monitoring the exams.

“I don’t know how you ended up like this, but there seems to be a misunderstanding. In the first place, it is inappropriate for a princess, even a lady, to enter a man’s room alone.”

“We are betrothed.”

“That’s… true.”

“Did I misunderstand something?”

“The sun shines brightly and strongly at noon, but in the afternoon it becomes sticky orange.”

It was a metaphor that meant you couldn’t grasp the essence just by looking at what’s visible.

It conveyed the message that my body is fine.

“Why did you lie to me?”

“It’s not a lie. Even if it were, Your Highness doesn’t need to be concerned. It’s the duty of the chief physician to lessen the worries of the patient.”

“…Is that so?”

Asella seemed a bit skeptical about my answer, but she seemed to accept it, as she didn’t inquire further about my condition.

Thank goodness.

From Noble mtl dot com

…A moment of silence passed.

Then, swiftly.

Asella raised her hand to my cheek and lowered her head.

Her cold hand felt pleasant.

From my lying position, I saw her face upside down.

“Gongja, do you want to continue like this?”

Asella asked a question that was difficult to comprehend.

It seemed she was getting bored as I stayed still for too long.

I also wanted to move.

I wanted to move, but I didn’t have the strength.

“Princess, may I ask you one thing?”

“Go ahead.”

“Can you bring me some candy?”

“What’s the price?”

After all, Princess Asella never gives anything for free.

“…I’ll give you one.”

Upon hearing my answer, Asella slightly raised the corner of her mouth.

“Where is it?”

“Oh, it’s inside the unbuttoned shirt, right on the bed behind me.”

“Where… there are quite a few. One won’t be enough.”

“It’s just one. That was the deal, right?”

There was a rustling sound.

Asella took out two candies and threw one onto my chest.

“Do you expect me to unwrap it too?”

“It’s up to you.”

I can’t imagine what I should pay in return.

I unwrap the candy and put it in my mouth.

The text about increasing stamina came to mind along with the sweet aroma of honey.

Although it offset the decrease to some extent, I still have to find another way to recover my stamina immediately.

“So this is the taste.”

Ashella suddenly had a candy in her mouth.

Between her teeth, there was a sound of the candy rolling back and forth.

“Do you like it?”

“No, I don’t like sweet food.”

I feel the same way too.

“But this one is quite tasty. It’s a special taste because it was stolen from Kongja,” she said.

“I’m glad you’re satisfied.”

Her thoughts are indeed different.

How does the great villainess enjoy plundering, looting, and causing others pain so much?

Ashella took the candy she had been rolling in her mouth, and shook it in front of me.

“If I take away something precious to you and don’t eat it all, wouldn’t Kongja feel a great sense of loss?”

“Whether it’s true or not.”

So if you’re happy.

I couldn’t help but smile at her reaction, which seemed to be pleased with my answer.

“So what should I do with this?”

“If you’re going to throw it away, give it to me. It’s a waste.”

Upon my answer, Ashella was slightly surprised and stepped back.

“…You want to eat something I’ve been eating again?”

“Because it’s a candy I like.”

“No.”

Ashella firmly said and took the candy into her embrace.

I’ll throw it away, but I won’t give it to you.

Of course, that would be the case. Do as you please.

…Why do I hear a rustling sound again?

Ashella carefully put the candy back into its wrapper.

What is she doing?

“Kongja.”

“Yes.”

“The test?”

“I made it to the final candidate.”

“Of course, that’s how it should be.”

Ashella calmly said and put the candy inside her dress.

“Okay.”

Thanks to the sugar, I felt a little stronger and decided to get up from my seat.

“Your Highness, it’s dinner time. Shouldn’t we go have a meal?”

Although I urged her politely, Ashella didn’t move from her seat.

“Your Highness?”

“Wait.”

Ashella extended her palm towards me.

Did she expect me to wait like Max?

No, that won’t do for now.

“Why aren’t you getting up?”

“I told you to wait.”

Upon closer inspection, Ashella was twitching her leg.

She couldn’t find a comfortable position even by wiggling her little toes.

Her leg must be numb.

“Your Highness, when that happens, massaging your thighs can help relieve the symptoms more quickly. Now, please follow my posture. Slowly straighten your knees and bend forward with your upper body…”

“Kongja, get out of the room.”

“But this is my room.”

“…Then put on some clothes!”

Ashella turned her head sharply and yelled at me.

This is bad. She moved on to the stage of getting angry.

I must have done something seriously wrong.

If I made her more angry, my head would fly off, so I swiftly grabbed my things and ran out of the room.

***

I sent Ashella to dinner first.

During that time, I carefully worked on the rose candy.

At present, reinforcement does not increase the recovery amount.

I thought it was due to weak ingredients, so I used [Nature Transformation] to transform some of the rose medicine ingredients before [Enhancing].

As the transformation probability depended on chance, I pulled several gacha draws to see how the ingredient changed.

As I was in deep thought, bingo.

―――――――――――

Special Rose Honey Candy (created by simulation, transformation, and synthesis)

Effect: Stamina reduced by internal bleeding is restored by 0.6 over 6 hours

It’s incredibly sweet!

―――――――――――

Finally, I’ve created a candy that can cover my stamina reduction.

Thanks to that, I wasted twenty precious candies, but it’s okay since I can make more.

In the future, my stamina reduction will continue to increase.

“It’s not a big deal if I keep recovering my stamina.”

I can also replenish my sugar intake regularly, which is nice.

I should be careful not to get diabetes.

While treating myself, a sudden curiosity arose.

“What exactly is Asella’s debuff?”

Using diagnosis would make it simple, but right now, I cannot use skills on her without being an attending physician.

Due to Asella’s sensitivity to magic, she would immediately notice if I used a skill on her.

Also, my diagnostic rank is still low, so there’s no guarantee of accurately comprehending it.

“A talent requires a price. If I remove her debuff, which is the cost.”

My own talent would disappear as well.

Considering the fact that my debuff is an incurable disease, there is a very slim possibility.

If by any chance that happens, I might be able to delete several bad endings at once.

If Asella’s magic weakens, the number of incidents she can cause will significantly decrease.

“First, I have to become an attending physician for that to be possible.”

The final exam will be held tomorrow.

For tomorrow’s sake, I decided to rest well today.