Time Healer Ceres
Chapter 11
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“W-What do you mean, what relationship? W-We… we have no relationship at all!”
As expected, his reaction speed was far too slow.
Who would believe an excuse given only after his facial expression had already provided the full answer?
“I’m talking about that ring.”
“Gasp!”
“…….”
Now it was getting embarrassing for me to even speak.
Ceres watched in disbelief as the director fell into a complete panic at the mere mention of a ring.
My, aren’t you an easy man?
The ring on his left hand.
She had looked at it closely, thinking it seemed familiar, and with a little thought, she easily recalled where she had seen it before.
‘Aunt Agne.’
The design was identical to the ring that was always on her aunt’s left hand.
Of course, it would be ridiculous to suspect a relationship just because of a matching ring design.
However, hadn’t Agne been the one to recommend this place?
The director of a sanatorium recommended personally by her was wearing the same ring she did?
‘I had a feeling.’
And she was right.
Once again, she had just tossed out a bit of bait, and he had snapped it up and devoured it with gusto. It was almost embarrassing for the one who threw it.
“T-There seems to be some misunderstanding here…….”
“My uncle already suspects my aunt of having an affair, you know.”
“Wh-what?”
That was a lie, of course. She didn’t even know what her uncle looked like.
“There are rumors that he’s in close contact with a hitman, saying he’ll take the head of the man involved the moment he finds him…….”
“A-A hitman?”
But Arnold snapped up the bait once again.
Watching him turn deathly pale—pitiable, even—Ceres let out a hollow laugh in spite of herself.
How on earth did someone with such a timid personality pull off a stunt like this?
Thud!
“Hic!”
When she slammed her hand down on the table, Director Arnold collapsed into a heap on the floor as if trying to hide.
“Now, then…….”
Ceres flashed him a bright smile once more.
“Shall we have a proper conversation?”
Facing Ceres, whose mouth was smiling but whose eyes were not, Director Arnold had to swallow hard once again.
“Let’s go.”
“…….”
The green eyes of the child who had just woken up felt exceptionally transparent.
After staring at Ceres for a long time with clear eyes, the child slowly pushed herself up from the bed.
“Are we going home?”
“Yeah.”
‘He said she’s lived here since she was four.’
It had been nearly three years, yet she didn’t even ask who Ceres was, as if she recognized her older sister.
“Why?”
“Because you can’t stay here anymore.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s a bad place.”
“Why is it bad?”
“They don’t treat you properly.”
“Why?”
“…….”
…For some reason, she felt like giving her a little flick on the forehead.
Ceres let out a short sigh as she looked at the child, who was staring back with wide eyes, bombarding her with “why, why.”
“Let’s go.”
When Ceres reached out her hand, the child’s already large eyes grew even rounder.
Ceres looked down at the tiny hand that gently grasped hers for a moment, then pulled out the Teleportation Magic Item.
‘I-I wasn’t the one who told her to feed it to her!’
‘Then who?’
‘Agne, it was Agne! She said… she said if we just kept the child sick and tied down here, we could make a huge amount of money……!’
‘So you fed poison to a mere seven-year-old child? You really have a silver tongue for a liar, don’t you?’
‘I-I only heard it was medicine to make her body weak! I truly had no idea it was such a deadly poison! I mean it!’
‘Make sure you say exactly that when you get to the guard station. That you didn’t know a thing.’
‘The guard station? No! What will happen to this place then? I-I’ll be completely ruined!’
‘Whether you’re ruined or not is none of my… ah, actually, it is my business. I’ll make sure you’re ruined as miserably as possible.’
‘Aaaah! I’ll return all the medical fees I’ve received so far!’
‘That’s a given. But look at you, still trying to strike a deal with me when you haven’t even come to your senses?’
‘So Agne was the one who planned it all?’
A deep smile played on Ceres’s lips as she recalled the conversation she’d had with the director a short while ago.
Just as she had suspected, the director and Agne were having an affair.
Her aunt was the one who had devised the entire plan, and Director Arnold was the one who carried it out.
Despite moving into the Drow Barony under the pretext of pitying her nieces who had lost their parents at a young age, Agne had been secretly poisoning Yulia, the youngest.
‘How did she get that poisonous herb?’
The poison Yulia had ingested.
It was a poison Ceres knew very well.
It was a poison favored long ago by the Imperial Family for discreetly eliminating enemies.
Unlike other poisons, it didn’t show an immediate reaction; instead, it slowly broke down the body until death, making it impossible for healers to find the cause.
However, while Grace was alive, the cultivation and distribution of that herb had been completely banned by order of the Emperor, and its traces had gradually vanished.
“Yulia, do you remember that yucky medicine you used to take?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Since when did you start taking it?”
“Since the first day I came here.”
Was it being distributed again?
In any case, once the child collapsed from the poison as planned, Agne had locked Yulia in the sanatorium and used every means possible to extort medical fees.
That money was split between Director Arnold and her aunt.
‘In other words, all that money borrowed from loan sharks went straight into my aunt’s pocket.’
She didn’t care if her nieces were smothered to death by interest.
No wonder. Was that why the interest rates were so high at every single place they borrowed from?
‘She probably didn’t care about the conditions at all as long as she could get the money.’
She wasn’t the one who had to pay it back; she just needed to squeeze the money out.
Ceres’s smile deepened as the full truth became clear.
“Unnie, are you mad?”
“…No.”
Flash!
With one last look into the child’s wide eyes, the two of them vanished from the spot.
Chapter 4. Where Your Steps Linger
“Ow! What are you doing?!”
“I-I’m sorry, Madam.”
Agne, who was in the middle of having her hair brushed, shrieked.
When a tangle of hair got caught in the brush and was ripped out, the maid hurriedly stepped back and bowed her head.
Slap!
“Ah!”
“Give it here!”
“Y-Yes!”
Agne snatched the brush from the maid, seemingly deaf to the groan of the girl she had just struck across the face.
“Good heavens! To rip out this much!”
The thing Agne valued more than anything was her hair.
She always applied expensive fragrant oils without hesitation and flaunted her thick tresses with pride.
Perhaps thanks to those efforts, her dark brown hair had an exceptionally lovely, lustrous bounce.
Knock, knock.
A moment later, Agne’s eyes widened as she saw who entered after the knock.
“Oh my, Ceres?”
Her visit was quite unexpected.
Had Ceres ever shown up before her without being called even once until now?
“What brings you here?”
“I thought we could have a cup of tea together.”
“Tea?”
Now that she looked, Ceres was holding a tea set.
It was also very surprising that she had brought the tea herself without a maid in tow.
“I was just getting thirsty anyway, so that’s perfect.”
Agne willingly offered Ceres a seat. She sent out all the maids who were in the room.
By the look of it, she had something to say.
After asking for some time, had she finally decided to dispose of that damn stew shop?
‘That was faster than I thought.’
She had expected her to drag her feet as usual and try to avoid her until it all fizzled out.
She had been planning to pressure her once more if she didn’t make a decision by the end of this week.
Yet, she had come to find her first after only three days.
“So. Have you given it some thought? You’ll have to sell the shop immediately, won’t you? Shall I look for a buyer for you? Actually, there was someone who wanted to buy a shop not too long ago.”
Agne spoke casually as she settled into her seat.
To her, who spoke as if selling the shop was already a foregone conclusion, Ceres handed over a cup of tea instead of an answer.
“Please, have some.”
“Thank you.”
The fragrance wafting from the pale reddish tea was very sweet.
The scent brought a smile to Agne’s face as she immediately brought the teacup to her lips.
“Oh my.”
Her eyes widened instantly. The taste was just as wonderful as the scent.
“What kind of tea is this? It’s delicious.”
“I’m glad it’s to your liking.”
As if she truly had been thirsty, Agne emptied her cup in an instant, and Ceres refilled it for her.
“I was a bit worried since it’s my first time making it. I wondered what I’d do if it didn’t suit your taste, Aunt.”
“How sweet of you. Thank you, Ceres. You should have some too.”
“I’m fine. Since I know exactly what’s in it, why would I bother putting it in my mouth?”
