Time Healer Ceres
Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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“Sigh.”
As he stepped out of the conference hall, a long, collective sigh escaped the lips of everyone left behind, as if they had all been holding their breath together.
“The rumors were true.”
“You can say that again.”
“How can a man be so…?”
Was it right to say that just being in his presence felt like having the very soul sucked out of them?
The palms of several nobles were slick with sweat from the sheer tension.
A golden land possessing boundless resources.
Grand Duke Persia, the man who held absolute hegemony over that northern territory.
‘Well, the meetings will continue.’
They burned with a renewed determination to somehow build a rapport with him during the weekly conferences scheduled over the next month.
“Please excuse me.”
Just then, someone hurriedly offered his parting greetings and followed Kainel out of the hall. It was a gaunt man in his fifties.
“The Count of Ellucia?”
Everyone watched him with puzzled eyes.
Why was that man suddenly chasing after the Grand Duke?
Surely, he wasn’t trying to make a move before everyone else?
“Ah, I did hear something about that before.”
“What did you hear?”
“That the former Head of the Family of the Ellucia house and Grand Duke Persia were very close.”
“Ah, I believe I’ve heard that as well.”
“Are you talking about Grace-nim?”
The woman once hailed as a saint, Count Grace Elercia.
It was quite a famous fact that she had been intimate friends with Grand Duke Persia.
There were even rumors that the one who took Grace’s body was the Grand Duke himself. Could it be true?
“Hmph… Is he trying to exploit a connection from that long ago?”
“Tsk.”
Realizing what the Count of Ellucia was up to, the others shook their heads in succession.
Everyone knew his character all too well—he was a man who would do anything for profit.
Was he planning to monopolize the precious herbs that grew in the North?
Those who grasped the Count’s intention to somehow use a 300-year-old bond let out sighs of disdain.
“Kainel-nim.”
Meanwhile, waiting outside the conference hall was his aide, Dell, who bowed respectfully to the first person to emerge.
“How was the meeting?”
“Quiet.”
“Pardon?”
“No one had much to say.”
“…….”
Dell, who knew full well from hearsay that the Imperial Conference Hall was usually a bloody battlefield of words, let out a silent sigh.
‘It was probably because of Kainel-nim.’
Having guessed the situation, he let out an awkward smile.
“Grand Duke Persia!”
At that moment, someone approached them in a hurry. Wearing a broad smile, he bowed politely toward Kainel.
“It is an honor to meet you. I am Creel Ellucia.”
At those words, a flicker of emotion appeared in Kainel’s indifferent eyes.
However, his expression, which had momentarily turned wistful, cooled instantly as if it had never happened.
“Though I am lacking, I currently serve as the Head of the Family for the Elercia County. To meet the dear friend of our Elercia family’s glory, Grace-nim, is truly…”
“And?”
“Pardon?”
“Your business?”
“Well, that is… if you have the time, would you care for a cup of tea with me?”
“I’m not interested.”
“Excuse me?”
“I said I’m not interested. Why should I drink tea with a man I’ve never seen before?”
“Ah…”
“Is that all your business?”
“Th-that is…”
Creel struggled to maintain his smile, hiding his stiffening expression.
‘Did I get my facts wrong?’
That couldn’t be.
The fact that Grace Elercia was a bosom friend of Grand Duke Persia was recorded in history books.
Yet, there wasn’t a single spark of warmth in the man’s eyes as he looked at a member of the family of the friend he had supposedly cherished so much.
Creel, who had intended to open the conversation by bringing up past ties, felt his lips go dry.
“I asked if that was all?”
“Ah, yes! Th-then, I shall see you again next time.”
Seeing Kainel’s brow twitch for a second, Creel hurried to retreat.
He felt he had been far too hasty.
‘I should have acted after looking into Grand Duke Persia a bit more.’
Because he had lunged in blindly, unable to overcome his impatience, he only succeeded in confirming the information that Kainel Persia’s personality was incredibly foul before being forced to withdraw.
For now, he had to leave before the Grand Duke’s mood soured further.
Even as he walked away briskly, Creel couldn’t hide his regret, licking his lips repeatedly.
“He doesn’t seem to know how to use a sword at all. Such a man is the Head of the Family of Elercia…”
Kainel’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the man who had quickly moved far enough away to look like a small dot.
“The Elercia family consists of masters of healing, not masters of swordsmanship. Isn’t it normal that he can’t use one?”
Dell looked puzzled at Kainel’s monologue.
It was a well-known fact that the Elercia County was famous for its outstanding healing arts.
“They were originally a family of swordsmen.”
“Pardon?”
“It was a place once called the greatest swordsman family in the Empire. The beginning of the Elercia family lies in the sword.”
The aide, Dell, could not hide his shock at this news.
The foundation of the Elercia family wasn’t healing, but swordsmanship?
“And…”
The one called the greatest sword prodigy even within that Elercia family was none other than…
‘Grace.’
“Argh!”
“Keep those hands up straight, won’t you?”
“N-no, I will!”
“Hold them up properly!”
Croy and his gang, who dealt in private loans—in other words, loan sharking—were quite famous in these parts.
They were notorious for doing absolutely anything to collect money.
It was to the point where selling people into slavery if they couldn’t pay back their debts was considered a daily routine.
“Ugh.”
“Hands.”
“Y-yes! I’ll hold them up g-straight!”
However, the current state of Croy’s gang was so pathetic it made one wonder if these were truly the same notorious men.
All of them, numbering well over twenty, were kneeling on the floor with their hands raised high like misbehaving schoolchildren.
Furthermore, not a single one of them was unscathed. It was common to see burst wounds here and there, and many had lost teeth, making their speech slurred.
‘Ugh…’
‘What on earth is that woman?’
‘I thought she was just some crazy bitch!’
This situation had unfolded just a short while ago.
Croy’s gang, who had been spending a relatively peaceful afternoon, were so dumbfounded they couldn’t even close their mouths when a woman opened the door and walked in after a knock.
The first words out of her mouth after entering were utterly absurd.
‘Is it you guys? The ones who touched my employee.’
Watching the woman enter holding nothing but a single wooden stick, most of them burst into hollow laughter, and a few picked at their ears.
They truly thought the woman was insane.
‘Aaaah!’
‘Gah!’
‘S-stop! Argh! Stop hitting…!’
However, it took less than thirty minutes for them to end up on their knees begging.
Not only were they beaten helplessly by a mere wooden stick, but they were also forced to kneel before her with their hands up.
Ceres scoffed inwardly at their faces, which were still denying reality.
‘If I were to be defeated by the likes of these, I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone I was the Head of the Family of Elercia.’
The Elercia County was one of the top swordsman families in the Empire. One could say the healing arts were a sort of hobby.
They explored the human body to identify vital points and delved into herbalism to make wounds heal faster.
The ‘Elercia Family Healing Arts’ that resulted from the combination of those two was purely a product of chance. It was a case of a blind man stumbling upon a treasure.
‘Somehow, I ended up spending more time touching herbs than swords.’
It was as if the hobby had overtaken the main profession.
Even so, she had never once let go of the sword.
The same went for the disciples she taught. To belong to the Elercia County, swordsmanship was a basic requirement.
‘Even that hopelessly dim-witted Enoch was a match for the Commander of the Imperial Knights.’
Ceres smirked as she looked at the wooden stick she had brought from Mark’s room.
A sword was far too much for dealing with these guys.
“Uuugh.”
A groan drifted from one side. It was Croy, the leader of the gang, who had been beaten most severely by Ceres.
‘This fu—!’
Thwack!
‘Agh! Die! You bi—!’
Whack!
‘Gah! You viper! You son of a…!’
Thud!
Ceres had truly put her heart and soul into beating him, as he had kept lunging at her with curses, failing to read the room until the very end.
“Hey, you there.”
“Yes!”
Croy barked his response more alertly than anyone else, as if he had never been groaning in pain.
Still holding the stick in one hand, Ceres asked with a serious expression, as if she were truly curious.
“Did I not pay the interest this month?”
