The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Chapter 17: We Need a Variable (2)

“What did you say?”

Belinda looked dumbfounded.

Even as they spoke, red blotches continued to appear all over the girl’s body, blooming like petals before gradually fading away, only to reappear in a cycle. Some of the blotches swelled completely, leaking pus, while others simply flickered in and out of existence. Belinda watched Gillian’s daughter for a moment before speaking.

“This illness is clearly ‘Eternal Punishment’.”

Ghislain nodded.

‘Eternal Punishment’ was a dreadful disease that couldn’t be cured, not even by divine power. Because of this, clerics claimed it was a punishment inflicted upon those who committed grave sins in their previous lives. The memory of that made Ghislain click his tongue involuntarily.

“Anyway, I’ve never liked that group. The Saintess and her kind are always nagging and being so fussy around me… No, forget it. I was just reminded of the past.”

Ghislain quickly changed the subject as the others looked at him in confusion.

“Regardless, this is just a simple illness. It’s not some divine punishment or a shackle she’s been born with. It’s an illness that can absolutely be cured.”

Belinda couldn’t help but frown at his confident tone.

“And how exactly does the young master plan to cure something that no one else can? Even divine power doesn’t work on this disease.”

Divine power could cure most illnesses, but this one was an exception. While divine power might temporarily suppress the symptoms, the disease always reappeared shortly after, and the patient would collapse again.

“Divine power merely suppresses the disease for a short time. But even that has its limits. Besides, ordinary people can’t keep receiving divine treatment endlessly.”

Divine power was rarely dispensed in the temple except during large-scale relief efforts. Nobles or wealthy individuals had easy access to such treatments, but it was a distant luxury for the poor.

“You must have already spent everything you had,” Ghislain said.

Gillian nodded weakly. He had once earned a considerable fortune, but years of caring for his sick daughter had drained all of his assets. He had poured all his wealth into trying to cure her, but it was like trying to fill a bottomless pit.

“Anyway, it’s time for us to leave. The young master has no reason to stay here any longer.”

Belinda only wanted Ghislain to stay away from the girl. Although the rumor about the contagious illness was false, she couldn’t shake her unease. She wasn’t the only one. Others, too, avoided those afflicted with the disease, fearing they might catch it and suffer for the rest of their lives. No matter how baseless the rumors were, no one wanted to risk getting close to the patient, just in case.

“No, I must treat her. It’s a relief that it’s not too late yet.”

However, Ghislain firmly shook his head.

He understood why Belinda was trying to stop him, but he had no intention of leaving after finally finding the person he was looking for. It was fortunate that he had immediately come to find Gillian, recalling the stories he’d heard in his previous life. The timing had just barely worked out.

Gillian’s daughter would die soon. Overwhelmed by his daughter’s death, Gillian would give up on everything and take his own life as well.

If that happened, he would never be able to meet Gillian again.

“You intend to treat her yourself?”

“I’m the only one who knows the cure for this disease. Of course, I have to do it.”

At those words, Belinda raised both hands, giving up on stopping him.

Ghislain had always been stubborn since he was young. Once he set his mind on something, even Belinda couldn’t stop him.

Seeing Ghislain’s confident demeanor, Gillian remained silent.

If there were a way to cure this incurable disease, it would be a miracle beyond his wildest dreams, but could such a thing really be possible?

Yet Gillian no longer had the strength to either trust and follow those words or deny them.

Just then, Gillian’s daughter began to tremble violently in agony.

“Aaah, ugh…”

“Rachel!”

Gillian urgently called his daughter’s name and rushed to her side.

The ‘Eternal Punishment’ brought waves of intense fever and unimaginable pain at unpredictable intervals.

“Aaaaagh!”

Her agonized screams were unbearable to hear, and both Belinda and the knights turned their heads away with heavy expressions. Despite their wish to avoid getting involved with Ghislain, watching someone suffer so much was hard.

Rachel had clawed at the bed linens so fiercely in her pain that her fingernails had already been torn and shredded, with blood and pus seeping out.

The dark, dried bloodstains on the sheets vividly showed how immense her suffering had been.

When blood began to trickle from her mouth, Gillian quickly lifted Rachel’s upper body to help her expel it. If she vomited blood while lying down, her airway could be blocked, causing her to suffocate.

“Aaah, aaagh!”

“Rachel, Rachel… It’s alright, it’s alright…”

As Rachel foamed at the mouth in torment, Gillian was no less anguished as he trembled, unable to do anything but hold his daughter tightly.

Watching Gillian helplessly shiver as he clung to his suffering daughter, Belinda clenched her teeth.

‘There’s not much time left.’

‘Eternal Punishment’ didn’t begin with such severe symptoms like Rachel’s.

At first, it only caused a few red spots to appear on the body, followed by a mild fever.

But as time passed, the condition worsened until even divine power became ineffective, leaving nothing but relentless pain.

Seeing Rachel’s condition, it seemed she had already reached the final stage.

“Uh, ah, ah, dad… I-I’m in so much pain… Aaagh… I want to die… Dad, please…!”
“Rachel, Rachel…”

Gillian held his daughter, who was writhing in agony, tightly in his arms to keep her from moving. Eventually, tears began to fall from his eyes. His gaze was filled only with a desperate wish to end this hellish suffering.

‘It’s unbearable.’
‘I can’t hold on any longer.’
‘Let’s die together.’
‘I’m sorry, Rachel.’

It was something he had only ever imagined, never able to bring himself actually to do it. But now, sensing the end was near, Gillian’s eyes went dark. It was the kind of gaze one has when deciding to give up on life.

Belinda and the attendant knights turned away altogether, unable to watch any longer. Only Ghislain observed the tragic scene with a severe expression, taking in every detail.

As Rachel’s convulsions gradually subsided, Ghislain finally spoke.

“Belinda.”

“Y-yes?”

Belinda, who had been sniffling, hurriedly raised her head and moved closer at Ghislain’s gesture.

“We need to begin treatment as soon as the seizures stop. I’ll write down the necessary ingredients, so get everything without missing a single item.”

Glancing at Rachel as he recalled what was needed, Ghislain soon pulled out paper and pen from his coat and quickly scribbled down a list.

Belinda, upon receiving the paper, was startled.

“You’re asking for Fairy’s Blessing?”

“Yes.”

Fairy’s Blessing was a flower that cost several times more than its weight in gold. It was so rare and expensive that only the exceedingly wealthy could even afford to glimpse it.

“But, my lord… Why such an expensive ingredient…?”

“Because it’s the most important one. We don’t have time. We need to make the medicine as quickly as possible, since we don’t know when the seizures will start again.”

Left with no choice, Belinda hurried out to purchase the ingredients. Under Ghislain’s orders, the attendant knights also began preparing the tools to make the medicine.

Gillian, having finally managed to calm his daughter after her seizures stopped, could only stare blankly at the scene. His body and mind were utterly exhausted, and he no longer had the strength to stop whatever Ghislain was doing.

When Belinda returned with the ingredients, Ghislain immediately began the process of creating the medicine.

‘It’s an incurable disease now, but a cure will be discovered in the future.’

The treatment method had been so widely discussed that even Ghislain remembered it. The problem was that it required outrageously expensive ingredients, but the mixture didn’t need to be perfectly precise, and the preparation method wasn’t complicated.

Fortunately, this allowed Ghislain, who had never studied pharmacology, to imitate an apothecary clumsily.

Ghislain began carefully making the medicine, following the recipe he remembered. The others watched him with curious eyes, wondering if he could really make it.

Though they couldn’t fully believe it, seeing Rachel in such pain made them hope, even if just a little, that the medicine would have some effect. Gillian, staring helplessly at the serious Ghislain making the medicine, asked him.

“This is my first time meeting you, my lord. Why are you going this far?”

He couldn’t understand why Ghislain was suddenly so determined to cure his daughter’s illness or why he was personally making the medicine after purchasing expensive ingredients.

However, Ghislain didn’t even glance at him and remained focused solely on making the medicine.

“I said I’d cure her, didn’t I? Does there need to be some grand reason for helping a sick person?”

“……”

It was something a con artist might say.

No, even if he was a con artist, Gillian didn’t care anymore. As a father, he clung to the tiniest sliver of hope.

Though his resignation had built up over many years, that hope blossomed again in his heart, mocking all his past despair. But Gillian knew too well that the more one hoped, the greater the despair when that hope was crushed.

Caught between hope and doubt, Gillian couldn’t do anything but watch Ghislain with trembling eyes.

“It’s done.”

The purple liquid in the small flask looked like melted amethyst.

Holding the medicine bottle in one hand, Ghislain approached Rachel. He gently supported her neck and carefully poured the medicine into her mouth.

The group watching was soon filled with disappointment; outwardly, there seemed to be no change at all.

“Stop making that face like you’re worried for nothing. It’s not magic; did you expect her to get better the moment she drank it?”

Ghislain dragged a chair next to Rachel’s bed and crossed his arms as he sat down. The others had no choice but to wait alongside him, their boredom growing.

“Hah!”

Hours later, Belinda, who had been dozing off next to Ghislain, was startled awake by a shout.

“What? Are we under attack?”

The escort knights were staring at something with shocked expressions.

“That, that… is that real?”

Gillian was just as surprised.

“I-is this… Did the medicine… actually work?”

Ghislain smiled, satisfied.

“It’s working. Honestly, I was a little worried.”

Belinda’s eyes widened in astonishment. The spots that had covered Rachel’s face and body were slowly disappearing.

Even when they used divine power, the spots only faded in color, never vanishing like this. But now, all that remained were traces of dried blood where the spots had been; the rest of them had disappeared entirely.

Belinda, her voice trembling, pressed herself close to Ghislain.

“Is she really cured? Are you sure?”

Gillian, too, couldn’t even breathe properly as he waited for Ghislain’s answer. Seeing such noticeable improvement made his heart pound like it was about to burst.

“She’s not fully cured yet but should be much better. We’ll need to confirm it, though, so go fetch a priest. I’ll pay for it.”

One of the escort knights took the money Ghislain handed him and rushed out quickly. He, too, wanted to confirm if the cure was natural.

Not long after, a plump priest followed the knight back, walking with a haughty air. As soon as he entered the house, he wrinkled his nose and covered it with his hand.

“Ah, the goddess loves cleanliness… this place is a dump. I’ve never seen such filth. This is like a hell on earth. Are you all demons living in this wretched hell?”

Everyone ignored the priest’s words. Ghislain merely chuckled and gestured for him to come closer.

‘How dare that brat to order me around with a gesture?’

The priest grumbled internally, but he didn’t voice his complaints since he had been paid generously.

“Ahem, so where’s the patient? I came here out of goodwill but am quite busy, so I can’t stay long.”

At the priest’s question, Ghislain nodded toward Rachel.

“This rude brat… Is this girl?”

The priest immediately recognized Rachel. He had treated her at the temple several times before.

“Good heavens, this illness cannot be cured with divine power. I’ve told you many times already, haven’t I? Divine power only suppresses the disease… Wait, hold on. What did you do to her?”