Sacrificial Lamb (4)
The apothecary, which had been surrounded by silence, gradually became noisy. Iden pushed aside the wooden partition and checked outside.
There were quite a few people gathered around the quiet pharmacy. Their expressions were all filled with despair.
“Do you really know the cure?”
“That’s what the rumors say.”
“Is it true?”
Their words were filled with a glimmer of hope and deep suspicion.
“Quiet, quiet.”
As the murmurs grew louder, one man who stood before the crowd urgently tried to calm them down.
When the commotion subsided a little, the man approached the front of the store.
Knock, knock.
The man’s hand trembled as he knocked on the door.
“Is anyone there? Pharmacists?”
“Pharmacists?”
“I came to ask about the epidemic.”
No matter how many times the man called out, there was no answer from inside the window.
The people gathered in front of the store were not resentful or bitter, but they couldn’t be treated immediately.
‘Even if I help them, the safety of Sion and Lophe’s wife must be ensured first.’
The cure was the only weapon that Leta and the townspeople could persuade each other with.
Although it was because of the illness, both Lophe and the villagers had deep misunderstandings and wounds towards each other.
‘If it were his wife, she might be able to forgive the townspeople.’
There was no way that everyone in the village had the same kind heart as Leta. Just by looking at Leta, it was obvious. Didn’t she try to forcefully obtain the cure from Lophe? Some villagers also did terrible things to Lophe, who was tied to a tree.
‘I’d rather take them away if these two don’t have any attachment to Mellow.’
While staying in the riverside hut, Sion and Lophe often happily shared stories of their time in Mellow. They also mentioned that her husband’s grave was near Mellow.
For Sion and Lophe, Mellow was a precious memory with their father or husband. They couldn’t abandon such a place.
How much time had passed, the murmurs suddenly quieted down.
“It seems that woman has arrived.”
Instinctively knowing that Leta had come, Edeun turned to Lophe.
From now on, he would have to leave for a while, but before that, he had to make sure of the patient’s condition one more time.
“Fortunately, her face looks calm.”
With a lot of ointment applied to relieve swelling and discoloration, Lophe was sound asleep.
“I’ve prepared some water and a few dried fruits for her to eat. Oh, I should leave a note so she won’t be startled.”
Finally, even the faint scent blossomed again.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
As soon as Idun finished preparing, a different, more refined knocking sound resonated.
Without hesitation, Idun stepped outside the store.
*
The only one to greet Idun outside was Leta.
“It’s been a while.”
Leta’s voice was neither excited nor subdued.
“I thought you had run away, I didn’t expect you to come back.”
Regardless of what Leta said, Idun looked around.
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The crowd that had filled the front of the shop until just now had disappeared. It was a slightly bewildering situation for Idun, who had planned to negotiate with the townspeople once the negotiation with Leta was over.
“Where are the others who were here?”
In response to Idun’s question, Leta pointed her finger behind her. When Idun turned his gaze, he saw several guards forcibly pushing people out. Some of them stumbled and fell after getting hit by the guards’ swinging swords.
“…It’s pretty bad.”
Upon Idun’s words, Leta turned around and shook her head.
“It’s not that bad, is it? They’re not seriously injured.”
“It’s not that bad?”
“It’s not like they’re on their deathbeds.”
For some reason, Leta had changed a lot. While she used to make an effort to wear a mask, now she had no hesitation in revealing her own despicable thoughts.
“Well, since the apothecary said so, I’ll give them some ointment and something to eat.”
“I’m giving them medicine because of me?”
Why is this suddenly happening? Idun couldn’t figure it out.
Before stepping outside, Idun had expected Leta to rush at him like lightning as soon as she saw him. Or maybe he expected her to kneel and beg for a cure.
But the Leta he actually faced was completely different from what Idun had anticipated. Although she clearly expressed her thoughts and emotions, she didn’t oppress or even look at Idun.
“Is that okay? Should we go inside and talk? I’m feeling uncomfortable standing out here.”
“No. Let’s talk outside.”
Idun, who had been lost in thought for a moment, spoke firmly as he blocked the door with his whole body.
“Not allowed?”
Leta’s face contorted for a moment at his resolute attitude. However, she soon responded casually as if nothing had happened.
“Sure. Let’s not talk about it outside. Just bring a few chairs with you.”
When Leta shouted loudly for the chairs, a security guard who was standing a little far away quickly brought wooden chairs from another store.
As soon as Leta sat down on the chair, she opened her mouth.
“What should we talk about first?”
“There’s nothing long to talk about, right? After all, you came for the treatment method, didn’t you?”
That’s true too.”
Leta tilted her head slightly.
“But there are other matters as well.”
“Other matters?”
“Yeah. I thought it would be nice if we could do a pharmaceutical business together.”
I thought she was going to talk about the Ropner treatment method, but suddenly she mentioned a business. The feeling of unease caused by Leta’s strange attitude since earlier was not pleasant at all.
“It’s not difficult. The pharmacist only needs to teach the method of making medicine.”
“You want me to teach the method of making medicine?”
“Yeah. It would be nice to start by teaching the medicine that can cure that woman’s illness.”
“What do you want to do once I teach you?”
“What can a merchant do other than doing business?”
Leta smiled and said.
“It’s something I’m already doing in Melou. Selling medicine at high prices by monopolizing it.”
“You’re still doing that business?”
“Well, technically it’s not me, but someone else. It’s fine. I’m confident I can do well too.”
There was no reason to listen anymore. Idun firmly expressed his refusal.
“Pass. I don’t want to play around with medicine that is directly related to people’s lives.”
“If it’s something directly related to people’s lives, then it’s even more appropriate for the pharmacist to join hands, right? It’s much better for us to produce a slightly more expensive but reliable medicine than to take a medicine made by an amateur and suffer the consequences.”
“….”
“And this business. Someone is already doing it in Melou. Why wouldn’t there be doctors and pharmacists in Melou?”
They wanted to monopolize it. Leta smiled and said.
“If we supply the medicine at a slightly lower price than them, wouldn’t it be better for the people of Melou?”
‘Is Leta just a woman obsessed with money?’
Idun was astonished and remained silent, so Leta stood up from her seat and spoke.
“I’ll come back in three days. Until then, think about it again. Until then, I won’t interfere with Ropner and the pharmacy.”
Leta began to move, holding the chair as if she was telling the truth. As she saw that leaving it as it is would cause a bigger disturbance for Sarah, Eden quickly responded.
“No, there’s no need to come. My thoughts won’t change. I won’t try to persuade you anymore either, so I hope we never cross paths again. I’ll let the townspeople know the treatment method, so ask them if you need it.”
Persuading Leta would have been the best way, but Eden didn’t believe he could persuade someone obsessed with money.
He briefly thought of the inspector who was dispatched to Mellow, but even if he were to come, Mellow would still be under Leta’s control.
“If I can persuade only the townspeople, it might still be of some help to Sion and Rope.”
After finishing his words, Eden turned his body and tried to enter the house.
“You’re going to let the townspeople know the treatment method?”
As Eden grabbed the doorknob, he heard Leta’s low voice.
“No, you can’t. It’s unfair like this.”
Leta’s muttering could be heard again. Suddenly, Eden felt his body tremble.
Thud.
Along with Leta’s flushed face, Eden fell to the floor.
“Who wants to see someone go crazy?”
Leta, who had climbed onto Eden’s body, grabbed his neck and started shaking him like a mad person.
*
When he heard that Eden took Rope with him, Leta had intended to threaten him to find out the treatment method. Curing her father’s illness was more important than anything else.
But as she finished organizing the account book and calculated the money she gave to the snake pups who sold the medicine, she started to feel nauseated.
“I’ve spent that much money without even getting proper medicine.”
Just the money she had given them would probably be equivalent to a year’s budget for a large territory. Yet, Leta still had a huge debt to repay.
And that was not all.
She also had to pass on the information about Melo’s doctors and pharmacists.
The snake pups had used that information to recruit capable doctors and pharmacists to their side. They had successfully driven away any indecisive individuals from Melo, no matter what means they used.
The reason was that it would be difficult to raise the price of medicine if there were other doctors and pharmacists in Melo.
“We’re only able to keep our lives by supplying medicine. So, they should listen to our demands.”
For the sake of her father, Leta had no choice but to meet their demands. At that time, she believed it was the best option.
But looking back, she realized she had only been used by those snake pups without even obtaining proper medicine.
Leta felt incredibly unjust and angry about this fact.
“I want revenge.”
If not revenge, she wanted to somehow give them a taste of suffering. She wanted to get rid of her debt and never have to worry about money again.
To do that, she needed a pharmacist with more talent than anyone else. That was why Leta sought out Eden, with the intention of persuading him, even after getting rid of her anger towards Rope.
“I stepped back one step! So you should also compromise one step!”
If Eldun continued to reveal this treatment method to the villagers, the villagers would no longer give medicine to the snake bastards.
In that case, revenge would be impossible, and all the damages caused by the snake bastards would fall on Leta, it was obvious.
“You’re just seeking revenge on the snake bastards! Instead of helping, why do you interfere? You even accepted Lophne, who spread the epidemic!”
“….”
Even in the face of Leta’s plea, Eldun only frowned and looked at her.
“Answer me!”
Leta raised her voice again.
But this time, Eldun did not respond. Instead, a voice of a stranger came from a distance.
“Snake bastards? Who are you talking about?”
Leta slowly turned her head.
Not far away, there was a young boy and a knight with a muscular physique looking at her.