The White Cat That Swore Vengeance Was Just Lazing on the Dragon King’s Lap - Volume 7 - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The First Patient

It had been three days since the first prince started taking Pearl’s cure. They always said that good medicine was bitter, but this medicine wasn’t that. It was, simply put, something unfit for any living organism to consume. Curiosity got the better of Ruri, and she licked a tiny dab she put on her fingertip, but that was enough to make her break down into tears.

The first prince went through a hellish loop of taking the devilish medicine, fainting, waking up, being forced to take it again, and fainting again. It was reported that this painful cycle helped him make a full recovery, but there was no doubt that it caused him considerable trauma. He even gave a terrifying account that while rendered unconscious, he could see his mother waving at him from the other side of an open field full of flowers.

As the prince was fighting the medicine and the hallucinations, an investigation was started under the direction of Corundum, and much to everyone’s surprise, a contract with the Reapers was found in the third prince’s room. The contract mentioned poisoning food in order to kill the emperor and the first prince. It was apparently found with documents about the tachyotoxian insects. The third prince naturally denied ever seeing the contract, but it was damning evidence.

Ruri and her group, on the other hand, knew that the Reapers had already been dissolved according to Gibeon, a living witness, and that the real Reapers had never killed a single person. Essentially, the contract was a fake. Ruri confirmed this with Gibeon again through the Spirit of Light in the Nation of the Dragon King, and he replied that the Reapers never bothered with troublesome things like contracts.

They weren’t able to discern whether the contract itself was a forgery or whether the job was real, and they couldn’t tell who the fake Reaper was who drew it up. The handwriting on the document was very similar to that of the third prince, but it could have been forged in any number of ways if someone had wanted to. It was also possible that someone had it made in order to frame the third prince.

Seeing as how no one knew who the true culprit was, the first prince was in danger of possibly being targeted again if people knew that he was cured. Therefore, the first prince pretended that he was still bedridden to keep his condition a secret. The only people who knew the truth were the ones present when he took the medicine.

Corundum decided to not inform his other sons. While it meant that he doubted them, it was a contingency plan nonetheless. It was also most likely a decision that tore Corundum up on the inside.

Pearl, Ruri, and the rest had to stay behind because there was a possibility of others falling to the tachyotoxian’s venom. However, if they just kept on waiting for something to happen, they would never leave the Imperial Nation.

Everyone brainstormed to at least figure out how the first prince had been poisoned, which led them to search for anyone else in the nation who had come down with the same illness. That, of course, was a job for the Spirit of Wind. Ruri asked Kotaro to search for anyone who fit the description.

“Well, Kotaro? Find anything?” she asked.

“It’s going to take some time to search the entire Imperial Nation, so I’m only covering the capital for now.”

“Thank you. I’m counting on you, Kotaro.”

“Fear not,” said Kotaro with a somewhat proud expression. He was evidently very happy that Ruri was relying on him, because his tail was wagging like wild.

Meanwhile, Rin looked on, displeased. “Hey, I’m useful too~!” she said adorably, bumping into Ruri in a jealous huff.

“Don’t worry. I know. Thank you for always coming with me when I go into town.”

“Heh heh. Yep. It’s because Kotaro is too big to follow you into town,” Rin said with a smug expression, peeking over at Kotaro.

“Grr... Yes, but right now, I’m the one useful to Ruri.”

“You don’t have to be so competitive. I appreciate you both equally,” Ruri assured them, awkwardly smiling about the pleasant sentiments of the two spirits. That was until she was suddenly lifted up off the ground. “Hywah!”

It was Jade, who was looking at her with dissatisfaction as well.

“Erm, why are you making that face, if you don’t mind me asking?” Ruri inquired.

“You don’t know why?” Jade asked back.

“Not a clue.”

Her answer made Jade sulk even more. “I know that you’re a Beloved, and I’m trying to be considerate, but don’t you think you’ve been neglecting time with me as of late?”

“Have I?” Ruri wondered, clueless.

“You have!” Jade said with assurance, which made it hard for Ruri to deny it. “We’re still in what you could consider the honeymoon phase, yet one problem after another arises, and you’re constantly minding the spirits. Plus, there’s the extra added nuisance of Gibeon.”

“Um, Jade-sama, you were the one who brought Gibeon back,” Ruri reminded him. She wasn’t sure how to deal with that specific qualm.

“Maybe I should squash that insect...”

“You’re kidding, right?!”

Jade’s eyes were serious. Ruri debated whether she should write a letter to Gibeon back home that told him to run while he had a chance.

“Lord Kotaro, the search will still take some time, I presume?” Jade inquired.

“Yes.”

“In that case, I’ll be taking Ruri all to myself until then.”

Jade then walked to the bedroom with Ruri in his arms. Kotaro’s dissatisfied face was the last thing Ruri saw before Jade slammed the door shut.

Now all alone in the bedroom, Jade sat Ruri on the bed and lay beside her. “It’s finally just the two of us,” he murmured, the corners of his mouth twisting into a smirk as he twirled Ruri’s hair.

Jade’s face looked relaxed, as if he had been freed from any and all tension. Ruri lay down next to him, and smiles naturally formed on their faces as they looked at one another. Perhaps it was because the tension that had plagued them ever since arriving in the Imperial Nation had finally lessened thanks to their unlikely savior, Pearl. Although the problem hadn’t been solved, no one was going to complain if the two of them spent a little time together.

“Wouldn’t you prefer my cat form, Jade-sama?” Ruri asked, thinking that Jade was due for a treatment for his cuddle deficiency.

“No. While I love your cat form, I want you to remain as you are. I’m afraid I might crush you if you’re a cat,” Jade admitted before pulling Ruri gently into his arms and taking her into his embrace.

Ruri snuggled her cheek against the warmth of Jade’s face. “You know, Jade-sama, it’s been a good while since we’ve been able to spend time like this.”

“Indeed. You have too many people vying for your affection. I completely understand how Master Quartz felt now.”

“How Quartz-sama felt?”

“Yes, I want to lock you in your room and not let you see anyone other than me.”

“I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t do that. I’m not the type who can stay cooped up in my room. Seraphie-san is truly amazing, because I could never do that.”

“Yes, I know that all too well. You would probably run away in three days,” Jade said, sighing like a mother disappointed in their child—a reaction that Ruri thought was rude. “But just keep in mind that’s how much I care about you.” Jade then dropped a smooch on Ruri’s cheek.

“Yes, I’m well aware,” Ruri remarked.

“I feel like you aren’t yet. I’m pretty confident that you would run away as fast as you could if you could read my mind,” Jade confessed.

“Oh, please,” Ruri shot back with a chuckle.

Ruri wasn’t sure what Jade had considered, but she was confident that she wouldn’t run away over trivial matters. If she could just easily leave, she would have run away long ago.

“Well, if you could read my mind, Jade-sama, I’m pretty sure you would be breathing easier,” Ruri said, assuring Jade of how much she loved him. It might not have been enough to compare to the dragonkin’s intense form of love, but it was still substantial. “I am a Beloved, so the spirits are often by my side, but there’s not a day that goes by where I forget about you, Jade-sama. Just so you know, I think that I love you ten times more than you think I do.”

It was Ruri’s turn, and she planted a light kiss on Jade.

When Ruri saw the smile on Adularia’s face as she said goodbye, she had thought to herself that she wanted to smile at Jade like that in her final moments too. Adularia’s face had been so rich with love. That was the image she wanted to leave in Jade’s memory for all time, plain and simple. Ruri thought of that and smiled, because it would be one of many memories that she would spend her life engraving onto Jade’s heart.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

The next day, once Ruri and Jade exited their room, Kotaro was waiting with his tail wagging.

“Good morning, Kotaro. Did you find anything?” Ruri asked.

“Good morning, Ruri. It seems that a person who fits the description was in the imperial capital a while ago.”

“Really?!”

“They have already died, but there was indeed a man who had the same illness as the emperor. He died before the emperor fell ill, and there was a doctor who was examining him. He seems to be in the middle of a lot right now, but do you want to go speak to him directly?”

“Jade-sama?” Ruri prompted and turned to Jade. Ruri couldn’t make this decision on her own.

“I’ll discuss this with Corundum,” Jade said and left the room. He returned a short time after.

“What did he say?” Ruri asked.

“We’re allowed to investigate the matter Lord Kotaro looked up for us,” Jade answered. “If Imperial Nation soldiers were mobilized and this person has ties with the culprit, then it might tip them off. Also, with Adularia’s passing and the first prince being declared bedridden, the struggle for the throne has intensified, and there’s an extremely limited pool of troops that can be sent out. Corundum would rather us not be involved given we’re from a foreign nation, but there are few he can trust at the moment, so he has to rely on us.”

“So you’re concerned about Corundum-sama?”

“I’m saying that the hole that Adularia left isn’t so easily filled. Corundum is just the imperial consort, after all.”

The position of imperial consort only held meaning with Adularia around. Corundum was currently in command of the national government until the next emperor was determined, but there wasn’t much authority available to him as an imperial consort without any right to the throne.

Out of all of the imperial princes who were supposed to support their father, the first prince had been declared ill, the second was out of the country, the third was trying to curry favor with the nobles in order to capitalize on his brother’s being incapacitated, and the fourth—no one knew what he was doing. Adularia probably would have scolded them to get their acts together if she were around, but there was no one in the Imperial Nation at the moment who could serve as a reliable substitute for her.

“To be honest, I doubt that any of the princes would be able to run the country as well as Adularia even if they do become emperor,” Jade said, rubbing his temples in concern and worry. “If Corundum assists them, things will run smoothly on the surface, but I can’t imagine any of them listening to orders once they gain authority. They may be highly talented, but that very talent might drive them to not listen to advice and go out of control. Adularia most likely managed to keep the reins on all of them, but the same can’t be said now.”

Ruri couldn’t comment because she’d been trying to avoid meeting any of the imperial princes, but seeing as how Jade had spoken with them on a few occasions, he had a more informed opinion.

“We have to let the nation decide that for themselves,” Ruri said. “After all, you can’t be the one who decides the next emperor.”

“That’s true. But just thinking about how I’ll have to deal with them as members of the allied nations gives me a headache,” Jade replied.

Adularia was a reasonable person, but that didn’t mean that her successor would be as well. However, now wasn’t the time to fret over succession to the imperial throne.

“All of that aside, why don’t we hurry off to that doctor?” Ruri suggested.

“Yes, right. That matter takes precedent,” Jade agreed.

Ruri turned to Kotaro and asked, “Kotaro, do you know where that doctor is right now?”

“I do. I’m keeping an eye on him as we speak.”

“In that case, Jade-sama?”

“Right.”

And so they were off to the imperial capital, but Ruri and Jade couldn’t go alone, so Finn was with them. As usual, Kotaro was too large and conspicuous to take with them, so he stayed behind, and Ruri took a single wind spirit in his stead. Of course, Rin, who could keep concealed in Ruri’s pocket, came along for the ride.

“I should have inhabited a small body too,” Kotaro lamented.

Nevertheless, Kotaro’s soft and fluffy body was Ruri’s favorite, so she much rather he kept as he was. If he ever suggested changing his body, then Ruri would definitely stop him.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

The imperial capital was as lively as the Nation of the Dragon King’s royal capital. Although not much time had passed since Adularia’s passing, the people seemed to have regained a grasp on their everyday lives.

Guided by the wind spirit, Ruri and her group visited a small clinic just outside the heart of the capital. Surprisingly, a long line of people who appeared to be patients were in front of the building.

“Are these all patients?” Ruri wondered aloud.

“Yes,” Jade guessed. “We can’t push past all those people to talk to the doctor first, so I guess we’ll have to wait in line.”

If they had revealed their status, they might have been able to cut in line, but considering that everyone here was visiting because of some kind of illness, they were reluctant to pull rank. They had no choice but to wait their turn at the end of the line.

Figuring the doctor was very skilled, Ruri asked a housewife with a child in line about the doctor. “Is the line here always this long?”

“Oh dear, is this your first time visiting here?”

“Yes.”

“Well, you see, the doctor here is very skilled. They say that he used to serve as a doctor in the palace long ago.”

“Huh?! Is that true?”

“From what I’ve heard. Despite being such a great doctor, he gave up his position and treats us commoners for cheap. We truly appreciate all he’s done for us.”

The doctor seemed to be a very respected individual. Ruri didn’t want to think that he would be involved with Adularia’s and the first prince’s poisonings.

“The doctor also does research on diseases that are considered strange illnesses without cures. He’s created a number of medicines that cure incurable ailments and has even been honored by the state,” the woman stated proudly and boastfully, as if she were speaking of her own accolades. “Oh, speaking of which, I heard that someone died of unknown circumstances the other day. I think that was shortly before the emperor’s death?”

Ruri and Jade exchanged looks, but the woman continued on without noticing the serious shift in Ruri’s expression.

“The doctor is a kind soul, and he was devastated that he couldn’t save him. But I hear that he gained consent from the patient’s family and stored their blood and organs for research purposes. I’m sure he will come up with a new medicine to help cure the illness. People will patiently wait for hours on end to get the chance to be examined by such a wonderful doctor. You came here because of some sort of illness too, right? I hope you get better.”

“Right, thank you very much,” Ruri graciously replied. She then whispered to Jade and Finn, “Does that have anything to do with our case?”

“He’s taking his patients’ blood under the name of research? In that case, maybe he’s using that blood to...” Jade trailed off.

“He is also a former palace doctor. He might be well-known among the people there,” Finn noted.

Unsettling predictions started to pop up in their heads.

After waiting a considerably long time, Ruri’s group was finally up.

“Next, come on in~!”

“Finally,” Jade murmured under his breath.

They were all showing signs of fatigue, but it was time to get to work, so they pulled themselves together and entered the building.

In the small examination room, a man who looked to be about Ruri’s grandfather’s age was sitting and waiting. “Come on in. All three of you together? What are your symptoms?”

“We’re not patients,” Jade said, stepping forward.

“You’re not? Then what are you here for?” asked the doctor, perplexed.

“We’ve come to talk to you. I understand that you treated a patient with an unknown illness shortly before the emperor’s passing. Did you collect that patient’s blood? Is it here?”

“Who are you three?”

“I’ll simply say that we’ve come from the Nation of the Dragon King. We need to consult you. I hope for your cooperation for the sake of this nation.”

Perhaps Jade’s sincerity got through to the doctor, because after a moment of thinking, the doctor sat up straight and said, “I’d like to give priority to the patients waiting outside at the moment. Can we do this after the clinic hours?”

“Very well. We’ll drop by again around then,” Jade said, putting his arm around Ruri’s shoulder and leaving the examination room.

Once outside, Ruri asked Jade, “Was it a good idea to leave? That doctor might be our culprit.”

“Yes, but he said he wanted to prioritize the patients, so I doubt he would open up and talk to us if we were to insist that he talk now. Also, I have Finn keeping an eye out if he does anything suspicious.”

“Huh?” Ruri looked around to see that Finn was nowhere to be found. “When did he...?”

“I noticed when he left,” Rin chimed in, poking her head out of Ruri’s pocket.

“Hmm... Then what do we do in the meantime?”

“We’ll go visit the house of that patient,” Jade suggested.

“Good idea,” agreed Ruri before turning to the wind spirit. “Let’s see... Do you know where it is?”

“Over here!” said the spirit as it proceeded to lead the way.

Ruri and the others arrived at a house in a quiet residential area. They knocked on the door, and it wasn’t long before a woman came to greet them.

“Yes, who might you be?” she asked.

Believing that the woman would be less wary of talking to another woman, Ruri said, “Sorry to drop in on you, ma’am. But we’re here because we’d like to talk to you about the individual who died here a short time ago.”

“Do you mean my husband?”

“Oh, it was your husband?”

“Yes... Please, come inside. We can have this conversation sitting down.”

“Thank you. Pardon the intrusion.” Ruri stepped inside and immediately regretted her decision. “Yeek!”

What caused Ruri to cling to Jade in sheer terror was what she saw before her—dozens upon dozens of insect specimens.

“Oh my, there are so many. Humans really are cruel, aren’t they?” Rin commented.

“Jade-sama, please go ahead of me! I can’t handle bugs!”

Jade giggled amusedly, but it was no laughing matter to Ruri.

The woman then apologized. “I’m sorry. My husband was an insect researcher. As you can imagine, I’ve gotten used to it, but I used to scream even louder than you did at first. Just sit tight for a second,” she said, clearing the specimens out of the room and ushering Ruri and Jade in.

Finally relieved, Ruri drank the tea the woman provided her. “I’m sorry to make you go through the trouble,” she said apologetically.

“Hee hee hee, it’s fine. With my husband gone, it’s just me by myself, so any guests are more than welcome.”

“We overheard that your husband passed away because of unknown causes or something of the sort?” Ruri started.

“Yes, that’s right. It happened so suddenly. He was a strong and healthy man who never caught a cold a day in his life. I’m not sure what it was, but he heard stories of a very rare bug in a faraway land, and he rushed over. I mean, that was pretty common for him, so I didn’t even pay it any mind, but when he came back home, he was already having strange symptoms. The rest happened in the blink of an eye. I had a very skilled doctor examine him, but he didn’t have a clue as to what it was either.”

“The clinic of the former palace doctor, yes?”

“Yes, that gentleman. He researches strange diseases, so I agreed to donate my husband’s blood as a sample for his research. I figured that it would be better than letting my husband’s death be in vain, but his illness has remained a mystery to this day...” The woman trailed off and sadly cast her eyes down at the floor.

Jade and Ruri remained speechless at this heartbreaking display, until Jade asked, “What was this ‘rare insect’?”

“Oh, let’s see. I’m pretty sure my husband made a specimen out of one. Sit tight for a second.”

Ruri started shrieking internally. Telling them to “sit tight” meant that she was going to bring the insect specimen to them.

“I don’t want to see it, so you handle examining it, Jade-sama,” Ruri said as she buried her face in Jade’s arm.

The woman soon returned and placed a small box containing the specimen in front of Jade.

“Aah! That’s the tachyotoxian!” shouted Rin from out of Ruri’s pocket.

“What?!” Jade exclaimed.

“Huh? Really?!” Ruri asked, forgetting her aversion to insects and lifting her face to see the specimen. It was a very, very tiny bug resembling a ladybug, only a size smaller. The sight of this bug was okay for Ruri, so she stopped cowering and took a closer look at it. “Rin, are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m positive. The husband must’ve been bitten when he was collecting it. Then I’m guessing he died upon returning to the nation?”

“If so, that blood that she gave for research is dangerous. We’d best go retrieve it,” Jade said with a grave expression. He then turned to the woman and asked, “What did you do with his remains?”

“Oh, I just cremated them and put them at a grave marker like usual...”

“Rin, cremation doesn’t cause any issues, does it?” Ruri inquired.

“No, because they’ve turned to ash. The contaminated blood is what we should be afraid of. Maybe we should burn that specimen to be safe.”

“I’m sorry. Thank you very much. This is a presumptuous request, but could we possibly have this bug specimen?” Ruri asked the woman.

The woman looked puzzled. “Huh? But this is...”

It only made sense that she would want to hold on to it considering it was the last thing her husband had collected. However, this insect was extremely dangerous and couldn’t be left in the wild.

“Please! We really need this!” Ruri asked again, bowing deeply.

Jade followed in turn. “Please, miss. We humbly beseech you.”

They kept their heads lowered, determined not to raise them until they gained her consent. With a small sigh, the woman placed the tiny box containing the specimen in Ruri’s hand.

“I understand. Please take it with you.”

“Thank you very much, ma’am!” Ruri said as she bowed deeply once more.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

After leaving the woman’s house, Ruri and the others returned to the clinic. It was almost closing time, so they reconvened with Finn outside and patiently waited for the last patient to leave before entering. This time, they were led to a reception room instead of the examination room.

“Now then, let’s hear about what happened in more detail,” Ruri started.

“You apparently collected blood from someone who died of unknown causes shortly before the emperor passed away, yes?” Jade asked. “The man who was researching insects?”

“Yes, I remember that person,” the doctor answered. “When I examined his blood sample, his blood itself had transformed into poison. When I tested it on animals, a single drop was enough for them to develop the same symptoms, and it slowly eroded away at them until they died. Also, the blood of those animals became poisonous, and any other life-form that ingested them would get infected, causing a negative chain reaction of sorts. I trembled in fear at how transmissive it was.”

“I’ll skip straight to the point. Did you give that blood to the emperor or the first imperial prince?” asked Jade.

“Huh?” the doctor uttered, looking blankly at them as if he had just heard something completely unexpected.

“Well?” Jade prodded.

“A-Absolutely not! I know how transmissive that blood is better than anyone else. There’s still no cure, so if I were to do that, they would have surely die—”

The doctor stopped midsentence. He must have realized what actually killed the emperor and that he was a suspect.

“W-Wait! I didn’t do anything! Honestly! Please believe me!” he desperately pleaded. His lips were trembling, and his face was pale. His fearful appearance suggested that he hadn’t done anything outrageous like assassinating the emperor.

“But weren’t you a palace doctor? You must know many people from the palace. You could have had the blood delivered to the emperor, yes?”

“I left the palace long ago! I don’t have the power to do that now! I swear! You’ll see that I’m innocent if you look into it!”

“Then someone else could have taken the blood and given it to the emperor?” Jade questioned.

“W-Well, many doctors come to study my research, but...”

Jade didn’t miss the look of realization in the doctor’s eyes. “But what?”

“O-Oh, nothing,” the doctor said, averting his eyes.

“If you realized something, then you’d best tell us for your own good.”

“But, sir, it just can’t be. That gentleman is a very kindhearted person, not the type to do something so monstrous.”

“Who?” Jade asked, staring a hole in the doctor.

“H-He has been supporting me for some time now. He has come here several times to gain medical knowledge and has even graciously assisted me with my research. He was very interested in hearing about the blood as well.”

“And who was it?” Jade pressed.

“Well, it was...”

Everyone was taken aback by the name that came out of the doctor’s mouth.