Chapter 2

After I finally calmed down, I was too embarrassed to lift my face, so I simply closed my eyes.

‘Why am I not moving on to the afterlife if I’ve said everything I wanted to say?’

Please, let me go to the afterlife now.

Please!

Rustle.

Even with my eyes closed, I suddenly felt someone move and flinched.

‘Oh right, I was still holding onto his clothes.’

Father had never been fond of me approaching him.

Thinking he must have felt uncomfortable, I quickly released my grip.

“What on earth are you saying.”

His voice turned cold and low, and I froze.

“Who told you something like that?”

“…No one.”

But you never liked me anyway.

You raised me out of obligation.

I couldn’t even call you Dad because I knew I had ruined your future.

‘If it hadn’t been for me… Mother would have survived.’

It was only natural for Father to resent me.

I was born out of wedlock.

A child with no proper background that Father suddenly brought home one day, calling me his.

Because of me, his position in the family weakened even more.

To make matters worse, the child he brought back was weak, frail, and had no proper ability.

So Father had no real standing within the household.

People pointed fingers, saying someone with a worthless ability would of course have a worthless child.

But Father was brilliant, so if not for me, he would have definitely earned recognition from the family.

‘He should have abandoned me early.’

If he had sent me away for adoption, at least one of us could have lived more comfortably.

At one time I resented him. At one time I hated him. At one time I cried over my situation.

But after Father fell ill, I found out.

I found the countless research documents in the underground laboratory.

I learned that Father had taken responsibility for me. That he had spent years trying to develop a cure for me.

“Anyway…”

If I hadn’t been here, he wouldn’t have overworked himself or fallen ill…

Wait.

I learned about Father’s illness when I was around ten.

It was an incurable disease.

No name, no known cause, yet it spread across the empire.

Oh.

‘…The cure!’

Doesn’t this mean I can save him?

The cure was developed when I was fifteen, but Father caught the disease too early and was already on the brink of death by then.

So even when the cure was completed, it was too late to treat him.

His remaining time was so short that the only way to save him was to use all of my life force. I couldn’t even use my ability properly.

‘Then right now, I can save him even without using my ability, can’t I?’

If I save him, I might live a little longer than sixteen this time.

‘If I grow up quickly, hand over the cure, and leave the family on my own like a mature child…’

Father will regain his place in the family, and I’ll become the perfect, admirable child.

‘I’ll be independent!’

Commoners usually hold their coming-of-age ceremonies at seventeen, but nobles sometimes make their debut at thirteen or fourteen if they are early.

A noble’s debut is also a sign that they are recognized as an adult.

‘Then independence might be possible too.’

I nodded in satisfaction.

“…I don’t know who told you something like that, but don’t keep useless talk in your head.”

“…What?”

“I didn’t expect to find people in this house who run their mouths like that.”

No, no one really comes here except you, Father.

The maids only come twice a day to bring meals. That’s it.

If you get on the bad side of the head of the family, you lose your rights. That’s how it works.

“Anyway…”

I gripped the blanket tightly.

“This time, it’ll be fine.”

“…”

Father’s cold features hardened even more at my words.

He had always been someone who rarely showed any expression, so it wasn’t surprising.

Thinking about it, he had always checked in on me occasionally and had never raised his hand against me.

“You’ll be happy, Father.”

Once I cure your illness and disappear.

And my illness can’t be cured anyway.

Strictly speaking, it’s not even a disease. I never told him because I didn’t want him to worry more.

“No, I’ll make sure you’re happy!”

I clenched my fists as I declared.

“…What?”

“So don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything!”

I’ll earn a lot of money, cure your illness, and help you walk away from this family that looks down on us just because we don’t have wealth.

‘Good thing I always read the newspaper.’

If I think carefully, there must be plenty of useful information.

When I smiled brightly, I saw Father’s pink eyes faintly crease in the darkness.

‘…Ah, right. Father hates it when I smile.’

I quickly lowered the corners of my mouth.

Father silently reached out and placed his large hand on my forehead.

“Are you feeling sick?”

“…No?”

“You seem to have a bit of a fever.”

He muttered seriously with a worried look. I must have seemed insane to him.

‘Fever is nothing new for me.’

I widened my eyes and shook my head side to side to show that I was fine.

Father gave me a strange look, then nodded.

“Anyway, take your medicine and rest well.”

“Yes. I’ll eat and rest properly. You don’t have to worry.”

Father stopped just as he was about to leave the room.

“I can do things on my own.”

My body might be small, but I was originally sixteen.

I had read nearly every book in the duke’s residence like a maniac for the printed word.

Being sick meant all I could do was sit in bed and read all day.

“Stop talking nonsense and sleep.”

“Yes. Good night, Father.”

I sat awkwardly with my head bowed. Father gave me a strange look, then left the room.

As soon as he was gone, I jumped out of bed.

I searched the room, found a notebook and a pen, and returned to bed.

It was nighttime, and only the moonlight seeped in.

‘First, let’s write down ways to make money.’

The timing of Father’s illness was crucial.

Trying to write with my tiny hands didn’t go as smoothly as I hoped.

And why was the quill bending this way and that as if it had a mind of its own.

Annoyed, I switched to a fountain pen.

I took my time to think through my plans.

1. Detect Father’s illness early. (Initial symptoms: dizziness, vision deterioration, numbness, increased drowsiness, appearance of black spots on the arms and body.)
2. Begin developing the cure for the incurable disease now! (Watch out for black animals like black foxes and black rabbits!)
3. Invest in textile and shipbuilding industries in Sanya to fill Father’s purse!
4. Subjugate the barbarian tribe that will invade the territory.
5. Restore Father’s image within the family!

After calmly organizing everything, I nodded.

Once Father fell ill, I read not only every article related to it in the newspapers but also every book on pharmacology I could find.

The surveillance around me had become lax, so I had secretly slipped out to meet various doctors as well.

Which means I already know the herbs used to make the cure. I just need to figure out the formula.

And since I’m here, experiments won’t be a problem.

Fortunately, scholars in the past discovered the pathogen behind the incurable disease that swept through the empire after extensive research.

It came from jet-black animals.

It spread from rare, black mountain creatures.

‘Honestly, it would be easiest if I caught the disease myself.’

I tilted my head at the thought.

Because as long as I still have some of my lifespan, I won’t die from most illnesses.

Ah, in this world, nobles are called those chosen by God and are granted divine abilities.

Father has the power to make plants grow quickly, and I have the Healing Ability, which allows me to heal anyone’s light wounds as long as they’re not dead.

The catch is that it consumes my life force…

In other words, my lifespan. And it has no effect on illnesses, plus I need some level of medical knowledge to use it properly.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

Maybe because my body was younger or because I had a slight fever, my eyelids grew heavy.

“…I’ll sleep for a bit first.”

Thud. I flopped onto the bed, pulled the blanket up, placed my hand on the lingering warmth, and closed my eyes.

Night had fallen.