The man had red hair pushed neatly back over his forehead. His sharp eyes and sculpted nose bore a strong resemblance to Kanna’s father. Despite how many years had passed, Kanna recognized him instantly: after all, they were family.

“Duchess Valentino.”

Looking into his green eyes, she felt her childhood memories wash over her.

“Dear sister. Please stand aside. You’re in my way.”

“I’ve dropped my book in the garden. Please go fetch it, dear sister.”

“Please do not speak to me. You smell like the gutter.”

Her half-brother Kalen Addis had treated her like a servant, even as he mockingly called her “dear sister.” He used to be so small, but now...

“What might you be doing here?”

He’s all grown up. And his eyes are even colder than before.

“I have some business to attend to. But...” Kanna’s gaze moved past him to the other passenger in the carriage. A young girl was sitting behind Kalen, as still as if she were asleep. The dark veil hanging from her hat obscured her face. Who is she? As if in answer, an opportune gust of wind fluttered the veil, revealing the girl’s face in its entirety.

Kanna’s eyes shot wide open. That’s...

“Did you see it?” Kalen asked forbiddingly. When Kanna failed to respond, he asked again slower and sharper, glaring savagely at her. “I asked if you saw Lucy’s face.”

Lucy Addis was the family’s youngest daughter, born seven years ago—just after Joohwa’s marriage. Kanna had heard word of Lucy’s birth, but of course had never once met her.

“Did you see her?” Kalen asked impatiently for the third time.

Of course she had. Though she hadn’t meant to, she’d seen Lucy’s face clear as day. And she now understood why that little girl was wearing such a veil. Kanna kept silent for a moment before her professional curiosity took over. “Have you taken her to see a doctor?”

“Shut your mouth!” Kalen swung the carriage door open and stomped out. In just a moment, he was standing before Kanna. “If you tell anyone what you saw, you’ll pay dearly for it,” he threatened, his voice low and menacing.

She could understand why. Lucy’s face was twisted and distorted, as if some force were pulling her facial muscles in all directions. Kanna was familiar with her condition. That looks like facial paralysis. In this world, they had yet to discover a treatment for this condition, and it was thought of as a case of demon possession.

“Do you understand me? If you ever say anything about this to anyone—”

“Is the treatment going well?”

“Excuse me?”

“I asked if the treatment was going well,” Kanna repeated, ignoring her brother’s threats. “Did you just come from the doctor? What did he say? Can he help?”

Kalen stared at his half-sister with shock and suspicion. He hadn’t seen this sister of his once in the long years since she’d left home to be married. And yet...

“How long has she been ill? And how long was it before the treatment began?”

He was dumbstruck. He’d never seen his sister speak so clearly or hold another’s gaze so steadily before. “This is none of your concern. Return to the Valentino estate this instant,” he snapped.

Kanna sensed that the treatment wasn’t going well. Everything about Kalen, his eyes, voice, and expression, belonged to the guardian of a patient showing no signs of improvement. “Shall I help?”

“What... did you say?”

“I’ll treat Lucy. In return, let me stay for a while.”

“Ha!” Kalen scoffed, but his ridicule soon shifted into fury. He buried his face in his hands, as if suppressing his surging rage. The veins in his huge hands bulged with tension. In a low voice, he gave a final warning. “Leave. How could you possibly accomplish what even the most famed doctors in the western continent have failed to do?”

Lucy Addis, his little sister, had only been seven years old when disaster struck. She’d fallen ill with a persistent fever, and after long suffering her face had twisted grotesquely. No doctor could help her, and some were beginning to suggest she be sent to the Grand Temple to exorcise the demon possessing her. And yet here was Kanna, making it sound like the treatment was a simple matter.

“Stop talking nonsense and leave.”

“It isn’t nonsense. I know what I’m talking about. Just give me a chance.”

He could stand it no longer. Kalen grabbed Kanna by the shoulders and stuck his face in hers. “You don’t know anything—!” His expression stiffened. His words trailed off into silence. This close, he could see past her shaggy mane of hair into those black eyes, which...

“Kalen Addis.”

...were frighteningly still.

“Get a hold of yourself and listen to me.” Kanna was completely calm, unfazed by his outburst. Seeing himself reflected in those unperturbed eyes, Kalen could see that he had let his emotions get the better of him. He released his grip.

“Don’t you want your sister to recover?” Kanna demanded.

Of course he did. He wanted nothing more. But no one seemed to know what to do. Every doctor he visited shook their head and turned him away.

“Apologies, my lord. This is beyond my capabilities.”

“I suggest you visit the Grand Temple.”

Visit the Grand Temple? Out of the question. At most it was to be their last resort, once they had truly exhausted all other avenues. But then, who was left to turn to? The thought was devastating. He would rather sink into the depths of the ocean than feel the weight of such utter helplessness.

And just when he was fumbling in the darkness for a helping hand...

“I’ll ask you one last time.”

…one sprang out before his eyes.

“I might be able to fix it. Give me the chance to examine her.”

Kalen stared at his half-sister.

“If you refuse again, I’ll just leave,” said Kanna, putting the choice in his hands. “What do you say?”

* * *

Perhaps for the better, the rest of the family wasn’t home at the moment. They were all attending a party at the royal family’s invitation.

“I need acupuncture needles.”

“Acupuncture needles? What are those?”

“They’re similar to regular needles, but much thinner. I’ll tell you the exact length and circumference that I need. Commission a magic stone craftsman for them, and make sure he uses the highest quality magic stones.” Kanna spoke as if she knew exactly what she was doing, but Kalen was still suspicious of her. Her conviction had persuaded him to let her into the manor, but he couldn’t understand what she could possibly do with tools that were essentially just needles. And using such costly magic stones?

Could I be clinging to false hope? But he had no other choice. He was desperate.

It’s still better than sending her to the temple. The Grand Temple was the territory of the Holy Spirit, housing the World Tree that purified the western continent. The laws of the empire didn’t apply to the Grand Temple, nor the rules of society, nor even common sense. A sacred and transcendental place, and thus an incredibly dangerous one, somewhere you could neither enter nor leave at will. There was no way he would send Lucy to a place like that.

“Have you studied medicine?”

Kanna had already prepared an answer to this question. “You know that I used to be obsessed with alchemy, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Well, in the course of my studies I realized that alchemy is related to medicine, and I ended up learning healing as well.”

“Alchemy, related to healing? I’ve never heard such a thing before,” Kalen said.

Of course you haven’t! I just made it up! But Kanna stuck to her story. “Yes, at least the alchemy that I studied. Anyway, I’m going to take a closer look at Lucy’s condition,” she said.

Her brother examined her skeptically. She’s become a totally different person. Perhaps time had changed her, but she no longer walked around stoop-shouldered and hunched into herself. Her shoulders were pulled back, her head held high, and she spoke her mind confidently without stuttering. She was entirely different from the sister he once knew.

How could someone change so drastically? What on earth happened in those years? Kalen shook his head. Forget it. This is no time to be wasting my attention on pointless matters, he thought, hastening to follow behind Kanna.