TBVL 08

In Search of the Betrayed Villainess’s Backer

Chapter 8

My mind was in chaos, but my body kept carrying out what needed to be done.

I handed a cloth soaked in cyan juice to the physician dressed in white. Taking it from me, he began disinfecting Selin’s body by gently dabbing her skin.

Meanwhile, people rushed to put out the fire, while others jumped into the wreckage to rescue anyone trapped inside.

The makeshift shelter set up at the edge of the village was already filled with patients.

My heart pounded rapidly.

-3
+1
-6
+2

“Hngh… Cough!”

“Selin! Selin… Please.”

The physician moved his hands frantically. He fed Selin medicine, wiped her burned skin with water infused with medicinal herbs, and desperately tried to save her.

But I could see it.

Her condition was worsening faster than the medicine could take effect.

At this rate, that child would die.

The image of the little girl who had wasted away and died in the hospital overlapped with Selin again and again.

No, Violeta.

“Ugh… Aaaah!”

Have you lost your mind? Get a grip. Don’t put yourself in danger just because you want to save someone else.

“No! Selin! Please… please! If I lose Selin too, I’ll die, Doctor…”

Damn it.

“That alone won’t be enough.”

“What—”

“Move.”

Just this once.

Really.

Just this once.

I pulled a potion out of my inventory and strode toward Selin.

I could feel everyone staring at me in confusion.

My hair… did it change back?

The thought suddenly crossed my mind.

As I lowered my head, strands of pink hair cascaded down before my eyes.

Fortunately, it had returned to my original hair color.

“Hey. Who are you?”

“I’m a physician.”

“I’ve never seen a physician like you around here. Where are you from?”

The doctor, drenched in sweat, questioned me sharply.

I understood his suspicion.

But there wasn’t time for this.

The child was dying even as we spoke.

“I said move. Can’t you see she’s barely breathing?”

“Please… Please save her! Please! Selin… You can’t leave your mother behind. Please…”

But the physician refused to budge.

His gaze landed on the potion in my hand.

His expression immediately stiffened.

“A… A dark mage…!”

“Ah… You’ve got to be kidding me. Dark mage or not, if you want to save the child, then move!”

-7
+1
-12

The moment another series of negative numbers appeared, I snapped.

Using all my strength, I shoved the physician aside.

Caught completely off guard, he let out a startled cry and tumbled onto the ground.

Without hesitation, I rushed to Selin’s side and grabbed her hand.

Status: Fire-induced erosion. Respiratory burns. Severe pain. Organ damage.

Her condition is much worse than I thought.

I needed to treat the burns to her airway first while dealing with the other injuries at the same time.

The problem was…

What I had wasn’t enough to completely heal her.

I looked around.

Fortunately, a temporary workstation for preparing medicine had been set up in one corner of the shelter.

First, I had to stabilize her.

Then I’d make a new medicine.

One by one, the things I needed to do lined themselves up clearly in my mind.

Without another moment’s hesitation, I uncapped the potion.

That was when—

“Stop!”

A middle-aged man with fierce eyes strode toward me.

Only then did I realize that quite a crowd had gathered around us.

When did so many people get here?

The air was still thick with the acrid smell of smoke, and desperate voices calling for missing loved ones echoed from every direction.

Yet none of that registered in my eyes anymore.

All I could see were the villagers surrounding me with hostile expressions, their faces and clothes stained black with soot.

The physician I had shoved aside hurried back through the crowd and resumed treating Selin.

“Pour this little by little. Yes.”

“D-Doctor… she’ll be all right, won’t she? My daughter… she’ll survive, right?”

“…I’ll do everything I can.”

-15
+5
-7
+3

And Selin…

As she received his treatment, she slowly continued dying.

A large man stepped out from the crowd of gathered villagers.

His face was blackened with soot, leaving only his eyes glowing with fierce intensity.

“Put down what’s in your hand. Right now.”

“You said you wanted to save her. You begged someone to save her.”

“That doesn’t mean we’ll use something cursed!”

Damn it.

Cursed? What cursed object?

I couldn’t understand why these people hated potions so much.

Just two years ago, it hadn’t been like this.

I may have been the most famous potion maker, but I wasn’t the only one.

People who couldn’t convert aether into mana and become mages could still sense and manipulate aether itself, making potion making one of the easiest professions for them to pursue.

“You think we’re going to fall for it again?”

“R-Right! Don’t be fooled. Things like that only make people worse.”

“Lord Tinte warned us, didn’t he? Anything that goes against the natural order will eventually bring disaster. Just look at what happened to his own son—”

Everyone spoke over one another.

The stares directed at me were openly hostile.

Feeling suffocated, I tugged at my collar and loosened my robe.

The cold air touched my skin, but it did nothing to ease the tightness in my chest.

What happened to the potion makers who remained over the past two years?

Otherwise, there was no way the reputation of potions could have collapsed so suddenly.

Of course, I had no way of knowing right now.

“Hngh… huff… haa…”

Selin struggled desperately to breathe.

Her condition was deteriorating so quickly that everyone present could see it.

I shut my eyes tightly and gathered my thoughts.

How can I convince them?

If I had decided to save her, then I had to save her.

And even if I failed…

I had to do everything I possibly could.

Soon, I made up my mind.

“So…”

My voice came out hoarse.

“What you’re saying is…”

“You don’t want this child to die. You want to save her. That’s exactly why you think I shouldn’t use this potion.”

I met their eyes without backing down.

Even then, my attention kept drifting back to Selin lying there.

“We’re saying we can’t stand by and watch you force poison down the throat of a dying child.”

One of the villagers answered.

A dry smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I looked at him.

This is a first.

I’d be lying if I said it didn’t upset me.

I’d always lived a life where my abilities were recognized, not one where I had to prove them.

That made situations like this unfamiliar.

“Then…”

“If I prove with my own body that this potion is safe…”

“You’ll believe me.”

It had to be done.

Lowering my gaze, I spotted the physician’s white robe.

Beside him was the bag he had brought.

I walked over, grabbed it, and picked it up.

“What are you—”

I threw the bag open.

As expected, it contained medical instruments.

Opening a neatly organized case, I took out a tool that looked like a scalpel.

“What are you doing?! Give that back right now!”

The scalpel flashed in my hand.

Startled, the villagers instinctively took a step backward.

I wrapped my right hand tightly around the blade.

“Watch carefully.”

Slash.

“AAAH!”

“W-What have you done?!”

“Doctor! Doctor!”

Drip.

Drip.

Liquid splattered onto the ground.

A moment later, the scalpel clattered down beside it.

The pain instantly made me furrow my brow.

I had expected it…

But it hurt even more than I imagined.

“Ah…”

“It really hurts like hell.”

For a brief moment, I wondered,

Did I really have to go this far?

But it was already done.

I didn’t regret it.

Blood dripped steadily from the deep gash across my left forearm.

The villagers froze in shock at the sight.

From the distance, Maria finally realized what had happened and rushed over, grabbing my arm.

“My goodness, Rita! Are you all right?”

“Yeah…”

“It really hurts.”

Maria hurriedly pulled out a hemostatic agent, but I stopped her.

There was something I needed to show them first.

I walked toward the stunned crowd and raised my injured arm high.

So they could clearly see the wound.

So the image of blood dripping from the gaping cut would be burned into their minds.

“Watch closely.”

“See for yourselves…”

“Whether this is poison…”

“Or medicine capable of saving a person’s life.”