Magic Academy's Bastard Instructor - Chapter 275: Lasting Happiness to You [3]

Chapter 275: Lasting Happiness to You [3]

From fishing to poetry, from painting to even the intricate art of tea making, Karina’s father, Zelliel, possessed far more interests than his life as a physician suggested.

Listening to him speak, watching the colorful emotions on his face whenever he talked about these small pleasures, Karina found nothing that resembled the monster history would later condemn as the Empress’s murderer.

Through their conversations, she saw a man who was patient, reflective, and oddly gentle. If anything, he seemed painfully ordinary.

And yet, Karina remained wary.

So Karina listened, observed, and remembered.

She would not fall for this illusion of a man who should have been her father.

“Lady Vanessa,” Zelliel said. “Have you ever walked through the palace gardens?”

Karina paused. “The outer grounds, yes. But not often.”

“They’re very well kept,” he continued. “The roses near the eastern corridor bloom earlier than they should, and the herb garden behind the gazebo receives more care than most people realize. Someone trims it every morning, long before the servants rotate shifts.”

“Is that so?”

Zelliel smiled. “I used to spend my breaks there when I was younger. Not here, of course. Another estate. Gardens have a way of calming the mind.”

“….”

“There’s a fig tree near the inner wall,” Zelliel went on. “It shouldn’t survive in this climate, but it does. I find that admirable.”

He sounded far too familiar with the palace grounds. Almost as if he had been observing them closely for some time. Karina scrutinized him for a moment longer, then breathed out a sigh.

“If you really admire the maintenance that much, Doctor,” she said, “then you should be saying that to the gardeners. They’re the ones who keep everything alive.”

Zelliel chuckled. “I have, actually. They rarely believe a physician would care about soil quality or pruning angles.”

“That’s because most actually don’t.”

“True,” he said. “But gardens and medicine aren’t so different. Both require patience. You can’t rush healing, and you can’t force growth. Do either, and you only end up killing what you meant to preserve.”

Karina crossed her arms. He sure had quite the vocabulary.

“And what do you think that says about this palace?” she asked.

“Gardens tell you a lot about the people who own them.”

“And what do they tell you about the Empress?” Karina asked.

Zelliel looked back at her.

“That she is terrified of things dying before she’s ready to let them go.”

It was an accurate assessment. Karina found herself agreeing with it almost immediately.

Yet there was a far more troubling question.

For nearly a year, Zelliel had treated Julia with consistent methods and familiar procedures. Only recently had that changed.

“Be honest with me, Doctor,” Karina began. “Is what you’re giving the Empress truly safe?”

“What is this sudden question, Lady Vanessa? Are you questioning my expertise as a physician?”

“No,” Karina replied. “I’m questioning whether you know what you’re giving her at all.”

Silence followed.

Zelliel let out a sigh. “I know exactly what it is. But knowing what something is does not mean knowing what it will become.”

Karina watched him carefully.

“What I’m administering is not a cure. I have said this from the first day, but a cure isn’t possible,” Zelliel continued. “But what I’m giving her is a suppressant. A temporary stabilizer meant to delay the inevitable. The longer it is used, the more unpredictable the outcome becomes.”

“And yet you still give it to her?”

“….”

Zelliel remained silent for a long moment.

“Between you and me, Lady Vanessa,” he began, “are you truly loyal to the crown?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Just a hunch.” He looked back at her. “I get the feeling you’re not here out of loyalty to Her Highness.”

Karina did not answer immediately, meeting his gaze head-on.

“Is there truly anyone who serves with unconditional loyalty?” Karina asked. “A hefty paycheck is enough to quench a dying man’s thirst.”

“Spoken like someone who’s seen desperation up close.”

“Haven’t we all?”

“Then tell me, Lady Vanessa. If not loyalty, what keeps you here?”

“Control,” Karina said calmly. “If I’m here, I know what’s happening. I know who moves which piece, and when.”

“And if you weren’t?”

“Then someone worse would be standing where I am now.”

“I see.”

They had been speaking like this for over a year now, almost daily. And while much to Karina’s begrudging acceptance, Zelliel never once spoke of his family again after that day, she could tell.

Zelliel was a man who did not have much time left.

It was not difficult to notice. One only had to follow him once. His home was a mess to the point of neglect. His meals were irregular, and the man barely slept.

The image he presented within the palace walls, that of a composed and accomplished physician, did not match the man he was when no one was watching.

“Then this stays between you and me, Lady Vanessa. But I am not working alone.”

This was it.

“Someone else?” Karina asked, keeping her voice even.

“A start-up,” Zelliel continued. “Quite a frightening lad, if I’m being honest, but he delivers results. More importantly, he suffers from the same terminal condition as Her Majesty.”

“….”

“If there’s anyone worth trusting in a situation like this,” Zelliel went on, “it’s someone who can resonate with the patient on a fundamental level. Someone who understands what it means to be dying.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“In simple terms, our goals align. He wants to save the Empress. And at the same time, he wants to save himself. One solution, two lives.”

“And who is this person?”

“I don’t know if you’re familiar with him. A young nobleman. Vanitas Astrea.”

Karina swallowed.

For a split second, her vision wavered, but she forced herself to show no reaction.

She had known this already.

She had expected this.

“…I see.”

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“I’ve heard the name,” Karina replied. “He’s… infamous in certain circles.”

“That he is. But brilliant, nonetheless. And desperate enough to gamble everything on a cure.”

Karina lowered her gaze, hiding the storm behind her eyes.

“Then why hasn’t this man come to introduce himself to Her Highness?” she asked. “If his contributions are that significant.”

Zelliel heavily sighed.

“I don’t know myself,” he admitted. “He insists on remaining anonymous. It’s a shame, truly.”

“….”

“I’m not the type to take credit where it isn’t due. The real reason the Empress can still walk these days is because of a compound he developed.”

Karina’s brows slowly rose.

“And you’re comfortable administering something you didn’t create?” Karina asked. “Much less, medically approved?”

“I verified it multiple times,” Zelliel said. “Its structure is unconventional, but sound. Frankly speaking, it’s far beyond what the Imperial Medical Council is capable of.”

“That much trust… For a man you barely know.”

“I know enough,” he said. “I know he’s dying. I know desperation better than anyone. And I know that everything he creates is written with the assumption that tomorrow may never come.”

“And if this drug fails?”

Zelliel didn’t look away. “Then Her Majesty dies.”

“….”

“And so does he. That is the wager he’s making.”

Silence settled between them.

In the future, this very drug would become the catalyst that accelerated the Empress’s death. Zelliel would be named the culprit, condemned as the man who hastened her end.

And with Vanitas remaining anonymous, no one would ever know where the formula truly came from.

No one.

Except one.

Romulus Neuschwan.

Karina felt it then.

“…Doctor. Who else knows about this arrangement?”

Zelliel frowned.

“No one who shouldn’t.”

* * *

“I think it’s about time.”

Once again, it was time to send a letter to Vanitas Astrea. To guide him toward her mother. To ensure that the Karina Maeril of this timeline would one day stand by his side.

This hypothesis had already been proven.

Without her interference, it would never happen. Without her hand nudging history forward, the path would always diverge.

Karina already felt it deep in her chest. She could no longer deny.

That she had always been meant to be part of history’s discourse.

That she had always been variable.

She was the one who always went back.

The one who always rearranged the pieces.

The one who always ensured events fell into their current order.

Perhaps this was not defiance against fate.

Perhaps this was fate itself.

Karina sat down, took up the pen, and began to write.

The methods didn’t matter, as long as the results were uncanny. After confirming that Vanitas Astrea had been visiting her mother, one night, Karina finally showed up herself in her own mother, Beatrice’s, hospital room.

“…Karina?”

Her mother sat up upon the bewildering sight. Karina just stood there, her pupils shaking. This was the first time she had ever spoke face-to-face with her mother in such a long, long, long time.

“Aren’t you going to sit, dear?”

“….”

“Oh, right,” Beatrice said. “The letter you sent. Vanitas actually came. He’s been visiting quite often.”

“….”

“Karina?”

“That man knows where my father is.”

“What?”

“They’ve been working together to treat the Empress this whole time,” Karina said. “Vanitas and my father. Zelliel.”

“Karina, how do you—”

“Ask him,” Karina cut in. “Ask him to meet my father. And ask Father why he left us…”

“Karina, you—”

Before Beatrice could finish, the air turned heavy.

A brief surge of mana passed between them. Beatrice’s words died down, and her eyes widened for just a fraction of a second before her body went slack.

“…I’m sorry.”

Before her mother could ask questions.

Before she could realize this was not the Karina she knew.

Before she could notice the faint wrinkles in her forehead.

Karina looked down at her unconscious mother.

“This is the only way.”

She did not allow herself to let sentiment take hold.

Before hesitation could destroy the resolve she had already paved for herself.

Karina turned away.

If she stopped now, everything she had endured would become meaningless.

“…Now everything should fall into place.”

This time, Karina would make it right.

This time, she would prevent that bleak future from ever coming to pass.

This time, she would finally repent.

All for the sake of granting lasting happiness to Vanitas Astrea.

“I will save you, Professor.

No.

“I will save the world.”