Suddenly, we’re going ahead with the rescue operation!

I glance between my father and Kai, eyebrows knitted.

Hume chuckles and says, “It’s fine, really,” but when I snap, “That’s rude!” both my father and Kai immediately apologize.

“It’s fine, fine. Nothing to brag about, honestly.”

“No, well… that’s a bit much…”

I stammer, pale, and yet somehow, the old man’s words carry a kind of validation—like he’s defending them.

“My father died in an accident. Mother worked hard to raise me. That’s when that man caught her eye.”

Hume speaks flatly, as if resigning himself to something, and I don’t know how to respond.

“She remarried for my sake. Pretty standard, really.”

He shrugs, and suddenly—*click*—everything clicks into place.

“So that’s it… finally makes sense.”

"...What on earth is this?"

Hume tilted his head, peering at me with a look of mild confusion.

I hesitated for a second—should I lie? But then I thought, maybe I can actually work this out if I just say it straight.

"Raffilia was kidnapped. Why were you and the Prince together in the territory?"

"...What?"

Hume narrowed his eyes, watching me warily.

"Forgive me for being blunt... but isn't your Mother unwell?"

My words came out sharp, direct—Hume’s eyes snapped open.

"Even that medicine from the rumors didn’t help..."

"How the hell do you know that?!"

Hume suddenly snapped, voice rising, and I nearly flinched—so I forced myself to smile instead.

"Because the Emperor wouldn’t send someone like you, now would he?"

"...What do you mean by that?"

"The Emperor’s a perfectionist. No matter how promising you are, your experience is still the weakest of anyone’s. He wouldn’t send someone like you as Prince’s escort, now would he?"

"..."

"The only possibility left is this—His Majesty chose you based on your potential, not the details of the Vanklyft Family’s medicine."

"Why…?"

The way Hume stared at me, eyes wide—confirmed it. My guess was right.

"You came to negotiate with the Emperor to learn the details of the Vanklyft medicine, all to save Mother. And now you’re being held hostage by the Headmaster, using Mother as leverage—forced to obey. That’s my reading of the situation."

"Why… why…?"

"If you assume that, then everything Hume's been doing makes perfect sense. You already hold the title of Court Healer. In fact, that’s probably something the Headmaster takes pride in. But the reality’s different. Anyone with eyes can see that immediately."

Hume’s face twisted like he’d bitten into a lemon.

I felt bad about it, but I said it anyway.

"What would you do… if Mother’s illness could be cured?"

"...Stop lying. Your medicine didn’t help her either."

Maybe Hume had become the Headmaster’s puppet just to get his hands on my medicine.

"My medicine is only two things—fever reducers and antibiotics."

"...So it’s not some miracle cure, then?"

"That’s right. It only tempers pain and fever, and works only against infections like colds."

"...So Mother’s illness isn’t one of those?"

"Possible causes could be 'genetic' or 'psychosomatic'... There are plenty of other factors, but those are the main categories, really."

"Wait...?"

Not just Hume—my father and Kai too tilted their heads at my words.

"Is there any illness common in your family line? Like, something that tends to strike at a certain age—parents or siblings falling ill around the same time? Or maybe something triggered by stress, or a harsh environment?"

"Stress..."

That hit home. Seeing Hume stare blankly, I felt a pang of guilt but pressed on anyway.

"Frankly, I think Mother’s condition can’t be healed without changing her environment."

"You mean... Mother’s illness can actually be cured?!"

"...Would it be better if you kept your distance from Father?"

"What, that's all...?"

The eyes that had flickered with hope for a moment at the thought of a cure now sank, as if deflated in an instant.

I was wondering what was wrong when, after a brief hesitation, he seemed to decide he had to say it after all, and slowly began to speak.

"Mother remarried, but that man already had a legal wife. Because of that woman, Mother became a wreck—body and soul. Now she spends most of her time in bed."

"..."

"That man didn’t like seeing Mother bedridden, so he started taking it out on her. Since then, it’s been nothing but downhill. But now I can’t even check on her condition... I’m not even allowed to see her."

"...So you’re saying you’ve been bending to the Headmaster’s will just to get permission to see Mother?"

"............"

Hume stayed silent. But that silence was clearly an answer.

That’s why she’d worn that look of resignation—because the headmaster’s orders were now confirmed to be unenforceable.

"Hey, Hume. Where’s your home?"

"…huh?"

Mother, let's clean this up right now!!

"Whaaat!?"

"...Hey, Elen. What on earth are you talking about?"

Father finally couldn’t hold back and spoke up.

Then I spun around and said to my father.

"This is a transaction. We can do that."

No, I mean, it's definitely possible...

"...Deal?"

"Hume, my lord. We’re short on hands here—especially healers."

"Uh... I work at the court..."

I'm fine. If I told the king, she'd probably make the same call.

"What the hell...?"

I smiled warmly at the flustered Hume.

"The king wants to curry favor with us. Tell her, if she sends over Hume, we’ll double the drug trade. She’ll probably assign you to Vanclift as a court healer—same thing, really."

"Wait, isn’t that just espionage?!"

"Exactly. But we don’t care one bit. Oh, and tell her we’ve already agreed to that part."

"...This is insane."

"We’re used to this kind of thing. Anyway, Hume. In our territory, we have something called a 'company house'—"

"Shataku...?"

"It just means we’ll provide a home if you’re working for us."

Hume’s eyes widened at my words.

In a world where even finding work far from home is no easy task, our territory has been steadily attracting more migrants—and we were quick to tackle the employment crisis.

“Our land sees patients flooding in, desperate for medicine. Beds are scarce, and there aren’t enough healers to go around. So, to secure healers, we decided to make their working conditions as manageable as possible.”

Hume stares, stunned, silent—no interruption, no protest, just listening.

“The company house is spacious enough. You could live there with your family.”

“…Is that really true?”

"Yeah. The neighborhood sees your family home as a healer’s residence. Naturally, guards are posted. In our territory, healers are respected. Some even come from other countries, and we often talk about ways to improve things..."

"Me? Live with Mother?"

"I could pressure the headmaster directly with the king’s authority. He’s been trying to pry the medicine formulas from me, after all. The royal family wouldn’t tolerate something like that—especially not when it bypasses them."

He says it casually. His face crumples, on the verge of tears. His mouth trembles, opens, but no words come out. He’s unraveling.

"But that can wait. We’ve got a way to save Mother right now, right this second."

"How? Right now?"

You know we’re spirits, Hume. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten? We can transfer, after all.

She let out a quiet giggle, her eyes widening as if remembering something, and in an instant, the way she looked at me had changed.

Clutching at the divine like a drowning soul.

…Please!! I beg you!! Save Mother!!

Understood.

I grin, pleased with the successful negotiation, and behind me, Father and Kai share a wry smile.

"Of all the things I never thought I’d do—showing up at the academy and recruiting a court healer before even seeing the healing tower..."

My father shrugged, muttering, “Honestly, I have no idea what that girl’s gonna do next.”

＊＊＊

I asked Father to deliver a message to Sauvel: that I’d like one of the company houses prepared for him, and in the meantime, to lend me a room in the estate.

I also asked him to pass on a message to Her Majesty. If Father asks, it’ll be done in an instant. The Queen’ll have the documents ready straight away.

Summon Van and plan the rescue of the Hume’s mother.

Luckily, since he’s the headmaster, the headmasters apparently live in a house far from the main building.

I, Hume, Van, and Kai teleported to a spot where we could survey the entire mansion.

When I suggested scouting from the air, Kai and Hume stared at me like I’d lost my mind, so I figured I’d just try floating up a little.

Incidentally, Hume’s holding Van’s hand, and I’m holding Kai’s.

“Here we go—!”

We both float up gently, and though Kai and Hume stiffen at first, they slowly start to adjust.

Matching their pace, we rise slowly and glide toward the roof.

Still rigid as boards, they manage to keep their eyes open.

“Hume-kun, where’s Mother’s room?”

“Ah… that one on the west corner of the third floor…”

“So that window must be it?”

Focus only on rescuing Mother, not on the whole mansion’s layout.

Before teleporting, have Van check who’s in that room. He says there’s only one presence.

Van and I exchange a look. Probably Mother. Nodding in silent agreement.

We teleport inside in an instant. There, a beautiful woman with a pale, sickly face, coughing violently, stands in the room.

“Geh… cough… cough…”

“Mother!!!”

“Eh…?”

She startled, her voice cut off mid-sentence, as if the sudden sound of her son’s voice had stolen her breath. She’s choking, struggling to breathe.

Hume frantically apologizes, patting her back. “Sorry, sorry, I’m sorry…”

“Sorry for barging in like this,” I say, bowing slightly.

Mother’s eyes widen. “Wh-who…?” she stutters, utterly bewildered.

Hume, you—where did you even come from? She scans the room, eyes darting, utterly confused.

"I am Elen Vanklyft."

"Vanklyft...? That's the family that makes medicine, right...?"

To those who were often ill, the Vanklyft name was better known for its apothecary than for any heroic lineage.

"Yes. Mother, if you'd like, would you consider recuperating at my estate?"

"...Huh?"

"Mom, can we just stop relying on that man?"

Hume's face crumpled, his hand gripping his mother’s.

"I know you remarried for me. But I didn’t want this. I just wanted us to be together—just the two of us. Even if we were poor, I didn’t want to be separated... He won’t let me see you. I’ve asked so many times... I’ve begged..."

"Hume..."

"If we keep going like this, Mama’s gonna die... Please, don’t leave me alone anymore... I’ve asked so many times... I’ve begged..."

Hume burst into tears, and her mother, trembling, reached out a hesitant hand—then pulled her into a tight embrace.

"I’m sorry... It’s all my fault... I’m just so weak..."

"No... it’s not. It’s all that man’s fault. He took advantage of Mama’s weakness... like this..."

Hume bit her lip, knowing full well that her own frailty was the root of it all.

"The Vanklyft Family’s princess is looking for a healer. So, I’ve been assigned as a court healer... um, right? Yeah! If I go there, I can live with Mama too!"

Hume blurted it all out in a rush, leaving her mother even more confused.

"Let’s at least move somewhere safer, okay? Is everything you own still in this room?"

My words made her mother flustered, but she nodded slowly—yes...?

"Then I’ll just teleport the entire contents of this room at once! I asked Sauvel uncle to clear out one room in the manor temporarily, so it should be ready!"

Muttering "forcefully" under my breath, I turn back to Van.

Van was tense about sending so many belongings all the way to Vanclift territory, but I gave him a reassuring smile.

My power’s inherited from my mother, the one who rules the world.

No point in holding back— I take Van’s hand, close our eyes, and we vanish.