Chapter 43: First Trial (3)
There was a short silence inside the small cabin.
Suddenly a strange spark flashed in the old sage's eyes.
He suddenly said:
“Why did you think like that?”
"Sorry?"
“I asked you why you thought you were just an ordinary person like the others. You are the prince of this country, aren't you? Why do you see yourself as no different from them?
Edwin hesitated a little, then answered in a cautious voice:
“When I followed Liu today and saw the villagers... I noticed that they were no different from the people outside.”
“Aren't they different?”
“Yes, every one of them has something he can do, or something he must do.”
Edwin's features grew sadder and he said:
“As for me, I had nothing to do, and nothing was required of me at all.”
An outcast prince, a source of problems, a worthless chess piece...
He often heard those nicknames, and even the name he inherited from his parents might disappear without a trace.
He added in a shaky voice:
“And when I faced the monster today, I realized it clearer... that I am just a weak child who cannot do anything.”
Sag remained silent, watching him for a long time.
Then suddenly he said:
"What's your name again?"
“Edwin Anaxinian Ventrum... sir.”
“Edwin, meaning ‘conqueror’.”
The old man laughed out loud:
“A huge name for a little guy with such an innocent face.”
Edwin didn't know whether to praise him or mock him, so he just gave him an embarrassed look.
Sage smiled and said:
“Not bad, kiddo. Few people admit that they are as ordinary as others. Even adults pretend to be great. “And I like that about you.”
Then he added with a calm smile:
“Tell me, Prince... Do you know what I do?”
Edwin shook his head: “I heard from Leo… he said you were the man who made the scab disease medicine.”
"What? Even tell you this?
Sage sighed tiredly and said:
“But my name was long forgotten. "I've been hiding here for ten years or more."
Then he looked at the prince and said:
“You said you saw the villagers. Did you think of anything other than that you were like them?
Edwin hesitated, then said in a low voice:
“I felt a little sad.”
“Why sadness?”
“Because they are ordinary people, just sick...and yet they die and disappear without anyone remembering them. “To be forgotten…that’s sad.”
Sage looked at Edwin for a long time, then stood up and said:
“Yes...I was thinking like that too. “So I resisted until the end.”
A bitter smile appeared on his face, as if he was remembering the past:
“But the result... is that I ended up here, hiding like a helpless person.”
He paused for a moment, then added:
“I made a mistake when I announced that I was the maker of the medicine. “If I had hidden it, it would have been better.”
“Medicine for scabies?”
“Yes, the medicine that completely cures the disease.”
He closed his eyes for a moment, and his voice was filled with bitterness:
“It's been more than ten years since I first made it.”
I remembered that period well... I pictured him arguing with me angrily when I was sent to assassinate him.
«I can save the world! Why do I have to die? Isn't that crazy?
It was really crazy. He became a target for murder only because he invented a cure.
Edwin said in astonishment:
“But saving people is a great thing, isn't it, Rachel?”
“Great, yes. This is exactly why he has more enemies.”
"What? Why?
Sage himself answered:
“I did not intend to sell the medicine. I wanted to distribute it for free to patients. This is where the problem started.”
As soon as the news spread, major merchants rushed towards him.
“Each of them offered enormous wealth for the recipe. But I refused. “I wanted to stick to my principles.”
He continued:
“But it seems that someone leaked it to the Holy Kingdom. When I went to the emperor to request the official distribution of the medicine... the pressure had already begun.”
The Holy Kingdom threatened to stop sending high priests to the empire if the medicine was used.
And the matter was not limited to that: they rejected any diplomatic relations, and pledged that the Pope would not attend any imperial event.
“But why? Isn't having a cure better for everyone?
Edwin shouted angrily: “I don't understand!” How can saving people be blasphemy?!
Sage replied bitterly:
“Because their pride is wounded. A disease that can only be cured by divine power, for which an ordinary human was able to create a cure. “That’s what they called blasphemy.”
Edwin froze, unable to respond.
Sage said:
“That is why the Emperor rejected my request... and then hell began.”
The Holy Kingdom sent its knights to hunt him down, and the merchants sent assassins to get rid of him.
One of those killers was... me, Kayla Angel.
Sag sighed:
“I ran and ran until I was tired. “I almost ended my life myself... had it not been for a girl who appeared and made a deal with me.”
He looked at me for a moment, then continued:
“She offered to save me from my pursuers in exchange for making my life her religion. “I had no choice, I just wanted to live.”
In an angry tone he said:
«Dammit! Now that I remember... I paid her thousands of gold coins because she bargained with me more than the other customers!”
I responded coldly, concealing my annoyance:
“If you had not insisted on publishing the medicine in your name, you would not be here today.”
"correct! I was greedy. I wanted my name to be immortalized: the great sage who defeated the curse of Satan! Isn't that wonderful?!
Then he suddenly turned to me and asked:
“So...what's that girl doing now? Kayla...that idiot. She's not dead, right? She still kills people for money?
I gasped in surprise, but I held myself together and said coldly:
“Human killer? What are these obscene words in front of His Highness?
“I'm just telling the truth.”
He raised his chin condescendingly and added:
“What is greatness in a profession whose basis is killing people in exchange for gold? “It is the most despicable profession in the world.”
I felt the heat of anger rise to my face, and Edwin's presence next to me made it even more difficult.
But Sage suddenly lowered his gaze and said:
“That girl...poor thing.”
I froze in place.
He continued in a sad voice:
“If she had not gone astray, she might have lived a happier life.”