The girl didn't die that night, but she remained unconscious. Tang Feiliu was extremely anxious. Charlemagne and Thorn kept monitoring her condition, unwilling and unable to leave. Tang Feiliu realized he couldn't handle anything important anyway, so he decided to use this opportunity to prepare a rest area for the two doctors who were planning to stay up all night caring for the patient.
Perhaps because he had swapped souls with his modern-day counterpart as a child, Tang Feiliu had been frail during his childhood in the modern era. He was constantly in and out of hospitals, but luckily, he always encountered exceptionally gentle doctors. They not only cared for the child but also smiled encouragingly, praising his bravery.
In Tang Feiliu's memories, those doctors carried a clean scentâone that was gentle and warm... When Tang Feiliu arrived in this timeline, his choice to help others, to support Charlemagne and Thorn, fundamentally stemmed from his deep-seated respect for doctors.
To Tang Feiliu, these healers were the true angelsâgeneration after generation of doctors like Charlemagne, who faced execution yet refused to confess; generation after generation of Thorns who marched to their deaths alongside their teachers, pursuing knowledge without regret... It was they who built the foundation of modern medicine.
Tang Feiliu had glimpsed the world centuries hence, witnessed that glorious future. He understood in his heart how crucial these resolute martyrs were to humanity. It was like a humble soul standing beside a figure destined to change the world, forever filled with awe and reverence. That was precisely how Tang Feiliu felt toward Charlemagne and Thorn.
Therefore, when he learned Charlemagne and Thorn intended to stay the night, Tang Feiliu saw no need to rush back. He ordered the shelter house tidied quickly, preparing a resting quarters for the two. He then directly recruited bold servants by offering high wages to hire temporary nurses.
At this point, the shelter housed only the sister and brother, and the workload was still manageable. Evans and Alexander urged Tang Feiliu to return home and restâthough his health had improved significantly as his growth spurt neared its end, he remained less robust than the average person. By now, he had stayed up so late that his face had grown pale.
"Dr. Charlemagne, please remember to rest first. Let the nurses take over recording symptoms for you, okay?" Tang Feiliu urged the doctor with lingering concern as he departed. Though Charlemagne paid little heed to others, he showed Tang Feiliu remarkable patience. Nodding, he replied, "Go back now, Mr. Lance. Your constitution isn't suited for prolonged stays here."
Clearly, Charlemagne understood Tang Feiliu's physical constitution well. He strongly disapproved of Tang Feiliu's actions. While Charlemagne had already formed a rough hypothesis about the transmission route of cholera, for someone with Tang Feiliu's exceptionally weak immunity, the bacteria in this place were invisible to the naked eye. With people constantly coming and going, it was inevitable that pathogens would be more prevalent here than elsewhere. Ordinary people might get by with a minor exposure, Tang Feiliu, however, faced a far greater risk of misfortune if exposed.
"Alright, Lance, go rest. I've got this covered!" Ivaness could only urge him. Alexander, as the older brother, had already taken matters into his own hands, firmly grasping his anxious younger brother's arm and leading him outside. In Alexander's view, although Her Majesty the Queen had assigned this task, which noble family would personally handle such a matter? Most would simply instruct their servants.
Yet his brother insisted on personally overseeing the place every day. At first, no one wanted to come here, but now that there were actual patients, Alexander refused to let his frail younger brother stay here constantly. He was now partnering with Johnson in a soap business, primarily because he had mastered the formula his brother had given him. Their first batch of soap was already stockpiled, but no one was coming to buy it. The soap factory had no business at all, so Alexander simply accompanied his brother here every day to oversee things, to prevent Lance, with his thin skin, from being bullied by those Templars.
Indeed, Ivans had noticed it immediately upon arrival. Outside the relief center, this makeshift medical station was deserted, yet shadowy figures persistently lurked nearby, keeping watch.
Her Majesty Josephine trusted her people implicitly. Besides, Edward reported daily on Tang Feiliu's progress. She had no need for such petty surveillance. Tang Feiliu had only just arrived in Nat Royal City. Though he'd received orders, the demands he made struck everyone as utterly absurd. Some loyal nobles of the diocese might harbor deep distaste for Tang Feiliu. Yet with the Black Duke personally overseeing matters, ordinary nobles would likely endure in silence rather than risk provoking trouble.
The Temple, however, was a different matter.
Tang Feiliu couldn't quite discern the true significance of this deserted relief center. After all, he genuinely lacked political acumen. The Black Duke's residence naturally received the Gazette, and Alexander would read it aloud to him. Yet, the simple administrative language and reports of imperial city events within it were difficult for someone without specialized training to truly extract any crucial information from.
To Tang Feiliu, Her Majesty Josephine merely conducted affairs with meticulous impartiality. Yet to Alexander, though the Emperor meticulously recorded the shelter's operations daily without bias, the nobility remained unconvinced. Meanwhile, the Temple's death toll grew increasingly horrific. and the Queen's daily, unvarnished accountsâthe times of the Temple's divine emissaries' prayers, the amounts of property people risked, and the published death tollsâwere already testing everyone's nerves to the limit.
Whenever plague struck, it was terrifying for the people, but for the Temple, it was actually an excellent opportunity to amass wealthâthe Temple proclaimed the plague as divine punishment for disloyal sheep. It was precisely because people did not serve the gods with sufficient devotion that they had incurred the wrath of the celestial beings.
And what was the solution?
The answer lies in offering wealth to the gods.
This approach proved effective in every era and every place, requiring no cost whatsoever. If you recovered from infection without severe symptoms, it meant your actions had earned divine forgiveness. But if you developed complications and died, it signified your sins were too great to atone for, leaving you unable to escape punishment...
In any case, it's a win-win proposition.
Historically, to maintain public stability, such matters were kept secret. Educated nobles might recognize this as a lie and deception, yet devoutly religious nobles or those fearful of death would still donate vast fortunes.
It was a matter of willing participants, and the Gazette never recorded it seriously.
Some things, even if they're obvious, seem less serious when they exist. Data, however, is what truly shocks people.
It was like those who considered themselves frugal yet always felt short on moneyâonce they kept accounts, they were shocked by their own extravagance. What the Gazette had done was akin to bookkeeping.
Even Edward, who had always been at odds with the Temple, was deeply astonishedâjust how terrifyingly wealthy had the faith made the successive popes and their emissaries?! Within the Temple, those who reached the upper echelons, if they had illegitimate children, were likely wealthier than a viscount!
Why did the Temple station personnel outside the relief centers to monitor?
Because once these figures were published, the arrogant nobles began to feel uneasyâon one side, the staggering sums of donations; on the other, the staggering numbers of deaths... This stark contrast inevitably caused their convictions to waver.
Everyone was rushing to get Tang Feiliu to leave quickly, for this sister and brother were surely only the beginning.
The Temple would never accept such treatment. While they dared not confront the Emperor of Nart directly, they would strike backâand what could be more potent than exposing mass deaths within the Emperorâs own special relief center?
After all, if death was inevitable, dying with faith could offer solace and ease suffering. That approach wasn't wrong.
Moreover, they were extremely cautious. After Tang Feiliu left, the relief center immediately became bustling... Overnight, dozens of patients who had fallen into comas flooded the entire facility.
Cries of anguish and pleas for help echoed throughout the vast facility. Fortunately, the shelter was spacious, and Tang Feiliu's diligent preparations ensured the remaining staff could manage the influx.
Charlemagne directed the nurses to separate patients from their relatives and informed everyone that upon entering the facility, they must follow its rules: all individuals must first clean themselves thoroughly. To care for their loved ones, they must bathe with soap, collect masks and gloves, and maintain cleanliness even when eating!
Most crucially, they must complete the quarantine observation period.
Emotions flared, with some even attempting to take their loved ones away.
Charlemagne watched coldly as those agitated people carried away their children or younger siblings, making no attempt to stop them.
The remaining individuals were supervised as they took their first baths in their lives. Soon after, two people began experiencing diarrhea and were immediately transferred to the mild symptoms ward for treatment.
Over the next few days, the Gazette reported only that the relief center had begun receiving patients.
Then, the swift recovery of the first mild case drew a collective chuckle, as such mild symptoms would naturally resolve to some extent, and the Temple had seen many such recoveries before.
Then, when a severely ill patient died, the Temple began a massive propaganda campaign. The nobles eagerly echoed their narrative, some even targeting Tang Feiliu for vilification. Plays were written and staged in theaters, portraying Tang Feiliu as a court jester entertaining the Queen.
Tang Feiliu was furious at this series of actions, but he was too busy providing more assistance to Charlemagne and training a group of more skilled nurses to spare any energy for them.
Just as the new theatrical production, The Jester, was being enthusiastically embraced by the nobility, the cholera outbreak expandedâspreading across the entire Nat region as noble refugees carrying the virus fled.
Worst of all, it seemed this was only the beginning.
Following the footsteps of merchant trade, cholera began to spread across the entire continent. Just as Tang Feiliu had feared most, this plague ultimately could not be stopped in time.
Amidst the relentless tide of history, even those who grasped the truthâno matter how fiercely they foughtâcould not halt the march of the world.
Upon hearing reports from other nations that the situation had unfolded in the worst possible way he could imagine, Tang Feiliu collapsed heavily onto the sofa, tears welling slowly in his eyes.
Edward was not at home. He was in the imperial capital, discussing with Her Majesty Josephine how to respond to the expanding epidemic.
Ivans knelt half-bent on the floor, watching Tang Feiliu weep suddenly with concern.
Having witnessed a glorious future offered no solace to this era. Tang Feiliu felt utterly drained. Yivans gently patted him and wiped his tears, yet she could not stem his wave of despair.
Just then, Alexander returned on horseback. He strode in hurriedly, his face aglow with ecstasy. "Lance! Someone survived! Someone made it through!"
Author's Note:
Thanks to Tangyuan Nuonuo and K for their support.
Finger-calculating tomorrow's snowfall: perfect for burrowing under blankets with your cat, snuggling by the stoveâdefinitely not for diligence.
So I'm taking tomorrow off, but updates will resume the day after. (Slips away under the pot lid)