Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1397: The Girl in the Hospital Room
Shard answered, and Lecia remained curious:
"He married three wives?"
"Didn’t you just ask this question once?"
Shard put down the dinner knife with his right hand, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and the maid beside them served the next dish.
Mia was waiting for Shard to feed her, while Angelina pretended to be interested in the new dish. In the quiet private room of the club, no one else disturbed them; it was a great place for a date.
"What I mean is, it’s possible for a man to marry three wives. Even in the Fifth Era, where gender relations are so special, some people have achieved this."
Her Highness the Princess looked at Shard, and it was then that Shard understood her implied message.
"I..."
"No need to promise me anything."
Before Shard could finish speaking, Lecia interrupted him, her green eyes gazing at Shard:
"I believe you, I have always believed in you. But if you really want to do something, how about coming back to Yordle Palace with me tonight?"
Angelina cautiously glanced at her sister, and Lecia smiled at Shard:
"You can hide in our carriage later, turn into a butterfly, and hide under my skirt. Doesn’t Mia love my bed?"
It seemed that Mia would spend another night in the cloakroom tonight.
(Mia running...
Although it was Tuesday, the day Guardian Rathes said a new major transformation of the Earth would occur, Shard and the Witch planned to check on the situation in the evening. So when he arrived at Randall Valley during the day, his mind was still contemplating whether to meet the librarian at the Academy.
Luviya had already gone to the Prophet’s Society, and Miss Benanis was also not at Wilder Opera House, so Shard expressed his confusion to Miss Lathis, and the young golden-haired girl gave a similar reply as Luviya’s:
"This matter is something you need to decide for yourself, besides, I believe you’ve already made up your mind."
Miss Lathis, though similar in age to Shard’s youthful body, always appeared quite mature, probably because she took over the leadership of the Order early on.
Having received advice from her, Shard decided to visit Miss Danester, who was currently in Randall Valley. Informing this lady, who likely had already guessed some things, that he was wandering around was a small matter; Fiona’s safety and the mission were more important.
Once he understood this, Shard didn’t hesitate any longer. He took a carriage from Wilder Opera House straight to the estate at the end of Black Cedar Street in the city’s west, where the professors from Saint Byrons were temporarily residing.
Unscheduled visits are usually impolite, and the old guard at the estate spoke to Shard through the gate, not intending to let Shard enter directly.
"I’m here to see Professor Danester. I know her from our time at the Academy."
Not wanting more people to know he was in Randall Valley, Shard spoke cautiously.
But the old guard remained expressionless:
"You’re too late; the professor and her group left for the Sun Cathedral to visit the patients there an hour ago."
Though he came for The Chosen, the professors certainly wouldn’t ignore the local "Petrified Plague."
"Is that so? Okay, I understand... But is it really alright to tell me the professor’s whereabouts just like that?"
Shard asked curiously, and the old guard complained to him:
"You’re not the first guy to visit Professor Danester. Do you know how many people have come looking for her these days? The son of her classmate, the sister of a student she once taught, a friend of a friend she met while traveling... Oh, so many have rushed to establish a connection upon hearing the professor was here, you think you’re the first?"
It seemed he was truly tired of dealing with all sorts of strange people, and Shard realized just how unattainable the librarian from Saint Byrons seemed to average sorcerers.
So he took another carriage to the local Sun Cathedral. In Randall Valley, there’s a long tradition of Earth worship, hence the belief in the Sun and Earth God, the "Lantern Bearer," dominates the region, and the church is the largest, much like the Nature Chapel in Midshire Fort is the biggest there.
The Sun Cathedral is located in the east-central part of the city, just two small blocks away from the streets where the Abundant Land Inn, Prophet’s Society, and City Hall are situated.
Because the church area can restrain the worsening of the Petrified Plague, in recent days, the Church has bought, requisitioned, and converted buildings around the church, expanding outwards from the original Sun Cathedral into temporary hospitals and treatment areas.
The old guard at the estate didn’t know exactly where Miss Danester and her group had gone, so after Shard got off the carriage at the street corner, he decided to try his luck by walking towards the direction of the Sun Cathedral.
This long street, known as "Saint Warren Street," had a third of its buildings converted into temporary hospitals. As a result, the street was bustling with relatives visiting the sick, journalists reporting news, idle people stirring up trouble, small vendors doing business due to the crowd, and all sorts of others, filling the entire street.
Shard happened to be curious about the petrification plague as well, so he wandered around the street, bought a bouquet of flowers from a little flower girl to pretend he was visiting a patient, and then casually walked through an open door.
Judging from the sign, this place used to be a tobacco shop. At present, all the miscellaneous items on the first floor had been cleared out, and partitions made of wooden boards and curtains had been set up to create separate rooms for patients to rest. The priests and doctors who had been urgently summoned were checking the conditions of the patients one by one.
The sounds of wailing and groaning weren’t very obvious, but the infected with the "petrification plague" all exhibited a uniform characteristic of listlessness. In essence, this "plague" was actually a unique curse. For patients who were not mentally strong, the curse affected more than just their bodies.
New cases were emerging every day, and patients whose conditions were not severe were generally asked to rest at home or in a hospital. Their relatives could collect a cup of "potion" from the church with proof. However, severely ill patients would be sent here to live. Yet, given the current increase in the number of petrification plague infections, even if the Sun Cathedral accepted numerous patients, it would still be a drop in the bucket.
Only by addressing the root of the problem could Randall Valley return to its original state.
Soft sobbing and whispered prayers filled the air, and the melancholic atmosphere created by these sounds affected everyone who came to visit. Although Shard had anticipated the severity of the situation, being here in person still made him want to sigh.
He climbed the stairs and brushed past a medical student carrying a pot of hot water, reaching the second floor.
This floor had also been divided into different compartments with wooden boards and curtains, with all the windows open to let in the dim sunshine through the stinking fog outside. Under the dim sunlight, the sight of the "ward" looked even more tragic.
Holding the flowers, Shard found himself unsure of what to do. He then saw a little girl sitting on a bed by the wall behind the stairs, holding a storybook, and decided to approach her.
The girl was thin, possibly malnourished; outwardly she appeared to be about fourteen or fifteen. However, her clothes were neat, and since the church liked to group people with similar beliefs and habits together, this floor was currently inhabited by female patients from affluent middle-class families.
"Hello there."
Shard greeted her with a smile, then sat on the empty chair by the bedside and placed the flowers he bought from the street on a makeshift nightstand.
Kids over ten in this era had a strong sense of self-preservation, so the little girl warily nodded at Shard before looking around. If Shard dared to make any threatening move, probably everyone on this floor would notice.
"Where are you sick?" 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂
"My right leg is numb."
The girl timidly answered, leaning against the wall with her storybook hugged to her chest.
Shard nodded:
"So, when did this happen?"
"The day before yesterday at noon, when I fell while cleaning the living room, and suddenly I couldn’t feel my right leg."
Shard nodded again:
"Did you drink the potion the church provided?"
The potion provided by the church was a diluted version of the "Universal Earth Elixir" offered by the Witch, combined with a diluted No. 5 Holy Water. It could restrain the worsening of the "petrification plague" to some extent but did not cure it.
"I did. After drinking it, I could feel heat in my right leg."
The little girl continued, seemingly noticing that Shard was just sitting there without making any other moves, and looking genuinely concerned about the illness. Therefore, she politely asked:
"Sir, may I ask why you are here? Are you a doctor?"
"Doctor?"
Shard blinked:
"Yes, I am a doctor, but not a doctor for people. I am a doctor for the earth."
The little girl didn’t really understand Shard’s words, and Shard also asked:
"Why are your family members not here with you? Even though there are church officials and police maintaining order here, it’s still too dangerous to let you read here alone."
The girl was holding a "Collection of Fairy Tales," a kind of storybook that contains timeless fairy tales, and is one of the first books children encounter after they learn to read.
The girl shook her head:
"Miss Lina is here with me, but she went out to buy some food and will be back soon... She is my mother’s maid."
It’s currently ten-thirty in the morning, still far from the usual lunchtime for locals. Even if preparing ahead, it seemed rather early.
"Interesting. Since your mother has a maid, why did you need to clean the living room by yourself the day before yesterday?"
Shard casually asked another question, and the girl pursed her lips, opened her book, and handed it to Shard. Surprised, he glanced at the page with the illustrated story— "Princess on the Pumpkin Carriage."
