svrash

Viscount Walden loves you dearly, and will surely be devastated.

I know... I don't want to make father sad either, but I just can't bear to see Carle suffer so.

Shut your mouth, Kate!

I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up...

In any case, Enciodes, if you're here as the old man's mouthpiece, I'd recommend you leave, now.

And if you plan on taking Kate with you, you'll have to ask my brothers what they think of that.

Calm down, you two. Although I did come at your father's request, I stand before you as myself.

And next to me is my friend. 'Doctor' will suffice.

I am here to help you.

Help, huh? Help, charity, handouts. Why not just use your favorite word? What was it again... Ah yes, a 'deal'.

You're free to take it however you like.

In your eyes, I might as well still be that blowhard of a noble who was always showing off.

Maybe if I were still that same man, I would have some chips to wager with you.

But now I have nothing.

You want to make a deal? What would you offer me? And what could I possibly give you?

That all depends on how this conversation goes.

First of all, I can assure you that Viscount Walden will never know anything that happens here.

Hah... I can't remember the last time I had a serious talk with anyone other than Kate.

Even if it's coming from you of all people, I can't help but to think back to the old days.

At least let me thank you for showing me respect, in your own way. Not that I feel at all respected.

But I knew you couldn't help me the moment you waltzed in here, grand as anything, like the world was already in your hands.

You want to know why I'm alive? How my quarrel with the old man got to this point?

Fine, I'll tell you.

You completely stole the spotlight in that ball, and you wouldn't believe how much that upset me.

So I left the venue early that night, thinking that as long as you were in Sykes, I'd rather be anywhere but there with you.

And while my head was lost in the clouds, I accidentally ran over a woman.

Now, I'm no saint, but I wouldn't just do a hit-and-run, so I took her to the hospital.

But when we got there, I found out she was actually Infected, so no one would treat her.

The most hilarious part though? That the doctors were all so eager to help me, the Viscount's son, right up until they saw the Originium crystals on her skin and recoiled in horror.

I just couldn't understand at the time. I honestly could not wrap my head around it. I knew that having Oripathy was bad, but I never expected it to be THAT bad.

So my temper flared up and I brought her back home. Made our personal family doctor see to her.

Naturally, the old man was furious when he found out, but I pushed back against him.

This all sounds vaguely familiar, but I was busy getting ready to move on to the next city at the time.

That's right, you bastard. You decided to just up and leave after making such a big splash. I don't even want to know how many girls' hearts you took with you.

Looking back though, I have no idea what came over me back then.

It's not like I wasn't scared of Oripathy, but I couldn't see what about it made everyone shit their pants like that.

But now I understand how terrifying it truly is. Some patients will straight up explode when they die.

Some don't, but their deaths are still very painful. Heh, better watch yourselves. Maybe I'll blow up too, and take the both of you out with me.

And then what?;That's fairly rare, actually.

Hm? Hey, Hood, your reaction's pretty different from Mister Cool here. You Infected too?

A lot of my friends are Infected.;I can treat you.

No wonder you seem so comfortable with all this.

If you're that bored, why don't you go hang out with my brothers?

This is none of your business.

You're really a doctor then?

Spare me. You think I can afford a medical bill?

In any case, the old man wouldn't let the lady stay in his house, so I had her convalesce in my own courtyard.

For the longest time, she thought I was planning to do something to her, but it was much simpler than that. I just wanted her to get better.

I was a complete idiot at the time. I'd push back against anyone that tried to go against me, no matter the reason.

The old man wanted to kick her out, so I insisted on keeping her. She thought she'd be a burden on me, so I wanted to look after her even more.

You fell in love.

Damn right I did. It's a story as old as time. A noble and a commoner fall in love, but the family will never approve. Finally, father and son turn against each other.

Only difference is, the commoner was Infected, and the father had a hand in tormenting her to death. So the noble infected himself as revenge against his father.

I see. So that's the basis of both your 'death' as well as Viscount Walden's hatred of the Infected.

Naturally. His son with a bright future fell in love with an Infected and turned against him. Unwilling to admit his own failures, who else could he blame but the Infected?

And... I was already the Infected he hated the most.

The news of my death wasn't a lie, Enciodes.

The man named Carle Caster died, seven years ago.

Look, you have that expression on your face again.

What do you think is going to happen even if I do get the ransom?

I share the money with my brothers, then we move to another city and live out the rest of our lives in peace?

No, we'll still be turned away at every door, simply because we are Infected.

We'll still be looked down on. We'll still have stones thrown at us. We'll still be driven to suffer in the slums.

Even if we wanted to work, nobody would take us in. The only thing left for us would be to find a cozy little alley to die in.

Of course, the money wouldn't hurt. A few of us have already starved to death.

But how much would that money actually be worth?

After years of groveling, struggling to survive with my Infected brothers, I finally understand.

The Infected cannot survive.

I've heard of a group called Reunion that was uniting the Infected. And of an organization called Rhodes Island trying to save our lives.

Who knows when their help will ever reach us?

It may not happen in my lifetime.

But at very least, they have the ability to help because they know how hard it is for us to even survive.

But you. You know nothing.

Carle...

So, you might as well kill me right now. Bring Kate back to the old man, claim his reward.

Or, just turn back. You can even tell him everything, if you want. What difference does it make?

Point is, there's nothing you can do for me.

It seems I've made something of a fool of myself.

Let's go, Doctor.

Doctor, I have a question.

Did I act out of line when dealing with Carle?

No.;You were the same as usual.

In other words, my usual performance didn't work in front of him.

Hm...?

That's... Carle?

He's headed out alone... in the direction of the city?

Follow him.;That look on your face...

I'm begging you, my sister seriously needs an anti-infection device.

This is all the money I've got, but I assure you, give me a few days and I'll come up with the rest. Let me take out an IOU on this, and I swear I'll pay it back double!

Shoo, away with you! Stop coming here to beg every day, it's pissing me off.

Like hell I'd believe that you can get that kind of money in a few days. That's what every debt-ridden deadbeat says. What's to say that you won't just take the blasted thing and I never see you again?

Besides, Lord Walden has decreed that we aren't allowed to sell anything to the Infected within the city.

But I can't get my hands on anything like that in the slums!

I've looked all over to find you. Everyone speaks of how kind you are, so can't you see how desperate I am? Can't you help me just this once?

This is everything I have on me. Whatever you want, just take it.

Or maybe I can earn my keep? I swear, I won't let anyone find out that I'm Infected!

Please... I'm begging you... Just this once...

Fine, enough of that. How could you possibly have anything of value on you?

Come in. Keep wailing like that, and you might even attract the guards.

Thank you, thank you so much!