Time of the Blind Beast - Chapter 51

Ezekiel responded with a sharp tone, “Until now, we’ve been focusing on detoxification, and now you’re saying there’s a new cause for the blindness?”

“Of course, the poison must have had some effect. But it’s not as if that woman grabbed your eyes and poured an overwhelming amount of poison into them. I believe only a small amount actually permeated the eyes. Still, it was such a potent toxin that it required a long period of detoxification. It’s fortunate that it entered through your eyes—had it been ingested, you likely wouldn’t be here now.”

Dr. Brehman tactfully referred to the possibility that Ezekiel might have been poisoned to death. No one present failed to grasp the implication.

Creak. Suddenly, the backrest of the reclining chair tilted back, causing his body to lean. Ezekiel instinctively braced his waist and groped over his shoulder.

“Ah… I’m sorry,” Rose apologized in a trembling voice.

She had been so shocked that even as Ezekiel brushed over the back of her hand, she still hadn’t let go of the chair she had gripped tightly enough to tip it over.

It was only natural for her to be shaken, having just heard that he might have died from poison. Wasn’t she the one who had saved him, even at the cost of hurting herself?

“There’s no need to be upset, Rose,” Ezekiel comforted his lover. “I plan to return exactly what was done to me. I’ll make sure they get a taste of that poison themselves. Only then will they realize whom they tried to kill, and how.”

Because the listener was the gentle-hearted Rose, he softened his words and refrained from fully revealing his true feelings. If he had been with the subordinates of the 37th Regiment, both Ezekiel and his men like Montcalm or Feder would have expressed far more honest anger.

Despite his attempt to be considerate, Rose didn’t seem much comforted.

“What, do I seem unreliable? You’re trembling so much.”

From now on, he would choose gentler words.

So she wouldn’t be scared or startled—he would be as gentle as a spring breeze.

Bringing Rose in front of him to soothe her, Ezekiel resumed the interrupted conversation.

“Due to the pain caused by the poison, you probably rubbed or scratched your eyes quite roughly for a while, didn’t you?”

Ezekiel nodded in agreement. Dr. Brehman continued his explanation.

“Your eyes were already damaged from the poison, and then strong external force was applied to them. So I meant that the current blindness can’t be attributed solely to the toxin. The pain induced by the poison and the strong pressure applied to suppress that pain ultimately clouded the eyeballs, becoming the final cause of blindness.”

“Then what now?”

Having just solved one issue, another problem had arisen. It had taken all of spring to overcome his addiction to opium and alcohol, and all of summer to detoxify that damned poison—who knew how long this new problem would take?

Though he didn’t feel at ease at all, Ezekiel tried to remain calm.

Rose belatedly gathered herself. In the past, she had been the one to console a distressed Ezekiel, but today, their roles were reversed. The more he recovered his lost former self, and the more Rose was reminded of “that woman,” the more this shift continued.

As she recalled the conversation that had nearly slipped away while her mind wandered, Rose observed Dr. Brehman’s expression.

There was no need to dwell on her own embarrassing emotions or the frustration Ezekiel must have been feeling—they were both too familiar.

Right now, what she most wanted to know was what Dr. Brehman was thinking.

What was he feeling? Was he simply flustered by a treatment with no clear end in sight?

Or perhaps he wanted to give up?

Their eyes met.

Surprisingly, as soon as Dr. Brehman met Rose’s gaze, he relaxed and smiled. His expression was much brighter than on the day he had been forced into treatment.

She knew instinctively.

There was a method.

And one he had more confidence in than detoxification

Dr. Brehman answered without hesitation, “Surgery is possible.”

“Surgery?” Rose asked in shock.

The only surgeries she was familiar with were mostly amputations. Cutting off gangrenous limbs with a saw, or pulling out painful teeth—procedures that removed the afflicted part from the body. That’s why the towns after the war were full of veterans missing arms or legs.

“Surgery is preferable to the vague process of detoxification. At least with surgery, you can distinguish between the healthy and abnormal parts with the naked eye.”

Despite everything, Dr. Brehman declared firmly.

“You mean to operate on the Major’s eyes?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

As Rose momentarily lost her words from her imagination running wild, Ezekiel spoke up in her stead.

“What kind of surgery is it?”

“It’s an operation that involves precisely incising the pupil to extract the clouded part.”

Rose drew in a breath. Even after hearing the explanation, she couldn’t grasp what kind of procedure it was.

“In other words, we’ll be operating inside the eye.”

She had never heard of such a surgery before.

“Is that even possible?”

“We’ll have to bring in someone who can do it.”

Only then did Ezekiel recall the part where Dr. Brehman had said “we will operate,” instead of “I will operate.”

“You’re not performing the surgery yourself? Who is ‘we’?”

“I’m quite old, and the sensation in my hands has dulled. If I performed the surgery myself, the likelihood of failure would be high. For such a delicate, localized procedure, a doctor with keen eyesight and fine hands is required to ensure a higher success rate. And I know the most skilled surgeon in this field. She’s young and extremely talented. If she performs the surgery and I assist her, you can hold on to hope.”

After remaining silent for a while, Ezekiel asked in a low voice, “If I undergo the surgery, will I regain my sight?”

“I trust that she’s capable enough for that.”

“Even so, I didn’t expect you to recommend surgery in the end.”

“As a doctor, I’m merely proposing the method with the highest potential for success. You’ve already endured suffering beyond words, Major.”

Dr. Brehman repeated with conviction, “Then now it’s time for you to open your eyes.”

It was a moment where light and shadow crossed paths.

Chapter 9: Goodbye, Rose

“Master, I’ve acquired the red diamond you instructed.”

The good news came in succession. This time, it was Madam Serva who brought a pleasant update to Ezekiel.

“It’s a large and vivid red diamond. They say it was once part of the collection owned by the royal family of a now-defunct principality. The color is so pure and rare that many were after it, and it seems they had to keep it hidden instead of listing it at auction right away to prevent theft. As soon as word spread that it would appear in this auction, the crowd surged, and it was sold for the highest bid. You told me not to worry about the cost, but it was such an astronomical sum that I just couldn’t help mentioning it.”

Madam Serva let out a light sigh. Even she, who had managed large finances while serving as head maid at the Valdemaira main estate, seemed startled by the magnitude of the expenditure.

Ezekiel summed it up succinctly. “Well done.”

“To think I still clearly remember carrying the young master on my back as a boy, and now I’m procuring a diamond for your proposal… When did you grow up so much?”

After speaking with emotion, Madam Serva returned to a serious tone and continued her report.

“In any case, I’ve already secured a jeweler. But red diamonds are so rare that you never see more than one appear at auction at the same time—especially of this quality. It’s unusually large for a red diamond, but the jeweler says that splitting it into smaller pieces would diminish its value. He suggested that it might be too large for a ring alone, so perhaps it could be halved to create both a ring and a necklace—or crafted solely as a necklace.”

“We’ll have to think about that.”

“And we tried to conceal our identity as much as possible by sending a proxy, but honestly, if someone capable enough wants to trace where the funds came from, they’ll be able to find out.”

“Well, it can’t be helped.”

Ezekiel hadn’t expected the foreign jewel that had stirred the auction house to end up in his hands without leaving any trace. Among noble houses like the Valdemairas, tracking where high-value items went was a matter of keen interest. So when a family’s fortunes began to falter, others paid close attention to which treasures they might relinquish and competed to claim them.

In any case, it had nothing to do with him. Neither Ezekiel nor Rose were the type to spend recklessly without planning. They could simply vacate the estate and move before any jewel-seeking intruder came sniffing around. Besides, he was confident he could still take down a petty thief even without his sight.

“I hesitated to bring this up… but I thought you should know.”

Madam Serva lowered her voice and whispered, “Lord Akenaus also had his eye on this red diamond and attended the auction.”