Isis was like a curious baby, finding everything fascinating, but this shabby place didn’t look anything like a hospital.
In her mind, hospitals were like vacation resorts—with hot springs, a pleasant environment, birds singing, flowers fragrant. Even the attendants had to be good-looking and charismatic. Some of her noble friends who pursued thrills through drug use would detox in such places.
But this place was dilapidated, a bare concrete building—it didn’t look like a clinic, it looked more like a dungeon.
Liszt stared intensely at the position of the stairway, and almost spat out a mouthful of blood when he saw Mika’s former home tutor.
This home tutor probably wasn’t very proper, right?
Mika was already in his thirties, and as his teacher, she must not be young either. She had to be at least in her late thirties.
The term "still charming" didn’t quite describe this woman, even though she was a bit older and slightly plump. Her baggy cotton sweater couldn’t hide her shapely figure, which was too pronounced. Her hair, tied back in a low ponytail, hung over one shoulder, with a few strands escaping. There was a charming beauty mark by her lips.
However, age took its toll, her complexion slightly dull and her expression weary.
If she was younger, probably none but the eunuchs would be able to resist her.
Liszt had read links to the Immortal’s passages, "Nine days could not compare to an instant in it."
It’s no wonder Mika was obsessed with collecting guides, with such a home tutor around, regardless of what knowledge he acquired, he surely learned some skills.
The female doctor noticed Liszt; she also occasionally kept tabs on Mika’s whereabouts.
After Mika’s mishap, his former social circle was all abuzz—he had been a Black Doctor in Lostra, then a pirate in the East Sea, involved in the Blue Bay Port incident, which had triggered a Warrant. Nobles were murdered during that robbery, quite a rare event in the Western Continent.
Then, around February or March this year, the train case criminal was revealed—it was done by Black Sail, and Mika again became a prominent figure from Chenxi Port as a Netherworld Person of Aran.
After examining Liszt closely, the female doctor realized that he was the mastermind behind that train case and also Mika’s elder brother.
"Mika isn’t here?" she asked calmly, her maturity and extensive experiences made her unworried about Liszt’s possible motives.
During the half-year she taught Mika, she was waiting for a school allocation, in a state of limbo. After Mika graduated, she was assigned to a military unit stationed in Chenxi Port, with a promising future.
But once Mika got into trouble, she was implicated too, for Mika had learned his medical skills from her. Though unrelated to the actual incident—death sentence was avoided—the background checks in Aran were stringent.
She made mistakes, was expelled from the stationed military unit, had her medical license revoked, and wasn’t even allowed to open a clinic.
Being gifted but not well-backed, and knowing only this one craft, she practiced as a Black Doctor for eight years. With her skills, she was naturally well-regarded, but of course, she didn’t earn as much as legitimate doctors—it was only enough to get by.
Liszt shook his head, "Just me. He’s busy, came by to check on an old friend."
"Is that so?" she said, her expression complex. Her feelings towards Mika were tangled—had it not been for him, she wouldn’t be here. Though mostly filled with resentment and regret, over the years, a slight bitterness had developed.
She invited Liszt upstairs for a private chat.
Liszt told Isis to stay put and not wander off, asking Galen to keep an eye on her.
The second floor of the clinic couldn’t really pass for an office, and as they passed through the corridor, several people could be seen lying on intravenous drip beds.
In the cramped space.
Liszt and the female doctor sat opposite each other; she offered to make tea for Liszt, but he declined.
He planned to just ask a few questions, exchange some pleasantries, and then conclude the matter by giving Golden Dragon.
Mr. Mai had it tough too; a lone man by now, this female doctor might just be the only person he knew from his past life who was still alive.
But Mr. Mai had lived his life without regrets, had been with numerous people—the male actors from the island countries couldn’t compare to him; even in death, he’d live on as a debonair ghost.
His later years were still joyous, with no need for any bicycle.
"I heard you were Mika’s teacher; he’s quite skilled, truly a case of a great teacher producing an excellent student," Liszt said, making polite conversation though he was known for being tactless, a characteristic shaped by too much old wine, recognizing the style as that of Wong Kar-wai.
"It’s true, it’s what got me stripped of my official title, working as a doctor in this dump," the female doctor said with a bitter smile.
Liszt felt a bit awkward. Although he did not know exactly what had happened to Mika, he did have a general idea that it involved being wrongfully accused. Thinking about it, there were quite a few scapegoats in Black Sail: Mika, Claude, and especially Rein, who was a major figure.
"He doesn’t like to talk about the past. I had someone investigate for a while before I found this place. What exactly happened back then?"
In Black Sail, many people had multiple criminal charges. The Cross Alliance was after them, and so was their own country. Mika’s crime in Aran seemed to be related to abuse of power and intentional murder.
"You knew he was under your command, yet you didn’t know that," the female physician recalled with some reminiscence. The matter was somewhat complicated. To clear Mika’s name and recover her license, she herself had investigated for two or three years. Although it had ultimately led nowhere, she knew more details than most people. She continued, "I am not certain, just speculating. When I taught him, he had a group of bad friends, one of whom was a man named Caesar, a bastard son of a duke."
Liszt raised an eyebrow. A duke?
This surprised Liszt. Although a bastard, such a child would still have considerable inheritance, a bona fide super-rich. Mika knew someone so influential, and yet his end was so miserable?
"Back when Mika had just been expelled from middle school, I taught him for six months. He always hung out with Caesar, even if I asked him to go out and study, he wouldn’t listen to me."
The female physician smiled as she remembered that time.
Liszt choked up a little.
"That’s exactly what you’re thinking. It was inconvenient at home, so we went to an inn."
The female physician spoke in a nonchalant tone.
Liszt calculated the timeline; Mika had held office for several years and had been expelled from middle school? He must still have been a minor then, damn it, she had a copper refining addiction.
It seemed likely that this woman had taken Mika’s virginity.
"Anyway, his relationship with Caesar was deep. Eight years ago, Mika worked in the Chenxi Port City Hall, serving as a forensic doctor and hangman, earning two salaries, and living quite comfortably, even having a fiancée."
The female physician’s gaze suddenly sharpened, "Mika was definitely not the real criminal. It was either Caesar or that woman, the one introduced by Caesar. Maybe the two were in cahoots."
The female physician began speaking of the events from eight years ago.
Mika, as a forensic doctor, verified corpses, determined times and causes of death, and excelled at these tasks.
One day, Mika’s fiancée brought over a guest claiming to be a friend of Caesar from out of town, wanting to stay at Mika’s place for the night.
Mika gladly agreed, whether it was owing Caesar face for past support with a knife or the various other assists that helped him rise to his position.
However, that night, the guest died at Mika’s house.
The guest was no ordinary person, but a secret envoy from the Royal Court, handling important matters at Chenxi Port.
As the prime suspect, Mika had to prove his innocence.
The matter was deeply entangled, and the Chenxi Port City Hall did not have the jurisdiction to handle the case, which went directly to the police force governed by the Royal Court.
The Royal Court’s forensic doctor performed an autopsy and concluded there were no organic lesions, the death was due to cardiac paralysis, related to the toxin of the Flying Electric Snake.
Unfortunately, Mika’s house also contained ingredients of the Flying Electric Snake’s magic potion, but it was just his hobby, unrelated to the incident.
Mika believed it was a frame-up and appealed to the Royal Court for another examination. This text is hosted at NovєlFіre.net
However, his well-meaning fiancée suggested that Mika, being a forensic doctor himself, should conduct the examination to reveal the truth.
Mika trusted his fiancée and, being young and under the immense pressure of potentially facing death penalties for killing a Royal Court official, he rashly agreed.
Strangely, the Royal Court officials did not reject this proposal.
Mika was performing the autopsy on the victim he was accused of killing, an opportunity to tamper with evidence.
He fell into a trap of self-verification.
And could no longer clear himself of the accusation of killing the high-ranking official of the Royal Court.
On the way to the Imperial City for execution, Mika had escaped and had since been living in exile overseas.