“…Are you talking about me?”
Yujin decided to ask one more time. Was it really the case that Elicia said she wanted him to be with her?
– …nod.
And Elicia nodded her head quietly without a reply. Yujin once again felt a chill run down his spine.
[….…..]
It was because of Tiamat’s piercing gaze. A stream of cold sweat trickled down as he asked Elicia,
“…May I ask the reason?”
“…Well, that is—”
Elicia’s face flushed for a moment as she repeatedly opened and closed her mouth before finally managing to speak.
“If it’s you, Professor… I thought it might be alright…”
“…I see.”
Yujin thought for a moment. Recreating the time that Elicia and the former crown princess spent together… might not be such a bad idea after all. After all, Yujin himself was the one who best understood Elicia’s condition; if he were to personally take charge of her stabilization, he could monitor her status in real time, coordinate the situation, and care for her. It would also be easier to handle any unforeseen circumstances.
However, the reason Yujin had not initially considered himself for Elicia’s stabilization work was that he was uncertain whether she could maintain a calm state of mind while being with him.
After all, it had only been three days since Yujin and Elicia met. Although they might have grown somewhat close from the earlier events, he felt it was rather inappropriate to offer her the kind of stability one finds in a family.
Nevertheless, if she expressed herself like that, it might be worth a try. With that thought in mind, Yujin said,
“Let’s put tea time aside since nothing’s been arranged for it… As for the walk, what time would be convenient for you? Even during the day when there are many people, you could easily use illusion magic to move around without any trouble.”
“Even so, I don’t really want to attract too much attention… so, at a time when there aren’t many people around…”
“In that case, let’s have a night walk. Given Your Highness’s condition, I’ll come to pick you up… but what exact time should we set for our appointment?”
“About 10 o’clock…”
“Understood. Then, let’s do that.”
After casually setting up the walk appointment, Yujin and Elicia exchanged several stories. Mostly concerning Elicia’s condition.
“Your symptoms included hallucinations, auditory delusions, nightmares, and various others… and you were counteracting them with a relic imbued with the power of a transcendent being, correct?”
“Yes. Still, thanks to your sealing, I haven’t had to use them recently.”
“Have you informed your family about the progress in your treatment?”
“Not yet… but it will be conveyed soon. As for the way I’ll be surviving…. I think many will be quite perplexed.”
“That part is unavoidable.”
After having these necessary conversations, time passed quickly. Yujin looked at his watch and said,
“I suppose I should be on my way. I don’t think I can be away any longer.”
“Ah…”
At those words, a look of regret flickered in Elicia’s eyes.
Of course she understood. After all, Yujin had a schedule to keep, and he had mentioned from the beginning that he would only be attending to her for about three hours.
“Then, I shall reapply the seal.”
Whoooosh.
Yujin said that as he unleashed his magic, re-sealing Elicia.
A high-dimensional magical circle imposed the seal on her again and locked it in place. She felt as though her body was draining of strength and grew languid.
“…I felt quite energetic a little while ago, but now my body feels so lethargic.”
“Because demonic power is the root of demons.”
Having replied to Elicia’s comment in that way, Yujin stood up.
“Then, I shall see you later… around 10 o’clock tonight.”
“Ah.”
At that, Elicia’s eyes brightened slightly.
So, in the end, we’re to meet again at 10.
It won’t take long. We’ll see each other again in no time.
Thinking so, she found herself eagerly anticipating the wait.
“Then, please excuse me, Your Highness.”
And with those words, Yujin left his seat.
***
[…Yujin.]
Meanwhile, as soon as Yujin stepped outside, Tiamat called out to him. Yujin quickly replied as if to offer an explanation.
“…Tia, for one, I have absolutely no ulterior motives towards Her Highness. You know that, right?”
It might sound like a lame excuse at first, but it’s the truth. Yujin harbors no particular selfish interest in Elicia.
And Tiamat knew this too. Since the two were connected by their souls, it would be unthinkable for one not to know.
However…
[Hmph, then why didn’t you draw the line a little more firmly?]
Tiamat, though aware of the situation, didn’t seem inclined to easily forgive Yujin. Yujin fell silent.
“How could I? Besides, she already appears quite unstable anyway.”
[That sounds like an excuse to my ears.]
“It’s not an excuse… Didn’t I approach her too coldly last time? I thought a little leniency was in order this time.”
[Then, I have one question for you.]
“…I’m listening.”
Yujin had no choice but to listen quietly to Tiamat’s words. Then she said,
[Didn’t you notice her feelings at all?]
…If I say I didn’t notice, then I would have no conscience, right?
Yujin wasn’t an idiot either. There was no way he could have missed it, given how obvious it was.
Of course, Yujin hadn’t really been in a relationship before, so at first he was a bit unsure. However, once Elicia had hugged him and even asked him to join her for a walk, he couldn’t help but notice to some extent.
That Elicia was clearly developing a tender, budding affection for him.
Yujin had felt somewhat troubled by that. It wasn’t that he couldn’t understand the situation at all, but he knew full well that it wasn’t a simple matter.
At that time, the relationship between Yujin and Elicia was, strictly speaking, that of a patient and their main doctor. Yujin was determined to do his best to treat Elicia, and Elicia was well aware of that.
Moreover, patients tended to develop affection for the doctors who cared for them. Even though it was a contractual relationship, it was evident that the doctor was someone who sought to help them by treating their illness.
The problem was that Yujin and Elicia’s relationship was closer to that of a psychiatric patient and a psychiatrist. Of course, Yujin wasn’t really a doctor, though.
In any case, it wasn’t a simple matter for a psychiatric patient to develop affection for a psychiatrist.
Unlike other fields of medicine, where treatment mainly consisted of medications or surgeries, psychiatry placed a heavy emphasis on psychological treatment…..that is, counseling. In fact, Yujin had mainly been attempting to resolve Elicia’s mental issues through counseling sessions with her.
And at the heart of this counseling treatment was the relationship between therapist and patient. As the patient perceived that the therapist was paying attention to their life and their difficulties, the patient would rebuild their interpersonal relationships and, based on that, would repeatedly engage in the process of assigning new meanings to past experiences, which in turn actually produced changes in their neural circuits.
Simply put, it meant that the treatment was effective only if the patient trusted their doctor.
Due to the nature of the patient-doctor relationship in such counseling treatments, it was not uncommon for patients to confess their love to their main doctor. Not that love necessarily created trust, but trust could also give rise to love.
This side effect of counseling had been experienced early on by Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, and it had even influenced him to change the form of treatment from hypnotism to psychoanalysis. As the form of treatment changed, ethical taboos concerning matters that could arise between psychiatric patients and physicians were also established.
Among these, the most well-known taboo was “do not engage in a romantic relationship with a patient”.
This was because if, during the counseling process, a psychiatric patient felt love for their main doctor and, when that love came to an end, suffered wounds even greater than before, then when psychological problems arose again the patient would no longer trust counseling treatments.
For that reason, most psychiatrists refrained from engaging in a romantic relationship with anyone who had ever been their patient, even if only once. Violating that taboo could result not only in a loss of reputation within the industry but also in being socially ostracized.
“Still, do not worry, Tia. I too have a sense of ethics. I had never intended to do anything despicable to Princess Elicia, and I would never do so.”
As had been mentioned earlier, it was not uncommon for a patient to confess their love to their main doctor. In most cases, however, psychiatrists did not reciprocate such confessions but instead explored why the patient had come to feel love. In that process, the cause of the patient’s pain and its remedy would emerge. And by the time the treatment concluded, the patient no longer felt love for the main doctor.
Yujin thought that Elicia would be similar. Of course, since Yujin himself was not a specialist, he was somewhat worried about whether he could resolve such issues effectively, but now that he had become a dragon, he believed that finding the answer would not be too difficult.
[…Yujin, of course I trust you. However… that child is difficult to trust.]
“…Are you referring to Princess Elicia?”
[…Yujin, by the time that method succeeds, that child will have fully become a demon. And you mustn’t try to define a demon’s psyche using human psychology.]
“…Wasn’t the goal to allow Princess Elicia to transform while preserving her sense of self completely? If that’s the case…”
[That’s precisely why it’s a problem. If she undergoes metamorphosis in her current state, there’s no way to know whether her feelings of love will remain intact.]
“……”
[Resolve this as soon as possible. That child’s body is already no different from a demon’s. This might not be as simple as you think.]
“…Understood.”
[…And… can you promise me just one more thing?]
“…What is it?”
At Tiamat’s unusually serious tone, Yujin too adopted a more solemn demeanor as he asked. She spoke.
[…Do not have children with a demon.]
“…What?”
[I’m not saying this lightly. A demon and a human… it’s just not possible.]
For once, her eyes seemed filled with something akin to guilt.
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