Our Family Has Fallen

Paracelsus initially looked down on this witch from the Barbarian Tribes, thinking her strange methods were nothing but a joke. Lance, who greatly admired Grendel, was clearly enchanted by the woman, which was why he trusted her so implicitly. However, their research overlapped in many areas, leading Grendel to frequent the sanatorium. Coupled with Lance’s deliberate matchmaking, the two women had considerable contact. It was only then that Paracelsus realized just how formidable Grendel truly was.

Although it wasn’t explicitly mentioned, the town and surrounding farms were populous, so there had always been patients. However, their situation was often somewhat awkward. After arriving in Hamlet, Paracelsus attempted to treat some of them. She achieved good results with external injuries like sprains and bruises, meaning the townspeople no longer had to fear death from infection. Through this, she also accumulated considerable experience in treating such injuries and even trained a few medics. But when facing ailments like colds and fevers, headaches and dizziness, abdominal pain and diarrhea, or more severe internal diseases, she was powerless.

It wasn’t that she didn’t try, but unfortunately, the results were not very good. The reason was that she hadn’t found the cause of the diseases; that entire theory of elements simply didn’t apply. So she devoted more energy to research on the human body, trying to find a way to cure these diseases.

Later, when the plague broke out, the emergence of the Withering Disease fully exposed her helplessness. She couldn’t even alleviate the patients’ pain; the only thing she could do was keep records. It wasn’t until Grendel intervened that a cure was found. Working with Lance, she completely eradicated the plague.

Paracelsus was rather stubborn by nature, or perhaps prideful—a common failing among many geniuses. At that time, she was actually somewhat incredulous. It was only when the Lord later had her join him and Grendel in their research that she witnessed Grendel’s true capabilities. Those peculiar herbs, and that ineffable witchcraft, were actually effective. Only then did she also understand what the Lord meant: when faced with something unknown, one should learn and research, not resist and close oneself off.

Faced with the facts, Paracelsus had actually let go of her prejudice, though she was still too proud to show it openly. However, with the Lord mediating between them and Grendel possessing a gentle and kind disposition, their relationship had normalized. Nevertheless, Paracelsus only wanted to do research and did not enjoy socializing, nor did she feel any need to ingratiate herself with anyone, which is why she appeared so indifferent.

”Come on, the Lord said you’d like the bathhouse.”

Paracelsus, hearing the voice, came back to her senses and looked up to realize they had arrived. Truth be told, because she spent most of her time holed up in the sanatorium conducting research and rarely went out, she had a rather vague understanding of some of the town’s facilities despite having been in Hamlet for so long. In her memory, this place was still a construction site, but to her surprise, it had quickly transformed into a large building.

One could see that the main structure of the building was made of large blocks of brick and stone. The roof was not the common wooden type but made of fired tiles. These were all standard practices. What was most distinctive, however, was that a layer of whitewash covered the exterior walls, hiding the exposed brickwork and lending it a clean and tidy style. One could guess, without much thought, who had designed it.

”The front part is the bathhouse itself, with the men’s section over there and the women’s here,” Grendel began to explain as they entered an area divided in half by a brick wall, creating two independent sections. ”The staff inside are also strictly segregated by gender. The back isn’t open to the public; it’s mainly for the water-heating furnaces, storage, equipment cleaning, and the drying area.”

”The bathhouse is open from six in the evening until ten at night, which is when everyone finishes work. It offers showers, baths, saunas, medicinal baths, and hot springs. There might also be additional services in the back, like massages, pedicures, and scrubbing, but those are not yet confirmed. The Lord said it depends on how well these are received before deciding.”

Paracelsus followed her inside. The bathhouse had just opened, and Lance’s promotional policies had not yet been implemented, so there were hardly any people. Moreover, it was already nine o’clock at night. Besides the staff who had yet to finish their shifts, only they were present.

”The bathhouse offers a variety of services, with tiered pricing. A shower is very cheap and completely affordable for ordinary people. The other services are more expensive and offer better amenities. I’ve already arranged everything, so just relax and enjoy your evening.”

Grendel was clearly not taking her to experience the cheapest option; her words carried a hint of mystery. Saying so, she took a specially designed bath towel from a staff member and handed it directly to Paracelsus.

”Go change first; you can leave your things here.”

Upon hearing that she needed to change, Paracelsus became visibly uncomfortable. As a reclusive person, she was not good at socializing and even became socially anxious once out of the lab.

She had undressed many test subjects, but to change clothes in this kind of environment…

Paracelsus’s resistance was very strong, as if she was about to turn around and flee.

Seeing this, Grendel immediately reassured her with a smile, pointing to one side. ”Of course not here. You should know, our Lord places great emphasis on dignity... or was it privacy he calls it?” Grendel’s smiling face paused slightly, revealing a contemplative look before she added, ”Anyway, it’s a concept like one of those new terms. It was considered in the design from the very beginning.”