Crown Prince Sells Medicine

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The tail.

Every werewolf possessed one—a tag they carried throughout their lifetime, unable to be torn off. It was an undeniable expression of their emotions. When sad, it drooped; when happy or excited, it wagged vigorously. Like a dog’s tail responding to the prospect of a walk or a treat.

Their inability to conceal their emotions made them vulnerable in human society. They were easy prey for cunning scammers.

This weakness had accumulated over generations, giving rise to stereotypes about their kind. Werewolves were seen as easily deceived, unable to hide their inner feelings. Were there any other races as susceptible as them?

“Haah.”

Anise sighed.

She was no exception. Thanks to her tail, which exposed her emotions, she had formed strong bonds of friendship. But there were countless humans who sought to exploit this weakness.

During her time as a mercenary, she had come close to death. It was not uncommon for members of her race to be deceived and used by humans, leading to their demise or severe injuries.

‘But can I stop this tail?’

This bothersome tail. This curse-like appendage. Was it possible to bring it to a halt? Could the rumored crown prince truly hold the solution?

‘It would be wonderful if it works.’

Honestly, her expectations were not high. She couldn’t help it. She had tried restraining it, even attempted severing it. But the tail remained stubbornly uncontrollable.

No matter how tightly she tied it, the tail would wriggle free on its own. Even cutting it to the base proved futile, as it would regenerate within a month. The dreadful experience of being unable to walk properly without her tail, as her legs lacked strength, was an added torment.

‘But the crown prince claimed to have found a way.’

He had said so. He had asked her to wait and, surprisingly, he claimed to have discovered a solution even before a day had passed. He instructed her to come to the consultation room without delay.

“…”

Silently, Anise made her way down the hallway. Piero Gardin, the middle-aged man accompanying her, guiding her, emitted an odd sound.

“You must be quite nervous.”

“…”

“Well, it’s written all over your face.”

“You didn’t check my tail, did you?”

“Um, well…”

“I thought so.”

“I apologize.”

“It’s fine. I’m used to it.”

“By the way, I don’t believe we’ve properly introduced ourselves. I’m Gardin, Piero Gardin. I serve as the personal physician to the crown prince.”

“I’m Anise. As the successor of Robo and the daughter of Hachinto, I hold responsibility for the Dalgureol tribe.”

“I see. But, Miss Anise, may I offer you a piece of advice?”

“Hmm?”

Anise tilted her head. Advice? What did he want to say?

“Please, go ahead.”

She decided to hear him out.

Gardin smiled kindly.

“Thank you. If I may be so bold as to advise you, whatever treatment method the crown prince suggests, please try not to be too surprised.”

“Why shouldn’t I be surprised…?”

She furrowed her brow. Was he asking her to trust blindly? However, Gardin provided an unexpected answer.

“Because there’s a high probability that the moment you hear the treatment method, you’ll think the crown prince has gone mad.”

“…”

Wasn’t that a dangerous statement? But Gardin seemed unconcerned.

“It has always been that way. I, too, initially thought the same. Our palace maids, servants, even the royal guards and special duty guards had similar thoughts.”

“You regarded the crown prince… as a madman?”

“Yes.”

“…”

“To be honest, we genuinely believed so.”

“And now?”

“As you can see, I am leading Lady Anise to the crown prince—for treatment.”

“…”

Anise remained silent. What kind of outrageous treatment methods did this person known as the crown prince employ to prompt a physician to speak such words?

Of course, her doubts didn’t linger for long. She soon arrived at the crown prince’s treatment room. As she entered, she overheard the method of treatment proposed by the crown prince.

“I will delicately prick your tail with this needle, targeting the nerves. Then, I will inject a controlled amount of poison through the needle.”

“…”

“Pretty cool, huh?”

‘…Cool, my ass. Is he out of his mind?’

She couldn’t help but think so. It was inevitable.

‘Paralyzing the tail by pricking it with a needle? And injecting poison too?’

It was an unfamiliar treatment method, one that didn’t inspire trust in the slightest. Anise briefly questioned if her journey to the imperial capital had been in vain. It was then that her gaze involuntarily shifted towards Gardin, who had accompanied her to the treatment room.

He nodded subtly.

“…”

So that’s why he had given her that advice earlier. Anise pondered for a moment, but the decision had already been made.

‘I may not have much faith in it, but let’s give it a try.’

She didn’t hold high hopes for success. However, she felt that there was significance in attempting it, no matter how slim the chances might be.

‘If, by some chance, it truly works, our tribe won’t have to suffer because of our tails. Even if it’s a bit unconventional… I should face the danger first.’

For the sake of her tribe. For those who trusted her. Anise was prepared to endure any sacrifice and pain.

“Understood. Let’s proceed.”

Anise nodded, following the instructions of the Crown Prince. Gardin left the room, and three maids hurriedly entered in his place.

As the Crown Prince turned away, inspecting the wall, Anise undressed with the maids’ assistance and lay down on the bed. They covered her with a large white cloth that had a hole for her tail, concealing everything except that appendage. Finally, the Crown Prince turned back to face her.

“Now, let’s begin.”

“…”

As she was about to undergo the procedure, a sudden anxiety washed over Anise. Her entire body tensed visibly. However, Raciel paid no mind. The more anxious the patient, the calmer he needed to be.

‘I must remain composed for the patient’s sake.’

Raciel took a deep breath and activated the Asrahan Core Technique.

Kiing-!

The mana circle surrounding his heart spun vigorously, amplifying the mana within his body. Simultaneously, he became acutely aware of the mana surrounding him. Raciel focused most of his sensory ability on his fingertips as he touched Anise’s waist, as if feeling her pulse.

This was the Asrahan precision diagnosis method.

And then, he felt it.

‘I can see it.’

As his hand made contact with her waist, concentric circles of mana radiated outward. He sensed the flow of mana coursing through Anise’s body, following the path of these expanding circles. It was as if he were scanning, observing the visible, detectable movements of mana.

‘The meridians of the human body… They truly exist and function as they are meant to.’

Raciel scrutinized Anise’s body meridians with renewed fascination and a sense of mystery. In his days studying Oriental medicine, he had memorized the meridians, familiarizing himself with their arrangement and harmony through practice. However, they couldn’t be seen with the naked eye or observed through modern medical equipment like X-rays or CT scans. The existence of meridians was inferred based on centuries of experiential knowledge.

‘Honestly, that was the most regrettable aspect.’

He believed in the existence of meridians, dedicating his studies to them. But he couldn’t see them, nor could they be empirically observed. The only foundation supporting their existence was millennia of accumulated experience, which he found disappointing. It frustrated him that the precise principles and mechanisms behind acupuncture’s effects on the human body hadn’t been clearly established.

‘It was undeniably effective, but the reasons and principles remain unexplained. It was simply a treatment carried out based on the accumulated success of many cases over thousands of years.’

While the positive outcomes were evident, the mechanisms behind them were not. It was a situation similar to modern medical treatments like deep brain stimulation for epilepsy, where the positive effects were observed, yet the exact workings remained unclear.

Thus, he occasionally harbored doubts about the existence of meridians. Was it truly real? The lack of certainty bothered him.

But now?

Things were different.

‘I can see it. I can feel it.’

Thanks to the precise diagnostic method using the Asrahan Core Technique, he could now detect the meridians through the movement of mana. He had gained a small measure of certainty.

‘I wasn’t mistaken in my studies.’

His knowledge was correct, and the time he had devoted to it had not been in vain. Moreover, he could now perform procedures while monitoring the real-time response of the meridians, just like he was about to do.

Swish.

He held a thin white acupuncture needle, aiming for the first meridian—Suspended Pivot Point, the central pillar of the Governor Vessel, located in the hollow area below the first lumbar spine.

Thud!

He precisely timed Anise’s inhalation, lightly inserting the needle to a depth of 5 millimeters. Simultaneously, he activated the circular slot.

Whirr!

[Activating emission function of slot 1.]

[Please set the emission volume.]

‘0.01 milliliters.’

[Releasing 0.01 milliliters of muscle paralysis poison from the circular slot.]

Prick!

With a gentle press, the minuscule amount of paralytic poison was released. It traveled through the circle slot, coursing through Raciel’s fingers and into Anise’s Suspended Pivot Point.

“Um….”

Anise involuntarily flinched, a reflexive reaction as her muscles responded. Raciel watched intently, observing the effects on the Suspended Pivot Point and the surrounding meridians.

And there it was. The carefully administered dose of poison disrupted the flow of mana along the spinal acupoints. Mana, which originally flowed in a unidirectional manner, now encountered a barrier, halting its progression.

Instinctively, mana sought an alternate path, meandering erratically. Raciel decided to guide it.

‘Next are Mingmen and Yaoyangguan.’

He focused on two acupoints along the spine, situated below the spinal acupoints. With precise breathing and Bosa techniques, he performed acupuncture, simultaneously utilizing the circle slot. A minute amount of the appropriate poison was injected. Once again, he observed the alteration in the flow of the acupoints.

Tssrrrrt…!

A new pathway emerged for the mana that had struggled to bypass the spinal acupoints. It cascaded downward, following the spinal erector muscles on both sides. Along the way, certain spinal nerves became inactive, specifically those responsible for tail movement.

At that moment.

Sssooooo…..

Anise’s tail underwent a transformation. Once tense and rigid, it lost its strength and drooped. Subsequently, it remained motionless—a successful local paralysis.

‘Good. It’s going as planned.’

Unbeknownst to Raciel, beads of sweat formed on his forehead. Wiping them away, he refocused. The initial phase of tail paralysis had been successful.

However, this was just the beginning.

‘No, the real challenge starts now.’

The crux of the procedure lay not only in paralyzing the tail but also in maintaining that paralysis for the remainder of the patient’s life. That was the true key.

‘And now, the next step is crucial.’

The artificially manipulated flow of mana had to be controlled. Left unchecked, the effects of the procedure would gradually fade.

‘The body will detect the anomaly and attempt to restore the manipulated neural network. It’s a natural healing response within the human body, simply following its course.’

To counter this, Raciel had to deceive the body. He needed to make it believe that no paralysis had occurred, thus preventing the initiation of the natural healing response.

But how?

‘Like this.’

Raciel reached for the final acupuncture needle. However, just as he was about to proceed, something unexpected happened.

Rrrrr…!

Anise’s previously paralyzed tail began convulsing. Raciel’s eyebrows twitched.

‘A healing response? Already?’

It was unforeseen. The speed of the body’s response was astonishing.

‘Truly a werewolf, unlike ordinary individuals.’

The regenerative abilities were no mere exaggeration. Anise’s body had swiftly detected the changes in her nervous system, triggering its inherent self-repair mechanism. The precise diagnostic method clearly indicated this through mana flow.

Yet Raciel remained steadfast. He had anticipated this development. Calmly and swiftly, he retrieved the acupuncture needle and pricked Anise.

Tuduk!

The needle pierced 1.5 cun on either side of the fifth lumbar spinous process, targeting the Yaoshu acupoint surrounding the spine on the left side. His hand continued to move.

Tuck!

The final needle was expertly inserted into the back of Anise’s head, precisely into the Brain’s Hollow acupoint on the right side of the occipital center. As the needle penetrated to a depth of 3 fen…

“Ah?”

Anise’s left leg jerked, simultaneous with the convulsing tail. The nerves responsible for tail movement, which had been on the path to recovery, were once again quieted. A new neural pathway had been established, deviating the flow that should have reached the tail.

From the waist, traversing through the buttocks, it swept along the left femoral muscle, descending further downward. Progressing through the calf, it passed the ankle bone and the edge of the left foot, eventually reaching the little toe.

And at that moment,

…… Fidget, fidget.

In place of the immobilized tail, the left little toe began to stir. It twitched and fidgeted, resembling the movements of a tail. The instant Raciel confirmed this,

‘It worked!’

He tightly clenched his fist.

By deceiving the spinal nerves, the little toe had been successfully recognized as the tail. It was a moment of magical success for the ingenious neural interference pseudo-procedure.

(To be Continued)

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