Chapter Twenty–Seven
The hall had barely settled after the parasite incident when Dr. Lander, his face still twisted with fury, suddenly turned toward the presiding elder. His voice rang sharp as a blade, carrying above the low murmur of the assembly.
“Elder,” he said coldly, “this boy’s so–called acupuncture. it is far too refined for his age. I ask you–does it not resemble the lost methods of the Charleston family?”
The word Charleston fell like a spark into dry kindling. The crowd erupted at once.
“The Charleston family?”
“Impossible–they’ve been gone for generations!”
“But the techniques–didn’t you see the precision? It did look like the old records!”
Gasps, whispers, and startled voices rolled like waves across the assembly hall. For many, the Charleston name was legend–something mentioned in hushed tones, half–myth and half–warning.
The presiding elder frowned deeply. He had been silent until now, watching Adrian with sharp, discerning eyes. Slowly, he rose, lifting a hand for quiet. His voice carried with measured gravity, each word weighing on the hall like iron.
“You speak of the Charleston lineage,” he said, “a name steeped in both reverence and disgrace. Many of you are too young to know the full truth, but it is not a story spoken lightly.”
The hall fell into silence. Even Dr. Lander leaned back slightly, his lips curling into a thin, self–satisfied smile.
The elder continued.
“The man you refer to—the last great Charleston–was not just a healer. He was a seeker. For decades, he traveled across continents, gathering the lost arts of medicine, sorcery, and alchemy. It was said that with a single touch of a wrist, he could divine not only the illness of the body, but the turmoil of the spirit.”
A ripple of awe shivered through the hall. Adrian listened silently, his gaze lowered, but his eyes gleamed with quiet sharpness.
The elder’s voice grew heavier. “Yet knowledge is a double–edged sword. The Charleston delved deeper and deeper, until his mastery rivaled even the Elders Pavilion itself. But where the Pavilion guarded knowledge as power, he chose another path–he gave freely. He healed without asking for wealth, position, or favor. And so the Elders condemned him as a traitor.”
A murmur spread–shock, anger, and even reverence.
“Condemned…?”
“He betrayed the Pavilion?”
“No–he freed medicine from their control!”
The elder sighed. “The Pavilion branded him a heretic. The hunted him, yet he vanished. For years he lived in shadow, healing those abandoned by the powerful. But in the end…” His voice grew quiet. “He left no heir. No family. No disciples who carried his name. He disappeared to history, his knowledge lost with him.”
The silence that followed was suffocating. The weight of the tale pressed on every listener, until one voice broke it -Dr. Lander, sharp and triumphant.
Ofted
+25 Bonus
“Do you hear, everyone? The Charleston died without a lineage. And yet this boy appears, wielding techniques that mirror his! What other conclusion is there? If he is not Charleston blood, then he must be using… sorcery.”
The crowd roared to life again.
“Sorcery?”
“Then his cures are dangerous!”
“What if his methods bring curses along with healing?”
“No wonder it seemed too miraculous–no ordinary medicine could do that.”
Faces turned toward Adrian, suspicion dark and heavy in their eyes. Some leaned back as though even standing near him was a risk. Others glared, anger sparking at the thought they might have been tricked.
A physician with graying hair jabbed a finger at him. “If the Charleston left no heirs, then this is unnatural. He’s deceiving us with forbidden arts!”
Another nodded eagerly. “He should be tested! If his power comes from magic, then he endangers every patient he touches.”
The voices swelled, feeding on each other until the hall was a storm of doubt and accusation.
Adrian stood motionless amid the chaos, his expression calm–too calm. His stillness only seemed to fuel their suspicion, as though a guilty man had nothing left to say.
Then Catherine’s voice cut sharply across the noise.
“Enough!”
She stepped forward, her fists clenched at her sides, her eyes blazing with defiance. “You are all physicians, are
you
not? Did none of you see what I saw? That woman-” She pointed toward the patient Adrian had healed. “She was dying. Years of suffering ended in one moment. If you call that sorcery, then perhaps you’ve forgotten the very purpose of medicine!”
Her words struck, but the crowd was restless. Murmurs continued, quieter now but still brimming with distrust.
Catherine’s voice wavered, but she pressed on. “Adrian is not Charleston blood, nor is he some sorcerer. He is simply… gifted. More gifted than any of you are willing to admit.”
But as she spoke, a flicker of doubt crossed her own eyes. Gifted. Was that truly all? Even she could not deny it— the precision of his needles, the insight of his diagnoses, the way his methods mirrored the legends she had read. Was it really only talent? Or was there something more?
Her defense silenced some, but the doubts lingered like a shadow. Even the elder’s gaze remained fixed on Adrian, searching, weighing.
At last, Dr. Lander gave a cold laugh, his voice slicing through the tension. “Gifted? No, Dangerous. And if you truly believe otherwise, then let him reveal his lineage before us all. Let him prove he is not what he appears.”
The crowd murmured agreement.
“Yes, reveal it!”
“If he’s no Charleston, let him swear it!”
“Only the guilty stay silent.”
Dozens of eyes bored into Adrian, demanding an answer.
2/3
But Adrian said nothing
He simply lifted his gaze, calm and steady, and let the storm rage around him.
The silence that followed was louder than the shouts had been. His lack of denial, his refusal to explain–it left every heart trembling with unease.
Comments
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
