"So…" Sarah said slowly, "you're saying this bracelet came from that person?"
The doctor carefully pointed at the tiny mark again.
"Yup. It seems that way." She nodded. "That symbol clearly belongs to them. Of course, there's always a chance it could be a fake… but judging from the effect Miss Aurielle experienced…"
"…there's a high probability this one is genuine."
David's gaze sharpened slightly.
He was quite skeptical after hearing that story. But if such a person truly existed, then it would make sense why he couldn't detect any energy from the bracelet.
A healer capable of treating thousands of people within such a short time must be operating on an extremely high level.
What truly puzzled him was something else.
Why would Al have something like this?
Sarah glanced at the bracelet for a moment, the skepticism in her eyes still obvious.
"Seems like it," she said to the doctor. "But can this bracelet alone really help cure Sister Aurielle? It sounds pretty unbelievable, doesn't it?"
The two doctors exchanged a glance, then nodded to Sarah, looking a little uneasy.
"Technically speaking, it is hard to believe," one of them admitted.
"We'd still like to test the bracelet ourselves to confirm its effects. But considering that doctor's proven reputation, the chances of it being real are actually quite high."
The other doctor nodded in agreement.
"Sometimes what seems impossible is simply because our medical understanding isn't complete yet. We've seen plenty of mysterious treatment methods that modern medicine still can't fully explain."
Sarah could only stand there in silence, unsure how to respond.
To her, it felt strange that even two of the top doctors seemed so confident about the rumors surrounding that mysterious doctor.
In the end, she simply nodded quietly—half believing, half doubtful—just like several others in the room.
Aurielle, on the other hand, looked impressed—but also slightly annoyed.
"Hey…" she said, looking at the two doctors.
"So you're telling me there's someone out there who might actually be able to treat my trauma… and you both knew about this, yet never told me?"
She crossed her arms.
"If you had told me earlier, we could've tried to find them. Instead of letting me go through years of therapy and treatment. Hmph."
The two doctors could only look slightly guilty—but not entirely.
They had their reasons.
"It may sound like we should have told you, Young Miss," one of them said gently.
"But in reality, it's not that simple. Even we only heard about them through vague rumors. To be honest, it sounded more like a myth than anything real."
The other doctor nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. We don't even know their true identity. According to the common rumors, people only say that they wear a black robe and a plain black mask… along with that strange mark."
She gestured toward the bracelet.
"Trying to track down someone like that would be nearly impossible."
That explanation made sense to everyone present.
Aurielle eventually nodded in understanding.
But at the same time, she couldn't help feeling a strange sense of disbelief.
Because right now…
She was holding an item that might have come from a mythical doctor.
"But I think things won't be the same anymore…" the doctor said again.
"Hmph?" Aurielle frowned in confusion.
"The fact that this item is here," the doctor explained, "means we now have a chance to find that doctor."
Those words seemed to open everyone's minds.
Because she was right.
If this bracelet truly came from that person, then it meant someone here had access to them.
And that someone was…
Al.
Sarah frowned.
"Wait. That means Al has some kind of connection with that doctor. But why someone like Al?"
No one answered.
Even Edward frowned slightly.
Because that question… simply didn't make sense.
Al was just a teenager.
Even imagining that he might have connections to a legendary figure like that was already strange. Let alone the idea that Al himself might be that doctor—that was even more absurd.
Not a single person there even considered such a possibility.
And yet…
The reality was clear.
Al was the one who brought the bracelet.
And he had given something that should have been incredibly valuable… to Aurielle.
Sarah shook her head in disbelief.
"That kid… seriously…"
Aurielle looked down at the bracelet resting in her hands.
After hearing the story about the legendary doctor, she finally began to understand the true value of the bracelet—especially for someone like her, someone burdened with deep trauma.
For the first time in a long while…
A real hope of fully recovering began to appear.
And this time…
It might all be thanks to Al.
"…Thank you, kid," she murmured softly.
David watched the subtle changes in everyone's expressions. For some reason, even Sarah seemed to have gained a slightly better impression of Al.
He felt a hint of regret for playing that card.
He hadn't expected Al to bring such a big, unpredictable variable into the situation. Instead of ruining him, it had actually improved Al's reputation.
The satisfaction he'd felt earlier was slightly tainted.
Still, overall he had already managed to isolate Al from the others. And that alone was enough to calm him down.
Across the room, everyone remained silent, their gazes lingering on the simple metal bracelet.
None of them could understand it.
How that lazy boy—
Had somehow brought back something connected to a legend.
But whatever the truth was…
The answer would eventually come.
Just not now.
Sandra looked visibly pleased by the information. She exchanged a glance with Edward, and a hopeful expression appeared on both of their faces.
Edward looked at Aurielle for a moment, then his gaze drifted into the distance—toward the direction of Al's building.
Unlike the others, Edward didn't just know the rumors about that mysterious doctor. He had actually seen him once.
It happened when one of his friends in a neighboring province had fallen seriously ill and was treated by that very doctor.
Unfortunately, the man had still maintained his mysterious appearance back then. A full black robe, a plain black mask.
The only thing Edward had been able to see was the pale skin on the doctor's neck and arms.
But he knew one thing for sure—the doctor was extraordinary.
The man had cured his friend's chronic illness, a condition that many famous doctors had tried and failed to treat. And he did it in less than an hour.
At that time, Edward had tried to invite the doctor to the Virellano residence—to handle medical checkups and treatments for his family if necessary.
He had even planned to offer the man a position as the family's personal doctor.
But the doctor refused.
In fact, Edward had never even spoken to him directly. The rejection had been delivered through an assistant, so Edward never even heard the man's voice.
The refusal had left him questioning his own status and charisma as one of the top elites in Eastern Indorosia.
And his failure hadn't ended there.
When he later asked his friend for the doctor's contact information, the man could only shake his head and say the doctor came and went on his own terms. No one knew how to contact him—let alone who he really was.
That information had been both strange and shocking.
And now… there was a possibility that this person might be connected to Al.
Could that really be true?
That thought led Edward to a rather uncomfortable conclusion.
Did that mean Al had once been treated by that doctor?
Which meant Al might have had some kind of medical condition.
And since the bracelet supposedly helped suppress psychological disturbances… did that mean Al had suffered from psychological issues?
The thought hit him hard.
It meant that his youngest son might have gone through something deeply painful in the past—something serious enough to require psychological treatment.
And now Al had given that bracelet to Aurielle.
Will he be okay without it? Edward wondered.
Was that why Al seemed emotionally restrained? Why he rarely showed anger, and sometimes looked strangely empty?
The questions kept piling up, one after another, deepening his sense of guilt.
But there were no clear answers yet.
All he could do was hope that—with or without the bracelet—Al would be okay.
---
Later that night
After the dining room incident, Al finally returned to his room.
It was spacious, yet empty—sterile. With brand-new furnishings and the quiet atmosphere of the night, the room felt like an untouched luxury hotel suite.
He threw himself onto the new bed the family had prepared for him.
A faint trace of irritation still lingered within him, though it quickly faded as he reminded himself to live a quieter life from now on.
"My life's already full of things far scarier than this," he muttered with a dry laugh.
"Something this small shouldn't even shake me… but somehow it still got to me. I almost crossed the line."
His eyes narrowed.
"This is dangerous. I have to keep this curse under control. My power… no, our power is still far from enough to face the WMA."
He raised his hand and stared at it.
"We have to hold back until we reach that level of strength. At the very least… so we can live peacefully alongside everyone else in this world."
He stretched his body, trying to calm the emotional tension that was still lingering inside him.
"Anyway… I hope she's not mad that I gave the bracelet to my sister. Hehe," he murmured.
An hour passed. His emotions had completely settled.
He stared at the ceiling for a while, then slowly raised his right hand.
On his middle finger was a small ring—pitch black. No engravings, no gemstones. Just plain black metal… at least to ordinary people.
But it wasn't just a ring. It was his personal dimensional storage, accessed through that very band. Inside, hundreds of items were stored in perfect magical order.
Al infused a bit of magic into the ring. A soft yellowish-purple glow emerged, sending a faint ripple through the air.
An illusion appeared—miniature hologram-like projections floating above his hand.
A tiny black robe and a plain mask were displayed like miniature models.
It was one of the ring's unique functions. His dimensional storage allowed him to browse and select items simply through thought.
With a mental command, he slid the holograms aside.
The projections shifted, cycling through several outfits—different costumes appearing one after another—until a black hooded outfit resembling a ninja suit appeared.
"This will be my first patrol since becoming part of the Virellano family," he murmured. "Not sure if going out tonight is a good idea… but hopefully nothing goes wrong."
Al settled on the outfit. For clothing items, the ring could integrate them directly onto his body—no need to open the dimensional space, take them out, and wear them manually.
The air around the ring shimmered faintly, like heat rising off asphalt.
Just as he was about to activate it—
Knock. Knock.