The black sedan slowly pulled through the hospital gates. Mejiro Ramonu, leading Dream Weaver, headed straight for the inpatient building with an air of familiarity, as if she had walked these paths countless times before.
But Dream Weaver had no mind to notice such details right now; all she wanted was to see Mejiro Ardan immediately.
Just as Mejiro Ramonu brought her to the patient ward floor, her phone rang.
Glancing at the name on the screen, her eyebrow gave a slight twitch.
After quickly telling Dream Weaver the room number, she stepped away alone into a corner to take the call.
Dream Weaver had only taken a few steps when she nearly bumped into a middle-aged man whose face was masked, yet for some reason, he struck her as intensely familiar.
He wore a white hospital coat, and on his chest pocket, next to a neatly placed pen, a nameplate identified his name and position.
[Assistant Professor of First Surgery, Zaizen Shuuji.]
Zaizen Shuuji didn't seem surprised at all by Dream Weaver's arrival. He removed his mask, revealing the face of the very man who had once delivered the perfect limiter to the Northern family.
Looking at the nameplate on his chest, Dream Weaver furrowed her brows slightly in confusion and asked, "Weren't you supposed to be a retainer of the Mejiro family? How did you end up as an assistant professor here?"
From what little common sense she had, a position like assistant professor was quite high up in a hospital—practically second only to a full professor. And in a critical department like First Surgery, no less.
This didn't match what he'd told her before.
"The Mejiro family has strong ties with the medical world," Zaizen Shuuji explained, adjusting his glasses.
"As one of their retainers, it's only natural I hold a position here. Otherwise, how do you think we completed the perfect limiter last time?"
He didn't explain why he hadn't clarified this during their previous meeting, instead steering the conversation elsewhere.
"Miss Dreams, you're here to see Miss Ardan, aren't you? She's just finished some treatments and might still be rather tired. While she rests, allow me to explain the situation to you."
Dream Weaver gave a nod. Since he was a professional involved in developing the perfect limiter, hearing his perspective on Ardan's condition couldn't hurt.
Seeing her agreement, Zaizen Shuuji straightened his collar and addressed her solemnly. "Miss Dreams, I assume you recall the Northern family's curse?"
In his view, it had been a year since Dream Weaver had used the limiter, and she might have let the details fade. So he thought it best to remind her before diving in.
But what he didn't know was that Dream Weaver still possessed the perfect limiter. The bloodline's curse had never left her for a single day. It clung to her like shackles, the burden growing heavier with time. Any thought of pushing beyond her limits sent sharp pains shooting through her limbs.
How could she possibly forget? She replied without hesitation that she remembered.
Zaizen Shuuji nodded and continued, "Miss Ardan's situation bears some resemblance to the Northern family's curse. After all, she carries Northern blood as well."
His words made Dream Weaver stir restlessly. She cut in before he could finish, "That's impossible! Her condition is completely different from the Northern family's curse!"
And it was true.
Although the Northern curse placed a great burden on the body, it also allowed the bearer to inherit exceptional ancestral talents—a transformation that occurred gradually.
Dream Weaver herself hadn't felt the curse's full impact until after the Spring Tenno Sho.
But according to Mejiro Ramonu's description, Mejiro Ardan had been frail since childhood, with brittle "glass legs"—entirely unlike the Northern family's curse.
"Miss Dreams, although you have Mejiro blood, the Northern lineage is dominant in you, so the curse was passed on in its complete form," Zaizen Shuuji explained. "In Miss Ardan's case, the Mejiro blood has diluted the Northern curse, altering its manifestation."
He paused briefly before adding, "She possesses excellent physical attributes, yet her fragile constitution prevents her from using them to the fullest. She is like radiant, brilliantly colored glass—dazzling to behold, but shattering at the slightest touch."
"Glass legs... such a cruel, yet fitting name," he murmured. With a sigh, he adjusted his glasses again, hiding his emotions behind their lenses.
Dream Weaver fell silent for a long while. Her hands had been clenched tightly in worry, and even now her knuckles were white, without a moment's release.
After what felt like an age, she whispered softly, "It must be painful..."
Zaizen Shuuji nodded in shared feeling, his tone a mix of pity and admiration. "Yes. Every time Miss Ardan runs, she experiences severe tension in her legs.
Once she approaches her limits, they shatter abruptly into unbearable agony."
"For her, even daily training carries immense pain and risk, let alone competing on the track. And beyond the physical suffering, the psychological torment is even worse—the constant uncertainty of not knowing when her glass legs will finally give way."
"Every time Miss Ardan runs, it may very well be with the resolve that it could be her last."
As a top retainer of the Mejiro family, Zaizen Shuuji had been involved in many of their affairs. Having served as Mejiro Ardan's primary physician during her racing career, he understood her condition inside and out—and that only deepened his sympathy.
"...What about the limiter?" Dream Weaver finally uttered, her voice low but intense.
"Didn't you develop a perfect limiter before? Ardan's glass legs are due to the curse too, right? Can't we produce another limiter for her?"
She stood in the corridor, fists clenched, almost growling the words.
During her silence, she had been racking her brain for a solution to end Mejiro Ardan's suffering.
Listening to Zaizen Shuuji, it suddenly struck her—wasn't the limiter the perfect cure for Ardan's condition?
But to her surprise, Zaizen Shuuji shook his head. He pushed his glasses up and replied in a heavy tone, "The limiter was never intended for mass production from the start. Its creation was more like a desperate, last-ditch effort. No one is willing to invest in a drug that's doomed to be unprofitable now."
"Besides, it's been a year since the limiter was produced. Even if we still have the data, reassembling the original experimental equipment and gathering the same specialists would be nearly impossible."
That perfect product was the culmination of generations of the Northern family's efforts. In this era of the family's decline, the chance of it ever appearing again had all but vanished.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
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