Chapter 694: For the Queen’s Safety, Please Do Not Treat Them!

"Who’s your leader?"

Garrett shouted from a distance. As he spoke, he subtly flicked his fingers, casting several spells on himself:

Mage Armor, Shield, Resist Energy Damage...

Simultaneously, he reached into his space bag, silently dropping a few magical items into his pockets. The Gold Oak Leaf Medal, which provides arrow protection once a week;

The Elemental Endurance Pendant given by His Excellency the Barrier Mage, Steiner;

The Golden Bracelet from Lady Helena, the Enchantment Legend, which holds the spells Flame Burst, Gate, and Water Wall;

The Tie Clip from Lady Almeida, the Enchantment Legend, which can resist mental attacks...

And the Endless Ink Pen, always by his side, which can activate a Force Wall to resist mind-controlling spells and trigger teleportation spells. He essentially armed himself as a battle-ready, resilient, and escape-capable magical juggernaut.

Despite his lacking combat awareness and reliance on automatically triggered protective spells to survive the first wave of attacks, his survival ability had significantly improved.

Such a large group of people, destitute with similar symptoms, suddenly appearing at the hospital gate early in the morning...

There must be something wrong!

Who knows where they came from, whether someone sent them, or if there are ill-intentioned individuals hiding among them!

Although Cirilla and Bernard were by his side, it was still better to be fully protected and vigilant for his own safety.

Cirilla gave him a silent smile, moving a step closer to him. Garrett raised his voice again:

"Who is your leader? Where did you come from?"

The refugees stirred, some opened their mouths to respond, but Garrett couldn’t understand a word. Was it a dialect, or another language?

"It’s Carolingian," a priestess from the Temple of Springs approached Garrett and whispered. Seeing Garrett’s inquisitive look, she smiled confidently:

"Years ago...the royal capital had frequent exchanges with the people across the strait. We also exchanged healing techniques with the Radiant Church. These people speak Carolingian, with a bit of an accent, but it’s definitely the language."

So...are they from across the strait? Under the Radiant Church’s jurisdiction? Driven here for some reason?

Garrett’s mind raced. He smiled at the priestess:

"Please ask them where they came from and what they’re here for."

The priestess stepped forward, standing behind Bernard, and raised her voice to ask. Garrett cast Comprehend Languages on himself and listened quietly:

It turned out that these people were three separate groups, who didn’t know each other well. They were captured and imprisoned as blood slaves. Originally set to be executed, for some unknown reason, they were transported here and guided to the hospital gate.

How long were they in prison?

Unknown.

Who transported them?

Unknown.

Who guided them?

Still unknown...

Garrett sighed. He turned to Bernard:

"Guide them around the hospital walls to the back. Have logistics bring them some food, and I’ll check on them later. We don’t want them blocking the entrance and scaring people when patients start coming in and out."

The barbarian swung the gate latch and shouted loudly. With the priestess translating, the refugees finally stood up in pairs, supporting and dragging each other, moving towards the back wall.

Garrett watched them closely, noting that most moved smoothly, while a few appeared dazed, needing loud shouts or physical prodding to keep moving.

One short, unsteady man kept glancing back, staring straight at him.

Tupac Demir was very disappointed. He had invested heavily, painting his face and hands to resemble the patients, even applying makeup to the skin under his clothes. He even chewed a glass bottle to make his gums and lips bleed...

In this guise, blending with the refugees and pretending to be mentally ill, he had hoped to assassinate the Nordmark mage when he came to examine them.

Alas, this cautious mage wouldn’t even approach them... It seems he’ll have to stay among the refugees for a while longer...

Garrett hadn’t noticed anything unusual about the man. He was busy pondering and discerning the source of their symptoms:

Was it from starvation and exposure?

Or were there mentally ill individuals, or those with developmental disorders among them?

Or perhaps...

He thought quickly. The priestess turned back, her face serious:

"Your Excellency, are you planning to treat them?"

"I should at least take a look, shouldn’t I?" Garrett’s eyes remained on the refugees, watching them move slowly away:

"They’re at my doorstep; it wouldn’t be right to turn them away."

"But aren’t these people vampires? Your Excellency, you’re about to treat the Queen; you shouldn’t..."

"They’re not vampires," Garrett shook his head firmly:

"Cirilla said they don’t have the aura of vampires. I trust her judgment. Besides, I’ll cast protective spells. Even if one or two are problematic, they won’t harm me."

"It’s still better not to get close to them." Joanna hurried over, quickly examining the group. This priestess of the Nature Church returned swiftly, worried:

"Your Excellency, I believe you’ve noticed their similar symptoms. I suspect it’s leprosy—if not, some other infectious disease."

She glanced at the maternity building, frowning:

"Your Excellency, this is a hospital. The patients here are the weakest, pregnant women, and newborns. We shouldn’t let them stay nearby."

"It’s not leprosy," Garrett confidently replied. He had already considered this possibility and paid special attention to the red swelling and scales on the refugees’ faces and their extended fingers:

"They haven’t lost their eyebrows or other hair, their facial lesions are symmetrically distributed, and the lesions on their hands have a glove-like pattern with no deformities or missing fingers. These don’t match leprosy symptoms."

Of course, precautions against other infectious diseases were still necessary. Garrett called for people to disinfect the paths the refugees had taken and prepared rubber isolation suits:

"Don’t worry, even if it’s an infectious disease, I’ll wear isolation suits to examine them and follow disinfection protocols afterward. Letting them run around unchecked will cause more trouble. This matter should be reported; with this group here, who knows how many conspiracies lie ahead!"

The refugee situation was quickly reported to Lord Graf, who informed Baroness Viteg. By eight in the morning, the baroness arrived on horseback, hurriedly:

"Where are the refugees? Mage, don’t worry, someone will come to take them away soon! They won’t be left here to trouble you or the Queen!"

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read