Battlefield Priest's Diary

Chapter 71 Awakening and Decay

When the priest in black robes returned with his men, Queen Alexandra was the first to greet him.

"Father Pugin, how is he?!"

At this point, some observant people noticed that after only a short while, the priest in the black robe seemed to have become very tired. Not only were there fine beads of sweat on his temples, but even his right hand was trembling slightly involuntarily.

Finally, under everyone's watchful eyes, the Easterner pulled a bottle from his pocket, inside which was a thin, blue powder mixed with withered branches.

The head maid came up to take the bottle, but was stopped by the other party.

"Please wait a moment!" The priest in black robes took the bottle back and looked at the crowd around him.

"This medicine is very special. It needs to be consumed in a specific container after it is made to avoid any problems. I need to see if there is anything suitable here."

"Special vessel?" Nicholas II frowned. "Father Putin, may I ask what exactly this special vessel is? Is it made of gold, silver, lead, or brass?"

“None of those.” The priest in the black robe waved his hand. “What I mean by special is not the material, but a special aura related to the user. Please take out your personal accessories so I can make a judgment.”

The Tsar and Tsarina looked at each other and began to hand over their personal belongings. When the other nobles in the room saw this, they all took out what they had in their pockets.

The medicine requires a specific "magnetic field" for the vessel to be used. Such an unbelievable "treatment" method seems completely illogical to outsiders. If Qin Hao were to say this to others 100 years from now, he would probably be treated as a quack.

But when it came to treating Alexei with the Tsar's family, this was not a problem at all.

Over the past 10 years, this family has tried all sorts of bizarre methods to treat the Crown Prince's illness.

Besides the deadly leech bloodletting therapy, as early as 1906, a Mongolian man suggested giving Alexei a medicine containing arsenic. After about two weeks of treatment, he was expelled from the Winter Palace. (A true Mongolian doctor)
The German Karl Mendel believed that the root of hemophilia was in the bones, and that amputation was the best treatment. He immediately proposed cutting off the Crown Prince's leg.

Niels Finsen, a Dane, went straight to phototherapy on the prince, actually trying to use prolonged ultraviolet radiation to remove the so-called unknown bacteria on Alexei's body.

Because this person had won the Nobel Prize and was the inventor of the ultraviolet lamp, the royal family attached great importance to his plan. However, the unstable voltage of the equipment directly caused burns, and they had to abandon it.

There are many similar cases. It's safe to say that the fact that Alexei was able to grow up to 10 years old despite all this suffering suggests that God might have given him a special favor.

A pocket watch, a pearl necklace, earrings, a small decorative cup, and a dagger with gemstones were all placed on the table, and soon they piled up into a small mountain.

Qin Hao pretended to rummage through these items and, unsurprisingly, found traces of Fabergé on the labels of several of them.

"These items have a very suitable magnetic field. Hand me the cup-shaped one."

The priest in black robes reached for a gilded cup inlaid with gemstones and a silver spoon with the same markings, took out a small bottle, poured in the powder mixed with twigs and leaves, added a little warm water, and then walked towards Alexei.

At this time, the Crown Prince was already in a semi-conscious state, and a maid was constantly using gauze to wipe away the blood seeping from his wound.

But that wasn't the worst of it. The prince had obvious bruises on his abdomen and limbs, and his abraded joints were swollen like loaves of bread—signs of ongoing internal bleeding.

With the help of a maid, she scooped up the pale blue medicine with a silver spoon and fed it to Alexei, spoonful by spoonful.

Ten minutes passed, and nothing happened.

“Father, this medicine…” The Queen hesitated before speaking.

"It won't be long; we should see results today," the priest in black robes replied.

Qin Hao muttered to himself, "Since the instructions say it's a fast-acting medicine, it should take effect within a few hours, right?"

The Tsar glanced at the setting sun outside, then turned and instructed the head maid, "Take Father Putin to rest, and make sure everything is arranged properly."

He then waved wearily, "Everyone else, go ahead. The Queen and I will wait here."

Grand Duke Nikolayevich wanted to say something, but seeing his nephew's expression, he swallowed the words he was about to say and turned to leave.
-
As night fell, the Tsar's camp was lit up with lights.

A sudden northerly wind brought a sharp drop in temperature, forcing the camp to light the stoves that were only used during the winter ahead of schedule.

The flames in the fireplace burned brightly, casting a shadow of Nikolayevich that resembled a bear.

"Your Excellency, the Imperial Guard has been assembled and is stationed one kilometer away. The Cossack cavalry are on standby, keeping watch in the vicinity around the clock. They can reach the camp within five minutes by marching at full speed." Someone reported in a low voice from a place where the firelight could not reach.

The Grand Duke nodded slightly. "Don't leave too obvious a mark. Just keep a normal distance."

"Sir, are the guards in the camp...?"

Swish!
The Grand Duke waved his hand, stopping his subordinate from continuing, "It's not time for that yet."

"This humble official has overstepped his bounds," the person in the shadows immediately bowed his head and admitted his mistake.

"Phew~" The Grand Duke let out a deep breath and waved his hand. "You all have to work hard tonight. No one should sleep. If anything happens, tell me immediately." "Yes, Your Majesty, I'll take my leave."

When only one person remained in the room, Grand Duke Nikolayevich's eyebrows furrowed deeply.

What happened today is quite unfavorable to me.

His relationship with his nephew was already very strained. The underlying suspicion had never stopped over the years, but because of Prince Alexei, they were barely maintaining a fragile relationship.

But that relationship has been broken today.

Everyone knew that the 3rd Guards Division was their own elite force, and it was in full view of everyone that officers from this elite force caused the "incident" that injured the Crown Prince.

From an outsider's perspective, the conspiracy involved here is so suffocating it makes your throat hurt.

There's no way to explain it, and even if it's just for self-preservation, one has to take some action.

Mobilizing the outer guards to a limited extent was the most restrained action he could take.

The next step depends on whether Alexei can recover.

Will that strange medicine work?
The Grand Duke subconsciously tightened his grip on the scimitar he carried with him.

Meanwhile, in the royal palace, the Crown Prince lay drowsily on his bed, with Queen Alexandra and their two daughters by his side.

The head maid stood in front of Nicholas, opening the booklet in her hand.

"The number of guards around the camp has doubled compared to usual, and the 3rd Guards Division shows signs of regrouping, but no weapons or supplies have been distributed."

At this point, the head maid bowed, "The newly transferred Semyonovsky Guards Regiment is in place, shall we...?"

"No need, just let them keep an eye on us." Nicholas II waved his hand, looking exhausted. He rubbed his nose and put down the report in front of him.

"Father Putin went to the jungle today, what did you see?"

The head maid's expression stiffened for a moment. She adjusted her glasses. "Your Majesty, I'm not sure what that was, but I saw..."

"Some kind of ritual?" The Tsar glanced at his wife's personal lady-in-waiting, confirming that the usually serious woman was not joking.

"So, our Father Putin isn't as simple as he claims?"

“Yes, Your Majesty, but we cannot rule out the possibility that he is deliberately trying to confuse me.” The head maid paused to consider what she had been looking at before continuing.
"Also, his background..."

A surprised voice interrupted their conversation.

"Someone come quickly!"

"Thank God! My son, you're awake!"

Upon hearing the Empress's voice, Nicholas II abruptly stood up and strode into the inner chamber.

Approaching his son's bedside, the Tsar held his hand and noticed that the bruises and dark purple marks on it had faded to almost invisible, while the bleeding wounds had congealed and begun to scab over.

An overwhelming sense of happiness washed over me!

For the first time in 10 years, such a scene had never occurred, and the Tsar felt as if he were dreaming.

If this medicine can completely cure Alexei, it means more than just the possibility of having a healthy son.

It also means that a perfect successor is about to appear before the people, and an opportunity for the Normanov dynasty to be revived is on the horizon.

After comforting his wife, who was weeping with joy, the Tsar summoned the head maid again, his expression becoming extremely serious.

"Anna, gather all the servants who went out with you during the day together, and don't let them talk nonsense."

"Take the special scribe and everyone present and have them recall what he collected, then bring it all back first thing tomorrow morning!"

"And Father Putin's actions at the time, we need to recall them all."

That night, the north wind howled, but the palace lights remained on all night.

The next day, when the head maid and guards rushed to the woods, everyone stood there dumbfounded.

Just one night later, the forest was covered with fallen leaves, leaving only bare branches swaying in the wind.

(End of this chapter)