The Viscount’s Compassion

Renitz spent his holiday at a hospital, though he wasn’t ill himself.

The events leading to this unusual situation unfolded as follows.

One day, while deeply engrossed in his magical studies, Renitz encountered a formidable problem. After much fruitless contemplation, he decided to wander the streets of Komi City’s old district, hoping to find a spark of inspiration.

In the nearly derelict old district, he spotted a small hospital. He had no intention of prying; merely, as he passed by, he cast a casual glance through a window.

The scene that unfolded before him instantly left him stunned.

Through the pane, he observed a small room, less than forty square meters in size. Yet, this tiny space was crammed with over thirty beds. Countless patients huddled together, emitting bone-chilling groans of agony.

Renitz let out a sigh, then stepped inside the hospital. At the reception desk sat a middle-aged man, who was clearly the director.

“Are you here to see a doctor?” the director asked, glancing at him.

“No, I merely wish to inquire, Director, exactly how many patients are in that ward?” Renitz asked, pointing towards the room he had just seen.

“Twenty-eight,” the director replied, his expression impassive.

“Twenty-eight people crammed into such a small space? The air can’t circulate properly, and the light is poor. How can these patients possibly recover?” Renitz challenged the doctor.

“This is already good enough,” the director said, his voice flat. “During the annual cold and flu season, we’d have over seventy people squeezed into these thirty beds. Patients would infect each other, and fewer than five percent would be lucky enough to recover.”

“And those who didn’t recover?”

“Those who didn’t recover?” The director led Renitz to the graveyard behind the hospital, pointing to the tombstones erected there. “They are here.”

Renitz saw the rows of gravestones and clutched his chest, squatting down. A wave of profound sadness washed over him, as if his own dear friends lay buried there.

‘Why?’ he murmured.

“Don’t ask me; I’m helpless too. The funds allocated by the state for hospital expansion have been embezzled by those nobles and officials. All I can do is try my best to treat everyone, though most of the time, it’s a futile effort.” The director appeared resigned, yet devoid of sorrow. Perhaps he had grown numb.

“Those damned nobles again…” Renitz lowered his head, gazing at the gravestones. They spoke of the indelible sins of the nobility, and by extension, his own class.

“If you’re not here for treatment, then please leave. Judging by your attire, you must be a noble yourself. Nobles have access to better hospitals; I only treat the poor.” The director had issued a clear dismissal.

“I have a solution,” Renitz said, looking up.

“What?”

“I can provide lodging for the patients.”

“Really?” The director’s voice rose in surprise.

“Come with me.”

Renitz led the director to his mansion. Though not exceptionally grand, it was sufficiently large. They first entered the dining room.

“Director, this is my residence. How many hospital beds could it accommodate?”

“Over thirty beds, with perfectly adequate air circulation and abundant sunlight!” The director exclaimed, a hint of excitement in his voice. “Are you suggesting…?”

“Isn’t this wonderful? All of you are crammed into a dilapidated shack, while my butler and I live in a space large enough for over sixty people. This is a waste abhorrent to the Goddess herself. You can have your patients stay here to recuperate.”

“My esteemed lord, I thank you on behalf of those patients for your compassion.” The director knelt on one knee, expressing his profound gratitude. “May I ask for your honorable name, my lord?”

“Renitz.”

Thus, Renitz’s mansion became an annex to that hospital.

Later, Komi City was struck by another wave of cold and flu patients. As the number of sick steadily grew, Viscount Renitz was compelled to surrender his own bedroom to a gravely ill elderly woman and her granddaughter.

He then moved into the hospital, humming a cheerful tune.

His luggage was sparse: only a few well-worn magic books, the staff his father had left him, and a portrait of Tang Wenxu.

He was exceptionally diligent in his studies, for the Delberu Military Academy, where he was enrolled, was teeming with geniuses. Though his talent was ordinary, he could distinguish himself through sheer effort. Diligence was his true gift.

Yet, Renitz was still a young man, and like any child, he wished to play. However, whenever he felt the urge to slack off, he would instinctively gaze at Tang Wenxu’s portrait.

It was a constant reminder, urging him onward. Many upright people in Komi City awaited his salvation; he had to strive harder.

As for his butler—a knight promoted by his father from the ranks of soldiers—his loyalty was unquestionable. He showed no hint of complaint, even when forced to live with Renitz in a dilapidated church while the patients took the mansion, and he even lauded his lord’s decisions.

During a casual conversation, Renitz once asked the butler if the assassin who murdered his father had left behind any distinguishing features.

The only detail the butler revealed was that the killer possessed a pair of scarlet eyes, alluring and deadly, as if they had emerged from hell itself.

And so, Renitz found himself constantly busy: studying magic in the hospital, caring for patients, and searching for a person with scarlet eyes throughout Komi City.

Some boorish patients, believing this busy young man to be a poor child working for a living, made many unreasonable demands, even deliberately causing trouble. Yet, Renitz never seemed to mind.

Of course, these minor incidents only lasted a few days. Later, they discovered that the very youth who cleaned their rooms and washed their clothes was, in fact, a Viscount.

The previously unruly patients fell to their knees, begging for his forgiveness. Renitz merely smiled, helping them up and saying, “You owe me nothing. If anything, it is we nobles who owe you.”

Renitz consistently placed himself in a humble position. However, from that day forward, no one dared to criticize or command him.

In this brutal, jungle-like society, a noble needed no reason to eliminate a commoner. Clearly, Renitz harbored no such terrifying thoughts.

Upon learning that Renitz was a noble and that he magnanimously forgave those who had previously offended him, the patients admired the young Viscount immensely.

Those residing in the hospital later discovered that this noble youth had even given up his own mansion for them. This left the patients utterly prostrate with admiration. Some recovered men even pledged their allegiance, offering to become his devoted retainers.

Renitz refused, stating, “Simply living on is the greatest loyalty you can show me.”

Renitz was a true saint in every sense of the word, earning the love and respect of all.

After a period spent at the hospital, the day for school to resume finally arrived.

“My lord, you can finally end your arduous experience,” the butler said with a smile.

“No, I never considered this an arduous experience. This has been my most fulfilling holiday,” Renitz replied, shaking his head.

During this outbreak of cold and flu, the hospital’s recovery rate reached an unprecedented high. Only one difficult man succumbed to the illness.

Everyone decided to properly thank Renitz before he left for school and prepared a farewell ceremony for him. However, Renitz ‘disappeared’ at that very moment.

On the eve of his departure, he handed the keys of his mansion to the butler and the director, telling them, “You may use my residence whenever you need it.” With those words, he vanished into the night, his luggage on his back.

The next day, he walked alone towards the grand ship of Delberu Military Academy. ‘If Father were still alive, he would surely be standing on the pier, seeing me off,’ he thought.

Watching other students on the pier bidding farewell to their parents and servants, Renitz sighed, his heart filled with a profound sense of desolation. Apart from his selfish mother, he had no other family left in this world.

He gazed at the waves, his expression tinged with sadness, feeling utterly alone in that moment.

Just then, Renitz heard a group of people behind him shouting his name.

“Viscount Renitz…”

He turned to look and saw them.

There were the patients, along with his butler and the director. They looked like a small army, nearly a hundred strong, all there to see him off.

“Lord Renitz, you must change this country!”

“Long live Lord Renitz!”

“Take care!”

They roared, their voices somewhat chaotic, drawing displeased glances from other aristocratic onlookers. But Renitz paid no attention to their stares.

Not a single person was merely mouthing words; he distinctly heard every voice. These voices were all profoundly familiar to him; he could even name the owner of each one. They were genuinely conveying their blessings to him.

He was not alone.

Renitz deliberately turned his head away from them, walking resolutely towards the large ship.

‘Damn it, the wind is so strong today; I’ve got sand in my eyes,’ he thought.

Renitz ascended the deck, removed his glasses, and continuously wiped his eyes, reflecting on the many events of his holiday.

“Renitz, what’s wrong? Are you alright?” a young man’s voice interrupted his thoughts. The voice sounded somewhat familiar.

He rubbed his eyes and saw a melancholic youth in a light gray suit, accompanied by a beautiful girl in a maid’s uniform.

They stood on the deck, leaning into each other, forming a picturesque scene.