His thoughts raced as he desperately searched for an explanation, but every possible excuse collapsed under the simple timeline.
A month.
More than a year.
There was no way to reconcile the two.
The surrounding crowd understood it as well.
"So they were already together before the engagement was dissolved?"
"Then he really did get involved with his own brother's fiancée."
"I can't believe the General's Manor allowed this."
"I used to think Kaelan was such a good person."
The whispers grew increasingly harsh.
Kaelan felt them closing in from every direction.
For years, he had carefully maintained an image of himself as gentle, innocent, and worthy of sympathy.
Now that image was falling apart in front of everyone.
He could not defend it.
He could not even explain himself.
Zion simply watched.
There was no need for him to raise his voice.
The truth was doing the work for him.
Even those who still believed Zion had once been an unsuitable match for Vanessa could not deny what had just been revealed.
The engagement had still existed when Vanessa and Kaelan had begun their relationship.
That was enough.
Kaelan lowered his head.
He could feel the crowd's judgment pressing against him from every side.
The person who had once been admired throughout the Imperial City now struggled even to meet anyone's eyes.
Someone sighed.
"I never expected Kaelan to be like this."
"Poor Zion. His own younger brother..."
"People really are difficult to understand."
Kaelan could bear no more.
He turned and fled, clutching the mask against his face.
The crowd parted instinctively as he passed.
No one stopped him.
Vanessa watched him leave without showing much concern.
To her, the matter was already over.
She turned back toward Zion.
Unlike Kaelan, Vanessa did not seem particularly troubled by what had happened.
She was a princess.
Whatever people whispered, she believed her status would protect her.
Besides, in her mind, there was nothing particularly unusual about taking another woman or man as a future spouse. A member of the Royal Family could have multiple partners, and she had never considered her former engagement something that should permanently bind her.
She had chosen Kaelan when she wanted him.
Now she wanted Zion.
There was nothing complicated about it.
Vanessa stepped toward him again.
"Zion."
Her expression was confident.
"Will you become my man?"
Zion looked at her.
For a moment, Vanessa seemed certain that he would finally accept.
Instead, Zion smiled politely.
"Thank you for Your Highness's regard."
His tone was neither hostile nor particularly warm.
"But I think I'll be better off focusing on my own business."
Vanessa froze.
Her expression slowly changed.
"What?"
"I said no."
Zion turned slightly, already making it clear that he considered the matter settled.
Vanessa stared at him.
No one had ever rejected her so casually.
As a princess, she had grown accustomed to people accommodating her wishes before she even needed to ask. Even those who disliked her understood the consequences of refusing the Royal Family.
And now Zion, the very man she believed should be grateful for her attention, had rejected her without hesitation.
"You... dare reject me?"
Her voice rose.
Zion looked back at her.
"Why wouldn't I dare?"
The calmness in his response only made Vanessa angrier.
Her face reddened.
"Do you even understand who you're speaking to?"
She took another step forward.
"I am the Crown Princess!"
The threat beneath her words became unmistakable.
"If you defy me, do you think you can simply walk away?"
Several people in the crowd held their breath.
Zion, however, did not retreat.
Instead, he gave her a faintly amused look.
"So what?"
Vanessa's expression stiffened.
"Are you planning to force me into your household simply because you're a crown princess?"
The question struck directly at the limit of what Vanessa could do.
She could threaten him.
She could pressure him.
She could make things difficult for him.
But she could not openly force him into her household without consequences.
Zion had already become famous throughout the capital. The Emperor had personally rewarded him. Rolant and the Imperial Hospital respected his medical ability. Countless patients regarded him as the Divine Physician.
If Vanessa forcibly took him as her man after he had clearly refused, the matter would not remain a private dispute.
Her own reputation would suffer.
More importantly, the Royal Family would have to answer for it.
Vanessa's expression shifted as she realized the same thing.
For the first time, she found herself in a position where her status alone was not enough to get what she wanted.
She could not touch Zion.
Not without paying a price far greater than his rejection was worth.
Zion gave her no further attention.
He simply turned around and returned to the medical hall, leaving Vanessa standing amid the crowd.
That day marked the beginning of a rare period of peace for him.
For nearly a month, no one from the Royal Family came to cause trouble at Origin Medical Hall.
The clinic's business, meanwhile, continued to grow.
In fact, it grew far beyond anything Zion had originally anticipated.
The inns and taverns surrounding the medical hall became packed with visitors from other parts of the city. Patients who came seeking treatment needed somewhere to stay, eat, and rest while waiting for their appointments.
Merchants benefited from the influx as well.
Even performers and street vendors found the area increasingly profitable.
The name of Origin Medical Hall had become a source of fortune for the entire surrounding district.
Zion's consultation fees rose accordingly.
It made little difference.
People still competed fiercely for appointments.
Eventually, Zion reduced the number of patients he accepted each day from ten to three.
The effect was immediate.
A consultation at Origin Medical Hall became something more than a medical appointment.
It became a mark of status.
Officials boasted about obtaining one of the three daily places. Wealthy families relied on connections to secure appointments. Some people were willing to spend enormous sums simply for the chance to have Zion examine them personally.
Zion paid little attention to the social prestige surrounding his name.
The reduction in patients had been deliberate.
He had earned enough money to secure the resources he needed, and continuing to spend every day treating patients would interfere with the goal that actually mattered to him.
Cultivation.
With the wealth flowing into Origin Medical Hall, Zion no longer needed to worry about the basic resources required for his training. Combined with the knowledge and experience from his previous life, his cultivation began advancing rapidly.
He spent less time at the clinic and more time inside his private cultivation room.
His strength continued to rise at a pace that ordinary cultivators could scarcely imagine.
The busy medical hall had become his source of wealth.
But cultivation remained his true path.
For a while, everything proceeded smoothly.
Then, one morning, a new decree spread throughout the Imperial City.
And this time, it had nothing to do with the Divine Physician.
It concerned the entire empire.