Reborn as the General's Useless Daughter-Chapter 55: Scarlett’s face was ruined

After a while;

Minister Henry’s voice fell like a stone into still water, looking at her face that turned ugly for some reason, and then listening to the story of her encounter with Zora.

"Zora?"

The room seemed to grow colder in an instant.

Scarlett’s crying stagnated for half a heartbeat. Then fear surged up violently in her chest.

"Yes... Yes, it was only her... who else," she sobbed, clutching her sleeves. "Yesterday at the Neon Square, we quarreled over a dress. She humiliated me in front of everyone... In the end, I won the dress, but before she left, she said something strange..."

Minister Henry’s eyes darkened. "What did she say?"

Scarlett swallowed hard, her voice trembling. "She told me not to speak too early... that before I truly become the Crown Princess, anything could still happen."

The instant those words landed, Minister Henry and Penelope felt a chill crawl up their spines.

Too precise.

Too coincidental.

Almost as if it had been... foretold.

Penelope grabbed Scarlett’s shoulders anxiously. "You mean to say... this face of yours might really be her doing?"

Scarlett shook her head violently, tears flying. "But how could she do this? I didn’t even touch her! She didn’t lay a finger on me either!"

"That woman has always been strange," Minister Henry said darkly. "Luna’s face was ruined back then, and no one ever found the cause. Now you’ve become like this overnight. If this isn’t her handiwork, then what is it?"

Penelope’s face turned deathly pale.

Disfigurement.

For a woman destined to become the Crown Princess, this was not just a blow. It was a death sentence to her future.

The doctor arrived swiftly.

Several physicians examined Scarlett in turns. One by one, their expressions grew more solemn.

Finally, the eldest among them stepped forward hesitantly.

"Prime Minister... Madam... this condition is highly unusual."

Penelope rushed forward. "Can it be cured?"

The old doctor shook his head slowly. "These freckles are not ordinary pigmentation. They appear to have fused directly with the skin layer. Even medicinal powder cannot reach their root."

Scarlett collapsed at once.

"Impossible! Impossible!" she screamed hysterically. "You must be lying! I am the future Crown Princess! How could my face become impossible to cure!"

The doctor hesitated, then spoke even more cautiously. "Unless... unless a high-level alchemist or a divine physician personally intervenes... otherwise, with our abilities, there is nothing we can do."

Divine physician.

The room fell into a suffocating silence.

Penelope’s face turned ghostly white. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Everyone in the Imperial City knew who the only true divine physician was now.

Zora.

Scarlett’s sobbing abruptly stopped.

Her pupils shrank violently.

"No..." she whispered. "It can’t be her..."

But no matter how she denied it, the truth pressed tighter and tighter around her like an invisible net.

Last night, she had insulted Zora.

This morning, her face was ruined.

What kind of coincidence was this?

Prime Minister Henry’s hands tightened into fists.

"That woman... is truly ruthless," he said through clenched teeth. "She didn’t kill you. She didn’t touch you publicly. But she still severed your future."

Penelope’s legs nearly gave out.

If Scarlett lost her beauty... if the Crown Prince broke the engagement...

The Prime Minister’s entire plan for the future would collapse in an instant.

*

Scarlett had always been perfectly healthy. From childhood until now, her face had never once shown the slightest flaw. Yet it was precisely after her conflict with Zora that everything changed overnight. The timing was so precise that it made one’s scalp tingle.

At this moment, Scarlett no longer wished to think logically. She only needed a target to carry all the blame, a name onto which she could pile her fear, hatred, and despair.

"Yes... It must be Zora!" Scarlett nodded frantically, gripping her sleeves with trembling fingers, as if convincing herself as much as others. "Father, you must seek justice for me! She did this to me on purpose!"

Minister Henry’s face darkened like storm clouds gathering before thunder. His eyes flashed with cold fury.

"Rest assured," he said slowly, each word pressing down with weight, "if this truly is her doing, I will make her pay for it tenfold."

Soon after, another physician was summoned. The old doctor examined Scarlett’s face carefully under the lamplight, studying the dense freckles as if searching for something hidden beneath the skin. After a long while, he shook his head helplessly.

"Prime Minister... this condition is beyond my understanding. I have never encountered such symptoms in my lifetime."

Penelope’s heart clenched. "Then, is there any way to cure it at all?"

The old doctor hesitated, then spoke with great caution, saying the same thing. "In my humble opinion... only Doctor Zora of the Origin Medical Hall may be able to resolve this. Apart from her, the chances with any other physician are extremely slim."

The room plunged into heavy silence.

Minister Henry, Penelope, and Scarlett all stiffened.

The very person they suspected was the same person they now had to rely on.

When the doctor withdrew, Minister Henry immediately ordered several more physicians to be brought in. Yet the answers they received were all the same. No one dared guarantee a cure. No one even understood the cause.

In the end, all paths circled back to one name.

Zora.

Penelope clenched her fingers tightly, forcing herself to remain calm. "Master, in my view, we still have to go to Zora for help. As long as you personally step forward, she will not dare refuse you."

Scarlett’s eyes widened in disbelief. "Go beg that woman? Absolutely not!"

Her voice trembled with humiliation and rage. "She is the one who ruined my face, and now I have to humble myself before her? I would rather die than suffer such disgrace!"

Penelope’s brows knitted together as her tone hardened. "Wei’er, think clearly. What is most important to you right now, pride or your future? As long as you become the Crown Princess, will you still lack chances to deal with Zora later?"

Minister Henry nodded gravely. "Your mother is right. This matter cannot be delayed. Your face must be cured first."

No matter how unwilling Scarlett was, she had no choice but to swallow her anger. Compared to everything else, her ruined face was the most terrifying reality.

However, when Minister Henry sent people to the Origin Medical Hall, the response he received was utterly infuriating.

The clinic had suspended consultations.

Reason: Prince Kael and Princess Consort had left the city to travel.

He then sent people to the King’s estate.

The reply was even simpler.

No one knew when they would return.

In that instant, Minister Henry’s face turned completely.

At such a critical moment, Zora was gone.

Gone without a trace.

It was as if fate itself had slammed the Prime Minister’s household into a dead end.