Exchanging Vows: The Swapped Wife Is a Top Shaman

Chapter 34: Chapter 34

Ivy’s Point of View

The butler’s guards lunged forward.

They didn’t get far.

Ash moved first. His hand shot out like a viper and caught the lead guard by the throat. One swift motion, a twist of his wrist, and the man was on the ground, gasping desperately for air.

Stone and Blade handled the other two with equal efficiency. A powerful kick to the knee that sent one crumpling sideways. An elbow to the jaw that dropped the other like a sack of grain. Bodies hitting the dirt before they even knew what was happening.

Three guards. Three seconds. All of them down and groaning in the dust.

The butler’s face went white as fresh snow.

"What... what..." He stumbled backward, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste to put distance between himself and my guards. "Who are you people?"

I stepped forward calmly, adjusting my half-mask with deliberate slowness.

"I told you." My voice came out low and masculine, exactly as I had practiced. "We’re traveling healers."

"Healers don’t fight like that!" His voice had risen to a near squeak.

"These ones do."

The butler stared at my guards with new eyes. At their perfect stances, balanced and ready for more. Their controlled breathing, not even winded from the brief scuffle. The way they watched him like predators watching prey, assessing his every twitch and movement.

He swallowed hard. His throat bobbed visibly.

"I... I apologize for my rudeness." His tone had changed completely. Gone was the sneering condescension he had worn like a badge of honor. In its place was something much more useful. Fear. Raw, undisguised fear. "Please, I meant no disrespect to such distinguished guests."

"Then stop wasting our time."

"Yes, yes, of course." He wrung his hands nervously, twisting his fingers together until the knuckles turned white. "But you must understand, we get so many frauds, so many people trying to take advantage of the professor’s illness—"

"I am no fraud." I stepped closer, letting my presence fill the space between us. "I am a traveling physician. I go where the sick are. Where others have failed, I succeed. That is my purpose. My calling."

"And you truly believe you can help the professor?"

"I don’t believe. I know." I held his gaze through my mask, letting him see the certainty in my eyes. "Every other physician who has walked through those gates has failed. They’ve tried their medicines, their treatments, their so-called expertise. And yet the professor grows weaker every day. Every hour."

The butler flinched. I had struck a nerve.

"I offer something different." I let the words hang in the air like a promise. "I offer the only chance Professor Aldwin has left. You can accept my help, or you can watch him die. The choice is yours."

Silence stretched between us. Long and heavy.

The butler looked at me. At my guards standing alert and ready. At the three men still groaning on the ground, clutching their injuries.

Finally, he made his decision.

"Very well." He straightened his robes with trembling hands, trying to recover some semblance of dignity. "I will take you to see the professor. But if this is some kind of trick—"

"It isn’t."

"Then follow me."

He turned and walked toward the gate with hurried steps. Physician Harlow, who had been watching the entire exchange with wide, disbelieving eyes, fell into step behind him.

We followed.

The estate was enormous.

I had expected a modest residence. A quiet retreat for a dying man to spend his final days in peace. Instead, I found myself walking through grounds that rivaled the Alpha’s palace in both size and splendor.

Gardens stretched in every direction as far as the eye could see. Perfectly manicured hedges formed intricate geometric patterns that must have taken decades to cultivate. Fountains bubbled cheerfully in stone courtyards, their waters sparkling in the afternoon sunlight. Flowers of every color imaginable bloomed along winding pathways paved with smooth white stones.

We passed through an archway covered in climbing roses, their sweet fragrance filling the air. Then across a graceful stone bridge spanning a koi pond. The fish glittered like living jewels beneath the crystal-clear water’s surface, their scales flashing gold and orange and white.

"The professor’s family is wealthy," Nell whispered beside me, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Very wealthy," I murmured back. "More than I imagined."

We continued walking. The path seemed endless.

Past a swimming pool surrounded by marble statues of ancient wolves frozen in various heroic poses. Through a grove of towering oak trees whose gnarled branches formed a natural canopy overhead, dappling the ground with shifting patterns of light and shadow.

Across another garden, this one filled with exotic plants I didn’t recognize from any herbalist’s guide. Some had flowers that seemed to glow faintly in the afternoon light, pulsing with colors that had no name.

The estate seemed to go on forever. Every corner revealed another beautiful courtyard. Another tinkling fountain. Another carefully cultivated garden bursting with rare blooms.

Nearly half an hour passed before we finally reached our destination.

At the very back of the property, separated from everything else by a thick wall of ancient pine trees, stood a small cottage. It was simple compared to the grandeur we had passed. Stone walls weathered gray by time and countless seasons. Wooden shutters painted a faded blue that was peeling in places. A modest herb garden growing wild and untended out front, choked with weeds.

But there was something different about this place. Something heavy in the air that pressed against my skin like invisible weight. A wrongness that made my shaman senses prickle with urgent warning.

The illness. It radiated from the cottage like heat from a roaring fire.

"Professor Aldwin insisted on staying here," the butler explained, his voice dropping to a hushed, reverent tone. "He didn’t want to risk infecting anyone else with his condition. The moment his illness worsened, he demanded to be moved as far from the main house as possible."

"A selfless man," Physician Harlow observed quietly.

"The professor has always put others before himself." The butler’s voice carried genuine affection and deep sadness. "Even now, dying, he thinks only of protecting his family and servants from harm."

We approached the front door. The stone path was overgrown with weeds and wildflowers. Clearly, few people dared to come this close to the source of the contagion.

The butler raised his hand and knocked twice. The sound echoed hollowly through the stillness.

Footsteps inside. Slow. Heavy. Deliberate. The sound of someone who carried a great burden.

The door creaked open on rusted hinges.

A man stood in the entrance. Tall. Broad-shouldered. He wore a cloth mask over his nose and mouth, but I could see his eyes above it. Dark brown, almost black. Rimmed with angry red from exhaustion and unshed tears.

The butler immediately dropped into a deep, respectful bow.

"Young Master."

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