Chapter 59
*
“What did you just say, Young Master Nihirit?”
“I said I would give the two of you a child as a gift.”
Prince Edmund’s gaze fixed on me.
It was a familiar gaze.
Because I’d received plenty of looks like that even in the red-light district.
— “What? You’re saying we can have a baby?”
When you practiced medicine in the red-light district, you encountered all kinds of stories.
Prostitutes who wanted to bury their past and live a new life.
Gangsters whose manhood had been cut off.
Interracial couples who wanted to overcome the differences between their races.
All sorts of newlyweds quietly visited my clinic.
And they went home carrying babies wrapped in cloth.
— “Teacher... um... weren’t you a healer? Just how far can the profession of doctor even go?”
The boss watching that was dumbfounded.
Of course, not all of those stories ended happily.
This wasn’t such a soft and fluffy world.
But I could be sure the prince couple’s ending would be a happy one.
The prince’s sexual function was normal, and the princess consort was in a condition that could be treated well enough.
‘I already have all the necessary medicinal ingredients, so I don’t even need to make anything new.’
That’s why I went for it so boldly.
Of course, the prince couple, unaware of all this, still didn’t seem to fully grasp what I’d said.
...
The prince’s mouth opened halfway, then closed again.
The prince’s voice slipped out from between lips that opened and closed like a goldfish’s.
“...We’ll speak in private.”
Edmund rose from his seat.
The prince turned his back on us and headed for the small reception room.
My lady. Follow me.”
The princess consort, frozen like a stone statue, finally took a step at her husband’s voice.
I stood as well and glanced at Charlotte.
Before I could say anything, she was already preparing to follow.
From her expression, it seemed she’d become interested in the mess I’d just caused.
But Charlotte also seemed inclined to hold her tongue.
And so we crossed the banquet hall after the prince couple and headed to the small reception room.
Come in.”
The small reception room we followed the prince into was a small room furnished only with two mana-stone lamps on the walls and a pair of facing sofas.
As we stepped inside, the guard knight following behind us closed the door.
Click.
The instant the door shut with a thud.
Edmund turned his back to us.
The prince remained silent with his back turned for quite a while.
Then he slowly opened his mouth.
“I was on the southern front.”
His voice came from his back, as he still didn’t turn around.
“It was three years. I stood on the Black Iron Wall and watched countless bodies pile up at my feet.”
Edmund’s shoulders moved slightly with the sound of his deep breath.
“On the battlefield, you see countless tragedies. How people die, what expressions the dead wear, how the survivors spend the rest of their lives.”
“...”
“That’s why you learn to stay calm in the face of most tragedies.”
Only then did Edmund turn around.
Instead of anger, his face showed deep exhaustion.
“And as time goes by, you naturally learn to be generous even toward the careless remarks of young lords who’ve never seen a battlefield. If I know there’s no malice, I usually let it pass.”
Edmund’s gaze turned to Charlotte.
“I also saw you doing something to my wife’s cup just now. A little prank to cool the drink; I deemed it harmless since there was no ill intent.”
Edmund looked back at me.
With that, his voice dropped a tone.
“But what you said is not something I can easily let slide.”
Edmund took a step forward.
“Young Master Nihirit. Do you know what it feels like when the time comes to send away the little bundle of flesh that came to visit us?”
A little bundle of flesh and blood.
The moment that word came up, the princess consort’s shoulders flinched.
“Every time her belly swells, I can’t bring myself to use the name I gave the last one again, so I bury it in my heart, praying that this time, just this once, we’ll meet a healthy child, and I tremble as I choose a new name….”
The prince’s voice, which had been calm, began to tremble.
And the man, forgetting even his honorifics, poured out his raw resentment at me.
“You think you can even dare speak of that tearing pain—!”
“You don’t need to experience every tragedy yourself to know that pain, Your Highness.”
My voice cut off the prince’s words.
Before the interrupted prince could continue, I spoke briefly.
“How many babies do you think have slipped through my fingers, Your Highness?”
“...”
The prince’s mouth closed.
The momentum shifted to me.
“Of course, I have not experienced that tragedy myself. But those who watch tragedy from the side also end up bearing part of it. And as those small burdens pile up and pile up, before long I begin to carry grief just as heavy as theirs.”
Edmund’s eyes moved slightly.
“I see more than ten mothers a day. Over the course of a year, the children I meet number in the thousands. And among them are children I have had to send away without even getting to say hello.”
“...”
“There are couples to whom even promising hope feels too dangerous. Why do you think I dared bring this matter before you, Your Highness?”
Edmund did not answer.
But I could tell his answer from the fist that had been clenched until just moments ago finally loosening.
“...Can you... stake your name on what you’ve said?”
“If that will let the two of you have hope, I would gladly do so.”
Right after those words.
“...Young Master Nihirit.”
A tiny, timid voice.
At that small voice, everyone’s gaze snapped to the princess consort.
It was the first time the woman, who had not spoken a single word since entering the room, had opened her mouth.
“I heard about what happened at the House of Belheim.”
As if even speaking was difficult, the woman said in a trembling voice.
“You solved an unsolved case and treated the count’s young lady, I hear. Then...”
The princess consort bit her lip briefly.
“Does that mean... you can fix me too?”
I nodded without hesitation.
Of course, there is no such thing as one hundred percent in medicine.
Even if you do your best, tragedy can always come.
But if this bit of bluff could ease a patient’s heart, I could bluff as many times as needed.
‘Still, I’m at ninety percent. That’s good enough.’
That was what the misunderstanding-novel bonus was for, after all.
And so I answered with confidence.
“Yes, I will help you.”
Something wavered in the princess consort’s eyes.
Something on the verge of overflowing clung to the corners of her eyes.
Before the dam burst, I said firmly, driving the point home.
“However, let me correct one thing.”
I looked at the prince and princess consort in turn and said,
“A miscarriage is not a disease.”
Of course, academically, it is classified as a disease for now.
But clinically, miscarriage is classified as a phenomenon rather than a disease.
“And it is certainly no one’s fault.”
“...”
“It’s just that, in order to meet your child, the two of you need more prayers and effort than others. So, saying I’ll ‘cure’ it wouldn’t be quite right.”
The tears in the princess consort’s eyes spilled over.
The prince silently took his wife by the shoulders.
He pulled her against his chest and brought his lips to the crown of her head.
He quietly closed his eyes.
I waited without speaking until the two of them had time to collect themselves.
*
How much time had passed?
The prince removed his hands from his wife’s shoulders, took one breath, and looked at me.
Only then did I begin the story I had yet to finish.
“Normally, I would wait until the diagnosis was confirmed before telling you the name of the disease, but I’ll tell you in advance.”
Normally, speaking about the treatment plan before a diagnosis is confirmed is something to be careful about.
But in the case of a couple who has suffered four miscarriages, I sometimes make an exception.
First, they need hope, so that at least they can eat well and take care of their health.
“First, we need to run a few tests.”
The disease I suspected was a bit complicated, so there were quite a few tests needed.
First, we needed a urine test, and a blood test as well.
The point was to check whether there was foam in the urine and how quickly the blood clotted.
But above all, there was one test that mattered most.
“And we need a syphilis test.”
“...Syphilis?”
The prince’s eyebrows twitched.
I realized my mistake too late.
My habit of cutting out the setup and blurting things out had slipped out.
I hurriedly corrected myself.
“I’m not suggesting that the princess consort has syphilis.”
“Then why is such a test necessary?”
“There is a device used for syphilis testing. It was originally made to react to syphilis, but interestingly, it can also react in other diseases.”
“Can you explain that more simply?”
“When a monster wave comes, we sometimes use siege weapons. It’s like that. It’s not its original purpose, but it’s useful, so we use it anyway.”
“I understand.”
That eased one concern.
The syphilis test I intended to use on the princess consort was the Wassermann test.
This Wassermann test is a device that checks for syphilis using a substance extracted from a cow’s heart.
However, despite being made to diagnose syphilis, it had the flaw of reacting to other diseases as well.
Because of that flaw—reacting even to false syphilis—it had fallen out of use in modern times.
But this time, that flaw was exactly what I needed.
‘Because I need to diagnose a rheumatic disease.’
The Wassermann test had a profound influence on rheumatic disease research.
Through this test, the anticardiolipin antibodies used as a diagnostic criterion for rheumatic disease patients were discovered, and it even led to the diagnosis of a new rheumatic disease.
I was using that history to my advantage.
“Considering the symptoms Your Highness the princess consort has, it is quite likely the syphilis test will react as well. That is why the test is necessary.”
“Interesting. So it can be used that way. Where did you acquire such knowledge?”
“Let’s just call it a secret technique.”
I held my index finger before my lips and smiled brightly.
At the word “secret,” the prince no longer questioned my knowledge.
“If all these tests match my expectations, we’ll be able to determine Your Highness the princess consort’s condition.”
“There is a disease... no, a cause?”
“Yes. However, there is nothing weak or wrong with Your Highness the princess consort’s body.”
Strictly speaking, the princess consort’s condition could be classified as a disease.
The name of the disease was “antiphospholipid antibody syndrome.”
It is a type of rheumatic disease in which autoantibodies in the blood create blood clots inside the blood vessels.
This was also why the princess consort miscarried.
The clot blocked the umbilical cord, and the child died from not receiving nutrients.
But since I had just said it was not a disease, I held back from explaining the diagnosis by name.
Besides, in this world, there probably wasn’t anyone who would understand the name even if I said it.
The prince must have noticed that my words were somewhat contradictory.
But perhaps sensing my consideration, he did not press me further.
“Once again, there is nothing wrong with Your Highness the princess consort. She only needs a little help from medicine.”
“Can you tell me what medicine you’ll use?”
“Yes. A medicine called heparin.”
Heparin.
It was a medication Eri also took, one that dissolved blood clots.
With this medicine, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome would be a cinch.
The problem was the clot blocking the umbilical cord, so if we dissolved it, everything would be solved.
Hearing that, the princess consort leaned in slightly.
Hope settled into eyes that had been steeped in resignation.
By contrast, the prince, perhaps because he was a former soldier, reacted with an inability to believe it easily.
“Heparin? I’ve never heard of it.”
“Would you recognize it if I said it was a medicine sold only to healers by Mercure Trading?”
But only for a moment.
Perhaps because he came from the southern front.
The moment Mercure Trading was mentioned, he nodded immediately.
With the couple convinced, I summarized everything.
“Starting tomorrow, I will visit Your Highness’s detached palace once a month. I’ll give you the medicine then, so if you take it regularly...”
I paused briefly.
Because the couple had both leaned forward in unison.
Their gaze was a little overwhelming, so I leaned back slightly and finished what I was saying.
“...the two of you will also be blessed with good news.”
After I finished speaking, silence hung for a moment.
Breaking that silence, Edmund rose from his seat.
“Thank you.”
He took both of my hands.
The problem was the strength of his grip.
Perhaps because he was a soldier.
He must have thought I’d be similar to other soldiers, because the force of his grip was no joke.
I barely held back the expression that almost crumbled.
“I truly thank you...”
But seeing the prince bow his head over and over made the pain vanish completely.
‘Life really does bring a day when you get to see the top of a royal head.’
This is what makes being a doctor worthwhile.
Gratitude as a pure human being, transcending status.
That rush is no joke.
There’s no medicine for this kind of high.
This is why I got abducted into trauma surgery.
...Damn it. I should have just been satisfied with thoracic surgery.
Anyway.
“You flatter me too much, Your Highness. Then shall we return to enjoying the banquet...”
Just then, Edmund let go and turned toward his wife.
“My lady. Return first. I still have something important to discuss with Young Master Nihirit.”
“?”
What?
Was he planning to ask more specifically about the condition somewhere his wife wasn’t present?
Men who asked for a private meeting with me at this point usually had that sort of intention.
So I quietly said to Charlotte as well,
“Please head back first.”
“All right.”
Perhaps Charlotte picked up on the mood as well, because she obediently left the room.
On the way out.
The princess consort looked back at me once more with lingering regret, then left the reception room under the guard knight’s guidance.
After Charlotte and the princess consort had left the reception room,
only Edmund and I remained inside.
The prince looked at me silently for a while.
Then the prince began shaking his leg rapidly.
He joined both hands in front of his knees, lowering his gaze to the floor.
The prince spoke to me.
“Sir Julian.”
“Your Highness. I’m not someone worthy of that degree...”
“Sir. I have a request.”
“...”
The prince lifted his head.
When I met his eyes, I had no choice but to fall silent.
Because in those eyes I could see a desperation that no adjective could possibly describe.
“Actually... because that thing has been happening repeatedly... that... that...”
Edmund’s gaze drifted slightly away from me.
A man who would have faced tens of thousands of beasts on the battlefield without blinking now couldn’t meet my eyes.
Was something unusual about to come out?
I steadied myself and waited for him to continue.
Before long, the prince spoke as if squeezing the words out.
“My wife and I... lately... at night, it’s been...”
Ah.
“My feelings for her haven’t changed. That much is certain. But I’m afraid the same thing might happen again... the anxiety... so that’s why...”
“...You do not need to say any more.”
Right.
It’s true that if you’ve experienced such tragedy four times, your confidence can take a hit.
Of course. Naturally.
But whether this should be called unfortunate or fortunate...
conveniently, I had a good medicine for the prince.
“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I happen to have a good medicine.”
“A medicine? There’s medicine for this too?”
“I’m also a clinical trial supervisor for Mercure Trading, so I know about some medicines that haven’t hit the market yet.”
“Could it be... that medicine?”
“...You know about it?”
“It’s already famous among those who know.”
What the hell.
Why did it leak this far?
How badly do those board bastards handle internal security?
Just as I thought I’d need to tighten Mercure Trading’s internal discipline sometime soon.
The prince gripped my hand tightly.
More desperately than when he’d been expressing his thanks just moments ago.
His eyes sparkled.
Even more than when he had seen the gun earlier.
It was the liveliest expression the man had shown all night.
“Then this is moving quickly. If Your Highness is all right with it...”
“I’ll do it.”
Before I could even finish speaking,
“Please hear me out first...”
“Whatever trial it is, I’ll do it.”
“Still, I have a duty to explain it to you...”
“I said I’ll do it.”
“The side effects still haven’t been explained...”
“I said I’ll do it.”
In the end, I nodded to save my fingers from being crushed.
“...If, by some chance, it works well, may I use Your Highness’s name when promoting the medicine later?”
“If the child has been born, I’ll gladly allow it.”