ALL NOVEL Chapter 65
In the morning of the Moonlight Palace, Acella started her day with the usual routine.
Recently, she had been experiencing relatively calm times.
Although it was calm, being the heir meant she was still unbelievably busy.
The biggest relief came from the fall of Togin Palace, which had been exiled along with George.
Camilla had effectively been given house arrest by the Emperor, unable to leave Togin Palace even a step.
With direct lines established with the nobility and the Moonlight Palace being an ally of Mokhwi Palace, Acella was growing steadily.
Acella should have felt more at ease than ever.
But strangely, that wasn’t the case.
“W-wwait, I’m g-gonna take your blood pressure!”
Seeing Chloe tremble every time she looked at her made Acella sigh.
“It’s you again today?”
“Yes, s-sorry! I’m so sorry for being here!”
Chloe coming for her routine checkups had become increasingly frequent, and it was already the seventh day in a row.
Acella found herself inexplicably annoyed by this fact.
“What’s the prince up to these days?”
“Heh, uhm, he’s volunteering in a refugee camp.”
“Now that’s a real pain.”
If the attending physician was doing outside activities, it must have been quite an issue. It wasn’t bad since Acella’s name and the status of the Moonlight Palace would rise, though.
‘Shouldn’t he put me first? He’s the doctor, after all.’
When was the last time she had a private conversation with Lars?
…It felt like it was at a social party.
The mishap that happened in his room the next day was something Acella wanted to erase from her subconscious.
Since then, it had felt somewhat awkward to have a conversation.
What if Lars misunderstood something strange? That thought worried her.
Of course, she had barged into his room, but she hadn’t expected this to happen.
‘Should I have pretended to be asleep?’
She had randomly touched his face here and there.
She even called his name. “Hey, Acella,” he had said.
How dare he call her by name?
Especially after just waking up, her throat dry, and her usual light-hearted manner completely gone.
…She was his betrothed.
Did Lars plan to keep calling her that after they got married?
‘What am I thinking?! Don’t say such things!’
It was a political engagement, after all. There was actually a reason for her to business with the Marquis of Gothberg. It had been the intention from the start.
Acella desperately shook her head.
What annoyed her more was that Lars did not show any sign of disturbance regarding what happened that day.
‘How could he not heed my call for self-awareness as his betrothed?!’
This man wouldn’t do what she wanted unless she spoke directly.
Acella unknowingly pressed her lips shut.
‘Fool, idiot.’
He had spoke as if he’d give his life for her in the ballroom, yet now he hadn’t even shown his face for days. How was that reasonable?
…Well, she had indeed offered a few.
Chloe grabbed her wrist.
Without realizing it, she brushed her fingers against Chloe’s arm.
She sneaked a glance at her once weary skin, now healing due to overworking.
“Yikes! Y-Your Majesty?!”
“…Different.”
Acella murmured those words without knowing what they meant.
Sure, there won’t be such incidents again. That day was just… well, when her puppet didn’t cut it, she just wanted something bigger.
Lars could come or not; it was up to him.
“Gyaahh, gyaahh!”
Chloe cried out as she squeezed her hand without thinking, but Acella didn’t hear.
After the morning examination, Chloe diligently compared the numbers and nodded.
“Your blood pressure is higher than usual… but according to the teacher’s standards, you can still go about your activities.”
“What’s the prince doing today?”
“Uh, he has something important in the inner palace.”
“Important work. Of course, that makes sense.”
“It’s really important! There’s a patient! I have to participate in the surgery!”
“Surgery?”
Acella looked intrigued at the unfamiliar term.
*
“I’ve collected the payment for the dragon’s body.”
Tanya placed the weighty pouch of coins on the table. Thud!
“Didn’t take long, did it? Good job.”
“It seems to be popular since it’s a rare material. As you said, I’ve kept the heartstone separate.”
The Heartstone of the Dragon was a precious item. She planned not to sell it in case she’d need it for Acella’s surgery later.
“Okay. Let’s stash the gold for slush funds.”
“Slush funds?”
“Yeah. You’re not seriously going to go report to Acella, are you?”
“As the knight, I would never leak my lord’s secrets. What I hear while guarding is as good as nonexistent.”
“Like that.”
It’s one of the most forbidden taboos for knights to discuss their lord’s private affairs outside. If they ever did, being dismissed immediately wouldn’t be unusual.
That’s why nobles could comfortably chat in front of knights.
“Even so, starting a slush fund this early? You’re quite prepared.”
“Early? Always necessary, always.”
There would certainly be times when they’d have to move without Acella noticing.
Clap!
I clapped to lighten the atmosphere.
“Enough about money; let’s check if we’re prepared for surgery. Have we gathered all the materials we discussed?”
“Nothing is missing from the list.”
Tanya held up documents and checked each supply in the office one by one.
“The special daggers made of mithril, twelve in various sizes. A bed made for surgery. Green gowns. Five barrels of alcohol for disinfectant. And…”
Around that time, Hugo, who had been silently waiting, spoke up.
“Teacher, it seems this will cost quite a bit, are you really okay with it?”
“Don’t worry, we’ve made a solid profit off the dragon. There’s plenty of change left.”
“…Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease.”
Hugo clasped his hands together in a praying gesture.
“T-That’s all I have to do!”
Chloe, who had been in charge of Acella’s examination, returned to the office.
She had also trained for surgery assistance regularly over the past days.
They were ready at the possible level.
“Everyone’s gathered. Let’s start the briefing.”
Chloe closed the curtains in the office and displayed X-ray images with the crystal projector.
“The patient is a 4-year-old girl with a peritonsillar abscess. After a week of penicillin treatment, we deemed incision and drainage necessary. We’ll perform a local incision to remove the abscess and the foreign material inside.”
Listening to my explanation, Chloe carefully checked the chart she had gone over several times.
“It’s not a difficult surgery. I’m confident, so don’t worry. I’ll proceed with the surgery, and Chloe will assist.”
“Okay!”
“The inner operating room has been sterilized for several days. I’ve warned multiple times, but absolutely no one is to enter during the surgery. Tanya, prepare for any unexpected events.”
“Leave it to me.”
“Then, what should I do?”
At Hugo’s question, I smiled lightly.
“You have nothing to do this surgery, so pray for Eri. You never know who might be listening up there.”
I had casually suggested not to be nervous, but Hugo seemed determined as he thumped his chest.
“Understood. Thank you for your guidance, teacher.”
“Leave it to me.”
The surgical preparation was completed quickly.
Chloe and I first entered the sterile room between the surgery room and the office, donning our gowns and waiting.
Hugo brought Eri, who had been waiting next door. He comforted her so she wouldn’t be scared.
Chloe helped her change into surgery clothes and led her to the operating room.
Typically, local anesthesia would suffice for minor procedures, but since infants could get fidgety, general anesthesia was usually administered.
We prepared an anesthesia that was more effective than painkillers.
‘The dosage needs to be precise.’
Since it was my first time with general anesthesia, I felt a bit nervous. I placed the breathing apparatus connected to the medication over Eri’s mouth and gently stroked her head.
“Eri, from now on, if you wake up, all your pain will be gone.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Just trust the doctor.”
“Yesss.”
I may look scary in my mask and green gown, but thankfully, the child obediently listened.
“Let’s count together. One, two, three…”
“Yesss….”
Eri gradually drifted into a deep sleep from the anesthesia.
I checked her condition.
[Status: Anesthetized (92%)]
[Injury: Chronic tonsillitis]
[Injury: Peritonsillar abscess]
[Injury: Foreign body inflammation]
[Location: Neck]
The anesthesia was working well. As long as the count didn’t exceed a hundred.
Chloe began setting up. She secured Eri’s head to prevent any movement. She made sure her mouth stayed closed to avoid any foreign matter entering her airway.
I lowered my glasses, adjusting them to put in my magnified lenses.
Click!
Chloe illuminated the area.
“Phew.”
I took a deep breath.
It wasn’t a difficult surgery.
Even if it wasn’t my specialty, I could manage it.
No, I must do it.
Chloe handed me the syringe.
…There was no trembling at all.
Just that fact alone helped me remain calm.
First, pre-work.
I delicately pierced the affected area with the syringe.
Starting from reducing the size of the abscess.
As the pus began to draw out along with the syringe, the abscess gradually shrank.
After a few repetitions and determining there was enough, I passed the syringe to Chloe.
She understood the procedure precisely and handed me the scalpel.
It was a special scalpel made of mithril.
It was light, sharp, and would never rust.
I held tweezers in my left hand.
Strangely, it felt as if the sensation in my fingertips merged with the instruments.
It was as though my fingers had become the scalpel.
I focused on the area to be incised, carefully bringing the blade closer.
[Basic Surgery C is activated.]
“I’m starting the surgery.”
Swish!
The cold blade pierced the soft flesh.