Chapter 40
I hoped that Chloe would understand something from what I said this time.
If Chloe, the heroine of this story, changed her mind… and that led to a change in the medical practices of this world…
‘It’s worth trying.’
Chloe’s eyes trembled slightly, as if she had never thought about the problems I pointed out before.
“You… Lady Gillian, you also want to become a doctor like your father, right?”
“Yes? Y-yes…”
“Of course, there are times when what your father said is true and surgery is unavoidable. But for small injuries like this, it’s more than possible to treat them without cutting anything off.”
“…”
“Using the right treatment can improve a patient’s quality of life—and that becomes a doctor’s joy. That’s why I’m always thinking. How can I reduce pain as much as possible? How can I treat patients while keeping their bodies intact?”
Chloe lowered her head and stayed silent.
Because she was both a patient and an aspiring doctor at the same time, I thought my words might really hit home. So I continued.
“When you treat patients in the future, I hope you’ll always think from their perspective first. Doesn’t it seem strange to you too? Treatment is supposed to heal the body—so why are patients so afraid of the treatment itself?”
“…”
“That fear you just felt—that shouldn’t happen during medical treatment. Don’t you think so, Lady Chloe?”
“…”
“If everyone’s afraid of getting treated, who would willingly go to a doctor? Then what purpose does a doctor serve?”
“…!”
Chloe’s eyes trembled harder than ever before.
“In the end, the most important part of any medical practice… is caring for the patient.”
Even after I finished speaking, Chloe kept staring at the floor.
Seeing her like that, I suddenly got worried.
Did I sound like I was insulting her father?
“Um… Lady Gillian, I didn’t mean to criticize your father or anything—”
“I’ve made up my mind.”
“…What?”
I blinked in surprise at her sudden declaration.
“I want to become your assistant, Lady Limone!”
…Huh? What did she just say?
I froze with my mouth wide open.
‘Well, I did plan to correct her wrong medical knowledge a bit…’
But I didn’t mean I wanted to make her my assistant!
This was going very wrong. I quickly waved my hands and tried to come up with an excuse.
“Lady Chloe, like I said earlier, I don’t even have a doctor’s license yet. I’m sorry, but I can’t take on an assistant right now—”
Before I could even finish, Chloe shook her head as if she expected my rejection.
“It’s okay. You’re already working to go beyond the current level of medicine here, aren’t you? And if not having a license is a problem, just study for it and get one!”
“…Me?”
Why me?
Honestly, taking the national medical exam again was the last thing I wanted to do.
I was about to wave it off as a joke, but Chloe blinked and asked,
“Oh my, you weren’t planning to get your license? Then what about the medicine you made?”
“What about it?”
“Well, to make and sell medicine, you need a medical license.”
“Ah… Wait, what?!”
I jumped up from my seat. Chloe tilted her head at my reaction.
“You didn’t know? I guess that makes sense… Most people just handle prescriptions, so they might not know the details about drug regulations.”
She waved the medicine I had given her in front of me and continued explaining.
“Any processed medicine like this can only be sold by someone with a license. And before that, you have to get approval from the imperial palace doctors. You must explain the effects and side effects in detail and get it reviewed.”
“…”
The process to get approval sounded more complicated than I’d expected, and it made my head spin.
‘Why is their medical equipment so sloppy, but their medicine laws so strict?!’
Still, I had to admit it made sense.
‘Yeah… it’s actually a good thing they don’t let just anyone sell medicine. But still…’
I held my head in my hands and sighed.
To be honest, I could ask my dad to sell the medicine for me. It might take a bit of convincing, but it was possible.
But even if I got by for now, there would definitely come a time when I’d need a license for real.
‘Ugh… am I seriously going to have to take the national exam twice?!’
As I struggled to accept this horrifying idea, Chloe gently spoke beside me.
“Um, Adelia. Are you worried the exam will be hard? Don’t worry! I actually have the exam answer sheet! With that, you’ll be—”
“Wait, what?! You have the answer sheet?!”
“Yes! You know Dr. Tervan, the royal physician? He gave it to me, saying he hoped I’d grow up to be a great doctor someday!”
I quickly ran the numbers in my head.
That meant…
‘It’s an A-grade answer sheet!’
A grin automatically spread across my face. If I had that, the situation would have completely changed.
I quickly switched gears and smiled kindly at Chloe.
“I see… If you’re asking this seriously, I can’t say no. I may still have a lot to learn, but… would you like to be my assistant, Lady Chloe?”
“Wow—! Really?!”
“Woof! Woof woof!”
“Yes, and please call me Adelia from now on.”
“Oh my goodness… Adelia!”
Chloe clasped her hands together and looked at me with sparkling eyes.
And that’s how I accidentally ended up accepting the heroine of the novel as my very first assistant.
* * *
After Chloe left, I leaned back against the sofa she had been sitting on.
“Haah… I’m so tired…”
Stretching my arms, I looked down at the stethoscope around my neck.
It was the first time I had used this to examine a real person.
‘It was amazing how clearly I could see the shape of the broken bone.’
Feeling curious, I picked up the chest piece and started fiddling with it, wondering how it worked…
Bang bang!
“Adelia!”
The loud knock froze me in place.
…There was only one person in this mansion who would call me by name like that.
“Chade? What’s going on…?”
I rushed to open the door and was shocked by how messy he looked—so different from usual.
Had he run all the way here?
His usually neat hair was sticking out, and his shirt was wrinkled.
“What about the servants? Why’d you come yourself?”
Still catching his breath, he pulled out an envelope from his chest and handed it to me.
‘What could be so urgent that Chade came personally…?’
The back of the envelope had my father’s seal.
A wave of anxiety washed over me as I quickly tore it open and read the letter inside.
[Your mother’s condition has become critical. Please come home as soon as possible, Lia.]
“…”
I froze, unable to say a word.
Chade, watching carefully, gently began to speak.
“A servant from your house brought it just now. I asked what happened, and…”
Before he could finish, I shoved past him and ran out.
“Adelia!”
Even as he called after me, I couldn’t think of anything.
I didn’t even know exactly where I was going—I just ran.
I tripped a few times, but it didn’t matter.
‘Why? Why so suddenly?’
A storm of emotion was rising up from deep inside me.
According to the original timeline, Mom was supposed to pass away two years after Dad.
Why was this happening now?
‘Even Dad wasn’t supposed to die until a year later—why is Mom suddenly critical now?!’
Was it because I interfered?
Did I mess things up by changing the story?
Was that why everything was happening faster?
‘Again… am I just going to be powerless again…?’
“Adelia!”
Chade finally caught up and grabbed my arm. I stared up at his face blankly.
With a serious expression, he spoke firmly.
“It’s okay. If we leave right now, we can reach your home before tomorrow night. I’ll help you.”
But even as he said that, I could feel his hand shaking slightly.
Realizing that made tears well up in my eyes, and my thoughts finally began to settle.
I spoke without thinking.
“My things… my medical tools…”
“I already told the maids to pack them. Don’t worry.”
Before I could even react, Chade grabbed my arm again and began leading me somewhere.
