Chapter 37
“Kyahaha, Bell! Stop it—!”
“Huff huff!”
A golden dog that looked like a retriever was playfully tumbling around with a very pretty young girl.
The moment I saw her honey-colored hair, blue eyes, and delicate features, I instantly knew.
“Chloe…”
She was the female lead from the book.
Even though I had skipped most of it, I clearly remembered the description of her appearance.
It was through that panting dog, Bell, that Chloe and Chade became close, so I was almost certain.
I had only meant to check who it was and leave, but now that I knew her identity, my feet refused to move.
Wow… she’s really pretty…
Just then, Chloe got up and met my gaze. Realizing how messy she must look, her face flushed red.
“Wh-who are you?”
Oops.
I was a bit embarrassed to be caught watching, but I politely introduced myself.
“I’m Adelia Limone. I wasn’t trying to spy—I was chasing a cat and ended up here… I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable.”
For some reason, Chloe’s eyes lit up with excitement when she heard my name.
“Oh! You’re the one who treated Lady Lily!”
She was clearly happy, and I was a little confused.
“You know me?”
“Of course! My father really wanted to meet you!”
“Your father…?”
“Yes, Duke Chade’s personal physician, Maron Gillain, is my father! He also reviewed your treatment plan recently.”
When she said that, I suddenly remembered the man I had briefly seen in the office when getting my treatment plan approved.
Now that I think about it… they really do look alike.
It must’ve been because her father was called to the mansion that I ended up meeting the female lead like this.
“Oh, right! I’m Chloe Gillain, and this is Bell.”
“Nice to meet you, Miss Gillain.”
I nodded politely, repeating her name.
“So, were you taking a walk in the garden, Miss Limone? What’s that you’re holding?”
“Oh… this?”
Following her gaze, I looked down at the stethoscope in my hand and momentarily froze.
How should I explain this?
“This is… sort of a medical tool.”
“Wow, a medical tool? What does it do?”
Her genuine curiosity reminded me that she was also a fellow aspiring healer, yet an inexperienced one.
Well, even if she was a bit clumsy, the heroine was always passionate about helping others.
Unsure how to explain, I decided to just tell the truth.
“You can use it to hear sounds inside the body. Right now, I was trying it out on animals to test it… and I ended up here chasing a cat.”
I gave an awkward smile after finishing my explanation.
Chloe blinked, then hugged Bell’s neck and said,
“Then try it on Bell!”
“Huh? On Bell?”
“Yes! You’re just listening, right? And since you’re a great doctor, I trust you!”
“Well… I’m not officially a doctor yet.”
I glanced at Bell nervously. He looked so sweet with his tongue sticking out between his smiling lips.
Bell was clearly well-trained by Chloe and looked very calm.
If it’s Bell, he probably won’t growl or snap at me…
This seemed much easier than dealing with the wild dogs and cats from earlier.
“Alright then, just for a moment.”
I hung the stethoscope around my neck and spoke to Bell.
“Don’t be scared, okay? I’m just going to touch you for a second.”
To my surprise, Bell flopped onto the ground with a bark and started panting calmly.
Wow, being the heroine’s dog really comes with extra smarts, huh?
I gave his big paw a gentle squeeze, then placed two fingers on the femoral artery inside his hind leg.
And in my head, I began to count.
1… 2… 3… 4…
After checking for 15 seconds, I multiplied the count by 4. Bell’s heart rate was 64.
That was within the normal range for large dogs (60–100 bpm).
Now all that’s left is to check with the stethoscope…
I took a deep breath, put the earpieces in, and placed the stethoscope on Bell’s chest—right where the heart should be.
Thump, thump, thump.
Clear, steady heartbeats echoed in my ears. As I listened, an image of a heart briefly popped into my mind.
…Just as I thought.
While dog hearts aren’t too different from human ones, this one was definitely different from the heart I had seen inside myself earlier.
And then, just as I was expecting, a set of vital signs appeared in front of me.
[Blood Pressure: 125/80 mmHg, Pulse: 65 bpm, Respiration: 22, Temperature: 38.2°C]
The stethoscope measured Bell’s pulse at 65. I had counted 64.
A difference of just one meant this stethoscope was…
…really showing me actual medical data.
I held in my surprise and gently petted Bell’s head as he continued to smile up at me.
“Miss Adelia? Is Bell alright?”
While I was gathering my thoughts, Chloe spoke to me gently.
“Yes, he’s very healthy. Though… I think he’s a little hungry. I heard his stomach rumbling a lot.”
As I stroked Bell’s head, Chloe’s eyes widened.
“Oh my gosh! You’re right! He didn’t eat much earlier—he didn’t seem to like his breakfast!”
Chloe clapped in amazement, clearly surprised that my diagnosis was spot on.
I smiled back at her, then glanced at the stethoscope again.
At first, I had thought it was just cool—but now my thoughts started to shift.
But… is seeing organs really all that helpful to me?
If I had this power in the modern world, I could’ve become a legendary healer.
But in this world, they didn’t even have basic painkillers.
That meant even if I saw a problem in someone’s organs, there might be nothing I could do to fix it.
Realizing that hit me hard—and suddenly, the weight of it all made my shoulders heavy.
Just how much does this world expect me to carry…?
I buried my face in my hands and let out a deep sigh.
“Haa…”
“Um… Miss Adelia, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine. Your face is so pale…”
Apparently, even Chloe could see I looked terrible.
With trembling hands, I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.
As I sat there dazed, Chloe got up gently.
“Um… I’ll get going then. Thank you so much for checking Bell.”
Her goodbye snapped me out of it. As a medical professional, I couldn’t afford to fall apart like this.
Right… I’ll think about it later.
I forced myself to stand up and smiled.
“It was nice meeting you, Miss Gillain.”
“Yes, me too! Let’s meet again when you’re feeling better.”
Chloe called for Bell and started walking back toward the main mansion.
I stood there watching her walk away, but something about her movement seemed off.
“Miss Gillain?”
She turned around when I called her.
Her right foot was slightly hovering above the ground, like she couldn’t put weight on it.
“Um… is your right foot bothering you?”
“Oh, yes. Just a little…”
Looking embarrassed, Chloe quickly lowered her head and tried to hide her foot under her dress.
Could it be a bone or ligament problem?
I glanced at her foot, deep in thought.
Even though I wasn’t feeling well, I couldn’t ignore a patient right in front of me.
“Would you mind if I took a quick look?”
