Chapter 38
“No, really, I’m fine. You should rest too, Lady Adelia…”
“How can you be fine when you’re limping like that? I just had a slight headache earlier, but I’m all better now. If you follow me to my room, I’ll take a proper look.”
“But…”
Chloe looked apologetic and tried to refuse, but suddenly, Bell started barking and circling around her.
“See? Bell thinks you should come too,” I said.
Chloe hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded cautiously.
***
As soon as we returned to the room prepared for me in the annex, I guided Chloe to the sofa.
Seeing her limp over and sit down strangely brought me a sense of relief.
‘Right, I just need to do my best as a doctor. There’s no need to be scared.’
I’m a doctor. All I have to do is examine her and do everything I can.
I took a few books from the bookshelf, placed them in front of Chloe, and rested her foot on them.
Her ankle was already quite swollen.
It seemed like it had been that way for a while.
“Wait, how long has it been like this?”
“About three months. I tried using herbs like deca and citrine that are good for swelling, but it didn’t go down…”
Chloe spoke in a small, embarrassed voice as she covered her face.
Looking closely, the area around her ankle bone was slightly protruding.
‘Is it a nonunion…?’
(A nonunion is when a bone doesn’t heal properly or fuse back together.)
“Does it hurt when I press here?”
“Ah… yes, a little.”
I quickly grabbed my stethoscope and placed it near her ankle bone.
Of course, this wasn’t something that could be diagnosed with a stethoscope, but in this world without CTs or X-rays, it was all I had.
As I focused, I could visualize the fracture above the ankle bone in my mind.
Fortunately, the ligaments around the ankle seemed okay, so she probably didn’t need surgery.
‘It’s definitely a Weber B-type fracture.’
(This is one of the types of fractures classified by the location and direction of the break.)
Chloe, watching me nervously, began to explain her treatment efforts like she was making excuses.
“Um… I’ve taken all kinds of medicine for bones and inflammation, but nothing seemed to work. Sometimes it felt a bit better over time… hehe.”
As she said that, she shyly pulled her right leg back. I reached out and grabbed her foot with a firm grip.
“Ahh!”
“Young Lady, you shouldn’t move around carelessly during an examination,” I said sternly.
Chloe looked shocked.
“H-how could you touch my foot with your bare hands? A maid—call a maid…”
“What are you saying, Young Lady? A maid doesn’t have medical skills like I do.”
Chloe’s eyes filled with embarrassment.
“But still! It’s dirty, my foot…”
In the modern world, I’ve even provided exercise for patients. Touching a foot is nothing.
Of course, I understood why she was flustered.
For a noble lady, having another noblewoman touch her foot could be embarrassing.
But pride won’t heal your leg. And up close, her injury looked pretty serious.
“Young Lady Gillain, if you leave it like this, the pain could move up your shin, and it might strain other nearby bones. Later on, it could become even harder for you to walk. Are you really okay with that?”
“What?!”
Chloe looked at me wide-eyed, clearly shocked.
‘Well, that’s the same reaction most modern patients have.’
Fractures may not look serious at first, but if not treated properly early on, they can cause more pain later.
Especially in cases like hers, where the ankle wasn’t properly stabilized at the beginning.
“Anyway, you know your body best. But if you leave it like this, there will definitely be more problems later. It’s your choice, of course…”
I glanced at her swollen ankle. It must have hurt a lot.
But I couldn’t force treatment on a frightened patient either.
“For now, I’ll go prepare the tools I need. Take your time to think about it and let me know.”
“Lady Limone…”
“If you let me treat you, I’ll definitely heal it. It won’t even hurt. But I understand why you’re hesitating. So please decide for yourself.”
I finished speaking and slowly walked toward my desk.
‘She needs time to think about it.’
Honestly, even showing me her bare foot must’ve been a big step for her. If she heard what I was about to do next, she might faint from shock.
I intentionally moved slowly while gathering the tools, so she could mentally prepare.
Before long, a small voice came from behind me.
“Um, Lady Limone.”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“I… I’ll do it.”
Bell barked loudly, as if cheering for her answer.
I smiled warmly at Chloe.
“Great. And Bell, could you go lie down by the bed? It’s best if your fur doesn’t get in the way during treatment.”
Bell tilted his head a few times, then jumped into my arms.
I gently petted his soft, fluffy body and hugged him tightly as if to say, “Don’t worry.”
Satisfied with my affection, Bell obediently walked to the side of the bed and lay down with his front paws crossed.
“Alright, let’s disinfect everything.”
I quickly cleaned my hands and a few tools with saltwater and strong alcohol.
Then I cleaned Chloe’s foot and ankle too, just in case.
After that, I opened the medical bag my father had left me.
The treatment method was simple: I had to break the improperly healed bone and reset it correctly.
I searched the bag for a tool strong enough to break the bone.
…Huh?
A moment later, I pulled out a hammer the size of my forearm.
Chloe gasped.
“Gasp…”
Even I stared at it in disbelief for a second.
Then I turned to Chloe and gave her an awkward smile.
“This was the smallest one I could find…”
I tried to reassure her, but clearly, this wasn’t helping.
Her face was full of pure fear.
‘…This is my first time using such a crude-looking hammer too!’
The hammer looked way too intimidating to use on a person.
‘I knew old medical tools were extreme, but this is too much…’
Seeing how badly Chloe’s foot was trembling, I felt like I had just smashed myself over the head with that hammer.
‘This isn’t treatment—this is torture.’
I bit my lip. A doctor should never scare their patient like this.
After a moment of thought, I put the hammer down.
“Young Lady, I won’t use this.”
“Huh?”
Chloe looked up at me with wide eyes.
“As I mentioned earlier, your ankle bone healed the wrong way, so I was going to re-break it using this.”
Her face turned pale.
She probably guessed what I was going to do when I picked up the hammer, but hearing it out loud made it worse.
“But I think you’re really scared of this hammer. And honestly, if I used this, I might end up breaking your shin too…”
“…!”
Now Chloe looked completely spaced out, her mouth slightly open.
I quickly added more to calm her down.
“So instead, I’ll try to break the bone with my hands. Is that okay?”
“Wh-what?”
Even that seemed to shock her.
“Wait a minute. You mean… with your hands, you’re going to break… my ankle…?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“But Lady Limone, how could you do something so rough…”
“Young Lady Gillain, I’m a doctor. This kind of thing doesn’t bother me.”
At my firm answer, Chloe bit her lip tightly.
“If you break it… what happens next?”
“Oh, I’ll set the bone again and fix it properly so it heals the right way.”
