Chapter 46
As soon as I stepped into the room, the fading sunset shone sharply into my eyes.
I turned my head to avoid the glare—and froze.
The Baroness’s room was filled with memories of her family.
Paintings of Adelia as a child: taking her first steps and falling, crying; holding a bunch of flowers and smiling. A portrait of the three of them together. Old toys she used to play with.
Seeing this, I could instantly understand how the Baroness had endured such long years of isolation—surrounded by these memories.
When the backlight faded, I could finally see her clearly on the bed.
She was so thin and frail, likely from being unable to eat well due to her illness.
Did those delicate hands paint all these portraits? She must have missed her daughter so much.
She noticed me just as I had recognized her. Her trembling voice broke the silence.
“Lia?”
“…Yes, Mother.”
She reached out toward me instinctively, then quickly pulled her hand back in surprise.
She glanced at Father.
“Is it… alright for her to be here? I’m still not cured.”
She was clearly worried she might pass her illness to me.
To reassure her, I carefully walked forward and took her hand firmly.
“…Lia, wait—”
“It’s alright, Mother.”
“…”
“It’s not contagious. Father told me.”
I had learned to smile in front of patients, not cry. But seeing her so weak brought tears to my eyes.
“…Truly?”
Still unsure, she looked at Father. He only nodded, unable to speak from emotion.
Her eyes widened. Then, moving with surprising speed for someone so ill, she sat up and pulled me into her arms.
It was as if all the longing and sorrow she had been holding back burst at once.
“Oh… Lia…”
Hearing her cry made my own throat tighten, and tears slid down my cheeks.
Was this how my own mother felt when she had to leave me?
In her arms, it almost felt like I was being held by my real mother.
I stayed silent, gently patting her thin back until her trembling eased.
***
When our tearful reunion ended, Father explained to Mother why he had brought me here—how he had finally identified the cause of her illness, developed a new medicine, and how I had helped.
“…So, I was hoping Lia could also treat you.”
“Lia?”
“Of course, your opinion matters most. Lia is still learning…”
“Still learning” was just a polite way of saying I didn’t have a medical license here—though I had one in my original world. The problem was that license existed in another world.
I bit my lip, waiting anxiously for her answer.
Her rose-colored eyes, so much like Adelia’s, slowly turned to me.
“You once opposed Lia becoming a doctor. For you to change your mind… there must be a reason.”
“…Yes.”
“If you’ve decided this, then I will trust our Lia as well.”
Simple words, but they showed how much she trusted Father.
I smiled, pushing away the lump in my throat.
“Thank you, Mother. I’ll do my very best.”
I took the stethoscope I had prepared from my pocket.
I’m glad the maids packed this. There’s no better tool for an examination.
I lifted it so she could see.
“Mother, this tool lets me hear the sounds inside the body. I got it as a gift from the Duke’s household.”
“So the stories about your work there were true.”
She looked at it curiously, impressed, and smiled at me.
I smiled back and explained,
“I’ll just place this small circle against your body. Could you lie back comfortably with your knees bent?”
Once she was in a position that would reduce pressure on her abdomen, I put the earpieces in.
“Breathe in.”
Inhale
“And out.”
Exhale
As she breathed out, I began listening to her organs.
Alright, focus…
I checked her heart and lungs first—they seemed fairly healthy. But as I moved to her abdomen, I heard loud gurgling.
A hyper sound… (a loud bowel sound usually from diarrhea or intestinal trouble)
Unlike her lungs and heart, her stomach and intestines were clearly in poor condition.
Please… let me see more.
This was the risky part—I wasn’t sure if I could see inside the organs the same way I could see the outside.
If I can see the outside, maybe I can see the inside too… please, just once…
As I focused, it felt like a camera lens zooming in.
Almost there…!
Suddenly, my view shifted, and I could see inside her stomach.
Got it!
But my excitement vanished instantly.
What… is this?
The inside of her stomach looked like a war zone—ulcers, white patches of inflammation everywhere.
And worse—
A hiatal hernia… (part of the stomach pushing through the diaphragm into the chest)
The constant acid reflux had damaged her esophagus, and…
A Barrett’s esophagus too… (a condition that can lead to esophageal cancer)
Barrett’s esophagus is notorious—it’s one of the main causes of esophageal cancer.
If this continued, it would become much more serious.
And then…
My mother coughed up blood in the end. She couldn’t even speak my name before she died.
Room 406 had once said this during counseling.
A chill ran through me.
Could it be… the Viscountess’s true cause of death was—?
Mother suddenly grabbed my arm.
“Lia? Are you alright?”
“Huh…?”
“You’re sweating so much. You don’t look well.”
She gently wiped my forehead with a handkerchief.
Sweat…?
I touched my hair—it was damp. The realization had hit me harder than I thought.
The Viscountess died of cancer…
Esophageal cancer.
There are many types of cancer, but this one is especially dangerous—
Because it spreads too easily.
The esophagus has no protective membrane, so cancer cells can spread to the spine, heart lining, liver, and more.
But… this usually occurs in older men. Why—?
“…Ha…”
I sighed heavily. The situation was worse than I expected.
What am I supposed to do…?
If we were in the modern world, early cancer could be treated easily.
But here, in this medically primitive place, even a simple surgery would be extremely difficult.
