TIPI 04

Chapter 4

Four in the morning.

Only the shallow sound of breathing could be heard in the room where the aide was sleeping.

Blasion sat in the chair beside the bed, staring at his own hand.

“Shut up!! If you’ve got nothing to do, at least hold his hand!”

He knew that woman had meant for him to hold the aide’s hand.

But he had deliberately ignored her actual intention.

He had been fascinated by the sight of her gripping a scalpel so fearlessly with those delicate hands.

She had such a powerful voice that he almost wanted to study her anatomy just to figure out where she produced it from.

So he had taken her small hand.

Perhaps she, like him, was some kind of extraordinary being.

But—

…It was just a small hand.

Knock, knock.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.

A moment later, a young man in uniform entered.

His black hair and blue eyes gave him a neat, composed appearance.

“My apologies, Your Grace. I failed to prevent another suicide attempt. However, as always, I used aconite extract.”

Blasion thought of the sixteenth and twenty-third personal physicians who had attempted suicide using the same poison.

Once could be a coincidence.

Twice could still be coincidence.

But three times meant there had to be a pattern.

There must be someone giving orders from behind the scenes.

Having reached that conclusion, Blasion nodded.

“It isn’t your fault. Dispose of the body discreetly.”

“Yes, Your Grace.”

The young man bowed respectfully before turning his gaze toward the bed.

Kaylen, who felt his stare, narrowed his eyes.

“…Everaine. I nearly died.”

“It certainly looks that way. By the way, what’s that tube sticking out of your chest?”

After hearing what had happened, Everaine’s eyes widened.

“I’ve never heard of this method of treatment before. And isn’t this a distillation tube? She inserted something that isn’t even a medical instrument into your lung to drain the air…”

He looked at Kaylen in disbelief.

“Is the doctor a veteran physician?”

“No. She’s a young woman who has only just turned twenty.”

“That young lady performed such a drastic procedure?”

The taciturn knight stared in amazement at the tube inserted into his colleague’s chest and the bottle connected to it below.

Kaylen, who was lying slightly on his side, cautiously spoke up.

“…Your Grace. Does she know your secret as well?”

“…”

The silence was as good as an answer.

Kaylen spoke again.

“Are you going to kill her?”

The duke did not answer.

Everaine straightened his posture and stood before him again.

“Your Grace. She may be different from all the quacks we’ve had before. Perhaps you should consider giving her a chance.”

“A chance at what?”

“To officially hire her as your personal physician.”

The duke’s eyebrow twitched.

Kaylen, who had been listening to his colleague, added his own opinion.

“I agree. Of course, I know that Your Grace has lost faith in physicians…”

He hesitated before continuing.

“But she may be able to fulfill Your Grace’s long-standing wish.”

The duke looked down at his hand once more.

The insolent young woman’s voice still echoed in his ears.

“Why are you standing around like that? Move, move!!”

Blasion couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.

His two subordinates exchanged a discreet glance at his unexpected reaction.

—Did you see that?

—I saw.

—He’s lived too long. He’s finally gone cra—

“…Everaine. What are William and Ailey doing now?”

Everaine’s expression visibly darkened.

“Their condition has deteriorated further since the last time you saw them.”

“Good.”

Blasion rose from his seat.

Kaylen and Everaine had no trouble guessing what he intended to do next.

When Lionel opened her eyes, the sun was already high in the sky.

After stepping outside, a maid escorted her to the drawing room.

The duke was sitting on the sofa.

In front of him were beef jerky and orange juice.

“…Does this mansion have anything besides beef jerky?”

The duke answered flatly.

“As long as food satisfies hunger, it is sufficient.”

“Oh. I see…”

So that’s why there wasn’t anything about meals in those amazing employee benefits.

My employer has lost his sense of taste.

Lionel suddenly missed the card one of her professors used to toss her, telling her to buy herself a meal.

She even thought nostalgically about food delivery apps, the only joy of pulling three consecutive overnight shifts.

Food is such an important and enjoyable part of life.

Does everyone become like this after living for a long time?

Lionel was chewing her jerky with an expression full of dissatisfaction when the duke suddenly spoke.

“I will give you one more chance.”

Gulp.

Lionel quickly swallowed the piece of jerky.

The duke continued speaking without paying attention to her.

“There is a patient for you to examine. He has been a coachman at this estate for ten years. He has been seen by numerous physicians, but none have been able to treat him.”

“What is the coachman’s name?”

“William.”

“Ah…”

The name had sounded strangely familiar.

Then she remembered.

It was a name that appeared in the original novel.

William Lexter.

He was like a father figure to the heroine, treating her sincerely and taking good care of her after she came to the mansion.

Thanks to him, the heroine adapted quickly to life at the estate and was able to gradually grow closer to the male protagonist.

It looks like the original story hasn’t started yet…

Then I should probably treat Mr. William properly.

Otherwise, the heroine who appears later might be in trouble.

Having reached that conclusion, Lionel offered first.

“All right. Let me meet the patient first. I’ll examine him.”

“Miss Prensia.”

The duke narrowed his eyes at her.

Coldness radiated from his sculpted features.

“Do you understand the seriousness of the situation?”

“Of course.”

“Do you understand what I meant when I said I would give you a ‘chance’?”

“Of course I do. You mean that if I can’t cure Mr. William, you’ll kill me, right?”

Lionel answered matter-of-factly.

This time, it was Blasion who fell silent.

Lionel shrugged and continued.

“Well, I don’t want to die either…”

She paused.

“And I’m sure I’ll be able to treat him. So please let me see the patient first.”

Her confidence wasn’t completely baseless.

Surely a major supporting character wouldn’t die before the original story even begins?

Some genius doctor will definitely show up, cure him, and allow him to live long enough to meet the heroine.

Exactly.

Lionel wasn’t placing her faith in herself.

She was placing her faith in the irresistible force of the original plot.

William had an important role as the bridge between the heroine and the male protagonist.

There was no way he would simply die here.

Maybe that genius doctor is supposed to be me.

Could this actually be Lionel Prensia’s role in the original story?

“So I want you to make me a promise too, Your Grace.”

Lionel looked straight at him.

“If I successfully treat Mr. William, you will officially hire me as your personal physician.”

She paused.

“Of course, I’ll expect four times the market salary.”

A small sound escaped the duke.

“Ha.”

Lionel couldn’t tell whether it was a laugh or a sigh.

Either way, one thing was certain.

He wasn’t going to kill her right away.

“Follow me.”

Lionel followed the duke as instructed.

They passed through a long, magnificent corridor before Blasion led her outside the building altogether.

He headed toward an annex attached to the garden.

They had reached roughly the middle of the garden when suddenly—

Bang!

The door flew open and a red-haired girl came rushing out.

“Good morning, Your Grace! But who is that lady…?”

The duke gave the girl a casual glance before explaining to Lionel.

“She is William’s daughter. Her name is Ailey. She is nine years old.”

He had a daughter?

That wasn’t mentioned in the original novel.

While Lionel was wondering about this, Ailey noticed her medical bag.

“Are you a doctor?”

“Ah, yes. Hello, Ailey. My name is Lionel.”

Lionel smiled.

“Could you show the doctor to your father?”

Ailey immediately wrapped both arms around Lionel’s arm.

Her rosy cheeks and curly red hair made her look adorable.

“Doctor, can men get pregnant too?”

“Huh?”

“Daddy’s tummy keeps getting bigger and bigger. I thought a baby was going to come out, but they say there isn’t a baby.”

She tilted her head.

“And his face is black.”

Blackened skin.

A belly swollen like a balloon.

There was something ominous about the innocent child describing her father’s symptoms so casually.

Ah…

I have a really bad feeling about this.

Lionel entered the room.

“Daddy!! A new doctor came!”

Ailey shouted excitedly.

“She’s a young lady! And she’s really pretty!”

William, who was lying on the bed, slowly turned his head at the sound of his daughter’s voice.

The first things Lionel noticed were his pitch-black face and yellow eyes.

Then she saw his balloonishly swollen abdomen.

Lionel stopped dead.

Ah…

Images she had seen countless times in the gastroenterology department flashed through her mind.

Patients with blackened skin and huge, pregnant-looking abdomens, wandering around like zombies while gasping for breath.

William’s condition was exactly the same as those patients.

Lionel felt her face grow hot.

She was unbearably embarrassed by the version of herself from five minutes ago—

the one who had confidently called herself a genius doctor and assumed she could solve anything.

“Ailey.”

Lionel forced a calm smile.

“Could you go inside for a moment? I’ll talk to the duke for a little while and then come in.”

“Okay, Doctor! I’ll wait for you!”

Fortunately, Ailey didn’t ask any more questions.

She went inside and quietly closed the door.

Lionel then turned to face the duke.

She took a short breath and raised her head.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace.”

What on earth had I been so confident about?

From the moment a reincarnated doctor like her became the duke’s personal physician, the original story had already begun to change.

With that thought, Lionel bitterly mocked herself before continuing in a deliberately calm voice.

“I…”

She hesitated.

“…I can’t save Mr. William.”