Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 48
Chapter Title: Revolutionary Treatment
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The royal physicians found themselves in a difficult situation.
It was because they had no idea how to even define Rivian's illness.
"It can't simply be classified as mana sickness. While the colored spots are a unique symptom associated with mana sickness, Her Highness's mana is circulating properly."
"She was recently out and about, and the symptoms resemble those of malaria or yellow fever, so it might be something in that vein. Given the high likelihood of it being contagious, we should isolate her for the time being."
"What medicine should we even use... For now, let's try everything we can."
They scoured books and records in an attempt to treat this unusual illness manifesting as white spots, but there were no records of it.
If this was an entirely new type of disease never seen before, even the royal physicians had no means to intervene.
Treating an illness wasn't like performing surgery to cut away rotten flesh and resolve it in one go.
They had to administer medicine and monitor the progress, and if nothing worked despite trying everything, all that was left was to pray to the heavens.
This was evident from how malaria could be somewhat treated with cinchona tree sap, while yellow fever remained a death sentence with no cure even now.
Treating known diseases was already incredibly difficult—how much harder would it be to treat a new one?
As physicians, they wanted to do their utmost to cure the princess's illness.
But in this hopeless situation, fragile doubts kept creeping in and hindering them.
"It seems Lord Ester has found a way."
At that moment, Art approached.
The physicians' eyes widened at his words.
"What on earth do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. Lord Ester asked that we entrust Her Highness's treatment to him. He said not to let anyone else into the room from now on, so I've come to relay the message."
They were well aware of Ester's reputation.
Anyone living in the Justina Kingdom who didn't know his name might as well be a demon.
However, had any of his achievements involved medicine?
Magic and medicine were completely separate fields of study.
Unless it was a special case like Erps, magicians typically only possessed magical knowledge and were laymen when it came to the human body and diseases.
A life mage from the biology school might have some potential, but even so.
He was only fifteen years old.
No one disputed that he was a genius, but imagining he had also mastered medicine was a stretch.
Even they, who had devoted their lives to medicine, couldn't see the path forward.
And he claimed he could cure the princess?
"That's nonsense. Does Lord Art truly believe that?"
Even Elle, who had been silently tending to her duties until now, chimed in.
At twenty-two years old this year, she was a talented physician who had risen to this position at a relatively young age.
"I acknowledge Lord Ester's remarkable talents, but medicine is no easy field."
In Elle's eyes, Ester appeared to be someone intoxicated by his own genius.
Adoration from the masses often bred arrogance, and arrogance clouded judgment.
Hadn't she once thought herself a miracle doctor who could save everyone, only to worsen a patient's condition due to a misguided decision?
She believed she needed to stop Ester's recklessness.
Before this arrogant genius made Rivian's condition irreversible.
"The king himself has granted permission..."
Art tried to intervene, but she brushed off his hand.
"As Her Highness's physician, I do not approve."
She strode forward.
Arriving at the princess's door, she knocked firmly on the locked entrance.
There was no response from inside.
She knocked again, and Ester appeared, his eyes hollow and sunken.
Dark circles shadowed them, and exhaustion clung to him as if he hadn't slept.
But Elle's gaze was drawn to the gap in the open door.
'What on earth is that...?'
It was something she'd never seen before.
Rivian's room resembled a biology school's mage laboratory more than a princess's chamber.
A thick needle was inserted into her arm, connected by a tube to a transparent bag filled with a clear liquid like water.
The sharp smell of strong disinfectant stung her nose.
"I clearly said not to let anyone in. Didn't you receive the message?"
"What in the world are you doing...?"
Elle was aghast.
She had never seen a physician perform such an outlandish procedure on a patient under the guise of treatment.
"I'm treating her. You're in the way, so please leave."
"How is this treatment? Remove that needle right now. I don't know what that liquid is, but she'll die if you keep this up!"
Ester sighed.
"It's normal saline. Same concentration as body fluids, so no risk of water intoxication."
Ester explained that it was to rehydrate Rivian, who was showing signs of dehydration.
At first, she couldn't accept it and demanded he stop the treatment in irritation, but he simply responded calmly.
So logically that it left her speechless.
"......."
It wasn't an unreasonable explanation.
The needle was precisely in what appeared to be a vein, and from their conversation, Ester clearly possessed anatomical knowledge as well.
Moreover, he seemed to understand the princess's illness in detail.
According to joint research by mages from the Blue Tower and physicians, most diseases were caused by infection from tiny microorganisms called germs.
He said the same thing, adding that he had already taken measures, so the royal physicians no longer needed to interfere.
'He really has substantial medical knowledge...?'
In fact, the sleeping princess's expression looked more peaceful than yesterday.
Elle cooled her overheated mind for a moment.
A short while later.
Returning to her usual composed state, she spoke again.
"I heard you've found a solution."
"Yes."
"May I ask what it is?"
"Can you understand if I explain?"
"I'll make the effort even if I don't."
Elle nodded slowly.
Right now, the princess's life mattered more than pride.
As her physician, she needed to know what this genius had discovered.
Ester explained that the germs tormenting Rivian's body were mana germs, which absorbed the host's mana and used it as their own power.
And what could kill those mana germs was.
"Antibiotics and mana inhibitors."
He said that when two types of microorganisms exist together in nature, one secretes a substance that inhibits the other's growth, and this is called an antibiotic.
Microorganisms produce antibiotic substances to survive.
Antibiotics were drugs that used these substances to kill germs in the body.
The downside was that they killed beneficial gut bacteria too, but since bacteria proliferated relentlessly until the host or themselves died, various side effects had to be endured for a cure.
Additionally, he was administering the same inhibitors used to treat Haniel's illness to completely eradicate the mana germs, telling Elle to wait patiently.
To Elle, standing there stunned, Ester waved his hand dismissively.
"That's why I said no one else should enter."
"......"
"Explaining one by one is a pain, and if you were a bit more hot-tempered, things could have gone wrong. You have no means to treat Her Highness anyway. Even if you don't believe me, just wait. That's how you'll save her."
Ester told her not to interfere anymore and ushered her out of the room.
Elle was at a loss for words.
It wasn't frustration.
It wasn't disbelief.
Her heart raced, and goosebumps rose.
If what Ester said was truly factual, then a medicine capable of curing the countless diseases that had plagued humanity had finally been developed.
If they could mass-produce it and distribute it to the people, deaths from diseases and infections could be dramatically reduced.
It was hard to believe, but his past achievements lent it credibility.
The conviction in his eyes further proved his words weren't lies.
From their conversation, she realized he wasn't using the princess's life to stroke his ego.
He wasn't an arrogant genius.
He was someone who gazed far beyond what others could see.
If the princess recovered and rose from her bed.
The Justina Kingdom would undergo a medical paradigm shift.
The conversation with Ester had shocked Elle so profoundly that she couldn't leave the door for quite some time.
***
Rivian opened her eyes.
The headache had subsided, and the dizziness felt less intense than yesterday.
The patient herself knew the symptoms of her illness best.
Slowly, surely, she was improving.
Had the bizarre treatment Ester performed on her yesterday actually worked?
It was worth enduring the embarrassment and pain to follow his instructions.
A needle was in her arm, but it didn't hurt.
Just a slight stiffness.
The white spots on her chest were fading, her dulled senses were returning, and she felt thirsty.
"Water..."
"You're awake."
Ester, who had been reading a book, stood and handed her a glass of water.
She sipped carefully.
*Slurp*—
Seeing his tired expression, she wondered if he hadn't slept at all, and felt unnecessarily guilty.
Rivian handed the glass back to Ester and lay down.
"Did you sleep...?"
"No, not yet."
"Because of me...?"
"You could say that."
In her hazy state, she continued the conversation with him.
"I'm sorry. But it really hurt..."
"I know. I didn't say it expecting an apology."
Ester opened the book again.
"How are you so smart?"
"Well."
"I can't believe you're only fifteen... Just one year younger than me, yet you're amazing at magic... and now medicine too... How are other people supposed to make a living...?"
These weren't words the usually polite Rivian would say, but perhaps because she was delirious, anything spilled out.
"Indeed."
"At first, you seemed like a genius... Then yesterday in the room, you looked like a shady weirdo... Now you're a genius again..."
"Good."
Rivian didn't like Ester's response but figured asking a tired man to chat was too much.
Glancing at the sulking Rivian, Ester suddenly spoke.
"Yesterday morning, I saw you heading to the garden with a book. Did you read it?"
"Of course..."
She was the author, after all.
But why ask about that suddenly?
"I read it too."
"How was it?"
"Fun."
"Liar..."
"Why would I lie to you, Your Highness?"
'Now that I think about it, you're right.'
He probably didn't know Rivian was the author.
"How did you like it, Your Highness?"
"I think of it like a daughter I bore in my heart. Hehe..."
"High praise indeed."
Ester closed the book.
Now she noticed—it was the novel of hers he'd bought at the bookstore yesterday.
Though still hazy and in pain, joy welled up in her chest, letting her forget it for a moment.
An author always feels the best when others read their work.
"I figured you'd only read magic books or philosophy..."
"Me?"
"Yes..."
"I'm human too. Of course novels are more fun than those dull books."
She gazed at the silent Ester.
The corners of his mouth curved faintly upward.
Almost like he was holding back a laugh.
Rivian felt like she understood Ester a little better.
"......."
Even the boy hailed as a genius by everyone was just a person like her.
That was the feeling.
Her consciousness began to fade again.
"Goodbye... for now..."
Rivian fell asleep.
It was an afternoon where Ester's warm voice felt like a soothing lullaby.