Time for the Injection (1)
“...thereby appointing Ras Gotberg as Asella von Württemberg's personal physician.”
The appointment ceremony wrapped up quickly. There were no grand procedures like a noble title conferral or oaths of fealty like a knight's dubbing. It was just me swearing my oath to Asella, with a few healers from the Imperial Medical Office witnessing and reciting prayers.
“From now on, you'll be working alongside us in the Imperial Medical Office. Feel free to reach out whenever you need cooperation, Healer Gotberg.”
I shook Palkenhain's offered hand and passed along one correction.
“I'm thrilled to be jointly overseeing the imperial family's health with you.”
“Haha, excellent. What title and honorific would you like?”
“Title and honorific, you say. You're the 'Holy Ho' in the Imperial Medical Office, aren't you, Lord Palkenhain?”
“Indeed. It's a rank far above a regular healer, so a title is essential.”
“Any title is fine?”
“Er...”
Palkenhain looked a bit flustered. As fellow personal physicians, our ranks were equal on paper. Even if I demanded something like “Healing King,” he couldn't outright refuse. Of course, pulling that off would get my head chopped for treason—claiming kingship under the emperor and all.
“I'll go with 'Doctor' for the title and 'Sensei' for the honorific.”
“Doctor, eh? What's that mean?”
“It means a person who treats patients with medicine.”
“I see. You've mentioned you're well-versed in this 'medicine' discipline. Understood. I'll spread the word throughout the Imperial Medical Office.”
Well, guess that counts as getting my doctor's license, sort of.
After the ceremony, I headed to check out my office in the Imperial Medical Office. Personal physicians don't have to stick to their charge 24/7. Outside work hours, we handle duties from our offices there. We stay nearby during on-call sleep periods for emergencies and accompany them for outings beyond the palace.
The Imperial Medical Office sat at the southernmost edge of the imperial palace grounds, right up against the walls connected to the capital square.
Escorted by Tanya and Bruno, I stepped inside.
“Definitely different from the marquessate.”
The building had zero religious vibes. It was grand and angular, decked out in ornate decorations—like a university hospital more than a church. You could easily mistake it for one of the academy buildings.
The palace grounds were everywhere awash in red dye, eye-searingly so, symbolizing the current emperor.
“Your office is on the fourth floor.”
“Why so high up? No elevator?”
“What's an elevator?”
“This is insane. So you're saying I have to climb four flights of stairs multiple times a day? Bruno, round up a mage who can do levitation spells.”
“Understood.”
Tanya sighed as Bruno immediately bowed his head to my order.
“Bruno, don't actually do it. Sensei needs to build his stamina.”
“You're right.”
Bruno gave her an instant agreement too. What was with this guy?
“Are you the prime minister or something? Yes-man who only knows how to agree? Who the hell's your direct superior?”
“I'm not sure myself. The prime minister? You mean him?”
Bruno replied with a fierce glare that could kill a monster, dead serious. I was an idiot for trusting Boris. Of course he'd recommend some nutjob.
As I bantered idiotically with the two knights, passing healers spotted me and started whispering.
“Look, that's the personal physician badge.”
“Third princess's faction, the rumored one.”
“White hair... born with divine power in his bloodline?”
Even though it was after hours, the Imperial Medical Office buzzed nonstop, day or night, with healers milling about. Come to think of it, it connected to the capital square too, where they treated commoner patients. Supposedly to show gratitude for the emperor's grace—a popularity boost policy, basically. It also trained the office's healers. As a personal physician, I wouldn't be doing that.
“Sensei's rank is highest, but not one healer's bothering to greet you.”
“Different factions, probably. No Third Princess crew anywhere in the Imperial Medical Office.”
All the healers here belonged under some personal physician, who in turn aligned with an imperial family member's faction. Mixing with rivals could get you branded a traitor, so they had to be cautious. What a pain, all this watching your back.
But I had no bandwidth for the succession strugglers' politics. Asella alone was enough to handle right now. She'd be the next emperor anyway. Well, stopping that was my goal.
The office was spotless. Plenty of magitech materials stocked too—Asella must've prepped them.
She set this up the moment she heard my demands?
Not just materials; worktables and tools too, stuff that takes time to procure after ordering. She couldn't have started prepping until I accepted the test. She'd been scheming to make me her physician from then on.
Chilling. The hairs on my arms stood up.
“Gotta live up to the hype.”
Pulling an all-nighter, I could whip up tomorrow's tools with these materials, no problem.
The next dawn, personal physician duties began.
I woke refreshed and immediately popped a candy. Mmm, precious sugar for the brain and stamina recovery. Routine now, couldn't skip it.
Grabbing my tools and stepping out, the head maid was waiting. Lucy, right?
“Doctor Gotberg. From now on, please be ready twenty minutes earlier.”
“Is Her Highness prepared?”
“No. She'll need another thirty minutes.”
Then I was plenty early. What a hassle.
“Her Highness is beginning her routine.”
A bit later, a maid emerged from Asella's room to report. My turn.
I entered her room with my medical bag. It was as spacious as a decent mansion's parlor. Curtains hid the bed.
She sat at the table, bored expression, long lashes flicking my way.
“A fine morning with pleasant sunlight. Did you sleep well last night?”
Her sharp voice snapped back as I sat.
“Same as always. Young Master, you planning to ask me that boring question every morning?”
“You're my patient, so checking your condition daily is standard. And my title's 'Sensei.'”
“So?”
“Just... yeah.”
I couldn't retort under her piercing glare.
“Only one person in the world gets 'Sensei' from me. I'll keep calling you Young Master, so deal with it.”
“Of course, Your Highness's call.”
“You're my personal physician and my fiancé, right? So this honorific's spot on.”
“Hmph.”
Logically, she had a point. Annoying.
This princess aced magic, politics, brains. Or maybe her smarts made her ace everything.
Wanna give her a little scolding.
Couldn't let that blasphemous thought slip. Better wrap up quick.
Pulling tools from the bag, I tossed out small talk.
“By 'Sensei,' do you mean the court archmage, the sage?”
“You know him? Famous mage and all.”
She had one magic tutor—an eccentric old coot even the royals left alone. I knew, but it was just chit-chat to ease her tension.
“First, blood pressure.”
I wrapped the cuff on her arm and pumped air in. Easy to make once you know the principle.
“Medical tool?”
“Yes. Blood flow speed in the body is crucial. Basic gauge of health.”
“Hmm.”
Her thin dress made it simple—no issues.
“Blood holds tons of info. Wouldn't overstate it to say it reveals every illness.”
“I'm not sick.”
“Can't know for sure. People drop dead without warning. Painless diseases exist too. Especially with Your Highness's talent.”
“What's that got to do with it?”
“Talents come with debuffs, maybe. As your physician, I'll grasp your condition perfectly.”
She tilted her chin up, eyeing me coldly. Seemed a tad offended.
“Young Master, you talk like you know all about talents and debuffs.”
“Just educated guesswork.”
Asella glared through the whole measurement, like she was peering into my skull to read my mind.
“Could it be you too...”
“All done. Lower than average. Orthostatic hypotension... any dizziness standing from lying down?”
“Hm... a bit.”
“Noted. As I said, blood analysis is fastest for spotting diseases.”
“...And?”
She cocked her head slightly. I pulled out the next tool from the bag.
“Need a small blood sample from Your Highness.”
The syringe. For CBC testing. Needle detachable, two glass tube combos ready. Needle hand-filed thin, alchemy-enhanced. Hygienic. Tubes glass but unbreakable via alchemy, low internal pressure for easy draw on connection.
“...What's that?”
Asella's reaction to the syringe was weird. Like spotting a mythic monster—neck rigid, pupils quivering, pale blue eyes locked on my hand, frozen.
Why this, Your Highness? No way a mere needle scared her.