Puerperal Fever (1)
"Aaaagh—! Aaaargh—!!"
In a shabby house, a woman was screaming in raw agony.
"That’s it. Push harder—!"
"Aaaaaargh—!!"
The doctor ignored her suffering and kept demanding she exert more force. Their relationship was simple: laboring mother and physician.
Normally a midwife would have been called, but the experienced old midwives had been decimated long ago by the black plague.
"Aagh…!!"
"Almost there! The head is starting to show! Push just a little more!!"
The doctor’s clothes were stained with blood and amniotic fluid as he shouted encouragement at the mother.
"Aaaagh…."
Her voice grew weaker, the pain draining what little strength she had left.
"Stay with me!! It’s almost over!!"
Finally, when the baby’s head was large enough to grasp, the doctor carefully placed both hands on it and began to ease it out.
"Uuuuuurgh—!!! Aaaargh!!!"
The mother summoned the last of her strength. Bringing a new life into the world demanded everything she had.
"Waaaaah!!"
"There! It’s out!!"
At last the child was born safely, thanks to the mother’s desperate efforts. A healthy baby.
"Haa… haa… My… my baby…."
The infant was still wrinkled from the amniotic fluid, but to the mother’s eyes it was the most beautiful thing in the world. She gently took the child from the doctor and cradled it to her chest.
With such a loving mother, the baby would surely grow up happy….
Two days later.
"Doctor… my body… it’s so hot… haa, haa… Our baby…."
"I’m sorry, but I believe we must call a priest. The fever is dangerously high. Given that you gave birth recently, it could be puerperal fever, but we cannot rule out the black plague."
The doctor wearing a mask that resembled a protruding bird’s beak shook his head gravely as he delivered the devastating news. He was not the same physician who had delivered the child.
"My… baby… my baby…."
Both puerperal fever and the black plague were, at present, incurable by ordinary medicine. Survival required paying an exorbitant sum to summon a priest and beg for a divine miracle.
But how could a family living in the corner of this rundown house possibly afford a priest?
"For now, I’ll prescribe some medicine."
The doctor took a small syringe from his bag and slowly injected a red liquid into her arm. It was nothing more than a low-grade recovery potion, but direct injection into the bloodstream provided a modest boost to the body’s vitality.
Its proper use was to sprinkle it on wounds to accelerate healing, but it could be used this way as well. Of course, this method had been discovered by the very doctor now standing here.
In any case, a healthy body could overcome any illness. Whether it was puerperal fever or the black plague made no difference. As long as the immune system functioned properly, the body could handle any disease on its own.
"That’s all. I’ll take my leave."
"Waaaaah—!!"
A sick mother and a child left alone. Their fate was painfully obvious. Yet the doctor only paused for a moment before stepping outside. There was nothing more he could do. Whether the two would survive was now in the hands of the heavens.
Squeeze…!
The doctor clenched both fists in frustration and looked up at the sky, cursing the gods for granting such immense holy power only to priests who cared solely for money.
It wasn’t that he lacked divine power entirely. But after treating a single patient with a mild condition, the amount he could use was so small that he couldn’t help anyone else until the next day.
That fact filled him with such resentment that he spat every curse he knew under his breath before walking away. He headed back into the house where the sick mother and crying child waited.
He couldn’t cure the mother, but he could at least make sure the crying baby didn’t starve. The least he could do was find someone willing to wet-nurse the child.
It was only natural for a doctor to do at least that much.
The physician in the plague mask picked up the baby, asked the mother’s permission, and set out to find milk among the townspeople.
Thanks to his reputation as a renowned doctor, securing milk for the child wasn’t difficult.
The doctor’s name was Zemel.
Among the common folk, he was currently the most famous physician of all.
*
"Here is today’s report."
"Thank you."
"What the hell is this?"
Erika had just returned from a monster subjugation mission and wondered if she was dreaming. The sight before her was so shocking she could only stare in disbelief.
Elisa, who had previously shoved Alpha into the far corner of the entrance claiming he might get her pregnant, was now sitting right beside him, politely handing him a neatly organized report.
"Ah. Lady Erika. You’ve returned?"
"Tsk. Department Head, I cannot help my noble upbringing, but while we are here, you must speak down to commoners. If the hierarchy is not properly established, how can the organization function correctly?"
"Uh… um…."
At Elisa’s words, Erika could only stammer. She was right. Erika was both Alpha’s supervisor and a member of the Black Plague and Pregnancy Countermeasures Department.
Does that mean I should be the one using polite speech here?
"Ha! The stench of commoners is overwhelming."
"Lady Elisa, please don’t be so harsh. Isn’t Lady Erika part of our family now?"
"Hmph! The Department Head has proven his ability, so that’s acceptable. But how could I possibly share a family table with a mere commoner?"
"Well… we’re back. Department Head?"
After a moment of hesitation, Erika watched the friendly exchange between Alpha and Elisa, organized her thoughts, and bowed deeply in greeting.
As Elisa said, Alpha was the one in charge here. It was only right to show him proper respect.
I made a mistake.
In this department, she was essentially Alpha’s subordinate. After all, even though she belonged to the knight order, she had been officially assigned to the Black Plague and Pregnancy Countermeasures Department.
Here, she should treat Alpha with the appropriate deference.
Until now, Elisa must have acted that way because she viewed Alpha as both the department head and a breeding partner.
Ertia….
The thought caused jealousy to surge within Erika’s heart. In the short time she had been away on the monster subjugation, the entire office had been transformed.
Not only that, the desks and chairs had all been replaced with high-quality furniture.
"Lady Erika, you may work at the desk over there."
"…Why does it seem like my desk is placed quite far from the Department Head’s?"
"Ha! Commoner! How rude! Do you truly believe someone who is nothing more than a low-ranking employee should sit close to the Department Head?"
"…If we’re going by rank, I believe Lady Elisa holds no official position either."
The new desk and chair were nice. The jealousy she felt over not being able to do anything for Alpha had eased somewhat. What she truly could not tolerate was that her original seat beside Alpha had been moved far away.
"Haa? A commoner dares to question me so persistently? Ah… it was so comfortable when Ertia was here."
"……."
In the end, Erika yielded to the difference in status and quietly sat down at the distant desk, crumpling the documents in front of her. Since she was terrible at office work anyway, the tasks assigned to her were of little importance. Crumpling papers to vent her frustration was acceptable.
"Tsk. Look at her crumpling documents. This is why commoners are… tsk tsk…."
Of course, Elisa clicked her tongue at the sight, deliberately irritating Erika further.
But today, Erika’s irritation was not limited to Elisa alone.
"Starting today, I have been assigned as Lady Elisa’s escort and department member. My name is Ertia Bicken. I look forward to working with you all!"
Not long after a brief break, Ertia’s arrival—no, her official transfer to the department—made Erika want to scream.
*
An increase in personnel in the department was a good thing.
Yes.
It should have been a good thing.
Scritch. Scratch.
After the small commotion between Erika and Ertia, the office was now filled with the sound of pens moving diligently.
Truly industrious hands.
"Ugh. Uuuugh—!!"
"……."
However, the two knights’ hands showed no intention of moving. They simply sat there glaring at the documents as if engaged in a staring contest.
Wait, is Ertia actually sleeping?!
Even though Elisa had stubbornly insisted to Wellington that she felt uneasy around commoners and demanded additional personnel…
No. Maybe it was better that she was sleeping.
Erika herself often missed parts of documents and created erroneous reports. It was probably better for me and Elisa to handle it.
In the end, while I and Elisa reviewed and verified dozens of documents, the two of them barely made any progress at all.
For reference, what Erika and I were currently working on had nothing to do with our department. It was the territory’s financial report.
Just as I had thought, preparing proper countermeasures against the black plague would require an enormous amount of money. To secure those funds from anywhere possible, I was scrutinizing the territory’s financial records until my eyes felt like they would fall out.
Naturally, the department’s original workload—which had never been heavy—fell to the two knights.
Yet since neither of them was making progress, it looked like I would have to work overtime again.
"Here. There’s a merchant guild that isn’t paying taxes properly. Could you handle this, Lady Elisa?"
"This guild… has no significant backers and is clearly evading taxes. I’ll take care of it."
"This viscount seems to be embezzling as well… He frequently orders armor and swords for the knight order, yet the inventory numbers never match."
"Hmm… This one is certain. As expected of the Department Head."
Well, department work could wait. Securing funds was the urgent priority, so I ignored whether the two knights were working or not and immediately informed Elisa of the problems I had discovered.
I existed somewhere between slave and commoner. Even if I had known about such tax evasion or embezzlement before, I had no power to resolve it.
But now I had Elisa.
She possessed the solid backing of being the daughter of a count. If I spoke up, Wellington would simply scoff, but if Elisa spoke, the reaction would have to be different.
In the past, even if Elisa had belonged to this department, I wouldn’t have been able to dump work on her like this.
Women… just from touching their breasts a little and letting them sit beside me, they’re already radiating female pheromones everywhere.
"Huu… It’s about time to finish for today."
"You may leave first. I’ll finish up and go."
The useless Erika and Ertia ultimately failed to complete their work by quitting time. In the end, I had to stay behind.
"Ah, then I’ll help as well."
"You don’t have to, Lady Elisa."
"It’s fine. I need to build up my own achievements too."
When I said I would stay, Elisa remained as well and began organizing documents.
One particular document caught my eye.
Recently, the number of mothers suffering from high fever and dying after childbirth has been steadily increasing. The cause remains unknown. Some claim it is the influence of the black plague, but investigations found no blackened areas on the bodies, confirming it to be puerperal fever rather than the plague. The issue is that we cannot determine why this has suddenly surged. The Black Plague and Pregnancy Countermeasures Department is requested to swiftly identify the problem and provide solutions.
"……."
This was an aspect I hadn’t considered. Puerperal fever.
Puerperal fever occurs due to bacterial infection. And it was increasing… What could the cause be?
The number of midwives has decreased.
The thought didn’t take long. This was a time when the black plague was rampant. The problem wasn’t the mothers themselves, but the people receiving the babies.
I need to resolve this issue first.
It seemed I would have to urgently redirect the budget originally intended for black plague countermeasures to this matter. Well, what I was about to do would also help prevent the black plague, so it wasn’t a wasted effort.
*
"Commander!! Show this bastard the honor of the knight order!!"
"How dare you treat us like thieves? Teach him a lesson!!"
At the moment, I stood prepared for a duel against the knight commander, whose gray hair had wolf ears twitching between the strands while a blue membrane covered his body.
Well, I called it a duel, but it was close enough to call it a sparring match.
Unlike the fight with Alex, no lives were on the line.
How did it come to this?
To understand that, we needed to turn back time a little.