Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: Heart Surgery Begins
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The sterile room isn't created simply by sealing a space and blasting it with fire to burn away all bacteria.
If that were possible, modern operating rooms would have been sorted out with a single flamethrower ages ago.
The reason it can't be done is straightforward.
Fire can kill germs, but in the process, it produces fine particles and lingering residues.
Ash from what's burned, soot, microparticles floating in the air.
And the external air that rushes back in the moment the heat cools.
All of it becomes a deadly source of contamination when dealing with an organ as exquisitely vulnerable to infection as the heart.
That's why modern sterilization isn't about outright killing—it's about keeping contaminants out and ensuring they can't stick around.
Control the airflow, settle the dust, seal off any crossover from the outside, and eliminate the very possibility of living microbes existing.
This world has no concept of that.
But we can achieve something similar.
So a week wasn't too long at all.
In that time, the mages affiliated with the Raltos family had completely cleared out an old warehouse in the basement of the estate.
It wasn't just about removing the clutter.
They scrubbed every visible surface—floors, walls, ceilings—multiple times over.
Then they broke down organic matter with purification magic, settled airborne particles with herbal fumigation, and completely blocked external air inflow with a barrier ward.
Finally, they layered faint, ongoing purification spells across the entire space to maintain a state where no contamination could linger.
It wasn't a perfect modern cleanroom.
But as I stepped through the operating room door,
I found myself nodding naturally.
There was no characteristic dampness or odor in the air, no dust clinging to the floor, and breathing deeply didn't irritate my throat.
Above all, it was clean enough that we wouldn't have to worry about infection even if we exposed the heart and spent time manipulating it.
"Good."
I said briefly.
"Here... we can start the surgery now."
As I'd instructed beforehand, Family Head Alain lay on the simple operating table in the center of the room, dressed in attire as close to modern surgical garb as possible.
His sleeves and pant legs were rolled up.
All unnecessary jewelry had been removed, and his chest and neck area had been meticulously cleaned with purification magic several times before being covered once more.
And the personnel surrounding him.
If this scene were transplanted straight into an operating room at some university hospital in modern Korea, everyone would probably faint on the spot.
There was only one lead surgeon, and all the assistants were girls who could barely be called adults.
But these weren't just "kids."
A foxkin to handle circulation.
An elf princess to read vital signs.
And even the imperial princess of the empire, who could stop a heart and make it beat again.
By modern standards, it was simply people filling in for the machines and equipment.
I looked down at Family Head Alain... no, at the patient he'd become.
Then, as always, I spoke the words I reserved for patients right before anesthesia.
"Don't tense up, Family Head. Close your eyes and open them again... and it'll already be over."
"...Please."
He steadied his breathing for a moment before replying.
"I hope that's true. Can I trust you with this, Lucas Argent?"
"Of course."
I answered without hesitation.
"I will save you, no matter what."
Once full anesthesia sets in, consciousness fades away.
But the body—especially the heart—reacts directly to a person's tension and fear.
The heartbeat becomes erratic, blood pressure fluctuates wildly, and those tiny shifts turn into variables mid-surgery.
That's why these words aren't mere reassurance.
They're the first intervention for the surgery itself.
"Princess."
I lifted my head.
"Now, if you would."
"Ah, yes!"
Evelyn took a short breath and raised the staff she'd been holding in one hand.
Mana flowed through the air, and the family head's breathing gradually evened out into a steady rhythm.
Complete blockade of awakening.
Pain responses, conscious activity, muscle tension—all shut down.
"...His breathing has slowed."
Aira reported immediately from beside me.
"Pulse is stable too. Right now... he's in a deep sleep."
Over the past week, Aira had learned—as I'd taught her—not to suppress her senses, but to organize them.
A world without machines or monitors.
But her report was no different from what an anesthesiologist might say.
It was enough.
"Good."
I said curtly as I picked up the scalpel.
"Now we begin for real."
Anesthesia complete.
Environment secured.
Assistants ready.
From here on, it was no longer about the plan.
It was the lead surgeon's time.
Lucas Argent.
This time, she'd thought she wouldn't be surprised, since she was participating in the surgery he'd described ahead of time.
What he would do.
Why.
Even how he'd treat the family head's heart—he'd already explained it all.
There were no parts she didn't understand, and theoretically, it made sense.
But.
When it actually unfolded before her eyes, Evelyn still couldn't help being astonished.
"Piel, status."
Lucas's voice was lower than usual.
The tone he used only during surgery, stripped of all unnecessary emotion.
"Yes."
Piel replied while holding her shield and maintaining her delicate focus.
"Stability is holding steady. Heart position and pressure are all within baseline parameters."
Evelyn now understood what that meant.
Over the past week, Piel had received just one assignment from Lucas.
Protect the heart without interfering.
In other words, craft not a mere defensive shield, but one akin to medical equipment.
The result was the Shield of Equilibrium now gripped in her hands.
No sharpened edge, no intimidating runes—just a near-perfect circle where the center and rim achieved exact balance.
It looked less like a shield and more like a calibrated device tuned to support the heart.
'Piel... she stuck by Lucas's side all week, quizzing him on medical terms until dawn. She's grown so much.'
Piel already possessed two powers: the Shield of Annihilation and the Shield of Restoration.
One neutralized most incoming attacks.
The other reflected them back at the enemy several times amplified.
But this shield was different from anything the heroic Piel wielded in the original story.
This was the third shield, one Piel had designed and forged herself at Lucas Argent's request.
Its ability was simple.
To calibrate and preserve the target's "proper state" against external disruptions.
The heart wouldn't shake unnecessarily, blood vessels wouldn't lose pressure, and even during incisions, the organs' positions remained minutely fixed.
It wasn't a perfect cardiopulmonary bypass machine.
But at this stage, before opening the heart, it fully met the requirements to hold steady.
And so Piel maintained her mana flow with the Shield of Equilibrium raised, assisting Lucas as he incised the ribcage with his scalpel.
And the amazement didn't stop with that girl.
"...Lucas-nim."
Aira's voice rang out softly.
"Heartbeat's picked up a little. The intervals between beats have narrowed slightly."
"Checking."
Lucas replied without pausing his hands.
"Hold off on the planned incision for now. Blood flow status?"
"Aorta's stable."
Aira answered instantly.
"But left ventricle pressure is climbing a bit. Not at dangerous levels yet."
"Got it."
Lucas nodded.
"Keep reporting like that, Aira."
From the moment she'd entered the operating room, Aira had kept her eyes closed.
Not to avoid looking.
To feel.
Right now, sight was a hindrance to her.
Over the past week, she'd received one assignment from Lucas, just like Piel.
Don't miss whether the patient's body was breathing properly, whether the blood was carrying oxygen smoothly.
No one understood the implications better than she did.
She wasn't born with mana.
She couldn't supply oxygen herself or pump blood.
So Aira had taken it a step further.
She decided to become not a supplier, but a flawless "reader" of conditions.
With her eyes closed, she could sense the blood flowing.
The rhythm of the pulse. The subtle pressure rippling through the vessels. How much oxygen seeped into the body with each inhale and exhale.
Over the week, she'd spent far more time with her eyes closed than open.
Even wandering the estate in broad daylight with them shut.
The result was that now, in this operating room devoid of machines,
she'd become a complete vital signs monitor.
"Shift a little to the side."
Aira said again.
"Blood flow sounds weaker from that position. Ventricular wall pressure is fluctuating just a touch."
"Noted."
Lucas adjusted the scalpel as he replied.
"Hold steady. Tell me the instant it changes."
"Yes."
Aira steadied her breath.
"Current status... still within baseline."
There were no machine beeps or alarms in the operating room.
Instead, the voice of one girl with closed eyes was safeguarding the patient's lifeline.
'Princess Aira... crashing into walls and even breaking them while blindfolded all week around the estate. Finally, her efforts are shining through.'
With those reliable assistants at his back, Lucas Argent now had the heart right in front of him.
Watching him, Evelyn thought.
This surgery would end successfully too, just like always.
At this moment, she truly believed everything was proceeding according to plan.
The next instant.
"Fuck."
Until a low, guttural curse sliced through the operating room's air.
"Lucas-nim?"
"M-Master?"
Had such a word ever escaped Lucas Argent's lips during a surgery before?
Not just Evelyn—Piel and Aira froze, breath caught.
Lucas kept his eyes locked on the newly exposed heart, grinding his teeth.
"What the hell has this old man done to his heart?!"