Chapter 4
Conflict
Translator: Rae
***
“Bring more gauze!”
“D*mn it, are we out of hemostatic agents? Nurse!”
“Secure an operating room first!”
Inside the hospital, things had gone beyond mere chaos—it was utter pandemonium.
Doctors’ shouts rang out one after another, and the nurses rushed about frantically in response.
Screams and groans filled the air, and the blood smeared across the floor was trampled by the footsteps of doctors, nurses, and soldiers carrying patients.
“Whoa.”
Felix’s mouth fell open.
He prided himself on having witnessed his fair share of battlefield horrors, but this was the first time he had ever seen the chaotic scene of a hospital in the midst of it all.
“Your Excellency the Commander?”
Just then, Doctor Hibicus, the head of the medical team, spotted Jude.
He hurried over, doing his best to straighten his bloodstained doctor’s coat.
“Where is the soldier brought in by Military Doctor Asili Rosa?”
“Ah, well… he should be in surgery.”
“Where’s the operating room?”
“Over there. Operating Room Two, but—ah, Your Excellency!”
Without hesitation, Jude strode in the direction Doctor Hibicus pointed.
As the startled doctor tried to follow, Felix stopped him and immediately went after Jude.
***
Bang. The operating room door was flung open roughly.
“What lunatic—!”
Who barges in during surgery, when utmost concentration is required?
The medical staff surrounding the operating table snapped their heads toward the door with sharp glares.
“...Sir.”
Realizing that the “lunatic” was the commander who had arrived that very afternoon, the lead surgeon trailed off.
The other staff also fell silent in confusion, and Asili—who had turned around holding a scalpel—was no different.
“The dog tag?”
“Ah, here."
The nurse who had been standing blankly quickly held out a basket containing the soldier’s belongings.
Felix promptly took out the dog tag and checked the name and serial number.
“It’s a match.”
“Is he alive?”
Jude directed the question at the lead surgeon, who, still holding the scalpel, nodded stiffly.
At once, two armed soldiers stepped forward at Felix’s signal. Then Asili, snapping back to her senses, hurriedly stepped in front of them to block their path.
“Do not come any closer. There’s a risk of infection—”
"I know.”
“I’m glad you do, but what you’re doing right now is extremely dangerous for the patient.”
Asili took a brave step forward.
Even though earlier, when she met him in the ruins, she couldn’t even meet his eyes or properly speak.
Jude indifferently raised the dog tag Felix was holding in front of her eyes.
“Ocovy Maxwell. Twenty-four. Corporal of the Second Platoon. The one you found and brought in right after the air raid.”
“Yes. We’ve already confirmed his identity as well—”
“The real Corporal Maxwell died half a year ago in the Ebolite region.”
"Pardon?”
Startled, Asili turned toward the man on the operating table. However, she regained her composure in no time.
Once someone was brought in as a patient, it didn’t matter whether they were friend or foe. Her duty was simply to do everything she could to treat them.
“Your Excellency, as doctors, we have the responsibility and duty to provide appropriate treatment to our patients.”
“Performing surgery on a spy is a waste of resources. Wrap it up and hand him over.”
“That’s not possible. The Kingdom of Eupendea has signed humanitarian agreements, and under those, we must treat all patients admitted here. Moreover, as the attending physician responsible for this operating table, I cannot follow that order.”
Asili expressed her stance in a quiet yet firm manner.
Though she had only known Jude in a deeply personal context, she was well aware of his reputation from newspapers and wounded soldiers.
If he judged something to be reasonable, he would listen.
—She believed that.
“In his current condition, he can’t even be interrogated. If he leaves the operating room now, he’ll d*e without ever regaining consciousness.”
“…Well. You’ve already opened him up.”
Truthfully, Jude had never intended to take him forcefully anyway.
If the man d*ed during surgery, so be it. If he lived, he would be placed under guard and interrogated.
“You’d better make sure he survives, Doctor Asili Rosa.”
But seeing Asili so desperately stand in his way made him unwilling to withdraw politely.
Even if it was petty, he didn’t care.
Because of this woman, he had been called a madman, treated as insane, and nearly branded a disgrace. Compared to that, a little criticism meant nothing.
“Otherwise, you’ll be the one in trouble.”
With that cold warning, Jude left the operating room with Felix following behind.
Before leaving, Felix’s curious gaze lingered briefly on Asili. She looked like someone he had seen before.
“Your Excellency, doesn’t that military doctor seem like a noble?”
What kind of random nonsense was that? Jude frowned immediately.
“For some reason, she looks familiar.”
“How cliché.”
“That’s not what I meant. What do you take me for?”
“That’s enough nonsense. Go find out the surgery results later.”
“If it fails, should I throw her in the brig?”
“...”
Jude stopped again and glared at him, and Felix grinned as he stepped back.
"I'm just kidding.”
“...”
“Yeah… not really in the mood for jokes. Let’s go.”
Avoiding his superior’s gaze, Felix quickly took the lead.
Having stayed by Jude’s side for years, he could act more casually than others, but he also knew when to read the room. Sensing that pushing any further would remind him painfully of the strict hierarchy of the military, Felix wisely kept his mouth shut.
Still…
“Ah, where have I seen her before? I’m sure I know that face.”
His curiosity refused to fade, so Felix glanced back with lingering reluctance in his eyes.
“Oops.”
But the moment he met Jude’s sharp blue eyes, Felix hunched his shoulders and quickly faced forward again.
He knew Jude was in an exceptionally foul mood, with the air security had been breached, the supposedly confidential information about the commander’s movement had leaked, and they had even allowed a spy to infiltrate. But today, he seemed even harsher than usual.
At times like this, the wisest course was simply to keep quiet and not provoke him. So Felix obediently guided Jude back to the commander’s office.
***
“You called for me?”
"Yeah. How was the surgery?”
"I went well.”
Having finished the operation, Asili responded to the summons and entered Doctor Hibicus’s office.
She had a rough idea why she had been called, so she cautiously studied the doctor’s expression. As expected, Doctor Hibicus was pressing tired fingers against his weary eyelids, looking troubled.
“You must be very tired, right?”
"Well, yes.”
He was at an age where he had been devoting himself to training younger doctors. To be back in the field as a doctor for the first time in a long while was gratifying, but it was also melancholy. Even though he had known it already, it was another thing entirely to feel just how much his stamina had declined.
Of course, watching his pupil grow so splendidly was always a pleasure. For example, Asili, who stood before him now.
Judging by how dejected she looked, she seemed to have a fairly good idea why he had called her in, so the doctor got straight to the point.
“I hear you defied the Grand Duke—or rather, the Commander’s order?”
“In accordance with the humanitarian accords—”
“I know. I’m not criticizing you for that.”
“Then why did you call for me?”
Phew. Letting out a long sigh, he rested his arms on the desk and looked up at Asili.
Because of the sudden air raid, the number of patients had increased sharply, while facilities and supplies were scarce. The military hospital was already beyond capacity, and as for medical staff, there was no need to say more. On top of that, the commander had informed them that this place would be used as a base hospital.
There would be no end of matters requiring cooperation from him in the future, including budget, supplies, and support, so if possible, he did not want to offend the commander’s temper.
But that did not mean he intended to scold Asili. The moral and ethical obligations a doctor ought to have were included in the oath all medical graduates knew, but only a few actually upheld them. Fewer still tried to uphold them even when it meant standing against the commander.
“It’s just… for the sake of getting along smoothly in society, might it not have been necessary to yield at least a little?”
“...”
“Surely Doctor Asili, who is known for being calm and composed, didn’t really throw herself into a life-or-death confrontation. It’s just that His Excellency is a man of exceedingly exalted birth, so I say this out of concern.”
"...My apologies.”
“There’s no need to apologize to me. How about going to His Excellency, giving him an update on the surgery’s progress, and offering the sort of apology that isn’t quite an apology?”
Still, being a fellow doctor himself, Doctor Hibicus did not tell her she had to apologize outright. Sometimes, even on a battlefield, a stubborn doctor who clung to humanitarian principles was necessary. And he believed the commander needed to recognize that fact as well.
“I understand.”
Knowing the heart behind her mentor’s words, Asili answered obediently. It was only that facing Jude, of all people, made her uncomfortable; she understood perfectly well how the world worked.
As a commoner, and as a woman, had her path from graduating medical school to becoming a real doctor truly been smooth? Of course not. That was one of the reasons she could fully understand Doctor Hibicus’s position, since he would now have to work under Jude’s command.
“By the way, Professor. May I inquire about the progress of my assignment to the field hospital?”
***
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