Interlude 2 — After The White Smoke Cleared

“Please tie something like a cord around the base of Prince Saryu’s left leg. The bleeding won’t stop.”

“Understood.”

Raul swiftly untied the cord attached to his sword and wrapped it around Saryu’s left leg.

“The groin… um, a little higher. Right around where the leg joins the body.”

“Here?”

“Yes. Pull it tight there.”

Although his hands became covered in blood, Raul accurately carried out the procedure to stop the bleeding.

Perhaps thanks to that, the bleeding from the wound Shitoen was pressing had decreased considerably.

(…But with this much blood loss… we need to begin the next procedure quickly.)

Shitoen gave Raul further instructions.

“Thank you. Also, lighting… Could you please bring as many lights as possible?”

“Lights? Candles or lanterns?”

“Anything will do. I cannot see Prince Saryu’s wound properly in this dim light. I need to apply pressure directly to the blood vessel.”

“Then a floodlight… That has a reflector, so it’s bright! I’ll bring one!”

Raul rose unsteadily and ran off.

“Crown Prince Leonias, I have a request.”

“Of course. What is it?”

Leonias seemed to have regained his composure after being stunned. His complexion was still poor, but the man who usually directed affairs from his office had returned.

“Please summon the royal physicians immediately. I need them to assist with the treatment.”

“Understood.”

After watching her husband run off, Yulia leaned forward and asked Shitoen.

“What should I do?!”

“Lady Yulia, could you go to the kitchen and bring glowing charcoal and fire tongs?”

“…Charcoal? Fire tongs?”

Yulia tilted her head, and Shitoen explained her request.

“I will stop the bleeding with heated fire tongs. If there is a pointed iron rod, that will work instead. Also, please tell everyone in the kitchen to bring plenty of boiled water. And towels.”

“Understood!”

Yulia firmly grabbed the skirt of her dress and hurried toward the entrance, her heels clacking.

Sensing someone entering as Yulia left, Shitoen raised her head.

“I brought lots of knights to guard us! Huh… Prince Saryu?!”

The latter half became a scream.

It was Roze.

She rushed over with heavy footsteps, turned deathly pale, grabbed Saryu’s arm, and shook him.

“Prince Saryu…! What happened?! There’s blood…!”

“Princess Shitoen, are you injured?!”

Mone was the next to hurry over. She dropped to one knee beside Shitoen and peered into her face.

“You’re covered in blood. Are you wounded somewhere…?”

“I am fine. I am not injured. I would like to begin treating Prince Saryu’s wound now… Will you help me?”

“Of course. …Roze, come on. Move away from there.”

Mone tried to make Roze stand, but Roze continued clutching Saryu’s hand while tears streamed endlessly down her face and violently shook her head in refusal. “Roze.” Mone’s voice was drowned out by the sound of rough footsteps.

“Princess Shitoen! Are you all right?!”

The first to approach was the young physician who had eagerly questioned Shitoen during the discussion meeting several days earlier. Behind him came a slightly plump physician, panting heavily and barely able to breathe.

“We are the two physicians assigned to remain at the palace today! Crown Prince Leonias has begun summoning the others!”

Even as he spoke, the young physician swiftly opened his medical bag.

“What should we do? Please give us instructions.”

“Then please come here. Could you press gauze against the wound in my place?”

The young physician pulled every piece of cotton cloth he had from his bag and knelt beside Shitoen.

“The wound is here. Yes. The moment I remove my hand, press down immediately.”

The young physician nodded, and at Shitoen’s signal, he took over applying pressure.

When Shitoen stood, the plump physician offered her a towel. She thanked him, accepted it, and looked toward Mone while wiping away the blood.

“Mone-san, I am going to treat the wound now. He is currently unconscious, but… the pain may wake him. So could you hold Prince Saryu down during the procedure?”

“Understood.”

“Roze-chan.”

When Shitoen called to her, Roze trembled while her face remained wet with tears.

She probably thought Shitoen would tell her to move away. Still sitting flat on the floor and clutching Saryu’s hand, she looked up at Shitoen fearfully.

“I need your help too, Roze-chan. Do you understand how to check a pulse? Have you ever done it before?”

Shitoen bent at the waist and gently asked her.

“A pulse? At the wrist?”

Roze sniffled as she spoke. Shitoen nodded encouragingly.

“Keep checking Prince Saryu’s pulse. Tell me if it becomes weaker or irregular.”

“O-Okay.”

Roze wiped away her tears with one hand and began earnestly searching for Saryu’s pulse with the hand she was holding.

“The floodlights are ready!”

Raul entered the room with several knights. Each carried a lamp-like device fitted with a reflector. They were not alone; a large group of other knights also arrived carrying lanterns and oil lamps.

“I want the wound illuminated as brightly as possible…”

While Shitoen directed them in setting up the lights, Yulia returned from the kitchen with attendants carrying hot water, fire tongs, and a brazier.

“They are boiling more and more water in the garden. Tell me whenever you need more.”

Yulia wiped the sweat from her brow as she spoke. After thanking her, Shitoen immediately washed her hands in a metal basin filled with boiled water.

“What… do you intend to do with that?”

The plump physician asked suspiciously. The young physician wore the same expression.

They were looking at the brazier filled with glowing charcoal. Shitoen looked between them.

“I will seal the wound.”

“Would you not use oil for that?”

The young physician asked.

“No. I will not use heated oil. I will treat only the precise location.”

In this era, pouring heated oil into a wound to seal it was considered the correct treatment for severe bleeding.

It did stop the bleeding, but most patients then died from shock caused by the burns or from infections resulting from them.

She could stitch the wound, but above all, there was too much bleeding. She needed to stop it more quickly.

(Normally, this would be treated with a laser scalpel…)

Shitoen picked up the fire tongs resting in the brazier and grimaced at their thickness.

“How about this? Its tip is thinner.”

Noticing Shitoen’s uncertain expression, Yulia offered her a metal skewer used for cooking. But even that was not sufficiently thin. It also felt slightly unstable in her hand.

(Still… it is better than the fire tongs.)

She had to stop the bleeding somehow. Just as she steeled herself, Roze cried out.

“Ah! Onee-chan! My knife!”

Mone swiftly hurried over and removed the holder attached to Roze’s leather belt.

“Princess Shitoen, what about this?”

What Mone offered had a grip resembling that of a knife, but its blade was extremely thin like an awl. It was even sharper than an ice pick. It looked like a miniature rapier.

“It is a weapon used in close combat to stab through gaps in protective armor…”

“Let us use this.”

When Shitoen nodded, the plump physician handed her disinfectant.

“We will begin preparing. When I give the signal, please remove the gauze, tear away the clothing, and clean the wound. Once I identify the source of the bleeding, I will cauterize it quickly.”

The young physician and the plump physician nodded with tense expressions.

“Bring the brazier beside Prince Saryu. Could you heat this knife… and the metal skewer as a precaution?”

“Understood.”

The attendants swiftly began preparing everything.

Shitoen looked at Saryu.

The members of his knightly order stood around him, each holding up a light.

They continually called out words of encouragement. Some spoke through tears, while others used gentle, comforting voices.

Every one of them sounded like a prayer for him.

(The lighting is sufficient.)

After sitting beside the young physician who was pressing Saryu’s wound, Shitoen leaned over and looked into Saryu’s face as his eyes remained closed.

“Prince Saryu, everyone is calling for you, not only me. Please come back to us soon.”

After speaking, she gently placed a kiss on his cheek.

Then she straightened herself resolutely and declared, “We will begin the procedure.”