“I’m leaving work.”
Leber’s mouth fell open at the words of the medical intern with blood-stained hands.
“B-but we’re still treating…”
Between them on the patient bed lay a patient screaming in agony with a bone protruding.
“It’s past my work hours.”
For a moment, Leber felt an emotion a doctor should never feel.
Murderous intent!
But with patience, he suppressed the killing intent, pressed it down, and stomped on it hard to barely maintain his composure.
“I-I’ll pay you overtime. Please bring some cotton. I need to wipe the blood to continue treatment, right?”
“I don’t need overtime pay.”
While the intern, who even clicked his tongue, went to get clean cotton, Leber comforted the dying patient and continued the treatment.
Half a day later, Leber was sighing heavily in front of the four-story clinic he had established with Elise’s financial backing.
If he knew how to smoke, what would be coming out of his mouth now would be cigarette smoke instead of sighs.
And the ground would be littered with cigarette butts.
“Leber, you look troubled. Was it busy today?”
A carriage stopped in front of the building, and Elise got out. Only then did Leber snap out of his daze.
He had been lost in thought until the four-wheeled carriage arrived right in front of him. The fatigue must have really piled up.
Leber ran his fingers through his unkempt hair that had grown wild from lack of proper care for nearly a month.
“Being busy is normal. What brings you here?”
Having known each other for over two years, they no longer needed to exchange pleasantries.
“I was at the relief center and wanted to discuss something. Do you have time?”
Elise’s gaze lingered on Leber’s shirt, which was speckled with blood. Following her gaze, Leber looked down and smiled awkwardly.
“We had a serious patient come in this morning. It’s fine now. That’s why I’m out here. Shall we go in for some tea? If we have any.”
Leber thought of his room adjacent to the research lab. When was the last time he had entered that room? He gave up trying to count.
“If you have time, I’ll treat you to a nearby teahouse. It looks like you haven’t stepped out of the clinic for a week.”
“A week? Try two weeks.”
Leber’s shoulders drooped.
Leber had received a new status in Tetris. The Guardian status included warriors who protected the country, pharmacists, doctors, and some scholars and artists considered the spiritual pillars of Tetris.
Guardians were given priority protection during wartime, and their actions couldn’t be criticized without just cause.
Only the king and queen, and those they delegated authority to, could judge and try them for any wrongdoings.
It was a safeguard to ensure they could fulfill their duties according to their conscience.
Creating this new status and system came with many difficulties, but Elise pushed it through forcefully.
She had a firm belief that Leber’s work would greatly improve the lives of the Tetris kingdom’s citizens in the future.
As time passed, the cost of magical treatments was skyrocketing.
The declining number of magicians was a natural trend.
As a result, many people were dying from diseases without even being able to receive treatment.
In times like these, innovative and daring doctors like Leber were needed.
And it was the king and queen’s job to support his challenges with proper systems and provide opportunities for him to freely pursue his dreams.
“I should be the one buying you tea. And food too, of course!”
Leber said, having just come back from inside with only his coat.
“Don’t worry about paying.”
“I can’t do that. Do you know how much I owe you?”
Elise felt embarrassed.
She was only keeping the promise she made to bring Leber to Tetris.
Elise guided Leber to a teahouse across the street from the clinic.
A waiter who recognized Leber and Elise greeted them with a big smile, showed them to a table, and took their order.
Steaming tea was quickly served.
“Please enjoy your conversation!”
The cheerful waiter set up a privacy screen near their table without being asked.
“Better than nothing, I suppose.”
Leber’s posture relaxed noticeably.
As he was in the process of recruiting and training medical interns, Leber was particularly mindful of his behavior in public.
He wanted to set a good example.
His fatigue had doubled from being conscious of things he never cared about before.
“Is it alright if I relax a bit?”
“Of course, Leber.”
Leber pushed his teacup aside and draped his upper body over the table like a melting slime.
Though Elise had risen to a position he dared not look at directly, Leber still treated her as the former viscount’s daughter.
Elise welcomed this.
“Leber, how far have you progressed with the transplant surgery research?”
Leber’s back, which had been lying flat, visibly flinched. He sat up.
“Is Deboa’s condition getting much worse?”
With his smile completely gone, only anxiety remained on Leber’s face. He repeatedly rubbed his face with his dry hands as if trying to gather his thoughts.
“Please tell me, Your Majesty.”
“Deboa is fine.”
She swallowed the words “for now.” Elise knew Deboa’s future. And also the past story between her and Leber.
Deboa was the person who had made Leber live as a doctor.
****
Originally, Leber was a servant in a small clinic.
Leber was an orphan, and all he knew about himself were just two things: his name and the fact that his parents had abandoned him in front of the clinic.
The doctor, who lacked skill but had a kind heart, took in the abandoned Leber and raised him. Here, “raised” doesn’t mean he was cared for attentively.
It means he was provided with the bare minimum of food, clothing, and shelter.
There, Leber lived doing menial tasks and learning medical knowledge by observing.
Leber had such great talent in medicine that even those stingy with praise found it remarkable.
The childless doctor, thinking to secure his retirement, passed on his skills and knowledge to Leber, intending to leave him the small clinic.
By the age of 11, Leber’s skills had grown enough to care for patients coming in with minor illnesses.
Then one day, it happened.
While returning from an errand to buy medicinal herbs for the doctor, Leber discovered a noble lady who had collapsed unconscious.
Being not only skilled but also mentally a great doctor already, Leber rushed to the fallen woman without hesitation.
Just as he was about to skillfully examine and treat her,
“How dare a worm like you touch a noble lady’s body!”
A large foot came flying. Leber’s small body was lifted into the air before rolling on the ground.
“I-I’m a doctor.”
Leber struggled to his feet. He pulled out the intern certificate he always carried in his pocket.
“Doctor? You mean a fraud? One of those who just flap their lips about curing diseases without any real ability? Get lost. Hey, someone call a magic healer quickly!”
The man, who seemed to be the noblewoman’s husband, looked at Leber with contempt.
Even in Bedrokka, where magic healers were common, they weren’t so easily found on the street.
The woman could die in the time it took to go and call a magic healer.
‘I must save her.’
As Leber crawled towards the noblewoman, another kick came flying.
This time, it didn’t end with just one kick.
“This bastard. Don’t spread your filthy germs!”
At that time, doctors mainly treated poor people. Or they were assigned to treat life-threatening diseases like epidemics.
As a result, some nobles viewed doctors as carriers of disease. This man was one of them.
Leber endured the man’s beating while curled up tightly. Even then, his eyes remained fixed on the noblewoman’s face, which was turning pale.
People gathered around, whispering. But no one stepped forward to help Leber. Except for one person.
“Hey, mister.”
It was a girl slightly bigger than Leber. Even with his swollen eyes, he could tell she was from a wealthy family.
The girl, in a sparkling dress with her hair neatly braided and skin glowing, appeared with a sturdy knight by her side.
“Adults shouldn’t bully children.”
” A child?”
As the man turned his attention to the girl, his attendant whispered in his ear. The man’s attitude suddenly changed.
“It’s Miss Deboa. I seem to have caused too much commotion. My wife collapsed, and this beggar tried to take advantage of the situation, causing a disturbance.”
“He doesn’t look like a beggar, but a doctor.”
Deboa approached and removed the man’s foot that was still on Leber’s body.
Then she extended her hand. Leber, caught off guard, grasped her spotless hand with his own dirt-covered one.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you a doctor? You should treat her.”
Deboa pushed the dazed Leber’s back.
“I’ll get beaten again,” Leber mumbled.
Deboa replied bravely, “It’s okay, I can win.”
That day, Leber saved the noblewoman. Although he didn’t get paid and his body was covered in bruises, the experience of saving someone from the brink of death was special.
And he gained a very brave and special ally.
“Hey, I heard you got reported again? I spent all my saved allowance to smooth that over.”
Even when Leber was reported for performing an unrecognized surgery in the spring of his 15th year.
“Leber! Don’t cry. Are you afraid of starving to death? I’ll introduce you to many customers.”
Even in the autumn of his 17th year, when the doctor who had raised him, though not like a son, died, she firmly supported Leber.
It was only natural that Leber fell in love with Deboa.
And in the winter of his 18th year, Leber heard some shocking words from Deboa.
“Leber, they say I don’t have long to live. Ten years at most.”
Deboa told him the results of an expensive magical examination with a bright smile.
Words that shouldn’t be said with a smile, she spoke with a radiant grin.
