*Knock Knock*
At the sound of the knock at the door, Graham answered in an annoyed voice.
"Come in."
*Swish* (door sounds)
With the soft sound of the door opening, she came in.
"...!"
And at that moment Graham's eyes widened in surprise.
A girl with an appearance that he had never imagined possible had just walked in!
"It's nice to meet you. My name is Rose."
She was small and frail, and as beautiful as a doll. She was wearing a simple outfit used for daily life but she had a beauty that sparkled more than numerous jewels combined.
Just by walking in the room, the whole atmosphere changed.
"You... are the lady recommended by Viscount Kate?"
"Yes, are you Professor Graham?"
It was a calm yet attractive voice.
Graham quickly came to his senses and broke free from her entrapment.
"Yeah, that's right. I am Graham. I heard you're trying to be a doctor?"
"Yes, please guide me well. I know I am lacking, but I will do my best."
Graham made an irritated face.
'She's pretty but she's just a typical noble lady.'
He had met many similar types of noble ladies out in society before his house fell into ruin. Even with a perfunctory glance, he could tell that she had never worked a day in her life. Her white hands had no calluses and were clean of any blemishes. After dressing up, if she went out to a social function many guys would naturally follow her.
Yet here she was, trying to be a doctor with a tender body that triggers protective feelings?
Graham tsked inwardly.
'Unbelievable.'
He felt a sudden surge of annoyance.
'Does she think taking care of life is amusing?'
He had become a doctor after much arduous work and effort so he held deep pride in a job that saves lives. It was difficult for him to endure the annoyance at the thought of a spoiled daughter coming to the hospital to amuse herself.
"You are not at the age to have graduated, did you even go to an academy ?"
"I didn't go to an academy."
"Then what kind of studies did you do? Ah, are you going to say that you just barged in here without any kind of study?"
It was normal for people to study the basics at school before coming to work at a hospital.
After they learned the basics, they had to get a mentor to recommend them and then come to study as an apprentice.
"I have been studying by reading books."
"Reading? Hah!"
Graham was so taken back he burst out laughing.
No matter how much you look down on the medical field, a 16-year-old girl dared to enter the hospital after simply reading some books?
'Even if Viscount Kate, the vassal of the greatest house of the empire, the Clarence family, recommended her isn't this too much?'
He had to smother the impulse to yell at her to get out of here.
'If it wasn't for viscount Kate, I would have immediately thrown her out. Damn it.'
Viscount Kate was a person of influence that he couldn't afford to offend that person in any way.
A weak doctor with no power like him would be chased off for sure.
"Do you know what the study of medicine is?"
"Yes, I do know. It is the art of treating patients. "
"Then let me ask one question."
Graham asked in a hard voice.
"Have you ever see a person die ?"
"....."
Then after he asked the question the girl lifted her eyes up and looked at him.
They were eyes that didn't fit on a sixteen-year-old girl's face and carried a deep weight to them.
The girl answered motionlessly.
"Yes, I have ."
Graham flinched at the unexpected incomprehensible look in her eyes.
What in the world, was that look in her eyes?
"As you study the medical field you will find yourself in many situations. What will you do if a patient dies during treatment?"
"I will bury the patient in my heart."
"...!"
Graham closed his mouth.
'Bury a patient in her heart? Did she say that knowing the meaning behind those words?'
Among doctors, there was a phrase 'to bury the patients in their heart'.
It meant after a doctor lost a patient to unforeseen circumstances he would bury the memories of that patient in his heart so as to never repeat it again.
'Perhaps...'
He didn't think she could have known the meaning to that answer. Only doctors who went through the same pain could truly understand that phrase.
'Either way, since Viscount Kate recommended her, I have to give her a job.'
He was musing at the problem he faced.
Normally he had to take his student with him as he taught her but he had no plans to do so.
She wasn't a real apprentice worth raising after all.
'She won't be able to endure it and leave soon anyway.'
That was what he thought so he didn't want to waste any effort on her.
After mulling it over he came up with a good plan.
'That's right, that place works.'
He did think he was being too hard on such a delicate girl but he shook his head.
'If she's going to quit anyway, making her quit faster is for her own sake.'
He stood up and spoke.
"Follow me, I will let you know what to do."
The area he took her was deep within a corner on the third floor of the Theresa Hospital and had an incredibly musky smell.
"This is where you will be working from now on."
The sight after opening the room was really something!
"....!"
Patients who were as skinny as a stick and obviously lacked any kind of care.
The disgusting smell of dirty water.
They were all dressed like vagabonds and were serious patients who couldn't even walk.
"These patients?"
Graham answered.
"They are vagabonds that we have been separating. They are those that are too late in their treatment and no longer have hope for recovery. We treat the ones with not much time left to live here."
"..."
"To be honest there's no need to take care of people like that, but according to the will left by the Clarence head's previous wife, Lady Theresa, we are to take care of them. The payment comes from the funds donated from the Clarence family."
Graham explained with great respect in his voice for the Clarence family.
"The hospital is run mostly thanks to the sponsorship of the Clarence house. As you work here, you must make an effort to work with deep respect towards them."
The daughter of the respected Clarence house nodded her head.
"Yes."
"Anyways your job is to take care of the patients here."
As he spoke he thought he would see the disgust on her face but...
"Yes, I understand. So what exactly am I suppose to be taking care of?"
The girl's expression on her face didn't have a bit of difference from before.
No, it actually showed faint signs of distress?
As Graham was baffled the girl asked.
"Should I diagnose their illness and treat them or should I focus on Palliative care to make them more comfortable?"
Palliative care was a medical term for the support given to terminally ill patients.
"....!"
It was a penetrating question, as if a doctor on equal footing had asked the question.
Graham flinched.
"...Just Palliative care is enough. There's no point in treating their illness. So... Just treat their bedsores."
He was worried for a moment if she knew the meaning of the term bed sores but the answer he heard was even more shocking.
"Yes, I understand. However, if the patient's bedsores get severe or show signs of being infected may I treat them?"
"....!"
Graham stared at her with boggled eyes.
'Treatment? Could she be talking about debridement?'
When a scar dies, the basic treatment was a simple surgery removing dead skin.
( A wound does not heal well if dead or infected tissue is present, so debridement is necessary.)
If the dead skin is not removed it can lead to septicemia or blood poisoning, and the infection can spread to other parts of the body. This can lead to shock and organ failure, a life-threatening condition.
'No, she can't be...'
Shaking his head inwardly he answered.
"You may do as much as you can but don't do anything rash when there's something you don't know well."
"Yes, I understand."
He gave her some more orders then turned around to go back to his lab.
"Did you say your name was Rose?"
"Yes, teacher."
"If you feel it's too much in the middle tell me immediately. I have no desire to force someone."
She understood exactly what he was trying to say.
If it was too hard just quit.
"I will do my best."
Graham gave her a strange look.
'How long will she last?'
He was surprised at her attitude since she arrived.
He had thought she would turn white at the sight of the patients and immediately quit, yet she showed such earnestness. He didn't think it would last long though.
Even a man like him had a hard time getting used to it and had wanted to run away from this room when he first came to the hospital.
'It won't take too many days.'
That was what he assumed.
However, unlike his expectations, she was not shaken.
'It has been a while since I've seen patients like this.'
Even though she hadn't said anything to him she knew what Graham was thinking about behind her back.
'I guess he was annoyed since I showed up out of nowhere.'
She experienced two deaths and lived two arduous lives.
She wasn't an idiot.
To her eyes, Graham may as well have bluntly displayed his heart to her. That's right, she could see right through him.
'He's sticking a nuisance like me here and hoping I would quit on my own.'
However, she had no desire to quit.
Why would she quit because of something like this?
'I am used to patients like this.'
She casually observed the patients.
Of course, as a lady, she didn't like the strong stench of dirt on their bodies but weren't they still patients?
She had previously looked after many of these beggars on Earth.
When she was studying at Seoul National University she had to intern at the hospital and grind by taking care of bums.
'When I was looking after them all kinds of things would happen to me... In fact, this is nothing compared to them.'
Humans were adaptable creatures.
At first, just looking at blood made her shake but later she was able to do surgery on intestines cut in half and casually went to eat Sundae (Korean blood sausage) afterward.
'I need to do my best and earn the medical license as soon as possible.'
Her first goal was to be an official doctor as soon as possible.
She had to pass the medical research exam to do so but she needed the recommendation from the hospital to do so. Normally, one would have to work at the hospital for years to get the skills to take the exam but she had no thoughts of dragging it out that long.
Most of all, if she wanted to win the bet with the Emperor she had to earn a license as soon as possible. In fact, it was necessary to earn a license as soon as possible.
She made up her mind to earn it quickly as she could.
'Alright. For now, let's start.'
She raised her sleeves.
Elise first calculated the hygienic situation first.
"In this kind of environment, even healthy people will get sick.'
She swept up the pile of dust, organized the trash and cleaned the patients' bodies.
It was too rough for the precious treasure of a Marquis family.
No, even if she wasn't part of a Marquis family, how many young girls like her were there who would gladly do all this? Yet, Elise did it without blinking an eye.
'I did harder things in my life.'
She remembered her first surgery.
The stiff dead body on plastic.
The first day she had to peel the skin off the corpse with her scalpel and take off the yellow fat.
Then she had to study the muscle.
It was so terrible she went home and sobbed her eyes off. It was also the first time she regretted coming to the surgery field.
It wasn't just that day.
She can't recall all the hardships she seen before and after becoming a doctor.
'If you compare the things that I had to do before... This is much better.'
Of course, she didn't do everything alone.
It wasn't an amount she could do by herself.
Also, there was no reason to work by herself.
*Knock Knock*
At the sound of the knock at the door, Graham answered in an annoyed voice.
"Come in."
*Swish* (door sounds)
With the soft sound of the door opening, she came in.
"...!"
And at that moment Graham's eyes widened in surprise.
A girl with an appearance that he had never imagined possible had just walked in!
"It's nice to meet you. My name is Rose."
She was small and frail, and as beautiful as a doll. She was wearing a simple outfit used for daily life but she had a beauty that sparkled more than numerous jewels combined.
Just by walking in the room, the whole atmosphere changed.
"You... are the lady recommended by Viscount Kate?"
"Yes, are you Professor Graham?"
It was a calm yet attractive voice.
Graham quickly came to his senses and broke free from her entrapment.
"Yeah, that's right. I am Graham. I heard you're trying to be a doctor?"
"Yes, please guide me well. I know I am lacking, but I will do my best."
Graham made an irritated face.
'She's pretty but she's just a typical noble lady.'
He had met many similar types of noble ladies out in society before his house fell into ruin. Even with a perfunctory glance, he could tell that she had never worked a day in her life. Her white hands had no calluses and were clean of any blemishes. After dressing up, if she went out to a social function many guys would naturally follow her.
Yet here she was, trying to be a doctor with a tender body that triggers protective feelings?
Graham tsked inwardly.
'Unbelievable.'
He felt a sudden surge of annoyance.
'Does she think taking care of life is amusing?'
He had become a doctor after much arduous work and effort so he held deep pride in a job that saves lives. It was difficult for him to endure the annoyance at the thought of a spoiled daughter coming to the hospital to amuse herself.
"You are not at the age to have graduated, did you even go to an academy ?"
"I didn't go to an academy."
"Then what kind of studies did you do? Ah, are you going to say that you just barged in here without any kind of study?"
It was normal for people to study the basics at school before coming to work at a hospital.
After they learned the basics, they had to get a mentor to recommend them and then come to study as an apprentice.
"I have been studying by reading books."
"Reading? Hah!"
Graham was so taken back he burst out laughing.
No matter how much you look down on the medical field, a 16-year-old girl dared to enter the hospital after simply reading some books?
'Even if Viscount Kate, the vassal of the greatest house of the empire, the Clarence family, recommended her isn't this too much?'
He had to smother the impulse to yell at her to get out of here.
'If it wasn't for viscount Kate, I would have immediately thrown her out. Damn it.'
Viscount Kate was a person of influence that he couldn't afford to offend that person in any way.
A weak doctor with no power like him would be chased off for sure.
"Do you know what the study of medicine is?"
"Yes, I do know. It is the art of treating patients. "
"Then let me ask one question."
Graham asked in a hard voice.
"Have you ever see a person die ?"
"....."
Then after he asked the question the girl lifted her eyes up and looked at him.
They were eyes that didn't fit on a sixteen-year-old girl's face and carried a deep weight to them.
The girl answered motionlessly.
"Yes, I have ."
Graham flinched at the unexpected incomprehensible look in her eyes.
What in the world, was that look in her eyes?
"As you study the medical field you will find yourself in many situations. What will you do if a patient dies during treatment?"
"I will bury the patient in my heart."
"...!"
Graham closed his mouth.
'Bury a patient in her heart? Did she say that knowing the meaning behind those words?'
Among doctors, there was a phrase 'to bury the patients in their heart'.
It meant after a doctor lost a patient to unforeseen circumstances he would bury the memories of that patient in his heart so as to never repeat it again.
'Perhaps...'
He didn't think she could have known the meaning to that answer. Only doctors who went through the same pain could truly understand that phrase.
'Either way, since Viscount Kate recommended her, I have to give her a job.'
He was musing at the problem he faced.
Normally he had to take his student with him as he taught her but he had no plans to do so.
She wasn't a real apprentice worth raising after all.
'She won't be able to endure it and leave soon anyway.'
That was what he thought so he didn't want to waste any effort on her.
After mulling it over he came up with a good plan.
'That's right, that place works.'
He did think he was being too hard on such a delicate girl but he shook his head.
'If she's going to quit anyway, making her quit faster is for her own sake.'
He stood up and spoke.
"Follow me, I will let you know what to do."
The area he took her was deep within a corner on the third floor of the Theresa Hospital and had an incredibly musky smell.
"This is where you will be working from now on."
The sight after opening the room was really something!
"....!"
Patients who were as skinny as a stick and obviously lacked any kind of care.
The disgusting smell of dirty water.
They were all dressed like vagabonds and were serious patients who couldn't even walk.
"These patients?"
Graham answered.
"They are vagabonds that we have been separating. They are those that are too late in their treatment and no longer have hope for recovery. We treat the ones with not much time left to live here."
"..."
"To be honest there's no need to take care of people like that, but according to the will left by the Clarence head's previous wife, Lady Theresa, we are to take care of them. The payment comes from the funds donated from the Clarence family."
Graham explained with great respect in his voice for the Clarence family.
"The hospital is run mostly thanks to the sponsorship of the Clarence house. As you work here, you must make an effort to work with deep respect towards them."
The daughter of the respected Clarence house nodded her head.
"Yes."
"Anyways your job is to take care of the patients here."
As he spoke he thought he would see the disgust on her face but...
"Yes, I understand. So what exactly am I suppose to be taking care of?"
The girl's expression on her face didn't have a bit of difference from before.
No, it actually showed faint signs of distress?
As Graham was baffled the girl asked.
"Should I diagnose their illness and treat them or should I focus on Palliative care to make them more comfortable?"
Palliative care was a medical term for the support given to terminally ill patients.
"....!"
It was a penetrating question, as if a doctor on equal footing had asked the question.
Graham flinched.
"...Just Palliative care is enough. There's no point in treating their illness. So... Just treat their bedsores."
He was worried for a moment if she knew the meaning of the term bed sores but the answer he heard was even more shocking.
"Yes, I understand. However, if the patient's bedsores get severe or show signs of being infected may I treat them?"
"....!"
Graham stared at her with boggled eyes.
'Treatment? Could she be talking about debridement?'
When a scar dies, the basic treatment was a simple surgery removing dead skin.
( A wound does not heal well if dead or infected tissue is present, so debridement is necessary.)
If the dead skin is not removed it can lead to septicemia or blood poisoning, and the infection can spread to other parts of the body. This can lead to shock and organ failure, a life-threatening condition.
'No, she can't be...'
Shaking his head inwardly he answered.
"You may do as much as you can but don't do anything rash when there's something you don't know well."
"Yes, I understand."
He gave her some more orders then turned around to go back to his lab.
"Did you say your name was Rose?"
"Yes, teacher."
"If you feel it's too much in the middle tell me immediately. I have no desire to force someone."
She understood exactly what he was trying to say.
If it was too hard just quit.
"I will do my best."
Graham gave her a strange look.
'How long will she last?'
He was surprised at her attitude since she arrived.
He had thought she would turn white at the sight of the patients and immediately quit, yet she showed such earnestness. He didn't think it would last long though.
Even a man like him had a hard time getting used to it and had wanted to run away from this room when he first came to the hospital.
'It won't take too many days.'
That was what he assumed.
However, unlike his expectations, she was not shaken.
'It has been a while since I've seen patients like this.'
Even though she hadn't said anything to him she knew what Graham was thinking about behind her back.
'I guess he was annoyed since I showed up out of nowhere.'
She experienced two deaths and lived two arduous lives.
She wasn't an idiot.
To her eyes, Graham may as well have bluntly displayed his heart to her. That's right, she could see right through him.
'He's sticking a nuisance like me here and hoping I would quit on my own.'
However, she had no desire to quit.
Why would she quit because of something like this?
'I am used to patients like this.'
She casually observed the patients.
Of course, as a lady, she didn't like the strong stench of dirt on their bodies but weren't they still patients?
She had previously looked after many of these beggars on Earth.
When she was studying at Seoul National University she had to intern at the hospital and grind by taking care of bums.
'When I was looking after them all kinds of things would happen to me... In fact, this is nothing compared to them.'
Humans were adaptable creatures.
At first, just looking at blood made her shake but later she was able to do surgery on intestines cut in half and casually went to eat Sundae (Korean blood sausage) afterward.
'I need to do my best and earn the medical license as soon as possible.'
Her first goal was to be an official doctor as soon as possible.
She had to pass the medical research exam to do so but she needed the recommendation from the hospital to do so. Normally, one would have to work at the hospital for years to get the skills to take the exam but she had no thoughts of dragging it out that long.
Most of all, if she wanted to win the bet with the Emperor she had to earn a license as soon as possible. In fact, it was necessary to earn a license as soon as possible.
She made up her mind to earn it quickly as she could.
'Alright. For now, let's start.'
She raised her sleeves.
Elise first calculated the hygienic situation first.
"In this kind of environment, even healthy people will get sick.'
She swept up the pile of dust, organized the trash and cleaned the patients' bodies.
It was too rough for the precious treasure of a Marquis family.
No, even if she wasn't part of a Marquis family, how many young girls like her were there who would gladly do all this? Yet, Elise did it without blinking an eye.
'I did harder things in my life.'
She remembered her first surgery.
The stiff dead body on plastic.
The first day she had to peel the skin off the corpse with her scalpel and take off the yellow fat.
Then she had to study the muscle.
It was so terrible she went home and sobbed her eyes off. It was also the first time she regretted coming to the surgery field.
It wasn't just that day.
She can't recall all the hardships she seen before and after becoming a doctor.
'If you compare the things that I had to do before... This is much better.'
Of course, she didn't do everything alone.
It wasn't an amount she could do by herself.
Also, there was no reason to work by herself.
