After finishing the introduction, I hurried back to the waiting room and rushed into the changing room.
Bruno, who was on guard, came along.
Before changing into the surgical gown, there was a necessary task to be done.
“Ouch, that stings.”
I sprinkled a few strands of hair I had pulled out into the ‘disguise potion,’ watching it bubble and turn a shocking purple.
“Now, drink it all down.”
“Hm. I won’t die, right?”
Bruno gulped as he examined the potion’s state.
“Oh come on, how could that happen?”
“If something goes wrong, please divide my assets equally among the ladies.”
He said that solemnly and downed the potion in one go. Soon after, his body shrank like air escaping from a balloon, and his skin smoothed out.
A moment later, he had transformed into my face.
“Not bad at all.”
I grabbed Bruno’s face, turning it this way and that to check. Aside from a couple of spots, he looked just like me. I tossed him the clothes I had been wearing.
“Do you remember what I told you?”
“You said when the royal princess speaks, just nod and agree like a dummy.”
“Spot on. Now hurry up.”
I sent Bruno off and finished sanitizing.
Once I changed into my surgical gown and stepped out, my team members were already gathered.
“Oh, I almost forgot.”
I picked up and wore the plague doctor mask.
Six suspicious doctors in raven masks walked towards the makeshift operating room on stage.
The one at the back, flailing short limbs, was undoubtedly Ambrosia, but it was hard to distinguish the others by just their physiques.
‘Lars, you didn’t…’
Acella was displeased. She had promised not to take part in the martial arts conference herself.
But her suspicion quickly faded. She spotted Lars returning to his seat from the staircase after being absent.
Seeing him send her a meaningful smile, Acella decided to focus on the stage.
‘Why did the surgery change its content?’
She wanted to scold Lars but was in front of the Emperor. She couldn’t afford to show her incompetence after losing control of the situation.
A makeshift operating room specially prepared for today. The walls were all glass so the audience could watch the procedures in real time.
The treatment process would be broadcast on the screen. Sensitive scenes were filmed focusing on the doctors to avoid direct exposure.
Originally, it was supposed to be a simple demonstration of operating on a monkey.
‘To perform surgery on a person, let alone a royal prince, in front of this many people, that’s a ridiculous challenge.’
No, Acella thought it was too early for the public to accept that.
“Are they really saying they’ll make him walk again through surgery?”
“Ridiculous. There’s no way you could fix something like that even with healing magic.”
The cardinals from the Kingdom of Law whispered among themselves.
But there was someone who objected most strongly.
Bang!
The King of the Kingdom slammed his armrest and stood up abruptly.
“Is that Gordon the Third Prince collapsed over there? Who planned such a ridiculous demonstration?”
The secretary, who had been busy assessing the situation, responded. The King couldn’t hide his fury.
“It was Persiya! Bring her here at once!”
His voice was so loud that even those far away in the Empire could grasp the situation.
“So that’s how it was. The royal princesses of the kingdom clearly have no succession rights. So they’re trying to show political power at the martial arts conference by joining forces with foreign countries? How intriguing, Acella.”
It was Heike.
Though the reality was quite different, Acella maintained her dignified posture with her arms crossed.
She hated to be exposed as someone who couldn’t control Lars.
When the summoned Princess Persiya took her seat, the King reprimanded her.
“First Princess. You’ve been meddling indiscriminately, and now you have caused an incident. What were you thinking when you entrusted the Third Prince to the hands of an enemy healer?”
“Your Majesty. Doctor Gothberg is a certified expert from the Empire. Gordon has suffered from his troublesome leg for too long at such a young age. If there’s a chance to heal him, wouldn’t that be a great fortune?”
“Though he may be young, the Third Prince is still royalty. Isn’t this saying that our national power is so weak that even our blood can’t be trusted with the Empire? Did you not think of that?”
Princess Persiya fell silent under the King’s threat. The King, noticing the eyes of the audience, did not wish to prolong the discussion.
He stood up and declared to the distinguished guests from foreign lands.
“I must clarify that the kingdom had no prior agreement about this performance! We can immediately depose the Third Prince here and now if needed!”
“However, Your Majesty!”
The moment Persiya raised her head, a deep voice interrupted.
“King of Williams, why not simply observe quietly for a moment?”
With the charisma in his voice, everyone in attendance, including the King, found themselves momentarily paralyzed, as if under a spell.
It was the Emperor of the Empire.
The King, not one to back down, glared at the Emperor.
“Emperor of Württemberg! The basis for your invitation must be sufficient.”
As the Emperor gestured, the King’s intensity diminished slightly.
Their gazes turned to the screen.
“Anesthesia complete.”
“Pulse is stabilized.”
The Third Prince lay face down on the operating table. His appearance was so obscured it was hard to tell who he was.
Only a part of his surgical gown was pulled back, leaving the surgical site covered, ensuring maximum privacy.
The surgical room, with transparency all around, was designed relatively friendly, but all the equipment looked gruesome to the common eye.
A status window floated in front of Lars.
He opened [Diagnosis A] and [Surgery B] simultaneously, concentrating on the affected area illuminated by the light through the mask.
From that moment on, the audience outside the glass walls disappeared from his perception. The sounds of their chatter and the multitude of gazes did not reach him.
“Blade number 15.”
The incision length is 10 centimeters. Proceeding with the minimum.
As the sharp blade was in his hand, ripples of unrest spread throughout the audience.
“Is he holding a knife now?”
“Didn’t they say they were treating royalty?”
“Tsk tsk, if you don’t understand healing magic, you should just stay quiet. This is a sacred object used in rituals. It’s meant to amplify divine power.”
Thwok.
“He pierced it!”
“He pierced the Royal Body!”
“This lunatic!”
Screams erupted from the audience. The only calm ones were the distinguished guests from the Empire who understood what Lars was doing.
“What is this atrocity!”
The most agitated was the King.
“Not only did you turn the bloodline of the kingdom into a laughingstock before commoners, but you openly threaten them with assassination? Is this a declaration of war against Württemberg!”
As the atmosphere grew tense, the guests from the kingdom rose from their seats, taking stances against the Empire.
Just as Heike and Georg were about to respond, the Emperor stood up first.
With his grand stature, he inhaled deeply and then exhaled with authority.
“Silence!!”
Without a sound amplifying spell, the Emperor’s thunderous voice echoed throughout the arena.
As his spirit surged, it seemed to electrify the crowd into immobility.
The Emperor, glaring boldly, then spoke.
“Is there anyone here who has seen a demon face to face?”
No one answered his question.
Demons reside in the Demon Realm, far beyond the intermediate worlds that have lasted long even in the extreme west of the human realm.
Ordinary people had no reason to encounter them.
“Would you still be in a frenzy like this with demons right in front of you? Do not fear the unknown power! Everything under the heavens can be placed beneath human feet!”
In an instant, the Emperor captured the crowd’s attention.
The unknown medical practices unfolding on stage, that was the power to resist demons and the skill that could treat them, clearly imprinted in their minds.
The only one it didn’t affect was the King, whose spirit was of a similar level.
“This is nonsense, Emperor Württemberg. Are you trying to deceive my eyes?”
“Your eyes are deceived. Do you truly see this demonstration as an act of aggression towards the kingdom?”
“Then what else could it be? He’s bringing a knife to my child!”
The Emperor raised his head high, staring down at the King as he declared.
“That technique saved my life.”
At his weighty statement, the King briefly paused his anger, clenching his fist tightly.
The Emperor revealed one of his weaknesses.
This meant that the undefeated, immortal Emperor had been in a situation where his life was at risk.
A medical technique saved that Emperor.
The King could no longer protest with such a strong guarantee.
“…I will keep my eyes wide open and watch.”
Slowly, the King sat back down. The Emperor did the same, redirecting his gaze to the stage.
Acella subtly turned her gaze towards Lars.
In the back, amidst the knights, he sent her a relaxed smile as if there were no issues whatsoever.
…For now, there was no choice but to trust him.
Given how significant a demonstration this was, they would have gathered only the most reliable doctors to check every situation.
It was undoubtedly a surgery that shouldn’t be too difficult. Acella thought so.
Feeling the Emperor’s gaze, she maintained the dignified posture befitting a successor.
*
“Incision complete. Fix it.”
As Lars placed the knife, Chloe held the exposed area steady. She set the incision angle based on the previously shot MRI data.
‘Not even a millimeter of error.’
Chloe couldn’t help but admire as she pulled the traction device. If she had done it herself, such work would have been impossible.
His sharp gaze was visible beyond the mask. His pupils were fixed on the patient, not blinking even once.
A focused state as if he had stepped into another realm.
Chloe could also see the affected area. According to Lars’s diagnosis, part of the spinal nerve was clogged and not functioning properly.
“Injection.”
A nurse handed Lars a gun-shaped syringe.
Lars carefully searched for the tiny gap between the vertebrae with the needle’s tip.
The vial attached to the syringe held a shimmering orange liquid.
This was a medication created exclusively for this surgery, possible only through his alchemy.
The potion, which he could barely make even a few of, was described by Lars as a higher concept than mere medication.
Once this potion is injected into both sides of the damaged spine, it would allow the patient to remotely transmit synaptic electrical signals from the nerves.
He would regain the ability to move his lower body again.
Theoretically, yes, but would it really work? Since alchemy was an unknown field Chloe had only seen in ancient texts, she had doubts about the outcome.
Especially in such an important setting.
‘Please.’
Watching nervously, Chloe saw Lars suddenly stop his hand.
“Chloe.”
“Yes?”
Wondering what was happening, he made an unexpected request.
“Can you lower the sound of the heartbeat? It’s confusing.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
As the lead physician, Lars was calm, but she realized she was unnecessarily tense. Chloe took a deep breath.
“Got it. The quick response is good. I’ll give you an incentive later.”
“…It’s not candy, right?”
Lars didn’t reply and focused his gaze once more.
The slender needle expertly pierced the tiny nerve bundles.
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