The Doctor Cured The Villainess And Ran Away

“Prince, what on earth is that thing?”

Acella suddenly asked me in a panicked voice.

I thought her attitude was quite strange.
But I couldn’t figure out why. I couldn’t imagine Acella being scared of a syringe.

I replied in my usual calm tone.

“It’s called a syringe. I plan to take a blood sample from Her Royal Highness for testing.”

“What do you mean? You’re going to stick that needle in me and draw my blood?”

“Exactly that.”

Acella slightly opened her mouth and froze.
I guess even she can make a stupid face sometimes.

“Prince, are you a vampire?”

“What does that even mean? If I were demon kin, how could I have used the portal?”

“Well, that’s true… but where are you going to stick the needle?”

“In the vein. It’s on the inside of your arm.”

I tapped the inside of my elbow.

Acella trembled and leaned away from me slightly.

“Your Royal Highness?”

“Are you trying to make fun of me right now?”

“Doctors do not joke about medical procedures with their patients. It would be a big deal if there’s any misunderstanding that leads to a medical accident.”

Acella shut her eyes tightly and rubbed her forehead.

It’s understandable to feel uncomfortable about something you’ve never seen before.
It’s not common in this world to get blood drawn.

“Wait a moment. Are you saying you’re going to inflict a wound on my royal body? That must not happen!”

It seemed the head maid, who had been watching, couldn’t hold back any longer and interjected.

What she said made sense.

“That’s a valid point. However, it would be an embarrassing small needle prick, and I will treat it immediately, so it won’t be a problem. Testing the blood will significantly help protect Her Royal Highness’s health.”

“Does it have to be blood? If you could use some other method instead of medicine…”

“Wasn’t it Your Royal Highness who said you’d provide the environment for that medicine to be used?”

“…That’s true.”

Acella agreed with me, giving her support.
What was she muttering about? Is she hesitant to object because of her pride?

“If this is common in medicine, and I suggested using it… Huh.”

Acella took a deep breath and steeled herself.

“Do it. Use whatever method necessary.”

“Yes.”

With Acella’s command, it was time for the head maid to step back.
However, she added one more thing.

“Just make sure to test Her Royal Highness’s blood here and dispose of it in front of us once you’re done.”

“Because it would be a huge problem if it were used as material for black magic. I understand. Let’s do that.”

I answered briskly, and there was no further argument.

“Your Royal Highness, please extend your arm.”

Acella bit her lower lip and slowly extended her right arm toward me.

“…Go on, do what you have to do.”

“I will draw the blood.”

I tied a rubber band around the upper part of Acella’s arm.
Upon doing so, Acella jolted.

“…Is it over?”

“Uh? No, I’ve just tied the tourniquet. It makes it easier to see the vein.”

Next, I prepared the antiseptic cotton.
I had transformed cheap alcohol through alchemy to create plenty of pure alcohol.
Alchemy really is a jack of all trades.
So convenient!

As I rolled up Acella’s arm dress, her slender, pale wrist appeared.
I wiped the inside of her elbow with the antiseptic cotton.

“…Hah!”
Is Acella not good with alcohol?
She made a sensitive sound, almost as if she had an alcohol allergy.
But that can’t be right; she used to enjoy drinking.

“Is it over, is it…?”

“No, I’ve just disinfected it. It’s a process where a wound is created, and we can’t let an infection occur in the middle of it.”

“Ugh… What’s with the infection….”

Acella turned her head away and squeezed her eyes shut.
… I was starting to sense something odd.
I couldn’t believe the Golden Witch would be scared of just a drop of blood.

‘Is she really scared?’

A deep sense of satisfaction bubbled up inside me.
‘No, wait. Lars, get a grip.’

If Acella was really that scared, I might be heading straight for a bad ending right now.
…Hmm, but I didn’t see any numbers changing in the system.
I guess it’s fine.

Continuing the procedure.
“Don’t move.”

Acella’s skin was thin, so her veins stood out clearly. There was no need to slap her arm.
Slurp…

The blood draw was quick.
As I pressed the antiseptic cotton onto the draw site, Acella slowly opened her mouth.

“…Is it over? Do tell me, please….”

“Yes, it’s over. You might have a bruise, so please wait a moment…”

“You!”

Acella whipped her head around, showing a frustrated expression I had never seen before.
She was huffing like a steam locomotive, practically snorting steam.

“Whew.”
I had to desperately suppress the corners of my mouth from twitching while locking eyes with Acella.
The great Acella was scared of a mere syringe.
Oh dear, well done holding it together.
Should I have given her a candy or something?

As time passed to ensure Acella wouldn’t bruise, she exhaled deeply.

“…Huh.”
Acella took a deep breath.
The mark from the blood draw had vanished long ago, but she was making a fuss about needing a bandage.
The needle was super thin, though.

“So, Prince?”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”

Acella seemed to find the feeling in her drawn arm still awkward, as she kept fiddling with it.
“You’re capable of producing results that justify drawing my blood, right?”

“Of course.”

I answered confidently, but for a moment I worried about how much Acella valued that.
“Specifically, what kind of result do you want?”

Acella’s lips curled up slightly.
I was starting to understand; when she wore that expression, she was usually thinking of something devilish.

“Lucy.”

“Yes, Your Royal Highness.”

“Have you told the Prince about the emergency manual?”

“I planned to relay that information today.”

“Prince, propose a countermeasure based on what you’ve learned from my blood.”

The head maid bowed her head and stepped back.
What kind of manual is this for what?
I need a bit of context, it’s like trying to understand a cloud in the sky.

“Would you like some candy?”

I pulled out a rose candy and offered it to Acella, hoping that bribery might lessen my punishment if I failed to complete the task.

“……”
Her expression didn’t look good.
I figured that cheap snack wouldn’t suit her refined taste.

Just as I was about to put the candy back in my pocket, Acella sharply commanded,
“Put that down.”

I cautiously placed the candy on the table.
Acella unwrapped it and began to lick the small candy with her little tongue.

“Then I shall begin the examination.”
The blood for testing could deteriorate due to temperature and humidity if not used right away.
Acella’s blood, drawn and placed into two glass vials, glistened red. Each contained 3 milliliters.
It was essential to have a reserve just in case the skill didn’t activate properly or hygiene affected the sample.

I opened one vial and shook it roughly ten times before uncorking it.
As I let a drop spill onto the floor, the ground turned red.

‘This better not get contaminated.’
If anything else were mixed in before testing, the results would be useless.
The chalice had already been sanitized, but given the hygiene standards of this era, I was a bit suspicious.

‘Alright, [Blood Test].’
I activated the skill.
Staring at the crimson blood soaking the chalice, I waited.
…Nothing happened.

‘Is the diagnosis and usage different? In that case, let’s try the diagnosis first.’
The diagnosis skill should activate just from seeing the blood of an injured person, so there should be some response.

―――――――――――
Injury Status: ■■■
Injury Status: ■■■
Injury Status: ■■■
Injury Status: ■■■
Injury Rank: ■■ Insufficient■

―――――――――――

The text in the status window began to glitch.
“Ugh.”
I felt a sharp headache and immediately stopped the diagnosis, shaking my head.
Acella watched me, resting her chin on her hand.

“Things aren’t going as expected, are they?”

“It’s going well. Please wait a moment.”

“Did you just try to cast a spell? It seems it didn’t work.”

Acella was looking quite pleased with herself.
She was relishing in my failure.
The diagnosis didn’t work, but I learned one thing.
Acella’s physical condition was not normal.

There was an injury due to her talent debuff.
I couldn’t make sense of the level of her talent, so that’s probably why I couldn’t diagnose the injury from the debuff.

‘Looks like I have to use the blood test. How’s it going to activate?’
Real blood tests require the sample to be placed in a device to get a result.
My medical skill was based on my knowledge.
If I treat myself like a device…

“Hm.”
I rolled up my sleeve and gently dipped my finger into the chalice.
The tip of my finger got sticky with Acella’s blood.
Seeing that, Acella looked a bit alarmed, but it was better than disappointing her without finding anything out.

So, bingo.
Words began to spill out in the status window.

―――――――――――
Blood testing activated.
Patient Name: Acella von Württemberg

Blood Type: B Rh-

WBC: 24.7

HGB: 8.9

HCT: 28.8%

…

―――――――――――

‘What’s this?’
An endless string of cryptic letters and numbers stretched before me.
There were some confusing terms, but I tapped my temple to revive my knowledge.
First of all, the blood type was unusual.
It’s a rare type, making transfusions difficult.

‘Why is the inflammation level like this?’
Acella’s physical condition was a complete mess.
Due to her young age and good diet, indicators like blood sugar, calcium, and protein were not a problem.
Naturally, her liver function was normal.
The issue was the inflammation.
White blood cells in the blood were at an astronomical level.
Somewhere inside her body, an injury and infection were occurring, and it was still progressing.
‘She must be feeling some pain.’

I glanced back at Acella.
Her expression was just as I always knew it.
Even now, and even ten years later, she showed no signs of being in pain.
I’d heard ten years from now that Acella had been a master of magic, suffering from pain which had led to a runaway incident.
But I thought that past or present was unrelated to the current situation.
I had presumed her pain was something she had acquired after reaching a certain level of magic, like my growth-type debuff.

But…
‘Is she really enduring it?’
That was hard to believe.
With the discomfort she was experiencing, her insides must be feeling like they’re being squeezed.
Unconsciously, my hand reached towards the painkiller bottle I had carefully stored in my doctor’s bag.
Since it took a long time to make, I only had one left.

“Your Royal Highness.”

“Hmm?”

“Do you happen to feel any squeezing or stabbing pain in your chest or abdomen?”

At my question, Acella’s expression hardened coldly.
Like a secret that shouldn’t be discovered had been exposed.

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