Chapter 58: Stars' Ball (4)

In the past, I wasn't very confident about Obstetric and Gynecological Diseases.

At the time, it was because I had only just started dabbling in that field.

But it has been seven years since I started caring for mothers in childbirth in the Limbus Pit.

I’ve reached the point where I'm confident enough to call myself a specialist, even if I'm not quite at the professor level of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

That’s why, the moment I heard the news of the Imperial Princess Consort’s four consecutive miscarriages.

“By any chance, where is Her Highness, the Imperial Princess Consort, right now?”

It was by no means strange that my mouth began to move on its own.

“Yes? Lord Yulian? Why so suddenly...”

“It's just that it reminded me of other patients I'm helping with a similar issue.”

A miscarriage is a tragedy that can happen to anyone.

It could be due to stress, or it could just be bad luck.

But the story changes the moment a miscarriage repeats more than twice.

Habitual miscarriage.

It's a diagnosis given when natural miscarriages repeat more than twice.

The moment it's diagnosed as a habitual miscarriage, it becomes necessary to find a hidden disease in the mother.

That's why I started asking the flustered scions for more specific details about the Imperial Princess Consort's symptoms.

“Ah, before that. Could you perhaps tell me more specifically about Her Highness, the Imperial Princess Consort?”

“Specifically, you mean...”

“At what stage did Her Highness's auspicious event usually fall through? Was it before her belly began to show, or after?”

“Uh... I think it was usually right after her belly started to show a little.”

Then, the possibility of chromosome or hormone problems is low.

That's because those mainly occur in early pregnancy.

This narrows down the candidates significantly.

'Cervical incompetence, uterine deformity, and autoimmune disease.'

If it was a recurring miscarriage that happened four times, these possibilities would be high.

Whichever it was, they were all diseases I could handle.

After all, they were diseases I had treated several times in the Red-Light District.

“By any chance, is Her Highness, the Imperial Princess Consort, also coming to the banquet today?”

It was Freya who answered.

“Yes, Older Brother. I believe she is scheduled to enter with His Highness the Imperial Prince.”

“Together?”

“The Founding Festival is also an occasion to show the Imperial Family's well-being. Even if Her Highness is unwell, it would be difficult for her to miss this event.”

“Is that so?”

Perhaps she sensed something in my reaction.

Erika looked at me, her eyes half-open.

“Teacher... no, Young Master. Don't tell me you think you know what the problem is just from hearing this?”

“Mm. I'd say I have a grasp of about fifty percent of it.”

“As expected. What do you think the difficulty is compared to your usual patients?”

Her 'usual patients' meant the patients from the Limbus Pit.

She must have phrased it that way deliberately, considering the many listening ears around us.

“If my prediction is correct, the difficulty is medium-low. Compared to that patient we saw two months ago, there shouldn't be anything particularly difficult.”

“What, so it's nothing special. Do you need me?”

“The probability is low, but let me know if you sense any strange energy from the Imperial Princess Consort.”

It was probably safe to assume that an infection was not a possibility.

It's rare for even an infection to cause repeated miscarriages at such a consistent stage.

Still, just in case, I gave Erika a hint.

Was she perhaps curious about Erika's reaction?

Charlotte, who had been silent until now, opened her mouth.

“No way, there's something you can figure out from just hearing this? Did I perhaps miss something?”

“This is neither a problem nor an incident, Miss Charlotte. It's not good to make a game out of a sick patient.”

Sullen.

Charlotte's blonde hair seemed to have strangely lost its luster.

It was then.

—-!

A fanfare echoed through the banquet hall.

All conversation stopped at once, and hundreds of pairs of eyes turned to the entrance.

The protocol officer's voice filled the entire banquet hall.

— “His Highness Edmund Eschenwald, the 12th Imperial Prince of the Empire, and Her Highness the Imperial Princess Consort, now arrivvve——!”

The protocol officer strained his throat, shouting louder than ever.

As I was worrying that I might have to get him some lemon honey candy later,

the great doors of the entrance opened.

Two Imperial Guard Knights entered first, followed by a young man who had changed from his military uniform into a ceremonial dress.

The 12th Prince, Edmund.

The young man with neatly combed-back brown hair was, to anyone's eyes, from a military background.

His left hand didn't move as he walked, likely due to a habit of always resting it on his sword hilt.

“He's right-handed. His left hand stays still because of his habit of always carrying a sword.”

Charlotte laid out the same deduction as me from the side.

Everyone's gazes were fixed on the Imperial Prince.

But among them, only I sent my gaze not to the prince, but to the woman behind him.

The woman was following half a step behind the prince.

A silver-gray dress, a lace collar that came up to her neck.

Starting from her face, I quickly scanned down the Imperial Princess Consort.

'Net-like purple spots on the upper clavicle, check.'

The blood spots were visible.

She seemed to have tried her best to hide them with makeup and the lace collar, but the spots were too large to be completely concealed.

Next, her ringed hand came into view.

'Her fingers are a little swollen.'

A subtle edema, to the point where the ring dug into her skin.

The possibility of an Internal Medical Disease grew higher.

Lastly, I checked with Erika.

“How is it? Anything strange?”

“No? Looks perfectly normal.”

“As I thought. It's not an infection or a hematopoietic problem.”

According to the diagnosis of our expensive bone marrow checking device, Erika, I confirmed it wasn't that kind of problem either.

With just this, it was as good as having diagnosed 80 percent of it.

But I wanted to raise the probability even more.

'I want to ask about her urine, but...'

I wanted to check for foamy urine.

But my social skills weren't so shattered that I would ask about that in the middle of a party.

I knew that asking something like that would send me straight to the guillotine.

So, I decided to confirm another symptom with Charlotte's help.

“Miss Charlotte. Do you happen to have plans to greet them?”

Charlotte, who had been sullen after I'd said it 'wasn't an incident but a disease,' looked up from poking at her sorbet.

“Yes? Ah, yes. It would be discourteous to just give the gift.”

“Then, when you give the gift and briefly exchange greetings with Her Highness, please recommend the coldest possible drink to her.”

“Is it necessary?”

“It's necessary for the diagnosis.”

“Alright.”

Charlotte's face, which had been downcast until a moment ago, lit up with energy.

“In exchange, you have to tell me the diagnosis process, right?”

“It won't be necessary knowledge for you, Miss Charlotte.”

“But I can take reference from your method of observation.”

“If that's the case... I understand.”

Charlotte put down her spoon and stood up.

Charlotte immediately linked her arm with mine.

Hmm. It didn't have quite the feel I was expecting.

It wasn't that there was nothing, but compared to Erika, it felt lacking.

With such irreverent thoughts, we joined the line to present our gift to the princely couple.

“Let's go, Fiancé.”

She seemed strangely excited.

She was probably excited because the process of finding the disease felt like the process of finding a culprit.

The gift offering began with the families of lower titles of nobility.

Thanks to Charlotte, we were receiving treatment equivalent to a marquis family, so we stood at the end of the line.

Quasi-baron, Baron, Viscount...

The sincere gifts prepared by each of the young ladies and young masters were placed before the prince.

Rare medicinal herbs, mana stone crafts, intricate accessories.

The scions of each family presented the most sincere gifts they could prepare with their allowances.

Charlotte, who was glancing at the gifts, whispered.

“This, isn't our gift a bit too much?”

“I wonder.”

Charlotte probably wanted to say how much of an ecosystem-disrupting species our gun was compared to the others.

However, if my diagnosis was correct, the gift we were about to give was far greater than a mere 'gun'.

“Thank you.”

“Uhm... Baron Eidel... I shall remember.”

“Yes, well done.”

The front of the line.

The 12th Prince replied in the same tone each time.

It was a polite but unimpressed voice.

Having lost a baby four times and being on the verge of a forced breaking off of an engagement with his beloved, it was understandable.

The smile of the Imperial Princess Consort sitting beside him was also gradually crumbling over time.

As I was quietly observing this, it was soon our turn.

“Young Lady Charlotte Hausen of the Marquis Hausen Family, and Young Master Yulian Schnabel of the Nihilrit Baronial Family.”

At the protocol officer's call, we approached the prince.

Charlotte was the first to show her respects.

The angle of her bow, the position of her fingers holding the hem of her dress, even the timing of raising her gaze.

Everything was flawlessly perfect.

As I thought, this person really could do it, but chose not to.

“Representing the Marquis Hausen Family, I present a gift prepared to wish for Your Highness's health and good fortune.”

Charlotte gave a signal to an attendant.

What the attendant brought forward was the gun I had prepared.

When the long gun case wrapped in red silk opened, the look in the 12th Prince's eyes changed.

A special firearm for demonic beast hunting.

It was a custom firearm with a gold-plated mana-conductive barrel and a gunstock decorated with silver thread.

Ten bronze magic bullets were laid out neatly in a separate compartment, with each bullet costing as much as a regular knight's monthly salary.

At the appearance of a gift no man could resist, even the hitherto expressionless prince's lips twitched strangely.

“...This is a truly fine item.”

Of course it is.

It's an item I poured my entire week's income, earned from selling vaccines and Insulin, to acquire.

“It seems the allowance of the Marquis Hausen Family is greater than mine.”

The 12th Prince let out a bitter laugh.

We didn't bother to correct his misunderstanding.

“Since I've received such a fine gift, let's chat for a moment. I haven't had much opportunity to form a connection with the Marquis Hausen Family.”

When the 12th Prince signaled to an attendant, two chairs were quickly prepared to the side.

It was a courtesy for the title of marquis family.

Unlike the other families, they would save the marquis family's face by exchanging a short, friendly chat.

Of course, it also served as a reward for gifting such an expensive gun.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Charlotte sat down naturally. I followed suit.

Up close, the Imperial Princess Consort's condition was even clearer.

The dark circles covered with powder were the first thing I saw, and the lip color created with rouge was far from a healthy red.

The difficulty she had maintaining her smile suggested that just being in this place was an ordeal.

It was a face I had seen dozens of times in the Red-Light District.

The face of a mother who lost her baby without ever holding it was no different, be it in the Imperial Castle or D-Sector.

The Prince, too, seemed aware of his wife's condition, as he kept glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

Just then, Charlotte spoke to the Imperial Princess Consort.

“Your Highness, the Imperial Princess Consort, aren't you thirsty from sitting so long? How about a drink?”

“Thank you, Young Lady Hausen. I was feeling a little thirsty, actually.”

The Imperial Princess Consort nodded, forcing a smile.

Charlotte signaled to an attendant.

What the attendant brought was a champagne glass resting on ice.

With condensation beading on its surface, it was clearly a refreshing drink.

But Charlotte didn't stop there.

“Congel.”

Charlotte recited the chant in a small voice that only I could hear.

Having chilled the glass one step further, she handed it to the Imperial Princess Consort.

The Imperial Princess Consort accepted the glass.

And her thin, pale fingers wrapped around the cold glass cup.

Charlotte and the Imperial Princess Consort continued their small talk, each holding a glass in one hand.

For 30 seconds.

'Good. Just as I thought.'

The moment the Imperial Princess Consort placed the glass on the table.

Her whitened fingertips caught my eye.

Raynaud's phenomenon.

It's a symptom where the tips of the fingers or toes turn white due to cold or psychological changes.

It was also a common symptom in autoimmune diseases like rheumatic disease.

I organized my thoughts.

'Four consecutive habitual miscarriages. Blood spots on the clavicle. Finger edema. And Raynaud's phenomenon.'

At this point, I had a pretty good idea.

This was a list of classic symptoms that any doctor, regardless of their major, would have to know.

'I'd say I'm 90 percent certain.'

Of course, I'd have to run tests to fill in the remaining 10 percent.

I need to do a Wassermann test, and also a coagulation time test and a urine protein test.

However,

'I can't resist the dramatization.'

A doctor who speaks with confidence based only on deduction, even before running any tests.

I can't resist it because it's like Sherlock Holmes.

Of course, the Sherlock in question is right beside me.

Wouldn't the Misunderstanding Genre Correction take care of the rest?

I've lived like that until now, and it has worked out well.

'Let's do it.'

I decided to go big this time, too.

I took a breath, composed myself, and then opened my mouth.

“...Looking at this gun, I'm reminded of when I caught that fellow in the Southern Region.”

“Your Highness.”

“What is it, Young Master Nihilrit?”

“Actually, this isn't all of the gift I've prepared.”

The 12th Prince's hand stopped on the gun barrel.

“I have prepared a separate gift for both Your Highness and Her Highness, the Imperial Princess Consort.”

Curiosity sparked in the 12th Prince's eyes.

The gun alone was already an impressive enough gift, but there's more?

That was roughly the feeling.

“Hah. I know the Marquis Hausen Family has a large allowance, but what more have you prepared?”

His voice was laced with anticipation.

It was the voice of someone expecting me to have prepared something like a transforming and combining robot.

The Imperial Princess Consort, on the other hand, seemed largely uninterested.

To someone for whom just sitting here was an ordeal, what meaning could one gift possibly have?

I smiled, taking in the excited man and the indifferent woman in a single glance.

“I shall gift you two an auspicious event.”

“...An auspicious event?”

The 12th Prince's head tilted slightly.

His expression showed that he hadn't immediately grasped the context of the word 'auspicious event'.

So I said it bluntly.

“I'm saying that I will gift you a baby.”

The 12th Prince's head stopped moving.

As if time itself had frozen.

The Imperial Princess Consort's indifferent eyes also wavered for the first time.

The reactions of the two attendants standing behind the 12th Prince were also a sight to behold.

One's hand, holding a tray, began to tremble, while the other looked at the person next to them as if doubting their own ears.

And the scions in the nearby seats, who had been eavesdropping, were staring at me with their jaws agape.

At the center of all those gazes.

Only Charlotte was looking at me with a fascinated expression.