TIPI 05

Chapter 5

I left Ailey in the guesthouse and sat down with the duke in the garden house. I immediately began explaining.

“Mr. William has cirrhosis of the liver. To put it simply, his liver has hardened to the point where it can no longer function properly. That’s why the things that should be going into his liver are leaking into his abdomen instead, causing ascites.”

“Then if you understand it that well, why did you say you couldn’t treat him?”

“Because I understand it too well.”

Even in twenty-first-century Korea, cirrhosis of the liver is a disease with a high mortality rate.

And here, in a medical wasteland like this? How was I supposed to save him when I wasn’t even a surgeon?

“You haven’t forgotten your promise that you’ll give up your life if you fail to treat him, have you?”

“Of course not. But please give me a few days. If you give me some time, I’ll help Mr. William die.”

This time, the duke’s eyes widened slightly. I continued explaining.

“Death comes for everyone eventually. Which means, in the end, dying well is just as important as living well. I want to help Mr. William die as comfortably as possible. And…”

“And?”

“I also need to prepare Ailey for saying goodbye to her father.”

Of course, if the death-obsessed psycho decided to draw his sword right now and told me to stop playing games, there would be nothing I could do but die.

Still, somehow, I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to kill me right now.

Blasion, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“Only until William dies.”

“Yes!! That’s more than enough!”

The thought that the patient could slip into hepatic encephalopathy and fall into a coma at any moment made me anxious. I immediately stood up.

“I’ll start preparing the treatment today.”

Thanks to the duke’s wealth and power, the supplies I needed were gathered quickly.

Once Lionel had placed everything she needed on a trolley, she called for Ailey. Ailey came over with Blasion, looking as bright and cheerful as ever.

“Ailey. From now on, I’m going to perform a treatment that will make your father a little more comfortable. But before I do that, I called you because there’s something I need to tell you.”

Ailey looked at Lionel nervously, sensing that something was wrong.

“Your father doesn’t have much time left to live.”

Lionel delivered the news calmly, but in a voice that left no room for doubt.

In an instant, tears welled up in Ailey’s large eyes.

“Is my daddy really going to die? When?”

“I don’t know that either. It could be today, or it could be tomorrow. But it’ll be soon.”

Lionel wiped the child’s face with her sleeve. Then she whispered in the gentlest voice she could manage.

“Ailey. Everyone dies someday. And when we die, we can’t take anything with us. But there’s one thing we can take.”

“……What is it?”

“Memories of the people we love.”

Lionel gently stroked Ailey’s red hair. Blasion watched the scene with his arms crossed.

When she had a sword in her hand, she was like an unstoppable runaway train. But at this moment, her hand was endlessly gentle.

“I’ll do everything I can to make sure your father is as comfortable as possible. So, Ailey…”

Lionel paused for a moment before confessing with a faint smile.

“…don’t end up with regrets like I did. Spend as much good time with your father as you can until the very end. Can you help me from now on?”

“…Yes.”

“Good. Thank you. Let’s go inside together.”

Ailey wiped away her tears and runny nose with the back of her hand, then entered the guesthouse with Lionel.

Standing before William, Lionel announced the beginning of the procedure.

“Then, from this moment, we’ll begin a paracentesis to drain the fluid from your abdomen.”

For three hours, four one-liter bottles were filled with ascitic fluid drained from William’s abdomen. Ailey diligently replaced each bottle as it filled.

With his abdomen slightly less swollen, William looked much more comfortable. He came out into the garden in a wheelchair with Ailey.

Ailey was so excited that she chattered without stopping.

“Daddy, what kind of flower is this?”

“That’s a crocus. And the yellow flower blooming beside it is a daffodil.”

“Daddy, you really know everything! You’re so smart!”

The father and daughter’s gentle conversation was warm and affectionate.

Watching them from a short distance away, a small smile appeared on Lionel’s lips.

Blasion, who was watching them alongside her, suddenly asked,

“What did you regret?”

“…What?”

“You told Ailey that you had regrets.”

“Ah… that. Well, I had a sick mother too. Before I went to Baron Prensia’s estate, I lived with her.”

Lionel thought of the mother who had been her only family.

The only person she had ever acknowledged as family, in both this life and her previous one. The mother who had showered her with love.

It wasn’t exactly a pleasant story, so Lionel wanted to end the subject quickly.

“She’d been sick for a while and was always lying in bed. One day, I begged her because I wanted to eat pancakes. I kept pestering her until she finally made them for me. Then, not long after that, she passed away. So I guess… I regret it. That’s all.”

“Because making the pancakes was too much for her?”

“Yes.”

Blasion fell silent for a moment.

Oh, great. Wh