The Immortal Duke’s Physician Is an Internist - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Over the course of a week, I conducted comprehensive health examinations for every servant in the Carseid Mansion.
It was a fairly thorough affair—measuring height and weight, and even conducting basic blood tests with the hospital’s support.
Time passed in that blur of activity, and then.
“Doctor, the ingredients you ordered have arrived!”
Kaileun finally announced the delivery of the groceries.
I made my way to the Kitchen with him and the Duke in tow. Inside were the newly hired head chef Hans and three representatives of the tasting staff.
“Fried chicken, you say? I’ll preheat the oven.”
“No, this chicken will be rather different.”
I stopped Hans before he could begin his oven preparations, and handed him the Recipe I’d prepared in advance.
The head chef’s eyes widened as he read my notes.
“You mean to deep-fry an entire chicken? I’ve fried plenty of chicken legs, but never a whole bird before!”
“Trust me and give it a try, Chef. Make shallow cuts into the flesh so it cooks through evenly, then slip it into oil preheated to 180 degrees. Splash.”
Hesitant but obedient, Hans dunked the chicken into the large pot and began frying it.
As the oil sizzled and popped, Siou, one of the staff representatives and the stable master, licked his lips.
“My goodness, it smells absolutely delicious. A little salt would be all it needs.”
“Salt is nice, but we’re going to make a glaze.”
While the chicken fried, Hans prepared the glaze according to the Recipe, combining butter and honey.
Then came the next step—he pinched a small amount of minced garlic and added it.
“Put in more.”
Hans gave me a puzzled look at my correction.
“I beg your pardon? But the Recipe says ‘add a small amount of garlic.'”
“You don’t seem to understand, Chef.”
I picked up a ladle from the counter and scooped up a heaping handful of minced garlic.
“This.”
Then I dumped it unceremoniously into the stainless steel bowl.
“Garlic, ‘a small amount.'”
……
Hans looked around with an expression that begged for mercy.
But everyone present was too overwhelmed by my quiet madness to come to his aid. I stirred the glaze vigorously to ensure the garlic couldn’t be removed.
“There. Now toss the fried chicken in this glaze for me.”
Hans lost all will to resist and simply followed my instructions. But I was confident.
This was the devil’s Recipe that had gifted me ten kilograms during my internship, after all.
And moments later.
“Good heavens……. What on earth is this flavor?”
Lilly, the maid, gasped softly as she bit into a chicken leg.
Piekrang, one of the male servants, initially sniffed cautiously at it, but after taking a bite, he let out a cry of amazement.
“The way it’s pungent yet sweet, and salty yet rich all at once—what in the world is this……?! I’ve lived thirty-three years and never tasted anything like it!”
“It’s truly delicious! I could easily finish an entire chicken like this!”
“Your Grace, you should try it too. It really is wonderful.”
I thrust a chicken leg into the Duke’s hands.
I thought he’d devour it any moment given the enticing aroma, but the Duke simply stared at the chicken in silence.
‘A beautiful man and fried chicken. Pairing something good with something else good…….’
Lost in such thoughts, I urged him on.
“Why don’t you eat it?”
“It’s…… such an unfamiliar dish.”
Three hundred years of fasting had perhaps made him too sensitive to such stimulating food.
‘If he doesn’t eat now, the Rapid Aging Operation will fall apart…….’
Anxiety seized me as I spoke to the Duke.
“Your Grace. You said you would trust me and follow my lead entirely. I believe this is the first step of that trust. Please, try it now.”
Watching nervously, the Duke slowly brought the chicken to his mouth……
And bit into it decisively.
“……It’s delicious.”
“Isn’t it?! I told you it was delicious?!”
Why should a single word about fried chicken tasting good bring such joy?
Emboldened, I turned back to the head chef with new instructions.
“Now, let’s prepare the next dish. We have a long way to go!”
Having tasted the garlic chicken, Hans no longer complained and simply followed my orders.
True to his years of practice, he became my hands and feet, masterfully producing everything I demanded.
Donuts slathered in chocolate, mapo tofu loaded with glass noodles, candy-coated fruit skewers glistening with glaze—each time an unfamiliar dish was completed, the servants erupted in cheers.
I, too, indulged in the spicy dishes with genuine satisfaction, and whenever a new menu appeared, I made sure to feed portions of it enthusiastically to the Duke.
“It was truly, genuinely delicious! But Teacher, will we be able to eat this dish again next time?”
“Of course, Lilly. Whenever you’d like to eat it, just ask the head chef. That’s all right with you, isn’t it, Duke?”
“No problem.”
“Then I want to eat it again tomorrow!”
This time Piekrang suddenly interjected. I laughed awkwardly.
“……Tomorrow as well? I’m afraid that would be far too stimulating for your bodies.”
“You wouldn’t say such a thing if you knew how much we suffered through that jerky hell. I’m quite serious—I could eat this every single day.”
With all three of them pressing the matter, I found myself looking toward the Duke with a troubled expression.
The Duke regarded us with apparent interest and spoke.
“Then we shall all undertake the Rapid Aging Diet together.”
“Pardon? Are you in earnest?”
“If I and ordinary people consume the same meals, we can obtain more precise results by comparing what changes occur in each of us, can we not?”
I glanced once more at the spread of food across the table.
Fried chicken, Sichuan chili broth, donuts, candied fruit skewers. And sweet juice to wash it all down.
A famous author once said we cannot travel at the speed of light.
But I was certain of one thing.
If we ate this at every meal, we could depart at a speed faster than light itself.
“……If such is Your Grace’s wish, then let us proceed that way.”
“Wonderful! Then we really can eat this tomorrow too? Thank you so much!”
The three tasters, ignorant of what awaited them, simply cheered at the prospect of eating chicken again tomorrow.
Kaileun cautiously approached me, careful to avoid their eyes.
“Are you certain this is wise, Teacher? I understand with the Duke, but feeding the household staff such stimulating food every day seems rather…….”
“Don’t worry, Advisor.”
I leaned in and whispered back to Kaileun in hushed tones.
“It won’t last long anyway.”
* * *
Two weeks passed.
“Your Grace! Your Grace!!”
The office door burst open as Kaileun rushed in.
Blassion, who had been about to pop a chocolate into his mouth while seated at the office desk, froze mid-motion.
“Your Grace…… I cannot endure this any longer.”
“Endure what?”
“Teacher Lionel, I mean! I cannot bear her treatment any longer—or rather, her coaching! How can a person survive on rye bread and broccoli alone?”
That very evening we created the Rapid Aging Diet, Lionel announced that meals would henceforth follow the prescribed meal plan, and that she would issue appropriate treatment recommendations based on the results of health examinations.
On the surface, it sounded like a perfectly sound scheme. Kaileun had thought so too.
If only she hadn’t diagnosed him with pre-diabetes that day.
“Based on your blood work, Advisor, you are in a state of pre-diabetes. If left unchecked, you could develop full diabetes. And you also have some anemia.”
Faced with a diagnosis he’d never heard before, Kaileun stiffened with anxiety.
“Is it serious?”
“No, with proper management it can certainly improve. So please follow my instructions carefully, understood?”
“Of course. I shall trust and follow your guidance, Teacher!”
From the next day forward, Kaileun’s meals were severely restricted. His physician, speaking with the tone of an instructor so natural it was seamless, began to put him through his paces.
“Advisor. I did tell you—eat the broccoli first, then the egg, then the bread.”
“It’s so dry though. Couldn’t I just spread a little strawberry jam on it……?”
“Will you only come to your senses once you’ve had complications and lost a hand?”
Heavens, how could she threaten him with such devilish words while wearing so gentle a face.
Kaileun trembled with fear and crunched grimly on the rye bread.
And that wasn’t even the end of it. Kaileun, his voice quavering, aired another grievance.
“Because of the iron supplement you prescribed, Teacher, I……I can’t even have a proper bowel movement!”
Blassion had no desire to know such intimate details about his subordinate’s suffering.
He simply set down the chocolate he’d been unwrapping onto the table, saying nothing.
“The Teacher said so herself—iron can cause constipation, but treating anemia and diabetes takes priority.”
“But…… I…….”
“You’d do well to surrender, Kaileun. After all, you’re in the palm of her hand. Give up and dutifully take your broccoli and iron supplements.”
Kaileun departed the office with a woebegone expression. Blassion popped the chocolate into his mouth and checked his watch.
“Is it already lunchtime?”
Blassion rose from his seat with that thought in mind, wondering what meal would appear today.
A month ago, he’d had no concept of meal times at all, but now his body moved of its own accord.
Blassion admitted to himself that he was quite enjoying his meals.
It wasn’t merely the taste of the food or the pleasure of eating it—there was another, deeper enjoyment to be found in coming to the Dining Hall at a set hour each day.
“Welcome, Duke.”
The moment the door opened, the physician seated at the table sprang to her feet.
As always, she wore her Stethoscope draped around her neck, greeting Blassion with a bright voice.
“A lonely table, isn’t it? Have you finally admitted it?”
“Finally? I admitted it long ago.”
Lionel gave a self-deprecating laugh.
“The Rapid Aging Operation has failed. It’s completely ruined.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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