The Immortal Duke’s Physician Is an Internist - Chapter 5

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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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I left Ailie in the Annex and settled into the Garden House with the Duke. I began my explanation without delay.
“William has cirrhosis—in simpler terms, his liver has hardened and can no longer function properly. Because of that, fluid that should stay in the liver is leaking out into his abdomen, causing ascites.”
“Then if you understand it so well, why do you say you cannot treat him?”
“Because I understand it too well.”
Cirrhosis carries a high mortality rate even in twenty-first-century Korea.
But in a place like this, with no proper medical infrastructure? How was I—not even a surgical specialist—supposed to save his life?
“You haven’t forgotten the promise to forfeit your life if you cannot treat him?”
“Of course not. But please, give me a few days. If you grant me time, I will help William die as peacefully as possible.”
This time, the Duke’s eyes widened slightly. I continued my explanation.
“Death comes for everyone. So in the end, dying well is much the same as living well. I want to help William die with as little suffering as he can bear. And.”
“And?”
“Ailie needs to be prepared to say goodbye to her father.”
Of course, if the Duke decided right now to draw his blade and tell me to stop my prattling, I’d have no choice but to accept death.
But somehow, I didn’t think the man who’d sworn to end me would kill me just yet.
Blashion, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
“Only until William dies.”
“Yes! That’s more than enough!”
The thought that the patient could slip into a coma from hepatic encephalopathy at any moment made my pulse quicken. I rose from my seat at once.
“I’ll begin preparations for the procedure today itself.”
* * *
Thanks to the Duke’s Household’s wealth and influence, the necessary supplies gathered quickly.
Once Leonel had loaded everything onto the trolley, she called for Ailie. The girl came over, bright-faced alongside Blashion.
“Ailie. From now on, I’m going to perform a procedure to make your father a bit more comfortable. But first, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Sensing the gravity in Leonel’s tone, Ailie’s gaze fixed on her intently.
“Your father won’t be with us much longer.”
Leonel spoke matter-of-factly, yet her voice carried absolute certainty as she delivered the news.
Tears welled up instantly in Ailie’s wide eyes.
“Really? My dad’s really going to die? When?”
“I don’t know exactly. It could be today, it could be tomorrow. But sometime very soon.”
Leonel wiped the child’s face with her sleeve. Then she whispered, her voice brimming with tenderness.
“Ailie. Everyone dies once. And when we do, we can’t take anything with us—except for one thing.”
“……What’s that?”
“Memories with the people you love.”
Leonel stroked Ailie’s red hair. The Duke watched the scene unfold, arms folded. The hand that wielded a blade so relentlessly now showed infinite gentleness in this moment.
“I’ll do everything I can to keep your father as comfortable as possible. So, Ailie…….”
Leonel paused to catch her breath, then spoke softly with a faint smile.
“……Don’t regret things like I do. Spend your remaining time with your father making good memories. Can you help me from now on?”
“……Yes.”
“Good. Thank you. Let’s go in together.”
Ailie wiped her tears and runny nose and entered the manor alongside Leonel.
Standing before William, Leonel announced the beginning of the procedure.
“Then, I will now perform Ascites Paracentesis to drain the fluid from his abdomen.”
Over three hours, four liters of ascites were drawn from William’s abdomen, filling four empty bottles. Ailie dutifully changed them out each time.
With his belly somewhat deflated, William looked considerably better. He wheeled himself out to the garden with Ailie.
Ailie chattered away without pause, delighted.
“Father, what kind of flower is this?”
“That’s a crocus. The yellow flower beside it is a daffodil.”
“Father, you know everything! You’re so smart!”
The gentle murmur of their conversation was warm and endearing. Watching from a distance, Leonel’s lips curved into a small smile.
Blashion, who stood nearby observing the father and daughter, suddenly asked.
“What did you regret?”
“……I’m sorry?”
“You told Ailie you regretted something.”
“Ah……. That. Well, I also had a mother who was chronically ill. Before I came to the Frencia Baron Household, we lived together.”
Leonel’s thoughts turned to her mother, her only family.
The one person across both her lives she had acknowledged as family—a mother who had given her so much love.
Since it wasn’t a particularly pleasant story, Leonel wanted to end this topic quickly.
“From some point on, she was always bedridden because she wasn’t well. One day she said she wanted to eat pancakes, and she kept asking for them. Because she pestered me so much, my mother made them for her. But not long after, she passed away. So I regret it somewhat. It’s that kind of thing.”
“You regret that making the pancakes was too much strain on her?”
“Yes.”
Blashion fell silent for a moment.
Ah, what was she supposed to do with this awkward air? Leonel forced a loud laugh to dispel the discomfort.
“Ahahaha! I mean, that’s just how it is! In this harsh world, is there anyone without some tragic history? Everyone has at least one or two family members they’ve lost…….”
“While it’s true no one is without their sorrows, that doesn’t mean you should carry this particular burden.”
At his blunt words, Leonel blinked. Blashion continued in an even tone.
“If you’d only come to make pancakes and leave, then his condition was already deteriorating on its own. This isn’t something you should blame yourself for.”
Gruff as the words were, the message beneath them was gentle.
Leonel didn’t know what to say in response, so she looked away.
In the original novel, he orchestrated a bloodbath, yet here he’s oddly considerate. Could this really be the world of The Unfading Flower?
As small doubts crept in, Ailie’s laughter rang out again.
Both their eyes turned naturally toward the father and daughter. At some point, William had slipped a Flower Ring onto Ailie’s finger.
“That’s lovely.”
The words had escaped Leonel’s lips before she could stop herself, and she immediately regretted it. Blashion was staring at her intently.
“I mean, it’s not that—I don’t know how to make them myself. Flower Rings, I mean. I just thought it was beautiful.”
In the original novel, there’s a scene where the heroine makes a Flower Ring and gives it to him. And then, true to form as a male lead in a romance novel, he gives her back a diamond ring in the exact same shape.
As she was recalling the plot, Blashion rose from his seat.
“A Flower Ring is simple enough to make.”
“Really? You know how?”
Blashion didn’t answer. He simply plucked a clover from the ground at his feet and, with practiced movements, quickly wove the stems into a delicate ring.
Yet as he held the finished ring, something uncertain flickered across his violet eyes.
He seemed to be contemplating what to do with it. After a moment, he extended the ring toward her and spoke.
“……I found it.”
“You found it just now?”
“I just found it.”
“Ah, yes. Let’s say you did.”
She must have been transported into a different novel, she thought, as she slipped the Flower Ring into her pocket.
“Father!!”
A sharp cry tore from Ailie. Both adults rushed forward without hesitation.
“Master William!!”
William, leaning against the wheelchair, coughed violently. With each spasm, dark blood sprayed from his mouth.
‘It’s finally happened.’
Time had truly run out. Leonel spoke with grim certainty.
“Your Grace, please move Master William to his room. And Ailie—it’s time to prepare yourself. Your father will pass before the day is through.”
“What? You won’t do anything? But I thought you could stop the bleeding?”
“I’m sorry, Ailie. Your father can’t endure any more treatment.”
Leonel explained as calmly as she could manage.
“Your father will continue coughing blood until he passes. If watching becomes too painful, you can step away for a while.”
“No! I’m going to stay by my father’s side until the very end!”
Ailie brushed away her tears with the back of her hand. And fearing any objection, she spoke even more firmly.
“I’m going to be by my father’s side until the last moment. So he won’t be alone……. Please, let me stay with him, Teacher!”
A ten-year-old child’s final courage and resolve held a solemnity beyond her years.
Leonel could only nod.
“I’m ready. And I’ve informed everyone in the Mansion.”
Blashion, who had moved William to his room, returned. Leonel squeezed Ailie’s hand firmly.
“Come now, Ailie.”
Just as the original novel had depicted, William was indeed a good and virtuous man.
Even as he endured the endless cycle of retching and vomiting, he received his visitors with quiet dignity.
He bid tearful farewells to the servants who had been with him for a decade.
And in his final moments, as consciousness faded, William grasped his daughter’s hand.
“Ailie, I love you……. I’m sorry……. In the next life, please……be born as my daughter again…….”
What Ailie answered was lost beneath her sobs.
But Leonel was certain William himself had heard her words.
William did not survive the night. He breathed his last with his daughter, his physician, and his employer at his bedside.
Leonel wiped the blood from around his mouth with a clean cloth. Then, summoning every ounce of her strength, she opened her mouth.
“Current time: 3:31 AM. Master William Lexter has passed away.”

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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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