The Military Doctor Excels at Being a Contracted Duchess - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Episode 1】

Chapter.1 : What Someone Who Returned from Death Unexpectedly Has to Do

I swear before God that I will uphold the following oath.

* * *

Ebel pressed firmly against the patient’s abdomen.

Even so, she couldn’t completely stop the blood from seeping out.

‘But if I don’t do at least this much, he’ll die soon.’

Abandoned soldiers were mostly destined to die from infection as their flesh rotted away from where bullets were lodged.

Still, Ebel moved busily, wanting to somehow save even one lucky person.

“Doctor!!! Doctor!!!”

The fishy smell of blood mixed with gunpowder made her stomach churn.

If there was anything fortunate, it was that she had nothing to eat, so there was nothing to vomit.

“Patient over here!”

“Gunshot wound!”

“Shut up and lay him down first.”

No matter how hard Ebel tried, the wounded kept piling up endlessly. Most were trauma cases, requiring a skilled surgeon.

The problem was that Ebel was an internist, and she had only recently learned the techniques of cutting and suturing human bodies. Oh, she had also learned to extract bullets from horrific wounds just by looking at them.

Was it fortunate that the senior military doctor had taught her that much before dying?

She thought indifferently, gripping the blade with an expressionless face.

“Brazier.”

“Yes!”

Even though it was wartime and this was just a Temporary Field Hospital rather than a proper field hospital, Ebel maintained what standards she could.

Instead of searching for non-existent disinfectants and anesthetics, she ordered her assistant to heat the blade in fire and poured cheap, strong liquor over the wounds.

In fact, supplies had been cut off for some time now, and she wouldn’t be able to use even this from tomorrow, but Ebel’s goal was to save whoever could be saved.

“Hold the patient tight. I’m removing the bullet right now.”

“Understood.”

The assistant, who had watched surgeries countless times, was pale but brave. Ebel cut through the flesh as quickly as possible without even blinking once.

“Abel… please, gently…”

“Shh.”

Cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

While she concentrated on probing the wound, the Blond-haired Officer groaned in pain, but she, called Abel—Ebel—didn’t even pretend to listen.

It wasn’t a situation where she could attend to everyone individually.

Clang!

The metal fragment she extracted quickly dropped into the metal basin.

In fact, under normal circumstances, it would be absurd for an internist to do surgical work, but now… it was impossible to find anyone more skilled than Ebel in this unit.

They were all dead.

If you could pick and choose everything, would that be war? It would be a playground.

“Treatment’s finished, so bandage the wound for now. If there’s any liquor left, give him some. There’s nothing more I can do right now, so I can at least ease his pain.”

“Understood…!”

Was it because she had concentrated so hard? Her vision was blurring. Her body was also shivering from the cold wind.

‘Maybe I’m the one who needs the liquor.’

But Ebel never took even a single sip.

Without her, there would be no one to grind medicinal herbs or extract bullets.

She did have one assistant, but even that person was unreliable…

‘Ah.’

Blink.

She must have dozed off just from sitting briefly on an empty supply crate. Ebel realized a beat late why she had woken up.

A man who looked like he wouldn’t bleed a drop even if stabbed with a military knife was draping his jacket over her shoulders.

Rather than just tossing it over and leaving, he showed thoroughness by tying the sleeves to secure it firmly, and she knew well who he was.

“Your Grace, Duke von Bayern.”

“You were shivering.”

“Thank you for your consideration.”

It was warm. Due to the considerable difference in their builds, the jacket felt almost like a blanket. Or maybe it was because the man’s body heat was still soaked into it.

Anyway, she offered her thanks since she was grateful, but Victor von Bayern replied dryly and straightened up.

“No need for thanks. It would be quite troublesome if the only doctor on The Front died.”

It was quite a blunt response, but consideration was consideration. After all, hadn’t he taken off his own jacket for her?

Of course, Ebel didn’t interpret his kindness in any other way. The iron-blooded man who made the Frantz Army tremble just at the mention of his name couldn’t possibly be a homosexual.

That was right.

Ebel was perfectly mistaken for a ‘male’ in this horrific place.

Naturally, she had no intention of correcting the facts.

Though she had been conscripted and dragged here after becoming a doctor by stealing her brother’s name, she didn’t want to experience anything worse than this.

“…”

Meaningless glances were exchanged in the silence.

She was expressionless too, but she couldn’t match Duke von Bayern.

As if some part that controlled emotions had broken when he was young, he was the only man who had never let out even a single groan when Ebel removed bullets lodged in his ribcage with her clumsy hands.

Well, after rolling around together in this Trash Heap for nearly a year, she had now become able to read subtle movements of his eyebrows.

That expression seemed to be asking her to say something, anything.

“We’ve sent telegrams several times, but seeing that no support comes from the homeland, we must truly be abandoned losers.”

The man’s eyes narrowed as he watched her calmly utter words about having only death to look forward to.

The fact that the Young King of Richter, no different from a spoiled child, felt inferior to the Duke was famous enough that even back-alley commoners knew about it.

When she was assigned to the corps he belonged to, Ebel had already anticipated this situation.

“You don’t seem afraid of death.”

“I haven’t lived receiving particularly good treatment at home either. Why would I be afraid of dying now?”

“Aren’t you resentful? Half of it is because of me.”

“It does seem a bit unfair that after struggling desperately to become an internist, I ended up in this state. Making me perform surgery all of a sudden. The fact that my first surgery was on Your Grace… now that I think about it, that’s also a bit unfair.”

Because it was wartime, the chain of command should be even clearer. Originally, it would have been a capital offense for her to sit brazenly in front of Duke von Bayern or to accept and wear his jacket.

But Victor von Bayern was more generous than the sinister rumors stamped like a brand on his name, and he was particularly reliable when it came to matters of debt and gratitude.

Ebel had saved his life about three times since that first surgery, and Victor hadn’t forgotten the price of that.

Especially the fact that she was a doctor completely unrelated to the war’s cause or current political situation. The fact that she was younger than him.

And… the fact that she had a slighter build than even the youngest officer in the camp and looked like she would break if poked, among other considerations, led Victor to overlook Ebel crossing various lines.

Now that he had been cast aside by the king, it was good for him to have at least one person he could speak openly with.

“How many family members did you say you had.”

The man asked in a voice pleasant to hear.

Every time she heard it, she thought the same thing—what a low voice that seemed to tickle the inside of one’s chest.

Shaking off the strange thought, she dutifully answered her superior’s question.

“Both my parents are alive, and I have one pathetic older brother.”

“Why is he pathetic?”

Along with the question, a large hand approached and wiped away dried blood stuck to Ebel’s cheek.

The hand that seemed to hesitate for a moment finally poked Ebel’s cheek as if it had made some great decision.

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