The Military Doctor Excels at Being a Contracted Duchess - Chapter 8

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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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【Chapter 8】

The mother of his nephews and Victor von Bayern’s own younger sister.

Her name was Serena von Bayern.

“What kind of person was she?”

“She was very kind. She loved to sing. Oh, and she played the piano too. Even the biggest troublemakers in the household would stop their mischief and listen when Miss Serena started singing.”

She must have been like the center of the family.

Losing such a person would have been quite painful.

“Would it be difficult to tell me what happened?”

“It was because of the miasma. Miss Serena fell ill from the bad air and gradually wasted away until she passed.”

Banya’s face grew sad.

Ebel wanted so much to empathize with that pain, but… she couldn’t, which left her feeling troubled.

‘Because of miasma. There are still people in the provinces who believe such nonsense.’

Professor Pasteur in France discovered something called ‘germs’ in 1861.

Of course, there was still much debate within academic circles, but Ebel knew from experience that Professor Pasteur was right.

“Um, I heard that you graduated from a famous medical university and are a doctor… is that correct?”

At Banya’s cautious question, she nodded. The old woman’s expression brightened.

“Oh, thank goodness. The eldest young master’s cough has been quite serious lately. It must be because of the miasma, so we’ve been keeping the windows tightly shut and lighting fires, but he just won’t get better…”

What?

They did what?

Toward the speechless Ebel, Banya chattered on with more shocking stories.

“One day, Lady Genevieve—she’s the Duke’s aunt—had everyone go around the entire house with torches. That’s how you get rid of the miasma, you see.”

“…”

“Fortunately, the eldest young master seemed to improve after that, but once the rainy season ended, he started coughing again. The miasma doesn’t seem to go away all at once.”

Where should she even begin to explain what was wrong?

Ebel pressed her forehead and examined the dresses one by one, selecting a white dress with soft, lightweight fabric and slipping her arms through it.

In any case, there was nothing she could say here without seeing the situation firsthand. It would be useless anyway.

‘Didn’t Dr. Lister just publish his results with carbolic acid in The Lancet recently? (*The Lancet: An internationally recognized medical journal with worldwide authority. First published in Britain in 1823.) I think that was in March 1867.’

Well, it hadn’t even been a year yet, so it was still a time when the belief that ‘bad air’—so-called miasma—made people sick was widespread.

How could ordinary people know what germs were?

Even among doctors, there were still those who didn’t know they should disinfect their hands and instruments with carbolic acid before treatment.

‘But carbolic acid isn’t perfect either. I think aseptic technique is much better.’

The ‘aseptic technique’ Ebel had in mind meant disinfecting the entire space where patients were treated.

She especially wanted to set up separate operating rooms and prevent anyone from observing.

The current practice of paying money to buy tickets to watch… well.

It seemed like telling patients to die.

She also wished doctors would please maintain clean surgical clothing and wear it separately, and soak instruments in carbolic acid before drying them properly for use.

Of course, this aseptic technique existed only in her mind.

Both academia and the public judged a doctor’s experience by how much flesh and blood was stuck to their surgical knives.

“Are there no doctors in the Duchy who use carbolic acid?”

“Pardon? What is that?”

“I guess not. If there were, they’d be advertising it extensively and people would go to see. Carbolic acid means disinfectant.”

“Disinfectant…?”

Banya, who had been tying her waist sash, blinked her eyes.

“At the university, they disinfect entire operating rooms and examination rooms with carbolic acid to eliminate germs in the air. Of course, they do the same for wounds and medical staff’s hands.”

It was a complete lie.

Universities were the first to sell tickets for surgical shows.

“Really? Why do they do that?”

“Have you ever delivered a baby, Banya?”

“I have.”

This time, while putting on a necklace made of amber stones exactly the same color as her eyes, Banya made an expression of recalling the past.

“When you wash your hands before delivery, both mother and child have a higher chance of survival, don’t they?”

“Ah, in the Duchy, midwives have always washed their hands for a long time. I don’t know why they do it when the water is dirty, but this old woman’s grandmother’s grandmother has done it that way.”

“That’s like disinfection. It’s a preventive method to keep germs from penetrating wounds.”

But carbolic acid cost too much money.

It was also bothersome and stung the eyes. Even with disinfection, problems sometimes occurred at the surgical site.

Citing these disadvantages, many doctors were still refusing to use it.

Dr. Lister would gain fame by operating on the Queen of England in 1871.

‘Hmm… so I need to establish the concept of disinfection first.’

Now she was truly ready.

Her reflection in the mirror looked like a daughter from some noble family.

At this level, deceiving people might not be too difficult.

“You look absolutely beautiful. His Grace will be completely smitten.”

That stone-faced man? Really?

Ebel let Banya’s words pass by as she slowly adjusted her posture.

She straightened her hunched shoulders, strengthened her waist, and pulled her chin back slightly.

As the things she had learned tediously since childhood and had become ingrained gradually emerged, Banya’s eyes widened greatly.

She looked like a completely different person from just moments before.

* * *

“So you’re saying I need to transform the lady candidate into a proper lady within just two months?”

The aide, Matthias, pressed his forehead at the detailed orders given to him.

Whatever the operation was, there must be a reason for these instructions.

The sudden advertisement for a contract duchess position, this situation—there must be reasons for it all.

However, honestly, he wasn’t confident.

Noble dignity was directly related to one’s birth.

After thorough investigation, he found that House of Claren was a fallen noble family that had recently sold even their mansion due to the son’s gambling addiction.

Moreover, ‘Ebel Claren’ wasn’t even registered in the noble registry.

Twins were uncommon and sometimes became symbols of ill fortune. It wouldn’t matter if both were sons, but when the second was a daughter, noble families sometimes didn’t register them like this.

It was due to the unscientific and irrational assumption that she would drain the luck of the firstborn son.

‘I’m sorry to say, but she’s practically a commoner. Of course, that’s why we can make her an adopted daughter of House of Eberstain.’

If she had been registered in the noble registry, they would have had to contact House of Claren. That would have been very troublesome and complicated. That family would obviously have many demands.

But the current situation was a legal commoner being adopted into a noble family.

Since she was an adult, in this case, they didn’t need to notify the parents even if they were nobles.

‘The paperwork isn’t a problem.’

The problem was… how could they make someone who was half-commoner look like high nobility?

And in just two months!

“We’ll also need to shape public opinion. We can say House of Eberstain’s adopted daughter has been studying abroad.”

“Yes…”

Now Matthias decided to give up trying to understand.

“She probably knows basic etiquette, so I’ll try teaching her speech, dancing, foreign languages, and general culture.”

Still, if she’s someone who carried out secret missions with His Grace, she should be a quick learner.

Actually, Matthias didn’t even believe that boyish person was a doctor. That was probably some kind of code only the two of them knew.

“The young lady is ready.”

Then, with a knock, Banya’s voice was heard.

The fact that Banya was assigned to personally attend to the lady candidate had quite significant meaning within Bayern.

It was an indicator of how much attention His Grace was paying to this.

“Your Grace.”

At the calm tone that evoked images of falling autumn leaves just by hearing it, Matthias looked up.

Next, Matthias froze completely.

‘Who… who is that?’

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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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