The Terminally Ill Youngest Daughter of a Medical Dynasty Is a Genius Physician - Chapter 26

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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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Chapter 26
I couldn’t answer at first.
Why did I want to become a physician?
Across ten lifetimes, my answer to that question had never changed once.
“I… I don’t want to die.”
The moment the truth left my lips, my voice trembled softly.
Silence settled over the Conference Hall.
“I must cure my own illness. And with the treatment I’ve discovered, I want to save others who suffer as I do.”
Elder Heo Un Baek watched me without speaking.
“Is that why you must take the Physician’s Examination now?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“I understand your concern for me, Elders. I know how dangerous it is to face patients unprepared.”
They weren’t blocking me out of hatred.
Rather, they were urging the safest path—to keep the young me alive.
That was why I had to persuade them all the more sincerely.
“But waiting three years offers no guarantee that my illness will improve. I might lose the thread I’ve discovered now and relapse instead.”
I heard Father’s breath catch faintly.
I made a point of not turning to look at him.
“Some patients don’t have time to wait. If we miss the moment when a life can be saved, even the finest physician cannot bring that life back.”
Countless faces from my past lives flickered through my mind.
People reaching out their hands, begging to be saved.
Moments when I’d had to watch life extinguish before my eyes, powerless to act.
And myself, dying alone, never receiving proper care from anyone.
“I want to survive and uncover the root of my illness.”
Beneath the hand I’d placed over my heart, it pounded fiercely.
“And when someone reaches out their hand before me, asking to live, I want to be the physician who never lets go—all the way to the end.”
My vision blurred slightly.
“Because I know better than anyone how desperately someone can want to live.”
I steadied my gaze and held back the tears that threatened to spill.
I hadn’t come here to look pitiful.
I’d come to prove I deserved the chance to learn as a physician.
“So please don’t deny me this opportunity simply because my body is frail.”
I folded my hands neatly on the wooden box.
“I will record the state of my body and the efficacy of the herbal pills every day. When I face patients directly, I will always follow a Supervising Physician’s guidance.”
I bowed deeply to the elders.
“Please trust in my will to survive and my heart to save others. Give me the chance to learn and take responsibility as a physician.”
As I lowered my head, a single tear I’d held back fell onto the red carpet.
A long silence settled over the Conference Hall.
How much time had passed?
Soft.
The quiet rustle of fabric moving.
I slowly raised my head.
Elder Heo Un Baek had risen from his seat.
He held the wooden box I’d brought and looked down at the herbal pills within.
“I have watched countless physicians and medical apprentices throughout my life.”
His gaze turned toward me.
“Some were gifted with great talent, others quick to acquire knowledge. But I have never met a child who, even in the grip of their own suffering, seeks solutions with such clarity—and at the end of that seeking, thinks of other patients too.”
Elder Heo Un Baek turned to regard Yeon Baek Yu and Yeon Baek Gang.
“Family Head, Deputy Family Head. I believed Ryeong Hwa was too young and her illness too unhealed for her to bear the responsibility of a physician.”
He looked at me once more.
“But having seen the herbal pills she brought today and heard her thoughts, I have changed my mind. She already possesses an essential quality that a physician must have.”
Elder Dam U Hyeon also nodded, holding one of the herbal pills in his palm.
“Rather than making a stronger medicine from the same ingredients, preparing multiple options based on each patient’s circumstances—that idea is what astounds me. I will not oppose it either.”
Elder Nam Jin O unfolded his arms.
“However, for the time being, I will personally oversee Ryeong Hwa’s diagnoses and medicinal preparations. Should I judge that she is straining herself in the slightest, I will halt her at once.”
“Yes. I will follow your guidance.”
Finally, Elder Ju Yeon Seok spoke, gazing at the box containing the herbal pills he’d spent the night making.
“These pills must be verified again in the Pharmaceutical Hall. We must examine their duration of effect, dosage intervals, and any side effects precisely.”
I waited, tense with anticipation, for what he would say next.
“So even after the Physician’s Examination concludes, do come to the Pharmaceutical Hall. One must see through to the end any work one has begun, wouldn’t you say?”
A faint smile played across his lips.
“As a member of the Pharmaceutical Guild.”
Something hot surged up from deep within my chest.
All four elders had recognized me.
Not out of pity had they granted their approval.
After examining my herbal pills and my thinking, they had accepted me as a Physician Candidate.
Just then, a large hand came to rest gently upon my shoulder.
Father stood at my side—I hadn’t heard him approach.
“Father…?”
Without a word, Father gazed down at my hands.
The small cuts from preparing medicinal materials, the reddened palms from gripping the mortar and pestle all night.
Slowly, he bent his knees until his eyes met mine.
“You made this alone through the entire night?”
I hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“The method suddenly came to me… and there wasn’t much time until morning.”
Father’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Why did you not wake me?”
“You were already exhausted. And this time, I wanted to do it myself.”
Father seemed about to speak, then closed his mouth.
He wrapped my small hands carefully in both of his.
“You’ve proven it yourself.”
His hands trembled slightly.
“I was afraid you’d come to harm, so I kept trying to shelter you. But all this time, you were finding your own way to survive.”
Father’s eyes grew red.
“You did well, Ryeong Hwa.”
Those few words—tears I’d been holding back all this while came pouring out.
It was something I’d longed to hear my entire life.
I’d wanted someone to recognize the me who had fought so hard just to survive…
I ran into Father’s embrace.
He held me close without hesitation.
“From now on, don’t spend another night awake alone.”
Father stroked my back slowly.
“No matter how far or how difficult the path you walk becomes, I will go with you now.”
“Yes, Father.”
Just then, a soft cough echoed from the high platform.
Grandfather had risen from his seat and was watching us.
Everyone in the Conference Hall straightened their posture.
“Ryeong Hwa.”
I stepped back from Father’s embrace and turned toward Grandfather.
“Yes, Family Head.”
Grandfather examined the herbal pills on the table one by one.
“When I first asked you to make a medicinal preparation that would last more than a day, it was to see whether your body could withstand the Physician’s Examination.”
His gaze turned back to me.
“But the answer you brought was not what I had imagined.”
Grandfather’s voice softened slightly.
“You did not merely extend the medicinal efficacy. You thought for yourself about why such conditions were necessary, and rather than clinging to one solution, you found a safer method.”
A faint smile crossed his face as he looked at me.
“Your medicinal preparation is not yet complete, and your body has not fully recovered. You will face stricter verification than the other Physician Candidates ahead.”
I straightened my spine.
“I will bear it.”
A faint gleam of amusement flickered in Grandfather’s eyes.
“Good.”
With that single word, the air in the Conference Hall grew taut.
“By the authority of Family Head Yeon Baek Yu, I grant Ryeong Hwa permission to sit for the Physician’s Examination this time.”
In an instant, exclamations erupted throughout the Conference Hall.
I stood rooted to the spot.
The Physician’s Examination.
A gate I had never dared to dream of in my past life had finally opened.
Not an opportunity bestowed by another’s mercy.
It was a position I had earned with my own hands, proven through my thoughts and determination.
“Show everything you possess in this examination.”
Grandfather added the words in a low, steady voice.
“Prove to us the qualifications of a Physician that you so desperately wish to become.”
I wiped away the tears lingering at my eyes and bowed deeply.
“Yes. I will prove myself without fail.”
* * *
Even after leaving the Main Hall, my feet felt as though they were floating above the ground.
To think I would actually see the Physician’s Examination.
In my past life, I could never have come near the path of a Medical Apprentice—and yet here it was, truly opening before me.
I walked the long Corridor with my father’s hand held firmly in mine.
“Are you so pleased?”
Father looked down at my face and asked.
“Yes. I haven’t even passed yet, but I can’t stop smiling.”
“What is a mere test? Considering what you accomplished before the elders today, you’ll pass the Physician’s Examination with ease.”
“Still, I mustn’t let my guard down.”
“That’s wisely spoken.”
Father nodded with satisfaction.
Yet the hand holding mine did not loosen its grip in the slightest.
Just then, a low voice drifted from not far away.
“Did you hear? The Family Head just announced it—Ryeong Hwa is taking the Physician’s Examination this time.”
Three Medical Apprentices were gathered behind a pillar.
They were at a considerable distance from us, and the curved Corridor and walls obscured their view, so they seemed unaware of my approach.
Another Apprentice lowered his voice in disbelief.
“That makes no sense. Just a short while ago, she couldn’t even get out of bed—how can she take the Physician’s Examination?”
“The Family Head gave permission directly. All four elders who returned to the main house agreed as well.”
“Isn’t she just getting special treatment because she’s the Deputy Family Head’s daughter?”
A low, bitter laugh escaped with those final words.

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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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