am-books Chapter 80: Cesarean Section (2)
Chapter 80: Cesarean Section (2)
Asella waited nervously outside while Las performed the surgery.
“Your Highness, please have a seat.”
“I’m fine.”
She ignored the chief maid’s gentle prompting and remained stationed directly in front of the operating room.
Why was she acting so out of character?
To be standing here in a commoner’s home, unable to maintain her usual dignity—it was nothing like her normal self.
Was it because she'd been away from the Imperial Palace too long?
No. Asella knew better. It wasn’t something that could be explained so simply.
It’s all because of Las.
He was usually such a frivolous, unserious man.
But the moment he stood before a patient, his entire demeanor changed—his eyes sharpened so much, he could’ve been a different person.
Come to think of it, Las had always been serious when working.
Even when treating her, not once did he crack a joke like he usually did.
Huh. Have I never actually seen Las at work before?
Now that she thought about it, she’d never directly seen him at the Imperial Clinic or during any of his volunteer work.
...Is that how he always acts outside?
She felt as if she’d just discovered a whole side of Las she hadn’t known before.
Recalling how firmly he had voiced his opinion—even to her—made her unconsciously shrink her shoulders.
And yet, he had remained calm, polite, and composed. Surely he’d calculated that wasting time on her irritation wasn’t worth endangering the patient.
Healing was that important to him.
As a personal physician, as a healer, it was an admirable mindset.
Others might see Las in a completely different light than she did.
Once that thought occurred to her, the fact that he had left her standing alone in a shabby hut didn’t seem offensive—it felt... admirable.
Maybe that was why she’d unconsciously told him she was rooting for him.
Did I just cheer someone on?
That realization made her cheeks burn with embarrassment. She silently vowed to collect double in compensation for this later.
—Waaah!!
Suddenly, the cry of a newborn rang out from inside the room.
Asella instinctively moved to enter, but Tanya blocked her path.
“Tanya.”
“Your Highness, you cannot go inside until the doctor finishes and comes out.”
Asella stepped back.
In truth, cesarean deliveries didn’t take long to extract the baby. The incision-to-delivery time had to be under ten minutes.
It was everything that followed that took much longer.
Not knowing that, Asella grew increasingly anxious—so much so that she almost bit her nails.
Moments later, thud—the door burst open.
But it wasn’t Las. It was Chloe, shouting frantically.
“T-the mother’s short on blood! We need someone to donate—right now!”
In this world, the concept of blood transfusion was practically unheard of. Mixing blood from others was ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) considered the domain of black magic rituals.
The faces of the husband and women waiting in the kitchen went ghostly white.
But Asella, who had undergone several blood tests by Las, understood exactly what that meant.
She raised her voice, firm and regal.
“If you want the mother to live, you’d best cooperate without hesitation. I will personally guarantee your safety.”
She pulled out a seal from within her coat—a symbol of the royal family.
“Th-that’s...!”
“You’re of the royal family! We didn’t realize! These ignorant fools have behaved unforgivably!”
The commoners dropped to their knees.
Normally, Asella might have taken some satisfaction in such displays of hierarchy, but right now, Las’s surgery weighed heavier on her mind.
“Nurse, use them.”
“U-uh... w-we need matching blood types first. I have to test them....”
The husband stepped forward, raising his hand cautiously.
“Please use me first. If I can save my wife, I’ll give anything.”
Chloe pricked his finger and ran the test. She nodded.
“Type A! You're a match. P-please come in! Oh, b-but, sanitize first!”
The husband followed Chloe into the room.
Thirty minutes later.
Las finally emerged, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Your Highness?”
He tilted his head—he hadn’t expected to find Asella waiting right at the door.
She gave him a once-over.
“You’re covered in blood.”
“I just finished the surgery. You might want to step outside, or the sight might make you nauseous.”
“I want to see inside.”
“Ah... I wouldn’t really recommend it...”
Las gave an awkward smile, but when Asella glared at him, he quickly stepped aside.
She entered the room.
The strong stench of blood hit her immediately.
The bed was soaked in red, medical waste sealed tightly in sacks.
This was the battlefield Las had just fought through.
Unlike a warzone, where only the dead remain, this one held only the living.
“Heh... this little rascal.”
The husband was sitting beside another bed, cradling a small bundle in his arms.
A bit of gauze clung to his forearm—the kind Las always applied after an injection.
On the clean bed, the mother slept soundly, her belly no longer swollen. A faint aura of divine power lingered—healing magic had likely been used as well.
Asella stepped closer and peered down at the baby in the bundle.
“O-oh, Your Highness...”
The man quickly bowed his head in alarm.
Asella, almost entranced, reached out with both hands toward the swaddled infant.
The baby didn’t look particularly charming.
It screamed, it smelled, its face was all scrunched up—it was kind of ugly.
Yet its tiny hand, barely the length of two of Asella’s fingers, flailed desperately, trying to grasp something.
“Stupid thing.”
Asella’s lips curved into a faint, involuntary smile.
The surgery had been a success.
After extracting the baby, I thoroughly emptied the uterus, performed four separate sutures to prevent complications, and closed the abdominal wall.
There had been one critical issue—excessive bleeding.
In eighty percent of maternal deaths during labor, the cause is hemorrhage. Fortunately, the husband had the same blood type and we could transfuse immediately.
Once the surgical procedure was complete, Chloe and I finished up with healing magic.
Nothing restores vitality faster than magic.
Normally, recovery after a cesarean takes about a week, and full return to normal activities about a month.
With healing magic assisting, two days would be enough.
After warning the husband about post-op care, I stepped outside the hut.
“Phew...”
Finally, some fresh air. I could breathe again.
That was my first major surgery.
“Never thought I’d be performing an open procedure.”
Well, it was an experience I needed eventually. Better to get it over with.
A whole list of notifications popped up in my status window.
[New medical skills are available for unlock]
[Unlockable skills: 3]
Upon checking, I saw two new skills from the Diagnostic path and one from the Emergency Medicine path.
“Oh?”
From the Diagnostic path: [CT Scan] and [MRI]. These would let me analyze a patient’s internal structures even more precisely than X-rays.
“They’ll definitely help with Hugo’s re