Chapter 6

“…W, what!”

Realizing my mistake, I yanked my hands out of the washbasin at lightning speed.

The elderly monk in the clinic used to emphasize handwashing so often it had become second nature to me.

Wash your hands every time you come here. Those with weak immune systems must be protected. Touching a patient with dirty hands is the same as harming them.

He repeated it until repetition turned into indoctrination.

Just as nobles instinctively bow their heads to higher ranks, that monk had carved the importance of cleanliness deep into my body and soul.

To the point where my body moved before I even thought.

“Madam, are you perhaps accustomed to volunteer work?”

“T, that is impossible, right?! Do not speak nonsense!”

…sir.

“This is basic common sense, is it not! Do you not know common sense?!”

…sir.

To survive this crisis, I shouted loudly and kicked the washbasin.

I could not bring myself to truly act atrociously toward this elderly monk who was practically a grandparent to me. To reduce my guilt, I quietly addressed him politely in my mind while yelling on the outside.

‘Whew, that was close.’

Promising myself to be more careful, I snapped at them to bring a properly boiled towel.

Wiping with a contaminated cloth defeated the purpose of washing.

Baron Conte, who had been about to offer his own handkerchief, pretended nothing happened and stuffed it back in.

Filio handed me a sterilized towel and spoke.

“This way.”

“Hmph…”

As I stepped inside, I stopped.

I had never noticed it before, but after living in the extravagant luxury of the duchess’s bedroom, the clinic felt overwhelmingly shabby.

‘So old and cramped and worn down.’

It was spotless. Not a speck of dust nor a trace of cobwebs.

But seeing the exposed beams and rotting pillars, I realized washing my hands was nowhere near enough.

Something inside me itched, but I forced myself to ignore the urge.

“It is time to serve the patients their meal. Would that be acceptable?”

“Of course.”

Filio gave me the simplest task.

With a nod, I began moving between beds, handing out hard bread and thin soup.

More accurately, Baron Conte dragged the tray with great difficulty while I lifted each plate and passed it to the next patient.

Most people accepted with stiff expressions and gave only a small nod.

‘There are more patients than I expected. Still, I should finish quickly enough.’

Since there were few clinics in the outer wall, this place was always overflowing with the poor and sick.

Before long, no one paid attention to me or the baron.

Feeling lighter, I moved to the next bed but froze when the patient saw me.

He thrashed violently.

“You filthy, wretched whore from the Capital! Touch me and I’ll kill you!”

“Yes yes, I am not touching you. I am only giving you bread, so—”

“Pah!”

Before anyone could stop him, he spat at me.

The aim was off, so it hit Baron Conte directly.

“…”

The atmosphere froze instantly.

Everyone turned toward us, all of them anxiously watching for my reaction.

‘Let us see what she does.’

Technically the one hit was the baron.

But the spit had been meant for me, the duchess.

Seeing a chance to act out his righteous fury, Baron Conte exploded.

“Is no one here?! Drag that filthy dog outside and execute him at once!”

“Do it if you can! Because of that woman the duke almost—!”

“Why is everyone standing still?! Bring soldiers here! Anyone in this place needs a beating to learn their place!”

He had forgotten I even existed.

Claiming he was defending my honor, the baron grabbed the patient’s hair. The patient grabbed his. The two rolled on the floor in a full brawl.

Everyone else watched quietly, clearly on the patient’s side, only pretending to intervene once the baron called for soldiers.

I covered my mouth and watched.

‘So this is why people enjoy watching fights.’

If I had been the one spit on, I would have been furious. But since it hit my annoying former boss, I felt delighted.

Still pretending to be shocked, I reluctantly returned to my duty.

As much as I wanted to watch more, hunger and pain were the cruelest things for the sick. I knew that intimately from being imprisoned and tortured.

“Here you go.”

“Ah, yes…”

I handed a plate to the next patient, who accepted it uncertainly.

Thinking he seemed too hesitant, I put the bread directly into his hand. Then I moved on and repeated the process.

I washed my hands between patients to prevent cross contamination, just like the monk had taught me.

To avoid raising suspicion, I muttered repeatedly about how unpleasant it was to touch patients.

Even though I moved quickly, by the time I finished serving everyone, the fight was sadly already over.

The patient, a carpenter, had won overwhelmingly.

Despite having one arm immobilized with splints and bandages, he had beaten the baron senseless.

I gently patted the defeated baron’s shoulder.

“You fought well enough, Baron.”

“W, what? But for your honor, Madam, I must bring soldiers imme—”

“What good will anger do against a sick man. Nothing will be gained.”

The truth was I gained plenty of satisfaction, but I chose to keep that to myself.

Hearing me stop the baron unexpectedly, soft murmurs rose around us.

“What is that woman doing?”

“Who knows. She probably got annoyed.”

Somehow they had stopped calling me the whore from the Capital and now said that woman.

Maybe prioritizing their meal over a petty fight had earned me a sliver of understanding. Food mattered to everyone.

That was when it happened.

“S, someone help! Please!”

“What is it, Joseph?”

The clinic door burst open and a young trainee monk stumbled inside, gasping for breath.

Before anyone could ask, Joseph continued.

“There has been an accident, a collapse on the west side of the mine…!”

“What!”

A single collapse in the mines meant deaths and severe injuries. The clinic would shut down from overload.

‘But this is not supposed to be today.’

It had been such a major event that I remembered it vividly.

The mine collapse was supposed to happen fifteen days from now.

Back then, shortly after Elicia married into Lombard, she declared a two-week ban on entering the mountains for winter hunting. Many protested, but she ignored them.

The accident happened the day the ban ended.

People said the mistress had angered the heavens, bringing divine punishment upon Lombard.

I heard it so many times I nearly went deaf.

“Clear these beds!”

“Bring medicine and bandages. Before the injured arrive, hurry!”

“Bring the patients in! Brother, please look at him!”

Even though preparation had not even begun, injured miners flooded in.

Covered in black dust, it was hard to tell where they were wounded. Many were unconscious.

And there were multiple carts.

“Over here! Please!”

“He is not breathing!”

Urgent cries filled the clinic and spilled into the yard outside.

Some lightly wounded were sent elsewhere, but most needed immediate treatment.

They needed every available set of hands. Noble or not.

I was used to serving in the clinic, and even if I wanted to focus only on saving myself, I could not abandon people dying in front of me.

“Start by sorting them!”

I grabbed volunteers and patients who could still walk.

“Unconscious patients first. No matter how they look, bring them inside. If they are conscious, send them to other clinics!”

“W, what? Ah, yes!”

Stunned at first, they quickly obeyed.

I handed my ring engraved with the imperial crest to Joseph.

“Go to the inner wall and bring every doctor you can find. Show them my seal. They will follow you. If they still refuse, tell them I cannot guarantee what will happen next.”

In Lombard, only one person had the right to use the imperial crest.

No doctor would risk defying that authority.

‘I wanted to do this before. It feels so good to finally do it.’

I remembered the past.

During the original incident, not a single doctor from the inner wall came to help.

Even when desperate families knelt all night outside their doors.

Doctors disliked treating the poor of the outer wall.

To become a formal doctor, one had to graduate from the academy, which cost an enormous fortune. Those with high status and wealth did not want to treat those beneath them.

Knowing this well, Joseph clutched my ring like his life depended on it and ran.

“Baron, why are you standing there? Wash your hands and press the wounds to stop the bleeding. Do not touch anywhere else.”

“But Madam! How can a noble like me do such dirty and grueling—”

“What? I cannot hear you.”

“Y, you heard wrong, Madam!”

I grabbed a stick and Baron Conte dropped to his knees instantly.

This was why he was useful.

I chose the cleanest cloths I could find and pressed them to the bleeding wounds.

I wished a trained healer could do this, but there were too many injured and too few monks.

Until their turn came, I had to do what I could.

“We are running out of medicine!”

“We are almost out of bandages and linen!”

“W, we are nearly out of firewood for boiling water…”

Urgent calls echoed around me.

Of course a poor clinic did not have enough herbs or supplies.

I squeezed my eyes shut.