Chapter 75

If such a scalpel had been developed earlier, the number of people dying from infections would have significantly decreased.

"If this is released... Your Highness will save many lives, more than I, a doctor, could ever do."

"What are you talking about? How can you compare me to a doctor whose profession is to save lives?"

Aristine frowned at the embarrassing words.

"This is the result of thinking about how to sell the scalpel well."

I just wanted to make money.

And a lot of it.

That was the truth.

If I wanted to do that, it couldn't be a common product, so I aimed for a blue ocean.

'Besides, I happened to come to Iruko, where metallurgy is advanced.'

Moreover, it could enhance Iruko's image as a medical powerhouse and fulfill the king's wishes.

In other words, it was a business that would work politically.

For Aristine, it was the best choice that would yield a threefold benefit.

She stubbornly denied Umiru's words.

'Even if you say that...'

Umiru looked at Aristine, who modestly declined, with a gentle gaze.

Aristine is always confident, straightforward, and unreserved.

Yet, she is also quite shy, and when praised like this, she jumps up and denies it.

'You're really cute, you know.'

Honestly, just looking at her face made me want to follow her for life, and the more I got to know her, the more I liked her.

That's right. Umiru's face became serious.

The reason the genius surgeon was in the palace of Tarkan was entirely because Tarkan was handsome.

Of course, it was also because the warriors fighting on the front lines against the demons were mostly under Tarkan, and her skills were most needed there.

But if Tarkan were ugly, she would have firmly rejected the recruitment.

The operating room is no different from a war.

Cutting bones with a saw, moving intestines, and at the same time, requiring very fine and delicate control.

Both physical and mental strength are quickly drained, so it's not a job with good benefits.

At least, there should be some eye candy to improve the workplace benefits.

That was Umiru's thought.

'Even Tarkan has his charm, but the one who truly meets my aesthetic standards is Your Highness.'

Even now, her eyes feel refreshed when they see Aristine, who usually only sees human intestines.

"So, what about the chart I gave you?"

Aristine cleared her throat and changed the subject.

"Of course, I've checked it."

A resident doctor who had followed Umiru's gesture handed over the documents.

Aristine quickly flipped through them.

The pages turned quickly, but she was inputting all the necessary information into her mind.

"Is this real?"

Aristine asked, half-disbelieving.

Umiru smiled.

"Of course, it's about Your Highness. Everyone did their best without a single person just going through the motions."

At first, some people grumbled about being too busy to do this.

But after using the scalpel, their attitude changed instantly.

This was a development that would go down in human history.

The numerous futures that could arise from a single scalpel were vividly painted in their minds.

Even those who had initially intended to do a good job out of goodwill towards Aristine changed their mindset.

Everyone approached the investigation with serious and solemn faces.

With the mindset of contributing to the next leap of humanity.

"So, everyone was serious."

Aristine's eyes returned to the chart.

'I expected good results, but this...'

The ward of Tarkan was filled with doctors of renowned skill.

Yet, all these doctors rated Aristine's scalpel as perfect.

Moreover, the reasons for their evaluations were detailed.

As Umiru said, all the doctors participated in the investigation with sincerity.

Aristine's eyes wavered as she rechecked the superiority of the new scalpel over the existing ones.

'Ah.'

Aristine had always been evaluated since birth.

Whether she could manifest the Emperor's Eye or not.

But the results were not good.

She was a failure.

Because Aristine had hidden the fact that she had manifested the Emperor's Eye.

A useless, inadequate person.

She thought her father's evaluation didn't matter since it was not the truth.

She repeated that other people's thoughts and gazes could not judge her potential, future, thoughts... or herself as a person. But.

When she worked hard for something, produced results, and received recognition from others—.

Aristine's hand, which had been gripping the documents, tightened.

A broad smile appeared on her face as she bowed her head.

"Your Highness...?"

Umiru called out cautiously to Aristine, who had suddenly become silent with her head bowed.

Aristine's head snapped up.

"We need to start mass production immediately."

Her face was set with determination.

"Yes, please. We need it too."

Umiru bowed once and smiled.

"Great, if the genius surgeon Umiru praises it like this, there will be a commotion elsewhere!"

Aristine clenched her fist.

'I want to sit on a pile of cash!'

She wanted to literally sit on a pile of money.

"Let's wrap up the business talk here. I also want to try the famous patissier's dessert today."

"Of course."

Aristine happily recommended the patissier's dessert to Umiru.

Good things taste better when shared.

The two women chatted happily while enjoying their desserts.

The resident doctor, who had been silently watching them, sighed deeply.

It was clear that Umiru's purpose was not the dessert but Aristine.

Even now, Umiru was eating the Sachertorte half-heartedly while looking at Aristine.

The only person who didn't realize this was Aristine.

Umiru, who had been enjoying a long conversation with Aristine, eventually,

"Umiru, why are you here? How many patients do you have, and aren't you busy?"

was chased out by Tarkan, who had returned to the office.

Seeing her come at a time when she shouldn't have, it seemed Tarkan had rushed over after hearing that Umiru was meeting Aristine.

It was clear from the fact that she had come to Aristine's private room instead of her own.

"Shameless, shameless!"

Umiru shouted, but she was already chased out.

Even she couldn't say that much to a super alpha.

The resident doctor sighed deeply, seeing her fuming in the garden.

'Can I really entrust the future of the medical field to Lady Umiru?'

She had no one to follow, but isn't character also important for a mentor?

She was more worried today.

* * *

Once the development process was unblocked, the subsequent steps went smoothly.

The existing blacksmiths in Tarkan's palace were directly involved in the mass production of the scalpel.

This was more efficient than recruiting new personnel.

There would be no friction as Tarkan's blacksmiths and the ones Aristine chose would share a single forge.

Moreover, they were all proven experts, so Aristine could acquire top-tier personnel without special effort.

The blacksmiths were happy to receive more money.

They would be overjoyed to receive money from both Tarkan and Aristine.

'Or, are they happy for the money?'

Aristine tilted her head.

The reaction when she showed them the scalpel and said it would be mass-produced was clearly...

'This, this amazing thing is entrusted to us!'

'It's an honor, Your Highness.'

'Goodness, it really doesn't rust.'

'Scalpel... I'm ashamed of myself for never having made one before.'

'As expected, Your Highness thinks about what is best for the people without preconceived notions about objects.'

The blacksmiths, who were tall and muscular from carrying iron every day, spoke with shining eyes and deep emotion.

For some reason, they kept a certain distance from Aristine, even when speaking to her.

When she said it was fine to come closer,

'How, how can we dare to...!'

'Goddess, no, Your Highness, it's an impossible...'

'If we, these lumpy and huge beings, stand next to, no, Your Highness, we would only be a nuisance.'

They recoiled in surprise and waved their hands.

Iruko people tended to think of themselves as particularly small.

Worried that their large bodies might be intimidating, they even took a step back.

The giant blacksmiths politely clasped their hands and shone with excitement.

Aristine decided to consider it a form of flattery towards her new superior.

Money can make people act like this.

Fortunately, the blacksmiths were also friendly towards Ritren.

They couldn't help it.

Seeing the scalpel Ritren had made, they couldn't help but admire his skills.

'It was said to be a disgrace to Catala...'

'It was just a rumor. We often said among ourselves that the rumors were wrong when we saw him work.'

'Anyone who sees him can tell he is a blacksmith with great passion.'

The blacksmiths, with hands like pot lids, patted Ritren's shoulder and laughed heartily.

Ritren, though embarrassed, was clearly pleased.

Aristine felt proud seeing this.

For Ritren, who had always been ignored, to be recognized by his fellow blacksmiths, how wonderful must it be?

The recognition from Aristine and Umiru and the praise from the blacksmiths must be quite different.

In such a good atmosphere, the scalpel was smoothly produced.

Once a certain quantity was secured, sales began.

Finding sales channels also went smoothly.

'After all, my husband owns a merchant guild.'

She felt she had found an amazing business partner.

As mentioned before, the bodies of demons are valuable.

Tarkan judged that it was better to own a merchant guild through an agent rather than manage a few main trading partners.

Of course, the fact that Tarkan owned the merchant guild was a secret.

It was only known that he mainly traded with and had good business relations with certain merchant guilds.

'Why, it's obvious.'

Cash is political capital.

If it were known that Tarkan owned a merchant guild, how troublesome would the nobles, led by the queen, be?

Since the main item was the irreplaceable demon bodies, it wouldn't be shaken.

But if the nobles, who controlled the existing flow of money, started to cause trouble one by one, it wouldn't be good.

Even now, with the guild run by an agent, they looked at it unfavorably.

'Now that I'm added, will they dislike it even more?'

Aristine smiled.

After securing the distribution channels nationwide, the medical scalpel caused a storm.

Not only the money storm that Aristine had longed for, but another storm as well.

* * *

"What is that scalpel, anyway!"

The queen raised her voice.

It had been going on for days.

If anything in the queen's eyes was even slightly displeasing, a storm would break out.

The palace people all lay flat, hoping the storm would pass.

"Why, why! There's no problem at all!"

The queen had thought that a medical scalpel would only lead to medical malpractice lawsuits.

She had mocked Aristine for choosing something so controversial to do business with.

She thought Aristine was not as smart as she pretended to be.

The queen was excited to use the medical malpractice case to criticize Aristine.

She had been waiting for Aristine to release the scalpel more than anyone else.

But the result was...

★A sword that saves lives, the prince's consort's hand reaching out to the suffering as the goddess of salvation, the surgical mortality rate significantly reduced, the angel of peace, saving the world

The queen's eyes flashed with anger as she scanned the newspaper on the table.

Every day, such articles were pouring in.

Every morning, she opened the newspaper, hoping to find a medical malpractice story that had somehow escaped her ears.

She even searched through the tabloids she usually despised.

But they were all praising Aristine.

"How long has it been since the maids' incident created a favorable public opinion for that woman!"

Clang!

The queen roughly swept the table.

The newspaper fluttered and fell to the ground, and a vase rolled and broke.

Crack, the queen's boot firmly stepped on the blooming ranunculus.

The soft petals were crushed, emitting a silent scream.

The queen's gaze turned to the palace people who were trembling.

The palace people held their breath in tension.

It seemed they couldn't avoid the storm today. A deep sense of resignation washed over them.

But at that moment,

"Your Majesty, Queen Hamir has returned!"

A voice that saved them rang out.

Forget about