Queen of the Scalpel - Chapter 16 - The Unfair Bet

Chapter 16: The Unfair Bet

“Marquis, did you know she had these dreams?”

“….I wasn’t aware at all.”

“A doctor. Yes, that’s nice. It’s a meaningful job, but do you know exactly what it entails?”

“Yes, I am aware.”

Elise nodded her head.

Would there be anyone in the empire who knew better than her what being a doctor meant?

“It’s a much harder and arduous job than what you think.”

“Yes, I am aware. But…I think it’s that much more meaningful.”

The Emperor sighed.

“It seems you’re not joking. So did you read those medical books because you wanted to be a doctor?”

The Emperor thought of the medical knowledge she had shown earlier.

“Do you think a lady of the Marquis can be a doctor?”

“I apologize….but I was under the impression that there wasn’t a law that stated women can’t be doctors. And there has been a case when a woman of the Raon Viscount family became a doctor.”

“That’s true. But let me ask you this. Do you think you can be a doctor?”

“…!”

Elise realized what the Emperor meant. Being a doctor was one of the greatest professions in the Empire, amongst alchemists, lawyers, and administrators. So, to be a doctor meant that you had to put more of an effort than was necessary on Earth. ‘They weren’t always treated like that, but after advanced medicine 100 years ago, the Empire started to think of medicine as important. And the Empire supported doctor professions as well.’ So a lot of nobles became doctors, and you had to be at least in the bourgeoisie class to be a doctor.

‘He’s asking if I can beat all that competition and be a real doctor.’ The Emperor repeated his question.

“To be acknowledged as a doctor in this empire, you need to pass the test. Even if you’re an upper noble, you can’t receive any exceptions.”

He was asking if Elise would be able to do it. A mere young noble lady. But Elise firmly nodded her head.

“Yes, I can do it.”

“…..!”

The Emperor wordlessly tapped the table with his finger. It was his habit when he was thinking hard about something.

“This is tough. I really wanted to accept you as the Crown Princess. But you suddenly want to be a doctor. And you don’t seem to be joking….”

Elise couldn’t say anything and just hung her head.

“Why did you suddenly want to become a doctor?”

She thought of her past of Earth. The reason why she wanted to be a doctor was simple.

“I want to save people.”

After her first life, she wanted to have a meaningful life, and that resulted in choosing this profession. And after she became a doctor, she became addicted to it.

“Huh huh, saving people.”

The Emperor had a speechless face.

“…I sincerely apologize, Your Majesty.”

“What do you mean, apologize. It’s a noble job. Huh huh.”

The Emperor continued to laugh in disbelief. If it was another lady of another noble family, it would’ve looked on proudly. But…this was Lady Clarence, who was thinking of marrying the Crown Prince. Eventually, the Emperor spoke.

“Lady.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“You know that you have to follow my orders if I command you to marry the Crown Prince, right?”

“….Yes, Your Majesty.”

“But I don’t want to force you to do anything. Do you know why?”

“…….”

Elise knew why, but she couldn’t say it.

“It’s because I truly think of you as my niece. Because I sincerely treasure you, I wanted to accept you as my family, and also, I don’t want to force you into anything.”

“….!”

At his warm voice, Elise felt choked up with gratefulness. He was like this in her past life, too. He always looked at her with affection despite her flaws. Like he was treating his niece, no…his daughter.

“So let’s do this.”

“??”

“Let’s make a bet.”

A bet?

“It might be a bit unfair to you.”

At Elise’s strange expression, the Emperor smiled. And he said completely unexpected words. It wasn’t just ‘a bit’ unfair.