"Wait, wait."
Just as I was about to speak, Listen cut in.
He had a deeply concerned look on his face.
"Why… What is it?"
Liston's reputation is no longer just among medical professionals, right?
Even back when he was amputating limbs in the square, there were rumors among gangs that he was a Sword Master…
Since anesthesia became available, he's been amputating several limbs a day, so his fame has spread not just throughout London but across Britain, or at least all of Western Europe.
What image of Liston must the MP have?
Probably something like a bad guy, so it's no surprise he's flustered by such a person suddenly intervening.
"Ah, my apologies. My brother here is a bit short-tempered. It seems he has some opinions."
"Y-yes. Opinions! I have opinions, but they're among medical professionals. Could we discuss among ourselves for a moment?"
Anyway, it's easy to forget, but Liston is a splendid civilized man.
That's why he can speak normally like this at times.
"V-very well."
Is this thanks to that?
I was dragged to the side room just as I was about to say something important.
Bang.
The atmosphere seemed fine until we came in…
But the moment we entered, Brother pushed me against the wall.
"Why… why?"
Did I unconsciously call him bald again?
No…
That can't be.
Of course, before I returned, I used to enjoy listening to Guna's song "30 Good Things About Being Bald," so I might hum it unconsciously, but my survival instinct is much stronger than I thought, so I never do that in front of Liston.
"I'm the one… who wants to ask. Why are you doing this?"
"What did I do?"
I kept pondering in my head.
And I became certain.
I can be confident.
I didn't even mention the letter 'B' for bald.
I thought about a head, but it was the MP's head.
I wanted to open it, not that I wanted to open the hair.
"Do you know what expression you just had?"
At Liston's words, Blundell, who had followed us in, also nodded.
Not just him, but Alfred, Joseph, and Colin were all doing the same.
The fact that they all followed us in like this means we left the patient alone.
What kind of hospital does this? I wondered, and since I had no way of knowing what expression I had, I just stayed silent.
It's not like they're asking because they don't know, right?
If I waited, they'd surely tell me.
Sure enough, Liston continued before my lips could even twitch.
"It was exactly the face you make right before dissection!"
"Right… What on earth were you thinking? The other person is an MP, an MP! And a senior one at that. He might even become a minister next year or the year after!"
"Me?"
"Yes! If not, then tell me."
"So…"
"I just wanted to open his head?"
Dissection…
That's so unfair.
Dissection is something you can only do after someone dies.
I swear to heaven, I have never once tried to kill a patient.
On the contrary, I try every day to save them…
Of course, there have been times when I couldn't stop someone else from killing, but that was force majeure, so it couldn't be helped.
So I corrected their absurd speculation, but for some reason, they looked even more shocked than before.
'Ah… right, trepanation isn't established yet.'
That's also strange.
I haven't properly studied the history of medicine, but I know trepanation has been performed for thousands of years.
Well… they probably didn't open it for the reasons modern medicine does.
They must have opened it for ridiculous reasons like driving out evil spirits.
But clearly, there were civilizations that opened and closed skulls, so it's shocking that 19th-century European doctors, who are more experimental than anyone, didn't attempt it.
"Opening the head…"
"Isn't that the same as saying you'll kill him?"
"Ah… Could it be that you're not Korean but Chinese? So…"
"Ah… Is that it? A spy…?"
Liston and Blundell chattered on their own while I was lost in thought.
If I didn't correct them quickly, it would lead to serious trouble.
"It's… not that."
"Then what is it?"
"Please… let's just bleed him. What special treatment could there be? Ah, aah. Or should I get an electric eel? We can just fry it."
I waved my hands dismissively, but it was no use.
Perhaps Blundell is more timid than Liston, so he was letting his imagination run wild in even weirder directions.
An electric eel…
Now that's a great method of murder.
'Turn, my brain!'
I racked my brain to come up with a plausible excuse.
But…
For some time now, the only things that come to mind are lies.
Yes, I consider myself a Lie Master, sent by God in this era, but this is a bit…
"In Joseon, you see."
Regardless of my complicated feelings, my mouth was already spouting lies.
Stories about Joseon, a place I'd like to visit, just poured out.
"I told you we're a warrior race, right? We, the Korean people."
"Ah… so I've heard. I heard the swearing is very colorful?"
"Yes. It's not just swearing; we really fight… and in the process, we hit heads, you see."
"Hmm… Well, the head is efficient. But then, usually they die, right?"
Liston muttered while looking down at his pot lid-sized hand.
If anyone else did that, I'd think it was bravado, but that face, that expression, is clearly a recollection.
If I keep looking, I might get scared, so I turned my gaze elsewhere.
There, the attendant was standing by the slightly open door.
Well… It seems he didn't hear the part about dissection and all.
You could tell he just found it interesting.
There's no way that guy could be a Chinese spy.
"Let's just assume it was a moderate hit. Usually, they're fine, right? But occasionally, as time passes, they complain of headaches and eventually die."
"Ah… I think I've seen that. Yes, I've seen such a case… Huh? Earlier, the MP definitely…"
"Exactly. I thought it might be a similar case. Anyway, so someone opened the head. The part that was hit. The person eventually died, but… they don't know the concept of miasma that our British Empire has developed."
"Ah, that makes sense. If the head gets infected, you'd die… Anyway, so?"
"They confirmed that blood had pooled inside."
"Blood… Isn't it supposed to be pooled anyway?"
"No. It should flow. It was dead blood that had pooled."
"Aha! So, bloodletting from the head?"
Bloodletting…
How the hell do I correct that?
The problem is that this time, it's not entirely wrong.
You are indeed removing dead blood, right?
Although the bloodletting these gentlemen talk about involves drawing blood that's perfectly fine circulating in the blood vessels while claiming to remove dead blood…
"The blood vessel probably tore slightly from the impact. Blood comes out from there… and pools, so the brain gets pressed, causing pain."
Actually, it's not so much that the brain gets pressed, but the pressure increases, causing headaches.
But what's the point of saying that?
It's best to just say it in a way they can understand.
There's no benefit in confusing them unnecessarily.
"Oh… I see. That makes sense. Then we should open it right away?"
Liston's eyes are rolling…
Earlier, he dragged me here, and now he's the most enthusiastic…
"Wait, wait. What if we open it and there's no blood?"
Fortunately, Blundell is somewhat timid.
I'm not sure if being timid is a virtue, but as Liston's owner, I'm very grateful to have such a restraint.
The problem is that it's not exactly a good thing either.
"What can we do? There's no choice."
"No… You're saying if we open the MP's head and there's nothing, we just say it couldn't be helped?"
At my words, Blundell began to stagger.
Looking at the attendant, his face was also turning pale.
The only one who seems fine is Liston.
"That's how surgery is. How can you guarantee 100% before opening? Even with the abdomen, half the time we just close it back up."
"So it's a fifty-fifty chance?"
"No…"
It's probably higher than that.
The fact that headaches lessen after bloodletting…
Doesn't that mean the headache lessens as blood pressure drops?
Which in turn means the headache lessens as intracranial pressure drops.
If this were pain from sinusitis, it would have no relation at all.
'If it were a tumor… Well, there might have been temporary improvement due to a similar mechanism, but the fact that he hit his head is too coincidental. Given that he was working properly before, it's probably not a chronic condition.'
Thinking about it, I might be running on hope, but there's no other way to treat this patient's headache.
"Ugh… ugh."
As I was lost in thought, groans started coming from the next room.
"Huh?"
From Liston onwards, we quickly rushed to the patient.
The patient, who had seemed relatively fine until just now, was clutching his head.
"Is it very painful?"
"It hurts…"
"Oh, Sir. You had bloodletting just yesterday… This is happening more and more often!"
"Can't you… just bleed me again?"
"Please, I beg you. I have an important meeting today too…"
I asked if it hurt and observed the patient.
It seemed like the patient's entire head hurt.
His eyes seemed to hurt too…
It's a sign of headache due to increased intracranial pressure.
'We really need to open it.'
Did he read something from my expression?
Liston slammed the table with a bang and spoke.
"Sir."
"Y-yes. Speak."
"You came here because you trust Lord Jamie, right?"
"Y-yes. More than that… these days, who in London doesn't know Pyeongsin? A famous doctor. Ah, and you too, of course."
"Well… In our opinion, we think we need to open the patient's head."
"Huh?"
The MP tilted his head, as if not understanding the words.
While doing so, he was rubbing his head due to the pain.
Judging by the level of pain, it didn't seem like an ordinary headache.
Actually, that's natural.
In the 19th century, people don't go to the hospital unless they're in considerable pain.
Especially someone like an MP.
Any sensible person knows that going to the hospital is a sure way to die, right?
But the fact that he's undergoing strange treatments means he's in that much pain.
"We think we need to open your head."
Liston said this, but since he doesn't actually know how to open it, he looked at me while speaking.
Actually… I don't know that well either.
I've never done it before.
But the surgery I'm about to perform isn't that difficult.
You really just have to open it.
"Was the impact around here?"
"Ah, yes… that's right."
"Then we just need to open about this much here."
"The head is this hard… Can it really be opened as easily as you say?"
Truly an MP.
Even in pain, he speaks so well.
'Don't worry.'
It's natural to be worried, but…
We're fine.
Because we have Liston.
"Yes, it will open."