"Isn't that the target we have been trying to find?"
"Are you sure? How could a Consort wear such cheap clothes? Wait, yes you're right, under that rough-looking cape, it is her. But boss already said we are paid to leave them alone so let's go. Having money for not doing a job? Hell yes, let's go for a drink!"
The two mercenaries went in search for wine, leaving Consort Moon to freely enter the palace.
Consort Moon had finally left her hiding place and the kind woman had loaned her a cape to hide her expensive-looking clothes. She was tired and scared.
She looked around before making a dash for the palace gates, the jade talisman to prove her identity already in her hands.
She had presented the talisman to the palace guards and was tapping her foot in anxiety, still not entirely relaxed even though she is near home. She couldn't wait to wash off the dirt and grime her palace.
She was thinking about how nice a bath would be when she felt pain blossoming in her chest.
"C-consort Moon," the guard gasped. "Quick! Open the gates and summon the imperial physician!"
Summon the imperial physician? Why?
"Wait, why can't I stand anymore? Oww... my chest..." Consort Moon thought as she fell, and she raised a hand to her chest to to soothe the pain.
"W-what's this?" Consort Moon looked down, the head of an arrow under her fingertips. That was the last thing Consort Moon saw before she closed her eyes as the palace gates opened in the background.
•—•—•
It was chaos in the palace. The entire imperial physician office was activated. Physicians had to tend to the injured guards who accompanied the royals in the capital, to Jungkook, to Jimin, to Consort Moon, and also to Taehyung.
The stoves were full with brewing medicine and some of the imperial physicians were even crying from stress while kneeling, both King Min and King Jeon breathing down their necks.
King Min had icily said, "do you know who is lying on this bed? He is the future Queen of the Min Kingdom. If anything untoward happens to him and he never wakes up, I promise you, the Min Royal Army will uproot every house and flatten the very land you are standing on."
Holly barked to emphasise King Min's point.
In the other room, Jungkook was bellowing at every physician, "hurry up! Where's the medicine!? Why is there still so much blood!? If you still want your heads attached to your necks, bloody hell stop the blood flow and make sure the First Royal Consort opens his eyes— ouch!"
Imperial physician Lee stood by the doorway, hand still high in the air, and already reaching for his other shoe to throw at the King.
"You are making things difficult, your majesty. Get out if you want the First Royal Consort alive."
For a moment, the room was quiet as every physician and attendant looked at the King, then at physician Lee. Had physician Lee always been this cool?
The King gritted his teeth and stared at physician Lee, the look in his eyes darker than the night sky. Everyone held their breaths.
Then the King strode out of the door without another word and Physician Lee added as Jungkook passed by, "please go to somewhere faraway such as the study. You pacing outside the room will be a distraction."
Jungkook did not respond, but he stalked off in the direction of the study.
One second of silence passed and the room exploded into a newfound clamour.
"Sunbae-nim! I thought I was going to die! The King was terrifying and I was so close to pissing my pants!" A physician cried as he wiped his tears.
"Hush now, have you applied pressure to the wound to stop the blood flow? And you, how is the medicine going? You there, where is the hot water, bandages, thread, and needle? And you, the room is too messy and have too many people. Clean the room and those without a task, get out or check how Consort Moon is doing. Someone also clean the King's wounds and bandage them," Physican Lee ordered.
Time is of essence. He is not one to show favouritism, but he had interacted with the First Royal Consort before. He will try his best to save that kind soul and seeing how the King is so concerned with the consort's well-being, saving Taehyung is the key to stop the King from going insane outside.
•—•—•
Hours later, all physicians finally returned to their office.
"Alright everyone, please report your results."
"Physician Jang here. Consort Moon is still in critical condition. The arrow had narrowly missed her heart by a quarter of an inch. The surrounding tissue and veins were heavily damaged, resulting in a high volume of blood loss. We have removed the arrow and stopped the blood loss.
However, there is a high possibility that she will be in a coma in the event she survives. I propose physicians to be on duty to watch over her for the next two days and check-ups to be conducted every hour. Medicine must be brewed and applied to the Consort throughout. Her survival is dependent on our care during this period."
"Next, Physician Lee here. The First Royal Consort suffered damage to the large intestine and faced a high volume of blood loss. Patching is complete and the condition is stable. We propose physicians to be on duty to watch over him for the next one day and check-ups to be conducted every two hours. Medicine must be brewed and applied to the First Royal Consort throughout. While we do not expect the First Royal Consort to be in a coma, it may take a few days or up to a month for him to wake.
"Thank you. Physician Park here. All guards are treated. We have two heavily injured and we propose to have physicians to be on overnight duty and for check-ups to be conducted every two hours. Medicine must be brewed and applied throughout. The rest are good to go.
His majesty faces light infection due to delayed treatment. It is not serious and overnight duty is not required. Medicine and bandages are to be changed every six hours."
"Physician Kim here. Future Queen of the Min Kingdom, I mean, Head Attendant Park Jimin has no visible wounds except for the scratch on his neck and we have treated it. He has no internal wounds and we conclude there is no reason for him to be unconscious. There is nothing we can do here. I propose for attendants under the First Royal Consort to continue observation in his palace and alert us of any changes."
"Thank you all. Now, who will report these findings to the Kings?"
All the physicians except one suddenly found the floor extremely interesting. Was there ever a speck on that tile under that chair?
"Fine, I'll go," Physician Lee said.
"You're the best Sunbaenim!"
"Yes! Physician Lee go go go!"
- a/n -
Imagine the previous chapter was the last. *runs away* hahahha
Anyway I bullsh*tted my way through the medical aspect so please don't ever apply it irl. I always get irrationally worried about these kinda things.
And friends... did you all realise... I forgot all about Holly during the fight 😂 let's assume the puppy was safe and went back to the palace with them all okay?
It might take a little longer for the upcoming chapters as I've finished posting all current drafts except for the Yoonmin bonus chapter.
Please vote or comment and be healthy 💜 I love how you all discuss the plot and help each other with queries. It's so wholesome 🦀
- rsv (resha)
P.s. if anyone likes peaceful healing music, google says its genre is Indie and idk anything about that but anyway Taehyung's (V/ Itaewon class OST on Spotify) "Sweet Night" is 👍🏻