Chapter 67 - The Tour

“I thought…royal doctors only treated royalty…” I mumbled.

“You’re right, that was surely the case up until recently. Royal doctors were reserved for treating members of the royal family only. Exceptions were made for their favorite concubines and such. Recently, I was able to convince my father to extend the work of our royal doctors to other people, although more work can definitely be done there…” Ren said as he flashed me a small smile.

“Thank you, Ren…” I thanked him with all my heart.

“Why are you thanking me?” Ren asked, he seemed genuinely confused.

“I don’t know…I guess…for helping other people…” I replied a little hesitantly, unsure of how to put my feelings into words.

“There’s a long way to go, Rin. Even now not all medical herbs are accessible to the commoners even if they are readily available. The majority of herbs and medicine in the warehouse building are still reserved for the royal family and no one else…” Ren said with a gentle yet sad smile.

“I think having skilled doctors treat more people is already a big step,” I told Ren, meaning every word.

I didn’t know why Ren didn’t realize how important and meaningful his endeavor was. Hearing his words made me a little sad because I knew that he wasn’t saying that just to be modest.

“Should we go inside for a tour?” Ren suggested brightly.

I smiled at him as I nodded. I guess we could leave the serious talks for another day, right now, I just wanted to enjoy the tour and Ren’s company.

Ren took me to the buildings as he introduced them to me in order. Starting off with the hospital building in the North. The building had a long hallway with doors on both sides leading to small rooms for patients. There were also big halls filled with patient beds.

“Crown prince…you should have told us beforehand that you would be visiting. We could have prepared to welcome you properly…” a man came up and bowed.

I could tell by his uniform that he must be one of the royal doctors. The symbol of a red phoenix was displayed clearly on his uniform. It was the symbol for royal doctors in this empire. The Phoenix and their healing abilities made them the perfect symbol for doctors.

“I’m not here on an official visit. I just wanted to…observe things a little…” Ren said as he waved his hand gesturing to the doctor to relax.

“Even so…” the old doctor said, looking around nervously.

“Please return to your duties. I am not in need of your assistance,” Ren said firmly.

The doctor picked up on the opportunity to excuse himself and quickly bowed deeply before leaving Ren and I alone. I looked around at the many beds filled with patients and my heart filled with a sense of dread.

“Why are there so many people injured?” I asked Ren directly without thinking.

Most of the patients that I saw were covered in bandages and it didn’t need a medical expert to see that they were injured and wounded instead of being sick of some disease.

“Some skirmishes happened along the boarder recently, that’s all,” Ren said as if it was no big deal.

“Are these men...soldiers?” I asked.

“Yes,” Ren replied flatly.

I didn’t dare to ask more questions. Ren’s change in tone made me aware that he did not wish to discuss warfare or any politics with me. I thought of our previous argument and our conflicting views, and I couldn’t help sighing softly to myself.

The doctors in the hospital building were very busy treating the injured patients. Looking at them reminded me of when I had to treat my fellow townsmen during the war. The atmosphere was busy and chaotic but unlike my situation, there were enough beds, tools, and medicine here to treat the wounded.

I shook my head to clear my mind from those nightmarish memories. Although there were many things that I wanted to observe, I knew that it would be better if I got out of here for now.

“The doctors seem very busy. Let’s move on to another building so that we don’t disturb their work,” I suggested to Ren, trying to sound casual.

“Sure. Next is the medical storage building,” Ren said as he led me by the hand to the other building.

I couldn’t help turning to look behind me at the heavily bandaged soldiers lying on the narrow bed, fighting for their life. Knowing that there was nothing that I could do for them, I offered a silent prayer wishing for their swift recovery and survival.

The medical building was evidently less busy than the hospital; however, there were many people lining up at the counters. I watched with genuine interest as I tried to figure out what was going on.

“Crown prince...” a middle-aged man walked up to us and bowed deeply.

The man was wearing the royal doctor uniform as well. He offered a polite, although quite stiff and nervous smile to Ren in greeting.

“Be at ease,” Ren replied.

The man just bowed deeper before straightening and gesturing for us to follow him. I followed after Ren with my hand still in his as we followed the man. He led us wordlessly away from the lines where we could have a quieter place for conversation.

“I apologize, crown prince. I did not receive notice that you would be visiting...” the man said, sounding extremely apologetic.

“That is no surprise. This visit is unplanned and unofficial so there was no advance notice sent,” Ren said, his tone emotionless.

“I see. Understood, my prince. Is there anything I can do to assist you?” the man offered politely.

“Yes. Since I don’t have much knowledge in medicine, it would be great if you could explain what is going on in this place,” Ren said.

“Oh, yes, of course,” the doctor said glancing a little in my direction.

I just offered him my kindest smile to put him at ease. His wish to be immediately excused from the crown prince’s presence did not materialize and I did pity him a little. It seemed like no one felt comfortable around Ren.

--To be continued…