kingdom of nations

Chapter 302 Whose Responsibility Lies? (Part 2)
The most troublesome thing is the sewer system.

Bethlehem has been destroyed and rebuilt several times throughout history. The buildings and facilities that remain today were almost all built by the ancient Romans—who also brought their plumbing system here, although Bethlehem's system was not as spacious as the upright sewers in Rome.

A tall person would have to crawl inside, and a short person would have to bend their knees. Originally, the two dwarfs were responsible for cleaning the sewers—their work was not that heavy, and they were only called down to unclog them when there was a blockage.

The people then ordered the Isaacs to do this. They were filled with fear and cried out in despair. But the people of Bethlehem had been willing to keep them because the knights said they could do what the Christians of Bethlehem were unwilling to do. They were forced to crawl down one by one.

As per Cesar's instructions, they were to clear any sections that might be causing drainage problems, ensuring that the water from the reservoir could reach every part of the sewers. Haredi only glanced at his master from afar before being struck on the shoulder with a stick. The other man muttered curses under his breath, as if their revered little saint had been defiled by even a glance from him, an Isaac.

But if Haredi heard correctly, what those people were pleading with as they held Cesar's hands, kissed his robes, and stroked his accessories and boots, as if they were visiting a sacred site, was that he would assure them that their loved ones would return safely to them.

But how could that be possible? Such a demand is inherently absurd and unreasonable.

If these people truly respect their little saint as they claim, they shouldn't be making these absurd demands.

It is only natural that those people died, just like the Isaacs. Some of them contracted malaria but could not receive the proper treatment and care. Several of them collapsed and could never get up again.

If Cesar had a cold heart and remained indifferent, it would have been a common occurrence, even for a lord of Bethlehem—as described in the Decameron, when plague struck, lords and knights would raise the drawbridges and close the castle gates, while the wealthy would retreat to sparsely populated manors and monasteries to continue their leisurely lives.

The people will not only not hold him accountable, but will also lament their own bad luck.

The plague was something that a knight and lord should not and could not interfere with. After the church had almost monopolized all medical resources, they should have pleaded with Bishop Andre, not Cesar—as a knight and lord, his only enemy should have been the armies of heretics and cultists.

"And it's not just the Isaacs who are ungrateful," Haredi murmured, bending down and slowly crawling into the sewer.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

At this moment, Cesar felt as if he had returned to another world.

In another world, in the hospital, in every department he rotated through, even the hopeful maternity ward, similar pleas could be heard every moment—"Save my loved ones! Save my sweetheart! Save my friends!"
At this point, he couldn't even say that he would do his best.

He was not a monk or priest; he could only say that he would pray to God and the saints on their behalf, asking that their protection fall upon these unfortunate people.

He couldn't stay long either. Although he had explained the use of wormwood to Bishop Andrei, Bishop Andrei was, after all, a person of this time and place. He was not good at using herbs and couldn't even tell what stage the patient's condition had progressed to.

Both the patients and their families clearly trusted Cesar more. They would panic if they couldn't see him, and they needed Cesar to come out in order to accept treatment so that they could be sure that they were not being subjected to any witchcraft.

César walked among the groaning patients, his hands hanging down so that these weary people, ravaged by malaria, could touch them.

The monks and priests here—even those who had received the "blessing"—were on the verge of collapse. They had to prepare medicines, mix fish glue (for oral purification of artemisinin), register the names and origins of new patients, and make rounds.

The rounds cannot be interrupted. In addition to the fact that the patients' conditions may change at any time, some patients will do some inexplicable things, such as swallowing a gold coin or a silver coin.

For ordinary people, swallowing gold or silver coins directly would cause suffocation, internal bleeding, and internal organ perforation—but at that time, people did not understand these things. They had only heard that pure gold and silver could absorb toxins and ward off evil spirits. Even if they had the plague, they wanted to try it, hoping that doing so would make them healthy again.

Those who are discovered will have their gold or silver coins taken away and will be forced to vomit; those who are not discovered basically have no chance of survival.

Although the priests were blessed by God, they lacked knowledge of anatomy, and there were no machines available to show the location of the gold coins. Even if a powerful priest could stop the bleeding and heal the wound instantly, they still couldn't remove the swallowed gold coins.

César was there to look after these patients and also to select the first patient to try the new treatment.

This might be his only, inescapable, and heavy selfish desire—he hoped that the patient was on the verge of death, with almost no chance of survival even without the complications from the medication—and that he was in a similar situation to his teacher, Chirac, the old man who had given him new life and hope—from age and physical condition to the progression of his illness…

"What are you looking for?" a faint voice asked. Cesar was slightly startled. He looked in the direction of the voice and saw a pair of bright eyes staring at him in the darkness.

He walked over, and a priest nearby immediately lit an oil lamp for him. In the flickering light of the lamp, he saw the other person—it was a woman.

"We really are destined to meet again, sir."

"So you're still in Bethlehem, Nelly."

“Why shouldn’t I be here? Although my husband’s relatives and friends… wish they could beat me to death, I did win the duel. Thanks to you, I’m doing quite well, at least better than the last twenty years. But now… it seems that fate is finally going to take back from me… what shouldn’t have been mine.”

She spoke haltingly, and you could tell she was trying to raise her voice.

Cesar silently reached out to check her temperature; she was very hot and was surrounded by a foul, sticky stench.

Do you have diarrhea?

"Diarrhea...and vomiting, sir, my condition is very bad. There have been several people like me before, who were taken out and buried by them."

I haven't...urinated blood yet, but they say if I do...I'll surely die. Is that true, sir?

Cesar didn't want to comfort her at this moment; there was no need. This woman seemed to have always been very clear-headed. She knew what she wanted and would do everything in her power to get it.

"May I confess to you, sir?" Although there are many priests and monks here, it is not impossible for a person to insist on confessing to another person if he is a Christian.

The monk beside Cesar kindly stepped away, while Nellie revealed a strange smile.

"What do you think you're looking for? What are you looking for, aren't you?"

"I'm looking for a patient."

"Is this someone you know?"

"No."

"Then he must have something special about him." "Indeed, he needs to have something in common with another person."

"Can I?"

"You know what I want to do?"

“I don’t know, but you have never done anything wrong, at least not to the best of my knowledge.” Nellie was a woman, and younger than Patriarch Heraclius, so Cesar couldn’t be sure if her situation matched Heraclius’s.

However, as long as no allergic reactions or organ failure occur after the medication is injected, the medication can be repeated.

“I do have some things to do, but you might not understand.”

“I don’t need to understand adults. If you want me to be blind, I’ll be blind. If you want me to be deaf, I’ll be deaf. Even if you want me to be dead, I’ll accept it. You’ve already saved me three times. Even if I repay you with my life this time, I’ve still gained two times.”

Cesar stood up and instructed the priest beside him, "This is a lady I know. Arrange a quiet place for her."

The monk glanced at Nellie in surprise. Nellie was an ordinary woman from the lower class, and there was not a trace of her having lived a life of luxury in her appearance, clothing, speech and demeanor.

But since Cesar had already said so, there was no need for him to resist. He nodded and moved Nellie to another room.

This room can hardly be called a room; it's more like a spacious corner, but it has a small window and is in a much better location than most patients have.

Without hesitation, Cesar made Nellie turn her head and turn to the side.

Then she felt a hand lift her robe.

Nelly was not plump, her bones were prominent, and because of her long-term diarrhea, even after being washed, her skin was still somewhat ulcerated. No man would feel any desire in her, but she still trembled slightly when she felt the warm fingers touching her.

How strange! She had lived in this world for so many years, and this was the first time she had been touched like a human being.

She felt as if something had been smeared on her bare buttocks, bringing an unusually clear coolness, and then she smelled the aroma of alcohol, strong liquor, she thought.

Although several years had passed, Cesar easily regained his senses. The needle pierced the skin and entered the muscle. He slowly rotated the syringe. Although the medicine still leaked, he could feel that most of the medicine had entered Nelly's body.

Next, it's time to wait for the results. If there is no redness, swelling, pain, induration, rash, or severe itching within thirty minutes, then you have passed the first test.

If no breathing difficulties, laryngeal constriction, or bronchospasm occur within an hour, the second test is considered passed.

If blood pressure and pulse do not disappear within twelve hours, and symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or diarrhea, confusion, or shock occur, then the person has passed the final test.

However, patients may still experience fever, joint pain, and jaundice within a week, but these symptoms are negligible as long as their lives can be saved.

He did not leave, but stood quietly on the platform outside, gazing at the gradually brightening dawn.

When he left, malaria had almost disappeared in another world. He had no experience in treating malaria patients and didn't know when the effects would be seen.

He only knew roughly that the treatment course was three days, but as long as Nellie's body did not show any of the above symptoms within the next twenty-four hours, or even improved, the safety of this drug could be guaranteed.

Nellie experienced no adverse reactions, and he administered two more small injections (intentionally avoiding intravenous injections and using intramuscular injections to reduce the occurrence of side effects). By evening, Nellie's vomiting and diarrhea had stopped, and she even fell asleep instead of remaining in a coma.

After a while, Nellie let out an unusually deep sigh: "Now I feel like I've come back to life, my lord."

Cesar was also nearly exhausted. "Thank you, Nellie." He pressed his forehead against Nellie's hand. "You have indeed come back to life." He called the monks and told them to observe Nellie's condition carefully and report back to him immediately if there were any changes.

He then rushed back to Bethlehem.

Bishop Andrei dispersed the people in the room and then watched as he injected Chiraclius.

Cesar could sense his tension. Although similar devices had existed, most were used for "enemas" and were much cruder. Now, Cesar was going to inject these liquids directly into the patient's body, not even through the mouth and rectum, but through so-called muscles and blood vessels.

He had also studied Saracen medical texts on blood and circulation, but deep down he felt they were heretical and bizarre doctrines and didn't really believe in them.

Although he had indeed seen severed limbs on the battlefield, he still couldn't be sure of what Cesar meant when he said that blood could transport many things to different parts of the body, such as nutrients and air.

"Is this Saracen research?"

No, that's not true at all. Cesar nodded slightly. He couldn't lie, but explaining it to Bishop Andrei... was simply impossible.

As a knight, he couldn't possibly possess more medical knowledge than a priest, let alone the fact that the knowledge of the other world was a complete system that he could talk about for decades.

Heraclius's condition was more serious than Nellie's. He was able to hold on until now entirely because of the priests and monks who were constantly treating him, which greatly delayed the time when he would be summoned by death.

Even so, his body temperature did not drop until the next day, and fortunately, the water did not cause any worrying side effects.

In the early hours of the fourth day, he finally stirred slightly, and realizing that he was about to wake up, Cesar quickly stepped forward and grabbed Chiraclius's shoulder.

Having suffered these past few days, the already emaciated Chirac was now like a skinned husk stripped of its flesh and blood, empty and filled with uncomfortable bones. He slightly opened his eyes, saw Cesar, and revealed a faint smile, only to have his attention drawn away by Bishop Andrei's joyful call.

"God! Your Excellency! Your Excellency the Patriarch! You are really healed!"

"This is a miracle, Your Excellency, even a holy one!" Bishop Andrei even forgot to lower his voice; he was too excited. "I have never seen any medicine that can so quickly drive the plague from a person!"

Heraclius still had a smile on his lips. He had just woken up from a long coma and couldn't understand Bishop Andrei's words for a moment. But the moment he finally understood, his expression changed drastically.

(End of this chapter)