Chapter 10

As she rose from her seat, Raymond suggested.

"Why don't you get some more rest?"

"No, I'll be fine. It's not like I can rest."

Sophia let out a low sigh and disappeared into the main hall, where she was soon surrounded by a crowd of people.

"This is unsettling.

Raymond thought with a hard face.

Something seemed to be at stake.

The rest of the banquet was uneventful.

People laughed and talked, with dancing, music, and drinking.

But as time passed, Raymond felt uneasy.

Maybe it was because he kept thinking about it, but it felt like the calm before the storm, like it was about to explode.

And then.

Princess Sophia took the dais.

She's the only princess in the kingdom, and she's here to address the banquet.

"I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all of you for attending this celebration."

As she spoke, Princess Sophia looked as beautiful and serene as a flower, a far cry from her mean-spirited behavior with Raymond.

At the sight of such a beautiful princess, the people enjoying the banquet shouted with joy.

"Long live Your Royal Highness!"

Princess Sophia had a gentle smile on her lips.

"I have come up here to congratulate you on this joyous occasion."

Thrilled.

At the sound of her calm voice, Raymond's heart leapt into his throat.

He felt a nagging sense of unease.

As if something was going to happen at any moment.

"First, I would like to wish the Kingdom of Houston all the glory in the world...."

That was the moment she opened her mouth.

Suddenly, something happened!

"...!"

Princess Sophia's body suddenly stiffened!

"Ah...."

A lone moan escaped from her mouth, and the people in the banquet hall were dumbfounded.

"Princess Mama?"

That was it.

Her body lost its strength and collapsed!

Like a doll with a broken thread.

People screamed at the sudden change.

"Mama!"

"Oh no! What are you doing? Get a healer now! Hurry!"

The healers nearby rushed over.

They were the best healers in the kingdom, in charge of treating royalty.

"Heal!"

"Hurry!"

Pow!

A bright light emanated from the healer's hand.

White light enveloped her body.

It was the brilliance of an A-list healer.

But even as the powerful heels pounded away, she made no progress.

The healers' complexions grew white.

They felt it instinctively.

At this rate, the princess would die.

"Oh, no!"

"Put on the heels! Come on!"

"Call Count Helien, the palace's best healer, now!"

The other healers rushed over and slammed their heels down, but it didn't work. The healers' faces turned pensive.

It was at this moment that the once joyous banquet hall turned to chaos.

A strong voice cut through the healers.

"Get out of the way, please."

"...?!"

The healers turned in surprise.

It was Raymond, gritting his teeth and staring at Princess Sophia.

"Shit. Princess Sophia was the heroine of the quest.'

A flash of realization.

A dark conflict flashed across Raymond's eyes.

"What do we do?

If it were any other patient, he would not have hesitated.

But this was a princess.

If he did, and it didn't work out, he could be held terribly accountable.

"Shit. What am I going to do?

A million thoughts raced through my head.

The horrors of palace life.

The miserable life at the healing center.

I'm just now gaining new abilities and living my dreams... and this could be the end of my life.

'If I just pretend not to see it, I can get away with it. I'm only an apprentice now, after all.

But.

If she pretended not to see it, Princess Sophia would die.

"You used to be such an ugly little rat.

Then I remembered what Princess Sophia had said earlier, and I bit my lip hard.

"I didn't even get a proper apology, and now I'm going to die? No! If I'm going to die, I'm going to die apologizing for everything I've ever done!

I don't know.

This was neither the time nor the place to think rationally.

Raymond went with his instincts.

"I'll heal her."

The healers were momentarily confused by his sudden appearance, then remembered that he had been sent as a healer.

"What the... on the subject of apprentices!"

"Sorry, we don't have time, please move out of the way!"

[Despite the difficult situation, I decided to treat the emergency patient!]

[Heart of Steel effect becomes more intense!]

Raymond did something he would never have done normally. He pushed through the gap between them with his full strength.

"Ouch!"

"What are you doing?!"

Raymond shouted.

This was no time for politeness. Every second counted.

"Just leave it to me, or Princess Mama will die, and I will save her!"

"...!"

As they came to a halt, Raymond quickly assessed Princess Sophia's condition.

"No pulse in the carotid artery! She's in cardiac arrest.

Raymond's face paled.

"Sudden cardiac arrest!

His heart had stopped, and if he didn't get immediate medical attention, he would die or suffer catastrophic brain damage.

"In this case, heels won't help much right now. We need to get blood circulating to the heart right now.

Of course, the heels weren't completely ineffective.

If she kept pounding away, she might be able to stimulate the life force and get the heart moving again.

But it would take too long.

If you don't have blood pumping through your body in a minute or two, you're going to suffer fatal brain damage, and when are you going to wait for the vital energy to kick in and get your heart moving again?

There was only one option.

I had to go outside and force his heart.

"Oh, no?"

Raymond placed his palms on Princess Sophia's chest. To be precise, he placed both palms on her sternum.

Everyone's eyes widened.

His hands began to compress her sternum.

It was CPR!

"I, I...!"

People shouted in panic.

"Stop!"

"What are you doing to Princess Mama's jade body...!"

They screamed.

At this rate, they would be dragged away before they could properly treat her.

Raymond shouted desperately with the help of his Heart of Steel.

"Please wait a moment, I'm trying to save Princess Mama!

But his pleas fell on deaf ears.

The knights standing guard approached to beat Raymond.

An unexpected voice stopped them.

"Wait, wait."

"Your Majesty!"

A man with eyes like steel.

It was King Auden, the knightly king, who had appeared before them.

"Ha, but Your Majesty?!"

"I ask you. Can you revive Princess Hilo?"

"Well, that's...."

The healers hesitated, unable to answer.

They were experienced healers, and they knew that a heart attack like that was difficult to revive.

"Well, I guess there's no other way, then. Just wait."

Then something amazing happened behind his back, but Raymond was too distracted to notice.

"Holy shit, why isn't the pulse in my heart coming back?!

Some time passed, and the princess's heart refused to beat again.

"At this rate, Princess Sophia will die!

Raymond's face turned grim.

Not all patients could be saved by CPR. In many cases, the heart would never recover and the patient would die.

"No! I have to think of a way.

Raymond thought desperately.

Time was running out. I had to find a way to restore his heart now.

At that moment, a lightning bolt struck.

"We need to shock the heart!

Shock!

Defibrillation works by delivering a powerful shock to the heart to reset the disturbed electrical signals.

But there was a problem.

"Where do I get a stun gun?

In the medical manuscript, Modern Earth, stun guns were everywhere for situations like this, but this was the continent of Leipenthaina.

There was no substitute.

"Think of something! There has to be a way!

Was it desperation?

An idea popped into Raymond's head.

"I have a way to electrocute them.

Raymond immediately summoned a status window.

"Buy skills! Secondary skills!

[Available secondary skills]

-Basic (Rank D) Fire Magic

-Basic (Rank D) Water Magic

-Basic (Rank D) Wind Magic

-Basic (Rank D) Blitz Magic

-Basic (Rank D) Earth Magic

The list flashed before Raymond's eyes, and he immediately chose one.

"Buy, Blitz Magic!

[Basic (D-rank) Blitz Magic has been purchased!]

[80 skill points consumed!]

[Blitz Magic].

Classification: Support (Magic) Skill

Magic Rank: Basic

Skill Level: D

-Allows you to use blitzkrieg magic.

-As your proficiency increases, you will be able to use more skillful and intense Blitz Magic!

The moment the message appeared in his mind, an amazing thing happened.

Raymond's mind was flooded with the knowledge of Blitz Magic.

How it worked, how it moved mana, how it could be manifested.

Raymond stopped compressing his chest and stretched his hands up and down.

One hand under the princess's right collarbone, the other under her left armpit.

Everyone blinked at the incomprehensible behavior.

Raymond muttered a low incantation.

"Lightning.

He was so unskilled that he could only use a very weak lightning bolt, but it was enough.

Just 220 joules.

No more, no less, just that much electrical energy.

Dig!

The invisible bolt of electricity started at the princess's right collarbone and struck her left armpit.

The princess's body shook as she bounced. The electric shock had worked.

"Really?

Raymond stared, waiting for a reaction.

After a few tense seconds.

Raymond's fingertips vibrated against his carotid artery.

A pounding.

It was the sound of a pulse.

He had recovered from his heart attack!

Then the princess let out a long-awaited breath.

"That's it!

It was a close call, but I think we've made it through. Now we just need to nurse her back to health, and she should recover with no ill effects.

Raymond wiped the sweat from his brow and stood up.

"...."

And then it hit him.

The stunned eyes staring back at him.