"Today's juice has a different flavor profile, doesn't it?"
The first prisoner to be captured, Subject 1, now picked up the glass cup I handed him with a very practiced gesture.
No matter how much I thought about it, if I kept serving it in a tin cup, they'd probably find it suspicious, so I bought a separate one.
It's a wine glass. And we're pouring urine into it, right?
It looks... surprisingly plausible.
"Is that so?"
Is that why?
Even this bastard is getting a bit too immersed.
So what?
It's actually good.
Since he's sincerely tasting it, his feedback is truly reliable.
That's why I kept him around; it wasn't for nothing.
"Keup."
The jailer's face turned bright red and he went outside.
This son of a bitch...
What if he gets caught acting like that?
Anyway, thanks to this genuine sommelier, I found something out.
_'Compared to a typical diabetic patient, Sir Jamie's condition isn't that severe.'_
Didn't he once say that the juice wasn't just sweet, and that he couldn't feel the philosophy in it this time?
The prisoner who produced that one probably didn't have long to live anyway.
In fact, his foot was already rotting.
Liston hesitated about whether to amputate or not, but he did it, and the wound worsened.
He was a diabetic patient whose condition had progressed enough to develop diabetic foot, so... Ah, it's not a problem of disinfection.
At least in our hospital now, disinfection can't possibly be the issue.
The disinfection was done properly, but the problem was that the guy was a prisoner.
He couldn't manage his condition.
"What about this one?"
Anyway, Liston and I handed him the urine produced after Sir Jamie received his safe dose of injection.
Maybe because it's served in a wine glass...
It somewhat looks like a white wine too.
It even has a bit of foam, which makes it seem flavorful.
"Hmm."
The prisoner took it and first smelled it.
You'd think it would only smell like piss, but actually, it's quite hard to immediately think of urine when you see it in a wine glass.
"The smell is a bit different from before. I'll taste it as well."
The guy, full of arrogance, began to drink the wine—no, the urine.
Well...
If it's a Duke's urine, wouldn't it be quite precious?
By now, I felt no guilt whatsoever.
Because, by all appearances, the guy in front of me was extremely satisfied with the current situation.
"Hmm... The sweetness has become a bit lighter. Instead, there's a touch of acidity... Hmm... This is good. This is the best among the ones I've tasted so far. I'd drink this instead of water."
"Keup."
The jailer's face turned bright red again and he rushed outside.
It seems like from now on, I should tell him to wait outside during the tasting sessions.
I feel like we might get caught.
"Is that so? How much lighter is the sweetness?"
"Well... Compared to before, it's almost half?"
"I see."
I nodded and recorded his sweetness evaluation.
If this had been ten days ago, I would have thought this bastard might be talking nonsense.
After all, I haven't tasted it myself.
Well...
I know it's necessary for the advancement of medicine.
I know that urine is actually sterile.
This is...
The idea that it's dirty is purely prejudice.
It's a bit different from feces.
Besides, didn't they say that court physicians in the Joseon Dynasty even tasted feces?
_'But... I hate it... I really hate it.'_
Do I really need to go this far?
I'm using him like this, but...
We've already confirmed dozens of times that his taste changes exactly match the clinical results.
Anyway, the important thing here is that he is reliable, that's what I'm saying.
"Good."
"Shall we administer another injection today?"
"No, sir. We had an accident once before doing that."
"That's true."
At first, I was impatient.
It's not like I wanted to do this whole urine collection and feeding thing for so long.
But then, a sudden accident happened.
It was because I failed to calculate the insulin half-life.
So, I injected a higher dose of insulin while the previous dose was still active...
- Uh... Why is he like this?
I wonder if there are people here who have seen hypoglycemic shock before?
They've probably seen many people starve to death, but that day was likely the first time they saw hypoglycemic shock.
- What's going on?
- A show?
So...
It's no surprise that they dismissed it as malingering.
It was partly the prisoner's fault too.
So why do they instill such prejudice by killing a person?
Anyway, it was quite some time after he had rolled his eyes back that his condition was reported to me.
Fortunately, after hooking him up to a glucose IV, he got better immediately, but the next day, he seemed to disappear, and then a few days later, I ran into him in the dissection lab.
When I heard the details, it turned out that after showing such weakness, he was beaten to death by his fellow inmates.
Even though they were all in the same boat—getting injections and producing urine—they still beat the weak to death...
"We can't let the Duke end up like that."
"That's right..."
Anyway, when hypoglycemic shock hits, it's quite tough.
You break out in cold sweats, your heart pounds, and then you faint.
Since it's fainting due to genuine organic reasons, not just a simple 'uh', all your muscle strength completely gives way.
You might even lose control of your bowels and bladder, that's what I'm saying.
For a prisoner bastard, it might not matter, but if the Duke of the British Empire were to be seen in that state...
He'd probably rather die.
Well, judging by how he shamelessly walks around even after having his balls cut off, it seems he's not of ordinary mental fortitude.
"Ah, right. I have a meeting soon anyway."
Anyway, I informed Sir Jamie that we still hadn't reached the therapeutic dose.
Upon hearing this, Sir Jamie waved his hand dismissively, in a truly Duke-like manner.
The place where he ended up staying for a few days was Liston's laboratory.
Of course, he couldn't stay in a room with swords hanging on the wall, so his servants had been bustling about earlier.
The furnished room, despite the effort, couldn't be that spacious, so it didn't feel intimidating, but it did give off a rather splendid impression.
If it weren't for the usual image of Sir Jamie, one might even have been impressed.
"You have arrived."
"Yes, tell them to come in."
At that moment, someone—whether a servant or a butler—came and announced that people had arrived.
At Sir Jamie's signal, a crowd of people, who looked like they could handle themselves, came pouring in.
I recognized a few faces, and as soon as Liston confirmed it, the weight of my head suddenly felt like a thousand pounds.
As I was about to bow my head aimlessly and shout "Good day to you," one of them tapped me on the shoulder.
Thinking he had bumped into me because I was blocking the way, I hastily moved aside, and a voice came from high above.
"You are the Joseon's Doctor Pyeong, correct?"
"Ah, yes, sir."
I answered first and then looked up.
It was a familiar face.
No, it's a face one must know while living in London.
The Prime Minister...
The pinnacle of power.
Well, although the authority of the royal family still remains to some extent, and the authority of the nobles is no joke either.
"Yes, Hmm... Your feelings towards the Qing are not very favorable, is that it?"
"Ah... Yes."
How could I like them?
First of all, I don't even know them well.
Well... I read a book called
Yongzheng, Qianlong are probably dead too.
It must be the Jiaqing Emperor or the next one messing things up now.
_'And there was the Qing invasion of Joseon?'_
Besides, from a Korean's perspective, wouldn't it be strange to say I like the Qing?
"I dislike them."
"Is that so? That's fortunate."
The Prime Minister tapped me on the shoulder a few times, then went inside Liston's laboratory.
Considering that they originally planned to paint those walls green...
Today, the British Empire almost fell because of me.
I... changed history.
Of course, if it weren't for me, there would be no reason for Sir Jamie to be here in the first place.
"What should we do?"
"What do you mean, do? We should go now."
"Ah, but still... They're talking in my laboratory, aren't you curious? They keep mentioning Qing, Qing... It's something, huh?"
"Is that so?"
"Moreover, your name keeps coming up, you know."
"But we can't eavesdrop, can we?"
Anyway, after they went inside like that, only Liston and I were left.
I was about to go home since there was no more urine to feed them, but Liston persuaded me.
It seemed like there was no other way.
It feels like some state secrets might come out...
If we get caught, wouldn't we be dead?
"You can listen."
"Pardon?"
"It's my room. Come this way."
"But..."
He hung a lump of metal from the ceiling, using a stethoscope as a reference.
"Wasn't that supposed to be a decoration?"
"That's right. Now, if you come to this floor..."
There's a hole in the floor of this room.
And it's not even my hospital...
"How did you...?"
"I punched through it with my fist."
"Is this hospital building even safe?"
"If you give me permission, I'm confident I could punch through Buckingham Palace too."
He probably isn't lying.
This person...
He's somewhat strange.
No, at times like this, he seems less than human.
"I can hear it."
"Oh... But it's not very clear."
"But you can hearhear it."
"That's true."
Anyway, when I pressed my ear against it, I could hear.
- You say Doctor Pyeong likes opium that much?
- That's right. Don't I know it well? It seems even intelligent Easterners like opium. What about...? Isn't it true that none of us here particularly dislike it? How is it?
Following the voices of the Prime Minister and Sir Jamie, an unfamiliar voice spoke.
- How is it? They're absolutely crazy about it. It seems they will collapse much faster than expected.
- What if a war breaks out because of that?
- In my opinion... the Qing are much weaker than expected.
- Surely that can't be.
- I think so. If the field commander judges that way, then...
I quietly turned my head and looked at Liston.
Had my face turned as pale as Liston's?
It seems so.
"Is it okay to listen to more of this?"
"Shall we go? It was talk of war."
"That's what I'm saying. Why are we trying to eavesdrop on this?"
"I had no idea it would be like this."
We're screwed.
It feels like we shouldn't know this kind of thing.
So I tried to get up, but I couldn't even do that.
- Ah, I hear Doctor Pyeong has succeeded in treating diabetes.
- Hmm. It seems so. Damian isn't the type to talk nonsense, is he? Moreover, the Commissioner said something similar.
- Oh... Isn't the fact that you are here now part of the treatment?
- That's right.
- If it goes well, please introduce him to me as well. My father is not well.
- Ah, is that so? But didn't you say it's a bit problematic because he's an Easterner?
- If he can treat diabetes, does it matter if he's an Easterner? If it goes well, he might even receive a title.
- Well, that's true... A title. Hmm...
A title?
An Easterner, a British Empire noble?
I looked at Liston.
I think my face had flushed like Liston's.