The Duke's Daughter Goes Her Own Way
[The Secret Development Story of the Macnagan-brand Wheelchair]
Translated by: ME
The narrator is Elizabeth.
Just in case, since I never introduced myself before.
***
Thanks to the two great heroines our country boasts—Lady Emilia and Her Highness Linalia—the medical and welfare fields are developing remarkably. It's wonderful.
Until about ten years ago, there were only one or two clinics in large towns, and if you suffered from a serious illness, you had to go to a large clinic in the royal capital or a major territory.
Beyond that, villages without doctors were not uncommon, and there was also the problem of illnesses not being 'recognized as illnesses' by the people.
Lady Emilia identified these current conditions, reported them to Her Highness Linalia, and Her Highness Linalia devised and implemented countermeasures.
They are a perfectly harmonious pair of wings—the foundation of the country and the top managing it. It's only natural that they advance and leap forward.
Although I haven't contributed much to this development myself, I think it's okay for me to feel a little proud.
Our country's brilliant women are amazing, right? *Ahem, ahem.*
And they're not just smart; they're beautiful too! *Ahem, ahem.*
...But if you make either of them angry, they're terrifying beyond belief... When a smart, beautiful woman gets angry, the air gets so cold you could drive a nail with a banana.
***
I said I haven't contributed to medical care and welfare, but actually, there is one thing credited to me as my achievement.
I'm not convinced at all, and because I'm so unconvinced, I gloss over the development story with about 90% fabricated tales.
***
Today, I'm inspecting the royal capital's pediatric hospital.
This 'Pediatrics Department' was created on the suggestion of Lady Emilia, after she had a child of her own.
She thought it might be a good idea to have research on diseases that only affect children and milder pediatric medications with fewer side effects.
Apparently, the idea came when her daughter contracted the 'Five-Year Cold,' a disease only children get, and she found it troublesome to prepare the medication for her.
...*Troublesome*, Lady Emilia?... I understand the feeling, but... It's true, it's a disease every child gets at least once, and the fatality rate is less than 2%...
It seems the idea was that, since children have smaller bodies and less stamina than adults, perhaps there should be specialized medical care for them in the first place.
And on that occasion, a specialized 'Gynecology' clinic was also established.
Women have illnesses specific to women, and such things are often things they don't want men to know about.
Also, there are quite a few people who feel a bit... uneasy about being touched during examinations, even by a doctor, if they are of the opposite sex.
The establishment of the gynecology department was also thanks to Lady Emilia's efforts, which increased the number of women aspiring to become doctors. The more female doctors there are, the more specialized clinics can be created!
Hooray for Lady Emilia!
Although Lady Emilia also sees patients alongside her research, appointments with Dr. Emilia are always fully booked.
Phew! As expected, Dr. Emilia!
***
The pediatric specialty clinic is located near the edge of the royal capital, close to a major road with good transportation access.
This is a clinic for children who require hospitalization.
There are children with serious illnesses, and there are also little rascals who got carried away, jumped off their house roof, and snapped both their legs.
On Her Highness Linalia's suggestion, medical fees for children are set quite low.
The cost of medicine for children is also only about 30% of the price compared to adults.
This is based on Her Highness Linalia's belief that there should be no child who cannot be helped due to poverty.
However, if medical fees are kept too low, the doctors' income also becomes low.
No matter how high your aspirations are, you can't live on a low income.
There's a saying, 'A samurai uses a toothpick even when starving'... but still, if you give a samurai only a toothpick and leave them for thirty days, they'll probably die.
To live, you must eat, and to eat, you need money. That's the same whether in Japan or in another world.
So, a 'Medical Fee Remuneration' system was introduced for pediatric care.
I had a little input on this one. I guess this is what you'd call a knowledge cheat... Hehe... See? I can do it too when I try. An intellectual cheat like this.
Well, I just advised a troubled Her Highness Linalia, saying something like, 「How about introducing a system like this?」 almost as an aside. Or rather, what I said wasn't even significant enough to be called 'advice.'
It was Her Highness Linalia and the people around her who gave it form.
To be honest, there's not much of a 'cheat' feeling from me. Well, that's just how it is.
Even if you talk about modern knowledge cheats, there's the point of whether that knowledge can be fully supported by this world's civilization level, industrial level, etc...
Besides, it's not like I want to make this country or this world into 'modern Japan.'
When in Rome, do as the Romans do.
***
After touring the clinic, listening to the staff's efforts and any problems they might have, I've now been guided to the inner courtyard.
The courtyard is spacious and also serves as a small playground.
There's a boy practicing walking with a staff member, and a girl weaving a flower crown on the grass in the corner.
It's a peaceful, lovely scene.
As I was watching, feeling all warm and fuzzy, a girl in a wheelchair, accompanied by a staff member, came towards me, operating the wheelchair herself with great effort.
The girl came right up to me and held out a small bouquet she had on her lap.
「Lady Elizabeth, thank you for the wheelchair.」
The girl offered the bouquet with a smile.
She's super cute, and her beaming smile is dazzling... So dazzling I hesitate to look directly at it.
「You're very welcome. And thank *you* for the flowers.」
I accept the flowers with a smile, praying that my own smile isn't twitching.
***
Inside the carriage on my way back to the castle after the inspection.
The bouquet I received from the girl in the wheelchair stings my heart a little.
Yes.
That wheelchair the girl was sitting in is credited as something *'I'* created.
No, wheelchairs existed here to begin with.
This world's civilization level is roughly equivalent to Earth's 19th century. The modern era.
I think the general sale and spread of wheelchairs on Earth was around the 18th century.
In this world too, wheelchairs themselves were never particularly rare.
However, compared to 21st-century Earth, they were still quite inconvenient in various ways.
First, the wheels were small.
Because the wheels were small, the person sitting in it couldn't 'move it by themselves.' There were only so-called 'assisted-type' models, where you sit in the chair and have someone push you from behind.
And the seat part was pretty much just a normal chair.
Like a regular dining chair with wheels attached to the legs?
Because of that, it was also quite heavy.
But the one the girl was using earlier is almost identical in shape to those found in modern Earth.
Moreover, it can be folded, allowing it to be stored compactly when moving by carriage, etc.
It looks exactly like I utilized some kind of knowledge cheat, doesn't it?
But that's wrong.
All I did was attach a guide on the outside of the rear wheels for the user to push with their own hands.
Almost all other improvements were made by my brother.
I didn't even know the 'current state' of wheelchairs in this world to begin with. So, the idea of 'improving' them never would have occurred to me.
I mean, seriously, why does he have to be so pointlessly capable?! That brother of mine!
Well, improving the wheelchair itself contributes to the welfare field, so it's not pointless!
It's just that the starting point for why my brother改良 (improved) the wheelchair in the first place is *so* pointless!
Why did my brother try to improve the wheelchair?
Let me be clear, my brother is perfectly able-bodied. And in excellent health. They say some people never catch colds, and it seems extreme perverts are also immune to illness. Or is being an 'extreme pervert' itself the illness...?
The reason my brother embarked on improving the wheelchair was 'to take my Ellie doll for walks around the territory.'
...Seriously, what am I supposed to do with this? Can I cry? It's okay, right?
It seems my brother puts that infamous doll of his in the wheelchair and moves around with it.
However, with this world's original wheelchairs, they apparently rattled and shook terribly, and the doll would almost slip off, which infuriated my brother.
「It's cruel to my Ellie doll! I must make something more comfortable to ride in!!」
...I really feel like crying.
My brother improved the comfort and support of the basic seat, changed the material from wood to alloy, installed suspension, and even added a folding function 'so that *he* could carry it around'!
Yes, it was all 'so that my brother could take walks with that creepy doll'!!
And the suspension—it's hydraulic, can you believe it? Not springs! What is with that abnormally high level of skill? And the craftsmen in our territory who fulfilled his request are seriously amazing.
Incidentally, the suspension is, of course, also being applied to carriages. This is almost a monopoly for our territory. The craftsmen are ecstatic.
Since it's a product with high public benefit, on my father's judgment, we decided to sell the manufacturing method.
However, because it was such a drastic evolution from previous wheelchairs, questions like "How did you ever come up with something like this?" were absolutely inevitable.
Thus, the "First 'Let's Think of a Reason Fitting for Wheelchair Improvement!' Grand Presentation Contest" was held at the Macnagan Ducal mansion in the royal capital.
The winner would receive a cash prize and, as a supplementary prize, a signed portrait of Lord Leon.
The source of the portrait is a secret.
In the end, the proposal from the baker—"I saw a wheelchair at a clinic I visited previously and thought perhaps something more could be done... which led to this result"—was adopted.
Given her position as the 'Next Queen,' it wouldn't be unnatural for her to contribute to the nation's health and welfare.
Lord Leon's portrait is displayed next to the baker's beloved bread oven.
Well, it's unlikely Lord Leon will ever enter our kitchen, so it should be fine.
I absolutely cannot tell him that the cooks hold their morning meetings in front of that portrait every day.
That's the backstory of how I ended up being thanked by wheelchair users.
...It hurts my heart... But I can't possibly tell them the real reason...
***
The simple bouquet of a few white clover flowers tied with a ribbon, given to me by the girl, makes me happy but also stings my heart terribly. That was the incident on that spring day—.
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