Chapter 617: I’ll Give You a Building, Just Save That Child!
At the bedside, Garrett Nordmark's expression grew increasingly solemn. Silently enduring, he closed his eyes and moved his fingertips, delicately probing around the abdomen:
A five-month-old fetus should be about 20 to 25 centimeters long, with a crown-rump length of 16 centimeters, weighing around 320 grams. However, from left to right, relying on his extensive experience conducting ultrasound examinations, Garrett felt this child was somewhat undersized.
Moreover, part of the uterus was occupied by the amniotic sac and waters, and a significant portion of the placenta showed a patchy, dense echogenic appearance. It looked like falling snowflakes upon the image...
...A molar pregnancy.
More specifically, a partial molar pregnancy.
In the case of a complete molar pregnancy, there would be no gestational sac in the uterus, nor any fetal heartbeat. Then, the seasoned healers who had visited before would have sensed it directly, proclaiming, “There is no sign of life”;
However, in a partial molar pregnancy, the fetus still existed. Moreover, it was still alive...
Garrett hung his head in sorrow. Turning around, he faced away from the pregnant woman and looked towards Count Agel:
"Shall we step outside to discuss?"
With just this simple phrase, he clearly saw a dark cloud deepen in the eyes of Count Agel.
Without asking any questions, the count bent over the bed. Garrett heard a faint rustling sound, seemingly the father drawing a blanket over his daughter and gently stroking her hair:
"It's okay, my dear. Daddy will step out and have a word with the priest, you rest well... don't worry, everything will be alright..."
After several reassurances, he stepped out with Garrett, striding through the adjoining room to the opposite window, ensuring that no one behind the curtains could overhear, then turned to face Garrett and said gravely:
"What's the situation?"
"The situation is quite bad," Garrett pondered, organizing his thoughts and carefully explaining in terms they would understand:
"As you've seen, there are tiny bubbles in the blood Lady Caroline expelled. Actually, inside her uterus, I've seen many such bubbles, occupying a large volume."
He cast [Silent Phantom], sketching the scenario inside the uterus, pointing at the image suspended in the air as he tried to explain:
"Normally, in pregnancy, the fetus is enveloped by the amniotic cavity, filled with amniotic fluid. The amniotic fluid is surrounded by the uterine wall. But now, within the uterine wall—"
He hooked his finger once, then again. With the movement of his fingertip, [Silent Phantom] silently transformed, the amniotic cavity shrank, and numerous bubble-like entities appeared between it and the uterine wall:
"These entities are compressing the space of the amniotic cavity, drawing nutrients away from the pregnant woman, hindering the fetus's development. In fact, fetuses with such symptoms are almost impossible to carry to term."
Count Agel listened without a word. After Garrett indicated he had finished explaining, the count remained silent, merely staring at the phantom image in the air, his hands clenching and unclenching.
Within a step's distance, Garrett heard the count's knuckles crack slightly, a faint storm brewing between them.
Hey, a consultation should be just that, not a time for brawls. Garrett instinctively stepped back, reaching into his breast pocket and gripping the [Endless Ink Pen]:
Now a middle-ranked mage, he could activate the [Force Field Barrier] on his own. Still, whether the barrier could withstand a strike from a level 15 knight was something Garrett wasn't sure about. Perhaps, he should prepare the teleportation spell?
Fortunately, Count Agel had no intention of throwing a punch. After restraining his emotions for a moment, he sighed deeply and politely nodded at Garrett:
"Magus Nordmark, thank you for your diagnosis. But you know, Caroline is my daughter, and this is a matter of great importance—could you please discuss these findings with the other healers? I would like to hear their opinions too."
Garrett agreed without hesitation. A consultation, after all, is about hearing what the trusted physicians have to say, which is completely normal. As long as you don't resort to violence, anything goes.
The healers gathered to listen to his explanation. After his account, Priest Gavin, rubbing the bark of his oak staff, was the first to nod:
"That makes sense. I did feel that the fetus was exceptionally weak and was wondering how to sustain it..."
The God of War's priest remained silent, as did the priest from the Spring Goddess's temple. Meanwhile, a mage who had
fallen off the sofa to get a better look at the [Arcane Eye] projection raised another question:
"How can you be sure of the situation inside the uterus? Is it because of that spell of yours? Can you teach it to me? I can buy the spell model, or trade it for another spell!"
Garrett thought it over:
"How about this? Count, if you can bring in a few pregnant women who are about the same months along, I can create the images and then explain to everyone by comparison?"
That could work. At Count Agel's command, servants scattered, frantically searching the household and surrounding areas. In less than an hour, they had gathered three pregnant women and presented them neatly before Garrett.
The mage provided the energy, and Garrett conducted the ultrasound, causing the golden box to spit out chips. Then, he simultaneously activated several chips, aligning the images to the same angle:
"Look, this is how the uterus of a normal pregnant woman appears on the scan. And this is how Lady Caroline's uterus appears..."
Ah, still so difficult. I miss 4D ultrasounds and computer systems that can reconstruct images directly...
But for the casters, even for Count Agel himself, this difference was enough to clarify the issue. The count stared intently for a long while, then forcefully closed his eyes and turned to Garrett:
"Then, these bubbles—can they be removed by divine magic—or some other method? If they are all removed, can the fetus develop properly?"
This approach sounded feasible. The healers perked up, huddling together, writing and sketching as they whispered among themselves. However, Garrett slowly shook his head:
"I'm sorry... I believe this fetus, we can't save it."
With each word, he watched as the hope in the count's eyes dimmed a bit more, and the pain intensified. Partial molar pregnancies often accompany developmental delays or multiple deformities, with full-term births being extremely rare.
Moreover, even if the fetus were to survive by a fluke, its chromosomal type would be triploid 90% of the time.
Triploidy means difficulty in undergoing meiosis to form gametes, often resulting in sterility. It means that Lady Caroline's husband's lineage would end with this generation, and likely the next as well.
Although he couldn't explain to the count, or to everyone in this world, what chromosomes are, or what triploidy means, forcing this fetus to continue would bring no benefit.
"This child, if it remains inside the mother, will only increase the damage to her. My advice is to terminate the pregnancy immediately, remove the infant, and perform a complete uterine evacuation."
"But Caroline has only this one child!" Count Agel interrupted excitedly:
"Her husband is already deceased, and she and her husband will never have another child!—In that case, your clinic wants to build another ward, right? I'll give you a building, please, help her save that child!"