Two Women, One Doctor
Belle Fox returned the next morning before dawn, exactly as Jack had ordered.
But this time, she wasn't alone in the hallway.
A girl was already there, sweeping the floor with sharp, quick movements—like every second mattered.
Small, wiry, alert.
Eyes constantly scanning.
Hetty.
Jack's shadow.
His assistant.
His right hand.
Belle recognized her instantly from Jack's descriptions, but Hetty didn't look up.
Not until Belle spoke.
"Good morning."
Hetty froze mid-sweep.
Slowly, she turned.
"You're her."
Belle blinked.
"Her?"
"The noble girl who knows his secret."
Belle flushed slightly. "Yes."
Hetty narrowed her eyes.
"You better not betray him."
Belle didn't flinch.
"I won't."
"Everyone says that before they do."
Belle held her gaze. "I'm not everyone."
Hetty's eyes flicked over her again—her posture, her hands, the calluses from training with Jack, the medical notes sticking out of her coat pocket.
Then Hetty smirked.
"You're already different than when Jack described you."
"How?"
"You're standing like someone who expects to get blood on her."
Belle held back a gasp.
This girl…
saw everything.
Hetty Tests Her
Hetty stepped closer.
"What do you want with him?"
"Knowledge," Belle answered instantly.
"And the truth."
Hetty raised a brow.
"Not protection? Not status? Not marriage?"
Belle's face twisted in disgust.
"Absolutely not."
Now Hetty looked genuinely surprised.
"Most nobles don't say that," she muttered.
"I'm not most nobles."
Hetty stared at her for a long moment, then nodded once.
"Good. Then I don't have to hate you."
Belle blinked.
"That fast?"
Hetty shrugged.
"I trust Jack's judgment. And if he says you're useful, then you are. But—"
The air shifted.
Hetty's expression hardened, voice dropping to a warning whisper.
"If you ever hurt him…
I'll make sure no one finds where I bury you."
Belle swallowed hard.
But she didn't back down.
"That won't be necessary."
Hetty smirked again.
"We'll see."
Jack Arrives
Jack stepped into the hall, tying his coat sleeves up.
"Good. You're both early."
Hetty instantly brightened.
Belle straightened on instinct.
Jack glanced between them.
"You two met?"
Hetty nodded.
"She's fine."
Belle blinked.
"That's it?"
"With Hetty," Jack said, "that's practically a marriage proposal."
Hetty elbowed him hard in the side.
Jack didn't even budge.
Belle laughed despite herself.
And in that moment, something subtle clicked:
Hetty wasn't jealous.
Belle wasn't competing.
They were simply…
Two people who cared about the same impossible man.
The System Activates
As Jack turned away, preparing the day's tasks—
A screen flashed in his vision.
[SYSTEM MISSION UNLOCKED!]
Main Quest: Episode 2 Progression – "The Blessings of St. Coccyx"
You have successfully entered the canonical event timeline.
Your actions have already altered several key variables:
Belle Fox is now your student.
Hetty is fully aligned with you.
The hospital's competence level has drastically destabilized.
Future events for Staff Sergeant Darius may deviate from canon.
New Mission Objectives:
1. Maintain Canon Minimum Requirements
You must ensure the following canon events still occur:
Sneed's misdiagnosis
The failed treatment attempt
The ward chaos
The schism between the surgical staff
Failure to preserve these core events will trigger Timeline Collapse.
2. Expand Your Influence
Optional goals (high reward):
Gain full control over the surgical ward
Recruit Belle as an official assistant
Secure Hetty as a permanent clinic manager
Undermine the authority of the chief surgeon
3. Bonus Objective:
Prevent unnecessary patient deaths.
This is not required by canon—but success yields massive rewards.
[REWARD for Mission Completion: ???]
Rewards depend on how efficiently and creatively you manipulate events.
Jack's Reaction
Jack closed the System window with one thought:
"This is going to be fun."
He turned to Belle and Hetty.
"Come on," he said, heading toward the ward.
"Canon chaos waits for no one."
Hetty smiled.
Belle braced herself.
And Jack Dawkins walked ahead—
a surgeon, a player in the timeline,
and the only one who knew exactly
how bloody Episode 2 was about to become.
Sneed Falls, Belle Rises
The ward was already loud when Jack entered, Hetty at his side and Belle just behind her.
Nurses rushed past carrying soiled sheets, patients groaned, instruments clattered.
Chaos.
Canon chaos.
But Jack walked through it like a wolf through fog.
Then he heard the voice that always made the hospital worse.
Dr. Rainsford Sneed.
"Move, you useless creatures! Fetch me a basin! No, not that one—the large one! And where is the boy's guardian?!"
Jack stepped into the room.
Sneed froze mid-rant.
Belle saw his jaw clench immediately—Sneed clearly hadn't forgotten yesterday's amputation contest where Jack beat him in 22 seconds flat.
"Oh," Sneed said tightly. "Dawkins. Come to watch a real surgeon at work?"
Jack glanced at the trembling patient—a boy with a dangerously swollen abdomen—and then at the instruments.
Everything was wrong.
"Are you treating him for abdominal worms?" Jack asked casually.
Sneed puffed up like a peacock.
"Of course I am. Classic colic. Every surgeon knows—"
Jack cut him off.
"He has a ruptured appendix."
The room went still.
Sneed sputtered, "Y–You presumptuous whelp! I've been practicing medicine since before you were born!"
"Then you should know more," Jack replied.
Murmurs spread across the nurses and orderlies.
Belle watched silently, studying Jack's posture—calm, confident, untouchable.
Sneed turned red.
"You think you can just walk in here and correct me? You think you're better than me?!"
Jack stepped closer.
"I know I am."
Gasps.
Even Hetty raised an eyebrow.
Sneed shook with fury.
"Well then, Mister Dawkins—if you are so certain—prove it. Perform the operation yourself. Let us see if your mouth can keep up with your hands."
Jack shrugged.
"Fine."
Sneed blinked.
"…What?"
"I said fine. Move."
Sneed stepped aside instinctively.
Jack didn't wait; he rolled his sleeves up.
"Belle."
She straightened instantly.
"Yes?"
"You're assisting."
Her heart thundered.
This was her first real procedure beside him.
Hetty shoved a tray toward her.
"Don't shake. If you drop anything, Sneed will attack like a rat."
Belle nodded, steadying her breath.
Jack stood over the boy.
"Everyone else," he said, "watch and learn something."
The Surgery Begins
Jack's hands moved fast—too fast—yet impossibly precise.
Belle had never seen anything like it.
He wasn't using normal hospital technique.
This was the same secret style he showed her in training:
Sun Breathing: Internal Illumination Technique.
His lungs expanded sharply.
His eyes sharpened.
Transparent World activated.
Belle didn't know the name, but she noticed the change instantly—the light in his eyes shifting as if he could see through flesh itself.
"Scalpel," Jack said.
Belle placed it in his hand without hesitation.
Cut.
Clean.
Straight.
Perfect.
Gasps echoed around the room.
Sneed leaned forward, unbelieving.
"What—what technique is that?!"
Jack ignored him.
"Retractor."
Belle moved quickly, her hands guided by instinct and the lessons Jack had drilled into her over the past week.
"If you feel dizzy," he said softly without looking up, "don't let go. Just breathe."
"I'm fine," Belle whispered, though sweat formed at her brow.
Jack reached the ruptured appendix in record time.
"There it is," he said.
"Just as I said."
Sneed's face whitened.
Jack removed the appendix, tied off the bleeding, irrigated the area—movements so controlled that even Belle felt herself growing steadier just by watching him.
Then he sealed the incision with sutures that were smoother and cleaner than anything taught in London hospitals.
He stepped back.
"Done."
Gasps again.
Whispers filled the ward.
"That was impossible—"
"He moved like he already knew the inside—"
"He cut faster than Sneed—"
"Better than Sneed—!"
"Better than anyone—!"
Jack turned to Belle.
"You handled yourself well. No hesitation."
Belle's eyes widened slightly.
"…Thank you."
And then—unexpectedly—Hetty clapped her on the back.
"Not bad, noble girl. You didn't faint."
Belle smiled faintly.
She felt… proud.
Actually proud.
Sneed's Collapse
Sneed snapped out of his shock and stormed toward them.
"You—You can't just—! That technique—! That skill—! That speed—! It—it isn't natural!"
Jack leaned in.
"It's called competence, Sneed. You should try it."
Nurses stifled laughs.
Sneed trembled with humiliation.
His pride—shredded.
His authority—dissolving.
The worst part?
Everyone had seen it.
Everyone.
Belle watched Jack walk away, cool and confident, as whispers of "the new doctor" rippled through the hospital.
The System Reacts
A window flashed in Jack's eyes again:
[SYSTEM UPDATE]
You have humiliated Dr. Sneed publicly.
Influence +20
Reputation (Hospital Staff): Improved
Reputation (Nobility): Unchanged
Reputation (Criminal Underground): Rising
Belle Fox: Trust +35
She is beginning to admire your skill.
Hetty Baggett: Loyalty +10
She approves of your dominance over Sneed.
Jack closed the notification and walked to the ward doors.
Behind him, Belle whispered to herself:
"One week.
And he made me better than the entire surgical staff."
And she swore to become even better.