As the sister of the hospital director, Midori enjoyed preferential treatment the moment she arrived at the hospital.
Full in his element, Minato ordered a nurse to fetch a wheelchair and made Midori sit on it.
When Minato wanted to take Midori himself to the inspection room, the nurse in charge swiftly took the wheelchair handles from his hand.
"Men are not allowed in the female examination room," the nurse said with a stern voice. "You know that, Takigawa-Sensei."
Minato raked into his hair and sighed in exasperation.
"You are right. Sorry, Mishima-san, please proceed."
"Wait, so are we not allowed to accompany Midori?" Satoru protested when Nurse Mishima took Midori away.
"No, we are not. We are currently family members of the patient. We need to adhere to the hospital rules."
Nurse Mishima helped to take off the outer layers of Midori's kimono before she ordered the latter to lie down on the examination table.
As Midori did as she was told, her eyes scanned the sparse medical instruments scattered across the room. The simplicity of the hospital in the Meiji Era stood in stark contrast to the well-equipped hospital in modern Japan.
It was still a lot better than the small clinic in Tsukigata Town, where Narita-Sensei used a traditional bamboo instrument to confirm her pregnancy.
The door to the examination room swung open and revealed an attractive female doctor with blond hair, a tall nose bridge, and high cheekbones. She was clearly of European descent. Fairly young, probably around Minato's age. And yet already a practicing doctor.
She had a shiny stethoscope around her neck. It must have been imported from overseas.
"Takigawa-san," she greeted Midori with perfect Japanese that was imbued with a heavy foreign accent. "My name is Susan Stafford. I will be performing an examination on you today. I understood that you fell."
"Yes," Midori answered. She couldn't help but stare at her doctor. The woman looked even more gorgeous close-up.
Dr. Stafford sported a pair of greenish-blue eyes. She had two curly strands of blond hair that hung at both sides of her oval face, adding a youthful touch to her charming appearance.
Her remaining hair was pulled together into a glorious ponytail at the back of her head, adding a touch of elegance to her youthful features.
"Let us take a look, hm? Excuse me..."
With practiced movements, Dr. Stafford gently peeled away Midori's last layer of kimono. Her hands skimmed across Midori's contour, seeking any signs of discomfort or irregularity.
"Do you feel uncomfortable?" She asked.
"Not at all."
Next, she reached for the stethoscope around her neck and placed the cool metal disk against Midori's abdomen.
After listening to the baby's heartbeat for some time, she took off the stethoscope from her ears and smiled at Midori.
"Takigawa-san, you are very thin, thus the pregnancy has yet to show," she declared. "It is around twelve weeks now. The fetus is very healthy. Have you experienced any pregnancy symptoms during these past few weeks?"
Midori shook her head. She had never been pregnant before, but she knew about several pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness and craving, none of which manifested itself during her pregnancy.
Dr. Stafford smiled at her.
"Symptoms often help to remind expecting mothers to be mindful of their daily activities. You are lucky that nothing happens this time around, Midori-san. Please pay more attention in the future."
"I will, Stafford-Sensei."
Naturally, the baby was fine. Otherwise, S-9898 would sentence her with the merciless -10000 Life Points penalty without further ado and her life would end on the spot.
Midori was allowed to leave the examination room without a wheelchair. She slowly moved past the busy hospital corridors to find her brothers in the waiting room.
They all leaped to their feet as soon as they caught a glimpse of Midori's figure.
"Midori-chan, how is it???" Satoru asked on behalf of all four brothers.
Midori beamed at them.
"The baby is fine. I am sorry for worrying all of you."
Relieved sighs made their rounds among the brothers.
"Thank God," Shuugo said, pressing a hand against his chest while mumbling incoherent words to the God above.
"I insist on keeping Midori-san around for observation," Minato said, and everyone agreed with him.
Before long, Midori was ushered into a private ward on the highest floor of the hospital. These wards were reserved for those fortunate enough to bear the burden of affluence.
About four times the size of a normal patient ward for two, the room exuded an aura of tranquility, its simple yet elegant furnishings radiating a sense of warmth and homeliness. A soft bed, its plush sheets inviting restful slumber, occupied the center of the room, while bedside tables and a comfortable armchair stood as silent companions.
Midori was deposited on the bed, and the brothers sat on the surrounding chairs.
"I am going to make Fumiko-san regret what she has done and apologize to you, Midori-chan," Shuugo told his younger sister with burning determination.
"Onii-san, I don't think that this is something that an apology can solve," Minato pointed out. "Fumiko-san was cruel enough to deliberately push Midori-chan. She is lucky that Midori-chan did not sustain any damage. What if she had?"
Shuugo wrinkled his forehead in distress.
"Minato-san, what you want is..."
"Dissolve the match arrangement already, Onii-san." Minato said with a sigh. "I am going to talk to Grandpa personally when I go back home next time. I don't want to marry someone who is capable of doing such ruthless actions."
Shuugo took a deep breath to steady his nerves. He had hoped to settle everything amicably, but there was a limit to everything. Fumiko had unfortunately crossed this limit, and there was nothing Shuugo could do to save this match arrangement.
Minato's argument was flawless in every aspect, and he had the right to terminate the match arrangement.
"Honestly, I never liked Fumiko-san," Satoru said. "She always bullies the maids, particularly Mai-chan. Shuugo-niichan, you know, right? Mai-chan cries almost every day because of her."
Shuugo cut a grimace in response.
"I do. I talked to Fumiko-san about this issue previously, and she kept insisting that Mai-san kept incurring her wrath by doing her tasks sloppily..."
Before long, three knocks resounded at the door.