The family dining room in the west annex of the palace had a markedly different atmosphere from the conference room.
The ceiling was low and cozy, and the arabesque patterns on the walls cast soft shadows beneath the gentle lighting.
On the long dining table, a colorful array of traditional Middle Eastern dishes steamed atop silver platters.
King Zayed sat at the head of the table and slowly picked up a grape. He wore a comfortable kandura, but his presence alone overwhelmed the entire table. Beside him sat the queen; Faisal and the other princes and princesses were seated to the right, while Mansur, his wife, and their children sat to the left.
Amira was seated close beside Taeho.
The king opened his mouth.
“Sihri (my son-in-law). Have you heard the news? Fortunately, thanks to Faisal, the royal family has been able to avoid unnecessary diplomatic friction.”
“Yes, I’ve been told.”
Taeho turned his head toward Faisal and bowed slightly.
“Thank you, Prince Faisal.”
“It is nothing compared to Zawj Ukhti saving my life and the lives of my brothers.”
Faisal answered with a smile.
The king stroked his beard and then spoke to Taeho.
“Now we must discuss the next matter. Your future with Amira.”
The queen took a sip of tea and looked at her husband, while Mansur watched Taeho with his arms crossed.
“You saved my daughter’s life. You saved my sons, and you saved the entire royal family from a threat. To be frank, there is no one as important to our family as you. That is why I want you to remain here.”
“Father.”
Amira interjected as if she had something to say, but the king stopped her with a gesture.
“Hear me out, Amira.”
The king paused for a moment and looked at Taeho.
“If a doctor like you were here, not only our royal family but this entire nation would benefit. I will give you the position of chief medical adviser to the royal family. You will have unlimited access to the latest medical facilities and laboratories, and you may bring in any research team you desire.”
As if he had been waiting, Mansur quickly added,
“We will guarantee ten times your current income. You can keep your hospital in Korea as it is. Wouldn’t it be enough to appoint a deputy director to run it?”
Taeho had expected the king’s words. Setting down his knife, he spoke carefully.
“Your Majesty. I am deeply grateful for your gracious offer. But I must return to Korea.”
The table fell silent. Mansur’s eyebrows rose, and the queen froze with her teacup in hand.
Taeho continued calmly but firmly.
“There are patients waiting there whom I must treat personally. People who came to me because they trust me, people other hospitals gave up on, who come to that place as their last hope.”
“There are patients like that here as well.”
Mansur cut in.
“Is our royal medical system not excellent? There is far more you could accomplish here.”
“What I am doing there is more than simply seeing patients. I already have plans, and I intend to grow that place according to those plans. Also, I do not wish to become the royal family’s exclusive doctor. That does not align with the reason I became a doctor.”
“......Then how about spending even half the year here?”
The king tried again, but Taeho shook his head.
“If I do that, I will eventually end up pushing my patients aside to fit the royal family’s schedule. Even in an emergency, I would have to receive the royal family’s permission, and my medical decisions would be restricted.”
Amira, who had been listening, spoke in support of Taeho.
“Father, please do not confine Taeho here.”
King Zayed’s gaze turned to his daughter. Surprise and hurt were mixed in his eyes.
“Amira, I am not trying to confine him.”
“But the result will be the same. If Your Majesty binds him to the royal family, you will turn him into someone other than himself.”
The queen, watching her husband’s expression, said,
“Your Majesty once told me that you longed for freedom when you were young. Before you inherited the throne, you wished to travel the world and find your own path. Was it not because the late king granted you that freedom that you became the wise king you are now?”
Zayed looked at his wife. His gaze gradually softened.
“You are right. But after the Latifa incident, I have found myself unable to trust anyone. If our sihri were by my side, I feel he would be more reassuring than anyone.”
Taeho sensed the anxiety contained in the king’s voice.
“Your Majesty. I must return to Korea. But that does not mean I will sever my ties with the royal family.”
“What do you mean?”
“I want to grow my hospital. Not simply by increasing the number of patients, but by developing new treatments. And in that process, I would like to cooperate with the royal family. Please do not bind me to the royal family. Instead, invest in my vision.”
The five billion dollars in investment promised as a wedding gift for his marriage to Princess Amira.
Taeho already had a plan in mind.
“And if you are worried about this Latifa incident, I have thought of a solution.” “Oh? What is it?” “I will administer customized vaccines to every member of the royal family.”
“Customized vaccines? Is such a thing possible?”
“I don’t know about anyone else, but it is possible for me.”
Taeho smiled confidently.
King Zayed nodded.
“Good. The royal family and Geumsan Samcheok Hospital will jointly establish a medical cooperation foundation, and you will work freely.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Taeho bowed his head.
Faisal, who had been listening nearby, asked,
“Then what should we name the foundation?”
Taeho thought for a moment, then spoke.
“How about the Amira Medical Foundation?”
“Oh!”
“Indeed!”
“That is a good name!”
King Zayed’s smile deepened in satisfaction. The other family members also expressed admiration, and Amira pressed her lips together, holding back a laugh.
Glasses filled with pomegranate juice were placed upon the table where candlelight burned softly.
King Zayed looked at Taeho.
“Sihri (son-in-law).”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You may dispense with formality from now on.”
“Yes. Father.”
“I hear both your parents have passed away?”
“Yes. I lost both my parents when I was young.”
“And after that?”
“I grew up in an orphanage.”
“......You must have been lonely. Faisal and Amira also lost their mother when they were young.”
Faisal’s eyes trembled as he listened.
“The queen, their stepmother, took good care of them both, but they must have been very lonely. Because of their status, they could not speak of those feelings to anyone.”
That was the reason Faisal and Amira were especially close, even among their many siblings. Moreover, after Faisal suffered a serious illness when he was young, he withdrew even more, and Amira would become tense, trying to protect her older brother.
King Zayed cherished and loved Amira so dearly because he understood that heart.
The king’s eyes curved gently as he nodded.
“You will become a good husband. Please make my daughter Amira happy.”
“Of course. I will always do my best.”
Taeho took Amira’s hand beneath the table. Amira looked at Taeho and held his hand tightly.
The king smiled.
“From today onward, you are not alone. You are a member of the Nahyan clan. If you ever need us, return here at any time. This place is now your home as well. We will always welcome you with open arms, and within our fence, we will give you rest and food. Also, your enemies will become our enemies. We will protect you from them whenever needed.”
Taeho suddenly felt warmth spreading through his chest.
He remembered the time when he had lost his parents and been left utterly alone in this world. That frightened, helpless feeling had pierced deep into his heart.
Now, a large and dependable fence had come into being around him. And he, too, would become a fence, building a new family together with his wife.
“Thank you. Father.”
“I am the one who is grateful. And I thank Allah for sending the man who will make my daughter happy.”
When King Zayed drank his pomegranate juice, the others followed.
Amira looked at Taeho and smiled brightly.
***
Two days later, in the palace medical wing.
Taeho stood before Faisal in a white coat.
Faisal sat in a chair with his sleeve rolled up.
“Silf (older brother), it won’t hurt.”
“He’s teasing you. Brother Faisal has been used to injections since he was little.”
Amira laughed beside him. She had already completed her vaccination two days earlier.
“Well, even if it hurts, I am confident I can endure it. Zawj Ukhti.”
Bio Vision activated automatically and analyzed Faisal’s biological data.
Heart rate, 78 beats per minute. Blood pressure, 122 over 80. Cortisol level slightly elevated.
It was a normal stress response.
“Please relax, Silf. It will be over quickly.”
Taeho disinfected the area over Faisal’s deltoid with an alcohol swab, then picked up the syringe he had prepared in advance. The transparent liquid containing 0.5 ml of the Revival-β vaccine gleamed under the fluorescent light.
“Take a deep breath in, and exhale slowly.”
Faisal followed his instructions. Taeho seized that moment and swiftly inserted the needle.
The instant the 25-gauge needle pierced the skin and entered the muscle layer, Faisal’s eyebrows twitched slightly, but he made no sound.
“Injecting now.”
Taeho pressed the plunger slowly and at a steady pace. About five seconds passed. Once all the vaccine had been injected, Taeho withdrew the needle and immediately pressed the bleeding point with an alcohol swab.
“It’s done.”
“Already?”
Faisal looked at his own arm with surprise.
“That hurt less than being bitten by a mosquito.”
“I suppose I’m skilled.”
Taeho smiled as he applied a bandage.
“Do not rub the injection site for twenty-four hours, and avoid strenuous exercise. You may have a slight fever or muscle aches, but that is a normal immune response. If the symptoms are severe, please tell me immediately.”
“Understood.”
Faisal rose from his seat and lightly patted Taeho’s shoulder.
“Thank you, brother-in-law. Since you even made a vaccine and administered it for us, I should repay you. If there is ever anything I can help you with, tell me at any time. If you need the royal family’s intelligence network, I will gladly provide it.”
Faisal’s gaze, which had begun playfully, turned serious.
Taeho took Faisal’s hand.
“Thank you, older brother. Your words alone are a great source of strength.”
After Faisal left, the next in line was Prince Mansur, the king’s younger brother. Unlike Prince Faisal, he entered with a stiff expression.
“Please sit.”
Mansur silently sat in the chair and held out his arm.
Taeho repeated the same procedure.
Disinfection, injection, administration.
“Taeho.”
Mansur suddenly opened his mouth. It was just as the injection ended and Taeho was applying the bandage.
“Are you feeling any discomfort?”
“That is not it......”
Mansur looked into Taeho’s eyes and asked,
“Do you, by any chance, know what Prometheus is?”