In the hospital. Imperial Guards tasked to protect the prince lined the hospital corridor.

“Clear the hall!”

“Make way!”

Alexander breathed shallowly as he regained consciousness, feeling his gurney moving as Rolan and doctors were reeling him in along the corridor of the hospital.

His vision was still fuzzy and could make out an inaudible voice speaking around him as they wheeled him into the hospital’s emergency room.

He knew that he should try his best not to fall unconscious again but Alexander had lost too much blood from his wound and was already losing strength from being on so little sleep in the last couple of days for his mind to be coherent at this point.

Yet despite all of this, Alexander perseveres, fighting for his second life.

“I’ve got a gunshot wound between the left axilla and clavicle. The patient is alert and oriented. I got a blood pressure of 136 over 92 and a heart rate of 115,” The doctor, who was the first one to see the prince at the entrance, reported.

Alexander blinked and opened his eyes only to shut them once again, finding the light too painful. He could hear someone muttering something, but it took longer than usual to register it as words.

“Okay let’s move him carefully,” another doctor commanded, moving Alexander to another bed with more gentleness.

Alexander’s eyelids began to feel heavier by the second, his body growing numb. He felt himself drifting off into a heavy slumber again but he remained open.

“Okay we’re gonna need a type and cross five units and two large-bore I.V.s wide-open,” a doctor ordered the nurses on standby.

“Yes, sir.”

“Your Majesty, we’re gonna roll you over for a moment to check the gunshot wound if that’s okay.”-.

Alexander nodded weakly, it’s not like he can do anything else in his current state. They lifted him and rolled him to the side.

The doctor began studying the bullet wound.

“Hmm…it could be a 30 caliber, probably 7.62, and it looks like it just missed the scapula, Okay, let’s get him down.”

The nurse lowered Alexander’s back while the doctor continued examining him.

“Okay let’s take some X-rays,” the doctor said.

“I’m going to go and prepare it now,” a nurse dashed out of the room.

“Your Majesty, we’re gonna take some X-rays to rule out lung and vascular damage, but it looks like the bullet went straight through. But first, we’re going to have to clean and irrigate the wound. So bear with us.”

“X-ray?” Alexander muttered weakly under his breath. Do they already have x-rays in this era? There could be but not as modern as the one in his past life.

Still, Alexander felt lucky that he was reincarnated in the world where medicine and tools of this caliber already existed, or else, he’ll have a low chance of surviving.…

One hour later, the news of the Imperial Prince of the Ruthenia Empire’s condition was transmitted across the country.

In the Winter Palace, Alexander’s sisters were pacing the room anxiously. They were heartbroken over their brother’s state.

“Is my brother okay?! Can we go to the hospital?” Christina cried out in her anxiety.

“I’m sorry your highness,” the Imperial Guard stationed in the Winter Palace replied. “Our orders are to keep you here in the palace for your safety,”

“But our brother, he’s dying! You have to let us come to see him!” Anastasia begged.

“Your Highness, calm down. Your brother is okay and the doctors are doing their best to keep His Majesty that way,” the imperial guard assured.

“Please! We have to see him!” Christina pleaded desperately.

“Calm down, sister!” Tiffania grabbed her by the shoulder affectionately. “We’re all worried about brother so please don’t worry too much and stay calm,”

“Yes… I’m fine…I just can’t wait to see Alexander…” Christina sighed, trying to compose herself before bursting into tears again. “It’s just that he was just here before, he had breakfast with all of us…and then…and then…” Christina voiced break as she remembered a sad memory where Alexander was in a coma after the assassination of their mother and father.

“What happened?” A golden-haired girl approached the sisters with a worried look.

“Sophie…” Christina paced over to her brother’s fiancé and embraced her tightly. “Dear brother was shot…”

Sophie’s face turned pale as she gasped and held the weeping Christina in her arms tightly.

“No way…” Sophie uttered softly as a tear escaped her eye. “…I can’t believe this…I need to see him!” Sophie exclaimed.

As Sophie was about to dart away, Christina hugged her tighter, preventing her from running away.

“What are you doing Christina? Let me go…”

“I understand what you feel, Sophie….We all want to check up on him but we can’t leave…We are ordered to remain inside the palace for safety reasons…” Christina reasoned.

…

Back in the hospital.

Lying in the hospital bed, Alexander winced and breathed out weakly as he gazed upon a man donned in a black suit.

It was his prime minister, Sergei.

“Your Majesty, I came here as soon as I heard the news.”

“Do we know who did this?” Alexander dismissed his worry and started getting onto business.

“We don’t know yet sir but we are looking at the shooter as we speak. We’ve already put St. Petersburg on lockdown and the police have been notified to barricade the roads, bridges, and railways out of the capital. We’ll find him but that’ll be like finding a needle in the haystack.”

Alexander sighed. “Is that so? Then I would like you to catch him as soon as possible. If you get a chance to arrest the shooter, arrest him. He could be an invaluable source of information about who plotted this mess.”

“Yes sir, I’ll coordinate with the Minister of Internal Affairs to help me bring the person behind this to justice,” Sergei promised.

“That’s good to hear,” Alexander chuckled softly. “We need to make a statement. Let the country know that I’m fine, and I’ll be back in the Winter Palace as soon as the doctors clear me,”“Definitely, Your Majesty,” Sergei smiled.

“Okay…make me proud,”

“Rest well sir and leave it to us,” Sergei said as he bowed respectfully.

As he headed out of the room, Alex watched him leave in the distance.

Moments later, a tall blonde-haired man entered his room, bowing his head.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty for the lack of security measures…”

“It’s okay…Rolan,” Alexander raised his hand, signaling Rolan to raise his head. “You did everything you possibly could. In fact, I should be the one to blame here. I should’ve followed your order and entered the car.”

“Sir…” Rolan was stunned for a moment and then regained himself. “No sir! The responsibility still falls on me since I’m the head of security…if you want to punish me, sir…I would accept it without hesitation,” he lowered his head again.

Alexander shook his head. “No, I will not punish you. Anyway, since you came here, what’s the situation in the Winter Palace?”

Rolan raised his head and reported. “They are safe, Your Majesty. We’ve tightened up the security around the Winter Palace and this hospital. They are eager to see you, sir.”action

Alexander nodded slowly. “Of course, they would be. I could even imagine inside my head that they are crying over me,” he laughed, reminiscing the days when his two sisters, Christina and Tiffania were asking him to save Anastasia.

“It’s good to see that your sense of humor is still intact, Your Majesty,” Rolan said, chuckling.

“For now our top priority is finding the man who shot me,”

“The city has been flooded with police, we’ll find him in no time.”

Alexander stared up at the ceiling. “This incident could also be the wake-up call for me. The country is not in the perfect state where I can implement most of my plan for getting Ruthenia back on its feet. So when I get back to the Winter Palace, I’ll address this matter swiftly,” he promised to himself.

As they conversed with one another, a man in a white coat entered the room.

“Your Majesty, may I have a moment of your time?” The doctor asked.

“Sure,” Alexander smiled, granting him permission.

“I’ll be outside when you need me, Your Majesty,” Rolan said and stepped out the room and into the hallway, joining the other Imperial Guards.

Alexander’s eyes flicked to the doctor. “So, what do you have for me?”

“Your Majesty, I’m here to talk to you about your latest X-ray scans, sir.”

“What? Is there a problem?”

The doctor lowered his head somberly. “Yes, it shows in the scan that several bullet fragments lodged in your chest. If one were to dislodge, it could sever your aorta and prove fatal.”

“Shit…” Alexander cursed inwardly. He may not be a doctor but he can tell the complexity of his situation.

“Your Majesty, we need to operate as soon as possible,” The doctor urged, sensing the prince’s despair.

Alexander closed his eyes, letting his thoughts run wild for a while. His eyes opened once more as a determined expression appeared.

He looked straight into the doctor’s eyes. “Are you confident, doctor, that you can save me?” he spoke.

The doctor smiled, nodding. “There’s no doubt about that, Your Highness. However, the surgical procedure won’t be easy,”

“I understand that, doctor. if that’s the case, then let’s have the surgery,”

“We’ll start prepping the operating room, Your Majesty,”

As the doctor exited his room, Alexander shut his eyes closed, hoping that he would be okay.