Sharti hesitated, wondering if she might just cause unnecessary confusion, but decided to be honest.
She should consider the patient’s wellbeing, but keeping secrets wasn’t right.
<I found something else.>
“What is it?”
Sharti went into the herb room and came out with a notebook.
It was a worn-out notebook, grubby from her frequent handling.
<I didn’t notice at first, but during treatment, I discovered Ren was poisoned.>
“Poison?”
Ren asked in surprise.
Sharti nervously chewed her lip.
‘Will he think my skills are lacking because I didn’t detect the poisoning immediately?’
While checking his reaction, Sharti continued writing.
<Looking at how deeply it had penetrated the wound, it seems it was applied to the weapons that attacked you. As for the antidote…>
<Actually, it was a poison I’d never seen before. Fortunately, combining some antidotes I had previously made yielded good results.>
It was a powerful poison.
It was certainly made by a skilled person, as the poisoning couldn’t be detected from outward appearance alone.
‘You were lucky.’
Not only because she had been researching herbal combinations and could use the appropriate antidote, but also because without Ren’s robust body and remarkable recovery speed, it would have been dangerous.
“Indeed. If I had injured my head and been poisoned, weakening both body and mind, my brain could have malfunctioned.”
Ren nodded, agreeing that Sharti’s hypothesis made sense.
Then he grimaced before smirking.
“If a skilled doctor hadn’t treated me in time, it wouldn’t just be my head—my entire mind would have broken down.”
Ren’s tone was caustic.
Withdrawing his hand, Ren slowly rubbed his face with his back to Sharti.
His teal eyes flashed quietly between his fingers.
He had been finding his amnesia oddly severe for an accident-induced aftereffect.
And now he had just learned the reason why.
“Someone who stabs me all over with knives and even applies poison to kill me…”
More precisely, it meant there was an enemy who persistently tried to end his life without choosing a method that would kill him outright.
Ren muttered quietly and gritted his teeth.
Who could it be, why did they have to do it, what had happened—his head was burning with questions.
Just as his breathing was becoming ragged from the resurgent headache,
Tap, tap—. Concerned about Ren’s suddenly changed expression, Sharti patted his back.
‘Your memories will return.’
Ren didn’t turn around.
Thinking he hadn’t received her message, Sharti peeked around to look at him.
‘I’m a complete stranger and can’t help you find your memories.’
She doubted empty consolation would improve Ren’s mood.
‘Ah! That’s right!’
She dropped something on the floor that she had been clutching inside her robe all the way up the mountain.
Hearing the not-small sound, Ren slowly turned his head.
‘I’ll make you clothes!’
To help change his mood, Sharti took a big step forward.
The light powered by magic stones gently illuminated the inside of the house.
Sharti held a measuring tape and gestured to Ren in various ways.
“Is this what you want me to do?”
Ren followed Sharti’s instructions, spreading his arms, holding his breath, and turning around to take different poses.
Sharti carefully measured Ren’s dimensions.
‘I need to measure your chest circumference, so raise your arms.’
As Sharti approached suddenly, Ren took a sharp breath.
The posture was different from when she had wrapped bandages around his abdomen.
Sharti’s small head was almost nestled against his chest.
“……”
As his chest area tingled, Ren glanced down at Sharti.
Whether it was because of her robe or her breath touching him, Ren maintained his posture without dwelling on it.
This was the only time he could smell Sharti’s herbal scent up close.
“Wait—”
Suddenly, Ren stepped back in surprise.
Sharti, who had been crouching in front of him, looked up at him with a puzzled face.
A deep furrow formed between Ren’s brows.
“What are you trying to do now?”
Sharti was about to retort “Isn’t it obvious?” when she noticed Ren’s reddened ears.
Flustered, Sharti immediately withdrew her hand that was about to measure his lower body and stood up.
‘I got so focused that I unconsciously…’
Sharti handed the measuring tape to Ren and moved far away from him.
The atmosphere became extremely awkward as Ren took his own measurements.
Sharti spread out the fabric and began cutting diligently.
‘It wasn’t insensitivity but rudeness on my part.’
Reflecting on her actions of treating Ren too casually just because he had shown concern a few times, Sharti renewed her vigilance.
‘From now on, I won’t even touch him.’
Sharti strengthened her resolve.
Since finding his memories seemed distant, it was unclear how much longer she would have to live with Ren.
She couldn’t let Ren feel uncomfortable during that time.
‘Even if Ren offers his palm like before, I should only write notes on paper.’
Having established her own rules, Sharti smiled contentedly as she checked her bag.
Then she handed Ren a wrapped package from her bag.
Returning to his indifferent expression, Ren unwrapped it and checked the contents.
“……”
Facing Ren who froze in place, Sharti handed him a note.
<I bought underwear.>
“……”
<If it doesn’t fit, let me know. I’ll exchange it.>
“O…kay.”
Although she had roughly described Ren’s build to the clothing shop owner and received a recommended size, Ren, unaware of this, had his facial muscles stiffen with embarrassment.
Nevertheless, his rational mind was comforting itself, relieved that Sharti hadn’t made the underwear herself.
Ren momentarily composed his dazed mind and walked with creaking steps to hide the underwear package in the utility room.
Once Sharti had finished preparing the fabric for sewing, she checked the remaining stew in the kitchen.
‘Huh?’
The amount of stew in the pot had decreased, but the amount of solid ingredients remained almost the same.
‘Ah, he couldn’t reheat it because he doesn’t know how to use magic stones. Plus, eating alone, he couldn’t eat much.’
Magic stones were expensive and precious, so they weren’t items she could carelessly entrust to Ren.
Sharti heated the stew and served Ren a bowl full of chunks.
“……”
Ren, who had avoided the meat chunks for both breakfast and lunch, looked at Sharti with a speechless expression.
The chunks in Sharti’s bowl were the same as yesterday.
“Do you really dislike meat?”
Ren asked while just stirring the stew with his spoon.
Thinking he wouldn’t believe her even if she said yes, Sharti shrugged.
<I don’t eat meat soaked in water.>
Finding it plausible, Ren stopped glaring at the stew and finally began eating.
Whoooossshh—.
The sound of the outside wind was mixed with the slight clattering of tableware.
‘I won’t be able to sleep deeply tonight.’
The windows rattled noisily as the outside wind grew stronger.
Sharti, listening to the wind, lightly touched her head.
‘Maybe it’s the cold wind, but my head seems to hurt too.’
Though the log cabin looked fine from the outside, it was old and had tiny gaps throughout.
After filling their stomachs, Sharti and Ren took cold medicine just in case.
<It’s cold medicine, but it’s strong, so you’ll be able to sleep well tonight.>
Ren, who received a thick robe from Sharti after washing up, blocked her way.
“I’ll give you a massage again today. I can do better today.”
Reminded of something she had forgotten, Sharti bowed gratefully to him with a face that said “Oh right.”
<Thank you for the massage.>
Ren’s expression softened upon receiving the note.
However, he firmly closed his mouth after receiving the next note.
<But I’m fine today. My legs don’t hurt much, and I’ll rest early.>
“…I see.”
As Ren swallowed his disappointment, Sharti took the cut fabric and headed to the bedroom.
Click. As soon as she locked the bedroom door, Sharti removed her stifling hood.
‘Is the hood too thick? Only my face is hot.’
Sharti, who had braided her long curly hair into one, changed into comfortable clothes and climbed onto the bed.
Without the flowing robe and stifling hood, it was easier to move and breathe.
‘Tomorrow I should gather herbs early in the morning. Then I’ll check the materials for making ointment….hmm, I’ll also prepare the list of ordered herbs, and I should fetch water too. That way, I can reach the village before lunch.’
While constantly planning for tomorrow, Sharti diligently started sewing.
Perhaps because the fabric was thick, the thread and needle were also thick, making her hand movements slower than usual.
Absorbed in her work, time flew by.
It was earlier than her usual bedtime, but the medicine was taking effect, making her yawn.
‘I should sleep.’
Sharti carefully put on her robe and hood again, and wriggled into the blanket.
With no particular distracting thoughts, as soon as she closed her eyes, Sharti’s eyelids drooped down.
“……”
And there was a black figure watching her through the curtain, clinging to the log cabin.
****
Rumble… The night sky, covered with dark clouds, looked ominous.
Around midnight, the fiercely blowing wind began to dampen.
A black figure with a sinister smile revealing yellow teeth took out a knife from his waist.
The black figure slowly but persistently began to dig at the window frame with the knife tip.
In a flash of thunder, the man’s face reflected in the log cabin window was revealed.
“Kik, kik, kek, kruk, kuk…”
Hair tangled with mud, grass, and leaves. Armor damaged beyond recognition. Knees and elbows covered with scabs. A face full of scratches.
It was squad leader Dodindt, who had abandoned his subordinate soldiers and fled to escape a rampaging bear.
“Damn, kuk, bastards, kik, kigik, just wait… I’ll, hihik, like this, kek…”
As the price for eating a mushroom in the mountains to satisfy his hunger, Dodindt was not in a normal state.
His voice sounded like mosquito buzzing, and his entire body was covered with large, dark spots and blisters.
Rumble-! Raindrops carried by the wind began to fall on his face, one by one.
It was the precursor to a typhoon that would erase both sound and traces.
Finally, the heavens seemed to be helping him.
Pff-. Just as the only light illuminating the house went out at the perfect time, not a single point of light could be seen from the log cabin.
Excitement spread across Dodindt’s face, who had been waiting for this moment.
‘Just one wench.’
Taking advantage of the darkness, Dodindt began to scratch only the seam of the window with his knife tip.
Gradually, the window frame began to loosen.
‘…That’s it!’
Creak… Finally, half the window opened. Of course, the noise was drowned out by the sound of the wind.
Dodindt, holding the curtain to prevent it from fluttering, dragged his abnormal body through the window.
“……”
A figure lying on the bed.
Dodindt licked his lips as he looked down at the figure sleeping in a dark robe.
Dodindt, who had barely escaped with his life, had been stalking her in the mountains ever since he discovered the old log cabin that villagers had told him about.
Thanks to this, he was able to confirm that Sharti was knowledgeable about herbs and a skilled doctor enough to earn the trust of his subordinate soldiers.
A doctor living alone in the mountains. And a mute woman at that.
Could there be a better prey?
“Now let’s, puhukuk, say hello, kihik…”
Dodindt, with a sinister smile revealing yellow teeth, reached out his hand toward Sharti’s robe as she slept.
