Even if she couldn’t earn much money, in winter there were cases where she received necessities instead of cash, so she had to make do with that.
‘I need to be careful of frostbite. I suffered a lot last year.’
Going to the unfrozen stream to do laundry or digging for medicinal herbs on the frozen ground—last year her hands and feet had nearly gotten frostbite, and she vividly remembered being scolded harshly by Vireta.
It couldn’t be helped.
From childhood, Sharti had developed the habit of enduring alone, not having anyone to tell when she was sick, nor even thinking to say so.
“Doctor, thank you for your hard work.”
Tristan’s voice pulled Sharti out of her thoughts.
“The wind looks menacing, so I’ll escort you again today. But… what’s this?”
Sharti handed several notes to Tristan who had come by.
They were notes she had prepared after finishing her work, listing medicinal herbs and the conditions of the injured soldiers.
<I’ve written down herbs that aren’t available in this village. What I make is just basic and efficiency-focused treatment, so there’s a limit to recovery.>
“You even drew pictures. Thanks to this, I can see at a glance where they’re injured and what’s troubling them.”
“Now I can report in detail about the condition of the men who can’t return with us.”
The soldiers gratefully took the notes.
“Doctor, we’ll pay for the treatment all at once when we visit the village again. Until then, please take good care of our remaining men.”
Sharti nodded, indicating not to worry.
Having received meat as well, there was no way Sharti would neglect treating the injured soldiers.
<Let’s go, Tein.>
“Yes!”
Just as Sharti was about to leave the inn holding Tein’s hand…
“Huh?”
Tein, who had been waving goodbye, suddenly tugged on Sharti’s hand.
When Sharti turned around, she saw the mobile injured soldiers and other soldiers coming down.
With so many soldiers suddenly surrounding her, Sharti’s heart pounded.
As she reflexively tried to grip the doorknob tightly, Tristan made a gesture to them.
“Doctor!”
The soldiers shouted vigorously and bowed at a right angle toward Sharti.
“Thank you so much.”
“……”
“Thanks to you, no one had to die. We are truly grateful.”
“Thank you, Doctor!”
Sharti was momentarily speechless, her mouth opening and closing slightly.
She could feel Tein’s gaze, Patricia’s gaze, and Tristan’s gaze, but she couldn’t respond.
Right now, soldiers of the Empire were bowing to express their gratitude to her.
“……”
It was an indescribable feeling.
Receiving thanks as a doctor wasn’t all that awkward.
But the moment of helping others and receiving gratitude never became familiar.
The mere fact that she had helped someone made Sharti feel emotional.
“Doctor is really amazing.”
Tein, who was beside her, sniffled with pride, which brought Sharti back to her senses.
Sharti patted Tein and awkwardly bowed her head deeply.
Thump. Tristan, who was watching pleasantly, stamped his foot once.
The soldiers straightened up and showed kind smiles.
“Get home safely, Doctor!”
“See you tomorrow!”
Tap. As soon as they left the inn, a strong wind greeted Sharti.
The wind had intensified, so they split up—Patricia would take Tein home, and Tristan would escort Sharti.
After waving goodbye to Tein, Sharti climbed up the mountain.
“Aren’t you cold?”
Tristan expressed concern, looking at her robe fluttering violently in the wind.
Only then did Sharti rub her warm cheeks.
‘I’m fine.’
Strangely, she didn’t feel cold.
If anything, she felt a little warm.
‘Is it because my heart is warm?’
Sharti climbed the darkening mountain path, embracing the kind of pure sentiment Tein might have.
Since the mountain was rugged and it took a long time to reach the log cabin, Tristan and the soldiers began to chat.
“Did you know border area soldiers get paid three times more than us?”
“How can you compare frontier with border? If you’re making comparisons, compare with capital guards. They get five times more.”
“What? Do capital guards really get paid that much?”
“It’s determined by the status of the person they’re guarding.”
“Ugh, that’s unfair.”
Sharti partly agreed.
‘Unlike the Kingdom of Krianet, the Empire of Neweiton has benefits and rights strictly divided by status.’
In the Empire of Neweiton, status was broadly divided into imperial family, nobility, commoners, and slaves, but even among nobility, there were ranks from Grand Duke to Baron, and not all slaves were treated equally. The value and treatment of slaves varied depending on whether they were domestic or foreign.
Land values were determined by distance and location from the imperial palace at the center of the Neweiton Empire, and the environment varied accordingly. There was even a joke that the quality of life changes as soon as you leave the capital.
“Some guys in other units say it’s better to just work as mercenaries.”
Befitting an empire that had fought numerous wars, Neweiton was generous to mercenaries.
Unless accused of killing nobility, mercenaries were often pardoned for most crimes depending on their skills.
‘Grandmother Vireta is an exception though.’
Of course, it also depended on which noble they had wronged.
Listening to the soldiers’ worldly stories and grumbling, Sharti was able to reach the old log cabin with pleasant ears.
“Well then, Doctor. We’ll be going now.”
Like yesterday, Tristan stopped at a reasonable distance from the log cabin.
Sharti, who had been staggering in the strong wind, managed to turn around to face Tristan and the soldiers.
They were all soldiers who would be leaving the village at dawn.
‘Will they be okay with the wind this strong?’
It didn’t seem like it would rain, but the wind was so strong that she was worried.
As if sensing Sharti’s concern, the soldiers smiled.
“As long as it doesn’t rain, we’ll be fine. Sleeping outdoors will be tough though.”
Sharti was relieved and bid them farewell.
“See you next time, Doctor.”
Sharti swallowed dryly at Tristan’s parting words.
At least she wasn’t trembling with fear like before.
Sharti waited until the soldiers disappeared from sight before hurrying to the log cabin.
‘I meant to come back early, but it’s already evening.’
Sharti hesitated as she grabbed the doorknob, thinking of the positive news she would tell Ren.
‘What about the rumors of the deserter on the run?’
Sharti brought up again the concern she had temporarily set aside for half a day.
While lost in thought, her hand steadily opened the door, and her feet naturally walked into the house.
Click.
The house was quiet, just like yesterday.
‘He’ll have to keep hiding until the rumors die down.’
Sharti frowned, recalling Ren’s face lighting up at the news of going outside.
She shouldn’t have mentioned going outside so rashly.
“What are you doing standing there without coming in?”
Sharti jerked her head up at Ren’s voice.
Ren, who had been hiding in the utility room, approached with a puzzled look.
<Did you come out thinking it was me?>
“Your footsteps sound different.”
Ren answered briefly with a casual face.
When Sharti didn’t respond, Ren frowned.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Is it because of the soldiers?”
Unlike moments ago, his low voice, firing questions one after another, was filled with nothing but concern.
Sharti hesitated, then held out her hand to him.
Ren reflexively extended his palm.
<Some injured soldiers will remain while others leave at dawn.>
“I see.”
<About the outing we promised yesterday.>
Sharti quietly watched his reaction.
<I heard ominous rumors are circulating in other villages. So soldiers might visit the village again.>
Ren’s expression remained unchanged as he watched her write.
Sharti felt even more apologetic.
<It might be difficult to go outside after all.>
“I understand.”
Sharti looked at Ren’s face with surprise.
It wasn’t the reaction she had expected.
“So, why were you standing in front of the door?”
Ren’s expression was serious, as if he was curious about something else.
This time, Sharti became serious.
‘No, I can’t promise when we can go out, and we have to keep hiding like this, didn’t he understand?’
Thinking her explanation was insufficient due to his amnesia affecting his comprehension, Sharti told him again that going outside wasn’t possible.
“……”
Ren’s expression changed with the repeated explanation.
He looked somewhat deflated.
“Were you standing here looking so serious because you couldn’t keep your promise about our outing?”
When Sharti nodded, Ren rubbed his chin.
Constantly touching the corner of his mouth, Ren seemed to be in a good mood for some reason.
<You were looking forward to going outside.>
At the somewhat direct statement, Ren cleared his throat and rested his chin on his hand.
“About going outside, what if I cover my face too?”
Sharti was slow to react to Ren’s sudden suggestion.
While Sharti just blinked, Ren began to consider more specifically.
“For instance, what if I wore a robe over my head? …No, that might look more suspicious. Then what about wrapping my face with bandages?”
After checking his build and physical condition, Ren immediately offered a compromise.
He asked so sincerely that Sharti moved her index finger without time to feel uneasy.
<They might ask you to remove the bandages. You need to show a reason for covering your face for them to believe.>
Sharti’s situation was different because she had made up a plausible reason for covering her face when settling in the mountain village with Vireta’s help.
“Aren’t there any poisonous herbs that cause rashes on the face?”
Sharti glared and slapped Ren’s forearm.
<You want to deliberately use poisonous herbs to damage your face? That’s reckless!>
“So there’s no problem. I can apply medicine and wrap it with bandages.”
<It might be fine at first, but repeated use will eventually weaken your immunity and lead to poisoning. It could also leave scars on your face!>
“That wouldn’t be a problem either.”
“…?”
Ren’s expression, smiling with his chin resting on his hand, exuded confidence.
Thinking he was talking nonsense again, Sharti glared at him.
“Because I have two doctors.”
Speechless, Sharti let out a sigh.
‘You scolded me when I collapsed the cave!’
Ren went even further.
Sharti, who had been widening her eyes at him, realized that her face was hidden by her hood and he couldn’t see it, so she relaxed her eyes.
Only her palms and eyes hurt uselessly.
<When we encounter soldiers, they’ll demand identification. What will you answer then? That you’re an amnesiac patient?>
Sharti asked sarcastically, pointing out the reality.
Ren didn’t answer.
‘Did I sound too sarcastic?’
As his eyes lowered slightly, Sharti awkwardly withdrew her hand.
“I have a question about this amnesia.”
“…?”
“How does one get amnesia?”
It was an abrupt change of topic.
But it was natural for a patient to ask about their condition.
If anything, Ren was late in asking.
<There are several reasons.>
She wanted to explain his symptoms in detail, but Sharti was weak in the field of neurology.
Instead, she had figured out the causes in her own way.
<You might have received a strong impact to the head, or experienced a shocking event, and so on.>
“Hmm… So you’re saying this part was shocked?”
Ren tapped on his head.
Alarmed, Sharti stopped his action.
<You had a head injury when you were found.>
<Don’t touch it.>
<Yes, that part.>
Ren checked the head injury site that he hadn’t noticed even in the mirror.
Watching Ren, who seemed lost in thought, Sharti chose her words.
‘Should I tell him my guess?’
