After the typhoon passed, the temperature difference between day and night grew larger.
Sharti stretched her stiff body as she got up.
‘He still shows no signs of waking up.’
The unidentified man who had taken refuge in her cave still hadn’t regained consciousness. He just lay on the low, narrow bed, breathing evenly.
Thanks to Sharti’s round-the-clock care, his life was no longer in danger.
‘Could it be because of the poison that seeped into his wounds?’
She had been so shocked when she belatedly noticed that the man had been poisoned.
A poison that showed no outward signs.
If she hadn’t discovered the poison that had seeped into his wounds, the man would have been walking the path to the afterlife within a day.
‘The detoxification went well. Hmm, looking at the unusual speed of wound recovery, he seems to have passed the crisis.’
The man possessed recovery abilities befitting his massive body.
His recovery, which had been slow when he was poisoned, progressed quickly after the detoxification. Minor wounds were fine with just ointment applied.
‘The burn scars won’t leave ugly marks either.’
The man had suffered burns on his back, arms, and shoulders as if caught in an explosion, but Sharti had worked hard to treat them, combining medicinal herbs.
Was she trying to prove that she was different from five years ago when she had almost no medical knowledge?
Sharti smiled bitterly, recalling the burn scars remaining on her own body.
She also remembered the grimaces others made whenever they saw her burns.
“……”
If only it had been her face.
Then she wouldn’t have had to cover herself with this stifling robe hood.
‘No. If my body had been worse, I wouldn’t have been able to live in these mountains.’
Her throat had been damaged, she had limped on one leg, and even gripping things with her hands had been difficult.
But after meeting Vireta, Virena, and Tein, she had successfully rehabilitated.
Although she still had large burn scars that required her to wrap herself in robes, she no longer limped and could clench and unclench her hands.
‘…I should live with gratitude.’
She recalled the old log cabin that the villagers had given her solely because of her profession as a doctor.
Doctors were rare in mountainous regions. In such isolated environments, epidemics or injuries large and small were unavoidable problems.
‘Surviving is quite an achievement.’
What she experienced at the Krianet Palace five years ago was the greatest misfortune of her life.
But small connections and fleeting kindness had saved her.
That was the greatest fortune in her life.
‘Being alive, I’ve gone through that process and felt despair and accomplishment. Vividly.’
She was grateful that she hadn’t died while embracing negative emotions, that she was alive to let her talents bloom.
‘I should stop thinking about this now.’
The longer she spent caring for a man in a similar situation, the more unnecessary thoughts multiplied.
Perhaps she was becoming depressed after spending so much time in the dark, damp cave for two days.
‘The sunlight is good, so I should go gather some herbs.’
Herb gathering was easier on good days. Sharti checked on the man sleeping soundly.
She picked up her earth gloves and light knife as she headed out of the cave.
“……”
With only even breathing audible in the cave.
The muscles of the man sleeping motionlessly on the bed suddenly twitched. His brow furrowed as if in pain, and beads of cold sweat began to form on his forehead.
These symptoms hadn’t appeared while Sharti was nursing him.
“…ugh, urgh……”
A suppressed groan escaped through his gritted teeth.
The white bandages that Sharti had changed numerous times were gradually turning red.
Blood vessels bulged in the man’s jaw and neck as he struggled in pain.
Pitter-patter—. Fortunately or unfortunately, Sharti, who had returned to the cave after leaving her basket behind, discovered the man’s condition.
“…!”
Throwing her gloves and knife aside, Sharti hurried over to the bed.
She flinched momentarily at the sight of his contorted facial muscles, but then sat down beside the silently groaning man and felt his forehead.
‘He has a slight fever? Suddenly?’
Sharti rose to her feet without panicking.
That’s when it happened.
Thud. The man’s large hand grabbed Sharti’s. Startled, Sharti tried to back away urgently, but the man frowned and stirred.
“…ha, ah……”
Still with his eyes tightly shut and his head turned to the side, the man was breathing roughly as if having a nightmare.
Controlling her startled heart, Sharti awkwardly moved back toward the bed.
‘…He still seems unconscious.’
Sharti stroked the back of the man’s hand cautiously, not erasing the wariness from her eyes.
The man’s large hand, which had been motionless, was trembling slightly.
‘Is he having a nightmare?’
Just looking at the wounds and scars on his body, it was clear the man had gone through something unusual.
Was the psychological shock reviving in his unconscious state, tormenting him?
“……”
Feeling pity, Sharti sat on the edge of the bed.
Sharti herself had had terrible nightmares for a while.
She touched her neck hidden under the hood. She wanted to speak to the man to calm him down, as Vireta had once done for her, but abandoned the thought.
‘If he hears my voice, his nightmares might get worse.’
Sharti only used her voice very occasionally, when wrapped in blankets during thunderous nights. Otherwise, even to her own ears, her voice sounded too terrible.
The croaking of a frog. Or the rough, hoarse voice of a witch.
That was Sharti’s voice.
<It’s okay.>
Instead of straining her throat, Sharti wrote letters on the back of the man’s hand that she was holding.
<I won’t hurt you.>
So don’t worry, Sharti traced the letters on the man’s skin, almost massaging with her fingertips.
After continuing this one-sided written communication for a while, Sharti realized that the grip on her hand was loosening.
“…ha, ah……”
The man’s labored breathing became somewhat more regular. Sharti extended her other hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead with her sleeve.
The man’s eyebrows twitched each time Sharti’s touch reached him, but he no longer appeared to be in pain.
‘…Phew.’
It seemed he was calming down.
Sharti slowly rose from the bed. Turning away from the bed, Sharti immediately recalled the herbal mixture she had used on the man.
‘What herbs should I use for mental treatment?’
Sharti herself was completely unfamiliar with psychological therapy.
But she couldn’t leave the man as he was. If left untreated, he might continue to show seizure-like symptoms.
‘Should I go to the village and look for more medical books?’
Of course, she would have to leave after the man’s condition improved a bit more.
‘Since he has a slight fever, I should at least put a wet cloth on his forehead…’
Sharti turned to walk toward the bucket she had prepared at the back of the cave, but stopped in her tracks.
The man she had been caring for was struggling to raise his upper body on the bed.
“…hoo, urgh……”
The man exhaled several times, clutching his forehead as if his head was throbbing.
There was an intimidating aura emanating from him that she hadn’t felt when he was unconscious.
Gulp. Sharti instinctively backed away.
“…where is……”
Sharti trembled at the man’s rough, low voice.
The low, resonant voice, as if drunk with sleep, closely resembled the man’s voice from two days ago.
Their gazes met as the man turned his head, seemingly trying to gain a clearer view of his surroundings.
“…!”
“…you……”
They were teal-colored eyes.
This time, she clearly saw the intense light in his eyes that she had glimpsed during their first meeting.
“…who, are you?”
The man’s teal eyes, frowning, were looking at her with confusion.
“Where on earth is this… urgh……”
The man’s eyebrows twitched as he tried to raise himself up, gritting his teeth. He paused momentarily after checking the bandages wrapped around his body.
Meanwhile, Sharti nervously glanced at the man’s sword propped against the cave wall.
‘Will he misunderstand and threaten me with his sword like before?’
Sharti’s mind was racing furiously.
The long staff fixed to the wall and his sword.
Who would grab a weapon first—Sharti’s thoughts were not flowing in a particularly positive direction.
“…answer, me. Who are you……”
Sharti’s shoulders hunched at the threatening growl between his teeth.
Sharti barely managed to shake her head.
Unfortunately, to the man’s eyes, Sharti, who was hiding her face with a robe hood and avoiding answering, only looked suspicious.
‘How, how do I explain?’
She was afraid to approach, but grabbing a weapon first would more likely lead to misunderstanding.
“…damn it, my head……”
The man was still confused.
Sharti quietly slipped her hand into the pocket inside her robe.
‘I, I have no choice.’
Small pouches that she had prepared earlier with Tein came to hand.
“……”
Sharti barely moved her trembling legs to approach the bed little by little.
When the man belatedly noticed the shortened distance and raised his head, Sharti didn’t hesitate to take out a small pouch and throw it.
Bang! The loosely tied opening of the small pouch opened, and finely ground powder scattered in front of the man’s face.
“Wh-what…!”
The man tried to dodge by moving his body backward, but it was not enough with his injured body in the narrow cave.
“…cough, cough! Urgh……”
The man, who had been dry coughing, glared at Sharti as if he had been betrayed.
“…you-.”
But only briefly, as his eyelids began to close slowly.
Thud. The man’s hand and arm, which had been clutching his head, fell limply.
The anesthetic herb powder’s effect was immediate.
“…ungh……”
The man’s massive upper body swayed slightly and then collapsed backward with a thump.
Trying to grasp the fading thread of consciousness, the man fixed his gaze on Sharti and mumbled with slurred speech.
“…what the…why am I, me……”
As the man’s gaze grew unfocused, even breathing soon echoed through the cave.
Only after the threatening tension had left the man’s muscles did Sharti approach closely and wave her hand in front of his face.
Fortunately, the man was sleeping with a peaceful expression.
‘Thank goodness. He’s asleep.’
Sharti’s legs gave out, and she couldn’t stand up immediately. She pressed firmly around her fluttering heart.
She was fortunate to have prepared the anesthetic herb with Tein.
‘I’ll have to keep him asleep for a while.’
Sharti once again realized the man’s remarkable recovery speed.
It seemed she would need to use sleeping medicine quite generously until he fully recovered.
‘It’s a problem when a patient’s body is too robust.’
Her heart beat rapidly as the image of the man’s teal eyes lingered before her. Sharti heaved a heavy sigh.
Still, with a doctor’s apology, she left a written message on the back of his hand.
<This is for our mutual safety, so please understand a little.>
It wouldn’t be conveyed, but this was the best she could do.
After five anxious days, when the sense of crisis had begun to ease, Sharti had gone down to the village early in the morning. Returning to her old log cabin around lunchtime, she was empty-handed again.
Sharti massaged her throbbing right leg.
‘I couldn’t buy it today either.’
Of all days, soldiers had visited the village today, making the atmosphere unsettled.
