The Maid With a Child

Chapter 14

Pain and Itching

 

 

Adelen quickly lowered her eyes in frustration.

Even if he was a man, staring so openly at someone else’s body felt inappropriate.

Thankfully, her master said nothing and let it pass.

“How is this not a big deal?”

The butler spoke rather sternly as he clung to Rakalt’s side.

Carefully removing the bandages and adhesive plasters stuck all over, the butler’s face was as serious as a surgeon performing an operation.

The intense atmosphere made Adelen glance back at Rakalt, though nervously.

“Gasp!”

The wound was larger and deeper than expected. Bright red and torn, blood still oozed from the gash.

Adelen was so shocked that she reflexively shut her eyes, as if the injury had appeared on her own body.

Rakalt glanced at her and let out a small, incredulous laugh.

Could anyone be more easily frightened than this?

“It looks like it will still take a long time to heal, master. We should call the doctor now…”

“I said it’s fine.”

“But if it gets worse…”

“If people find out my injury is severe, it’ll just be an invitation for more attacks. Inside the mansion, fine. But outside, I have to assume that everyone with eyes is watching me.”

“…Yes, master.”

Listening to the conversation between the master and the butler, Adelen timidly raised her gaze.

The one in pain was her master, not him.

‘So the master does feel pain after all…’

He wasn’t immune to it—he was enduring it.

Knowing that made Adelen suddenly realize just how rough a general’s life must be. Of course, it was something that should have been obvious, but since she wasn’t seeing battles firsthand, it was hard to imagine.

“I will begin the treatment now.”

The butler quietly started treating the wound.

Adelen, too, started to glance at the scene of the treatment out of the corner of her eye.

“…?”

After watching for a while, Adelen tilted her head to the side.

She wasn’t a medical professional, so he couldn’t say for sure, but even to an untrained eye, this didn’t seem right.

The antiseptic solution dripped all over the place, bandages were stuck on in clumsy layers, and the wrappings were loose.

It seemed sloppy even before they were removed. It wasn’t that time had loosened them; it was the result of the butler’s lack of skill.

Is this really okay? Will the wound heal like this?

After debating whether or not to speak up a hundred times, Adelen finally raised her hand.

“…Um, excuse me. May I try?”

The butler, sweating profusely while wrestling with the bandages, turned around in surprise.

“Huh? Adelen, you know how to do this?”

“…”

There wasn’t even a polite refusal.

The butler was clearly at his wit’s end with his own inadequate skills.

“I-I’ll give it a try.”

Adelen wasn’t an expert either, but she was confident she could do better than the butler.

As if waiting for this moment, the butler handed over the bandages and stood up.

Adelen carefully set the baby down on the sofa and approached Rakalt.

“Pardon me, master.”

Rakalt watched her with great interest.

The coward who fainted at the sight of blood now volunteering to handle it? Was she trying to earn points?

Whatever her intention, Rakalt found it somewhat endearing.

Adelen steadied her trembling hands and approached Rakalt’s side. She had stepped in because she couldn’t stand watching, but the thought of directly touching her master’s body made her shake.

She was trembling from the sight of the blood and from the sight of the bare skin.

“….”

But as soon as she looked closely at the wound, Adelen forgot about her trembling and furrowed her brow.

Up close, the wound was even deeper and more severe than it had seemed.

And it wasn’t the only one—scars covered Rakalt’s body in various places. Were those also hastily treated and left unattended?

Count Sigelion. The king’s sword. Praised as the most loyal and the greatest general in Teplon. Behind that legendary life was a body covered in rough wounds.

The master’s life wasn’t as radiant as it seemed from the outside. Everyone has their struggles, but Adlen had thought that people in high places like her master must live in happiness and splendor.

But to have a life marked by so many scars… How many hardships had he faced to get to this point?

Seeing the scars made Adelen realize that her master, who had once seemed like a distant, god-like figure, was human after all.

“I’ll start by disinfecting it again.”

Adelen carefully reached for the antiseptic. Or, she tried to.

Before the antiseptic even touched her body, Rakalt flinched.

“Oh, did it hurt?”

Adelen was startled, even though she hadn’t actually touched anything yet.

The master frowned as he looked down at Adelen.

“It itches.”

It wasn’t the wound—it was the spot where Adelen’s breath and hair brushed against Rakalt that itched intensely.

Understanding now, Adelen hurriedly backed away on her knees.

“…I’m sorry.”

Like someone suffering from farsightedness, she leaned her head back and stretched her arm forward to apply the antiseptic.

Though it must have stung terribly when the disinfectant touched the wide-open wound, her master didn’t flinch. He remained expressionless, as if it was someone else’s skin.

The flinch from when Adelen’s hair had touched him had been his biggest reaction so far.

What an odd man.

He couldn’t stand itching more than pain.

So, determined to avoid irritating her master further, Adelen applied the antiseptic thoroughly and diligently.

As a result, the wound was perfectly disinfected.

And somehow, the psychological trauma Adelen had from constantly being threatened with, “Do you want to die?” seemed to have healed a little, too.

Revenge is the best therapy, after all.

 

* * *

 

Humans can adapt to anything if they live long enough.

Both Adelen and the baby started to settle into their new environment after a few days.

“Butler, here. Last night’s diaper… Please take care of it.”

“…Fine.”

Adelen also began to understand how her master’s household operated.

Every household is different in how they manage their servants. Some require their servants to handle everything from head to toe, while others don’t allow them to touch a single thing.

His master was the latter.

Rakalt took care of his grooming and personal needs himself, while only relying on the butler for small tasks like tidying the room.

Now, that included handling Adelen’s requests.

Adelen had no choice, as she was practically confined to his room.

“And also, could you… perhaps bring me a glass of juice…?”

“….”

“I’ve been chasing after the baby for an hour straight, crawling on all fours… My hands and feet are shaking. Is that okay…?”

“Understood. Wait here.”

At first, even asking for anything felt difficult, so Adelen would just hold back and endure. But now, she’d progressed to the point of at least trying to voice her requests.

“…Thank you.”

Sipping the juice that was brought to her, Adelen finally caught her breath. The baby had apparently grown comfortable in Rakalt’s room, now rolling around the floor while shrieking. After several hours of this, the baby had finally settled down for a nap.

“It’s almost time for the master to return. It’s a relief the baby fell asleep just in time.”

Although it was Rakalt who had commanded them to stay in the same room, Adelen couldn’t help but feel self-conscious whenever the baby screamed or cried.

From observing for the past few days, Adelen had realized that her master’s routine was as precise as clockwork.

He would rise before dawn, take care of his grooming, do some personal training, and then check messages and reports that had arrived overnight from various regions. After that, he’d head out for the day’s schedule with the knights, usually eating his meals outside.

In the late afternoon, when the days grew longer, he would return and spend some personal time. And what did he do during this time?

Study.

Yes, study.

Adelen had never seen an adult continue studying after reaching adulthood, unless they were a scholar.

According to the butler, Rakalt had never stopped studying warfare tactics and the management of his estate since childhood.

Then he would either train again in the evening or visit the royal palace if summoned. On those nights, he’d return very late. That was the only variation in his otherwise rigid routine.

“It’s amazing that after being away at war for so long, he doesn’t take a single day off.”

“I’ve known him all my life, and it’s still amazing to me too.”

“Right? Other than heading to the knights’ quarters or the palace, it doesn’t seem like he has any other engagements.”

“Haah…”

Adelen, who also had no friends, found it surprising that the master, a nobleman, seemed to have no social life. Don’t most nobles live for social engagements?

“That’s why I’m so stressed I could scream!”

“?!”

The butler suddenly clutched his chest and shouted in frustration.