Chapter 16
“Come closer. What should I do with you?”
Only after the lady’s stern command did Beth reluctantly step forward.
Debert couldn’t help but stifle a laugh at Beth’s timid demeanor. She looked like a child being scolded by her parents, a far cry from the confident figure she had been in the hospital room.
“A military uniform? No, this is…”
The lady’s expression darkened immediately as she opened the bag. The cause was the gold brooch attached to the uniform’s chest.
There are only two soldiers in the Nexus Empire who are permitted to wear the gold brooch.
Debert, and…
“Oh, they caught me right away.”
“Arthur, why…?”
The lady was so surprised that she called Arthur by his name, just as she had when he was a child. Arthur smiled warmly at her and casually began to put on the uniform, not forgetting to wink playfully at Beth.
But it wasn’t only Raphnel who disapproved of this sight.
“Debert, even the enemy wouldn’t look this fierce.”
Arthur’s playful remarks failed to ease the awkward tension between them. All this fuss over a simple uniform. He shrugged.
“What do you all think? Do I seem like the kind of person who would come all the way to the battlefield just to waste time?”
“Certainly not.”
The polite answer on Raphnel’s tongue did not match his true feelings: Stupid boy.
This was supposed to be a farewell for Debert as he returned to Wayne, but that trivial intruder had ruined the moment.
Why is everyone so worked up over that girl? It seemed absurd that someone as insignificant as Beth could be involved in such a situation.
“I witnessed the nurse’s escape.”
Arthur resumed speaking with his usual smile.
“She was so discreet that she left without an outer garment. I merely offered her gentlemanly kindness. That’s all there is to it. Please don’t misunderstand.”
The lady nodded slightly, pondering Arthur’s words. She knew better than anyone how kind Arthur was to everyone.
It must have been just an act of goodwill. He would have done the same for anyone. To quell the rising anxiety, the lady kept repeating the word “goodwill” to herself.
She understood that the passionate love of young people was not something a middle-aged woman like herself could control.
But no matter how much the world changes, the social hierarchy of Nexus will not disappear. In places where the class system has vanished, new rules of power will take its place. Even the lady who founded the Wayne Nursing School to educate both commoners and nobles could not deny this.
And she knew better than anyone just how vulnerable Beth’s position was in this harsh world. That’s why she was so sensitive about such matters.
Beth was like a daughter to her, and she didn’t want her to get hurt.
Her concern had remained unchanged since the day she found a trembling young Beth hiding in a carriage.
“The women of Nexus must always be mindful of their conduct. You know this is something that transcends class, don’t you?”
It was Raphnel’s small question that reignited the dying embers.
“Although Arthur has defended you for now, we can’t know what might have happened when the two of you were alone.”
Wherever there is even a spark, it is bound to catch fire.
“Raphnel!”
Despite Arthur’s loud voice, Raphnel didn’t even flinch. Instead, his serene smile deepened, as if he were genuinely concerned about the poor girl before him.
“Rumours spread faster than a plague. You should also start looking for a suitable match.”
The low emphasis on the word “suitable” carried a warning. Humming thoughtfully, Raphnel pondered for a moment. Perhaps now was the perfect time.
The card he had been debating whether to play was finally laid down.
“The lady cares for you so deeply. Don’t you think it’s time you told her who the owner of your necklace is?”
“Necklace?”
“Come now; the lady is curious as well.”
Raphnel’s words stoked the flames perfectly.
The lady looked at Beth, trying to grasp the situation. Conduct, rumours… and now, a necklace?
Beth was equally perplexed. What could Raphnel possibly want to prove by making such a bold accusation? The questions swirling in her mind only added to her confusion.
One thing was certain.
The Empire’s rose had no intention of hiding its thorns from Beth.
Beth’s hand moved to the top button of her nurse’s uniform. Reluctantly, she did it not for the princess’s sake but to avoid causing trouble for the lady.
As the necklace, which had been hidden beneath her clothes, was revealed, it gleamed as if gasping for air.
Raphnel’s intensity diminished slightly in response to Beth’s unexpectedly compliant behaviour. He had been prepared to assert his authority if she had been as defiant as she was in the hospital room. At least she had some sense.
“I won’t insult you by pretending you bought that necklace with your wages—a necklace encrusted with so many ‘Tears of the Desert,’ which even I find difficult to obtain.”
When Beth had taken Debert’s necklace, she had thought she was merely confiscating a key to a storage room from an outsider, not the Duke’s necklace.
But now, that decision was coming back to haunt her, threatening to entangle her in a scandal she had desperately wanted to avoid.
“Even if you have a knack for catching men’s eyes, you should still know your place.”
Raphnel delivered the final blow.
Beth’s lips parted, but no words came out, as if a heavy stone were lodged in her throat.
How could she possibly explain this to clear her name?
If she admitted to meeting that man in an empty storeroom, wouldn’t they think it was a secret rendezvous?
And even if she did, it would sound absurd to suggest that a man who terrifies even his own allies was overpowered by a much smaller woman.
She glanced at Debert, who was watching the scene unfold with indifference.
The tranquillizer he had been searching for.
While she didn’t know the full story, it was clear that he had been taking psychoactive drugs for a long time, though whether it was a case of use or abuse was uncertain.
The fact that he had sought out the storeroom at dawn suggested he wanted to keep it hidden, but was it wise to reveal this now?
It was ironic that, despite being terrified of Debert’s name just hours ago, she was now worried about him while cornered. Beth shook her head at her own foolishness.
Who am I to worry about him?
Beth pulled a pen from her pocket. At the very least, she wanted to make it clear that she had done nothing shameful.
Crouching down among the standing men and women in their shoes, Beth seemed even smaller. Debert’s brow furrowed slightly. None of this pleased him.
Here’s the translation of the rest of the chapter into UK English:
—
This absurd situation. That woman, who couldn’t even speak properly, and all she could do was sit down and write, nothing more.
“Why do you keep interfering?”
For a moment, it crossed his mind that perhaps the little woman might have felt hurt by those words.
“I gave it to her. What’s the problem?”
So this time, he decided to interfere. There was no particular reason. Maybe he just wanted to see that stubborn face change its expression for once.
“What do you mean by that, Debert?”
Caught off guard by Debert’s unexpected intervention, Raphnel asked a sharp question that she hadn’t been able to suppress.
“Nurse Beth has been assigned to my care, so I gave her the key that the Madam had entrusted to me. Isn’t that right?”
A statement skilfully blending truth and falsehood.
“Yes, that’s right.”
Caught off guard by Debert’s calm demeanour, the madam found herself backing up his words. While it was true that she had given Beth the key, the notion of a dedicated nurse, which even the hospital director was unaware of, was a stretch.
However, the madam quickly realised that Debert was trying to help Beth. Since she knew how the key had ended up in Beth’s hands, there was no point in prolonging the conversation.
She needed to avoid discussing Debert’s medication in front of Raphnel at all costs.
Even if the necklace belonged to Debert, what difference did it make? After all, the idea of Debert and Beth together was laughable. Like oil and water, the thought of any suspicion between them didn’t even cross her mind.
The madam’s voice gained strength.
“Raphnel, you’ve misunderstood this time. I was the one who asked Beth to be in charge of Debert’s treatment.”
“You entrusted her with the key as well, Madam?”
“Debert rarely comes to the hospital, even when he’s injured. Out of frustration, I gave her the key. But since Debert wouldn’t know about the medicines, I asked Beth specifically to handle it.”
The madam’s voice trembled slightly, as she wasn’t used to lying.
“Since Beth arrived, I’ve put her in charge of the commander’s treatment as the head nurse.”
It was as if they had coordinated their lies beforehand; the situation was tied up neatly.
Even to Beth, who was involved in the lie, Debert’s words sounded like the truth.
“I see.”
Suppressing her rising irritation, Raphnel helped Beth to her feet. She was willing to put on this show. After all, she didn’t want to lose the madam’s trust.
“I’m sorry, Beth. I misunderstood. My apologies to you too, Madam. There have been so many disgraceful rumours in Wayne recently, I must have overreacted.”
“I understand, Raphnel.”
The madam was now so exhausted that she barely had the energy to continue.
“Beth, if you won’t listen to reason, go find Aines and catch up on the morning meeting.”
She needed to get this disobedient girl out of her sight to calm her racing heart. Beth, sensing the opportunity, hurried up the stairs, with Debert’s gaze following her. She was frustratingly slow to act but quick to seize the moment when necessary.
“We’ll be late, Raphnel.”
Arthur’s grip tightened around Raphnel’s wrist.
“It’s really time we left.”
Raphnel had no desire to stay any longer in this wretched hospital. For once, she even found herself appreciating Arthur’s timely intervention.
As Arthur led her away, Raphnel stared at his back with a blank expression.
“It hurts.”
Arthur didn’t turn around. It was only after he had helped Raphnel into the carriage that he released his tight grip on her wrist.
“If we take the carriage to the village, there will be a military vehicle waiting.”
Arthur’s words were a distraction—something else to say instead of what he truly wanted to express.
“That’s not what you really want to say, is it?”
They were the only ones with whom they could drop their facades.
At least she should listen to what he is really thinking.
“Don’t hold it in.”
Arthur’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard.
“Why are you treating Beth like that?”
Beth. Beth. That damn Beth.
Raphnel squeezed her eyes shut. It felt as though she’d been drenched in dirty water after just one night at the hospital, with Beth’s name following her everywhere.
Arthur spoke quietly.
“Don’t be swayed by the slight breeze.”
A breeze.
Raphnel vividly remembered her mother, who had withered away, desperately yearning for the Emperor’s love all her life.
As one of the Emperor’s countless concubines, she had been a weak woman, trembling at even the slightest breeze from his heart.
A pitiable woman who had died in loneliness, forgotten in the cold chambers of the palace.
Raphnel, who had inherited her blood, instinctively knew.
Debert was different now.
“I can’t even tolerate a breeze.”
Her blue eyes were as calm as the sea before a storm.
