Chapter 17
Beth spent the entire day avoiding interaction with the soldiers, instead burying herself in paperwork and simple chores. No matter how much she insisted that she was fine, it was of no use.
When she stubbornly tried to return to work in the hospital ward, Dixie burst into tears the moment she saw her, forcing Beth to retreat as quickly as she had arrived.
Now, Beth sat alone in the pharmacy, the overhead light flickering uncertainly above her.
She looked up at the crackling sound and slowly turned her stiff neck from side to side. Each sighting movement sent a sharp pain through the wound on her neck.
It was just a scratch from a bullet, but the pain was intense. She could only imagine how much more the bedridden soldiers must be suffering.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she lightly slapped her cheeks to chase away the drowsiness, the sound merging with the buzzing of the faulty lightbulb.
She tried to focus on the prescription she was filling out, but the buzzing sound intensified, and then everything went dark.
The field hospital on the outskirts of Nexus frequently experienced power outages. Despite being the most advanced nation among its neighbouring countries, it was still difficult to supply electricity to every corner of the vast empire.
It was understandable why the daughters of noble families, accustomed to luxury and modern conveniences, found it unbearable to stay in a field hospital.
But to Beth, this was nothing.
She had often gone hungry, shivered in unheated rooms during winter, and spent sleepless nights in feverish delirium.
With practiced ease, she lit the oil lamp on the side of the table, and a soft glow enveloped her. It was a rare moment of comfort, one she hadn’t felt since she started fleeing from ambushes in the rear.
The darkness outside the window was so thick that she could barely see a thing, and for once, there was not a single sound of insects. The unusual silence brought on a wave of drowsiness.
Her shadowed eyelashes fluttered slowly, her vision blurring. Maybe she should just lay her head down for a moment. A brief nap, and she would be as good as new.
Beth’s head was about to tilt towards the window when it happened.
“!”
Beth jerked upright, her heart racing. In her haste, she knocked over the lamp, plunging the room back into darkness.
Her heart pound loudly in her chest.
Just before she had fallen into a light sleep, she had seen the silhouette of a man in the window, reflecting the pharmacy like a black mirror—a man she hadn’t noticed earlier.
Click.
Someone closed the door.
The terror of that early morning incident resurfaced, overwhelming her. Who was it? Another enemy soldier? Beth’s breathing became erratic, filling the space between her and the intruder.
If only she had some light, she might be able to escape. But the man who had closed the door remained silent, making no move.
Beth’s hands fumbled behind her, searching the shelf for something, anything. She didn’t dare turn around, fearing the man might pounce on her. Her fingers kept missing the matchbox she knew was there.
Then she heard a familiar sound—the scrape of a lighter being struck—and with it, a familiar voice.
“What are you looking for?”
The flickering flame illuminated a pair of steely grey eyes.
The moment she realised that the person in the darkness was Debert, Beth’s legs trembled, and she almost collapsed. Debert didn’t miss a beat, catching her with one arm and pulling her up.
The cold air clung to his clothes, suggesting he had just come in from outside.
Beth quickly disentangled herself from his grasp, fumbling as she stepped back. Debert, on the other hand, calmly set the overturned lamp upright and relit it.
“Were you about to sleep?” he asked.
Beth straightened her posture in the chair, trying to hide her embarrassment.
“It’s not shameful to doze off,” he remarked.
The way Debert relaxed his tall frame in the chair, his every movement radiating ease, irritated her to no end.
Beth gripped her pen tightly. What could he possibly want now? She had sworn not to engage in any conversation or incident with him, no matter what.
Debert watched her closely as she buried her head in the medicines spread out before her, clearly intent on ignoring him.
What was she so angry about? After all, he had even saved her from the princess’s trap earlier today.
“Aren’t you going to thank me for saving you?” he asked.
Beth’s hands paused briefly before resuming their task, as if she hadn’t heard a thing.
Debert sighed softly, a hint of amusement in the sound.
“Why are you angry?”
His voice was unusually gentle.
In the daylight, Debert was the perfect duke and military commander, a man with not a single flaw in sight.
But in the hours when shadows stretched long, when he could hide parts of himself, he seemed different—at least to Beth.
Perhaps it was simply because she often encountered him at night.
The flickering lamplight cast deeper shadows across his face, making his eyes seem darker than usual.
Beth tore off a corner of a blank piece of paper and scribbled something on it before sliding it across the table.
[No talking.]
Debert let out a small, almost exasperated laugh. Such arrogance. He supposed he should be grateful she hadn’t simply told him to get lost, like she had that morning. He glanced at the paper, then at her.
She was once again absorbed in sorting through the damned medicines.
Debert’s fingers tapped rhythmically on the table, neither too fast nor too slow. He was a patient man and didn’t stop until Beth finally shot him an irritated look.
“I came to see the nurse, but she won’t treat me. You are my personal nurse, aren’t you? Or am I mistaken?”
Stubborn man. That was Beth’s assessment of Debert.
[What do you want?]
One of Debert’s eyebrows arched slightly. Perhaps he should take this as an improvement from her earlier demand of ‘No talking.’
“You didn’t give me enough medicine last time.”
Beth grimaced as she recalled the tiresome conversation they had about his medication. Despite being annoyed by his intrusion, she thought this might actually be a good opportunity.
Beth quickly removed her necklace and held it out to him. Despite not wanting his visit, she was almost grateful for it.
Contrary to her expectations that he would eagerly take the key, the man merely stared at the necklace without moving. She tried to read his inscrutable expression, but it was always difficult to find any clues in his usually stoic face.
She gave a small wave, indicating that he should take it, but instead, he gently draped the necklace over her slender fingers.
“Isn’t it usually forbidden for anyone but the medical staff to enter?”
He was right. That was precisely why she had boldly confiscated the Duke’s necklace, despite his status as a commander.
Beth hurriedly removed the key from the necklace. As the old, bloodstained key disappeared, the necklace, which was said to be so valuable, finally regained its lustre, gleaming as if it had found its true form.
This time, she handed him the keyless necklace. The knowledge that the thin string connecting her to the Duke would soon be gone made her feel noticeably lighter.
Yet, for some reason, the man remained still, his hands clasped together, as if something else was bothering him. The longer he stayed like that, the more awkward Beth felt, her outstretched arm becoming increasingly uncomfortable.
As Beth hesitated, wondering whether to pick up her pen again, Debert finally spoke.
“Lady Molly told me that I might need to reduce my medication.”
Lies.
“She said that you’d be responsible enough to help me with that.”
One lie smoothly followed another.
Debert’s long shadow fell over Beth as he stood up. He took the necklace from her hand and then picked up the key from the table.
The faded key, now in his possession, slid smoothly into the centre of the necklace.
“It’s a necklace I cherish very much.”
Another lie.
“When I finally stop taking the medicine, I’ll come back for it. Consider it a kind of collateral.”
Debert’s gaze darkened.
“I want to quit.”
His voice, tinged with a slight melancholy, made him sound like a pitiful man who genuinely wanted to stop.
A fool.
He sneered at himself. He had never had any intention of quitting his medication, not in the past and not now.
Debert slowly lifted his gaze. Although he was the one who had lied, it was Beth’s eyes that were trembling.
Well, maybe he’ll miss seeing that innocent, trembling face of hers.
That’s why he did it.
“Of course, I can’t quit right now. I need to take more today as well.”
Beth was reminded of the day she first encountered Debert in the medical storeroom.
Although she had given him a much smaller vial than the one he originally tried to take, it seemed he had already finished it. If that’s the case, then perhaps Lady Molly’s words to him weren’t a lie.
Debert’s seemingly weak words, something she never expected from him, had a greater impact on Beth than he realised. He didn’t know which part of her he had touched.
After a moment of hesitation, Beth stood up and grabbed the lamp. She pointed outside with her finger, indicating that they should go to the storeroom together.
As he followed her, Debert bit his lip slightly, almost laughing.
For all her apparent intelligence, she wasn’t sharp enough to detect his lies. Or perhaps he was just a good actor.
Just as Beth was about to open the hospital’s front door, she suddenly turned back to look at Debert. His face, usually impassive, seemed to have a slight curve at the corners of his lips, almost as if he were smiling.
But what would make him smile next to her? Beth dismissed the thought and turned back to open the door.
As soon as the door was opened, the cold night air rushed in.
Beth’s shoulders hunched up as the bitter chill hit her. Even the faint glow from the small lamp she carried felt like a heater in the freezing cold.
A thick, male jacket was suddenly draped over her shoulders. It was still warm from Debert’s body heat.
Debert took the lamp from Beth’s hand and led the way. She just stood there, staring at him in a daze.
Debert turned back towards her, his expression neutral as always, though the corners of his lips still hinted at a smile.
“Why are you surprised? You wore Arthur’s coat too, didn’t you? It’s just a gentleman’s duty. Can’t let a lady freeze.”
It sounded almost like a joke.
“Let’s go, quickly.”
He nodded towards the storeroom and began walking again.
Beth’s eyes were fixed on the back of the man, who was walking through the night in just his shirt despite the early winter chill. It was the first time she’d really looked at him from behind.
Eventually, Beth began walking too, her footsteps following the path Debert had just taken.
As Debert walked ahead, he could hear the sound of her smaller steps trying to keep up with his longer strides.
A small smile tugged at his lips.
There was no need to hide it.
Today, he had told a rather convincing lie.
Debert was sure of it.
