Chapter 20
“Beth!”
Ines’s shrill scream instantly shattered the peaceful atmosphere of the hospital room.
“Oh, dear.”
Lady Molly, who had been engrossed in conversation with Debert, quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Even before Lady Molly could take a step, Debert had already turned around.
Debert swiftly caught Beth as she collapsed, his gaze locking onto Lady Molly.
“T-Take her to the operating room,” she stammered, her trembling hand pointing down the shabby corridor.
Debert, seemingly unfazed by the weight of the unconscious woman, dashed down the corridor and burst into the operating room. Beth was gently laid on the cold bed.
This is the second time. The second time he’s seen this woman with her eyes closed.
What happened this time?
A drop of blood adorned her small lips, likely from hitting the floor when she collapsed. The stark contrast of her pale face against the vividly red lips made her appear even more fragile.
Debert’s thumb gently brushed against her lips.
“What’s going on?”
A crowd quickly gathered, forcing Debert to step back. However, the blood on her lips had already been discreetly wiped away in his hand.
While everyone fussed over Beth’s condition, Debert quietly retreated, his expression growing sharp.
Even while unconscious, her hand was tightly clenched, gripping something as if her life depended on it.
No one paid attention to Debert standing by the bed. He held the woman’s small, cold hand as if soothing her. Beth was wandering through a terrible nightmare, not knowing that this man had taken possession of the secret she had tried so hard to keep.
“She just collapsed suddenly. I was only handing her a letter,” someone explained.
A letter. Debert absently fiddled with the rough paper already in his pocket.
“We’ll need to check on her again once she wakes up. For now, it’s hard to determine the cause…”
The doctor, after listening to her heart and lungs with his stethoscope, offered his opinion.
Lady Molly nodded in agreement, gently stroking Beth’s sweaty forehead.
She silently scolded herself for not being more insistent earlier.
It hadn’t been long since Beth went through that ordeal, and while it seemed she was coping well, Lady Molly had assumed she would manage, considering her strength.
But now, those careless judgements weigh heavily on her.
“She needs to rest. She hasn’t slept for days.”
Lady Molly composed herself and looked around.
“Commander Debert, could you take Beth back to her quarters?”
The hospital only had an isolation room available, and she was reluctant to lay Beth there again, which prompted her to make this unusual request.
“I know it’s asking a lot-“
“I’ll do it.”
Debert removed his uniform jacket. He roughly covered Beth’s still-unopened eyes with it, then gently lifted her, feeling her small head lean against his chest.
“Ines, please guide him to her quarters.”
“I know the way. Just tell me which room it is.”
“Oh, it’s on the second floor, the far left corner, right below the window.”
As soon as the words were spoken, Debert headed outside without hesitation. A rather sharp wind blew, making him pull the woman in his arms even closer to him.
Last night, they had walked this path together.
They were walking the same path now, with the same person, yet the feeling was different. The faint breaths coming from the woman in his arms seemed as though they might stop with the next strong gust of wind.
The old door to the quarters creaked open after a few pushes with his shoulder. Is this really what they call a door? Despite his irritation, Debert’s steps were unusually careful.
Beth still didn’t open her eyes, even when he laid her on the shabby bed in the narrow room. Her tightly furrowed brows suggested she was having a rather distressing dream.
Debert had recognised Beth the moment he entered the hospital room after finishing his call. Wherever she went, the faded blue of her dress caught his eye, as if a hook had pulled her into his view.
A worn piece of paper dangled from Debert’s fingers.
“Beth, it’s your uncle.”
An uncle. Beth and family. It was a rather fitting combination of words.
“Kopel 432-19”
I didn’t know her hometown was Kopel. But then again, what do I even know about that woman? Debert thought with a faint smile.
He turned the paper over, but there was nothing more. Was this really worth fainting over?
Perhaps it wasn’t the letter at all but the lingering trauma from her time in the isolation room that caused her collapse, as some of the onlookers had whispered.
“Commander.”
Ines entered the room, panting slightly as she set down Beth’s belongings.
“Thank you very much. You can leave now.”
She dragged a rickety wooden chair next to the bed.
“I’ll stay with her, Commander. Thank you.”
Noticing that Debert didn’t seem inclined to leave, Ines cautiously added.
“Yes, of course.”
With some reluctance, Debert finally turned to leave. The creaking of the stairs, which had bothered him since carrying Beth up, now seemed even more grating.
* * *
“Beth, are you awake?”
Ines quickly closed the book she had been reading and hurried to support Beth.
“Do you know how much you scared me, fainting like that as soon as you saw the letter?”
Beth’s vision wavered, and between the blurs, she saw her friend’s worried face. The word “letter” echoed slowly in her ears.
Beth’s hand, which had been holding her head, frantically patted her body.
“What is it? Are you looking for something?”
Her hand, trembling with urgency, swept across the bed, beneath the pillow, and the nightstand. The neatly arranged notebook and pen tumbled to the floor, but she was too desperate to notice, her nails digging painfully into her palm.
[Letter]
Ines, recognising the word written in her palm, glanced around.
“The letter? Oh, where did it go?”
Ines had been so shocked by her friend’s sudden collapse that she hadn’t even thought to pick up the letter. But was it even on the floor? She couldn’t clearly remember.
Beth’s heart pounded wildly.
What if someone saw it?
The thumping in her chest rose to her throat, making it hard to breathe.
“Did Commander Debert take it? He brought you here, you know.”
Before Ines could finish, Beth leapt out of bed. Where that burst of energy came from in her frail body, Ines couldn’t say.
She rushed out after Beth, but her friend was already running toward the opposite side of the hospital, heading towards the barracks.
“Beth! I’ll go look in the hospital! Please come back soon!”
Beth didn’t notice the biting cold of the wind. As if possessed, she raced down a path she had never taken before.
How long had she been running? After passing through a well-trodden forest path, she spotted familiar military uniforms. The soldiers turned to stare at the woman suddenly sprinting toward the camp, but she didn’t have the time to care.
The sky, growing darker, only added to Beth’s urgency. Even as she looked around, there was no one nearby she could ask about the commander’s whereabouts. Was he even here?
Her breath quivered with anxiety.
“Beth… Nurse?”
A familiar voice made her abruptly turn around.
Arthur approached with a bewildered expression. His sharp blue eyes beneath the angular military cap were filled with questions about the nurse who had appeared in such an unexpected place.
“How did you get here?”
Beth quickly raised her palm. Just as her fingers, filled with tension, crossed her palm to ensure they were visible in the darkness, she caught sight of something beyond Arthur’s shoulder.
Those sharp grey eyes, watching her.
It’s him.
Maybe it’s because she’s always seen him in the dark.
The deeper the darkness fell, the clearer he became.
Arthur, his gaze fixed somewhere else, stared blankly at Beth as she brushed past him. It didn’t take long for him to realise that the focus of his attention was on his friend.
Through the haze of cigar smoke, Debert watched as the woman walked towards him. How long had it been since she collapsed as if dead, only to reappear before him in this dishevelled state?
Though her hair was tangled and her face still pale, it was a far better sight than the corpse-like appearance she had earlier.
As Debert, cigar in mouth, cast a sidelong glance at her, Beth reached out her hand.
“What is it?”
Her expression was different from usual—more desperate, more angry.
[Letter]
There was no way he couldn’t recognise the handwritten word on her delicate palm.
But still…
“I can’t see it in the dark.”
Beth, panting with frustration, grabbed his other hand—the one not holding the cigar. It was a bold move, disregarding all the proper conduct expected of a lady of Nexus.
Her white fingers gently traced over the calloused surface of his palm.
[Letter]
Beth looked up at him. Surely, he’ll understand now.
But Debert, seemingly still at a loss, simply shook his head. Normally so sharp and perceptive, now he was utterly oblivious. Frustrated, she repeatedly traced the same word on his palm.
From a distance, Arthur watched Beth draw something over and over again on Debert’s hand. He wasn’t sure if he should be witnessing this, but he couldn’t look away.
“Oh, is this it?”
After she had written ‘Letter’ roughly five times, Debert finally produced the item she so desperately sought. Beth snatched the letter from his hand and glanced up at him briefly.
“I didn’t read it.”
As if reading her mind, he gave the answer she wanted to hear.
Now that she had found the letter, Beth needed to return quickly and get permission from Lady Molly to go out. Weary, she retraced her steps.
In the meantime, the darkening sky announced the early winter at the frontlines.
The energy she had when she came here was gone, and as Beth walked with slumped shoulders, a coat was draped over her.
“Just wear it until you get back to the hospital. There’s no one around on the way.”
Everything felt difficult—the contents of the letter, the man who had made her run to a barrack she’d never been to before, and even the day that wasn’t yet over.
She wanted to tell Debert, who was walking beside her, to stop following her, to leave her alone. But how could she even communicate that? It had taken so long to convey a single word like ‘letter’.
All Beth could do was move as quickly as she could.
Lady Molly couldn’t hide her surprise at the unexpected duo standing before her.
“What brings you both here?”
Beth, too exhausted to explain the meaningless company, simply handed over the yellowed paper.
Lady Molly’s face hardened as she took the letter. Everything suddenly made sense now—what had caused the girl who had endured life-threatening situations to collapse.
“Ah, it’s about going out, isn’t it? As you know, the current atmosphere is tense. Going to the market alone is far too dangerous.”
Who could she trust to accompany Beth through the chaos of war?
Two faces flashed through her mind, and she recalled the small commotion Arthur and Raphnel had caused just yesterday morning. That little scandal, filled with rumours, had upset her deeply.
She didn’t disapprove of Arthur, but the thought of Beth being involved with him made her uneasy.
That left only one person.
“Debert, would you accompany Beth tomorrow morning?”
* * *
From the barracks to the hospital, and from the hospital to her quarters, Debert didn’t say a word. Beth, lost in her thoughts, seemed to forget that he was even there.
“Beth.”
The woman, who had been about to close the door, finally turned her empty gaze towards Debert.
“I’ll come for you in the morning. Be ready.”
The morning. Beth repeated the word in her mind, nodding vaguely.
Debert didn’t leave immediately after the door closed. Instead, he looked up at the small, dark window he had noticed the night before. Soon, that window would glow with a yellow light.
Now, he was sure that the shadow behind that light belonged to Beth.
He opened his hand under the light. There were no traces of the words she had written on his scarred and calloused palm.
Even after the light went out, Debert remained standing there for a long time. He couldn’t explain why.
He just wanted to.
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TRANSLATOR:
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