Chapter 23
Beth sat blankly on the hallway stool.
Curious eyes were drawn to the nurse in a bloodstained, dark red dress, but Beth was too out of it to even notice the stares.
How had she ended up back here?
Fragments of memory swirled chaotically in her mind.
Debert had shielded her, then collapsed, pulling her down with him. She remembered the dampness soaking one side of her arm from where his body had leaned against her. When she came to her senses, she was already back here.
“Beth.”
A voice calling her name brought her vacant eyes up. It was Dixie.
“Let’s get you changed.”
Dixie wasn’t sure what to say, so she simply suggested changing clothes, taking Beth’s hand to guide her. But Beth pulled her hand away.
Her dark eyes wandered into the air. Dixie cautiously took her hand again.
“It’s been an hour already. I’ll let you know as soon as the surgery is over. Let’s go to your room.”
No. Beth, with a pale face and bloodstains on her cheek, shook her head. Dixie’s words didn’t even reach her ears.
What happened to him?
Why is the surgery taking so long?
Is it serious? Is his life in danger?
‘I can’t let my body fall into enemy hands.’
How long had it been since he said that? The man had been shot, as if to demonstrate what he meant.
Beth buried her face in her small hands. The scent of dried blood was chilling.
If Debert hadn’t rushed in, it would be Beth in that operating room right now. Perhaps she wouldn’t have even made it to the operating room before drawing her last breath.
After several attempts to console her, Dixie gave a regretful look to Ines, who was watching from a distance.
Time moved slowly for Beth, who was left alone again. So slowly, it felt suffocating.
* * *
The door to the operating room, which seemed like it would never open, finally did, long past noon.
Beth, who had been standing like stone in front of the door, suddenly sprang up. The man was lying face down on the stretcher. He hadn’t moved, likely still under the effects of the anaesthesia.
The sight of Beth, frozen with worry and dishevelled, tugged at Molly’s heart.
(T/L: Ohky, so here they used the word wife instead of Molly. In olden times, a wife was referred to as a woman. In Korean, the term “부인” (pronounced buin) is a formal and respectful way to refer to a wife. It can also be used more generally to mean “woman” in certain formal contexts. 부인 (Buin): This term is commonly used to show respect when referring to someone’s wife or to address a woman in a formal setting. It implies a level of social formality and respect. So here I just used Molly.
“There’s a bed available in the general ward. Should we move him there?” someone asked.
Molly shook her head.
“That won’t do. Move him to the fourth-floor isolation room.”
As she said this, Molly glanced at Beth.
The injury was more severe than expected. It wasn’t life-threatening, but for an empire on the brink of battle, it was a critical flaw.
On this battlefield, Debert’s body wasn’t his alone. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the entire Nexus owed him their lives.
That’s why the fact that the Nexus army’s commander had been ambushed needed to be kept as quiet as possible.
“Beth, are you alright?”
She asked, even though she knew it was a meaningless question.
“Staying like this will only alarm people. Go change your clothes and clean up.”
Beth grabbed Molly’s sleeve. Her grip was tight, fuelled by fear.
“Debert will be fine. He’s survived this long. Don’t worry.”
The ‘this long’ Beth understood referred to Debert’s time in the war, but the woman meant something different.
Duchess Diana Molly had known Debert since before he became a boy soldier.
She remembered the old rumours circulating in society and the young Debert who confirmed their truth.
Perhaps that time had been more of a hell for Debert than now.
“Go on now. You’re Debert’s personal nurse, aren’t you?”
The duchess smiled faintly as she mentioned ‘personal nurse.’ It was an inside joke only known to Debert, the duchess, and Beth.
A sly lie that had once cleared Beth of a false charge had left behind a phrase.
Debert’s personal nurse.
Beth’s lips curled up, mimicking the duchess’s smile. She had thought it was a meaningless phrase, but now it carried so much weight.
At last, Beth’s feet slowly moved towards her quarters. Even the tips of her hair, fluttering in the wind, were crusted with blood.
‘Grant me the honour of escorting you.’
The door to her quarters, with its broken lock, swung open easily.
When Debert had stood in front of this door, it seemed so small. But for Beth, even this door felt too big and heavy.
* * *
Beth left her quarters again at dusk.
The duchess hadn’t forbidden her from working, but she had made Beth promise to rest for at least half a day.
Her steps, unlike usual, led her around the hospital’s outskirts. Turning along the roughly hewn forest path, she reached the medical storage where she had encountered Debert.
Standing in front of the storage door, she pulled out the necklace hidden beneath her clothes. Then she took some sedatives from the shelf, wrapping a few pills in a small piece of paper.
She might not be able to ask another nurse for the medicine.
Beth’s mind was filled with countless assumptions.
Several times, the bottle slipped from her hands. She couldn’t help it with the bandages wrapped around them.
‘I’ll hold it for you.’
How much had that man occupied her thoughts since returning from the village? The words he had spoken echoed repeatedly in her ears.
With an irritated hand, she unwrapped the bandages. The wound had mostly healed, and only the last scab remained, itching.
Her heart pounded in time with her steps as she walked towards the hospital.
As she gathered what she needed in the dispensary and climbed the stairs, the supplies on the tray wobbled precariously. It was likely due to her vague fear of seeing Debert’s condition.
She hesitated in front of the isolation room, unable to open the door. Suddenly, the door swung open.
“Oh? Beth?”
Arthur greeted her with a cheerful face as he stepped out of the isolation room.
Worry for Debert was written all over her face. Why? Why did that bother him so much? Just like when he saw her intently writing something on Debert’s hand last night, it made him uneasy.
“Seeing it now, it’s not that bad after all.”
Arthur forced a playful tone, trying to hide his true feelings. But when he saw the hopeful look in Beth’s eyes, his heart wavered.
Maybe he shouldn’t have lied.
“Debert’s lucky.”
Arthur smiled, but it wasn’t his usual carefree grin; it seemed somewhat subdued.
“He even has a personal nurse.”
An awkward expression crossed Beth’s face.
“It’s unfair. I’m the commander of Nexus too, but no one’s here to look after me.”
Arthur hid his true feelings behind the playful remark.
Everyone saw him as nothing more than a fortunate prince, and no one was interested in knowing Arthur as a person.
He knew this better than anyone. Even though the former emperor had passed away some time ago, many still referred to him as ‘prince.’
It just meant that as long as he played the role of the emperor’s beloved youngest son, that was enough.
Worried he might burden Beth, Arthur quickly backtracked.
“Please look after me if I ever fall ill. Though, of course, I’d prefer not to get sick.”
Beth nodded quickly.
Arthur watched her face for a moment before dramatically stepping aside.
“After you, nurse. My friend is dying.”
Beth hurriedly opened the door at the mention of ‘dying.’ The door closed with a sharp click, and Arthur felt a pang in his heart, as if it were a rejection of him. But what could he do?
This had always been his life.
* * *
In the dim room, the stark white bandages caught her eye.
The man, still unconscious from the anaesthesia, lay as still as he had when first brought in on the stretcher, as if dead.
But because he was the army commander, a small side table had been placed next to the bed, and a bell rope was attached nearby.
His right shoulder and the area around his shoulder blade were particularly heavily bandaged. Though Beth knew the reddish stains were from antiseptics, not blood, it still chilled her to see them.
Beth stared intently at Debert’s half-revealed face. It was a courage she could muster only because he was asleep.
His usually piercing eyes were peacefully closed. Not that she had ever tried to notice before, but even his eyelashes were a deep grey.
She remembered holding an injured retriever puppy when she was younger. That puppy’s eyes, and even its eyelashes, were probably a light shade, just like its fur.
Beth pulled a small paper packet of medicine from her pocket. She hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to leave it on the bedside table, but then put it back in her pocket. After all, she’d be visiting often now.
He had saved her life; the least she could do was keep his secret.
His hair, usually impeccably neat, was now a tangled mess, perhaps from the scuffle in the market. Beth’s hand hovered hesitantly in the air, just barely touching the strands.
Although she always trembles at even the slightest hint of scandal…
But now…
Taking advantage of the darkness, Beth’s hand finally touched Debert’s hair. The grey strands, which she had expected to be rough and bristly like the man’s personality, were surprisingly soft, reminiscent of that small puppy’s fur.
Maybe it was that softness that reassured her.
Her awkward fingers moved more confidently. It wasn’t as neat as usual, but at least it was tidy enough that no one would mock him if they saw it.
In her pocket was another note she hadn’t yet delivered. Because before he held her hand and ran away, that last face of his, grumbling about not knowing how to be grateful, hung on her chest as if it were a lump.
After much deliberation, the only words she had managed to write were ‘Thank you.’
Debert slept on, not even making a sound as he breathed. Beth gathered the tray and stood up.
She resolved to return before dawn the next day. After all, it wouldn’t do for the person who had saved her life to be disappointed by her tardiness.
As she opened the door, the faint light from the corridor reached the foot of the bed where the man lay.
The rattling sound in her pocket echoed in the silence. It wasn’t just the note she hadn’t delivered yet.
Was this really the right thing to do?
A small doubt arose, but no one would know.
She reached into her pocket again and pulled out the scar ointment he had given her.
Just as Debert had touched her wounds, now it was Beth’s turn to gently apply the ointment to his back. The deep scars between the bandages told of a long, painful history.
Her wounds are already healing.
But this man’s scars would never fully heal; they had already become part of him.
Even so, even so…
Beth didn’t stop until the small ointment jar was half empty. Finally, she felt she could turn away from him and leave the room.
Click.
The door closed, and after her soft footsteps faded down the corridor, Debert finally let out the breath he had been holding.
“What on earth…?” (T/L: Ayshhh, lol its must have been hard on him.)
His murmured words trembled.
What on earth is she doing to him?
How on earth does he deal with her?
