Chapter 28
In the deserted hospital corridor, Arthur finally collapsed.
This is the best he can do. The best.
He repeated the words over and over to himself. His hands, as he rubbed his face, trembled slightly, a sight that even he found pitiful. Was this fear, guilt, or perhaps a mix of both?
Words once spoken cannot be taken back.
The path of return was gone.
“Please….”
A sigh escaped him, though he wasn’t sure who he was pleading with. He leaned against the wall and pushed himself up. He had to move to get away from this place, even if just for a moment.
As he staggered towards the main entrance of the hospital, he hesitated. Then he turned and headed towards the rear exit instead. He didn’t want to face anyone.
“Ah.”
Of all people, he encountered one of the two he most wanted to avoid.
Even though he knew their eyes had met, he pretended not to notice, turning his head away. But Beth’s faint touch stopped him.
Arthur slowly lowered his gaze to his elbow, where her small hand grasped his sleeve.
It was a gentle hold, one that he could have easily ignored and walked away from.
But he couldn’t lie about this. It wasn’t just his sleeve she was clutching; it felt like she had grabbed a piece of his heart.
At the end of his downcast gaze, she held out a small bandage. Beth pointed to the area near his finger.
“It’s fine….”
It was such a small wound, barely worth the bandage. It was just a tiny mark that had exposed his shameful state.
As soon as Arthur accepted the bandage, Beth retreated back into the hospital.
“This is the best I can do. This is the best.”
The soft murmur continued.
He is the Emperor’s eye. He has the imperial blood, so he must bear the responsibility. This is for Nexus.
So… so….
Excluding Debert from just one battle won’t hurt. He’s already injured.
But what about Beth?
“Damn it.”
She’s Debert’s wish.
If there are many things that could be swayed by the wind, it’s my duty to eliminate that wind. What difference does it make if one woman disappears?
On the forest path leading to the barracks, where no one could see him, Arthur fell to his knees.
Is it because he covets what Debert has?
“Pathetic bastard. Foolish idiot.”
All because of one nagging question in his mind.
As if praying desperately, Arthur curled up on the ground. His frail posture was hardly befitting a prince of Nexus and a commanding officer.
The wind blew, cold and biting.
* * *
“Letters have arrived! Letters!”
Dixie’s shout echoed through the hospital as she carried in the long-awaited post.
Even the soldiers, who had been lying in bed groaning, brightened at the news. Only those who had experienced it could understand how much strength a single letter could bring in this place.
“Sergeant Ivan, it’s from your wife. Oh, Private Maiden, your father has written to you.”
Somehow, Dixie had managed to memorise all the injured soldiers’ names, taking on the role of postman with enthusiasm.
“Ines.”
Ines’ eyes widened in surprise when she heard her name.
“It’s from your mother. Now that your fiancé is here, you’ve lost all interest in letters, haven’t you? I should tell her all about it when I visit Wayne.”
Amid the cheerful atmosphere in the ward, only Beth wore a troubled expression. Half of the letters had already been handed out, but her name had yet to be called.
It was only when Dixie distributed the last letter to its recipient that Beth finally exhaled the breath she had been holding.
“Beth, it seems your letter hasn’t arrived yet. The supply routes have been blocked frequently these days.”
Everyone assumed that Beth’s sombre expression was due to not receiving a letter, but in truth, it was the opposite. She was relieved no letter had come. That meant the worst hadn’t happened yet.
Leaving the well-meaning words of comfort behind, Beth crouched in the corner of the empty pharmacy. Her heart, which had been pounding anxiously, gradually calmed down. She took a moment to steady herself.
Earlier, when she visited the isolation room, Debert had been engrossed in his work.
Instead of the usual bottle of alcohol on his bedside table, there were scattered maps and papers covered in hastily scribbled notes.
It seemed the rumours about the final battle being imminent were true.
Contrary to her worries that he might pick a fight, Debert had taken his medicine and had his dressing changed without any of his usual teasing.
Even as Beth packed up to leave, his attention remained fixed on the documents.
“Beth. Ines. Dr. Barden. Giselle.”
Mrs. Molly clapped her hands to capture everyone’s attention and then called out several names in succession.
“Come to the hospital director’s office.”
As they ascended the stairs, tension hung in the air among the group, who had no idea why they had been summoned. When they reached the office, Mrs. Molly, keeping a composed expression, surveyed the gathered staff.
“This is the selection list for the field hospital.”
Someone gasped, drawing in a sharp breath.
“You are made up of the finest talents, so you can take pride in yourselves.”
The woman concealed her anxiety by hiding her hands behind her back. The head of the military hospital must not appear timid.
Any sign of weakness would only heighten their fears.
“I understand that some of you have experienced field hospitals before, while for others, this will be your first time.”
Beth gently took Ines’s fingertips in her hand. Ines squeezed her hand tightly in response.
“You all know what kind of place it is, even without an explanation. It’s a place where arms that were once attached can come flying at you, and there’s no certainty that the person you saw in the morning will still be there by evening.”
The woman looked at Beth.
“This operation is top secret. None of you must disclose that you have been draughted for field hospital duty, not to anyone. The same applies to the fact that there will be a battle. Until the day arrives, you must maintain your usual duties. That is all. Dismissed.”
The woman turned around first. Her heart ached as she looked into the black eyes that were full of trust in her.
Beth was an excellent nurse. That had been clear since her days at Wayne Nursing School.
After Beth came to the frontline hospital, she had often been stricter with her, hoping the timid girl would grow stronger. She had also often thought that Beth might someday be sent to a field hospital.
But when Arthur actually said the name ‘Beth,’ it felt like her heart had dropped.
That girl can’t even scream. Why on earth, of all people, must it be Beth?
“What is His Majesty thinking?”
A battle without Debert. Moreover, a battle he knows nothing about.
In the silent room, the woman’s worries deepened.
* * *
Beth quietly tiptoed to check the isolation room but suddenly threw the door open.
Debert was not there. He was nowhere to be seen in the isolation room, which was fully visible at a glance. How could someone who was supposed to be quarantined on the fourth floor have disappeared?
Even though she knew it made no sense, Beth was so taken aback that she even opened the window to look down. Where had he gone, when he had been calling for her every night? The clock had already passed 11 p.m.
As she leaned back in the chair, the bedside table, messier than it had been during the day, caught her eye.
Battle. Field hospital. Unfamiliar yet familiar words echoed in her ears.
It was something she had always thought about, but even so, she couldn’t hide her unease. The tremor she felt through the hand she held from Ines conveyed just how tough a place the field hospital was.
What if she dies there?
In her pocket, alongside the ointment, she felt the cold muzzle of a gun. The cold sensation brought back memories of the chaos with the Kovach spy, which already seemed like a distant memory.
Back then, she wanted to live so badly.
She might be walking into the line of fire. Even so, it was something she had resolved to do from the moment she chose the frontline.
And the death certificate that held the reason for that resolution was now with the man she was waiting for.
Midnight was approaching, but the man had not yet arrived. Where could he have gone? Her tired eyes slowly began to close.
She’ll wait just until midnight.
That faint resolve faded as she drifted off to sleep.
When Debert opened the door to the isolation room, the first thing he saw was Beth, slumped over the bedside table, asleep. The clock had already struck midnight.
Debert, dressed impeccably in uniform, looked nothing like an injured man. The fact that he was on the fourth floor was a secret, but the presence of the military general was no secret. It wasn’t unusual for the commander to be seen walking around.
After all, no one knew whether he was right-handed or left-handed. He had been freely wandering around the barracks before coming here.
The strategy meeting that had begun early in the evening had only ended as midnight approached. And even that had been cut short by his decision.
She’s a woman who follows principles to an infuriating degree, so she was bound to keep her promise to come and apply ointment every night. She might have already arrived and started looking for him when she found him not there.
He had run quite a distance to get here before midnight, and now his right shoulder and upper back ached.
Debert opened the window to cool down his body and then pulled it shut again. Was that old nurse’s uniform always the same? Winter had come, yet there was no sign that the fabric had thickened.
As he took off his uniform jacket and unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt to get more comfortable, the woman still showed no sign of waking. He knew that the military hospital, like the military itself, was a place where there was little rest.
Debert’s gaze returned to Beth, who was slumped over the map. She had turned her head towards the bed. When he kneeled down on one knee and crouched beside her, their eyes were almost level.
A few strands of black hair, contrasting against her pale face, were covering her face. Debert’s hand reached out towards the hair. It was so light that it didn’t even register, just like the woman it belonged to.
Beth Janes, who wasn’t frowning, scared, or angry.
His hand hovered in the air, having lost its excuse to touch her.
Had she realised his improper thoughts?
The woman’s closed eyelids fluttered, and then her jet-black eyes were staring at him.
In those eyes that seem to answer only the truth no matter what you ask.
“Did you sleep well?”
It was too much of a curiosity.
His nights are hell. How is her?
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TRANSLATOR:
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