Chapter 4
Beth doubted her ears. What do you want to see together?
Before her confused mind could settle, the screams of the captured spy, convulsing as if in a fit, filled her ears.
Debert grabbed Beth’s frozen arm and lifted her.
Their footsteps created a discordant noise as Beth’s stumbling feet contrasted with Debert’s orderly military boots scraping the dirt floor.
No matter how much Beth tried to pull her bottom away or swat at Debert’s hand, it was futile. He dragged her along as if he were deaf to her protests.
Whether it was due to the cold night air of the battlefield heading into winter or the menacing aura of this man, a shiver ran down Beth’s spine.
Debert dragged Beth to the centre of the barracks. A few steps ahead, the spy, who had been dragged earlier, was sprawled on a pile of firewood, convulsing.
‘Because he was young and sick.’
Debert let out a silent snort. Helping the enemy for such a pathetic reason. She couldn’t even save her own life properly.
As he pulled the whimpering woman like a dog forward, she shook her head in horror. Debert intended to make a point. Whether she was a spy or a military nurse,.
“Watch.”
Yeah, that arrogant talk has no effect, at least on my battlefield.
Even as she shook her head frantically, Beth squeezed her eyes shut at the glimpse of a lighter’s flame. She wanted to block her ears if she could, but Debert had bound her hands, leaving her no choice.
All she could do was close her eyes, lower her head, and shrink further in front of this man.
Silent tears fell onto Debert’s military boots.
“Beth!”
A middle-aged woman’s piercing voice flew towards them.
“Oh my God, Beth. Oh my.”
Mrs. Molly, who was usually unshakable, came running, clutching her chest. As the tension briefly eased, Beth’s legs began to give out, but Debert caught her.
“Debert. No, Duke Debert. Beth is, Beth is my child.”
For Mrs. Molly, who had no children, to immediately claim “my child.” Escorting her, Arthur’s eyes met Debert’s in the air.
“I brought her up from Wayne. She was supposed to arrive this evening.”
Mrs. Molly closed her eyes and took a breath.
She was beyond shocked. Beth was supposed to arrive much earlier, but she hadn’t, so Mrs. Molly had been waiting. But to think, an air raid. And now, Debert was interrogating Beth!
“I vouch for Beth’s identity. Duke Cliff. On the honour of Molly.”
At those words, Debert raised an eyebrow.
Diana Molly, the Empire’s only duchess, had staked her family’s honour. He had no intention of disgracing a respected lady. He understood the need to save face among nobles.
“Understood, ma’am. Take her.”
“Beth, can you stand? Duke Arthur, could you help her?”
As Mrs. Molly supported Beth to walk, Debert intervened again.
“I forgot something. Can I take the nurse to the tent for a moment?”
Beth nodded quietly at Mrs. Molly’s worried glance. She assumed he intended to return her death certificate now that her identity was confirmed. Beth didn’t want to leave anything of hers with Debert.
Debert did not look back at Beth until they returned to the tent.
Unlike Beth, who walked directly to the bedside table as if it were natural, Debert headed in the opposite direction.
Debert brought over a clean pair of military boots placed beside neatly folded extra uniforms. Beth’s eyes darted between the perfectly placed boots in front of her and Debert. What on earth was he planning?
“Wear them.”
Knowing his gaze was on her mud-covered feet, Beth quickly pulled one foot back. It was an instinctive act to avoid showing any more disgrace, but Debert’s relentless gaze did not waver.
Debert bent one knee.
The oppressive eyes that had been overbearing since the forest now looked up at her.
“Do you think that will hide it?”
Debert’s hand grabbed her ankle. It was barely even an ankle. He stuffed the excess of her military uniform into the boot. Even after tightening the laces, it was still too large, but at least it would prevent further injury until she returned to the hospital.
“I will return the certificate after verifying it again.”
As if reading her mind, Debert mentioned the certificate.
After perfectly tightening the laces on one foot, Debert slowly stood up. Beth’s wary eyes sparkled under his shadow.
“If you are a military nurse, then I should treat you with respect as a soldier.”
It was a straightforward conclusion.
* * *
“A stroke of bad luck.”
Arthur was certain.
Even Debert thought the air raid on the rear hospital was an unfortunate coincidence. Even if it was the night before the Nexus operation.
“I heard not only the hospital director but also the nurses seemed to have colluded with Kovach. Of course, we’ll know more once we send the inspection team tomorrow.”
“That woman.”
“They must have deemed her useless because she couldn’t speak.”
“Useless…”
The mute, useless variable of tonight.
He didn’t entirely distrust Mrs. Molly’s words but didn’t fully believe them either. Humans ultimately believe what they want to believe.
Debert continued his thoughts. If the woman who survived the air raid was indeed a spy.
What could she do to me?
He pulled out the certificate sticking out among the papers and read it again. The information was so ordinary that he could memorise it instantly. The only notable thing was that there was no second recipient.
It seems she has only one family member.
His gaze, skimming the unremarkable certificate, halted.
Amid the dense scars and scratches on his hand, there were unfamiliar nail marks. He recalled the woman scratching and hitting him in a futile act of resistance.
Debert examined the marks with interest, finding them more intriguing than the certificate.
“What are you looking at?”
At Arthur’s question, Debert lightly shook his head.
The certificate, which Beth had treasured so dearly, went into Debert’s uniform pocket this time. After finishing his thoughts, Debert buttoned up his uniform with a light expression, leaving no gaps.
The conclusion was simple.
“Proceed with the operation as planned.”
There’s nothing she can do to me.
* * *
Debert, who was walking in the lead, raised his right hand. The tension among the soldiers following him heightened with that single gesture. The forest, drenched in the blue hue of dawn, was thick with endlessly growing trees.
Something felt off. But it was just a gut feeling.
Arthur signalled to Debert, who had stopped. A signal that they could delay no longer.
According to the plan, they had to pass through the forest and reach the right wing by afternoon. It was in response to the enemy’s plan to head towards the left wing.
This was the final operation. The soldiers were eager, thinking they could return home once this operation was over. If they retreated now, it would lead to another indefinite battle.
Should he trust his instincts and retreat, or proceed as planned?
As Debert hesitated, Arthur’s right hand rose first. It was an unsanctioned signal.
At that moment, thunderous explosions surrounded the forest. The sound of artillery fire approached closer from Debert’s right.
Damn it. Debert clenched his teeth.
“It’s a trap!!!”
“Argh!!!”
The hidden enemy began to surge from beyond the right flank of the forest. Debert aimed his gun to the right and shouted.
“Retreat to area B6!!”
The battle on the muddy ground had begun.
It was utter chaos, where it was impossible to distinguish friend from foe. Screams and gunfire filled the air in a place devoid of any divine mercy.
The shockwaves from the artillery toppled conifers, shaking the ground and causing bodies to tremble. Corpses rolling down the narrow slope were another form of attack.
Time flowed both slowly and quickly.
The dim sky cast yellow morning light, and the heavy light of the afternoon shone down, but the killing did not stop.
The battle that began at dawn only ended when the sun set.
Had Debert not secretly dispatched a rearguard. The horrific aftermath was something no one wanted to imagine.
The military vehicles were filled with the wounded.
Debert supported the groaning Arthur, who could barely stay conscious, on his shoulder.
“To the lady’s hospital.”
The red sky, stained with blood, covered the heads of the soldiers.
* * *
The ward, filled with the smell of blood from the fallen soldiers, was another battlefield.
“Oh my God, Arthur.”
Mrs. Molly lamented.
After checking Arthur’s gunshot wound, she turned her gaze to Debert. He shook his head to indicate he was not injured. Mrs. Molly nodded and ran to the dispensary.
Debert’s blood-soaked appearance was enough to draw attention. At least outwardly, he seemed the most severely injured. Many glanced at him, but no one approached.
No one except Mrs. Molly dared to touch him in the military hospital. There was no one else to begin with.
Debert, accustomed to the fear people had of him, never found this odd despite his frequent visits to military hospitals.
In the chaotic ward, Debert faced the figure approaching him in silence.
Beth Jane.
A name so common that it is impossible to forget.
Wearing a sky-blue nurse’s uniform instead of the stolen military uniform, she looked like someone he had seen before.
Her skilled hands pulled Debert to a chair and drew white curtains around them. Her dark eyes remained steady, without a hint of what she was thinking. She began to unbutton his shirt with unwavering hands.
Devert, who had been watching the woman with her back to the white curtain for a while, hummed softly.
“Nothing. Move aside.”
His bloodshot, grey eyes gleamed fiercely.
With a small sigh, Beth fumbled over his shirt. But what could she feel through a shirt stiff with dried blood? Her forehead creased slightly.
Beth’s hands hastily resumed unbuttoning his shirt. Debert shot up, but Beth’s stubborn hands refused to release the collar.
“It’s so fucking frustrating.”
As the curtains were drawn open, people’s eyes were drawn to the two struggling.
Devert turned around roughly, as if he were going to leave. At the same time, Beth, who had grabbed the end of his shirt, instinctively pulled his arm. The already loose buttons, weakened by the ferocity of the battle, scattered across the noisy hospital floor, leaving his bare back exposed solely to Beth.
In that moment, Debert saw it.
Beth had frozen at the sight of the scars on his back.
“Damn it, what are you doing?”
Debert’s furious shout echoed through the hospital ward.
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TRANSLATOR:
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Happy reading : )
