Chapter 49
Beth hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to do, as Arthur handed her the rough envelope. Reluctantly, she grasped the letter, her fingers tightening around it. She crumpled the letter slightly in her hands, and then clasped them together.
Forcing a smile, Beth quickly excused herself and left the area.
Once Beth had departed, Arthur was left alone.
“Pull yourself together, Arthur Wayner.”
He grabbed the fabric of his shirt near his chest and released it, leaving a creased mark on what had once been a perfectly pressed garment. Perhaps it wasn’t just his shirt that was crumpled, but his heart as well.
He had to keep his feelings hidden.
They couldn’t grow any further.
“Pull yourself together. Please.”
His attempt to steady himself felt feeble. Each step he took away from the spot where Beth had passed was heavy.
* * *
“Beth! What’s wrong with you? You seem out of it!”
Sophia lightly shook Beth’s arm. Snapping back to reality, Beth shook her head, insisting that nothing was wrong.
Sophia looked concerned, noting the unfamiliar distractedness of Beth, who was usually as quick and efficient as Ines during work. But Beth merely smiled brightly and continued sorting the supplies.
The two were doing a final inventory check in the medical storage room. It was almost time to leave the hospital.
With the end of the war, the supply routes had opened up, allowing transport vehicles to come and go several times a day. As the most critically injured soldiers were being returned to Wayne, it was clear the end was near.
Beth’s thoughts briefly turned to Debert, whom she hadn’t seen in days.
Naturally, as a nurse, she couldn’t know everything about the commander’s duties, but from what she’d heard, he was in the final negotiations with the enemy.
People joked that instead of negotiations, Debert Cliff was probably grabbing the Kovach Prince by the collar, but Beth couldn’t bring herself to laugh.
“Hey! The numbers don’t match here!”
Sophia called out to Beth.
Standing in front of the shelf where the painkillers and sedatives were stored, Sophia frowned as she compared the inventory list with the contents of the shelf.
“Look here, there’s quite a discrepancy. Did someone forget to log these?”
The place Sophia pointed to was where Debert’s sedatives were stored. Beth never forgot to log the medication she dispensed to Debert.
As she absentmindedly fiddled with the hidden necklace under her nurse’s uniform, Beth pulled out a pen from her pocket.
[I must have taken it last time and forgotten to log it.]
Beth’s mouth felt dry from the unfamiliar act of lying.
“You forgot to log it? Was there a patient who needed this? If they had to take all of this, it must have been a severe case. Shouldn’t we reserve a spot on the afternoon transport for them?”
[The patient has already been transferred. I don’t remember the name.]
Sophia nodded easily after reading Beth’s hastily written note. It made sense to her that, in a busy war hospital, even Beth might make a mistake.
Unaware of her friend’s thoughts, Beth bit her lip. The headache brought on by the ill-fitting lie worsened.
She wondered how Debert had taken the medication without a key. It would have been better if he’d simply asked her to bring it to him.
She also remembered that he’d mentioned the shortage of medication a few nights ago. She berated herself for being too wrapped up in her own thoughts to take care of him properly.
Her days had been consumed by work, as thoughts and emotions frequently resurfaced.
The busy atmosphere of the hospital was almost a blessing in disguise. Even Dixie, who usually pestered Beth, had fallen silent, noticing her subdued demeanour.
Despite knowing that avoiding the situation wouldn’t help, Beth found comfort in the deepening nightfall.
After everyone had gone to sleep, she had grown accustomed to quietly opening the window by her bedside.
The reason she did this was unclear, even to her. Sometimes, she wished Debert would be there, but at the same time, she feared what she might have to say if she saw him. The letter she’d stuffed between her mattress and bedframe remained unread.
“Tomorrow, we finally head back to Wayne.”
In the early morning, as the medical staff gathered in the hospital director’s office, Mrs Molly smiled at them. Collins, who had stayed to assist the hospital, chuckled heartily, saying, “Finally escaping this wretched place!”
It was only then that Beth realised the end had truly come.
The restless nights felt like they had been mere illusions. Her mind had already accepted the inevitable outcome with quiet resolve.
Before returning to her quarters, she deliberately stopped by the medical storage room. Seeing it now empty, a small wave of emotion washed over her.
‘The negotiations with Kovach were concluded last night.’
Gale had quietly mentioned this to her earlier in the day. It meant that her commander would likely come to see her tonight.
Beth ran her hand over the now empty shelf, feeling the coolness rise.
“It’s empty.”
Beth slowly lowered her hand from the shelf. She could hear the familiar sound of military boots approaching steadily.
“It’s a shame, really.”
Even as the voice drew near to her ear, Beth couldn’t bring herself to turn around.
“It’s been a while. Isn’t it too much not to even show your face?”
A long finger tapped the empty shelf. Beth stared intently at the finger instead of looking at him.
Debert hummed softly before his hand abruptly stopped.
“Tomorrow, we return to Wayne.”
He gently grasped her unresponsive shoulder and turned her towards him. Beth’s eyes remained fixed on the floor, her gaze on her shoes.
“Have you thought about your answer?”
Beth lowered his hand from her shoulder.
[I’ll come to the barracks tonight.]
Debert’s lips twisted into a crooked smile as he tilted his head slightly to read her expression.
“What are you plotting? Planning a grand rejection?”
Beth smiled silently.
She found it amusing that even this man might worry about rejection. Although there wasn’t a hint of genuine concern in his voice, for a brief moment, the man before her seemed like any other.
Beth’s eyes sparkled as she playfully shrugged her shoulders.
[This is the last time.]
“What are you—?”
[Here, it’s the last time.]
Beth hastily added her last words and quickly walked towards the door.
She glanced back once but saw that the man was still standing in front of the shelf. Beth quickly averted her gaze and hurried back to her quarters.
As she picked up her pace, she eventually broke into a run.
By the time she reached her quarters, she was out of breath, her head pounding.
Without pausing, she walked straight to her bed and collapsed onto it. She pulled out the letter she had been avoiding and tore open the envelope.
That dreadful yellow paper.
That terrible handwriting she could never get used to.
As Beth slowly read the letter, which could hardly be called that, her small jaw clenched in determination.
The thin paper slipped weakly from her fingers, fluttering to the floor.
『Debert Cliff. You haven’t forgotten your mother, have you?』
As she opened the most horrifying chapter of her life, Beth’s heart grew calm. The turmoil she had been wrestling with finally reached its conclusion.
* * *
“Beth, has something good happened?”
Ines asked Beth, who finally looked more cheerful after days of seeming unwell, as the final night arrived.
Despite the late hour, the quarters were still bustling as everyone packed their belongings. Laughter and chatter filled the cosy winter night.
“Come on, tell me,”
Dixie, who had been watching Beth’s mood for days, sidled up to her.
[Later.]
“Really?”
After all her pestering, Dixie seemed surprised by Beth’s easy agreement.
“No, I mean the matter with the Duke.”
Dixie whispered in Beth’s ear, thinking she hadn’t understood, but the response was the same—an easy assurance that she would tell her later.
“Why did you change your mind all of a sudden? You were keeping it all a secret.”
The noise around them was so loud that Dixie gave up whispering and asked her question bluntly.
Beth hesitated for a moment, considering her answer. As her pen moved, a smile curved her lips.
[Because I like him.]
Dixie’s eyes widened in surprise as she quickly looked around before covering the paper where Beth had written her answer. Beth laughed again at her friend’s reaction.
Dixie, still confused, could only assume that Beth had fallen head over heels for the Duke. Of course, the Duke was handsome, but still…
Nodding to herself, Dixie took it as a fact.
Beth stared at her answer for a moment before quietly standing up. Everyone was too busy packing and moving things to notice her slipping out.
Now, even just breathing caused white puffs to escape her mouth. The heavy snowfall had covered all footprints, making the world look like a white field.
It seemed everyone was preparing to return to Wayne the next morning, as Beth was the only one outside. Yet, walking alone down the forest path didn’t scare her. Perhaps it was because she knew who was waiting at the end of it.
A faint smile kept escaping her lips.
After walking for some time, she finally saw the one person she could recognise even in the dark.
“I was going to come for you. Why did you come alone?”
His gentle question almost brought tears to her eyes, so Beth just smiled again. When she took the hand before her, its warmth spread to her.
Debert grasped her hand firmly.
Their footsteps left a pair of prints side by side in the snow that had been so white.
When they entered the barracks, the warmth inside made Beth’s cheeks flush. Sitting in the chair by the side table, Beth gazed quietly at the man seated opposite her. She recalled that they had faced each other like this on the first day they met.
Much had changed since then.
Debert pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper from his coat. Beth didn’t need to guess what it was.
“I should have returned this sooner.”
A meaningless death certificate. How many wishes had been written on that piece of paper?
The weight of unfulfilled desires pressed painfully on her chest. Beth dropped the certificate onto the side table and gently tugged at his hand, which was still far from her.
[Do you trust me now?]
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TRANSLATOR:
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