Chapter 7
“Beth.”
Beth turned her head at the sound of someone calling her name.
Seeing Debert approaching, the nurse beside her quickly excused herself with a “We’ll talk later” and hurried away.
Beth squinted slightly as the sunlight glared in her eyes. Standing with his back to the sun, the man’s face appeared even more shadowed.
Was he up until late? Did he get little sleep?
Unaware of Beth’s thoughts, Debert felt an inexplicable irritation at the sight of her glaring at him with such a suspicious look.
“I helped you, yet you don’t seem grateful at all.”
Debert handed Beth a folded piece of paper.
Beth, who had seen the prescription for the tranquillizer and the confirmation slip with Mrs. Molly’s signature on it, walked ahead to the medicine cabinet.
Debert’s necklace went back into Beth’s pocket as soon as the storage door opened. Beth glanced at him, afraid that it would be stolen, and Debert nodded to the cabinet.
Taking the key from such a small woman would have been no trouble at all.
But he remembered the terrified look on her face earlier. When he had grabbed her by the collar in the forest, when her military cap had flown off and her hair spilt out—those eyes staring at him had looked the same.
He didn’t want to scare her again by using brute force.
It was a strange feeling.
He always preached to his subordinates: Be ruthless if it serves your purpose. That’s the path to survival and victory. Yet here he was, enduring this inefficiency simply because he didn’t want to scare her.
No, Debert corrected his thoughts.
He would take it in the end.
He just didn’t want to see that frightened face again, at least not for now.
In the meantime, Beth handed him the medication. The container was much smaller than the ones Debert usually took. His voice sharpened as he spoke.
“Damn it. Do you want to see me every day? Bring the proper one.”
Beth pulled out the medical confirmation and held it up to his face, pointing to the part where the ‘dosage’ was left blank.
“Stop being a nuisance.”
As Beth tried to lock the door, Debert’s hand overlapped hers in an attempt to snatch the key, but Beth was quicker.
Startled, Beth jumped back a few steps and swiftly put the necklace around her neck, tucking the key inside her clothes. Unless he ordered her to undress like he did in the forest, this was the safest place. And things were different now.
“Hah.”
Debert stood leaning slightly, one hand in his trouser pocket.
In that stance, he looked more like a thug from the back alleys of Wayne than the Duke of the Empire. The way he kept tossing the medicine bottle up in the air and catching it created a tense atmosphere.
Beth held tightly to the necklace hidden inside her clothes, ready to run at any moment.
Watching her, Debert glanced at the bottle again.
Yes, he would take it in the end.
He pocketed the bottle and straightened his uniform, which still looked impeccable.
With his tall stature, broad shoulders, and neatly revealed forehead, he now appeared every bit the flawless soldier he was before.
Debert approached Beth, who was still clutching the necklace. She barely came up to his chest. Yes, she had reached about this height in the forest too.
Debert looked down into her dark eyes, which were staring up at him.
“Then, I suppose we’ll have to meet more often, Nurse Beth.”
His tone was gentlemanly, but his expression was anything but.
* * *
“Did you see that? Did you see that? He said, ‘Mind your manners.’ Isn’t he amazing?”
In the dull life of the battlefield hospital, the unmarried nurses’ only joy was the nightly gossip before falling asleep. They were all friends who had attended Wayne Nursing School together.
When Mrs. Molly had proposed building a school where nobles and commoners could study together, many had dismissed it as the hypocrisy or arrogance of the aristocracy. But seeing these women out here on the front lines shuts their mouths.
The nurses, who had come to the battlefield following Mrs. Molly’s teachings, deeply respected her guidance. As a result, when they were together, they disregarded ranks and treated each other as close friends.
Though they had various reasons for being on the battlefield and would lead entirely different lives once they returned to Wayne, here, they were all colleagues, friends, and family.
Of course, there had been cases of betrayal, like the recent attack on the rear hospital, but they didn’t talk about those who had left. They preferred to discuss things that felt closer to life.
“Still, the best one I’ve seen is Duke Debert.”
Dixie was always the one to steer the conversation. As the daughter of a merchant who had made a fortune, her stories were far more entertaining than any radio show.
“You really think everything’s about looks, don’t you?”
Ines responded, unable to hide her exasperation at Dixie’s words.
“Well, my lady, you already have a fiancé, so no matter how handsome he is, he wouldn’t catch your eye, would he?”
Dixie’s playful reply made Ines blush.
Beth glanced at the ring on Ines’s ring finger. Though there were only brief moments each day when she could wear it, Ines never forgot to put it on when she slept.
Beth wrote something on the notepad she held.
[Have you heard from the Count?]
Ines slowly shook her head, her expression darkening further.
“It seems Duke Debert’s recent failed operation has affected him as well.”
The lively atmosphere Dixie had created quickly deflated.
Having been forced to part from her fiancé right after their engagement, Ines had volunteered to join the nursing unit to be closer to him. Everyone knew how thrilled and worried she was whenever she received a letter from him.
Beth put an arm around Ines’s shoulder.
“Come on now; no more crying. We’ll all make it back alive.”
Dixie clapped her hands, trying to lift the mood again.
“Everyone knows, right? Whenever my father has a knack for something, he hits the jackpot. I’m the only daughter who inherited that knack. That’s why everyone worries so much.”
Dixie lay down, resting her head on Beth’s lap as she grumbled.
“Following your fiancé here is at least romantic. But what about me?”
“Why?”
Sophia, who had joined Mrs. Molly’s hospital later, just like Beth, asked. Her question made everyone else chuckle softly. Dixie made a face as if to say, “Poor me, look at my situation,” and answered.
“I have six older sisters. Three of them married rich men, but none of them have titles. You know the saying, never put all your eggs in one basket. So my dad came up with this brilliant idea. He sent me to the war zone to seduce some noble lordling who’s all fired up by the war. War, soldiers, and nurses—can’t you see how it adds up?”
“But what if something……”
“Just before I volunteered, a fortune teller said I’d make it back alive. And that fortune teller is the real deal. They predicted that even if my parents had ten more kids, none would be a son, and they were right, weren’t they?”
Dixie let out a long yawn.
“Still, the best I’ve seen is Duke Debert.”
“Beth, you’ve actually talked to him. Is he really as insane as the rumours say?”
All eyes turned to Beth, filled with curiosity and expectation.
The day Debert had yelled at Beth, she had been on night duty and hadn’t realised how much everyone was talking about him. There were plenty of rumours, but apart from Mrs. Molly, no one had direct interactions with Debert, and it drove them crazy with curiosity.
And then Debert had caused such a scene with Beth last night. It had been a while since there was any real gossip in their monotonous lives.
Beth pondered quietly.
When Beth saw him in the storage room at dawn, she nearly fainted. Everyone on night duty was required to carry a gun, and although she had hers, nothing came to mind when the moment arrived.
The cold feeling that overlapped with her trembling hands was still vivid.
‘Go on, shoot.’
Those arrogant grey eyes looked down on her with a ridiculous demand.
‘Then we’ll just have to meet more often, Nurse Beth.’
His manner of speaking was polite, in stark contrast to his cocky expression.
‘Take it off.’
The words drove her to utter despair.
‘If only I could receive that arrogant salvation of yours.’
The man who had made her feel utterly miserable.
And…
Beth’s pen hovered over the paper, just grazing the surface as everyone’s gaze focused on it.
Knock, knock.
“Oh no, it’s General Molly!”
Everyone quickly scrambled back to their beds and pretended to sleep. When Molly opened the door, they were all too busy acting like they were in deep slumber to notice anything else.
“If you’re going to pretend to sleep, at least turn off the lights.”
The lady let out a small sigh as she turned off the lights. How long would she have to play the matron to these naive girls? Knowing and yet pretending not to know—it was a kind of torture in itself.
As Molly’s footsteps faded, the whispering resumed.
With the lights off and unable to hear Beth’s answer, Dixie naturally shifted the topic. Beth quietly listened to her friends’ conversation, reflecting on the answer she hadn’t been able to write. And naturally, her thoughts wandered back to Debert.
Does he still doubt me?
The death certificate, which he promised to give her upon confirming her identity, had yet to be issued. Did he need more verification, or had he confirmed it but still wasn’t entirely convinced?
Once her thoughts began, they spread uncontrollably.
If he knew that she gave him less medicine on purpose because she was worried.
Would he laugh at her again with that arrogant offer of salvation?
***
Arthur, whose wound had never been deep to begin with, was wandering around the hospital as if it were his own home, using rehabilitation exercises as an excuse. He was so affable and sly that there was hardly a nurse or doctor who hadn’t had a conversation with him.
“Duke Arthur! You have a phone call!”
Molly shouted at Arthur, who was chattering away downstairs.
“Oh, but it was such an interesting story. Don’t worry, I’ll be back to finish it.”
Arthur grinned as he ascended the stairs.
The moment the door to the hospital director’s office closed behind him, his cheerful smile vanished.
“What’s going on?”
[How did you know it was me?]
A soft female voice came through the receiver.
Arthur’s blue eyes darkened. His usually smiling eyes now looked cold. It was a face he rarely showed to others.
“No one else would be calling the battlefield during a war except you.”
[The Emperor hasn’t contacted you, has he?]
Arthur closed his eyes, suppressing the emotions that were rising in his throat. His voice quivered slightly as he spoke.
“Stop messing around. Why did you call?”
[I thought we might see each other soon, so I wanted to let you know.]
See each other? Arthur’s brow furrowed.
“Don’t tell me you’re coming here.”
[And by the way, the one playing the clown is you, not me.]
Cutting Arthur off, the woman ended the call with a sharp tone.
“Damn it.”
Arthur slammed the receiver down, his chest heaving. He couldn’t afford to let anyone see the emotions that hadn’t fully settled. With practiced ease, he lifted the corners of his mouth into a smile before leaving the hospital director’s office.
As he descended the stairs, he resumed the role of the beloved and fresh-faced Prince. The crass expression of Arthur Wayner was hidden behind the mask of a prince.
“The story ended right at the good part, didn’t it?”
At that moment, the front door was violently thrown open.
“Hey! Debert-”
Oh. A look of disappointment crossed Arthur’s face as he tried to greet him warmly.
Debert, like a predator zeroing in on its prey, marched straight towards the central ward. All eyes turned to Debert, who had stormed in with soldiers following behind. Beth, who was changing a wounded soldier’s bandages, was no exception.
His menacing stride was directed squarely at Beth.
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TRANSLATOR:
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