Chapter 12: The Original Jerk

‘Is a reaction time of 0.1 seconds even real?’

“Were you actually planning to kill me? With that bag?”

I had been marveling at the Swordmaster’s abilities when his angry voice snapped me back to reality, and I realized what I had done.

“……Your Grace, I’m sorry.”

I quickly moved the bag aside, only to see blood dripping from the Duke’s palm, which had been struck by the corner of the bag.

Oh no, I need to make a good impression, but instead, he bled first. I could almost hear the goodwill points I thought I’d earned during dinner crashing down all at once.

“Are you, are you okay?”

“It’s fine.”

The Duke brushed his hand off nonchalantly and stuffed it into his pocket.

Oh no. If I had just healed him with a potion right away, I might’ve been able to recover those lost points.

‘First a snake pops out of nowhere, now the Duke shows up here? What’s going on?’

An awkward silence suddenly descended. Between Duke Xavier and me, an inexplicable tension filled the air.

‘Why is this so awkward? We even toasted earlier, and the mood was good.’

There wasn’t even a single empty pleasantry. He just silently stared at me before finally opening his mouth.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was on my way to the field hospital. But what brings Your Grace here?”

“Because someone was loudly advertising.”

“…….”

Oh no, that wasn’t my intention. But if you heard it, why follow me?

“Why haven’t you returned to Pins? The contract drafting should be finished by now.”

His narrowed eyes locked onto me.

Ah, sharp as ever. He’s quick-witted, as expected. And subtly informal too.

“People are dying; I couldn’t just walk away. I want to help if I can.”

Xavier’s gaze narrowed even further.

“……Is that really the truth?”

“Pardon?”

I expected him to accuse me of lying, so his reaction left me stunned.

“Honestly, I’m suspicious of your true intentions.”

“…….”

There it is.

“But the meat was delicious.”

Oh, so the meat was really to your liking?

“Ah, yes, well. Samgyeopsal is the ultimate truth.”

“I’ll accompany you.”

What?

I stopped in my tracks as he nodded and turned toward the hospital.

“To where?”

The Duke gestured toward the hospital with his chin in a half-hearted manner, as if he had no choice but to tag along.

“When you yelled so loudly in front of my tent, wasn’t that an invitation for me to follow?”

“Me?”

No, I yelled in front of your tent to show off how well I was doing, you oblivious man!

I grumbled internally and glared at him. His teal eyes stared back, demanding confirmation.

The words “I can go alone” rose to my throat, but then I caught sight of the dead snake’s stiffened corpse on the ground and shuddered.

“Yo-Your Grace, you’re the one who decided to follow me on your own.”

“On my own?”

“I can manage on my own. Do you think I’d get bitten by a snake or dragged off by a wolf in the Auguste camp? I’ll be fine.”

I knew it was a flimsy excuse, but I was desperate to get away from him.

The Duke’s brow twitched, but I quickened my pace.

Before long, I heard the sound of footsteps behind me, and soon enough, he was walking alongside me.

Of course, maintaining a certain distance.

＊

“Miss, hold this spot, please!”

“Huh? Oh, yes.”

As the healer cut away the infected flesh on the soldier’s thigh with a sterilized knife, blood spurted out with a squelch.

“Ack!”

Even with partial anesthesia, the pain must have been unbearable as the injured soldier groaned in agony.

The head healer poured the potion I had brought onto the soldier’s leg. Steam rose as the wound began to heal rapidly.

I let out a sigh of relief. The sanitary gown I had changed into before entering the field hospital was already drenched in sweat.

The head healer wiped the blood from his hands with a towel and praised me.

“Miss, you did well. This must be your first time experiencing something like this, but you handled it calmly.”

“All I did was hold his leg.”

“Haha, during my first practical training, I was so scared of the blood that I ran out of the training room crying.”

The head healer’s cheerful laughter brought to mind Maya’s tearful face.

“I can’t imagine that at all.”

“Really? Anyway, thanks to the enormous amount of potions you supplied, the injured soldiers’ recovery rate has doubled. Without them, they would’ve been bedridden for a long time.”

“I’m glad I could help.”

The head healer, who was in charge of the field hospital, had a great personality. Despite the exhaustion from prolonged wartime conditions, he welcomed me, an unexpected guest, with kindness. He was a truly mature person.

“Not to mention the additional medical personnel you’ve provided. Thank you so much, Miss.”

“You’re too kind. But……”

I looked around the wide-open space of the field hospital, which had fewer patients than I had expected. Even after moving all the injured soldiers lying on the roads, there were still empty beds here and there.

“There aren’t as many injured as I thought.”

“Well, that’s partly thanks to the Duke’s efforts, which have kept the number of injuries low. But most of the cases are instant deaths.”

“What?”

At that moment, I caught sight of the Duke in the distance, offering words of encouragement to each injured soldier.

“Instant deaths?”

Confused, I turned to the head healer with a questioning look. Sensing my curiosity, he explained further.

“Most of the enemies are dealt with by His Grace, Swordmaster Xavier. However, it’s impossible for him to handle all the giant beastmen alone.”

“Giant?”

It was the first time I had heard the term. ‘Giant.’ It wasn’t even mentioned in the original story.

“Oh, it means they transform into massive animals with intelligence. They call it ‘battle mode.’”

“I thought they only transformed into regular-sized animals.”

“Well, in my experience, they can transform into regular sizes, but they can also enter this so-called ‘battle mode,’ where they grow massive.”

“And as humans? I’ve heard that beastmen can take on human forms too, with ears and tails….”

“Yes, they can transform into humans as well. Oh, and royalty can do all forms.”

I didn’t know that. Beastmen were far more terrifying than I had thought. Coming here was starting to feel like a reckless decision.

‘I came here to avoid dying, but what if I end up dying here instead?’

Maybe I had let my guard down because it was just a story.

“Anyway, if you’re attacked by a giant beastman, unless you’re at the level of a general, it’s usually instant death. If you’re lucky, you might survive like this soldier, even if it means losing a leg.”

The healer spoke of death so matter-of-factly but with serious eyes that my throat tightened, and tears pricked at the corners of my eyes.

So this is what misery feels like.

“……I see. Thank you for explaining.”

The healer prepared to bandage the soldier’s leg, so I quickly handed him the gauze. He thanked me and moved on to another patient.

As I clumsily focused on wrapping the bandage, a shadow fell over me, and a low voice came from above.

“You know how to wrap bandages?”

I looked up to see Xavier Auguste staring down at me with a displeased expression.

“You’re still here?”

“I couldn’t leave.”

Even without hearing the rest, I knew the reason was ‘because of me.’

Ugh, this original jerk. After spending so much money on supplies, shouldn’t he at least be grateful?

I glanced at the table clock on the reception desk. The hands pointed to 2 a.m. The healers had finished treating most of the severely injured, and those with minor injuries were already asleep.

“I’ll wrap up quickly.”

I discarded the bloodied bandages and sanitary gown into the waste bin, disinfected my hands, and hurried out of the hospital tent. I could feel the Duke’s presence following behind me.

The way back was even darker than before. Without the flashlight embedded with magic stones, I couldn’t see an inch ahead. It felt like walking through a pitch-black void. The short visibility caused me to trip over tree roots several times.

When I stumbled again over a root, a hand grabbed my arm. A sighing voice cut through the darkness beside me.

“Stay closer.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll escort you to your tent.”

“That’s not necessary.”

He ignored my words and quickened his pace. In the stillness of the night, only the black sky and starlight bore witness to us.

Through the faint flashlight beam, I caught glimpses of the Duke’s sharp jawline. Holding my arm, he walked ahead without a word. His entire body seemed to radiate an aura of ‘don’t talk to me.’

The uncomfortable escort ended only when we reached the tent assigned to me. The Duke’s hand dropped from my arm abruptly.

Feeling awkward, I rubbed my arm. Still, since he had escorted me, I should at least thank him.

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

Despite my gratitude, the Duke replied in a dry voice.

“Don’t go to the field hospital again.”

“I’m fine. I want to help while I’m here.”

“There’s no need for that.”

I get it, you’re annoyed because I kept you up late.

The Duke pressed his long fingers against his furrowed brow, looking tired.

“Why did you send back the chef I assigned to you?”

“That chef is someone I brought, and I don’t really need a personal chef. You’ve seen my cooking skills.”

His teal eyes, gazing down at me, darkened deeply. What was he going to say after such a pause?

“I understand your sincerity now, so just stop and go back.”

His dry, cutting voice pierced the night air, making the fine hairs on my body stand on end.