Chapter 5
Without even waiting for a response, I stood up and moved quickly. The only thought in my mind was to heal him quickly and send him on his way.
I hurried back to the kitchen, filled a small pot with hot water, added some dried herbs, and ground them up. Once the mixture had thickened enough to be applied as a paste, I handed him the entire pot.
“Here, apply this.”
“…I’ll definitely repay you for this later.”
Despite his pained groans, the prince didn’t forget to show his gratitude.
“No need for that. If you need more, I’ll leave some inside that door over there. Use it. The snowstorm is getting worse and wild animals could appear, so leave first thing tomorrow morning, once it’s light out.”
I explained everything rapidly as if reciting from memory and pointed to the makeshift door connecting the food storage to the kitchen. Seeing all that blood, I figured he’d probably need one more round of water.
Well, I can grab a bit more on my way out.
He nodded.
I picked up a damp towel, wrung out the water, and handed it to him before standing up again. Then I headed back to the kitchen, fetched another container, scooped some more hot water into it, and brought out two thick blankets we used whenever firewood ran low.
They were meant to keep him warm until morning. I sincerely hoped he would return at daybreak.
I decided to skip dinner. I wasn’t particularly hungry, and there was no point in encountering him again.
But by nightfall, the silence felt suffocating, and I began to feel chilly, so I sat in front of the fireplace for a while before getting up again.
I wanted some tea, and I needed to refill the pot with water anyway, so I headed to the kitchen.
I was still somewhat concerned about the prince, but considering how much blood he’d lost, he had probably fallen into a deep sleep by now.
Down in the kitchen, I grabbed a small metal kettle and filled it with water.
While that was heating up, I topped off the main pot and added a bit more firewood to the dwindling flames in the stove.
When I opened the door to place the new water container outside, I saw him with his eyes closed in the same position as before, a damp towel beside him.
But this time, my heart dropped for a different reason.
No way…
I slowly approached him. Even up close, he didn’t move. I crouched down and held my hand near his nose.
It would be a disaster if he died here. A faint breath touched my fingers—he was alive. Just asleep.
I let my tense shoulders relax.
Just as I withdrew my hand and began to rise, something grabbed me with a clack. His eyes opened, meeting mine directly.
I’d already thought his violet eyes were mysterious, but now that they were flecked with firelight, they seemed even sharper.
“…”
“…I thought you were dead.”
At my calm remark, his eyes sharpened with clarity—he was now fully awake.
I tried to pull my hand back, hoping he’d let go.
He let go hastily, as if realizing his mistake.
“Sorry to have startled you. After applying the medicine, the pain lessened, and I ended up dozing off. It was warm…”
At his words, I glanced down at his clothes, now darkened and stained with blood and herbal paste.
It looked like he had sloppily applied the mixture with his hands. That’s not how you’re supposed to do it… I felt the urge to intervene but forced myself to ignore it.
“I figured. I’ll leave more water for you. Use it if needed. I’m just going to make some tea and head out.”
I stood up immediately. A groan of pain came from behind me. When I turned my head, he was gripping his side and trying to straighten his back, wincing in agony.
Blood was soaking through.
I frowned without realizing it.
…Seriously?
I quickly lit a few more lamps that hadn’t been turned on yet.
“You didn’t treat that part?”
He looked down at his side and then gave an awkward smile.
“I was too distracted treating the painful spots… I forgot about my side.”
Ugh, so frustrating.
I was going to ignore him, but in the end, I crouched down in front of him.
Fine. Just a little more help. Just a bit more.
“Let me see the wound.”
“…You might be shocked.”
“Just show me. I have to see it.”
Blushing, he hesitated for a long time before unbuttoning his shirt. Blood had already soaked through from his chest down to his pants.
When he lifted his shirt, the cut was deeper than I had expected. Thankfully, the other wounds had scabbed over and weren’t bleeding anymore.
If I could just reapply the medicine and properly treat his side, we’d be in the clear. The only issue was the dried blood stuck to the shirt—it could easily reopen the wound if pulled wrong.
“It’s gross, isn’t it?”
When I stared silently at the wound, he tried to cover it back up with his shirt.
“How did you even manage to walk here like this?”
“There’s no one else around here… except this place.”
“This isn’t exactly a place fit for people to live in. Just take that off and wait.”
I went to prepare more herbs and even brought out a special emergency ointment I usually reserved due to its strength. I also grabbed cloth to use as a bandage and returned.
He was struggling to take off his clothes, half-undressed and leaning against the wall, catching his breath.
“Can you lift your shirt a bit higher?”
While he lifted it, I wrung out a wet towel and folded it twice. Then I wiped away the dried blood around the wound until it was fully revealed.
I cleaned the area with another towel, opened the emergency ointment, and prepared to apply it.
He watched curiously, wide-eyed.
“Stitches would be ideal, but I’m not a doctor. As long as the wound doesn’t reopen, it should be fine. If you get proper treatment tomorrow, that is.”
“…I understand.”
“It’s going to hurt.”
“I’ll be fine.”
I scooped a generous amount of ointment.
As I applied it gently to the cleaned wound—
“Agh…”
So much for “fine.” He clenched his teeth and let out a painful groan.
I chuckled softly. The ointment worked wonders, but the pain was intense. Even I rarely used it unless absolutely necessary.
He grimaced.
“It’s not that bad. Bearable.”
His words contradicted the clear pain in his expression.
“Do you know how to wrap a bandage?”
“…Yes.”
I handed him two thick rolls of bandage.
As I stood up, determined to finally stop worrying, I noticed he was still fumbling, unable to remove his shirt or begin wrapping himself. Probably scared of reopening the wound.
It was frustrating to watch.
Seeing how even sitting upright was a struggle for him, I figured I might as well do it myself.
I let out a quiet sigh, sat down in front of him again, and held out my hand.
“…Give it to me.”
“Sorry… again.”
“Just take off your shirt completely. I need to wrap it.”
His face turned as red as the fire. Seeing me calmly waiting, he hesitated before finally taking off the shirt and placing it to the side.
“Can you raise your arm?”
“…Yes.”
As soon as he did, I pulled the bandage long and reached behind his back.
In doing so, our posture made it look like I was lightly embracing him.
I could feel his muscles stiffen and his breath catch sharply. The warmth of that held breath tingled against my neck.
Startled by the sensation, I held my breath too.
“This won’t take long.”
Feigning indifference, I quickly wrapped the bandage around his waist, making sure not to touch him more than necessary.
“We’ll need one more.”
As I looked up to say that, our eyes met.
The crackling of the stove filled the silence between us. The orange glow cast uneven shadows over his face.
I had forgotten how close we were while bandaging him. Too close.
He flinched and quickly pulled back.
His broad back hit the wall with a loud thud.
“Ah, sorry.”
He didn’t need to be the one apologizing.
I shrugged and continued wrapping the second bandage.
Only after both rolls were used was the wound fully covered. Drawing on my past experience, I made it as tight and secure as possible. It looked decent.
“…All done.”
“Thank you so mu—”
Just then, the kettle in the kitchen began to rattle noisily as the water came to a boil. I had completely forgotten about it.
“Hold on.”
Turning away from him, I went to the kitchen and retrieved a tray with a raised edge.
When I returned with the tea, he was once again struggling to put his shirt back on.
Hearing me approach, the prince looked up and gave a sheepish smile.
“Much… better now. Thank you.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Now, I was really going to leave. I would finally stop caring and enjoy my tea in peace.
…If not for the loud, thunderous growl from his stomach.
His body froze in embarrassment.
