TFBVH 13

Chapter 13

Even though my mind kept telling me I was safe, from the next day onward, the back of my head started to sting unbearably. It felt like that gaze could pierce right through me.

I suspected it, and it turned out I was right. The one giving me that stare was none other than Lloyd Helderios.

Even though I tried to stay inside the barracks and focus on work, I occasionally felt his gaze. Every time I looked back, there he was, glaring at me with that terrifying expression.

Whether I was receiving food, hanging laundry, moving supplies, or treating patients, his relentless stare never stopped. On top of that, other healers’ jealousy added to my headache.

“Hey, mid-level healer!”

The senior healer with messy hair called me irritably while I was quietly treating a patient.

“Yes, did you call me?”

In the healer hierarchy, if someone of higher rank called, you had to answer politely and follow orders.

“Wash all these sheets.”

He pointed to a pile of sheets covered in blood and pus. Normally, this would be done by newcomers or collectively after work. And there were plenty of fresh sheets available, so there was no reason to wash them immediately.

“I’ll do it later. I’m still attending to patients,” I answered.

The senior healer looked at Mika, who was assisting me, and smirked:

“Hey, newbie. You watch. You should learn something here too.”

Mika’s face flushed with anger at the ridiculous command. If she argued back, she could get fined—or worse, thrown in jail. I quickly turned to her, silently mouthing:

‘Hold it in!’

Mika hesitated, eyes saying ‘But…!’

‘I said hold it in!’

Finally, she approached the patient I was treating like a subdued puppy. I turned to the senior healer with a smile and said:

“Then I’ll wash the sheets, ‘Senior’ healer.”

Carrying the filthy sheets, I headed to the water.

There were no washing machines here; everything had to be washed by hand. That meant scrubbing with both hands and feet.

Ha, I barely did sheet washing as a newbie, and now I had to do it all here.

Dragging the blood- and pus-stained sheets into a large tub, I filled it with water, poured in soap, and stomped them with all my strength, as if the sheets were the messy-haired senior healer himself.

Damn that messy-haired guy! Making highly skilled people do manual labor!

No, the worst was the bald healer-in-chief! Sending me and Mika alone here… damn!

My rage shifted from the messy-haired senior healer to the Zeronian healer-in-chief who sent me here.

Step by step, the sheets gradually turned white.

While stomping and washing, the terrifying gaze returned, piercing the back of my head. Glancing back, Lloyd stood with his arms crossed, staring as if he could kill me any second.

‘Sigh… he’s staring again.’

At first, it made my body tremble. But after a few times, and already annoyed with the senior healer and the chief, plus being exhausted from washing sheets, his murderous glare began to irritate me.

“Hmph!”

I stomped harder, imagining the sheets were Lloyd himself.

After hanging all the white sheets, Lloyd’s gaze had vanished. The sky turned red as the sun set, and I wiped sweat from my brow, preparing to head back. From afar, Mika ran toward me, crying.

“Kaede-senpai…! I’m so sorry because of me!”

Her healer uniform was soaked with sweat, evidence of a hard time inside.

“That senior healer… was terrible! He made me carry potion boxes while running errands for him!”

Ha, that awful senior healer.

If nothing happened with Lloyd, I’d return to Zeron, take the promotion exam, and then torment that messy-haired subordinate to my heart’s content. I clenched my fist.

After a simple dinner, I sat at a makeshift table in the open space. Mika, munching beside me, suddenly spoke:

“By the way, about Lloyd… I thought at first he was staring at you because he liked you.”

I glanced at Lloyd, who stood at a distance staring, and she continued:

“But if it were interest, he wouldn’t glare at you like he’s going to kill you.”

True. What kind of man would look ready to kill the one he likes?

“Could it be…!”

I looked at Mika mid-bite, and she hurriedly continued:

“Did Kaede-senpai kill Lloyd’s parents?”

Hmm… very close to the truth. Before the reincarnation, the villainess with my face poisoned Lloyd’s parents.

“Or is it an enemy of the Helderios family?”

Also correct—she destroyed them completely.

But these were questions I could not answer. Mika, seeing my silence, began spinning her own theories: maybe I dated Lloyd and cheated, or ran away with the family heirloom, and so on.

I quietly stuffed some bread in my mouth and returned to the barracks, leaving Mika to her imagination.

It seemed I wasn’t the only one feeling Lloyd’s gaze; others were whispering while looking at me. But there was nowhere to hide or escape, so I focused on work.

While treating a seriously injured soldier, a massive shadow appeared. Turning around, Lloyd stood there. My vision adjusted somewhat, but seeing him up close, my heart raced.

He raised his hand. Thinking he might attack, I closed my eyes tightly.

Time passed, and there was no pain. Peeking, I saw he was extending his hand toward me.

“What… is it?”

I asked. He brought his hand closer and said:

“I need treatment.”

His hand had a very small scratch.

Huh? This person… the one with a hand full of injuries wants me to treat this tiny scratch?

The senior healer, watching from afar, gasped and ran over:

“Viscount! I—I can do it! This mid-level healer doesn’t know enough!”

If you’re handling it, that’s fine by me.

Shrugging, I turned, but Lloyd’s firm voice stopped me:

“You will do it.”

His gaze stayed on me.

After the senior healer stepped back, embarrassed, I examined the scratch. It was literally just a tiny scrape, barely breaking the skin.

‘I probably don’t need to use healing magic…’

But Lloyd stood before me, massive and intimidating. Reluctantly, I stood.

“Follow me.”

He quietly followed behind.

I took disinfectant from the storage. When I held his injured hand, he flinched slightly. I applied it with a cotton pad and, as professionally but kindly as possible, said:

“This will sting a little.”

His large hand bore cuts and scratches—evidence of countless battles.

I dabbed the wounds and applied a bandage, ignoring his piercing gaze.

“Treatment complete.”

He looked at me incredulously:

“Is that all?”

What else could I do? I met his gaze warily.

“You’re not using healing magic?”

Crazy. For such a tiny scratch?

I said calmly, keeping emotion out:

“I don’t use healing magic for minor scratches unless it’s urgent. If it’s not as serious as the knight’s arm pierced by a sword, I use normal treatment.”

At my words, he suddenly drew a sword from his waist. I froze reflexively, closing my eyes.