Chapter 10
Marsha’s eyes trembled.
The man was still alive.
So, what should she do?
Should she call a doctor?
‘It takes 30 minutes just to get to the market.’
If she left the spot, the smell of blood might attract wolves.
He could also die from blood loss or shock at that time.
‘Then, should I take him myself?’
Marsha’s confused eyes looked at the man’s wound.
His white shirt was stained dark red, so she couldn’t see clearly, but it didn’t seem like an animal attack.
‘How did he get hurt like this…?’
There was no way such a wound could’ve happened by accident.
Maybe this man was involved in a complicated and serious case.
If that was true…
‘It’s better to pretend I don’t know.’
How could she carry such a big man?
Even if she did, she wasn’t confident she could save him.
She might end up having to deal with a dead body in her house.
Worse, people might think she killed him.
‘No one will protect me!’
If she selfishly ignored everything and left, at least she would be safe.
So all she had to do was close her eyes tightly and stand up.
If she just did that…
“……”
Biting her lower lip hard, Marsha hurriedly tore a piece from her skirt and pressed it against the man’s wound.
She had to save him.
At least for now, she had to.
Even if she would regret it later, she didn’t want to regret it right now.
***
“Ugh…”
Marsha woke up again on the hard wooden chair.
The oil lamp lit the dark room, and the man who was sleeping looked like he was dead.
‘How did he get such a wound?’
If it were a cut from a knife or a sharp branch, the wound would be cleaner.
This looked like something pierced through him.
‘Ah, maybe it’s a gunshot?’
She had never seen a gunshot wound directly, but once read a description in a book that looked quite similar to this.
Anyway, this man was lucky.
Even with such a big wound, none of his organs were hurt.
‘It’s healing well without infection, and his fever has gone down a little… but when will he open his eyes?’
Marsha sighed and looked at him.
Strong build—pure muscle without any fat.
‘What kind of work does he do to be this strong?’
She couldn’t understand how she managed to bring such a big man here.
‘It was truly a miracle.’
Marsha personally experienced the rumour that when people are desperate, they show superhuman strength.
Of course, super strength doesn’t mean invincibility.
‘My whole body aches…’
After all that effort, she hadn’t rested and was still nursing him.
It was natural to be sore.
‘Well, at least less sore than him…’
Marsha stared at the man’s face.
Imagining a perfect beauty, his smooth face looked like a carved statue.
And his blonde hair, though he almost died, shone brighter than real gold.
‘Unbelievably handsome no matter how many times I look…’
But Marsha’s face was full of worry as she looked at such a handsome man.
‘What will happen next?’
It had already been four days since the man was found.
His family or friends must have reported his disappearance to the guards.
Duke Gloria was about to visit the territory, so the guards would be eager to solve this case quickly.
‘It’d be best if he wakes up and leaves on his own before the guards come.’
“Haa…”
Marsha let out a deep sigh and stood up.
She had to make medicine for him to take.
It was a bit troublesome to brew only a small amount each time, but it was more effective this way.
She entered the kitchen, which smelled more of bitter herbs than food.
She added more firewood to the flickering stove and hung a big black pot.
She poured water she had boiled a few hours ago into the pot and added the measured herbs one by one.
Squatting, Marsha hugged her knees and stared at the boiling pot.
She had to stir it every ten minutes for the next hour.
‘Isn’t there a better medicine than this?’
She had just thought, ‘It’s already been four days,’ but considering how much blood he lost, four days was too short a time for him to recover.
Marsha thought he just needed more time to get better, but she couldn’t stop wondering if a better medicine might help him heal faster.
‘If I had called a doctor from the start, maybe he’d be in better condition now.’
For her safety, Marsha ruled out the best choice.
Even now, her mind was filled with conflicting thoughts:
One part said, “Nothing is more important than saving a life.”
The other said, “But I saved him, didn’t I? That should be enough.”
Because of this, her mind was never calm for even a moment.
‘What am I doing right now…?’
Marsha rested her forehead on her knees.
It wasn’t a comfortable position, but her eyes were closing—she must have been very tired.
‘It’ll be bad if I fall asleep like this…’
Just as Marsha struggled to lift her head, she heard footsteps—thud, thud.
‘What’s that?’
Startled, she tried to turn around, but before she could—
“How pathetic must they think I am to leave a woman alone to guard me?”
A hot, large hand grabbed both of Marsha’s thin hands and pushed them down onto the floor.
Thud!
Pain spread from her shoulder blade, and her eyes flashed with shock.
“Ugh…!”
A voice filled with pain escaped her lips, but it was drowned out by the man’s heavy breathing.
“Why did they bother to keep me alive?”
His rough yet handsome lips curled into a bitter smile.
“Was the reward from your client not enough? Were you planning to sell me off to someone else?”
Marsha couldn’t understand what the man was saying.
Suddenly standing, what kind of nonsense was this?
“Listen, I think you’re misunderstanding—”
As she tried to explain, the man gave a cold, mocking laugh.
“Ha ha.”
He looked down at her with cold, lifeless eyes and said firmly,
“I’m giving you a chance.”
What chance? Marsha struggled hard but couldn’t escape his grip.
Leaning close to her ear, he muttered,
“Who’s the bastard that hired you to kill me?”
His grip tightened.
“Ugh…!”
“You’d better be honest. If you refuse…”
His free hand gently wrapped around Marsha’s slender neck.
“You’ll regret letting me live.”
He slowly squeezed tighter.
Marsha regretted it.
‘I should have pretended not to know…!’
She shouldn’t have saved him.
Who was pitying whom?
She hadn’t survived all this time to die like this.
There was something she had to do.
Marsha squeezed her eyes shut.
Her throat started to feel tight.
‘Am I going to die like this?’
Marsha opened her eyes wide.
If she was going to die, she might as well try something before that.
‘At least then I won’t regret it as much…!’
Gritting her teeth, Marsha kicked the man’s side with her right leg.
It wasn’t much more than a tap, but it was enough to knock down the injured man.
“Ugh!”
His grip on Marsha’s neck and hands suddenly vanished.
Taking advantage of the moment, Marsha quickly escaped from his hold.
She pressed her back against the front door.
Just knowing she could run out that door if she had to give her a little courage.
“Hey, I don’t know what nonsense you’ve been talking about, but I’m the one who saved your dying life!”
Marsha’s voice was sharp, but she couldn’t completely hide her fear.
The trembling man barely turned his head and glared at her.
His red, burning eyes looked like those of a hungry beast.
Swallowing hard, Marsha shouted,
“Even if you repay kindness with hate…!”
At that moment, thud—the man’s head dropped to the floor.
‘What’s going on? Why did he do that?’
Had he fainted? Or was he pretending to faint, planning to attack when she got closer?
Marsha craned her neck to check his condition, but even after some time, he showed no sign of getting up.
A deep wrinkle formed on the man’s smooth forehead.
He felt a terrible burning pain in his side.
“Ugh.”
He opened his eyes slightly, but the bright world above gave him a headache, so he frowned again.
‘What is happening right now?’
As he tried to recall the past, a figure appeared in his narrow, blurry vision.
Backlit by the light, the figure allowed him to relax his furrowed brow just enough to see the expression of the woman glaring at him.
“Hey.”
Her voice was sharp and annoyed.
The man’s brow furrowed again.
