Chapter 6
Lost in thought, I blankly ground the herbs, and Didi gave me a puzzled look.
"......Mir? Are you alright?"
"Ah, yes. All done. Let me take a look at that wound. Lift your shirt, please."
I snapped back to reality and waved my hand briskly. Didi hesitated for a moment before slowly pulling up his shirt.
The wound was on the left side of his abdomen. Fortunately, it had missed his organs, but it was still deep. I gave it a quick once-over and tsked my tongue.
"It'd be easier if you just took it off. Get undressed."
My matter-of-fact command made his expression turn strange.
"Should I help you?"
I shot him a look that said hurry up already, and he let out a hollow chuckle.
"You're the only one who's ever said that to me and lived to tell the tale."
"What an honor."
I brushed it off casually, and with another wry laugh, he began unbuttoning his shirt. Long, elegant fingers slipped the buttons free one by one. When the last one came undone, the firm body hidden beneath the oversized shirt was revealed.
Seeing him bare like that left me momentarily speechless.
......That face and that body? Isn't that cheating?
A beauty sprawled defenselessly on the bed, his bloodstained shirt barely clinging to his shoulders. The way his long lashes fluttered as he lowered his gaze made me feel like I was committing a sin just by looking. His upper body was a masterpiece of sculpted muscle—those solid abs looked like they'd been chiseled. Unlike my own lean, muscle-only frame from skimping on food, Didi's body seemed forged from proper nutrition and disciplined training, more like a statue than flesh and blood.
He's a patient.
I sorted out my fleeting distraction and got back to treating him—or at least, I tried to keep it clinical. Truth be told, touching the firm muscle around the wound and catching his odd gaze made it impossible not to feel strangely flustered.
Why's he looking at me like that?
Humans are weak to visual stimuli. Feeling like I was facing the devil's temptation, I picked up the bandage.
"Sit up. I'll wrap this around you."
At my words, Didi propped himself up. The shirt, precariously draped over his shoulders, slid down along his collarbone.
He might not like it.
It was too tantalizing; my eyes kept drifting there, but I didn't want to make him uncomfortable. Averting my gaze from his broad, exposed shoulders, I unrolled the bandage.
"Excuse me."
I wrapped my arms around his waist. To bandage his large frame, I practically had to hug him.
Don't get rattled. He's a patient.
In the dead of night, with an adult man and woman embracing like this, the air in the cabin turned inevitably charged. That's how I discovered his scent was vanilla—rich and thick, brushing my nose over and over.
This is awkward as hell......
I sighed inwardly. I'm the type who can't stand awkwardness or weird vibes. I prefer things clean-cut and straightforward. I had zero immunity to fuzzy situations like this.
"......The gazes directed at me so far have always fallen into exactly three categories."
Didi, looking down at me intently, spoke with a cynical expression.
"First: awe, expecting more than I can give. Second: hatred, waiting for me to slip up. Third......"
Irritated, I looked up sharply—and met his eyes head-on. Those deep-set blue eyes, cynical and shadowed, told the story of his life. Didi stared straight at me.
"......The gaze of desire, seeking something from me."
His gloomy voice pierced my eardrums like ice.
Nobles and commoners alike, huh.
Strangely enough, from this noble man who seemed worlds away from my dirty back-alley life, I felt a strange kinship.
"Everyone I've met so far fit into one of those three. Their eyes gave them away—it was easy to read their intentions."
Didi's large hand gently grasped my chin. Caught off guard, I was pulled toward him effortlessly. I braced my hand on the bed, but my body tilted, landing against his chest. His pale blue eyes bored into me like a scalpel.
"But your eyes...... I see nothing in them. I can't tell what you want from me."
Of course not. I don't want anything.
A bit indignant, I bit my lip hard, and Didi tilted his head slightly. Stray strands of his lush brown hair brushed my face. The sweet scent stabbed at my nose.
"Let me ask once more."
His sensuous red lips parted slowly right in front of me.
"Why did you save me? What do you want?"
Distrust filled his eyes.
......He's been through hell.
I furrowed my brow. I could guess how hard his life had been. Sure, the situation was suspicious enough to warrant doubt. A stranger saves you from an assassin, demands no reward, and even treats your wounds? Especially since that stranger was the mercenary Mir. It'd be weirder not to suspect ulterior motives.
With a sigh, I slowly opened my mouth.
"I never wanted anything to begin with. But if I did, would you give it?"
Didi smirked bitterly.
"A Sword Master like you could just threaten me and take it."
This guy.
I gently swatted away the hand on my chin and stood up. Ignoring his piercing gaze, I rummaged through the drawer.
"You just got lucky. You ran into a Sword Master who hates seeing blood."
I tossed him one of my largest shirts. It was roomy enough on me to feel like a blanket, but it'd probably be snug on him.
"So quit talking nonsense and change."
He caught the shirt and glanced between it and me before slipping it on.
"......Right. The mercenary Mir...... She's called a hero. Savior from magic beasts, Black Calamity Mir. Mercenary King. That's what they call you."
His face was expressionless as he faced me.
"But I don't believe in heroes. Kindness without strings attached? That doesn't exist."
He acted like someone who'd never experienced selfless goodwill. Was it my imagination, or did he look a little sad?
"You won't answer to the end, then?"
I let out a small sigh. The reason I kept dodging was simple.
There is no reason.
Yeah. No reason at all. I helped because he looked in danger while passing by. What calculation did there need to be? It was just a shallow act of kindness, nothing more.
But he seemed like he couldn't accept it without an answer, so I had no choice but to speak.
"That's right. Mir is often called by those titles."
I met his eyes squarely.
"But I'm no hero."
I wasn't anything as grand as that. Didi furrowed his brow at my firm declaration.
"Then your motive......"
"What I did for you wasn't the act of a hero. It was what any human should have done."
I knew plenty of people didn't live that way. Plenty who'd value their own safety over a stranger's life.
Nothing comes before human life. Don't forget that.
But by my own standards, that's what humans were. Under the harsh yardstick I'd set for myself alone, I valued life above all.
"......So you're saying you saved me for no reason."
His eyes sharpened like he was interrogating a criminal. His voice was chilling, laced with utter disbelief.
"Unfortunately, yes."
I shrugged nonchalantly. His face hardened coldly.
"I don't believe you."
"Then don't."
"What?"
I leisurely washed the mortar I'd used for the herbs, and he ground his teeth.
"Just tell me what you want!"
I didn't deny that everything had a price. But for this man who seemed to have been deceived his whole life, I wanted to show him pure kindness, just once.
"I want nothing."
"I said I don't believe you!"
"And I said don't."
The same back-and-forth dragged on. I met his confused, vibrating blue eyes. Filled with human distrust and cynicism, they reminded me of someone.
Me.
"Don't believe me. Keep doubting. Wallow in anxiety over what I might demand, suspect the kindness. Stay here until you can move on your own, then walk out that door still suspicious. Once you get home safe, then you'll believe it."
His pale blue eyes rippled like a lake struck by a massive stone.
"Now sleep. Patients need plenty of rest."
"......Why?"
You're persistent.
I tsked and strode over, bending down. Before our faces touched, I poked his forehead with my index finger. His body wobbled and flopped powerlessly onto the bed.
"Does saving a living person need a reason?"
I smirked. That was it—just showing kindness without reason.
For a moment, his eyes clouded with daze.
"So sleep now. Let me sleep too."
I pulled the blanket up to his chin. For some reason, he didn't pull it down right away; only after a long pause did he drag it over his face.
"......You're a really strange person."
His voice sounded strangled. His pale skin flushed red at the ears, standing out.
What's with this guy?
I narrowed my brow slightly. The shift from distrustful chill to this weird vibe happened in an instant.
Just tired, I guess?
It was the dead of night, the curtain of darkness thick. Feeling guilty for keeping the patient up too long, I stood.
"I'll sleep somewhere else, so rest easy."
"Wait—you're leaving?"
A somewhat cold hand touched my wrist. His urgent grip left me in an awkward pose.
"I'll sleep elsewhere and come check on you early tomorrow."
Was he worried I'd abandon him? I reassured him.
Didi wore a briefly confused expression, then, with a resolved look, pulled my hand to his chin.
"Don't go."
?
Even as I looked bewildered, his gaze was firm.
"Why?"
His expression unreadable, he finally spoke.
"I'm scared."
"......Pardon?"
"I'm scared to be alone."
His brazen audacity furrowed my brow on instinct. He didn't look scared at all.
"You're really leaving? What if a wild beast comes?"
He grabbed my hand tighter, putting on a pitiful face. His sharp eyes drooped mournfully.
"You'll leave me...... and go?"
A beauty's pitiful expression was a lethal weapon.
Well...... leaving a patient alone might be unsettling.
My resolve weakened, and I rolled my eyes. Truthfully, I was just avoiding making him uncomfortable; it didn't matter where I slept.
I sighed deeply.
"I'll sleep in the chair."
His face lit up. It was so dazzling I averted my eyes sideways. He patted the bed.
"We could share the bed."
"Nonsense."
I shot it down firmly and moved to the switch by the door, flicking it off. The lamp went dark, leaving only faint moonlight to illuminate the cabin. Even in the gloom, I easily returned to my spot and sat in the chair. I heard him tossing and turning.
"Shushu, you there?"
"Yes."
His blue eyes gleamed in the dark like a nocturnal beast's as they met mine. His hand groped around.
"Need something?"
His hand, paused in midair, turned toward my voice. It came right up to my face.
"Hand."
"Hand?"
I echoed softly, and a husky chuckle followed.
"Hold my hand."
My eyes adjusted to the dark; his were fixed precisely on me. They curved prettily.
"I'm scared."
He didn't look scared—he looked amused. It was absurd, incomprehensible behavior.
"You're such a scaredy-cat, Didi."
I took his hand on impulse. My small, callused, scarred hand met his large, flawless one.
......Maybe he craved human warmth.
The warmth wasn't bad.
"Goodnight, Shushu."
He rolled toward me and whispered.
I smiled faintly.
"Goodnight, Didi."
With that, I closed my eyes. When I opened them again, Didi was gone.