Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: How about it? Feels better, right?
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And then, about ten people were carried in on stretchers.
The smell of blood reverberated through the space.
Every one of them was brutally injured.
Groans mixed with agony erupted from here and there.
"Damn it."
Tail immediately moved toward the injured people.
The other workers followed suit behind him.
He looked quite practiced at laying down the patients and tending to them.
Chloe, left alone to witness the scene, froze in place.
Her heart pounded fiercely, ringing loudly in her ears.
The cozy space from moments ago had turned into hell in an instant.
Voices laced with pain, cries begging to be saved, wails from comrades pleading to stay alive.
Everything blended together, muddling Chloe's mind.
Her hands trembled at the raw reality before her.
'What am I seeing right now?'
Was this reality?
She felt ridiculous for whining about missing her father all this time.
These people fought desperately at the very bottom just to survive day by day.
Only now did she realize how trivial her own worries had been.
As Chloe stood there rigid, a man pressing down on his comrade's wound beside her shouted at her.
"Hey! Don't just stand there—grab a bucket with holy water vials!"
"Y-Yes… Yes?"
Startled, Chloe moved to fetch the holy water vials without thinking.
Fortunately, Tail had shown her the room with them earlier, so she found it easily.
She hoisted up a bucket stuffed full of vials containing holy water and hurried back.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
The chaotic scenes flickering before her eyes refused to let her calm down.
Her hands shook wildly, and her unsteady legs made her steps wobble.
Just as she neared her destination, Chloe glanced at the bucket and her eyes widened.
"Oh no!"
The vials clinked against each other in the bucket, and all the corks popped out.
In the end, all the holy water spilled out and mixed together.
"Wh-What do I do…!"
She had tried to help, but she'd only made things worse.
She'd ruined everything instead.
At that moment.
"Holy water vials! You got 'em?"
The man who had told her to bring them snatched the bucket from her hands urgently while tending to a patient.
Then he looked at it and jumped in surprise.
"What the hell! All the holy water's mixed up!"
His shout drew everyone's eyes to her in an instant.
Chloe bit her lip hard.
She had to apologize.
'I have to apologize.'
Forcing her stiff mouth open, she said,
"I-I'm sor… ry…."
That was when it happened.
Someone stepped in front of her.
"I told her to pour all the holy water out."
It was Tail.
The man looked Tail up and down.
Seeing he was dressed in the monastery monk's robes, the man's aggressive demeanor deflated.
"You told her to dump all the holy water?"
The man looked somewhat skeptical, but Tail continued calmly.
"Yes. It's more convenient for me that way. Time's short anyway, so let's start the treatment."
With that, Tail pulled out a towel he'd brought beforehand and dipped it in the bucket.
Then he tapped it against the injured person's body.
Whoosh—!
The wounds on the injured person's body began vanishing one by one.
For the broken bones, which needed more holy water, he aligned them first, then laid the soaked towel over them to let it seep in.
Chloe's eyes widened in astonishment.
It was a side of Tail she'd never seen before.
He'd always been serious around her, but now he exuded true professionalism.
As she watched him focus intently on treating one person, Chloe tore her gaze away and slowly started walking.
After looking around a bit, Tail said,
"You've done good work stopping the bleeding. The rest of the wounds will heal naturally now."
At Tail's words, the man bowed his head hastily.
"Whew. Thank you."
"No problem. You did great."
Tail turned to look for Chloe, but she was nowhere in sight.
'Damn.'
Tail's face twisted slightly.
'From the look of her earlier, she must've been pretty shocked.'
Well, what would a delicately raised imperial princess know?
She'd never seen an urgent, gruesome scene like this.
The worst "blood" she'd known was probably a paper cut.
"Sigh. Guess I'll go check on her."
Might as well make sure the coins keep coming.
With that thought, Tail set off familiarly.
There was a place the imperial princess frequented lately whenever she felt down.
It was a serene spot atop a small hill, dominated by a massive ancient tree.
It wasn't far, but since it was behind the building, few people went there.
Of course, Tail had seen her head there once before, so he found it without trouble.
Sure enough, the huge old tree came into view from afar.
Beneath its sprawling branches sat a small girl.
It was Chloe.
Hunched over with her face buried in her knees.
Tail approached slowly and sat beside Chloe.
And said nothing.
A psychiatrist's first job was to listen.
You had to be careful not to jump in with advice before they even spoke.
So Tail waited quietly for her to calm down.
Silence flowed.
Only the sound of wind filled the space, carrying the fresh scent of spring past their noses.
And after some time.
Chloe slowly opened her mouth.
"Tail."
Her small voice calling his name reached him.
"Yes, Chloe."
At Tail's reply, Chloe mumbled,
"I'm sorry…."
Tail didn't respond.
In the meantime, Chloe continued.
"I wanted to do well. But… I don't think I can."
Her life had to be perfect.
No room for even the smallest mistake.
But this time, she'd caused trouble for everyone.
She hated herself for it.
No, she was scared of being hated again for this mistake.
Words from the past that had scolded her now tightened around her throat.
"Your Highness. Whatever you miss becomes the people's burden. Remember that."
The nanny's constant reminders.
"Again? Do you even realize you're an imperial princess?!"
Her father's words, sharp even from his usually gentle demeanor when she erred.
"That's just an excuse. Do it properly. Properly."
Her mother's growing coldness every time she messed up.
She had to be flawless.
Always aware that the people were beneath her, she tightroped on a precarious line.
She wanted to say she was trying her best too.
That she didn't want to mess up.
But those echoes rang only inside her, reaching no one.
Before she knew it, 'Chloe' had vanished, leaving only 'Imperial Princess Chloe' behind.
Chloe's hands clenched her knees tightly.
'I'm full of mistakes.'
With that thought, Chloe sank deeper into a black sea.
'Everyone hates me.'
As she plummeted deeper and deeper.
"Chloe."
A warm voice called out.
"May I have your hand?"
He took her hand without waiting for an answer.
And that was when.
A brilliant light pierced the dark abyss.
This warm, comforting feeling was just like the nights Tail prayed for her.
That strength pulled her back from the depths, grasping her firmly.
"Chloe."
Only then did Tail carefully speak.
"Everyone has their own role."
Tail kept holding her hand as he continued.
"Just as I take care of others, you have your own position and place, Chloe."
She felt the prayer end, but for some reason, Chloe couldn't shake off that warm hand.
"And so what if you're not perfect? If you have to be flawless, you'd have to be a god."
Each of Tail's words sank deep into her heart.
"So it's okay. Everyone makes mistakes and has tough days. It doesn't make you bad or different, Chloe."
Everyone does.
It's not my fault.
Words she'd longed to hear, even just once—this boy was saying them to her.
Before long, Chloe realized that hand was pulling her out of the dark sea.
It was so firm.
So reliable.
She felt like she'd never sink back into the darkness again.
Chloe slowly lifted her head.
The world outside that once-dark sea was beautiful.
The bright sky, swaying grass blades, sweet floral scents.
The sunlight warming her skin, the warmth still in her hand.
Everything felt like a dream in that moment.
"How about it? Feels better, right?"
At Tail's beaming smile, Chloe shed tears and smiled back.
"Yes."
A few days later.
Chloe's condition had noticeably improved.
Tail watched her chatting lively with the others.
Her rosy cheeks, radiant smile, and crinkled eyes were the same as ever, but Tail could tell.
Her heart had truly lightened.