Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Trash by the Bed
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Dever surveyed the small room, where everyone had frozen under his intimidating presence.
The wooden beams protruding irregularly from the ceiling in various spots resembled the bones of a rotting beast, and the white bedsheet draped over the empty bed frame evoked the image of a morgue.
When he lightly brushed the bedsheet, a cold chill, like the skin of a corpse, crept up his fingers.
Hmm. Dever exhaled a long, humming breath. His impassive expression betrayed no hint of emotion.
He walked past Arthur, who stood rigidly motionless.
"My apologies to the ladies."
Dever gave a slight bow and crossed the room directly. The gathered nurses parted to clear a path for his resolute footsteps.
"Dever!"
At Arthur's call, Dever paused and turned around. His gaze landed on the edge of Beth's empty bed.
"May I ask one small favor?"
"Y-yes? Of course."
A nameless someone responded to the Duke's request without thinking.
Dever curved his lips into a small smile. It appeared remarkably serene, almost gentle. But the sharp, mismatched glint in his eyes created a jarring dissonance that made everyone swallow dryly.
"There was some trash next to Miss Beth Jens's bed. I'd appreciate it if you'd dispose of it for me."
Trash? The unexpected word from the Duke's mouth drew everyone's heads toward Beth's bed. Dever descended the stairs without waiting for a reply.
"Dever!"
Only after the Duke and the Prince slammed the now completely broken, dangling door shut did the nurses finally exhale the breaths they'd been holding.
A small commotion arose—what on earth had just happened?—but no one could provide an answer.
"What's the trash?"
"Huh? Military boots?"
"Whose are they?"
Beside Beth's bed sat a pair of men's military boots none of them had ever seen before.
"This is weird..."
Aines murmured.
She alone sensed that something had gone terribly wrong.
"Did anyone see Beth this morning?"
Her voice trembled at the end. In a tone uncharacteristic of her, sharp with anxiety, she repeated the question.
"Did any of you see Beth Jens?!"
Dever did not head to the hospital. There was no point now that he knew Beth wasn't there.
Even the usually deserted hospital rear courtyard was now packed with military vehicles loading supplies and remaining patients.
Dever pushed through the chaotic crowd.
He didn't even know where he was headed.
But his body, seasoned by a lifetime of warfare, moved on its own to serve its master. It was time to play the role of Army Commander, a part so familiar it was second nature.
"Dever! Dever Cliff!"
In the middle of the forest path leading to the barracks, Arthur roughly grabbed Dever's arm.
"Commander. What the hell is this?"
Arthur was at a loss for words.
The face of his friend staring back at him genuinely seemed baffled.
"Beth. Aren't you looking for Beth?"
Only then did one of Dever's eyebrows twitch slightly. But the emotion wasn't confusion or anxiety.
It resembled the expression of a detached observer.
"That woman's not here."
There was no tremor in Dever's voice. It was filled with conviction, as if he'd seen Beth vanish with his own eyes.
"You're not searching?"
"Do you think I wouldn't?"
Dever countered with a look of utter incomprehension.
The conversation was going nowhere, spinning in circles.
Arthur ended up asking the one question he shouldn't have.
"That woman, I mean Beth Jens."
Arthur's throat bobbed.
A chilling winter wind swept past the two men, lightly tousling their hair.
"She might have left you."
At that moment, the winter birds still lingering on the outpost flapped their wings with a flurry and soared into the sky. The faint rustle of the few remaining tree leaves trembled through the quiet forest.
Dever tilted his chin up slightly, tracking the birds that had already flown far into the sky. They grew smaller and smaller until they were mere dots.
Those birds were probably heading to Wayne.
All of Nexus's winter birds migrated to Wayne in anticipation of warm spring.
Wayne was the warmest place in Nexus, where winter dragged on harshly. Even small birds knew that.
Dever watched the clever birds departing the coldest lands for a long time.
"The people I've encountered are no different from beasts."
Beasts? Arthur's golden eyes wavered.
"They all have their instinctive habits, whether good or bad."
As he said "bad," Dever looked down at Arthur, who was slightly shorter than him. The arrogant downward gaze seemed to view even the Empire's Prince beneath his feet.
A vein bulged at the nape of Arthur's neck.
Dever didn't miss the change, observing it closely.
"I have no intention of clipping wings."
Though he couldn't afford to cripple feet either.
Dever chuckled softly and glanced once more at the gray sky where the snow had stopped. Like Beth, the winter birds had already vanished from sight.
She's quick, too.
The image of Beth, cloaked in a blanket and darting out of the barracks at dawn's first light, overlapped with the empty sky.
"For now."
Dever's hand, which had caressed Beth so possessively just last night, moved to his chest. The spot where his finely crafted brooch should have been was flat and empty.
"She left a sign that she'll return, anyway."
Dever lightly patted Arthur's shoulder, as if encouraging him.
"As you said, today's full of variables. A gracious Army Commander overlooks a little commotion."
Dever left Arthur behind and headed to the barracks alone.
Arthur could only stare at his retreating back, frozen in place. There was nothing he could do. As always.
The moments when he felt that horrific silence were always lonely.
The barracks and hospital buzzed with excitement over returning home. Boisterous laughter and clusters of chatter enlivened the desolate outpost.
Aines raced up the hospital stairs with an anxious expression. The Hospital Director's office door, usually closed, stood wide open today.
"Aines?"
Madam Molly, packing the last of her belongings inside, spotted Aines standing outside.
Aines hurried toward the madam but quickly curtsied upon seeing Collins seated on the corner sofa. Collins waved her off with a hearty laugh, indicating it was fine.
The madam stopped what she was doing upon seeing Aines's unusual face.
"What happened?"
"Beth's gone."
Aines blurted out the main point incoherently. Her palms were slick with sweat.
Since everyone else treated Beth's disappearance so lightly, she'd been running around the hospital and quarters alone.
"Beth's nowhere to be seen."
"What do you mean, Beth's not around?"
Collins interjected abruptly at the mention of Beth being missing.
"Have you looked for her?"
"The last truck for the medical staff is coming soon, and she's nowhere."
Aines shook her head woefully. Her shoulders trembled faintly as she bowed her head.
"Aines. Look at me."
The madam gently cupped Aines's tear-streaked cheek. The wrinkles around the madam's eyes sharpened.
"Were you with her until last night?"
Aines nodded vigorously.
"Did she say anything about going somewhere?"
"She was the same as always. Our quarters were a mess yesterday too. So, sob, it's my fault."
Madam Molly turned to her husband.
Collins's face, rarely one to show panic, was rigidly tense.
"Not the Kovah Army, I hope...?"
The madam voiced the worst possibility.
Collins shook his head firmly. Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, his somber eyes recalled the conversation he'd had with Dever and Arthur a few days prior.
"It can't be the Kovah Army. Dever's tightened security more than ever. And Beth—"
Collins swallowed the rest.
His wife seemed not to have noticed the subtle relationship between Dever and Beth yet, but he'd picked up on it from the very first day they arrived.
The fact that Dever's eyes were on Beth had probably spread quietly among the soldiers.
His woman, no less.
No one would dare touch Beth carelessly.
"Did you happen to see Commander Dever today, by any chance?"
Collins asked indirectly.
Aines nodded.
"The Duke was looking for Beth too. It felt off that he was searching for her since early morning. What if something happened?"
Dever searching for Beth as well. The situation was graver than expected.
"Well, now."
Collins roughly scratched his coarse beard.
If even Dever was looking for her, this might be Beth's independent action. He had no idea how she'd slipped away from the front lines unnoticed or why she'd vanished.
"Aines! Mr. Collins!"
A voice called up from below the open window. Soon, a cheerful klaxon sounded.
"Hospital Director! You need to come down! The truck's here!"
A soldier's gruff voice urged them on.
"What about Beth?"
Collins patted Madam Molly and Aines's shoulders in turn.
"You two go ahead with Aines. I'll search for Beth with the remaining staff and leave last."
To ease the two women's lingering anxiety, Collins forced a playful tone.
"Beth may seem prim, but she's got a quirky side. I'll take responsibility and find her. I stake the Molly family honor on it."
Only after his joking words did the madam and Aines gather their things and leave the office. Still uneasy, they glanced back several times, and Collins waved cheerfully.
From the window, he watched the remaining nurses board the truck. Only then did Collins slowly descend the stairs.
"Dever hasn't left yet either, I bet."
Collins headed to the barracks, doing some quick calculations.
"Beth, you fool. What on earth are you thinking?"
A low sigh she couldn't hear accompanied his words.