Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: Lingering Doubts
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"Beth."
Beth turned her head at the sound of someone calling her.
The fellow nurse who saw Dever approaching quickly said, "We'll talk later," and scurried away.
The sunlight shining in made Beth's eyes narrow slightly. With the light at his back, the man's face looked even more shadowed.
He'd been up until late dawn—had he even gotten any sleep?
Unaware of Beth's thoughts, Dever felt a twist in his gut at the sight of the woman glaring at him with such a prickly stare.
"I helped you out, but it doesn't seem like you're grateful at all."
Dever held out a folded piece of paper to Beth.
Seeing the sedative prescription and Madam Molly's signed confirmation, Beth headed toward the medicine storeroom.
Dever's necklace went straight back into Beth's pocket the moment the storeroom door opened. Glancing at her warily as if afraid it might be snatched away, Dever nodded toward the cabinet.
Taking a mere key from such a petite woman was child's play for him.
But the terrified face he'd seen at dawn flashed in his mind. It was just like the eyes that had looked up at him in the forest when he'd grabbed her by the collar and the wind had sent her military cap flying, her hair spilling out.
He didn't want to scare her with his strength again.
It was a strange feeling.
Even if it meant being ruthless, do whatever it takes for your goal. That's the path to survival and victory. He'd drilled that into his subordinates relentlessly.
Yet here he was, the guy who obsessed over efficiency to the point of making those around him tremble, putting up with this inefficiency just because he didn't want to frighten her.
No. Dever corrected himself.
He would take it back in the end.
He just didn't want to see that frightened face right now.
In the meantime, Beth handed him the medicine. It was a much smaller vial than what Dever usually took. His sharp voice issued a threat.
"Damn it. Don't you want to see me every day? Bring the proper amount."
Beth pulled out the medical confirmation and shoved the "dosage" section right in front of his eyes—the part that listed the medicine name but not the dosage.
"Don't make this difficult."
As Beth moved to lock the door, Dever's hand overlapped hers, trying to snatch the key, but Beth was a fraction faster.
Startled, she jumped back a few steps, quickly slipping the necklace around her own neck and tucking the key inside her clothes. Unless he ordered her to strip like he had on that forest path, nothing could be safer. And things were different now.
"Ha."
Dever shoved one hand into his pants pocket and stood there crookedly.
The pose made him look less like an imperial duke and more like a street thug from Wayne's back alleys. The vial bouncing up and down in the air above his hand, landing and rising again, created a strange tension.
Beth gripped the necklace tightly inside her clothes, ready to bolt if needed.
Dever glanced at the vial one more time as he watched her.
Yeah, he'd take it back eventually.
He pocketed the vial and straightened his impeccably neat clothes.
His tall stature, broad shoulders, and cleanly exposed forehead now presented the flawless image of a soldier, unlike before.
Dever approached Beth, who was still clutching the necklace tightly. She came up to just his chest. Yeah, in the forest, she'd reached exactly this height too.
Dever looked down into her dark eyes gazing up at him.
"Then we'll just have to see each other more often, Nurse Beth."
It was gentlemanly phrasing paired with anything-but-gentlemanly expression.
"Did you see it? Did you see it? 'Respect for superiors.' So cool, right?"
In the frontline hospital where there was no other joy, the unmarried nurses' sole pleasure was the whispering gossip session before bed. They were all friends who had attended Wayne Nursing School together.
When Madam Molly announced she would build a school where nobles and commoners studied side by side, people called it noble hypocrisy or empty boasting. But seeing them out here on the front lines shut everyone up.
The nurses who had come to the battlefield under her tutelage respected her teachings as well. So among themselves, they got along intimately regardless of class.
They had all come to the front for different reasons and would lead entirely different lives back in Wayne, but here, they were all comrades, friends, and family.
Of course, there had been defectors like in the recent rear hospital air raid, but they avoided talking about those who had left. They just wanted to share stories as close to real life as possible.
"Still, the best I've seen is Duke Dever."
Dixie was always the ringleader of the conversations. True to her roots as the daughter of a merchant who had struck it rich in trade, her stories were far more entertaining than the shoddy radio broadcasts.
"For you, good looks are everything."
Aines responded to Dixie as if she couldn't be helped.
"Lady Aines has a fiancé, so no matter how famous a handsome man is, he probably doesn't catch your eye."
Aines's cheeks flushed at Dixie's teasing retort.
Beth glanced at the ring on Aines's ring finger. Even though she could only wear it during the brief moments of sleep in a day, Aines never forgot it.
Beth scribbled on the memo pad in her hand.
[Heard any news about the count?]
Aines slowly shook her head. Her expression darkened further.
"It seems the failure of Duke Dever's operation this time affected things there too."
The lively mood sparked by Dixie's wit sank.
Aines had joined the nursing unit just to be closer to her fiancé, whom she'd had to part from right after their engagement ceremony. Everyone knew how excited—or worried—she got from the occasional letters that arrived.
Beth wrapped an arm around Aines's shoulders.
"Come on, enough sulking. We'll all make it back alive."
Dixie clapped her hands to liven things up.
"You all know how my dad has that sixth sense for big wins? I'm his one and only daughter who inherited it. So no worries—tie them up tight."
Dixie grumbled as she laid her head in Beth's lap.
"Following your fiancé is at least romantic. What about me?"
"Why?"
Sophia, who had joined Madam Molly's hospital late like Beth, asked. Everyone started chuckling softly at the question. Dixie made a pitiful face as she said,
"I've got six older sisters above me. The three eldest? They married rich but got no titles. You gotta diversify your investments, right? So Dad sent me out here to this warzone to snag some war-crazed noble lad. War, soldiers, nurses—perfect match, huh?"
"But what if something happens—"
"I got my fortune read right before enlisting, and it said I'd come back alive. That fortune-teller's the real deal. She said even if we had ten more kids, no sons—and she was right."
Dixie let out a long yawn.
"Still, the absolute best is Duke Dever."
"Beth, you've actually talked to him. Is the rumor about his mania true?"
Expectant gazes turned to Beth.
On the day Dever had yelled at Beth, she had been on night duty and missed it, but everyone else had been buzzing about him. Rumors abounded, but aside from Madam Molly, no one had dealt with Dever directly, so they had no one to satisfy their curiosity.
Now, Dever had caused a scene with Beth last night. It was fresh gossip in their monotonous lives after so long.
Beth pondered deeply.
When she'd seen him in the storeroom at dawn, she'd thought she might faint. They carried guns during night shifts, so she had one, but when the moment hit, her mind went blank.
The cold sensation overlapping her trembling hand was vivid.
'Shoot me now.'
Those absurd words from the gray eyes looking down arrogantly.
'Then we'll just have to see each other more often, Nurse Beth.'
A refined tone clashing with his arrogant expression.
'Strip.'
A man who had driven her to utter despair.
'I wish I could receive that arrogant salvation of yours too.'
And made her feel utterly pathetic.
And...
Everyone's eyes focused on Beth's pen tip hovering over the paper.
Knock knock.
"Eek, it's General Molly."
Everyone scrambled back to their beds and lay down. When Madam Molly opened the door, they were all pretending to sleep innocently.
"If you're faking sleep, at least turn off the light."
The madam sighed softly and switched off the light. How long would she have to play dorm mother to these immature girls? Pretending not to know when she did was its own form of torture.
As her footsteps faded, the whispers resumed.
With the light out, they couldn't see Beth's response anymore, so Dixie naturally shifted the topic. Beth quietly listened to her friends while thinking of the answer she hadn't written down. And naturally, Dever came to mind.
Does he still suspect me?
The death benefit certificate he'd promised if she proved her identity hadn't come yet. Was there more to check, or even after checking, he wasn't convinced?
Once the thought took hold, it spread further.
If he found out she'd deliberately given him a smaller dose out of "just in case" worry...
Would that man mock it as arrogant salvation again?
Arthur, whose wound hadn't been deep to begin with, was wandering the hospital like it was his own home under the excuse of rehabilitation exercises. His affable, sly charm meant there wasn't a nurse or doctor who hadn't chatted with him.
"Duke Arthur! Phone call!"
Madam Molly shouted at Arthur, who was loitering at the bottom of the stairs.
"Ah, right in the middle of a fun story. I'll come back and finish it later."
Arthur grinned as he climbed the stairs.
Once the hospital director's office door closed, his cheerfully upturned lips hardened.
"What's up."
[How'd you know it was me?]
A soft woman's voice flowed from the receiver.
Arthur's blue eyes darkened deeply. The unsmiling gaze was chillingly cold—a face few others ever saw.
"In this war, you're the only one who'd call the front lines."
[Doesn't the Emperor contact you?]
Arthur closed his eyes to suppress the emotion rising in his throat. His voice trembled subtly.
"Cut the nonsense. Why'd you call."
[Thought I'd see your face after so long, so I called.]
See his face? Arthur's brows furrowed.
"Don't tell me you're coming here now—"
[And the nonsense is that clown show you're putting on.]
The woman cut him off and hung up with a sharp tone.
"Damn it."
Arthur slammed the receiver down, his chest heaving heavily. He couldn't let others see his unresolved emotions. Only after habitually curling his lips upward did he leave the office.
The man descending the stairs was the fresh, beloved prince everyone adored. The lowly expression of Arthur Manor hid behind the prince's mask.
"Got cut off mid-fun story, huh?"
Suddenly, the main entrance burst open violently.
"Whoa! Dever—"
Oh no. Disappointment flashed across Arthur's face as he tried to greet him warmly.
Dever strode toward the central ward like a beast hunting prey. All eyes turned to Dever, who had barged in leading soldiers. Beth, who had been changing a wounded soldier's bandages, was no exception.
His murderous steps headed straight for her.