The flames from the candles in the kitchen were blown lightly by the wind as I sat down beside Archéster whom I had placed on the dining table to treat his wounds. I unwrapped the cloth he used temporarily to cover the bleeding on his hand. When I looked closely, the wound on his hand was deep enough that when I opened the bandage, his blood flowed again. It looks like a stab wound, judging from the shape.
Meanwhile, Archéster who had previously shown completely no movement, sounded agitated in his unconsciousness. His head twitched, and his mouth babbled something unclear. When I was about to finish giving first aid to the wound on his hand, his eyes suddenly widened open, staring at the ceiling with a piercing look. Slowly, he glanced at me with a hiss as I covered his wound with a new bandage.
"... Lorein?" he muttered. His sharp, piercing gaze has softened.
"Mhm," I replied as I turned to his head, which had some small scratches and bruises. "I have already given first aid to the wound on your hand. Later in the morning, I will call Ghenina to treat it further. So take a rest first."
A faint chuckle sounded from his mouth. With one hand, he brushed my hand off his forehead while muttering softly, "Thank you. But this one is okay."
My eyes narrowed, and then somewhat exasperated, I threw the folds of cloth I had previously dipped in warm water onto his forehead. He looked back at me with his innocent, clear eyes.
"You said you were okay, but you got this fever because you bled too much, huh?"
He said nothing, turning his attention in another direction. He looks almost similar to the little boy when his mother scolded him. I sighed, then stood up to clean up. However, he held me back.
"Don't leave me alone."
I was petrified, not believing that a sentence would come out of his mouth. But I hurriedly showed my hand, which had traces of dried blood from him. "Just a moment. And I also have to take a blanket."
The grip of his hand slowly slipped off. With that, I immediately did whatever I had to do. And after returning with a blanket to wrap his hot body from fever, I saw that his eyes had closed again.
"You know," he muttered as I began to wrap him in the blanket. I'm not sure if he didn't fall asleep and just closed his eyes, or if he was maybe delirious. "I feel more need to come to see you than to treat my injuries."
"Why?" I asked after his body was covered, and I sat down beside him.
He shook his head. His eyes opened slightly, and he looked at me faintly. He was silent for a few moments, just looking at me before finally muttering again, "Don't know. My instinct told me so."
Instinct? So he is the kind of person who is influenced by instinct rather than logic? Was that instinct also what keeps him to this day safe from all the dangers he encountered, including the wounds that make him now bleed like this?
"Say something, Lorein."
I refocused on him. "Say what? I don't know what to say."
"Anything," he said with a smile. "I want to hear your voice. I'm fed up with this silence."
I sighed. "You should sleep. At least until the sun rises and Ghenina comes here to treat you further. Otherwise, you will really be anaemic if your wound is left untreated."
"Then, accompany me. Accompany me here until morning," he said again, this time linking his finger with mine, as if he really didn't want me to leave his side. "Otherwise, what's the point of me coming here to see you?"
I looked at him incredulously. As I watched him slowly close his eyes, I wondered if Archéster really became this way when he was sick. This attitude of his was very unpredictable to me, even though his tone of speech to me when he was in a normal state was also this gentle. I felt that all his fingers had now wrapped around my wrist, and his head had begun to tilt to the side, looking for a comfortable position.
°°°
The morning Ghenina got to my house, she froze in the doorway. Her bag fell off and made Archéster groan because of the noise.
"Lorein," Ghenina muttered, still motionless, looking at the man lying at my dining table. "What are you doing to that man on the table?"
I widened my eyes, hurriedly pulled her hand, and also picked up her fallen bag, then led her to stand next to Archéster while pointing to his wound I had given first aid. "For Godsake, Ghenina, he was injured in front of my house early in the morning. I've done all I can, and now you have to do further treatment so that his blood doesn't completely drain."
As if she had come to her senses, Ghenina immediately rushed to do what she was supposed to do. Everything she did meticulously, silently, but as fast as she could. After nearly an hour—I also didn't expect it would become this long—Ghenina slammed her body beside me. Even though my cousin was just staring at me fixedly, I knew very well that there were so many questions she wanted to ask me.
I exhaled a long breath, giving up. "Just one question, Nina."
"Aw," she muttered in a dissatisfied tone. "Well. So, is he putting his own life at risk and would rather see you first in the early morning? If so, I don't need to ask you again whether he is your Skaebn or not because the answer is very obvious."
I avoided eye contact with anyone in my house, choosing to be engrossed in staring at a fruit basket filled with bananas and grapes. "You can ask him yourself when he wakes up later."
"Eh ...!" Ghenina stood up from her seat and approached Archéster while checking his temperature by touching his forehead. "Anyway, he will still be asleep for at least the next hour or two. In the meantime, I have to go in place of Mom to Madam Kelly's house at eight. By the way, your man here is lucky enough that his wound is on his left hand, while from what I see, he is a right-handed user. But he still shouldn't do excessive activity with that hand for the next few weeks or months until the wound is completely healed."
"Yes, yes, thank you for the advice, Doc. I will let him know when he is awake and fully conscious."
While tidying up her things and putting them back in the bag, Ghenina dipped in all directions as if she were looking for something. "By the way, where's Lynton? Isn't he surprised to see your man come here early in the morning injured?"
"Stop calling him my man, Nina. You don't remember that he's Edmund's commander?" I sighed as I massaged my temples. "And Lynton is not home for the next two or three days."
It seems that I brought up the wrong topic because Ghenina was actually even more fiery and did not stop admiring me because I managed to get a partner who people can be proud of.
I also tried to wrap up this topic with another by asking her to come with me for breakfast. But she just chuckled and refused subtly, saying that the patient's house where she would meet was always kind enough to offer her a breakfast that was much more portioned and varied than in her own home.
Shortly after saying that, Ghenina excused herself and left me alone with Archéster, who was still lying motionless. Since it didn't seem like Arcéster would be up in the next few minutes, I went back to my room to get ready to go to work. And when I went downstairs, neat and ready to go, Archéster who had previously laid down was seen sitting contemplatively while staring at his treated left hand.
"You feel better already?"
Hearing my voice, his head suddenly turned towards me. His head nodded while he gave me his best smile on his face.
"Good morning. I thought you had already left me alone in your house."
I just nodded to return his greeting, then moved over to him to check his temperature to see if he still had a fever or not. But when my hand touched his forehead, I felt his body jerk as if my hand were electrocuting him, but he didn't try to dodge or even move away. He was just stay like a stone.
"Thank goodness, your fever has gone down. You'd better rest again. I'll go to work."
"No," he said too quickly, then stood up with his body staggered. I was on standby beside him in case he fell. "Let's go together. I'd rather rest at the base with the other guys than wait alone at your house."
I couldn't resist and forced him not to push himself because he already looked quite fit compared to a few hours ago. I don't know if he's really okay or if he's just trying to reassure me that he's okay. I don't know, it's up to him. The important thing is that he has no fever and only has to take care of the wound on his hand that has not healed completely.
And as he wished, we walked side by side to our work places. As he walked, Archéster complained that his hands were occasionally painful when he tried to clench his fists. At that very moment, and before I forget, I conveyed Ghenina's message to Archéster so that he could treat his own wounds for a speedy recovery. As if being lectured by his parents, he just stayed silent with his head down while occasionally nodding softly and saying "Yes" in a listless tone.
"So," I hesitated to ask this, but looking into his eyes reflected in the morning sun, I plucked up the courage and continued my question. "What happened yesterday? You get hurt, but that doesn't mean you lose, right?"
Archéster actually chuckled. His expression as he laughed managed to shift my focus for a few moments.
"No, of course. They hurt me because they knew they had no possibility of winning against me. Thank you for believing in me," he said with excitement that could even be heard from just his footsteps. "Even so, the actual conditions are quite difficult. There were bandits from the border of the city in the west who suddenly attacked some people passing there. Since it was not far from our guard post, I and several other comrades tried to beat them back. One of them we caught, and we tried to extract as much information from him as possible."
I couldn't help but be surprised to hear his explanation, but I could only wide-eye.
"At least I'm relieved that you managed to keep them from going deeper here," I muttered. At that very moment, I felt his hand gently squeeze my wrist. He smiled all the way to his eyes. "And if I don't believe you, then what's the point of the taxes I always pay regularly?"
Archéster burst into laughter after hearing what I said. The ends of his eyes were watery from his laughter. And I don't realise since when he has taken me into his arms, with me who have made no effort to move away or even escape from his warm embrace until I arrive at the finance department.