I woke up from a short, feverish nap to find myself in Luke's arms—one arm under my legs, the other around my back—while I-Seo and Amiel hovered close by, looking worried. My head throbbed with every beat of my heart, and the hospital's bright overhead lights felt like harsh little suns shining right at me.
Despite the busy, slightly panicked atmosphere of the emergency room, Luke looked perfectly at ease, as if we were strolling into a grand ballroom instead of a hospital. I-Seo, on the other hand, gave him a long-suffering look, unimpressed by his dramatic show of protectiveness.
"Luke," I mumbled, trying to free myself, "you can put me down. My legs aren't broken, just wobbly."
"As you wish, my lady," he replied calmly, but he didn't set me down right away. He kept scanning the area as if expecting an attack at any second.
I-Seo blew a stray hair out of her face. "Dude, we have wheelchairs and stretchers—this is a hospital, not the battlefield. She doesn't need to be carried like that."
Luke only nodded and hushed I-seo, still gripping me gently. Meanwhile, Amiel stood next to a row of vending machines. He tapped the glass in fascination. "Lady Sena, these boxes—are they full of magic potions? They're bigger than any treasure chest I've seen."
I forced a weak smile, trying to ignore the dull pounding in my skull. "They're called vending machines, Amiel. You put in money, you get a drink, no magic required."
He pressed his face to the glass, not quite believing me. "Should I bend while waiting for the treasure to come out? Well, it's strange. I see no coins inside. Where do they come from?"
We started to laugh as soon as Amiel began to pose a back bend like doing dance moves. Other people were looking at him so I-seo while he was on his pose, clung her arm to Amiel's arm to drag him. I can feel I-seo's secondhand embarrassment.
Before I could say anything, a young nurse who was slightly giggling, assuming that she saw Amiel as well, approached us with a polite, hurried air. She glanced at Luke still carrying me and blinked but remained professional. "Excuse me, miss? Are you…Park Sena?"
I started to nod but paused when Luke spoke up. "Sena Valenhart," he corrected, his tone proud. "She is my wife."
"What?" I whispered in confusion, but Luke's arm tightened around me as if to say play along.
The nurse blinked again, looking between us. "I-I see. You're her husband, then? And these two are…?"
Luke adjusted his hold on me so that his arm wrapped around my waist from behind, almost like a back-hug. "Yes, I am Luke Valenhart, and this is my friend, Amiel, and his wife I-seo."
Amiel nodded with a slight bow, but before the nurse could react, I-seo practically latched herself onto Amiel's arm. She shot a glare at the staff as if silently declaring, Hands off, ladies—this one's with me.
"Oh," the nurse said, glancing between I-seo and Amiel. Her cheeks reddened slightly. "All right, so we have Ms. Sena…Valenhart…and her husband, plus two friends. Got it. Let's get you admitted."
As she led us to the admission desk, I noticed other nurses and a few patients peeking at Luke and Amiel. I overheard whispers like, "Are they models?" and "They look like Greek gods!" Some phones even came out, as if people wanted to snap a quick picture.
Amiel, who was already nervous about the odd machines, looked even more uncomfortable when he saw he was drawing attention. But I-Seo tightened her grip on his arm with a smug little smile as if warding off the gawkers. Luke, for his part, calmly kept me supported, one hand lightly bracing my arm so I wouldn't lose my balance.
We reached the admission window, where another nurse asked for my information. "Name? Age? Do you have any ID?"
Luke answered before I could speak: "Her name is Sena Valenhart."
The nurse typed it into the computer with a puzzled look. "Valenhart… All right. Do you have an ID card or insurance, Ms. Valenhart?"
My head was pounding too much to argue about the name change, so I tried to explain, "I—I'm kind of between forms right now…"
"I'll handle the forms for her. She's…not in the best shape to fill them out. They just got married so her ID details were outdated," Sensing the awkwardness, I-seo jumped in smoothly while winking at me explaining about the ID situation. Instead of clearing the misunderstanding, she even joined in the 'Married Couple' scene.
"Right," the nurse said, handing over a small clipboard. "Please fill in whatever details you have. We'll get her vitals checked in Triage, then the doctor will see her."
Luke kept me upright as I-seo hastily scribbled on the paperwork. Behind the desk, I could hear more soft chatter, "Wow, they look like they stepped out of a movie." "Is that couple foreign?"
"All right, Ms. Sena—Mr. Valenhart—just head through those double doors, and a nurse will guide you to a bed for an exam." I-seo finished filling out the forms and gave them back. The nurse glanced at Luke, her face still a bit pink.
Luke bowed his head. "Thank you."
I couldn't help but notice the slight flurry of excitement behind the desk as we walked away. One of the staff members murmured, "I swear, that tall guy with dark hair looks like some prince." I almost snorted—if only she knew.
A moment later, another nurse with a clipboard approached us in a more private cubicle area. "Mrs. Valenhart? Let's check your vitals before the doctor comes in."
Luke gave her a polite smile and released me onto a small chair, though he stayed right by my side. Amiel stood with I-Seo still clinging to his arm, and the nurse looked between them in slight confusion before focusing on me.
She held up a small electronic thermometer near my forehead. Luke's eyes narrowed. "What is that contraption?" he asked in a low, serious voice.
The nurse glanced at him uncertainly. "It's just a thermometer. It measures her temperature."
"I must examine it," Luke declared, holding out his hand.
Startled but too polite to refuse, she handed over the device. Luke turned it around, brought it close to his ear, and even sniffed it, raising his eyebrows when it made a soft beep. Amiel leaned in, peering over Luke's shoulder.
"Does it use fire magic to sense heat?" Amiel asked, obviously puzzled.
Luke frowned. "I sense no magic. No crystals or runes."
"Sir," the nurse said gently, "it's electronic and we don't have magics here. May I have it back, please? I need to check her temperature."
He handed it over with a small bow. "Very well."
She touched it to my forehead, causing it to beep. Luke and Amiel both stiffened at the glowing numbers on the screen.
"Look!" Amiel whispered. "Strange symbols."
"It's just a digital reading," I explained weakly. "It's showing my temperature, that's all."
Luke looked skeptical but nodded. "If you say so, my lady."
Next came a blood pressure cuff. Luke took it the moment the nurse brought it out, turning it over in his hands. Amiel poked at the rubber tube like he expected something to jump out.
"It hisses like a snake," Luke observed. "But there's no foul smell."
"Maybe we should taste it," Amiel suggested, serious as ever. "To see if it's poisonous."
I-seo groaned and grabbed his ear, pulling him back. "No tasting! Seriously, this is a hospital!"
Amiel yelped, raising his hands. The nurse just stood there, struggling to keep a professional face.
"Luke," I said firmly, "don't even think about it."
He gave me a quick nod and handed the cuff back, "Understood, my lady."
Finally, the nurse wrapped the cuff around my arm, and it began to inflate with a soft whoosh. Luke leaned in protectively, as if the cuff might suddenly attack me.
"It's tightening around your arm. Does it hurt?"
"I'm fine," I managed, my headache pulsing. "It's measuring how my heart pumps blood."
Amiel watched the blinking numbers with wide eyes. "Your world has so many machines that work without mana. It's incredible."
The nurse recorded my blood pressure. "Okay, Mrs. Valenhart, the doctor will be here soon. Just wait in this area, please."
While we waited, Luke and Amiel, too curious to sit still, peeked around the half-drawn curtain. They spotted another bed where a doctor was calmly stitching up a patient's arm. The patient looked relaxed—probably thanks to anesthesia—but Luke and Amiel paled as if they'd seen a horror movie.
"They're… sewing him like a piece of cloth?" Luke breathed, horrified.
Amiel grabbed Luke's sleeve. "Why doesn't he scream? Where is the healing mage?"
"Chill! He can't feel it because of anesthesia." I-Seo sprang up, blocking them with her arm.
"Numb?" Amiel asked, his eyes huge. "So the needle doesn't hurt at all?"
"Exactly," I muttered, rubbing my temples. "They inject a medicine that blocks pain signals to the brain. No screaming necessary."
The doctor finished stitching, and the patient thanked him. The nurse drew the curtain, leaving Luke and Amiel astonished.
"In Valeraine," Luke whispered, "stitches can be quite… traumatic without magic."
Amiel nodded grimly. "If we had this technique, many soldiers would suffer less,"
I-Seo smirked. "Welcome to modern medicine."
"Mrs. Valenhart, correct? We'll start an IV drip to help with your fever, and I recommend a flu shot as well." The attending doctor entered just then, giving me a brief, professional smile.
Luke's eyes widened. "A shot? They intend to shoot something into your flesh again?"
I exhaled. "Relax. It's just a tiny needle."
When the nurse prepared the syringe, Luke immediately tried to grab it. She clutched it protectively, startled. "Sir, please!"
Amiel also leaned in for a closer look, but I-seo knocked him back with a gentle kick. "You two have got to stop this," she hissed. "It's medicine, not a weapon."
Luke let go, still eyeing the syringe like it might betray me at any moment. The pinch was minor, but Luke sucked in a sharp breath as though he'd watched me get skewered by a sword.
"She barely flinched again!" Amiel gasped.
Luke pressed a hand over his heart. "Her courage is remarkable. That's my wife after all,"
"Guys, it's really no big deal, and stop with the wife thingy." I just rolled my eyes.
Next, the nurse inserted an IV line into my arm and hung a bag of saline on a stand. Luke sniffed the bag curiously, then turned to the nurse. "This fluid—does it feed her like a potion?"
She gave me a look that clearly said, Who are these people? But answered politely, "It replaces her fluids and helps fight the fever."
Luke nodded, impressed. "A healing concoction. Thank you, skilled healer."
Amiel tapped the IV stand. "It's as tall as I am. Does it gather mana from the air?"
I-Seo smacked her forehead. "Again with the mana! We're in Korea—enough!"
The nurse almost burst out laughing, but she held it together. I felt obliged to clarify. "It's science, not magic. Think of it as a…really advanced healing method."
"Yes, we've seen how your lamps glow with no crystals. Your world is truly fascinating." Amiel looked uncertain but nodded. Luke glanced around at the fluorescent lights.
"Alright, Mrs. Valenhart, you should rest. The fluid and the shot will bring your fever down." The doctor adjusted the IV drip.
Luke, Amiel, and I-Seo all thanked the doctor in their own clumsy ways. I sank against the pillows, the headache still pounding but my body feeling weaker by the second.
Luke settled beside me, his arm gently behind my back in a supportive half-embrace. Amiel hovered by the sink, flipping the water on and off. I-Seo stood near him, still clinging to his arm possessively. Every few minutes, I heard quiet whispers or giggles from outside the curtain—nurses possibly swooning over how handsome Luke and Amiel were.
"Thank you," I told Luke softly. "I know you're just trying to keep me safe, but the staff might freak out if you keep acting so suspicious."
He offered a small bow of his head. "I only want to protect you, my lady."
I gave a tired grin. "I know. But let's trust them a little, okay?"
Amiel cleared his throat behind us. "I still believe we should have thoroughly tested these devices…"
"Amiel!" I-seo snapped, tugging his ear again. "No more tasting, sniffing, or whatever else you're planning."
He yelped, rubbing his ear, and Luke raised his hands in surrender. I let my eyes slip shut, relieved I could finally rest. Even in all this chaos, a strange sense of comfort washed over me. The IV fluid cooled my fever, and Luke's watchful presence felt oddly reassuring.
I heard I-Seo mumble something about "overprotective princes," and Amiel muttered about "mysterious contraptions," while the soap dispenser clicked in the background. Luke gently stroked my hair, worry clear in his gaze.
But even with everything spinning around me, I felt a soft warmth that went beyond the fever—knowing that these strange medieval nobles were here, caring in their own bumbling, protective way.
(End of this chapter… Who knows what other hospital gadgets they'll question—or nearly taste—next?)