Chapter 52

Now that she thought about it, it crossed Rodella’s mind that Aivert had never really liked doctors since he was young.

He never received treatment from anyone but his family’s physician.  

Was it because a Duke’s position was more complicated than she imagined?

Or maybe—

“If it’s that big a deal, fine, call a doctor. I’ll prove how perfectly fine I am through them.”

“You said earlier you listen to everything I say—except for getting hurt?”

“Exactly. See? I’m not fighting about it, I said call one.”

After this ridiculous exchange, Rodella found herself sitting behind him with a first-aid kit in hand, her tears completely gone.

‘This disaster of a man! Doesn’t listen, makes everything difficult!’

“I’m not a doctor, you know?!”

His nonsense about stamina might not have been entirely false—despite his wounds, the bleeding had stopped unusually fast.

Because of that, it didn’t take long to clean and dress the wounds.

As she wrapped the bandages around him, Aivert casually remarked, “You got an A+ in first-aid at the academy, didn’t you?”

He had a talent for saying ridiculous things with a straight face.

“That’s not the same as being a doctor!”

To that, Aivert replied without hesitation,

“Well, I heard our military doctor only got a B.”

“?”

…That’s a different story altogether.

“How did he even get hired?”  Rodella asked cautiously.

Latine wasn’t the type to accept bribes or give jobs to someone unqualified.

But the issue lay deeper.

“Because being a Azure Knights doctor is a job most real doctors avoid.”

“…Ah.”

Of course… Considering how much they destroy, there’s no way the knights come out unscathed.

“They look better these days, you know. It used to be that they could barely crawl from exhaustion.”

Rodella thought back to the medical staff’s faces.

They hadn’t looked exhausted recently.

“Not many injuries lately, huh.”

She remembered how the fully staffed medical room looked. That hadn’t been the face of a resigned priest—it had been genuine happiness.

“They’re ecstatic that injuries among the knights have dropped since you came. If you go say hi, they might throw you in the air in celebration.”

“Okay, definitely not going then.”

Such an aggressive welcome didn’t sound appealing at all.

Meanwhile, Aivert’s wounds were nearly fully hidden beneath the bandages.

“Anyway, don’t do this again.”

Rodella spoke firmly, as if waiting for confirmation from him.

But Aivert stayed silent.

Then suddenly, he said, “Being worried about isn’t so bad.”

He glanced at her with a sly look.

“I think I could get used to it.”

Rodella clenched her fists.

“I’m only letting this slide because you’re injured.”

Then she shoved him onto the bed.

“Sleep on your side tonight.”

If he said anything more, she’d gag him with that bandage.  

Rodella thought with her fists still clenched tight.

***

Aivert, by nature, didn’t trust doctors.

Especially after learning during his time in Royden that the first people they’d go after to hurt someone were always the physicians.

That only deepened his distrust.

Even during his academy years, he rarely saw doctors.

Once he joined the Knights, he avoided them even more.

If it was urgent, he’d rather go to the Royden family physician than one of the unit medics.

So he’d often clumsily wrapped his wounds himself.

But bandages snapped with a little force, and trying to wrap one around your torso alone was practically acrobatics, especially with injuries.

He once thought that the idiot who invented bandages must’ve never been injured a day in their life.

“Raise your arm.”

Watching Rodella practically hug him while wrapping the bandages, he changed his mind that day.

Maybe the person who made bandages had been in love—someone kind and warm.

If this was the outcome, maybe it was worth getting hurt.

Then—

“Sleep on your side.”

Who was he to disobey that voice?

Being able to fall asleep while looking at her felt more like a reward than anything else.

She had a habit of sleeping turned left, so the two of them ended up lying face to face.

Her pale, soft face was so close.

Her black hair brushed her cheeks, and though her eyes were now closed, he remembered how they always sparkled in vivid green.

She was too close to sleep.

Maybe he wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

“…”

Was she still nervous? Or holding back tears?

Her tightly shut eyelids trembled slightly.

Watching her struggle to fall asleep, Aivert thought—

‘Next time I get hurt, I’ll make sure it’s on my left side.’

That way, they could lie like this again.

Rodella would’ve punched him if she knew.

At that moment, she suddenly reached for a stuffed bear and placed it right between them like a wall.

Thud.

Aivert raised a brow.

“The bed’s too small—it’s pressing into me.”

No sooner had he said that, the bear was removed again.

But Rodella, possibly trying to make sure he could rest comfortably, began inching away.

‘I wish you knew that isn’t for my sake.’ she thought.

“You’ll fall off at this rate.”

He watched as she nearly dangled from the edge of the bed.

But Rodella simply shook her head.

“I’m worried I’ll accidentally cuddle you in my sleep.”

He would’ve welcomed it.

He had been wondering how to get her to hug him without handcuffs. The pain was long forgotten.

As Aivert reached the absurd conclusion that maybe injuries weren’t so bad after all…

Rodella finally settled far from him.

Then she warned, “If I do hug you, you have to wake me up. Got it?”

He had no intention of letting her go to the next room, so Aivert nodded obediently.

Only then did Rodella seem to relax, finally closing her eyes.

‘You could’ve slept closer…’

“…!”

He tried to move a little, but had to stifle a groan.

If he showed any more signs of pain, she wouldn’t be able to sleep.

Closing his eyes for just a moment, he suddenly felt like his consciousness was dropping away.

He had pushed himself too hard all day pretending to be fine.

‘This is why I didn’t want to lie down… If I lie down, I can’t see you anymore.’

It was a rare chance.

But before he could keep thinking about her—

His body, aching all over, demanded rest.

He wanted to hold on a little longer.

But his consciousness faded to black.

***

Rodella heard rough breathing.

She slowly opened her eyes.

It was steady—someone asleep.

“…Are you sleeping?”

She whispered.

No reply.

“You’re really asleep?”

He often faked it, but this time it seemed real.

His face looked a little tired, and she felt guilty again.

‘Yeah… he should rest.’

He’d been walking around all day pretending he wasn’t injured. Even with his stamina, that had to have taken a toll.

Still, somehow…

“…”

The night felt strange without him.

Come to think of it, whether she opened or closed her eyes, he was always nearby, watching over her.

‘You, who always went to sleep late and woke up early.’

Even back in the academy…

Rodella blinked slowly, memories surfacing in her exhaustion.

Should she bring the bear again?

What if she hugged him by accident in her sleep?

He might get hurt.

As her thoughts floated up like bubbles and popped one by one, Rodella drifted into a shallow sleep—and began to dream.

“Why are you up so early? Do you always wake up this easily?”

It was a dream of her academy days.

That forgotten garden behind the dorms where she and Aivert used to go often.

There, a younger Aivert looked back at her, his face still boyish.

“Because I want your day to start and end with me.”

The young Aivert who said that…

To the Rodella of now, that boy looked impossibly shy.

And impossibly sweet.