North x Northwest

“You’re right. I would’ve died on that cliff already if it weren’t for you.”

“Did I just hear that right? Didn’t you say you would’ve easily swam all the way to the shore?”

Ed muttered while avoiding Lil’s eyes.

“…Truthfully, that was more of a bluff…”

“…What?”

“But in my defence, there have been countless times I survived…”

“Did you or did you not actually know that you were the target?”

“I wasn’t sure, that’s why I decided to split up with you.”

Lil glared at Ed while covering him with the blanket again. Although the blanket was pulled up to his neck, leaving only his face exposed, Ed tried to push the tip away with his chin, as if it didn’t please him, but it was all in vain.

“So, are you going to continue to make decisions like that on your own?”

Ed, who was now completely buried in his pillow, shook his head.

“No. I reflected a lot in the cabin.”

“Good job.”

Lil’s lips touched his forehead. After she also stroked his head, Ed gathered his eyebrows together in a mixture of confusion and displeasure.

“Why do I feel like I’m being treated like a child right now?”

“Because you are. And since you won’t be able to walk well from now on, I’ll have to carry you on my back after all.”

“That doesn’t sound as terrible.”

Ed slowly reached out and wiggled his hand up her thigh. Lil, in turn, tugged at his cheek. Both his lips stretched to the side as he made a groaning sound.

“Stop thinking about insidious thoughts for a while.”

“…Why?”

“What do you mean, ‘Why’? Look at the state of your body.”

“We’ll only know for sure if we give it a try…”

“There were a lot of times when I tried to initiate something during my recovery, but you always told me it wasn’t possible yet.”

“…”

Ed was sullen and downcast. Lil, who took her hand off his cheek, put her arm around him and laid down on the blanket.

“Sleep a lot and recover quickly. This is what you always said to me.”

“…”

“Surely you won’t turn your back on your own advice, right?”

“…”

After rolling his eyes and taking a last glance at Lil, Ed eventually closed his eyes.

As the setting sun peeked through his eyelashes, Lil smiled mischievously and patted his chest.

***

On her way to the official’s residence, now functioning as a clinic, to meet Levi, Lil encountered familiar faces carrying buckets of water next to a quiet garden. When she stopped, Alain and Jericho waved their hands.

“Oi, Captain! Over here!”

Changing direction, Lil walked towards them at a brisk pace, putting her index finger in front of her lips. Her eyes widened and she whispered as if she was hissing.

“Stop calling me Captain!”

Jericho blinked at her blankly.

“…Then what?”

“Just call me Lil.”

“Aye.”

Jericho smiled and smoothed out the servant clothes Lil had brought him before. His wild gesture, however, caused water from the bucket to splash and stain his vest.

“But why fetch buckets? You should be lying down when you’re injured.”

Alain put the water buckets down on the ground and raised his upper body, sticking out his flat stomach in a deep stretch.

“That doctor’s skills are so good that I’m not even sure if I’m sick anymore. That the people of the Empire have the privilege of receiving this type of medical care…”

“Even if this is the Empire, this is not something for everyone to enjoy. You guys got lucky that Levi was nearby and offered to treat you.”

Jericho intervened without notice.

“Don’t the women of the Empire just wear skirts as big as blankets and stay at home? But the Captain and also the Doctor, you all move around. Well, I know, the Doctor isn’t originally from the Empire but rather from the Northern Continent…”

“As you can see, that perspective isn’t right, and again, Jericho, I’m not the Captain.”

“…”

“Have you forgotten how high the bounty on my head is? Unless you want to have me killed, be careful of what you say.”

Jericho, curling his lips, nodded his head.

“I didn’t think of that…”

‘Their expressions are much brighter than I expected, especially considering they’re on the land of an Empire they hate so much. I can’t believe they’re even bringing water to treat the empire’s people.’

“By the way, why do you look so jolly? Isn’t this the land of absolute evil?”

Jericho scratched the back of his head and grumbled.

“…Well… isn’t everyone the same wherever you go?”

“That doctor doesn’t treat us like we’re nothing, that’s why we do the same. Just as there are people like Julio and people like us among the southerners, there will be a mixture of people in the Empire who cannot be grouped together as well.”

“Still, it can’t be that easy.”

“Then what? Do we have to keep our guards up and point our guns at every imperial bastard? If we don’t get noticed, we’ll be able to return to the South safely, right? Didn’t the Captain say there should be as little friction as possible between us and the Empire?”

“You’re right.”

“If so, then what more could you want?”

‘He’s right. There’s no better way for them to lay low than this.’

Lil lifted one of the four buckets they had set down.

“Let’s head in.”

As they entered the side door leading to the kitchen, a rush of heat enveloped them. It seemed as if all the cauldrons in the mansion had been put to work, both large and small black cauldrons were filled with boiling water. One of the servants working in the kitchen took the bucket from Lil, while Alain and Jericho left, saying they had to chop firewood.

Everyone was busy in the ground floor hall where Levi’s maids held medical tools and ground cotton cloth with familiarity. The rest of the mansion’s servants were carrying trays and trolleys containing simple meals.

‘Seeing how each injured person lay on a blanket spread out at regular intervals, it also seemed like all the blankets from the village were brought here.’

Injured soldiers and regular citizens were laying alternately next to each other, making it not only possible for the soldiers to keep watch, but also to tend to the more severely wounded.

‘Just a few years ago, even on battlefields with overflowing casualties, patients weren’t cared for in such a systematic way, but perhaps because of the small number of personnel or because of Levi’s excellence, the management of the wounded has become much more efficient.’

Among the many people attending the patients, Lil found a familiar maid and approached her.

“Naneta.”

The maid, with her black hair tied up in a tight ponytail, looked up at Lil.

“Oh, hello, My Lady.”

“Where’s Levi?”

“She’s in the boudoir upstairs. Just go up the central stairs and head to the living room on the left.”

“Thank you.”

Naneta bobbed her head.

‘Levi has several maids who stick around as her entourage. Some of whom even boast almost the level of knowledge of a doctor, claiming that from the moment Levi settled in Roahn, they were brought with her in her rounds and were recipients of her knowledge. I even heard Levi say that after she completes her advanced medicine course, she’ll support them in earnest.’

Lil was proud of Levi for no reason. As she was so happily walking around, she ran into Picard on the way to the main staircase.

“Oh. My lady.”

Lil gave a simple nod.

“Sir Picard.”

“How is the condition of the Marquess?”

“He seems to be fine.”

“Oh, thank goodness. Hey! Our Admiral even survived a fall off a cliff! After all, he has won so many naval battles, so what’s the big deal about a mere bandit’s bow? Hahahaha!”

“I know, right?”

As Lil laughed half-heartedly, Picard stopped laughing upon seeing her expressionless face. It made him blush and roll his eyes away from her, looking uncomfortable and awkward. He clearly wanted to make a good impression on the woman who appeared close to the admiral, but he didn’t know what to say.

“By the way, My Lady, did I ever mention to you that you are truly beautiful…”

“But isn’t it strange? He was attacked by a mere bandit, but that bandit was skilled enough to shoot him with a bow while riding horseback. In addition, no one among the rest of the bandits knows him. As for the Imperial Army, meeting what’s expected of them is their highest priority, so it seems like they are trying to lump everyone into the same group, but I’m not sure about that. I heard about the concerns that there may be a second group besides the group we thought we caught. What do you think, Sir Picard?”

“..!”

The more Lil spoke, the paler Picard’s face grew.

‘Because of my choice of words, he’s probably thinking that this small town could be attacked again.’

Lil continued her half-hearted acting.

“…Ah, I overheard this when Edgar and Linhardt were talking, it left me speechless, too. It was a slip of the tongue, please pretend you didn’t hear anything.”

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