ATPE 18

Chapter 18

After the Nursing Was Over

“Why?!”

When he asked with a nearly tearful face, Serenia answered as though the answer was obvious.

“Because I need to apply medicine and cold compresses.”

“Pardon? It’s not even a serious injury…”

At those words, Serenia’s eyes widened sharply.

“Not serious? Even a wound from a thorn can turn into sepsis if treated badly! You got hit by a piece of metal hard enough to bleed, and you’re saying it’s nothing?”

Ain quietly shut his mouth with a guilty expression.

“You can’t neglect your body like that! Especially when you make a living using it!”

After scolding him loudly, Serenia belatedly blushed slightly and awkwardly continued mumbling.

“You said today is your day off, but from tomorrow you’ll have to go back to work again anyway.”

“……Work?”

“Ahem. W-Well… it’ll be troublesome if you can’t move properly after accepting customers.”

“……Pardon?”

Ain finally realized she was misunderstanding something in a very strange and terrible way.

“T-That’s not it! I don’t do those kinds of things!”

His face turned pale as he frantically waved his hands in denial.

As though trying to comfort him, Serenia spoke kindly with a surprisingly gentle expression.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to make excuses.”

“Pardon?!”

“To be honest, at first just imagining it made me sick, but now I can sort of accept it.”

“Pardon?!”

“Well… some people live this way, and others live that way, I guess. I understand.”

Without realizing it, Ain grabbed the back of his neck.

“Ah. And don’t worry. I’m not planning to report you for illegal prostitution.”

Illegal prostitution?!

Ain could only stare with wide eyes at the horrifying misunderstanding, but Serenia simply thought he was surprised by her unexpected kindness and shrugged.

“If you go to prison, I’ll end up in trouble too.”

“No, that’s not what I mean—!”

“I told you it’s fine. I’m not exactly in a position to criticize someone for selling their body for money either!”

“……”

The atmosphere instantly became heavy.

Unable to endure the cold silence that felt like being drenched in icy water, Serenia awkwardly changed the subject.

“Ahem. A-Anyway! If your work gets affected because of me, then I’ll owe you too much, so stop talking and lie down!”

“That’s not it… seriously, ha…”

Serenia looked at him pitifully as he kept repeating that it was not true without properly explaining anything.

Ain felt even more wronged under her gaze, but unfortunately, all he could do was quietly lie face down on the sofa.

Meanwhile, Serenia generously applied the healing medicine he had given her onto his back before busily preparing an ice compress.

After searching through the house, she found an old leather pouch for cold compresses and went outside to fill it with snow.

The cold pack she made was then carefully placed on top of the injured area, which was gradually growing hot.

The handsome brows of the man lying face down twisted slightly.

The cold, heavy compress pressing against the wound probably sent sharp sensations running down his spine.

But even then, he stubbornly kept his mouth shut.

Seeing him endure everything without even a groan, Serenia quietly clicked her tongue.

“Being in pain isn’t a crime. Why does he endure it like that?”

Feeling strangely sorry for him, she slowly looked over the man lying on the old drawing room sofa.

Perhaps because the sofa was too small.

He looked extremely uncomfortable lying there awkwardly.

His long legs hung halfway off the sofa, and one of his shoulders stuck far beyond the cushion.

Seeing an injured person like that bothered her, so Serenia carefully asked:

“Do you want to move to the bed?”

Ain knew.

He knew that she did not mean it that way.

But the situation itself was extremely unfortunate.

They were alone inside the mansion.

And he was currently half naked.

So naturally, it was impossible not to become conscious of it in that direction.

The face of the man lying on the sofa slowly but clearly turned red.

Only after seeing even the back of his neck become bright red did Serenia realize her words could be misunderstood.

Flustered, she raised her voice unnecessarily.

“W-What exactly are you thinking about?!”

“T-That’s not what I meant…!”

“No matter what kind of work you do, is that all you ever think about?!”

Ain felt so unfairly accused that he nearly lost his mind.

For a moment, he even considered abandoning the idea of waiting until the play ended and simply confessing his true identity right here.

But while hesitating over whether to speak or not, he could only move his lips helplessly without making excuses.

Serenia stared at him with eyes almost full of disgust as she scolded him.

“Seriously, what kind of person do you think I am? Do you think I’m shameless enough to do something like that with an injured person?”

“That’s not what I—”

“Honestly. Unbelievable.”

Fanning her burning face repeatedly with her hand, Serenia grumbled under her breath.

Ain suddenly recalled an old saying.

“…Yes. I’m sorry. It was my mistake.”

“Ahem. W-Well, as long as you understand.”

“Yes.”

“Then get up.”

“Yes. ……Pardon?”

“What? Can’t you stand? Should I carry you there?”

At those words, Ain answered with a rare serious expression.

“No. Absolutely not. I’ll walk there myself.”

But there was something Ain had overlooked.

There was no way the Barishart estate, which did not even have a proper sofa, would have a spare bed.

“……”

Ain lay stiffly on Serenia’s bed with the snow pouch resting on his back.

His empty eyes looked as though his soul had completely left his body.

Whether he felt that way or not, Serenia quietly continued doing what she needed to do.

She moved the brazier closer so he would not feel cold, and whenever the snow pack melted and became lukewarm, she went outside to refill it with fresh snow.

Then she emptied the basin filled with melted water and repeatedly examined the wound carefully to check whether it was improving.

Everything she did was so skillful that she looked qualified to work as a nurse in a hospital immediately.

Unable to suppress his curiosity, Ain cautiously asked:

“Did you perhaps receive training for this sort of thing?”

While placing a freshly refilled ice pack onto his back, Serenia answered:

“Not really.”

“Then…?”

At his question, she shrugged casually.

“Usually, if you spend around five years taking care of someone, you naturally get good at it.”

Only then did Ain realize he had brought up the wrong topic.

How could he forget that her father, Carlos Barishart, had already been bedridden for eight years?

Ain tightly shut his eyes and muttered in a low voice.

“…I’m sorry.”

“Hm? No, it’s not something you need to apologize for.”

Serenia dismissed it lightly before continuing.

“But honestly, this is a little unexpected.”

“……What is?”

“I thought you’d ask something else.”

“Pardon? Like what…?”

“Something like, ‘How did you defeat all those thugs at the riverside?’”

“Ah.”

“Well, to answer before you ask—yes. I was trained.”

Carlos Barishart had raised his only daughter, Serenia, to be strong.

In many different ways.

He taught Serenia that a person should always be capable of taking care of themselves alone.

Because of that, Serenia had done most household work herself since childhood.

Cleaning, laundry, cooking—

And beyond that, she even made a vegetable garden behind the estate and personally grew crops and vegetables.

As if that were still not enough, Carlos Barishart also taught her martial arts and swordsmanship, insisting that she needed the ability to protect herself.

Thanks to that early training, Serenia managed to survive safely even after her family fell into ruin.

“…If someone heard this, they’d think Father could see the future.”

She let out a small laugh and shook her head.

See the future? Impossible.

If he really could, he would never have collapsed like that eight years ago.

Her father lying on a bed soaked in blood one morning.

Even now, the memory remained vivid in her mind.

“If he knew it would happen and still didn’t tell me… then that would truly be cruel.”

Trying hard to push away the memory, Serenia quickly changed the subject.

“So next time, don’t push yourself too hard. I can protect myself just fine.”

At those words, Ain remained silent for a moment.

Serenia frowned slightly while looking at him before asking bluntly:

“Don’t tell me you fell asleep?”

At her scolding-like remark, Ain finally opened his mouth again.

“I can’t allow that.”

“Pardon?”

Serenia frowned in confusion, and Ain rested his chin on his hand while lying face down and smiled at her.

“A gentleman cannot simply stand by and watch a lady in trouble.”

“……Ah.”

“My, my. Trying to steal six million crovats this way. I really can’t let my guard down around you.”

Seeing him joke around deliberately, Serenia let out a small laugh.

“Judging by the way you’re talking, I guess you’re feeling a little better now.”

“No, what are you talking about? I’ve been saying this the entire time. I’m completely fine. This doesn’t even count as an injury. So now can I please—”

Smoothly cutting off his words, Serenia suddenly spoke.

“Ah. Speaking of that.”

“Can I get up now— pardon?”

“Where exactly did you receive training, and what kind of training was it?”