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Chapter 04
How long had he been running?
To be honest, Elliots wasn’t even sure whether he had been running or just stumbling forward. Even Benderf, despite his injured leg, had limped after him for quite a while.
A man with a wounded leg and a man with a sword wound could only move at about the same speed.
For what felt like an eternity, Elliots fled from Benderf.
He kept walking. He could feel his consciousness slowly fading away.
Perhaps it was already the middle of the night.
He wandered through an unfamiliar place without knowing where he was.
Apparently, he still had blood left to lose, because drops of blood fell to the ground with every step.
At this rate, Benderf will eventually track me down…
That was his last thought before he collapsed.
He struggled desperately to stay on his feet, but it was useless.
His consciousness slowly slipped away.
Everything around him became silent, and somewhere far away, he thought he could hear the sound of flowing water.
Just as both sound and light faded into darkness, he heard voices in the distance.
Benderf must have returned with reinforcements.
So this is how it ends.
Elliots accepted his fate.
Then he closed his eyes.
Suddenly, he caught the fresh scent of grass.
Something soft brushed gently across his face, tickling his skin.
The sensation slowly brought his fading consciousness back.
Using every bit of strength he had left, Elliots forced his eyes open.
Before him was a pair of blue eyes, shimmering under the moonlight.
He seemed to hear a woman’s gentle voice telling him that everything would be all right.
With those beautiful eyes as the last thing he saw, Elliots drifted into a deep sleep once more.
“I’ll say it again. I’m against this.”
Karl spoke with a grave expression.
“Then what are we supposed to do? We don’t even know who he is. If the police hand him over to the military, he could be tortured.”
Karen frowned as she spoke, deep in thought.
“Besides, he’s handsome.”
“Karen!”
“Hey!!”
The nun and Karl shouted at the same time.
“Karen, I don’t think that’s an appropriate thing to say right now.”
Sister Regina pressed a hand to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Ah! I’m sorry, Sister.”
Karen winked playfully at Anette.
Anette couldn’t help but giggle.
That was so like Karen.
She was probably the only person in the world who could say something like that in such a serious situation.
“Anyway, Karl does have a point. I actually agree with him. Anette lives here alone, and I don’t think she can take care of an injured soldier by herself. Besides, keeping a complete stranger here makes me uneasy in many ways.”
The nun spoke with concern.
“But Sister, he still hasn’t regained consciousness after two whole days. Let’s at least let him stay until he wakes up.”
Anette and Karen each tried to persuade Sister Regina and Karl for their own reasons.
After much discussion, they finally agreed that once the man regained consciousness, they would move him to Karl’s house and notify the police.
Only after making Karen—who looked strangely pleased with the outcome—promise not to spread rumors around the village did everyone finally leave.
Kind-hearted Sister Regina even gave Anette two more days off.
She said she would make up an excuse for the villagers and asked Anette to keep a close eye on the soldier until then.
She truly cared about humanity as much as she cared about Anette’s safety.
Looking at the endlessly compassionate nun, Anette suddenly threw her arms around her in gratitude.
Smiling warmly, Sister Regina gently patted her back.
After everyone left, the living room became quiet.
Anette had just finished cleaning the table and was about to enjoy a cup of tea when—
Thud.
A loud noise came from the bedroom.
She immediately jumped to her feet and hurried inside.
The first thing she noticed was a pistol lying on the floor.
Then she saw the man lying awkwardly on the bed.
It looked like he had tried to sit up and grab the gun but had dropped it.
Seriously… what was so important about that gun?
“Why do you keep reaching for your gun? Are you planning to shoot me or something?”
Anette asked.
She hadn’t meant to, but her voice came out sounding slightly sulky.
She picked up the pistol and placed it back on the desk.
The man frowned as if trying to move, then lay back down.
He stared at her without blinking.
Although his piercing gaze was intimidating, Anette pretended not to notice.
“Can you talk?”
She wondered if his stare would actually bore a hole through her.
“Aren’t you hungry? Does it hurt?”
The cold look in his eyes softened just a little.
His expression remained serious, but it almost seemed as though he had smiled.
“Which question should I answer first?”
His voice was even deeper than she had imagined.
Cold gray eyes.
A proud, handsome face.
Jet-black hair that perfectly matched the color of his eyes.
Everything about him seemed perfectly balanced.
“Um… are you hungry?”
A faint smile crossed his face again.
“I am. What else?”
“And… are you in pain?”
“Very.”
Their eyes met again.
“Ah…”
Only then did Anette realize there was a teasing tone hidden in his voice.
Feeling his unwavering gaze on her, her face grew warm.
Still, she acted as though nothing had happened.
“Well… if you’d stop moving around so much, it probably wouldn’t hurt as much.”
“What was your previous question again?”
Now he was openly enjoying the situation.
“Oh! The gun. I’ll answer that later.”
Hah. ‘I’ll answer that later’?
His relaxed attitude left Anette speechless.
“So you really might shoot me? Even after I saved your life?”
The man chuckled.
Cold sweat trickled down his face as he laughed, making it obvious he was in considerable pain.
His teasing irritated her, but Anette simply picked up the handkerchief from the foot of the bed.
She shrugged slightly to show she meant him no harm.
Then she walked over to him.
Once again, he looked at her with obvious interest.
Even while she wiped the sweat from his forehead, she could feel his eyes fixed on her.
“Um… this is a little embarrassing. Would you mind looking somewhere else?”
He didn’t answer.
In fact, he didn’t even look as though he had heard her.
Anette decided to ignore his gaze instead.
Cold sweat covered not only his face but also his neck and chest.
After wiping his face, she hesitated with the handkerchief still in her hand.
Their eyes met.
As though he had read her mind, he spoke.
“Go ahead. Finish what you were doing.”
Anette’s face instantly turned bright red.
She jumped to her feet.
“You said you were hungry, right? I’ll bring you something to eat!”
She hurried out into the living room.
Finish what I was doing… What a strange man.
Thinking that, she ladled some warm soup into a bowl and carried it back on a tray.
She adjusted the cushions behind his back so he could sit up.
Then she sat beside the bed, placed the tray on her lap, scooped up a spoonful of soup, and held it toward him.
“How can I trust you?”
the man asked.
“You’ll probably have to. There’s only the two of us here, and right now, without me, you can’t do anything.”
Oh no… I shouldn’t have mentioned that we’re alone.
She regretted the words the moment they left her mouth.
Afraid he might notice what she was thinking, she forced herself to keep a calm expression.
To prove the soup was safe, she deliberately took a large spoonful herself and swallowed it.
Then she smiled.
“There. Satisfied? You can eat now, can’t you?”
Keeping his eyes fixed on her, the man finally accepted a spoonful of soup.
As she fed him one spoonful after another, Anette spoke to ease the awkward silence.
“After you’ve eaten, I’m going to disinfect your wounds. And then—”
“I think I’d appreciate some clothes first.”
The man interrupted.
At that instant, Anette’s face burned crimson.
Ah… this is exactly why Karl didn’t want him staying here.
She hadn’t consciously thought about it over the past few days, but the man wasn’t wearing any clothes.
His blood-soaked military uniform had been washed clean, folded neatly, and placed on the shelf in the living room.
I should have asked Karl to dress him before he left.
The thought suddenly made Anette feel even more flustered.
