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Chapter 10
Kiril laid Nina down on the examination table that had been wiped with strong alcohol. Then the door to the medical room opened and someone walked in.
“Oh, young master.”
Nina gave an awkward smile.
Adrian’s shadowed eyes and long, slender fingers showed his delicate and sensitive personality, but he always wore a gentle smile on his face.
But today was different. Seeing Nina’s condition, he clenched his teeth and let out a long breath.
“What did I tell you?”
His voice was low and calm. Nina shrank her neck.
“Don’t go around alone.”
“You really….”
He pressed a hand to his forehead.
He had known Nina for ten years. He thought he understood her well enough, but these sudden actions still left him at a loss.
“But I—”
Nina tried to speak, then suddenly screamed.
“No whining.”
Doctor Kiril, who was pressing on the wound, spoke calmly.
Nina trembled all over from the pain. She couldn’t even speak. The only sound coming out of her was breath rushing out of her lungs.
“This won’t do. Tie her down.”
Kiril nodded and took out scissors and a knife. The examination table conveniently had restraints attached, but Jin pressed Nina’s arm down with his own hands.
When Nina looked at him with tear-filled eyes, Jin let out a deep sigh.
Vice Captain Louis, who had followed Adrian in, tried to hold Nina’s legs, but Adrian took that role instead.
Kiril neatly cut away her pants and boots, revealing a swollen ankle. Jin frowned deeply at the exposed injury.
“This is bad. The ankle bone must be crushed inside. It’s going to hurt a lot. Why don’t you just give her a gag?”
At Kiril’s words, Jin brought a wooden gag lined with leather and held it out to Nina.
“Ugh, I hate that.”
“Then you want to bite your tongue off?”
Jin glared, and Nina quickly bit down on the gag and shut her eyes tightly. Kiril alone remained calm.
“It’s not just the fracture… the bigger problem is poison. Now… hold her tight.”
While Kiril worked silently, Nina’s body jerked a few times like a fish, then went limp.
“She fainted.”
Vice Captain Louis spoke in a low voice.
He was one of the older members of the knight order, now in his early thirties. He had light brown hair neatly tied back, and his eyes were always closed. Even with his eyes closed, he seemed to see just as well as anyone else.
There was no one in the Black Knights without a past, so no one asked about each other. But once, Nina had asked Louis.
Wasn’t it uncomfortable to walk around with his eyes closed?
Louis had answered, “I see too well even with my eyes closed.”
“It’s better that she fainted.”
Kiril clicked his tongue. Vice Captain Louis looked at Adrian, then at Nina.
When the young Adrian became the captain of the knight order, everyone understood.
He was a discarded piece from the ducal family. An illegitimate child sent here to die. More than that, Adrian himself knew it.
A strange, uneasy atmosphere surrounded him. The duchess’s words had been clear—either let him die or cooperate in killing him.
In the middle of that tension, Nina had joined and called him brightly, “Young master!”
“What are you doing here?”
That was the exact expression on his face. It was the first time Louis had seen such a stunned look in the six months since Adrian became captain.
After that, Adrian completely reorganized the Black Knight Order. As the death rate dropped and everything became more stable, the way people looked at him changed.
Even if the duchess promised to call him back, it no longer mattered more than his current life. Even as many knights died and were replaced, both Nina and Adrian survived.
Three years later, the captain—now nineteen—had become strong and experienced enough that no one could ignore him.
Nina was strong too, but her speech and behavior… Louis still couldn’t forget the shock of hearing her say, “I am the cutest Nina in the world.”
Adrian earned loyalty from people. Nina earned affection. Her bright, cheerful voice drew people in.
Her warm nature seeped into the tired hearts and bodies of everyone here. Even her selfish actions somehow felt charming.
So everyone knew how precious Nina was to Adrian. The knights knew it too.
In a place like this, people often lost their sense of everyday life, but Nina tried to hold onto it. She cherished small things and tried not to lose her “unchanged sense of the world.”
Newcomers often ignored or insulted her at first. But over time, they realized how valuable that was.
Bouquets of wildflowers changing every season in glass bottles. White sheets fluttering in the wind. Jam made from gathered wild fruits. A chipped teacup and unknown tea, and tea time with it. Warm meals shared together.
Those things turned them into a family. She turned them into a family.
“It’s done.”
Kiril said, letting go of the bandaged hand.
“Is she okay?”
At Adrian’s question, Kiril lit his pipe and nodded.
“She won’t need an amputation.”
“And the poison?”
“This one… we’ll have to leave it to Nina’s body. I removed as much as I could…”
Kiril shrugged while looking at Adrian.
“Still, spirit contractors have strong resistance to poison. And Nina’s contracted with a cold-type spirit, so she won’t go down easily.”
He added,
“Like last time.”
That time.
Adrian almost objected, but lowered his head again.
Jin asked anxiously.
“So she won’t end up disabled, right?”
“Right.”
Reassured, Jin let out a long breath and released her arm and the gag. Adrian also let go of her legs.
“…It still hurts. Kiril is mean…”
Nina’s muttering made Kiril chuckle.
“You’re awake already? If you can talk, you’re fine.”
Her recovery was monstrous.
With a tear-covered face, Nina looked at Jin. Jin looked worried, but still said sharply,
“You got hurt because you went alone. Do you understand? Instead of banning rookies from going alone, they should ban you first.”
“I’m in pain, and you’re lecturing me?”
“You call that lecturing? You—!”
Before Jin could shout, Nina quickly raised her voice.
“Young master, I have something to say!”
Adrian spoke in a low, restrained voice.
“What.”
His voice felt cold, like it was sinking into water. Nina swallowed.
“Someone drew a magic circle near the barrier.”
Silence fell over the room.
Vice Captain Louis asked,
“A magic circle? Can you explain in detail?”
“Yes.”
Nina tried to sit up, and Jin helped her.
Her head was dizzy and her body felt feverish.
She swallowed and explained briefly.
“There’s a magic circle drawn right next to the barrier. It looks like it was drawn with stones. I don’t know if it belongs to a sage, a cult, or the temple.”
“We should report this to the ducal house.”
Louis’s face hardened.
Jin scoffed.
“What’s the ducal house good at besides wasting people? These days they don’t even do that properly. Telling them is pointless.”
“We should also inform the temple… huh?”
As she spoke, Nina suddenly coughed up blood from her nose.
It’s black.
Nina thought faintly.
And then she lost consciousness.
