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Chapter 3
“Um… I look pretty terrible right now, don’t I? I’m sorry for making you worry. But I’ll stay quiet so I won’t disturb your work.”
Edward assumed that his face and broken glasses were bothering her.
“No… that’s not it. Did you put any medicine on your wounds?”
However, Genevieve asked something he hadn’t expected.
“…”
Edward didn’t answer.
Judging by her expression, she already knew the answer.
“Let’s treat your injuries first and then work on the assignment.”
“I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt.”
Edward repeated firmly.
“You’ll still have plenty of time for the assignment after putting medicine on it.”
“…”
Instead of continuing the pointless argument, Edward decided to follow her.
Genevieve looked like she wouldn’t give up until he received treatment.
If it’s for the assignment, then fine.
Thinking that, Edward followed behind her.
* * *
The dormitory kept emergency medicine, but most of it was for minor problems such as indigestion or colds.
Even those medicines had weak effects because the school wanted to prevent students from abusing them.
“Is the infirmary still open?”
While wondering whether the dormitory supplies included ointment, Edward noticed they were heading toward the infirmary.
The infirmary usually closed in the evening.
“Hmm… no, I think it’s closed.”
Even while saying that, Genevieve didn’t change direction.
As expected, the infirmary door was firmly locked.
Genevieve tried turning the handle, but it only rattled.
“I’m really fine, so let’s just go ba—”
But what Genevieve did next stopped Edward from finishing his sentence.
She pulled a hairpin from her golden hair and stuck it into the keyhole.
After turning it several times, the door clicked open.
“I used to get hurt a lot during my first year. …Ah, don’t tell the infirmary teacher about this. She’ll be horrified.”
Edward silently nodded.
As if proving her words, Genevieve skillfully lit the candles near the entrance.
The light was dim, but it was enough to see each other’s faces.
After making Edward sit down, she opened a cabinet.
“Oh, no. Stay seated.”
When Edward saw her struggling to reach the gauze and medicine, he tried to help.
But Genevieve stopped him, insisting that patients shouldn’t be moving around.
“Hold this against your cheek.”
After Edward obediently sat down, she handed him a cold cloth.
He pressed it against his left cheek.
Soon, Genevieve found everything she needed with practiced ease.
She brought over ointment and gauze and sat across from him.
“Can you take off your glasses?”
Edward removed them as she asked.
Genevieve scooped up a little ointment with her fingertips and reached toward his cheek.
The moment her fingers touched him, Edward instinctively leaned back.
“Ah! I washed my hands with soap! If you’re worried about hygiene, don’t worry.”
She looked ready to hold out her hands so he could smell the soap himself.
“…I heard the water earlier. I’ll do it myself.”
“Really? Okay. Then put this on. I’ll put on the gauze afterward. It’s difficult to do by yourself.”
Edward spread a thin layer of ointment over his cheek.
The stinging sensation made it feel more like the wound was getting worse rather than healing.
“I’m done.”
“Mhm. Turn your head a little.”
As she applied the gauze, Genevieve studied him carefully.
Perhaps because the room was dark, her light-green eyes looked much deeper now.
“You…”
For a brief moment, Edward saw something in those green eyes.
Fear.
At least, he thought it was fear.
He wasn’t completely certain.
But it was definitely a negative emotion.
What is it?
Why is she looking at me like that?
Did I do something wrong?
While Edward’s mind raced, soft fingers brushed across his cheek.
When they pulled away, there was fresh blood on them.
Before he could understand what was happening, Genevieve pushed his bangs aside.
“You’re hurt here too! Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I can do this one myself—”
Edward tried to move away.
“No. If you do it wrong, the wound could open up even more. …Goodness, this cut is really deep.”
Genevieve muttered as she examined it.
“Stay still.”
Unlike before, she refused to back down.
Before Edward could protest, she skillfully treated the wound.
“It should be fine now that I’ve put medicine on it. Don’t pick at the scab when it forms. It would be best to change the gauze every day, but… if the teacher asks who treated you, just tell them it was me.”
“Okay.”
Before he knew it, Edward was swallowing the antibiotics Genevieve had given him while listening to her instructions.
“Try not to let water get on the wound. It’ll be uncomfortable for about two weeks… Here, your glasses.”
Edward put his glasses back on.
The thick bandages felt slightly annoying.
Genevieve began putting away the supplies.
Some of them were stored on high shelves.
She could have asked Edward for help.
But she neither expected nor requested it.
“Should I put this here?”
Seeing Genevieve, who was a head shorter than him, doing everything alone made him feel guilty.
“Yes, thank you.”
Fortunately, this time she didn’t refuse.
“No, I should be thanking you. I was really fine…”
“What are you talking about? Injuries should be treated right away.”
Genevieve waved her hand dismissively.
“Let’s lock the door and go.”
After leaving the infirmary, she once again inserted the hairpin into the lock.
“It didn’t take long, right? Good work.”
After shaking the door several times to make sure it was locked, she smiled.
* * *
“Professor Odaine almost never gives an A+. Even if your writing is perfect, he’ll lower your grade if every paragraph contains phrases like ‘personally’ or ‘in my opinion.’ He hates anything that feels like a trick to increase the word count. And if your argument isn’t supported well enough, he’ll lower your score too.”
Working with the third-ranked student in the academy made the assignment progress smoothly.
Genevieve was the type of person who naturally got involved in other people’s problems—though she didn’t seem aware of it herself.
Because of that, she shared all kinds of useful information that Edward hadn’t even asked for.
It was an unexpected benefit.
“How do you know all that?”
“Some of it came from my own trial and error… and some of it was taught to me by friends and seniors…”
Her voice gradually faded.
She seemed to have remembered the incident in the dining hall and realized what Edward’s social life was probably like.
Edward lowered his head slightly in embarrassment.
His ears slowly turned red.
“Um… are you okay?”
Genevieve asked worriedly.
“…Yes. I’m fine. It’s not like anything would change if I did something. I just have to endure it until graduation.”
Edward answered calmly.
After all, in a year, he would never have to see those people again.
“Your glasses…”
“This is a different pair. I lost my original ones in the dining hall earlier.”
“Did those same people do it?”
Genevieve asked carefully.
Although she was clearly concerned, the growing number of questions felt like an interrogation.
Kindness was unfamiliar to Edward.
Accepting it at face value wasn’t easy.
“I was planning to buy a new pair this weekend anyway. You don’t need to worry.”
Edward answered sharply before turning his attention back to the book.
It was a silent signal that he didn’t want to continue the conversation.
After that, neither of them spoke.
However, Edward found it impossible to focus on his assignment.
Genevieve had helped him so many times today that he couldn’t even count them all.
Yet he had responded to her kindness like that.
Edward wanted to go back and punch his earlier self.
“Edward, can I see the book for a moment?”
Whether fortunately or unfortunately, Genevieve spoke in exactly the same tone as before.
Since there was no reason to refuse, Edward copied a few notes into his notebook and handed the book over.
Clink.
At that moment, the corner of the book bumped into the ink bottle.
Before Edward could react, Genevieve threw out her arm and blocked the spilled ink.
“…”
Thanks to her quick action, neither The Responsibility of a Ruler nor Edward’s assignment was stained.
But…
Genevieve’s sleeve and her own assignment were not so lucky.
“…I should have closed the ink bottle.”
Instead of reacting the way Edward feared she would, Genevieve’s response was incredibly calm.
Even though the accident was clearly his fault, her reaction made no sense to him.
That only increased his guilt.
“I-I’m sorry. Because of me…”
The words stumbled out as if his brain had stopped working.
“Your clothes… no, your assignment…”
Edward couldn’t finish his sentence.
He let out a sigh instead.
Genevieve gently grabbed his arm and calmed him down.
“I didn’t like that assignment anyway. I was planning to rewrite it. And clothes can be washed. More importantly, is your assignment okay? The Responsibility of a Ruler looks fine too… That’s a relief. Just imagine getting scolded by Mrs. Francis.”
Genevieve groaned as if she could already hear the librarian’s lecture.
“I didn’t like that assignment anyway. I was planning to rewrite it. And clothes can be washed.”
“More importantly, is your assignment okay?”
Even in a situation where she had every right to be angry, she was worried about someone else’s assignment.
Genevieve was strange.
Even saying she was simply kind wasn’t enough to explain it.
“I’m really sorry. Please use this.”
Edward took out a handkerchief and offered it to her.
For a moment, he wondered if he should wipe the ink off for her himself.
But touching someone he had only known for a few hours seemed rude—
Though Genevieve didn’t appear to care much about such things.
Genevieve accepted the handkerchief without refusing.
Using it, she cleaned her sleeve and the desk.
The old handkerchief quickly became stained black.
“I’ll wash it and return it.”
“…You can throw it away.”
“That’s quite a joke.”
Edward was serious.
Just like the several spare pairs of glasses in his drawer, he owned several identical handkerchiefs.
But Genevieve clearly had no intention of throwing it away.
Even when she tossed her ruined assignment into the trash, she still held his handkerchief tightly in her hand.
“Let’s work hard again.”
Genevieve said cheerfully.
Edward wanted to focus on the assignment like she suggested.
But every time he saw the black stain on her sleeve, he couldn’t help feeling guilty.
“Let’s work hard again.”
