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Chapter 11
No matter how much it hurts, you can’t just skip treatment.
I let out a long sigh and pressed the alcohol swab down firmly, again and again.
“Just bear with it a little. If you don’t disinfect it properly, it’ll fester later.”
With a wound like this, I couldn’t prevent scarring, but at the very least it needed to be disinfected so it wouldn’t get worse later.
“Does it hurt?”
“…No.”
Yeah, right.
His body was twitching—anyone could tell it hurt a lot.
Then again, with a wound like that, how could it not?
Honestly, if it didn’t hurt, that would’ve been a problem in its own way.
“Next time you get hurt, tell me right away. Got it?”
His bare upper body was covered in small scars here and there.
They must’ve been from when he was caught by slave traders. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how much pain he must’ve endured.
But that’s all in the past now.
Now that he was here, there was no reason for him to be hurt—and even if he was, this was a place where he could be treated right away. No matter how poor we were, we could at least afford to heal one person.
“Don’t stay quiet just because you don’t want to bother me.”
“……”
“If the wound gets worse, it only turns into a bigger problem.”
“S-Sorry…”
Matthias murmured timidly, saying he wouldn’t be a nuisance. Unable to hold back my frustration, I let out a low groan.
That little puppy—what kind of villain is he supposed to be?
A terrifying mastermind? That was all in the past.
Right now, he was just a shrinking little guy who watched everyone’s mood before speaking.
If I hadn’t insisted on treating him first, he probably wouldn’t have said a word until the wound dried up and shriveled on its own.
I shot a sideways glance at the man who was still keeping his mouth tightly shut.
After finishing the disinfection, I tossed the used cotton into the empty container.
That was when—
“?!”
Matthias’ eyes widened. His head, which had been bowed low, snapped up. With my small hands cupping his cheeks, I stared straight into his reddened eyes.
For a moment, he even forgot how to breathe. His lips trembled as he stared blankly up at my face—then an irritable voice cut in.
“You’re the one who’s hurting, you know. You.”
“…Me?”
Matthias echoed blankly. At his confirming question, I answered without hesitation.
“Yeah. You.”
I let out a short sigh and looked straight at his still-confused face.
“It’s not that you’re a bother. I’m worried about you.”
If he’d really been such a nuisance, I wouldn’t have brought him here in the first place.
Given the situation, I didn’t exactly have time to be leisurely saving strangers.
I was already busy enough taking care of the people in the estate—who did I have the luxury to look after?
“Hmph.”
I let out a breath and slowly lowered my hands from his face.
“No matter how tight things are, I can afford to treat one person.”
…Even if that just meant skipping meat stew once.
Well, that was a family matter—no need to spell it out.
I took some ointment out of the medicine box beside me and twisted the round lid open.
“Not sitting still for treatment, not eating properly, sleeping in every day.”
“……”
“That’s the kind of thing that makes me worry.”
If he’d just sit still for treatment and eat well, how nice would that be? Then I could think, Ah, he’s doing fine here, and feel at ease.
I loaded a new cotton swab with plenty of ointment and examined the wound again.
Good thing I disinfected it first.
Now that it was clean, I could clearly see where the pus and blood had been.
After disinfecting the same spot once more, I completely covered the wound with the cool ointment.
“Ugh!”
“See? It hurts, doesn’t it?”
Hurting this much—how could he say he was fine?
If I’d left him alone, he definitely would’ve been groaning to himself at night.
“If it goes wrong, you could get a fever. Then you’ll be in even more pain, and it’ll be a real headache.”
After spreading the ointment evenly, I let out another deep sigh. When I looked up, I saw him pressing his lips tightly together, as if trying to endure the pain.
At the same time, he looked like he was hesitating over something.
I quietly kept applying the ointment, waiting for him to speak first.
After a while, Matthias slowly parted his lips.
“…I’m scared. Of people.”
I had just finished applying the ointment when I asked back,
“Who? The doctor we saw earlier?”
As if he’d been waiting for the question, Matthias nodded.
“A little.”
“……”
“No. A lot.”
Judging by how he kept talking, the trauma must’ve been severe. Given how long he’d been imprisoned, it made sense that his emotional wounds would be deep.
“You don’t really need to worry, though.”
It was thanks to Sophia’s introduction, but just in case, I’d hidden the fact that he was a slave. I’d only explained that I’d taken him in because of unfortunate circumstances.
After all, he wasn’t wearing shackles anymore. Unless he revealed it himself, no one would easily guess he was a slave.
And I planned to keep things tightly under wraps, just in case.
Still, I couldn’t force the issue on someone who felt uncomfortable. Triggering his trauma would only make things worse.
So what should I do?
The wound needed to be examined, but I wasn’t a doctor—I couldn’t look at it properly myself.
Pushing him away again like earlier wouldn’t help, and leaving him alone felt a bit risky too…
Hmm. After a moment of thought, I made a careful suggestion.
“Then… should I stay with you?”
If being alone with a stranger was hard for him, staying together might be better from Matthias’ point of view.
“…Together?”
He asked cautiously, as if the idea appealed to him too. Seeing him take the bait, I nodded right away.
“I think that’d be better. Or at least, I could help with the treatment.”
If he’d been abused, even another person’s touch would probably feel unbearable.
I’d heard that when he bathed, he wouldn’t even allow attendants inside—he’d blocked everyone out completely. He even prepared his own clothes to change into. He refused help with absolutely anything.
The fact that he accepted my touch at all was a relief.
“If you’re okay with it, we’ll do that.”
If it was still too difficult, we’d just have to think of another way.
I could explain the treatment and let him do it himself. One way or another, there were options—I intended to accommodate him as much as possible.
I wanted him to be free of stress, at least while he was here.
“So? What do you think?”
“……”
Instead of answering, Matthias swallowed hard and lowered his gaze.
After a long moment of staring at the floor, he finally nodded with difficulty.
“Is it okay… to stay with you?”
“Yeah.”
He murmured softly that he didn’t want to be alone, glancing around nervously. Feeling sorry for him, I patted his head, and Matthias whispered quietly,
“I don’t like being alone.”
“You don’t?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded without hesitation.
“Stay with me.”
As if, as long as it was just me, anything would be fine.
