Chapter 34: Later events
After that, I was transported to the hospital attached to the school.
Although I had a crack in my rib and some internal injuries, it was fortunate that it was not an injury that couldn’t be recovered from.
However, I had a problem that was not insignificant compared to the injury.
After my attending doctor finished the examination, he cleared out the ward before starting treatment.
William-sama hesitated to leave my side until the end, but left the room with a sigh at the doctor’s words, “It’s for the treatment.”
“Well then.”
The doctor, who was short and plump with an unhealthy complexion, turned to me.
“You were almost fractured, and your internal organs are also damaged. In your current state, I think it will be quite painful, so let’s talk while we do the treatment.”
As the doctor approached me with a rustle, he held a medicine in one hand and lifted my clothes.
My skin was black and red, and my body with cuts exposed to the air.
The doctor applied medicine to the affected area and calmly confirmed the facts in a flat tone.
“Are you a woman?”
Hearing those words, I closed my mouth.
(Ah, that’s right. A doctor who knows the structure of the human body should be able to tell my gender just by examining me. But… if I am known to be a woman here, my wish to protect William-sama…)
As I remain silent in despair, the doctor, still facing the affected area with his unhealthy-looking face, opens his mouth again.
“I’m sure you have your reasons, but I need to get a proper answer about your gender. The type and amount of medicine prescribed may differ slightly depending on your gender.”
Stopping his hand applying medicine, he faces me.
“What do you think I did private treatment for? Please answer quickly before the nurse returns on errands. I don’t want to strip off your clothes and confirm your gender either.”
I reluctantly speak to the doctor who flatly states this.
“…You reveal my gender?”
“What’s in it for me to do that?”
Saying this with a look of surprise, he takes out a different bottle of medicine.
“Come on, answer quickly. The next medicine won’t be able to be applied.”
I can’t help but respond to his solely clerical manner.
“I am female…”
“Alright.”
He opens the cap of the bottle and begins to apply the new medicine.
Only the sound of the medicine being applied resounds through the room. And after applying the medicine, the doctor neatly wraps the bandage.
After the treatment is finished, he speaks as he tidies up.
“I won’t reveal your gender. It’s a problem related to the privacy of the patient. But, well…”
The doctor looks this way.
“If you hide your gender, you won’t be able to see a doctor properly. If you’re not feeling well, come see me. As a doctor specializing in compound medicine and poison response, I may be able to help in some cases.”
I blink at those words.
“My name is Logan Turner. If you mention Turner at the National Hospital, you should be able to get through.”
Warm words from a person I just met. A sure kindness and a warm feeling spread to the bottom of my heart.
“…Thank you very much, Dr. Turner.”
I press down on my aching body and bow deeply.
Several days have passed since the treatment.
“What are you reading?”
As I flip through the pages of a book in the sunlit bench, William-sama, who was also reading a book next to me, speaks up.
Since the injury, William-sama has increased the amount of time he sits on the bench and reads to avoid putting a burden on me, who is still not fully recovered.
At first, I stood beside the bench, but after being asked by William-sama to sit next to him, we started sitting together,
“Leah, how about reading something too?”
From this further suggestion, we ended up in our current style.
I lift my gaze from the book and look into William-sama’s eyes. William-sama’s blue eyes, shining in the light, sparkled like a sea where countless fish were jumping.
“It’s a book on strategy.”
“Strategy?”
I smile at William-sama, who looks puzzled.
“There’s no such thing as too much learning for anything.”
As William-sama was about to open his mouth to respond,
“Excuse me.”
The school guard who had come nearby spoke up.
“Your Grace Moore, Knight-Guardian Flores-sama. The principal has called for you. Please come to the principal’s office.”
As we are led to the principal’s office, an unknown, burley middle-aged man is waiting in the room.
“You’re here. Well, first, take a seat.”
The principal, with an imposing but calm voice, strokes his white, long chin beard.
He narrows his eyes as he sees William-sama sitting in the chair and me waiting next to him.
“Knight-guardian boy. You’re injured, so you should sit. Normally, you should wait at your lord’s side, but you are the injured one now. I allow you to sit.”
The principal urges me to sit in the chair next to William-sama.
As he waits for me to sit in that chair, he opens his mouth.
“I asked you two to come here because… it’s about the ones who planned the attack on Flores.”
The principal gives a sidelong glance to a mature man, the strong-looking man turns a stern face towards us.
“I am Thomas, the captain of the royal knights. I have come to talk about the incident this time.”
Captain Thomas took out a bundle of papers that seemed to be documents from his hand.
“I will start by talking about the outline of this incident. Five noble youths invited 17 outsiders into the school and, seeing the opportunity, attacked Moore Duke-sama’s Knight-Guardian. The victim, Leah Flores, counterattacked and disabled nine attackers … um, the more I read, the more I want him in our order.”
William quietly opened his mouth to Thomas, the captain of the knight group, who seemed to be impressed.
“Leah is my knight, so it is impossible. More importantly, what is the continuation of the story?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
The captain apologized to William-sama and continued his story.
“After that, Leah Flores received beating and kicking, and his rib was cracked and his internal organs were damaged. Also, before this incident, there were several incidents in which suspicious people attacked Duke Moore-sama, and according to the royal knights, those were also caused by the main offenders, the noble youths and the attackers. Knight Flores, is there any mistake in the facts?”
“Yes, there is no mistake.”
When I nod my head, Captain Thomas nods.
“Um… the reason I came to confirm the facts with you two is because of a certain circumstance.”
“A certain circumstance?”
William-sama asks with a puzzled look, and Captain Thomas nods heavily again.
Captain Thomas turns to the principal and asks,
“Is it really okay to tell the facts to them? There is a possibility of receiving a mental shock…”
The principal, with a grim face, says, “The situation is serious. We have no choice.”
The captain, with a stern face, brings his body closer to us and lowers his voice.
“Early this morning, the five young masters suspected to be the main offenders and 17 attackers were found dead in the cell.”
At those words, William-sama and I took a breath.
“The cause of death was bleeding due to the severing of the trachea. The perpetrator has not yet been found. From the vivid skill of escaping after killing all 22 perpetrators of this incident, it is believed that the perpetrator is a group of people and that there are those who have been aided even within the Order.”
He spoke to that point and drew his body back.
“Dead men tell no tales, and we can no longer hear about the perpetrators of this incident. That’s why I came to visit to hear more about the incident. Can you tell me the story?”
There was no mood of saying no, William-sama and I answered yes.
There was a heavy atmosphere in the principal’s office.
On the way back from the principal’s office, I remembered the words that the noble youths said when I was attacked.
[It’s your fault, because you always hang around Duke Moore-sama, we can’t recommend a guard knight to Duke Moore-sama!]
[Duke Moore-sama is a wonderful person. The people around him must be worthy of him! People like you are not worthy of Duke Moore-sama!]
I simply thought that it was their hostility towards me for obstructing their attempt to pressure William-sama.
But…
[Early this morning, young masters suspected to be the main offenders and 17 attackers were found dead in the cell.]
]The cause of death was bleeding due to the severing of the trachea. The perpetrator has not yet been found. From the vivid skill of escaping after killing all 22 perpetrators of this incident, it is believed that the perpetrator is a group of people and that there are those who have been guided even within the knights’ organization.]
The words of Captain Thomas earlier came to mind.
(Were they killed to keep their mouths shut because they were caught and were about to reveal everything…? In other words, there is someone pulling the strings behind the noble youths who were the main offenders in this incident…)
I thought about the possibility while walking.
(If that’s the case, then who in the world is pulling the strings? Someone with enough power to infiltrate a traitor within the Order…?)
“Leah.”
My thoughts were interrupted by William-sama’s voice.
“Yes, William-sama.”
When I replied, he looked at me worriedly.
“Is your injury okay? Even though you said you were treated, it must still be painful. Also, recently, shocking things have been happening… that is…”
As he struggled to speak, trying to comfort me, I smiled.
“I’m fine!”
“Wha-?!.”
I used the elasticity of my body to lift William-sama up. As soon as I did, pain ran through my ribs and I sat down on the ground.
“Whoa?!… Come on, Leah, don’t do crazy things! What if your injuries get worse because you’re trying to reassure me?!”
“I’m sorry…”
I lower my head, feeling dejected, as William-sama scolds me with half-closed eyes.
The sun alone watched our figures.
