Chapter 11
“Thankfully, since treatment wasn’t delayed, it seems there should be no danger to its life.”
The veterinarian, who had come to the room as if dragged there by the maid Nova, said that after finishing all the treatment.
The veterinarian, who had treated Raven Barietsch without even having time to introduce himself, had his face drenched in sweat. The glasses perched on the bridge of his nose slid down along his sweat-soaked nose.
Pushing his glasses up with the back of his hand, he continued explaining.
“The bullet lodged in its left leg was safely removed, and the open wound has been sutured. If you continue applying ointment to the wound, it should heal cleanly without leaving a scar.”
“……”
“And since its leg is fractured, I have wrapped it in a bandage, but it would be best to be careful until the bone sets.”
“I see…”
Listening to him with a serious face, I soon nodded weakly.
Perhaps because I had been too tense, or perhaps because I had seen too much blood, my head felt dizzy. As if she had noticed that my condition wasn’t very good, Nova approached me with a worried face.
“Miss, please sit down, even if only for a little while. You’ve been standing this whole time, and right now your complexion looks so poor that you seem like you might collapse.”
It was only natural that Nova was worried about me.
Not only had I wandered around the vast rear garden of the Vellasi manor for hours to find Raven Barietsch, but as soon as I found him, I held him in my arms and ran all the way back to the mansion without resting.
Even when the veterinarian arrived at the mansion and began treatment, I was in no mood to sit comfortably, so I anxiously paced nearby while watching his condition from a distance.
Just as Nova worried, I was feeling considerable fatigue both mentally and physically. However, I politely declined her suggestion.
“I’m fine. Thank you for worrying about me.”
Then I asked the veterinarian.
“Tell me, has the worst passed now?”
I had already heard that there was no danger to his life, but I wanted to confirm it clearly one more time.
At my question, the veterinarian nodded once in a big motion and added,
“Yes, Miss Giselle. The worst has passed, and now you only need to focus on treatment.”
“……”
“Once it regains consciousness, make sure to feed it well, and mix its medicine with water and put it into its mouth at each appointed time. If you continue treating it that way, it should recover its health soon.”
“Ah, what a relief…”
As soon as his assurance fell, deep relief spread through my chest. I naturally swept a hand down over my heart.
I had worried what I would do if treatment had been delayed and something went wrong with him, but the fact that his life had been saved was an immense relief.
It was then. Perhaps because the tension left me all at once, my body staggered without my realizing it.
“Miss!”
The maids who had been watching me anxiously from beside me were all startled at once and supported me.
Even as I pressed a hand to my forehead, I raised my remaining hand and quietly waved them back.
“I’m fine, my head was only dizzy for a moment.”
After composing myself for a short while like that, I straightened my legs and back again, stood upright, and thanked the veterinarian.
“Thank you for saving that child’s life. When I first found him, he had lost so much blood that I was worried he might die, but he survived thanks to your treatment.”
“Not at all. I’m simply amazed myself that this child managed to stay alive until now. It was shot, and it lost a great deal of blood as well.”
As he answered, the veterinarian’s gaze flicked toward the crow sleeping motionlessly on the scarlet cushion.
As if he thought a mere bird might be able to understand human speech.
“And you said it seems to have crossed from the hunting grounds into the rear garden.”
“Yes, I found it at the rear garden’s storage shed near the hunting grounds.”
“The fact that it drifted all the way there is quite astonishing too. With a bullet lodged in it and its leg broken, walking would have been difficult, let alone flying, so how could it have come from the forest all the way to this rear garden…”
“……”
The question the veterinarian raised was reasonable.
I quietly closed my mouth and watched his expression. Because I knew the reason the crow had survived despite suffering such a grave injury.
‘That’s because he isn’t an ordinary corvid, but Raven Barietsch.’
At present, he was asleep on a large cushion in the form of a crow, but he was originally human.
And not just any human, but the Grand Duke Barietsch who ruled Corvinus, the barren land of the north.
So compared to other ordinary crows, it was only natural that his vitality was extraordinary.
Wondering whether he might have noticed that fact, or whether he might find the crow’s unusually tenacious life force suspicious, I cautiously observed the veterinarian.
Fortunately, I could find no trace of suspicion in him at all. I examined his expression carefully, but I didn’t notice even the slightest change that seemed intended to hide a lie or suspicion.
He was simply admiring this stranger of a crow’s almost mysterious tenacity.
‘Well, who would think a person could transform into a crow? People with that much imagination are certainly rare.’
The veterinarian, who had been helpful to me thanks to his lack of imagination, left the mansion after saying one final thing.
“Then I will take my leave now. I will return at this time tomorrow to examine the crow again.”
“Thank you, Doctor. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
After offering him an elegant farewell, I called a servant and had them see him out of the mansion.
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