Chapter 19
Chapter 19
The unexpected turn of events startled her, and Moritz immediately protested. “That’s unacceptable. I can’t entrust Your Grace’s safety to a slave from a fallen kingdom.”
The man, however, responded with unconcealed mockery. “Do you honestly believe this woman could so much as scratch me?”
“Well…” Moritz’s gaze drifted to Hilde, his skepticism plain on his face. ‘She’d be executed before she even tried.’
“We don’t have time for this if we want to leave on schedule.” His superior’s pointed remark made Moritz waver. The Duke was right; they had a mountain of tasks to handle. Every knight was frantically busy, moving the monstrous corpses and repairing the damaged carriages.
“We need to cross the forest as quickly as possible before encountering more beasts. We’ll move as soon as the wounded are treated. See to the preparations.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” Moritz placed the medicine chest he’d brought inside the carriage and bowed his head in acknowledgment. “Call me if you need anything.” He then hurried back towards the knights.
Benedict entered the carriage and closed the door after Moritz’s departure. With a click, they were alone in the enclosed space. Hilde, who had been observing him until then, asked cautiously, “Are you… badly hurt?”
Benedict stared at her silently before undoing the clasps of his coat. The dark garment and cravat fell to the carriage floor, revealing a pristine white shirt.
“Oh…” A gasp, almost a moan, escaped Hilde’s lips. The lower side of his shirt was torn and soaked crimson. The dark coat had concealed the extent of the injury.
“What are you waiting for?” Benedict, now shirtless, gestured towards the wound with his chin. “Now that I’ve undressed as you wished, shouldn’t you take a proper look?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Hilde moved. A sharp pain shot through her legs as she shifted from her cramped position on the floor, but she didn’t show it. Kneeling before him, she saw the gash, long and deep as if sliced by a blade, the size of her hand.
“This… needs more than just medicine…”
“It needs stitches,” he replied, as if stating the obvious. “From you.”
Hilde looked up at him, bewildered. “But I’ve… never done anything like this before…”
“I have no use for useless slaves,” came the merciless reply. “Of course, if you’d prefer to be left alone in a forest teeming with beasts, your incompetence is of no concern to me.”
Hilde’s face paled. Being left alone in this forest meant certain death. She didn’t want to die so miserably here. More than anything, she had a reason to live.
It didn’t take her long to decide. “If you tell me how… I’ll try.”
“Disinfect, stitch, apply medicine, and bandage. Simple, right?” He rattled off the far-from-simple procedure and then nodded towards the medicine chest.
Hilde’s fingertips trembled as she opened the box. Small labels adorned the lids of the various bottles neatly arranged within. Unable to read, she had to ask, “Which one is the disinfectant…?”
“Third row, furthest left. The clear bottle.”
The pungent smell of antiseptic filled the air as she poured the liquid onto a cloth. Carefully, she dabbed at the bloodied area. As the grime was wiped away, the gruesome wound became even more stark. Just looking at it made her wince as if she were the one injured. She poured the neutralizing agent onto the wound, and it instantly fizzed and bubbled. The sizzling sound made her go white.
Unable to bear the sight any longer, she turned away, pretending to gather the needle and thread. But her hands kept slipping, making it difficult to thread the needle. Even after finally threading it, she hesitated to bring the needle to his skin.
“How do you expect to stitch it if you can’t even look?” Her reluctance finally snapped Benedict’s patience. “Tell me now if you want to stop.”
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