Chapter 51
Later on, Hunter brought back another injured thing from the forest.
Hunter had a habit of bringing such things to Prina.
The first time, it had been a rabbit with severe external bleeding. Last time, it was a bird with an injured wing.
In fact, even Prina herself was one of those ‘injured things’ Hunter had found in the forest.
And she always gave them names.
While everyone else had called her nothing but ‘ill-omened’, Hunter had called her ‘Prina’.
Just as she had called the injured rabbit ‘Lucky’ and the injured bird ‘Happy’.
But this time, what he had brought back was something far too dangerous to even think about naming.
It wore armor engraved with the royal crest.
“Mr. Hunter. Th-this person is… a royal knight.”
“That’s right, Prina.”
Hunter admitted it without hesitation. But why would he bring him here knowing that?
He knew better than anyone that Prina was being hunted by the knights. And hadn’t he himself been injured by a knight’s sword that day in the torrential rain? The intent behind his actions was incomprehensible, leaving her only confused.
“You like healing and taking care of things like this, don’t you?”
“Well, yes, but…”
He was right. Prina did love her work.
It came from an altruistic heart, but also from a desire to prove that she was not ‘ill-omened’. That she could save others. That she was, in truth, a good person.
But she had never imagined a situation like this.
The knight seemed to have been thrown from his horse and struck his head. He was unconscious, blood welling on his forehead.
“What should we do? Should I put him back where I found him?”
Hunter asked in his usual detached tone, watching Prina tremble in shock.
Put him back?
Even if he was a royal knight… Abandoning a patient on the brink of death?
“Then he’ll die soon. What a pity.”
It was frightening and confusing, but Prina found herself agreeing with his words.
God exists equally for everyone, without discrimination.
To Prina, the art of healing was a divine teaching she had learned in the monastery.
“No, I’ll treat him.”
Yes. Every living thing with breath was precious. Even if it was someone who sought to harm her, there was no exception.
“Don’t worry too much. His leg is injured, so he won’t be able to move easily.”
Hunter added the reassurance with a raised brow, as if to tell her it was nothing to fret over.
Once she made up her mind, Prina devoted herself to the treatment.
While tending to the knight, another thought came to her.
They couldn’t hide in the forest forever. Once the knight regained consciousness, it might be better to extract some information from him.
Because she was hiding here, Hunter had also been injured and had suffered disruptions to his life. Their range of movement had become limited. One way or another, the situation had to be resolved.
Perhaps this knight could become a breakthrough for their future.
Clinging to that sliver of hope, Prina did her best to care for him, trying not to view him with prejudice.
The knight had a fractured leg and multiple bruises all over his body from the fall. As Hunter had said, his inability to move meant he wasn’t a threat.
* * *
Unlike usual, the treatment took place in Hunter’s room.
When she stepped away, he would lock the door from the outside—just in case—so the knight couldn’t harm Prina even if he woke.
Hunter stayed with her in her own room, and whenever she treated the patient, he would step out to let her focus. That consideration reassured her a little.
This was work Hunter had entrusted to her, but even before that, it was a divine mission given by God.
Today again, Prina was checking the injured knight’s condition in Hunter’s room.
He was still unconscious, but with fractured ribs, every breath he took would hurt. Sweat had already gathered across his brow.
As she dabbed his forehead with a damp cloth, his eyelids suddenly twitched.
It seemed he was regaining consciousness.
Even she wasn’t sure whether she wanted him to wake… or whether she wished for nothing to happen so her peaceful days could continue.
If she did her utmost to treat him but he still didn’t survive…
It would be as if nothing had happened.
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