Chapter 09
“The wound has opened more than before.”
The physician said while examining Evelyn’s foot.
Unable to tell him that it was because of her escape in the middle of the night, Evelyn remained silent.
“It will sting. Please endure it for a moment.”
Fortunately, the physician did not ask in detail why Evelyn’s wound had reopened. He simply focused on treating her foot in silence.
Just as the physician had warned, a sharp pain spread through her foot.
Evelyn bit her lower lip and endured the pain, but she could not stop the small gasp that escaped her.
When a faint groan slipped from her lips, the physician paused for a moment.
“Does it hurt a lot?”
“No, I’m fine. I can endure it.”
Evelyn wondered if it had really hurt this much when she ran away during the night.
No, it definitely had hurt.
However, she had been so desperate that even the pain had felt blurry.
The physician’s touch became even more careful than before. Even so, the stinging sensation did not disappear.
Evelyn watched the physician treat her wound while trying her best not to make a sound.
At that moment, a commotion came from outside.
Evelyn instinctively raised her head and looked outside.
Through the opening of the tent, she caught sight of soldiers moving somewhere in perfect formation.
“I heard His Majesty suddenly changed the direction of his march toward Hesta.”
Seeing Evelyn’s attention drawn to the soldiers’ movements, the physician explained.
It was exactly as Raynard had said.
And the moment she recalled his words, Evelyn remembered that Raynard had said there were several people who knew her true identity. Her body stiffened.
The physician noticed her reaction and stopped preparing the bandages. He raised his head and met Evelyn’s eyes.
“As you know, I am a physician. If we are marching, there are many preparations to be made besides the soldiers, so I was informed early.”
Without Evelyn having to ask, the physician understood her curiosity and answered while beginning to wrap the bandage around her foot.
“Princess, you are afraid of His Majesty, aren’t you? Is it because of the rumors spread throughout Hesta?”
Despite the physician’s continued words, Evelyn did not answer.
Even though she had been a maid, she had spent a long time inside the royal palace.
She knew very well what happened to those who spoke carelessly.
Moreover, among the people here, there were some who knew Evelyn was not Princess Ophelia.
In such a situation, it was better to remain silent rather than poorly imitate Princess Ophelia.
“He is sharp and frightening, but he is also someone who longs for affection more than anyone else. I hope you will not fear His Majesty too much. Also, please refrain from running away with a foot like this.”
At the physician’s words, Evelyn felt as if her heart had dropped.
“You knew…?”
“Of course. You could have become crippled if things had gone wrong. This is my advice as a physician, so please do not take it lightly.”
After neatly trimming the end of the bandage, the physician lowered the hem of Evelyn’s dress.
Evelyn carefully moved her leg, but after feeling the tingling pain from the wound, she quickly relaxed it again.
“By the way, are you really alright?”
The physician, who was organizing the tools he had brought for treatment, suddenly asked.
“My leg is fine. I received treatment.”
“No. I mean the things that will happen from now on.”
“……”
Evelyn opened and closed her lips.
She did not know what intention the physician had behind those words, but if she answered only the question itself, she was not alright at all.
“As you probably noticed immediately after seeing that the soldiers are still here, His Majesty originally planned to conquer Hesta right away. For some reason, that has been postponed for a year.”
The physician’s gaze moved toward Evelyn’s eyes.
Evelyn instinctively avoided his gaze.
“Regardless, if it is His Majesty, he will surely conquer Hesta after one year and raise the glorious wolf flag over the castle. You know this as well. Are you truly alright?”
Evelyn lightly bit her tongue.
It was difficult to tell whether Heinrich was asking this question to Princess Ophelia or whether he had realized her true identity and was asking her directly.
However, considering how kindly he treated her, perhaps Heinrich did not know her identity after all.
So Evelyn slowly organized her thoughts.
If Raynard had decided to conquer Hesta, the fall of the kingdom was inevitable.
And because of that, many people would meet their deaths.
From people Evelyn knew personally to complete strangers who only shared the same nationality.
“…I think it can’t be helped.”
Just as Evelyn said, it was something that could not be helped.
Everything was caused by Hesta’s king, not Evelyn.
He became too greedy and wanted to take Byte, and when that failed, he disguised Evelyn as a princess instead of his own daughter and sent her to Byte.
Then, fearing that the lie would be exposed, he tried to kill Evelyn before she could meet Raynard.
He had planned it so thoroughly that even the people protecting her were all killed.
But what was the result?
Although Evelyn regretted innocent people dying, that was all.
It was not something she had wanted, nor was it something she could stop even if she wanted to.
There was no reason for her to feel guilty over something beyond her control.
No, she comforted herself that there was not.
Then suddenly, she repeated the words she had just spoken in her mind.
Because she was not certain whether the answer she gave was truly fitting for Princess Ophelia.
‘If it were Princess Ophelia, would she have been furious about this?’
She did not know.
“I see.”
Unlike Evelyn’s worries, the physician accepted her answer without question and stood up.
“Ah, my name is Heinrich Leopold. Please call me Heinrich.”
After politely bowing, Physician Heinrich left the tent.
Only after the cloth serving as the tent door closed did Evelyn release a sigh of relief.
It felt like walking barefoot through a path made of rose vines.
She was careful because she feared being pricked by thorns, but the situation was such that it would not be strange if she stepped on one at any moment.
Was this really alright?
‘I really don’t know.’
Evelyn held her heavy head with her hand.
The only thing she knew was that she would continue asking herself this question from now on.
Because she had stayed awake the entire previous night, Evelyn could not stay conscious for long after Heinrich left the tent.
The fatigue that had accumulated until now came rushing over her like a wave.
She lay down on the temporary bed and fell asleep before she could even blink more than five or six times.
At the moment she fell asleep, the anxiety that had been choking her disappeared as if it had been a lie.
The next morning, Raynard, who had been giving orders to the soldiers to turn back, stopped by Evelyn’s tent before returning to his own.
It was to check whether she had received proper treatment.
However, when he entered the tent, what he saw was Evelyn sleeping soundly, completely unaware of the world around her.
Raynard approached her and pulled up the blanket that Evelyn had failed to cover herself with, raising it up to her neck.
“So you were planning only to run away while being that afraid, and now the fatigue has finally caught up with you.”
Remembering the way she had been restless like a mouse facing a cat, Raynard let out a quiet laugh.
“Was last night comfortable?”
Early in the morning, Raynard visited Evelyn’s tent.
It was already the third day.
The maids had already prepared breakfast inside Evelyn’s tent.
“Thanks to your consideration. Did Your Majesty sleep well?”
When Evelyn tried to stand up and greet him, Raynard raised a hand and stopped her.
The moment she awkwardly tried to rise, Evelyn gave an embarrassed smile and sat back down.
“I believe I clearly told you yesterday not to stand because your leg was injured.”
“I’m sorry.”
Raynard was a man who could be said to possess the entirety of the Western Continent.
The fact that someone like him was showing consideration toward Evelyn still felt difficult and uncomfortable for her to accept.
Raynard walked over and sat across from Evelyn.
“Finally, today we are returning.”
“Yes.”
Watching Raynard begin eating, Evelyn also started her meal.
“Can you ride a horse?”
“A horse?”
“Yes. The carriage you arrived in is almost completely destroyed, and we have not prepared another carriage suitable for you.”
Raynard lightly shrugged his shoulders and placed fresh salad onto his plate.
Evelyn, who had been trying to focus on her meal, slightly raised her eyes and looked at him.
“I have never ridden a horse before.”
She had suspected as much, but then she remembered how Raynard and Byte’s soldiers had searched the place where she had been attacked several days ago and recovered spare clothes and accessories.
She let out a quiet sigh.
Thinking about it, even when they brought those things back, there had been no sign of a carriage.
