Erne took off his clothes and moved to stop the bleeding, but blood dripped down every time he did so. Judith's expression distorted in shock.
"But it's strange."
"Why, what else?"
"I feel dizzy."
At that moment, Erne stumbled. Judith was startled and grabbed his waist and hugged him.
"Is it because of the poison? Or is it because you lost a lot of blood? Let's go to the hospital first."
The hospital here doesn't require identification, unlike modern hospitals, so there shouldn't be any problems visiting it.
Judith walked with her arms around his waist. Erne walked quite well, perhaps because the poison had not yet taken effect. His throat groaned as if he was holding back a groan, but somehow he managed to walk all the way to the village.
"You know."
"Yes."
"Do I have to walk all the way here, getting stung and bleeding?"
Then come crawling? Judith looked up at Erne with a face that seemed to have no idea what to do.
"I told you I wanted to buy a horse."
"How can you buy something that expensive? When you know our situation so well!"
"What if I collapse here?"
"What can I do? I can't carry the saddle."
Judith patted his waist and urged him on.
"So let's go quickly before we collapse."
"You really..."
Erne swallowed the groan he was feeling.
“The assassination must have come because of you. There's no way he didn't resent you.”
“Stop nagging, my ears are bleeding."
“I'm actually bleeding.”
Erne raised her left arm, which was dripping with blood, and shook it, but Judith lightly ignored it and pointed it somewhere with her finger.
"Huh? There's a hospital over there! Your bleeding arm, we can get it treated there. Let's go there, quickly."
Judith dragged Erne away. Erne was so dizzy from the poison that he couldn't shake Judith off.
***
"Try to keep your arms as still as possible, and remember to take the antidote three times a day.”
“Yes, sir.”
The doctor came out of his sleep, his face gaunt with fatigue, and proceeded to drain the nasal passages from Erne's wing, tourniquet, and prescribe the antidote.
While Judith listened to the explanation about the ointment and antidote, Erne took a moment to catch his breath and closed his eyes. It seemed as if he could hear the footsteps approaching stealthily again.
After a long time, his body was filled with excitement and it was hard to cool down. The tension that was tense with murderous intent, the sharp sensation when swinging the sword.
He exhaled deeply and clenched his fists hard.
"Hey, patient, relax your hands. If you do, the wound will burst. Just because you're young. It's not okay to use your body recklessly. If you do that, you'll suffer when you're old. Tsk tsk."
"..."
Before he could even feel the aftertaste, the old doctor's tongue-clicking sound flew in. A deep crack appeared between Ern's eyebrows.
"If the wound festers, not only does the cost of medicine double, but the patient also suffers greatly."
"The medicine costs twice as much?"
Erne opened his eyes to a voice that was even more trembling than when she had faced the assassin. Judith, who had taken out her purse to pay the medical bill, froze in place.
"..."
No, didn't I save you?
Erne quietly relaxed the strength in his fists as he saw Judith's hands trembling while holding her pockets.
Judith gritted her teeth and paid the extra fee for the night shift. Her hands were shaking because the mount was higher than she had expected, but she still owed Erne her life.
When she saw Ern with bandages wrapped around his left shoulder and right arm, she felt grateful but also sorry.
If Erne hadn't fought to protect her, he wouldn't have been hurt like that.
"Sir, are you okay?"
"Does it look okay?"
Why does the proverb that says a single word can repay a debt of a thousand nyang suddenly come to mind? The feeling of gratitude and regret that she had felt just a minute ago has now been broken in half.
"Anyway, I survived thanks to you."
"You know that, right? If you know it, you'll do well."
Of the gratitude that was half gone, half was gone again.
"I guess I'll have to bleed and eat some meat."
"I think a vegetarian diet is good for detoxification."
"You're not grateful at all right now?"
Erne opened his eyes narrowly and looked down at Judith, but she looked straight ahead.
While Erne was muttering next to her about not buying him a horse or meat, Judith only talked about who sent the assassin and why.
As they each continued to talk about what they wanted to say and arrived in front of the mansion, Judith suddenly remembered what Erne had said.
"But when the assassins came earlier, you said, 'Is the potion no longer effective?"
She was out of her mind earlier and just passed it by, but now that she thinks about it, it seems strange. Did the medicine lose its effectiveness?
"You gave me medicine, right? When I think about it, it's strange. I'm even sleepy...."
"How do you dispose of that body?"
Oh, you're talking nonsense? Judith opened her triangular eyes and looked at Erne.
"Honey, look straight into my eyes."
"Is that something you would say to a patient?"
Erne muttered something about calling Henry and having to get rid of the body, and so on, with a frown on his face. Judith's suspicions grew as he continued to mutter. If he gave her medicine, when would that be? No, since they ate together, and even less so, since Erne drank alone.
"At least drink some water."
"What's going on, Sir?"
"Okay, thank you is enough."
“You got burned, didn't you?”
At that moment, Erne, whose eyes met, flinched slightly and avoided Judith's gaze. After Leon left, he handed her a glass of water.
I thought it was kindness, but it wasn't kindness?
"What kind of medicine was it?"
"It's not a life-threatening drug or anything like that."
"So what is it?"
"Potion of Truth."
Somehow, her mouth wouldn't listen to her. Judith frowned and tilted her head again as if something was strange.
"Why did you feed that to me? Oh, because you thought I was in cahoots with the guys who killed you?"
She doubted it, but she would have thought he would have given her the truth potion. Judith pouted.
"So, are your doubts cleared up?"
"Yes."
He may seem easygoing, but he's surprisingly thorough. Judith didn't know that Erne was still suspicious of her, but she understood.
"I understand. Even if I were you, I would have doubted you too."
"You're surprisingly refreshing. Try spending some money like that. How about buying a horse? It'll be nice for you too."
Erne waved his injured arm in front of Judith. It was an appeal to her that he was a patient, but Judith tilted her head and muttered as if she was genuinely puzzled.
“Why do you need a horse when your legs are fine?”
There seemed to be no problem walking. Judith opened the mansion door, muttering to herself so that everyone could hear.
"Erne, your arm is not working properly, so I will open the door for you."
Erne was speechless at Judith's gesture of kindness as she held the door open for him.
"...Oh, thank you so much."
I'm so grateful, I can't wait to see it. We'll see, Judith Herrington.
***
The next day.
"I'm thirsty."
I rubbed my tired, sunken eyes against my forearms and looked at Erne with a quizzical gaze.
Of course, I had my own room, but from the moment I went to the room I used as my study/bedroom and lay down, something felt strange.
"Water."
"The water is right in front of you."
"I have to pour it into a cup."
As Judith frowned, Erne lifted up his bandaged right arm.
"What if I get sick from carrying a water bottle?"
If you're going to say something like that, at least show some sincerity by making a pitiful expression.
"If you add more, the price of medicine doubles."
Damn it. I got up from my seat, having stopped making the candles I had been ordered to make. I was almost assassinated, but I wasn't scared, I was just tired.
While the assassins barged in, Erne was injured, and I was taking the injured Erne to the hospital, I was so out of it that I didn't even realize I was scared.
And when I returned to the mansion again, I got goosebumps remembering the pungent smell of blood and the corpses strewn everywhere.
"What about the body, Sir?"
"There are guys who can handle that kind of stuff. Go to Henry. He'll know where to get it."
There was a separate cleaning guild that was in charge of handling such cases as the assassin's corpse. When I told them there were four corpses, they were asking for such a high price. My hands were shaking more than when I had faced the assassin.
I refused, saying that if I paid extra, I would even clean up the blood stains. After spending half a day cleaning the hallway, I remembered the backlog of orders.
If I don't deliver the finished product by the promised date, I may not get paid. Or, even if I am lucky enough to get paid, trust will be lost. The key to business is trust!
While I was debating whether or not I should stay up all night, Erne kept interrupting me with little things, asking me to do this and that, using his injury as an excuse.
However, if Erne, who had been cut by a sword and even stung by a poisonous needle, moved around carelessly and his wounds got worse, it would be a problem. There were already so many places where money would be spent, and the cost of medicine would add up!
"Here it is."
Finally, I picked up the jug of water placed in front of Erne's nose and poured it into the cup that was also placed right in front of Erne's nose.
"Drink it."
"Miss Judith Harrington."
Erne clicked his tongue and called me by my last name. I clenched my teeth. When he called me by my name like this, it meant, 'Be prepared for him to get angry from now on.'
"The water is too cold. In what circumstances would you give cold water to a patient?"
"...Try it."
I placed a kettle on the hearth in the fireplace. Soon, the sound of water boiling could be heard. Judith took the kettle and poured hot water into his cup.
"It will be warm now."
"It's warm, isn't it? It's hot. What if I spill it while drinking it and get burned?"
Erne shook his head as if he was displeased.
"Burn ointment is more expensive."
"If you leave it there, it will cool down. Then you can drink it then."
"Why did you ask for water now if you were going to drink it later. Miss Harrington?"
I clenched my trembling fists, picked up the glass of water, and blew on it.
"It's too cold."
When Erne made a face as if he was going to drink it out of sincerity. I gritted my teeth and muttered.
"... I should have just left it alone when the scenery cooled down. Why keep you alive, why! That damned missionary, if you catch him, you won't be left alone."
I sharpened my knife at the medium who didn't even know where he was.
"I can hear everything. Keep that monologue to yourself... Ah."
Erne, who was lifting the cup, spilled some water over her bandaged right arm.
"You did that on purpose, right?"
"This is a mistake. It's not easy to drink with my left hand. And my left shoulder is also injured."
My eyes narrowed in disbelief.
"I bet you haven't forgotten who you were protecting and got hurt."
"Tch."
"Tch? Tch. to the person who saved your life."
I pouted as I went to get the medicine and bandages that I had left on one side of the room.
“Well, by that measure, you owe me your life, don't you think?”
"The medium saved my life, and Henry paid the money, so why on earth is Miss Harrington my savior?"
Erne asked with genuine curiosity, but I had a knack for pretending not to hear questions that put me at a disadvantage.
"I guess your hearing is also quite flexible?"
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