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The field hospitals in the rear were much cleaner and neater than those on the front lines.
In the first place, field hospitals on the front lines were routinely destroyed and repaired, so it was difficult to expect proper facilities.
Annette arrived late at night, was assigned accommodations, and was immediately deployed to the site the next morning. After a few days of familiarizing herself with the facility and its geography, she began her work.
The wounded here weren't as seriously injured as those previously located. However, many were already incapacitated. When their condition deteriorated beyond repair, they were moved to the morgue.
Annette walked between the rows of beds, carrying a basket of supplies like bandages and disinfectants under her arm.
Eyes flew here and there, and low whispers could be heard. She tried not to look, just walking forward.
From the first day Annette arrived, rumors began to spread that the only daughter of the deceased Margrave Dietrich and the former wife of the Commander-in-Chief was here.
Everyone, including the nursing officer, seemed uncomfortable with her. She even unintentionally overheard some complaining about being constantly on guard.
“That patient... knows how to use an occlusive dressing, right?”
“...Yes. I know.”
“I just asked to confirm, so don’t be offended. I just don’t know.”
They treated Annette as if she were a difficult girl, not a war nurse.
Actually, it was as expected. This place was different from the front lines.
On the front lines, it was a battle every second, so no one had time to worry about rumors. And after the battle, everyone had already become accustomed to each other's presence.
Even though the troops were replaced, there were still quite a few existing personnel left, so they naturally formed a leading atmosphere.
For this reason, those who were initially surprised by Annette soon came to understand. But here, she had to adapt to a completely new situation.
Annette went to the bed of one of the wounded soldiers assigned to her. He had suffered a penetrating wound to his leg. Lying flat, he stared into space with his eyes eerily wide open.
Annette put down the basket and said to him.
“I’ll change the bandage for you.”
“...There’s no need.”
“It’s dirty, so I have to change it.”
“I said it’s not necessary.”
“If you don’t go, your condition will get worse.”
“So, it’s necessary...”
The soldier, who had been turning his head in annoyance, paused when he saw Annette's face. He studied her for a moment, his brows narrowed, before opening his mouth blankly.
“I’ve seen you in the newspaper.”
“I’ll pull the blanket over you for a moment.”
"You're the Commander-in-Chief's wife, aren't you? That bastard sent you to anesthetize me? Do you think I'll just give in to a woman like you?"
“I need to disinfect, so stay still...”
"They're going to put me under anesthesia and cut off my leg! You can't cut off my leg! If you do, I'll kill myself! I'll die!"
Suddenly, the soldier's eyes widened, and he began to convulse. He jerked upright and stretched out his arms as if to grab Annette.
Annette, taken aback, took a step back. The soldier seemed to have at least some awareness of his leg injury, thankfully not having gotten out of bed.
He just waved his arms wildly as if trying to keep anyone from getting close.
Hearing the commotion, several soldiers and nurses rushed in. They grabbed the man's arms and held them down. He screamed and thrashed wildly.
“Fuck! I knew it! Don’t anesthetize me! I’ll kill you! You bitch!”
All sorts of vulgar insults erupted. Even Annette, who was trained in harsh language, was taken aback by the aggressiveness and explicitness of the insults.
The soldiers who subdued him began to yell at him.
“Hey! Calm down, you punk!”
“I won’t cut off your leg! I won’t cut it off! Don’t you hear me, you crazy bastard?”
Annette opened the cap of the disinfectant and gave orders to the soldiers.
“Just hold on for a moment. Could you please hold that person’s leg?”
The soldier cried out. His pupils were dilated to a frightening degree. Annette applied antiseptic to his wound and calmed him while waiting for it to dry.
“Calm down, I’m not going to anesthetize you!”
“I’m going to stab you in the ass and kill you! Damn it! And I’m going to kill myself too!”
“Your injury isn’t serious enough to warrant amputation! I’m just going to change a bandage!”
“Stop talking nonsense! How can I trust those noble bastards!”
"Look! Look! I don't have any anesthesia equipment! I'm just cleaning the wound!"
After several scuffles, the soldier finally stopped talking, his voice rasping. However, his aggressive stance remained.
While he was still for a moment, Annette placed a sterile gauze pad on the wound and wrapped it with a clean bandage. When she finished, beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
Annette looked up at the soldier and muttered.
“...Look. I just changed the bandage.”
“...”
The soldier silently lowered his eyes to his white-bandaged leg. His shoulders were still shaking, as if in a fit.
As he seemed to calm down, the soldiers released him. The ward fell silent, and all eyes were fixed on him.
“I, on the face...”
One of the soldiers holding him pointed to Annette's cheek and spoke to her. Annette touched her cheek, half-consciously.
She checked her fingertip. There was a little blood on it. She felt a stinging pain. It seemed like the soldier had struck her earlier.
"It's okay."
Annette answered calmly and gathered her belongings. The glances felt like needles. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then opened them. She was tired.
The field hospital was in disarray since morning. News broke that the Commander-in-Chief was visiting to encourage the wounded soldiers and medical personnel.
Rumors were circulating that the Commander-in-Chief's headquarters barracks were located nearby. The arrival of the Padanian military's highest commander had both officers and lower-ranking soldiers on edge.
Hospital staff began sweeping and cleaning the building and organizing supplies from dawn. They also checked for errors in documents.
Even amidst all that busyness, gossip about Annette never left the air. Everyone seemed to be watching her closely.
Annette tried to ignore the task at hand. Moving around all day seemed to help her mind drift away a little.
Time flew by. It was well past noon when the Commander-in-Chief visited the field hospital.
Annette remained confined to the inner ward, tending to the patients, until she finally emerged into the central ward. The commander-in-chief was already nearing the end of his inspection tour.
She stopped as she was about to enter the ward carrying an iron file.
In the distance, a group of men in gray uniforms appeared. A man in a black overcoat was at the center, flanked by soldiers lined up on either side and behind him. Even at first glance, they seemed to hold unusual positions.
The man standing in the middle of the crowd exuded a distinctly different aura from the others. His rigid, angular demeanor resembled a sharply cut still life.
He was the commander-in-chief.
He held his officer's cap in one hand, his head slightly bowed as he listened to something. He occasionally nodded and discussed something.
The huge man standing under the dim, pale light of a field hospital, like a devil come to take the lives of the wounded.
Annette's fingers tightened slightly as she held the file. Just as she turned, the Commander-in-Chief raised his head.
It seemed as if their eyes had only briefly met. Almost immediately, Annette turned and went inside the door.
Click. The door closed behind her.
As Annette was returning to her quarters late one night, an officer stopped her. He said someone wanted to see her briefly.
Aside from being a nursing officer, she rarely received calls from higher ranks, so Annette had a hunch the moment she saw the number of stars on the other person's uniform.
It was a call from the Commander-in-Chief.
“...Where did you ask to meet?”
“I will guide you.”
The officer's attitude was extremely polite and courteous, but on the other hand, he seemed to have no respect for her wishes.
Annette hesitated for a moment. Even if she refused the request and returned to her quarters, he couldn't just drag her along. Of course, it was hard to guarantee what would happen next...
She couldn't even fathom what he was trying to say. It was a relationship that was already over. There was nothing to add or take away.
It was right for them to continue living parallel lives.
The officer waited for her answer with a polite smile. After much deliberation, Annette cautiously opened her mouth.
“...Please guide me.”
In the first place, field hospitals on the front lines were routinely destroyed and repaired, so it was difficult to expect proper facilities.
Annette arrived late at night, was assigned accommodations, and was immediately deployed to the site the next morning. After a few days of familiarizing herself with the facility and its geography, she began her work.
The wounded here weren't as seriously injured as those previously located. However, many were already incapacitated. When their condition deteriorated beyond repair, they were moved to the morgue.
Annette walked between the rows of beds, carrying a basket of supplies like bandages and disinfectants under her arm.
Eyes flew here and there, and low whispers could be heard. She tried not to look, just walking forward.
From the first day Annette arrived, rumors began to spread that the only daughter of the deceased Margrave Dietrich and the former wife of the Commander-in-Chief was here.
Everyone, including the nursing officer, seemed uncomfortable with her. She even unintentionally overheard some complaining about being constantly on guard.
“That patient... knows how to use an occlusive dressing, right?”
“...Yes. I know.”
“I just asked to confirm, so don’t be offended. I just don’t know.”
They treated Annette as if she were a difficult girl, not a war nurse.
Actually, it was as expected. This place was different from the front lines.
On the front lines, it was a battle every second, so no one had time to worry about rumors. And after the battle, everyone had already become accustomed to each other's presence.
Even though the troops were replaced, there were still quite a few existing personnel left, so they naturally formed a leading atmosphere.
For this reason, those who were initially surprised by Annette soon came to understand. But here, she had to adapt to a completely new situation.
Annette went to the bed of one of the wounded soldiers assigned to her. He had suffered a penetrating wound to his leg. Lying flat, he stared into space with his eyes eerily wide open.
Annette put down the basket and said to him.
“I’ll change the bandage for you.”
“...There’s no need.”
“It’s dirty, so I have to change it.”
“I said it’s not necessary.”
“If you don’t go, your condition will get worse.”
“So, it’s necessary...”
The soldier, who had been turning his head in annoyance, paused when he saw Annette's face. He studied her for a moment, his brows narrowed, before opening his mouth blankly.
“I’ve seen you in the newspaper.”
“I’ll pull the blanket over you for a moment.”
"You're the Commander-in-Chief's wife, aren't you? That bastard sent you to anesthetize me? Do you think I'll just give in to a woman like you?"
“I need to disinfect, so stay still...”
"They're going to put me under anesthesia and cut off my leg! You can't cut off my leg! If you do, I'll kill myself! I'll die!"
Suddenly, the soldier's eyes widened, and he began to convulse. He jerked upright and stretched out his arms as if to grab Annette.
Annette, taken aback, took a step back. The soldier seemed to have at least some awareness of his leg injury, thankfully not having gotten out of bed.
He just waved his arms wildly as if trying to keep anyone from getting close.
Hearing the commotion, several soldiers and nurses rushed in. They grabbed the man's arms and held them down. He screamed and thrashed wildly.
“Fuck! I knew it! Don’t anesthetize me! I’ll kill you! You bitch!”
All sorts of vulgar insults erupted. Even Annette, who was trained in harsh language, was taken aback by the aggressiveness and explicitness of the insults.
The soldiers who subdued him began to yell at him.
“Hey! Calm down, you punk!”
“I won’t cut off your leg! I won’t cut it off! Don’t you hear me, you crazy bastard?”
Annette opened the cap of the disinfectant and gave orders to the soldiers.
“Just hold on for a moment. Could you please hold that person’s leg?”
The soldier cried out. His pupils were dilated to a frightening degree. Annette applied antiseptic to his wound and calmed him while waiting for it to dry.
“Calm down, I’m not going to anesthetize you!”
“I’m going to stab you in the ass and kill you! Damn it! And I’m going to kill myself too!”
“Your injury isn’t serious enough to warrant amputation! I’m just going to change a bandage!”
“Stop talking nonsense! How can I trust those noble bastards!”
"Look! Look! I don't have any anesthesia equipment! I'm just cleaning the wound!"
After several scuffles, the soldier finally stopped talking, his voice rasping. However, his aggressive stance remained.
While he was still for a moment, Annette placed a sterile gauze pad on the wound and wrapped it with a clean bandage. When she finished, beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
Annette looked up at the soldier and muttered.
“...Look. I just changed the bandage.”
“...”
The soldier silently lowered his eyes to his white-bandaged leg. His shoulders were still shaking, as if in a fit.
As he seemed to calm down, the soldiers released him. The ward fell silent, and all eyes were fixed on him.
“I, on the face...”
One of the soldiers holding him pointed to Annette's cheek and spoke to her. Annette touched her cheek, half-consciously.
She checked her fingertip. There was a little blood on it. She felt a stinging pain. It seemed like the soldier had struck her earlier.
"It's okay."
Annette answered calmly and gathered her belongings. The glances felt like needles. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then opened them. She was tired.
***
The field hospital was in disarray since morning. News broke that the Commander-in-Chief was visiting to encourage the wounded soldiers and medical personnel.
Rumors were circulating that the Commander-in-Chief's headquarters barracks were located nearby. The arrival of the Padanian military's highest commander had both officers and lower-ranking soldiers on edge.
Hospital staff began sweeping and cleaning the building and organizing supplies from dawn. They also checked for errors in documents.
Even amidst all that busyness, gossip about Annette never left the air. Everyone seemed to be watching her closely.
Annette tried to ignore the task at hand. Moving around all day seemed to help her mind drift away a little.
Time flew by. It was well past noon when the Commander-in-Chief visited the field hospital.
Annette remained confined to the inner ward, tending to the patients, until she finally emerged into the central ward. The commander-in-chief was already nearing the end of his inspection tour.
She stopped as she was about to enter the ward carrying an iron file.
In the distance, a group of men in gray uniforms appeared. A man in a black overcoat was at the center, flanked by soldiers lined up on either side and behind him. Even at first glance, they seemed to hold unusual positions.
The man standing in the middle of the crowd exuded a distinctly different aura from the others. His rigid, angular demeanor resembled a sharply cut still life.
He was the commander-in-chief.
He held his officer's cap in one hand, his head slightly bowed as he listened to something. He occasionally nodded and discussed something.
The huge man standing under the dim, pale light of a field hospital, like a devil come to take the lives of the wounded.
Annette's fingers tightened slightly as she held the file. Just as she turned, the Commander-in-Chief raised his head.
It seemed as if their eyes had only briefly met. Almost immediately, Annette turned and went inside the door.
Click. The door closed behind her.
***
As Annette was returning to her quarters late one night, an officer stopped her. He said someone wanted to see her briefly.
Aside from being a nursing officer, she rarely received calls from higher ranks, so Annette had a hunch the moment she saw the number of stars on the other person's uniform.
It was a call from the Commander-in-Chief.
“...Where did you ask to meet?”
“I will guide you.”
The officer's attitude was extremely polite and courteous, but on the other hand, he seemed to have no respect for her wishes.
Annette hesitated for a moment. Even if she refused the request and returned to her quarters, he couldn't just drag her along. Of course, it was hard to guarantee what would happen next...
She couldn't even fathom what he was trying to say. It was a relationship that was already over. There was nothing to add or take away.
It was right for them to continue living parallel lives.
The officer waited for her answer with a polite smile. After much deliberation, Annette cautiously opened her mouth.
“...Please guide me.”
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