.png)
The Axis powers continued their massive air raids on the Padania mainland day after day. Day after day, civilians were forced to hide in bunkers, their sleep disturbed by the sound of bombings from the ground.
The Padanian coalition fought fiercely to defend its homeland. However, they were eventually forced to surrender their front lines to the fierce attack of Frances, Armenia, and even Balien.
How many battles were won, how many were lost? It was difficult to even count how many there were.
Meanwhile, news arrived that our forces had repelled Frances's navy in the southern straits. It was a great victory achieved under adverse conditions.
The Padanian coalition reversed the already lopsided war by preventing the capture of the island of Farsala, which served as a crucial military hub in the Black Sea.
But the battle was still tense. The front lines shifted several times a day. Countless soldiers were wounded and killed for just a few meters of advance.
In particular, the front lines of Army Group Central, defending Huntingham, were significantly pushed back. That was also where the field hospital where Annette worked was located.
As a result, the Huntingham Field Hospital was overwhelmed by the influx of patients, making it impossible for the existing medical staff to manage them.
“Please look at this patient! He’s breathing strangely!”
“Damn it, damn it, give me some medicine!”
“S-save me, it hurts so much, please...”
Wounded soldiers were brought in like mountains from nearby battlefields. Many of them were already dead, in the early stages of rigor mortis.
"Annette! Please stop the bleeding here! I think I need stitches!"
“Yes, just a moment!”
Annette rushed over, grabbing gauze and bandages. Her nurse's uniform was a mess, soaked in blood and sweat.
Without even a moment to properly assess the condition, they immediately went into hemostasis. Blood gushed out, making a spurt. The soldier's already pale face was as pale as a sheet of paper.
“Ugh, ah, ahh─.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, I’ll sew it up now, it’s okay!”
Annette couldn't even count how many times she said "it's okay," or whether she was saying it because she truly was. She simply repeated the words like a mantra. "It's okay. It'll be okay."
As soon as Annette finished suturing, she turned to the next wounded soldier. Perhaps because she saw so much blood, her vision seemed to turn red. No matter how much she washed her hands, the smell of blood wouldn't go away.
The time for her shift change was approaching. Annette blinked her heavy eyes and checked her chart. At that moment, a gruff voice came from behind her.
“Annette?”
It was an unfamiliar voice, but Annette instinctively turned around. The man lying on the bed was looking at her, his head slightly raised.
Annette approached the man and asked.
“Do you need anything?”
“Oh, no. I, I, by any chance... don’t you remember me?”
"Yes?"
“We’ve seen each other before.”
She frowned, wondering if he was trying to flirt. The man gestured around, seemingly frustrated.
"That, that's right! At Katrine's fruit shop! I used to deliver fruit there!"
"...Ah."
Annette, realizing it was too late, let out a small moan. Now she remembered. It was Bruno's friend, the younger brother, who had been flirting with her at the fruit stand.
She saw so many soldiers who looked alike that she couldn't tell them apart for a moment. His name was also mentioned in Katrine's letter.
“Hans...? Is that right?”
"Oh, you remember! That's right. I saw the article about you serving in the military as a nurse. It's true!"
Annette replied with a smile, “Hmm.”
“Then was it fake?”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to imply that you were pretending to join the army for the sake of reputation while actually staying somewhere safe.”
I guess that's what I thought. Annette didn't really respond, just smiled.
"You were mentioned in Katrine's letter anyway. She said you'd joined the recruiting unit..."
As she spoke, her eyes, which had been scanning Hans, fixed on a single spot. Annette looked back at him with a hardened face.
Hans smiled awkwardly and scratched his head.
“Well, that’s what happened.”
She hadn't noticed because of the blanket. The white blanket covering his legs was tucked down below his knees. Annette muttered in amazement.
“How did that happen...”
“Booby trap─.”
Hans imitated the words he would shout when he found a landmine, as if singing. But Annette couldn't laugh.
According to Katrine's letter, Hans had apparently joined the rear guard of the new recruits.
But with the deaths of their seniors and the retreat of the front lines, the situation seemed to have worsened. Indeed, the Huntingham Field Hospital had suddenly become the closest hospital to the central front.
“Does Katrine know too?”
“No one back home knows yet. Ah, you're the first to find out. If you can be called one of us back home...”
The Padanian coalition fought fiercely to defend its homeland. However, they were eventually forced to surrender their front lines to the fierce attack of Frances, Armenia, and even Balien.
How many battles were won, how many were lost? It was difficult to even count how many there were.
Meanwhile, news arrived that our forces had repelled Frances's navy in the southern straits. It was a great victory achieved under adverse conditions.
The Padanian coalition reversed the already lopsided war by preventing the capture of the island of Farsala, which served as a crucial military hub in the Black Sea.
But the battle was still tense. The front lines shifted several times a day. Countless soldiers were wounded and killed for just a few meters of advance.
In particular, the front lines of Army Group Central, defending Huntingham, were significantly pushed back. That was also where the field hospital where Annette worked was located.
As a result, the Huntingham Field Hospital was overwhelmed by the influx of patients, making it impossible for the existing medical staff to manage them.
“Please look at this patient! He’s breathing strangely!”
“Damn it, damn it, give me some medicine!”
“S-save me, it hurts so much, please...”
Wounded soldiers were brought in like mountains from nearby battlefields. Many of them were already dead, in the early stages of rigor mortis.
"Annette! Please stop the bleeding here! I think I need stitches!"
“Yes, just a moment!”
Annette rushed over, grabbing gauze and bandages. Her nurse's uniform was a mess, soaked in blood and sweat.
Without even a moment to properly assess the condition, they immediately went into hemostasis. Blood gushed out, making a spurt. The soldier's already pale face was as pale as a sheet of paper.
“Ugh, ah, ahh─.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay, I’ll sew it up now, it’s okay!”
Annette couldn't even count how many times she said "it's okay," or whether she was saying it because she truly was. She simply repeated the words like a mantra. "It's okay. It'll be okay."
As soon as Annette finished suturing, she turned to the next wounded soldier. Perhaps because she saw so much blood, her vision seemed to turn red. No matter how much she washed her hands, the smell of blood wouldn't go away.
The time for her shift change was approaching. Annette blinked her heavy eyes and checked her chart. At that moment, a gruff voice came from behind her.
“Annette?”
It was an unfamiliar voice, but Annette instinctively turned around. The man lying on the bed was looking at her, his head slightly raised.
Annette approached the man and asked.
“Do you need anything?”
“Oh, no. I, I, by any chance... don’t you remember me?”
"Yes?"
“We’ve seen each other before.”
She frowned, wondering if he was trying to flirt. The man gestured around, seemingly frustrated.
"That, that's right! At Katrine's fruit shop! I used to deliver fruit there!"
"...Ah."
Annette, realizing it was too late, let out a small moan. Now she remembered. It was Bruno's friend, the younger brother, who had been flirting with her at the fruit stand.
She saw so many soldiers who looked alike that she couldn't tell them apart for a moment. His name was also mentioned in Katrine's letter.
“Hans...? Is that right?”
"Oh, you remember! That's right. I saw the article about you serving in the military as a nurse. It's true!"
Annette replied with a smile, “Hmm.”
“Then was it fake?”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to imply that you were pretending to join the army for the sake of reputation while actually staying somewhere safe.”
I guess that's what I thought. Annette didn't really respond, just smiled.
"You were mentioned in Katrine's letter anyway. She said you'd joined the recruiting unit..."
As she spoke, her eyes, which had been scanning Hans, fixed on a single spot. Annette looked back at him with a hardened face.
Hans smiled awkwardly and scratched his head.
“Well, that’s what happened.”
She hadn't noticed because of the blanket. The white blanket covering his legs was tucked down below his knees. Annette muttered in amazement.
“How did that happen...”
“Booby trap─.”
Hans imitated the words he would shout when he found a landmine, as if singing. But Annette couldn't laugh.
According to Katrine's letter, Hans had apparently joined the rear guard of the new recruits.
But with the deaths of their seniors and the retreat of the front lines, the situation seemed to have worsened. Indeed, the Huntingham Field Hospital had suddenly become the closest hospital to the central front.
“Does Katrine know too?”
“No one back home knows yet. Ah, you're the first to find out. If you can be called one of us back home...”
“Aren't you going to tell me until we get back?”
“What's the point of telling you in advance? You'll find out eventually anyway.”
“Aren’t I holding onto someone busy?”
“Ah... It’s okay.”
It was true she was busy, but she never said she had to go. Even though she didn't have any good memories, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the young man who had lost both legs in an instant.
"Wow, but when I met you at Sinsier, you were really pretty. I could tell at first glance that you were from a noble family. But now you look incredibly tired. People change depending on their environment, after all. Oh, of course, you're still beautiful."
Annette just smiled awkwardly, unsure of how to respond. She was ignorant of this type of person.
“Oh, by the way. You didn’t apply here because of me, did you?”
“Huh? What do you mean...?”
"Well, I think I was just being rude back then, and that's why rumors about you started spreading. Brunner had already gotten in a lot of trouble for me. I kept wondering if you left Sinsier because of the rumors."
Frankly, it was a difficult situation. The problem wasn't just affecting her; it affected the Grotts' family as well.
But that wasn't why she applied to be a military nurse. It was simply a slightly earlier version of what she originally planned.
“Half right, half wrong.”
"Yes?"
“I indeed had a hard time because of Mr. Hans, but that doesn’t mean I applied to be a military nurse because of Mr. Hans.”
“Ah... I’m glad it’s not half.”
Hans rolled his eyes, scratched his head, and spoke in a small voice.
“Well, anyway, that’s why... I wanted to say I’m sorry. It’s been bothering me, so I’m glad we met here.”
It was a clumsy apology, but Annette could tell the young man genuinely cared about the matter.
“...I will accept the apology.”
Hans laughed broadly at her answer. It was a grim smile.
***
“Hey, you were staring at me like crazy earlier, right?”
“What are you looking at?”
"That kid, he's pretending not to know. He was drooling while watching. She's the Commander-in-Chief's ex-wife."
“You don’t have to say the subject. Hey, isn’t she pretty?”
“She's too skinny. Not my style.”
“You crazy bastard, if a woman like that came along, you’d welcome her with open arms.”
"This kid doesn't know anything. A woman isn't just pretty. You get tired of that kind of thing quickly."
“If being pretty is important, then what else is important?”
“It’s the body, not the face.”
“Hey, that’s because you can’t see it clearly. Even though she looks thin, if you look closely, you can see a bit of chest and...”
Clang─.
The metal tray fell to the floor with a sharp crack. At the same time, the two soldiers' eyes were drawn to it.
A nurse pulled back the curtain and peeked her face out.
“Mistake, sorry.”
Annette sat next to the smiling, apologetic nurse. The soldiers, recognizing her presence, froze and hissed.
The nurse closed the curtain again. The frozen figures of the soldiers were hidden behind the curtain. The nurse, who had picked up the metal tray, leisurely dragged it back as if nothing had happened.
Annette gave her a slight nod. The nurse nodded and left.
‘I’m tired of just working...’
Annette swallowed a sigh and finished organizing her supplies. In fact, it wasn't the first time she'd heard the soldiers gossip or sexually harass her.
Most soldiers possessed a characteristic lightness and sloppiness. Even those who didn't exhibit this in civilian life exhibited a particularly pronounced tendency on the battlefield.
Annette knew that was how they endured the killing. It was a place where one couldn't live sanely without being light.
But understanding it was another matter. Annette's appearance and her past as the Commander-in-Chief's ex-wife were all too readily discussed.
She tried to push away her thoughts and focus on her work. But just seconds after she decided to do so, the entrance suddenly became noisy.
Annette rose from her seat with a puzzled expression. She thought the wounded had been brought in, but something felt different than usual.
The atmosphere was tense. Everyone was in an uproar. Someone shouted through the growing commotion.
"The outskirts of Huntingham are occupied by the enemy! We must retreat!"
Comments
Post a Comment