1.
“I have said this many times before, but every time I do, Diego just responds with a gentle smile and a joke.”
“When I am struck by an enemy’s arrow, the only thing Physician Flich can do is pray. I have no desire to head into the arms of God while listening to your prayers.”
“If my prayers are not to your liking, why not bring in a barber instead? A barber who does nothing more than lance boils would still be far better than that woman. That she would be the one to treat Your Highness’s wounds? There is no joke more absurd than this.”
Sir Miguel Flich forced a laugh that did not reach his eyes. His sagging cheeks trembled.
“Hahaha. I would be relieved if she didn’t just faint at the sight of blood. Look at those thin wrists; I doubt she can even hold a pair of scissors properly.”
Irene Rios lifted her head. She gazed calmly at Sir Miguel Flich, who was glaring at her.
Yes, she actually felt more at ease with this. Hostile gazes were as familiar to Irene as the air she breathed—certainly more so than friendly ones.
Irene let out a sigh of relief, her shoulders dropping. But then.
“Physician Flich, are you doubting my judgment?”
He was not angry. His voice, slower than usual, sounded languid, as if laced with drowsiness.
However, Adolf wore a tense expression, and Javier, who had been indifferent, watched closely—like a sailor waiting for a storm.
“Your Highness, that is not—”
“Hahaha, it is a joke. Physician Flich was making a joke, so I thought I would make one, too. My, oh my. Every time I say something, everyone turns pale; I cannot even make a joke as I please.”
Diego, who had averted his gaze with compliance, looked back at Sir Miguel Flich as if he had just remembered something.
“Oh, and there is no need to worry about Physician Rios not being able to hold scissors. I have seen it with my own eyes. I have seen her hold not just scissors, but saws and hammers as well. You should have seen her cut through a human ribcage all by herself, Physician Flich. The precision of the cut was truly smooth.”
“A saw and a hammer… you say.”
“She may look the way she does, but she is a skilled individual who could open your ribcage in an instant, Physician Flich.”
“……Yes.”
Sir Miguel Flich closed his mouth with a look as if he had eaten excrement. He was of aristocratic birth and took immense pride in being an internal medicine physician.
Touching human bones and stitching flesh were vulgar tasks performed only by uncouth barbers. A proper doctor, in his view, should sit elegantly in a chair, listen to the complaints of patients, and prescribe the appropriate herbs.
*Just you wait. You won’t even last a few days before you go running away in tears.*
Sir Miguel Flich glared at Irene, but Irene, lost in her own thoughts, did not feel his stinging gaze.
Irene’s head tilted ever so slightly. Somehow, the smiling Diego looked as if he were angry.
It must have been that she saw it wrong. She had always been unskilled at reading the emotions of others.
Sure enough, Diego whispered in a gentle voice.
“I hope you do not forget the fact that Physician Rios is someone I brought here, Physician Flich.”
“……Of course, Your Grace.”
Sir Miguel Flich bowed his head. Diego turned back to Irene with that same smiling face.
*Just as I thought.*
Diego was not angry at all. His voice was as kind as it always was.
“You must be exhausted from the long journey; I am sorry for keeping you so long. Go and unpack your things and rest. Show Physician Rios to her room.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Mia bowed politely. Diego cast his gaze toward the butler.
“Adolf.”
“Yes, Your Highness. Please speak.”
“We will need several dresses for Physician Rios. Have someone skilled called in. I would prefer a seamstress with quick hands.”
“Yes, understood, Grand Duke Cassis.”
At those words, Sir Miguel Flich’s brows furrowed once again. Receiving clothes as a gift from the Grand Duke the moment she arrived? That was something he had never experienced.
*Just how skilled is she for the Grand Duke to be this attentive? Or, does he have some other intention?*
Mia, who had been gauging Diego’s mood, smiled brightly at Irene.
“Please follow me, Physician Rios. I will show you to your room.”
“…….”
“I have cleaned it thoroughly, and I hope it is to your liking, Physician Rios.”
Irene, who had bowed slightly to Diego, followed behind Mia toward the annex. Diego stared intently at her retreating figure, only taking a step once she had disappeared from his sight.
The castle, with its master returned, awoke from a long slumber.
* * *
“Hmm.”
Irene let out a short murmur, looking around with indifferent eyes. Even if someone who knew her well had been watching, they would not have noticed the subtle trace of perplexity in her blue eyes.
Irene recalled the room she had stepped into just moments ago. It was far better than she had expected.
It was the size of four of the dormitory rooms she used to occupy, and it even included a clean bed and a vanity table she had no use for.
Just as she was thinking she would have to use the vanity as a desk, Mia had taken her to the room next door.
—This is…….
Rarely, Irene was rendered speechless. Mia looked at the room she had cleaned with a sense of pride.
—Grand Duke Cassis sent word that Physician Rios would likely need an office, so he had me prepare it in advance. Aside from the desk and bookshelf, please let me know if you need anything else. Oh, and the servants will have the books you brought organized by the end of today.
A towering bookshelf filling one entire wall, a mahogany desk, and dark-colored carpets and curtains.
It felt like a professor’s office or Baron Rios’s study. It lacked for nothing.
Until now, she had been hunched over in an attic or a narrow dormitory desk, reading. She had never once owned such a large study. She had never even dared to hope for one. Thus, Irene could not hide the tremble in her voice.
—Is this truly my room?
—Please speak comfortably, Physician. You are the Grand Duke’s personal physician, after all.
—Ah.
After a soft exclamation, Irene took a moment to choose her words.
—Is this truly my room?
Mia tilted her head, then smiled brightly. Her sparkling eyes remained fixed on Irene.
—Of course.
Irene avoided Mia’s gaze. She was still unaccustomed to the kindness of others; her whole body felt prickly, as if she were wearing a garment made of coarse wool.
Coming out of her brief reverie, Irene wiped her dry cheek. She stared straight ahead with troubled eyes. Tall pine trees stood everywhere, so dense she had to tilt her head back to see the sky.
The problem occurred shortly after. The servants had stacked the books, and Irene had declined Mia’s offer to help her unpack.
Standing in front of the door, Mia hid her fidgeting fingers behind her back.
—Are you really sure you do not need help, Physician Rios? It will be difficult for you to do it alone.
—It’s fine.
No matter that it was the first time they had seen a female doctor, Mia could not understand the situation. Before being a doctor, Irene was the daughter of a nobleman, yet she had never had servants to tidy her luggage.
Moreover, what was piled up like a mountain wasn’t dresses, but books. If she moved just a few, those thin wrists would…….
As Mia thought that far, her eyes widened. Irene had begun to organize the books without the slightest hesitation.
Whether she had her own system, books from the same stack were placed on different shelves with a speed that left Mia no room to intervene.
Mia, knowing when to retreat, spoke up.
—Dinner time is at seven o’clock. There is a dining hall in the annex, but since Grand Duke Cassis has invited you to dine, I will come to fetch you at seven.
Irene, who had been focusing on her work, stopped her hands a beat late. The words finally registered.
Dinner. The Grand Duke’s invitation. Seven o’clock.
Mia smiled. Irene flinched, as if stabbed by a knife, though her expression remained impassive.
—There is no need for that. I will go there myself.
It felt incredibly awkward to have someone fetch her. Throughout her four years at the college, everyone simply gathered at the student cafeteria when mealtime arrived. There were no servants to wait on them.
That was a perfectly natural thing for Irene. But Mia clearly thought differently.
Looking hurt, Mia nodded as if she had no other choice.
—Yes, Physician Rios. You remember the location of the main building, don’t you? You can come to the dining hall on the first floor by seven. Since you don’t know the location, I will wait for you at the entrance. That much is fine, right?
—I understand.
The path she had taken to the annex had not been that complicated. Therefore, finding her own way to the main building should not be difficult.
Irene replied with confidence.
—It won’t be a problem.
“It wasn’t a problem, but…….”
Irene sighed and took her pocket watch from her pocket. The hour and minute hands, old but accurate, pointed exactly to seven o’clock.
“I came out 15 minutes early just in case.”
Yet, why was it that instead of the main building, all she could see before her were pine trees?
I hope Mia will be her first ever friend