TLNTAAM Chapter 18

If You're Going to Cash In

She'd slept so much that she didn't want to sleep anymore. She chewed through spoonfuls of white stew and looked around.

The nurse in the red apron—who suited her job perfectly—had told her this place, with its white beds and green sheets that matched in a pleasingly tidy way, was the infirmary. She'd explained at length that while it served as a full ward in wartime, normally it was used for injured soldiers and ailing maids.

'Such a kind person.'

True to its wartime purpose, the wide space held dozens of beds. If you looked carefully, mattresses were stacked layer upon layer along the walls. For when there weren't enough beds, presumably.

But since it wasn't wartime, the vast space held only her and a handful of soldiers. The nurse had even been kind enough to set up a portable screen around her bed. Her privacy was assured.

'Quietly thoughtful.'

The nurse was so cheerful and efficient that there hadn't been a moment to ask questions. So she ate her stew in peace and sorted through her thoughts.

'Who dressed me?'

That was her top concern at the moment. She'd fallen face-down in the buff, and thinking about it now, that was actually better.

'At least she hadn't fallen forward.'

If she had, she might have woken up properly drowning in despair. She desperately hoped it had been the nurse who dressed her.

"Why does it have to be this hard."

She chewed through a piece of meat and sighed heavily. The more she tried to resist, the more it felt like she was rolling deeper into a swamp.

'Had her lifespan actually extended at all?'

As long as she didn't help Seraphie escape, she wouldn't die?

The potato was bland but nutty.

She was wondering what it would take for her situation to improve when the screen was pushed aside and a familiar face appeared.

"You're awake."

Still a man of precisely and only necessary words. She'd been about to greet him warmly since he was a familiar face, but she quietly closed her mouth instead.

'Right. That's just how you are.'

He'd probably say what he came to say and leave. She kept eating her stew. Hospital food, underseasoned as expected, but soft and savory enough to manage.

"Did I lose consciousness from the fall?"

She moved her fingers and toes. Everything moved without any numbness.

Diomede watched this and narrowed his eyes. Something about it seemed to displease him.

"You were unconscious for five days."

"Five days already?"

She'd thought at most half a day. Longer than expected. No wonder she felt like she'd slept her fill. Five whole days.

"I'd better eat fast and get back to work."

She worked her spoon quickly. Diomede caught her wrist and stopped her.

"You need more rest."

"I feel fine? Apart from being a bit weak, I can move."

"It was serious."

What was?

He cut off the beginning and end of his sentences and she had no idea which part was serious.

"There was bleeding inside your skull."

"An ordinary person might not have woken up."

A chill shot down her spine.

That—that was a brain bleed, wasn't it? How badly did she have to fall to end up with a brain bleed!

"Your leg needs attention as well. It seems you fell with the tub and hit your head on the bed."

She quickly pulled back the sheet and moved her legs. They moved without trouble, making his words seem almost irrelevant.

"They seem fine?"

He stared at her ankle for a moment, then spoke.

"Excuse me."

"Pardon?"

He took hold of her left ankle and rotated it once. She felt no pain, but the touch felt strange.

'Oh—the gloves.'

Diomede was wearing white gloves. He'd seemed to have them off in that room full of books. Perhaps he wore them here because this was a medical ward.

"This ankle was severely swollen until last night."

"There's no problem moving it."

"Even so, you should rest in the ward today. Try not to move around."

Doctors knew best. She nodded, and he sighed.

"You nearly died."

"Was it that serious?"

She was genuinely surprised. She'd only fallen, but the damage was apparently on par with a car accident.

'One more incident like this and there'll be nothing left of her.'

From today she was going to treat this body with care. Like a glass figurine. How was anyone supposed to live like this.

"There was a great deal of bleeding from your forehead."

So her head really had split open. She reached up absently toward her forehead, and Diomede caught her wrist.

"Don't touch it yet."

She lowered her hand obediently.

"Normally with an injury like this, they open the skull to drain the blood, despite the risk. In your case, I chose not to."

A frightening treatment, but they used it in the modern era too. She didn't know much about medicine, but she'd heard of controlling intracranial pressure that way. She nodded readily, and Diomede continued.

"I made the decision based on your constitution. It seems to have been correct."

She opened and closed both hands, tilting her head.

'Her constitution? The thing where she heals easily?'

"Was my recovery that significant?"

'She'd thought it only helped with minor things. Enough to recover from a brain bleed in five days?'

"My hypothesis is that losing consciousness accelerated the recovery, but I was surprised as well. I want to ask—has something like this happened before?"

She shook her head. There was nothing like that in Nina's memories.

"I heal faster than most people, but certainly not enough to recover from serious injuries."

"Why the change?"

"I don't know."

Diomede adjusted his monocle and fell into thought. She moved each part of her body in case she'd missed some numbness. Shoulders, knees—all fine.

"Rest today, and be more careful going forward."

"Yes. Thank you."

Whatever else, she thanked the red-haired man who had healed her body. His hair still messily tied, he walked back out through the screen.

She set the finished stew bowl on the side table and stretched. She felt as refreshed as someone who'd slept their fill, and the idea that she'd nearly died refused to feel real.

'Did I really almost cross the river Styx?'

She'd been sprinting around trying to prevent dying on the execution grounds, and this whole time she could have died like this? Incredible. Truly. From now on she'd double-check every extinguished flame and test every stone bridge before crossing.

'Nina, I'm sorry.'

I was trying to keep you alive, and an absurd mistake nearly ended everything.

She lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. The red ceiling had an unusual number of dark stains.

'This is why she hated hospital rooms.'

Too quiet. The aloneness settles in.

It wasn't completely silent. The distant sound of soldiers' voices and the nurse's movements drifted in from time to time.

Being the only one alone only made it lonelier.

She rolled around on the bed and hugged the sheet to her chest.

'But what's the deal with that Grand Duke?'

Why did he put her in danger?

Come to think of it, this kid was suspicious. In Bound Bird, when Nina helped Seraphie escape, she'd said to follow the corridor and the Grand Duke would be waiting.

'My grim reaper turned out to be someone else entirely.'

She'd thought it was Seraphie all along, but the real culprit was someone else. The person she truly needed to avoid was the Grand Duke. If this bastard hadn't smuggled the saint across the border, Nina might not have died.

'And despite this, you spared the Grand Duke and killed Nina?'

Your Majesty, this is not acceptable. God, truly. She knew this world had a different breed of kings and nobles, but this was too much. Nina has no connections and no money so she gets the execution grounds, while the Grand Duke gets exiled to the countryside and that's it? By any measure, your younger brother was more at fault! So punish them proportionally! How is anyone supposed to live with this injustice!

'But shouldn't she not be meeting the Grand Duke at all right now?'

The Grand Duke had his own estate and rarely came to the castle. He should have. So why had that kid waltzed into the women-only quarters and thrown open her door while she was bathing.

Just thinking about it made her dizzy.

'I was covered by the towel. I was. Right?'

It was a very large towel. It would have covered everything. It did.

"I'm sorry, Nina!"

'I'm supposed to be protecting you, but somehow I keep failing. You're too pretty to be seen by someone like that, and you ended up exposed to some random idiot!'

'He didn't see anything! He didn't! And even if he did, I'm choosing to believe he didn't!'

She'd reached up absently toward her forehead when she quickly yanked her hand back. An unfamiliar presence came from somewhere nearby. The screen was pulled aside and someone came in.

"Oh!"

She scrambled upright in bed and straightened her clothes. The people who'd entered smiled warmly at the sight of her.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine!"

The space was too narrow for extra seating. She pulled her legs in and scooted as far back as she could on the bed. She gestured for them to sit, but the two of them shook their heads.

"We're busy, so we can't stay long."

Lara and Jousie held out a small basket.

"The fabric I mentioned before. Sorry it's nothing much."

She shook her head quickly. She hadn't even thought they might come.

"No, really—thank you!"

"I'm sorry we couldn't talk to you lately, with everything that's been going on."

She smiled and scratched her cheek. They'd have heard all the rumors, of course. She gathered herself.

"I don't know what rumors are going around, but most of them are probably exaggerated."

"I did think the rumors seemed excessive. Especially the ones involving His Majesty."

"That is absolutely, absolutely not true."

'She'd said it twice, Lara. Please believe her.'

Jousie looked at her forehead.

"How bad is the injury?"

"It was apparently serious, but I'm fine now. They're keeping me here just through today."

"There were even rumors you'd died, so it's a relief. We really were worried coming here."

Good grief, spreading rumors of death about a perfectly living person. These rumors get inflated beyond all reason.

'Well, she had nearly died, but still...'

Nobody could have known she'd recover in five days.

"Well, I expected something like this, more or less."

Even from her own position, Nina's existence was remarkable. Rumors swirling about her and the king, and now injured because of the Grand Duke.

'She should brace herself.'

She swallowed and steeled herself. Somehow even stranger rumors were going to spread from this.

"Um, Nina. I went back and forth about whether to say this, but..."

Lara's eyes wavered. What had she been debating whether to say?

'Is she about to say something harsh?'

But even so, there was nothing to do but face it. She smiled at them.

"Make sure you receive compensation."

"Pardon?"

"The Grand Duke was at fault. You nearly died. You can't just let that go."

She genuinely hadn't thought of that.

She looked at the basket they'd given her and realized it again. These two were truly angels.

"Thank you."

She hadn't known such a system existed. How much might the compensation be? She'd put it toward a house someday. Hopefully a decent amount.

"Really, thank you."

So this was what they meant when they said the law belongs not to those who have it, but to those who know it.

The anticipation of compensation planted a seed, sprouted, and shot up rapidly.

'Time to make her cut.'

Bathed in brilliant sunlight, the hope grew into a full tree.

Just you wait. Come to me, money. Hand it over, you Grand Duke bastard.

Jousie and Lara gave her advice that was worth its weight in blood and marrow, wished her a speedy recovery, and left the ward. Even seeing them out, she couldn't hold back her smile.

Her stomach was empty with only stew, but emotionally she was swimming in fullness.

"Nina, just trust me."

Whatever it takes, I'll get a hefty sum! Bite down and refuse to let go, and there's nothing you can't accomplish in this world!

She was burning with hope when the nurse arrived with more food. She grinned from ear to ear and worked through the patient food with determination.

First things first: she needed to recover quickly.

If she was going to get a hefty sum in compensation.