Sharti overate for the first time in a while by devouring half a loaf of bread from the basket.
Normally, she would have eaten sparingly, but she quickly brushed off any regrets.
‘Let’s not be stingy.’
She had to go to the log cabin first to get the man’s clothes. That meant she needed to conserve energy for the round trip between the house and the cave twice.
‘It was delicious.’
The satisfaction from the sugar and butter was indeed fulfilling.
As Sharti, who had finished her meal, stood up, the man also rose.
“Are you going? …?”
Sharti, who was rummaging through her bag, shook her head and pointed to the bed.
The man sat down on the bed as instructed.
‘He probably can’t wrap the bandages alone, right?’
Sharti took out the bandages and sat down next to him.
As soon as the man lifted his arms, Sharti began unwrapping the bandages from his abdomen. Fortunately, the area she had struck with her knee was not on his abdomen.
Sharti applied disinfectant to the abdominal wound that was healing well, then rubbed medicinal herbs on it.
“……”
It was the same delicate and meticulous touch the man had received so far.
The difference was that this time he could visually confirm Sharti’s treatment.
The man’s gaze lingered on her hood, but Sharti focused on the treatment.
“……”
She absolutely refused to waste medicinal herbs.
Before the man could answer, Sharti spread her arms wide and suddenly embraced him.
“…!”
Sharti, who hugged the momentarily stiffened man, quickly began wrapping the bandages.
The man’s muscles visibly twitched at the tickling sensation on his palms and the breath touching his skin with each wrap of the bandage.
Slap. Sharti immediately cautioned him, and the man nodded, gritting his teeth.
“Now you’re telling me to do everything alone.”
“…?”
At Sharti’s questioning look, the man brushed it off as talking to himself.
Sharti was about to comment on the man’s awkward speech pattern but decided against it.
‘With no memories, speaking informally must be easier.’
She decided to leave it be for now, as forcing a change wouldn’t likely help in recovering his memories.
Sharti didn’t forget to apply medicine to even the smallest wounds.
The man, who had been silent for a while, opened his mouth as if something had occurred to him.
“By the way, what were you going to say earlier? …?”
At Sharti’s questioning look, the man gestured towards her stomach.
Remembering the embarrassment, Sharti quickly covered her stomach.
“Doctor?”
“Then what about me? …?”
The man asked.
“Give me a title too. … Or…”
“……”
The man closed his mouth.
Sharti looked at him with a ‘what’s wrong’ expression.
The man averted his gaze.
‘Does he not like the title? It’s a perfectly fitting title for a doctor-patient relationship.’
Sharti glanced at the man.
“Let’s go with patient. ……”
His sigh sounded like a tone of resignation.
‘Come to think of it, he said he couldn’t remember his name either.’
But wouldn’t it be best for him to choose his own name?
It seemed contradictory to give him a name when there was no intention of getting close.
“……”
The man showed his response through action rather than words.
Sharti was at a loss for words at the man’s messy handiwork.
‘Did he wrap the bandage or tie a rope?’
Even when Tein first wrapped a bandage, it wasn’t this bad.
In the end, Sharti had to wrap the bandage around his thick thigh herself.
“No. ……”
The man sniffed at the strong herbal scent emanating from his body and nodded.
Having finished what needed to be done, Sharti stood up. The man reflexively stood up with her.
“Can’t I go with you? ……”
“But then you, I mean Doctor, will have to go back and forth twice. ……”
With that build, he’d be perfect for being mistaken as prey and shot with an arrow.
The village hunters don’t climb the mountain at night, and it’s easier to navigate the treacherous mountain path during the day than at night.
The man lowered his gaze.
“…Because you promised.”
The man, who had followed Sharti to the cave entrance, murmured softly.
“That you’d hide me.”
His thick fingers grasped Sharti’s robe sleeve.
“I’ll wait. Here.”
At his serious and earnest gaze, Sharti turned to look up at him.
She removed his hand from her sleeve and linked their pinkies.
“…?”
He didn’t seem to understand the meaning of the pinky promise.
Sharti turned away from the man.
Even as she blocked the cave entrance, the man’s gaze didn’t disappear.
‘I need to bring clothes and clean the house too.’
The old log cabin where she lived alone.
Due to the rugged mountain terrain, even Bireta’s family hadn’t visited many times.
Sharti quickened her pace, trying to calm her unnecessarily excited heart.
[This is the timeline separator]Just as the sun was about to set, the frontier soldiers in the village were preparing to climb the mountain.
“Squad leader. We’re ready. We should head up before it gets darker.”
The squad leader, who was yawning lazily, waved his hand dismissively at his subordinate’s words.
“Make sure to bring your swords. I hear this mountain is particularly known for frequent appearances of fierce beasts.”
Of course, by fierce beasts, he meant animals.
The soldiers, who were snickering, soon began their search.
The northwestern frontier mountains of the Newyton Empire were all famous for their treacherous terrain. It was the perfect hiding place for various criminals, from cattle thieves to the fallen royal family members.
That’s why, as soon as numerous wars began, the Emperor of the Newyton Empire ordered to further strengthen the frontier’s security.
This was the reason why frontier soldiers regularly visited mountain villages.
However, the purpose of this visit was purely for personal gain.
“But why a night search this time? It’s so dark, how can we see anything?”
“Isn’t it to look more professional?”
The soldiers giggled at the sudden night search without any sense of crisis.
‘Stupid fools.’
Only Dodint, the leader of the 8th squad at the forefront, sneered inwardly.
‘They don’t even question why we’re climbing this high mountain with just a torch as soon as it gets dark.’
It was convenient to have such naive and stupid subordinates who were born and raised in the frontier.
Hiding a sinister smile, Dodint recalled the secret letter that was secretly delivered to him last week.
Dodint, who thought he was destined to roll around in the frontier until his death, read and reread the secret letter.
The opportunity had come.
Dodint laughed with a distorted face full of elation.
An Earl title. It was a tantalizing bait that could make him, a commoner, an Earl of the Empire.
After looking up the Sind Trading Company mentioned in the secret letter, Dodint immediately hid the letter safely in his bosom.
‘I hear the Sind Trading Company has been dealing with the Imperial family recently? This means the sender of the secret letter is no ordinary person.’
To complete the mission written in the secret letter more perfectly, Dodint spent all his wealth to prepare new weapons for this search party. He even bribed his superior to obtain additional support troops from other squads.
‘How pathetic that they’re handing it over, scared by the word deserter.’
Thankfully, rumors of a deserter with an ominous crime had been circulating recently, providing enough of an excuse.
Everything was falling into place.
Dodint kept grinning at the sweetness of wealth and power that would unfold in the future.
“Squad leader. The path narrows from here on, they say.”
“If we go up further, we should reach the stream that flows through this mountain.”
If someone who fell and suffered fatal injuries was still alive, where would they hide? Wouldn’t they naturally be searching for water?
Dodint began moving towards the stream, utilizing his experience in searching for criminals. As it got darker, Dodint licked his lips in anticipation and nervousness.
[This is the timeline separator]Just as the soldiers were beginning to climb the mountain, Sharti hurriedly returned to the cave.
“I’ve been waiting… What’s wrong?”
The relief that flashed across the face of the man who had been pacing inside the cave waiting for Sharti was momentary.
Ignoring the man, Sharti began shoving things into her bag without a word.
The man stepped closer, sensing something was amiss in her behavior.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
“……”
Sharti, who was breathing heavily and surveying the surroundings of the cave, looked up at the man. She bit her lip hard.
“…Soldiers?”
The man’s brow furrowed at the unsettling sensation.
Sharti, feeling even more anxious at his reaction, repeatedly clenched and unclenched her hands.
Sharti gripped her hood tightly, avoiding the man’s gaze.
The man understood Sharti’s intention to hide.
“…It seems the person the soldiers are looking for has a serious crime attached to them.”
It sounded a bit sarcastic.
The object of contempt was not Sharti, but himself.
“…I see.”
The man, who had been staring only at the tips of Sharti’s fingers, answered in a slightly lower voice.
His heart was turbulent to the point of discomfort.
“So what do you plan to do?”
At least the fact that she was trying not to be certain was calming him down.
That was the only comfort.
“…What?”
The man asked again at the extreme response.
Sharti immediately showed her intentions through action. She picked up a shovel from inside the cave and climbed onto the bed.
“What are you doing…!”
The man panicked and stepped forward as Sharti began hitting the cave ceiling with the shovel.
But Sharti pushed the man away instead.
‘Get out first.’
Sharti pointed towards the cave entrance.
“What…?”
Instead of writing an explanation on the man’s palm, Sharti stabbed the ceiling repeatedly with the shovel as if digging the ground.
She felt increasingly urgent.
‘Time is tight.’
Unable to gauge the soldiers’ movement speed, she couldn’t afford to delay any longer.
Tang.
“…!”
While soil was falling from the ceiling, a subtle metallic sound, different from hitting a rock, was heard.
As Sharti was about to swing the shovel again towards the point where the metallic sound was heard without hesitation, it happened.
“…!”
A strong force constricted her waist, and her vision changed.
The man had easily lifted Sharti onto his shoulder with one arm. Not only that, he even took the shovel from Sharti’s hand.
__________
“Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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