My Secret Flower - Episode 2

His most severe injury was to his right leg. There was a clear mark where a blade had pierced through, so I focused on treating that area. Fortunately, the other minor cuts weren’t deep, so they were healing relatively quickly.

“The bleeding is mostly under control, so as long as you manage it well to prevent the inner wound from festering, it should be fine.”

“Can I move around?”

“Walking will still be difficult, but traveling by carriage should be alright.”

It had already been over five days since I’d been staying in this village. I was worried about my father, who must be waiting for news of my mother back at the main estate. Even though I had almost fully recovered, I couldn’t bring myself to leave, as I was strangely concerned about the man’s condition.

I was sure he had been caught up in a deadly sword fight with someone. But since he woke up, he hadn’t mentioned looking for anyone or said anything about himself. He hadn’t even opened his mouth, making me wonder if he had lost his voice due to some kind of mental shock.

After much deliberation, I decided that it was best to hear his intentions first, so I cautiously asked,

“I’ve been delayed here for too long and must leave soon. Do you have anywhere to go?”

“……”

“If it’s difficult to answer, can you shake your head or nod?”

He shook his head. If he had nowhere to go, could it be that he had lost his family like me? Should I just give the doctor more money and ask him to stay until he recovers? But I doubted if he would even treat him properly. But I couldn’t possibly take a stranger back to the main estate.

“Then, is there anywhere else you can rely on…?”

I was about to ask when he reached out and tightly grabbed the hem of my dress. He had the look of a lost child asking for help.

I couldn’t bring myself to reject his hand. I had never made any impulsive decisions, but his large hand, gripping me with all his might as if he would never let go, shook my heart greatly.

“…Then, will you come with me? I can protect you until you recover.”

Just moments ago, I was hesitant to take him with me. I couldn’t have a man of unknown origin by my side.

Despite that, rational judgment was impossible. The way he grabbed my sleeve, when he had been so listless and weak, showed a strong will to live. I wanted to see him recover safely to the end.

He didn’t seem like a bad person. If he recovered well, I could even contract him as a servant at the mansion. Of course, if he wanted to.

Fortunately, he nodded as if to accept my offer. So, I carefully moved him into the carriage and took him to the main estate.

“Young lady! Why are you only arriving now!”

As soon as she heard that I had arrived, the nanny rushed out, scattering tears and starting to nag.

“I was worried that something might have happened to you, so I sent someone to the capital, but they said you had already headed to the main estate. But why haven’t we heard from you until now!”

“Something happened. There’s a sick person in the carriage, so please refrain from raising your voice.”

“A, a sick person?”

The nanny glanced into the carriage with surprised eyes and blinked rapidly.

“Who is this man?”

“I couldn’t just pass him by on the way back, so I was delayed while treating him. His life would have been in danger if I hadn’t treated him immediately.”

“Do you know him?”

“……No.”

This time, her eyes widened as if they would pop out. I could understand her feelings well enough. No matter how injured he was, it was the first time she had ever seen me show such kindness to a stranger.

“Well, he needs to rest and continue treatment for a while, so call the family doctor. Move that man to the guest room. As carefully as possible. I need to see my father. Is he inside?”

“…He’s in the study. No, young lady, let’s talk for a bit…!”

The nanny’s gaze, as if the sun had risen in the west, was overwhelming, so I decided to pretend I didn’t hear her to avoid it. Then, clutching my mother’s urn and letter tightly in my arms, I suppressed my surging emotions and entered the mansion.

On the second floor of the mansion, up the stairs, to the left were my room and the rooms my sisters used to use, and the hallway on the opposite side was my parents’ space. I moved to the right hallway and headed to my father’s study, which was located closest.

“Father, it’s me. I’m coming in.”

I knocked lightly and entered. My father’s face, leaning back in his desk chair with his eyes closed, looked very gaunt. My father, who was always neat, had his black hair, like mine, disheveled and unkempt, and his stubble was also untidy. It was the first time I had seen him so disheveled.

The kingdom was in chaos due to the plague, and my mother had passed away, so I wondered how weary my father’s heart must be.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I met someone on the verge of death on the way, so I had to treat him urgently.”

“…I see. I’ve already heard that the kingdom is under lockdown. You must be tired too, so go and rest.”

“Are you alright, Father?”

I knew he wasn’t alright, but I asked out of concern. But he didn’t give a specific answer and just closed his eyes and regulated his breathing.

So, I quietly approached my father and placed the urn and letter on the desk.

“This is my mother’s urn, given by the head maid of the Count’s residence in the capital. I’m glad that I can at least send her off peacefully.”

Only then did my father slowly open his eyes and look at the urn. For some reason, it was hard to watch him, so I lowered my gaze.

“We should have a formal funeral, right? Since times are like this, how about just my father and I attending and holding a small ceremony?”

“…I’ll think about it.”

My father’s voice was cracked and tearful. My father would need time too. I gave a silent bow and left the study.

And a few days later, my father followed my wishes and built my mother’s tomb on the private grounds and held a funeral with only a small number of people. Seeing the urn buried in the ground made me realize that my mother no longer existed in the world.

‘I hope you are at peace there.’

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, I was too busy all day to dwell on my grief. I stayed by his side, tending to the injured man, and if he looked distressed, I would immediately call the family doctor and ask for treatment.

Sometimes, I was grateful for his presence. If I had been alone, I probably would have just cried all day, feeling my mother’s absence.

“Young lady. Why are you so concerned about a man you don’t even know?”

Even when I was out managing the territory, I was worried about him lying down, so I returned to the mansion as early as possible. The nanny cautiously asked about my behavior of visiting his residence and volunteering to care for him as soon as I came home.

Since I wasn’t one to get close to people other than animals, she seemed to find it strange that I was showing interest in a person.

I gazed down at his deeply sleeping face and slightly raised the corners of my mouth at the smile that naturally spread across my face.

“I don’t know either. I’m just concerned. How much pain must he have been in? When I think about how he gathered every last bit of strength to survive those terrible wounds and happened to meet me, I feel strangely proud of him. I’m just so grateful that he’s alive.”

“You’re talking as if a pet that ran away has returned.”

“Did I?”

Even though we hadn’t even had a conversation, I somehow felt a little familiar with him. For some reason, I was now curious about his voice.

In fact, what moved my heart the most was his gaze, which was blindly fixed on me. Even in his dazed state from the medicine, when I came in to check on him, his eyes would desperately look at me, like a puppy that had lost its owner.

I felt sorry for him, and also affectionate.

“Let’s see, how much has he recovered today? I’ll check his condition.”

The other servants who were in charge of his care were wary of him, but when I appeared, his cold, light brown eyes would light up with warmth. The difference in temperature was so obvious that I couldn’t help but laugh.

I couldn’t let him lie down too much, so I would help him sit up or change his position. His body was so heavy; he was definitely much larger than me, so I felt like I was sweating buckets every time I helped him.

The family doctor said that because the weather was hot, I had to change the bandages often to prevent the wound from festering, and I had to wipe his body with a damp towel twice a day. I had been constantly ordering the servants to do it, but I was worried that they were handling the patient too carelessly.

That day, I was watching the servants preparing to wash him while he was sound asleep, and I got up from my seat.

“I’ll do it, so leave the rest and go.”

“It will be difficult for you alone, young lady.”

“Don’t worry. I can do it alone.”

Since I was young, I had been interested in animals and had learned a lot from the ranch manager. I was able to diagnose sick animals and perform treatments that I could do with my own hands. It was my first time doing it on a person, but I didn’t think there would be much difference, so I was burning with enthusiasm.

After the servants left, I put on a white medical apron and wore sterilized gloves. I had to thoroughly disinfect the area to prevent bacteria from entering the wound, or else I could undo all the treatment I had done so far.

I removed all the bandages, which now had very little blood seeping through, and carefully wiped his body with a damp towel, avoiding the wound marks. He smelled musty from not being able to wash properly for a long time, but it wasn’t repulsive. Compared to the black smoke-filled air of the capital where they were burning corpses, it wasn’t unpleasant.

As I carefully wiped his arms, being careful not to wake him, and cut and removed the bandages tied around his upper body with scissors, his eyelids fluttered and his gray eyelashes moved.

“Ah, are you awake? I was just wiping your body because you seemed to be sweating a lot.”

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