Chapter 10
As Kirill laid Nina onto the examination table—already wiped down with strong liquor as disinfectant—the infirmary door opened.
Someone entered.
“Ah… Young Master.”
Nina forced an awkward smile.
Adrian’s shadowed eyes and long, elegant fingers reflected the refined, sensitive nature that defined him.
Normally, he always wore a gentle smile.
Today…
He didn’t.
The moment he saw Nina’s condition, his jaw tightened.
After a long breath, he finally spoke.
“What did I tell you?”
His voice was low.
Quiet.
Nina instinctively shrank her neck.
“…Not to go anywhere alone.”
“You really…”
He pressed a hand against his forehead.
He had known Nina for ten years.
He thought he understood her better than anyone.
Yet somehow…
She still managed to do things that completely blindsided him.
“But I—”
Nina had barely opened her mouth when she screamed.
“What an actress.”
Kirill remarked flatly as she pressed down on the injury.
Pain exploded through Nina’s entire body.
She trembled violently.
She couldn’t even scream anymore.
Only ragged gasps escaped her lungs.
“This won’t do.”
“Tie her down.”
Kirill nodded toward the restraints attached to the examination table while pulling out a pair of scissors and a surgical knife.
Instead of using the restraints…
Jin simply pinned Nina’s arms down himself.
Her eyes filled with tears as she looked up at him.
Jin let out a long sigh.
Vice Commander Louis, who had followed Adrian inside, stepped forward to hold Nina’s legs.
Instead…
Adrian silently took his place.
Kirill neatly sliced away Nina’s boot and pant leg.
Her swollen ankle was finally exposed.
Jin grimaced.
“…That’s bad.”
“The ankle bone has practically shattered inside.”
“This is going to hurt.”
“You might as well put a gag in her mouth.”
Jin immediately fetched a wooden bite block wrapped in leather and held it out.
“…I hate that thing.”
“You’d rather bite your tongue off?”
He glared.
Reluctantly…
Nina bit down on the gag and squeezed her eyes shut.
Only Kirill remained completely calm.
“The fracture is one problem…”
“The poison is the real concern.”
“…Hold her tightly.”
As Kirill silently continued her treatment…
Nina’s body jerked violently several times like a fish flopping on dry land.
Then…
She went completely limp.
“She passed out.”
Louis murmured.
Among the members of the Black Knight Order, the vice commander was one of the older veterans.
Now in his early thirties, he neatly tied back his light brown hair.
His eyes were always closed.
And yet…
He moved exactly like someone who could see perfectly.
No one in the Black Knight Order asked about anyone else’s past.
Everyone had their own reasons for being there.
Only once…
Years ago…
Nina had asked him.
“Isn’t it inconvenient walking around with your eyes closed?”
Louis had smiled.
“I see too much.”
“Even with my eyes closed… I can still see.”
“Passing out is probably for the best.”
Kirill clicked her tongue.
Louis looked from Adrian…
To Nina.
Everyone remembered when Adrian first became commander.
He had been little more than a boy.
Everyone knew exactly what he was.
The discarded son of the Duke.
A bastard sent here to die.
More importantly…
Adrian himself knew it too.
There had been an awkward atmosphere.
The Duchess had made her intentions perfectly clear.
If the opportunity arose…
They were expected to let Adrian die.
Or help him along.
Then…
Half a year after Adrian took command…
A cheerful new recruit had arrived.
“Young Master!”
She had called out so brightly.
The expression on Adrian’s face at that moment…
“Why are you here?”
That single expression had said everything.
Louis had never seen Adrian so completely stunned.
From that day onward…
Adrian completely restructured the Black Knight Order.
The death rate plummeted.
Everything became organized.
People gradually began seeing him differently.
After all…
Whatever reward the Duchess might promise…
It wasn’t worth more than the life Adrian was helping them keep.
Many members had died over the years.
Many had been replaced.
But Adrian…
And Nina…
Had survived.
Three years had passed since then.
Now nineteen…
The young commander had grown into someone worthy of respect anywhere.
Powerful.
Experienced.
A true leader.
Nina was equally strong.
Yet…
Because of the way she spoke…
The way she acted…
Louis still vividly remembered the day she had proudly declared,
“I’m the cutest Nina in the whole world!”
The shock of hearing that had never quite faded.
People respected Adrian.
People adored Nina.
If Adrian inspired loyalty…
Nina inspired affection.
Her endless chatter.
Her cheerful smile.
Her genuine kindness.
People naturally gathered around her.
Her warmth quietly seeped into the exhausted hearts of everyone in the Order.
Even her stubbornness somehow became endearing.
There was simply…
Something about Nina.
So it was obvious to everyone…
Especially Adrian…
Just how precious she was.
Living in a place like this…
People gradually forgot what ordinary life looked like.
Nina refused to let that happen.
She treasured small things.
She understood better than anyone how valuable it was…
To keep one’s heart from becoming twisted.
When newcomers first arrived…
Many mocked her.
Called her childish.
But given enough time…
They all realized how precious those little things truly were.
Wildflowers placed in glass bottles whenever the seasons changed.
Pure white bedsheets fluttering in the wind.
Jam made from baskets full of wild berries.
Tea served in chipped cups.
Warm meals shared together.
Those little moments…
Made them feel like family.
Nina…
Made them a family.
“It’s finished.”
Kirill released Nina’s bandaged leg.
Adrian immediately asked,
“Will she recover?”
Kirill lit her pipe before answering.
“Nothing needs to be amputated.”
“And the poison?”
“We’ve removed as much as we can.”
“The rest…”
“…depends on Nina herself.”
Kirill shrugged.
“Spirit contractors naturally have stronger resistance to poison.”
“And Nina’s contracted spirits govern cold.”
“So she won’t succumb easily.”
Then she quietly added,
“Just like last time.”
Last time.
Adrian almost protested.
Instead…
He lowered his head.
Jin anxiously asked,
“So she won’t be crippled?”
“No.”
Kirill answered simply.
Only then did Jin finally let out the breath he’d been holding.
He released Nina’s arms.
Pulled the gag from her mouth.
Adrian also let go of her leg.
“…That really hurt…”
“Kirill… you’re awful…”
Nina mumbled weakly.
Kirill chuckled.
“Already awake?”
“If you’re complaining…”
“…then you’ll live.”
She clicked her tongue.
“Your recovery speed really is monstrous.”
Still covered in tears…
Nina looked toward Jin.
He looked relieved.
And furious.
“I told you this would happen.”
“This is exactly why you don’t go off alone.”
“Honestly…”
“We shouldn’t just forbid the recruits from wandering alone.”
“We should forbid you.”
“I’m injured…”
“And you’re scolding me?”
“You call this scolding?”
“You really—!”
Before Jin could finish yelling…
Nina hurriedly raised her voice.
“Young Master!”
“I have something important to report!”
Adrian answered in a tightly restrained voice.
“What is it?”
His voice was frighteningly calm.
Cold enough to make Nina swallow nervously.
“Someone drew a magic circle…”
“…right next to the Barrier.”
Silence immediately filled the infirmary.
Louis spoke first.
“A magic circle?”
“Can you describe it in detail?”
“Yes.”
Nina tried to sit up.
Jin immediately helped support her.
Her head spun.
Her body burned with fever.
Swallowing painfully, she explained.
“Someone carved a magic circle into the ground right beside the Barrier.”
“It was done with stones.”
“I don’t know whether it belongs to a Sage…”
“…a cult…”
“…or even the Temple.”
“We’ll have to report this to the ducal household.”
Louis’s expression hardened.
Jin snorted.
“The ducal household?”
“Other than sending us replacement soldiers…”
“What have they ever done?”
“These days they barely even manage that.”
“We should notify the Temple too—”
Nina suddenly stopped speaking.
Blood streamed from her nose.
She wiped it away.
…The blood is black?
That was her last thought.
The next moment…
Nina lost consciousness.
