Chapter 32
Nursing (3)
Elric groaned as he stared down at the stack of documents.
Tyria silently watched him from where she sat.
A quick glance told her they were papers related to this year’s year-end financial settlement.
Although they had likely already been summarized, their importance could not be overstated.
Suddenly, anxiety crept into her chest.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Elric, but if someone still inexperienced with such work made even a single mistake in the figures, cleaning up afterward would require several times more effort.
One task could easily become three or four.
The growing unease slowly pulled her body toward his side of the desk.
Then—
“Ah, ahem! I’ll handle it myself!”
Elric hastily covered the papers with his arm.
Like a child hiding his favorite side dish at the dinner table.
Why did he look exactly like that despite his massive frame and unmistakably masculine appearance?
“…I haven’t taught you how to do settlements yet.”
“I’ve learned plenty so far. I’ll figure it out somehow!”
“Are you confident?”
The sharp tone was one Tyria often used whenever she entered teaching mode.
She didn’t realize it herself, but there was something about it that naturally intimidated people.
Cold sweat rolled down Elric’s forehead.
Tyria narrowed her eyes.
“You may take your time. It is fine if your pace is slow. However, mistakes are unacceptable. This is an important document.”
“Th-that’s…”
“I asked whether you are confident.”
Unable to answer yes, Elric slowly shook his head.
Still, he wasn’t completely giving up.
“Even so, that won’t do. Let me try first, and I’ll only ask about the parts I don’t understand. You need rest, my lady.”
Tyria froze.
Again…
He called her my lady.
Every little thing like that softened her heart.
She found herself unable to pressure him further.
Eventually, she sighed and nodded.
“…You must ask whenever there’s something you don’t understand.”
“Understood!”
Elric nodded vigorously with a confident expression.
Then he immediately looked back down at the documents.
“…Then may I ask just one thing first?”
And instantly began asking questions.
Tyria had a great many things she wanted to say, but she held them back.
She needed to preserve his confidence.
However, when one question turned into another five minutes later, and then another after that, and the pattern continued for an entire hour, her patience gradually reached its limit.
Finally, she spoke.
“If it’s going to be like this, then perhaps I should just—”
“Ahem!”
“…”
What was she supposed to do with that stubborn mule?
Tyria found herself thinking very hard.
* * *
Despite the various incidents and mishaps, Elric gradually grew accustomed to working on his own.
During those days, the only things Tyria did were answer his increasingly infrequent questions and occasionally pretend to look out the window while secretly glancing at him.
She had little choice.
Elric had forbidden her from doing practically anything else.
A few examples came to mind.
“I’d at least like to read a book…”
“No. Looking at letters will give you a headache.”
Reading was her favorite hobby.
Rejected.
“Then perhaps some embroidery…”
“If you concentrate too much, you’ll get a headache.”
Even her casual embroidery was banned.
“Then perhaps a short walk outside…”
“Do you want your cold to get worse?”
She had no idea what kind of logic suggested a few minutes of fresh air would worsen a cold, but that too was forbidden.
Only now did Tyria realize something.
Elric genuinely viewed her as a fragile glass ornament that would shatter if touched.
His concern was appreciated.
Being treated as someone who constantly needed looking after was not.
More than that, he himself often behaved like a child, so who was he to treat someone else as one?
Many words passed through her mind.
In the end, she voiced none of them.
Because it wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
Moments like this, for example.
“The fever is finally going down.”
His hand rested gently against her forehead.
At such close range, he smiled solely for her.
Something she had once considered a dream.
Something she had later believed would never happen.
Yet now it was real.
A quiet happiness enveloped her.
Whenever she saw those dark brown eyes focused entirely on her, a sharp tingling sensation pierced her chest.
During those moments, Tyria had to struggle to keep her expression under control.
As long as his hand remained there, she endured that delightful torture.
Yet at the same time, she prayed the moment would never end.
The contradiction made her laugh at her own foolishness.
Still—
Spending more time together brought her immense satisfaction.
“How are you feeling?”
“I think I’m well enough to return to work.”
“No.”
“I—”
“Rest.”
Elric’s smile deepened.
Then he spoke words sweeter than any medicine.
“There has never been a time when I realized more clearly how much you’ve suffered for this household. I also feel guilty. That’s why I’m doing this. Think of it as my way of apologizing.”
There was something she wanted to ask.
Is guilt really all you feel?
Is there no other emotion you feel toward me?
Why do you smile at me so warmly?
One by one, the questions formed.
And one by one, she erased them.
Instead of those embarrassing words, she chose something far more formal.
“Then at least allow me to read a book.”
“Hmm… as long as it isn’t anything difficult. What would you like to read?”
“On the second shelf from the top. The brown-covered book. Please bring it.”
Elric retrieved it.
“A botanical encyclopedia.”
“Yes.”
Tyria accepted the book and ran her fingers over the cover.
She had owned it for over eighteen years.
The pages were worn smooth from use.
“You shouldn’t stay up reading too long. It’s nearly bedtime.”
As he said, darkness had already begun settling outside the window.
Tyria nodded.
“You should go and rest. I’ll read a little and then sleep.”
“Very well. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Only after Elric left did she finally open the book.
Every page contained familiar information.
There was no hesitation as she turned them.
If someone asked why she reread a book whose contents she already knew by heart, her answer would be simple.
She wasn’t rereading it for knowledge.
She was revisiting the memories of the day she first opened it.
“If you don’t know something, then study it!”
Slowly, Tyria drifted into her memories.
* * *
It had been a life devoid of happiness.
Even now, unpleasant things still filled much of her life.
But when she was eight years old, Tyria had been so miserable that she could hardly understand why she was alive at all.
The reason was simple.
The tiny world she inhabited—Wibin—had been a place lined entirely with blades.
When she thought back on those days, one thing came to mind.
Smack!
“If you can’t even do this, what are we supposed to do with you?!”
Punishment.
“Didn’t I specifically tell you to memorize this by today? Lady Wibin, did you truly put in your best effort?!”
Tyria remembered Wibin through punishment.
“Present your calves!”
“…Yes.”
From the moment she learned to walk, she was subjected to etiquette training.
Her instructor was a countess renowned in that field.
Since her parents paid a fortune for those lessons, they expected results worthy of the cost.
One sentence from her father remained vivid in her memory.
“As a noblewoman, you must carry yourself with dignity. If you wish to marry into a respectable family, you must never disgrace yourself.”
Tyria didn’t understand why she needed to marry into a prestigious family.
She didn’t understand why she couldn’t open her mouth widely while eating.
Why she had to be conscious of every step she took.
Why she couldn’t raise her voice.
She simply accepted it.
Those were the rules she had heard since infancy.
Only as an adult did she realize those days had been abuse.
Given that, it was obvious how young Tyria behaved.
“I’m sorry…”
She was always apologizing.
For getting food on her lips.
For running around.
For dozing off in the morning.
For failing to fall asleep immediately at night.
That day was no different.
Unable to keep up with the countess’s etiquette lessons, she was punished with a cane across her calves.
The only difference was that it didn’t end there.
“Your daughter’s progress is remarkably slow.”
The countess voiced her dissatisfaction to Tyria’s parents.
Their pride was wounded.
Unfortunately, they were drunk.
And despite their anger, they lacked the courage to say a single word to the countess herself.
Everything happened after the countess left.
“You can’t even do something this simple?! After everything we’ve invested in you?!”
Smack!
At eight years old, Tyria was struck across the face for the first time.
Not once.
Not twice.
At least ten times, according to her memory.
“Why?! Why can’t you understand what we’re doing for you?!”
The hands slapping her face were violent.
The voices were harsh.
Their towering figures were terrifying.
As always, Tyria apologized.
“I’m sorry!”
She cried.
She begged.
Yet the abuse never stopped.
By the end of the night, her face was so swollen it resembled a steamed bun.
Its original shape was unrecognizable.
She spent the entire night in pain and fear.
That was probably why she did it.
Why she broke the strict order forbidding her from leaving the estate and secretly slipped outside.
Perhaps she simply wanted someone to help her.
“Hic…”
Limping on calves swollen from repeated beatings, Tyria left the mansion.
Her bruised, swollen face streaked with tears as she wandered into the streets.
And that was the day she met Elric.
“What is this? Why is this ugly kid here?”
These days she spent every waking moment agonizing over her feelings for him.
But looking back—
“Wow… I didn’t know a person could look like that.”
Elric’s first impression had been absolutely terrible.
