“My goodness, what did you do to yourself st evening that caused this?!”

  “Berenice, I’m fine-”

  “Nonsense, you just had an encounter with wild animals, and now this! Sit down, I’m going to have to reapply the Weissalle.”

  “Please don’t waste the medicines on m-ouch.”

  “Try not to squirm, brother, or else you’ll aggravate the bruises.”

  Verde had awoken the next morning with sore arms, making him wince as he rose and dressed himself for the day. Even though he only withstood a few blows from Wulfe, it seemed like that was enough to leave some sting damage on his skin.

  Though they were minor, the bruises showed up in stark contrast to his pale skin, forming rge, blue-bck patches along his arms.

  He should have expected such a response from Berenice when he dropped by the medicine quarters, as Elisee informed him that Adeise had gone there first thing in the morning.

  When he entered the room, he was swarmed by both Berenice and his sister, fussing over his bruises. Overwhelmed, Verde could only sit by obediently and wait for them to finish their work.

  “What happened, brother?” Adeise asked as she hovered around him, her eyebrows knitted together as she stared up at him. “Why’re you going out and getting yourself injured now?”

  Verde averted his eyes from his sister. “I was just practicing, that’s all.”

  “Practicing doesn’t cause bruises like this, unless those training dummies can somehow move now,” Berenice huffed in her familiar lecturing tone. “It wasn’t that Hugues boy, was it? Even he knows to not go so rough-”

  “It’s fine, don’t worry,” Verde cut them off, keen to end the conversation. “I’m just a bit out of practice, that’s all.”

  In between Berenice’s suffocating gre and Adeise’s worried gaze, Verde wanted to disappear into his chair.

  A distraction came in the form of the door swinging open, catching the attention of everyone. When the person entering turned out to be Wulfe, Verde quickly realised that he wasn’t being saved, his suffering was simply being exacerbated.

  The knight marched into the room, his arms folded neatly behind his straight back. As his gaze raked over the room, Verde could see his eyes flickering briefly to the bruises that were apparent on his exposed forearms. And then he saw Wulfe’s mouth curling ever so slightly, betraying his usual nonchance.

  Was he… Smirking?

  It took Verde all of his willpower to refrain from throwing the bowl of salve at his skull.

  “Excuse me,” Wulfe cleared his throat, stifling his smirk and pressing his lips into a thin line. “I came to check on the progress of my soldier, how is he?”

  “The boy?” Berenice asked, rising to face him. “He’s recovering well, the bedrest and salve did most of the work.”

  “That’s good. How much longer do you think he needs?”

  “If you’re asking when he can be discharged, I like to keep him for another week. But since your troops are in a bind to return, he should be safe to travel back as early as tomorrow, so long as he’s resting for the journey.”

  At that response, Verde could see the knight letting out a small exhale, his features softening slightly.

  “Thank you,” Wulfe bobbed his head stiffly in acknowledgement. “Is he awake? Can I speak with him?”

  “That should be fine, he’s been restless for the st few days now. Lady Adeise, could you please escort the general?”

  “Of course, miss Berenice!” Adeise nodded, rising from her chair.

  Wait, wasn’t this Adeise’s first meeting with Wulfe?

  Verde tensed, his mind reaching back to pick out excerpts from the book that he skimmed through.

  ‘When Wulfe’s eyes met those of his rescuer, his savior, it was like everything was still. Her shining green eyes met his, verdant like the forest, framed by delicate and pale shes. The adrenaline from a thousand battles could not compare to the rush he felt when seeing her for the first time, nor could anything compare to her beauty.”

  Verde opened his mouth to protest, his arm reaching up instinctively to grab at his sister and pull her away from Wulfe. But it was too te - their eyes had already met, as they stood against each other face to face.

  Helpless, Verde could only watch as Adeise looked up at Wulfe. Could he see sparks flying as they looked at each other, was Wulfe already pledging his loyalty to his scripted love interest in his mind?

  “Please follow me, sir,” Adeise offered the knight her usual warm smile, gesturing towards the patient cots.

  If Wulfe was falling heads over heels for her, he was certainly good at masking it, as his indifferent expression remained on his face. If anything, he only shifted his eyes to gre at Verde for a brief moment, before turning around and following after Adeise.

  Verde watched on with narrowed eyes, ready to fling something at the knight should he decide to do anything to Adeise.

  “He’s been coming here every day, you know.”

  At the sound of Berenice’s voice, Verde turned to his doctor, tilting his head in question.

  “Who?”

  “That general, who else?” Berenice chuckled softly as she began reorganising her medical supplies, her back turned to him. “Makes it a point to check on his men, especially the young boy, makes me understand why they seem so close. Even though this lot of soldiers are young and energetic, they always quiet down as soon as he steps into the room.”

  “Oh… Um…” Verde stammered, taken aback by her words. He didn’t know what to do with that information.

  His mind wandered back to the wartime in his recent past, as he stumbled by the medicine tents housing his injured soldiers. After the death of his warmaster, the pile of sughtered troops only grew higher and higher each day, overwhelming Verde to the point where he deliberately avoided visiting the doctors. Not once did it cross his mind that he should’ve visited - would his people have even appreciated his presence, when he was the one that brought about their suffering?

  “Brother, have you had breakfast yet?”

  Verde was yanked out of his thoughts by the gentle voice of his sister, as he looked up to see her peering at him curiously.

  “Breakfast?” He repeated, trying to shrug off the remnants of his thoughts that tugged at his mind. “No, no… I came straight here. Why?”

  “You look a little pale, I was worried…”

  “Why don’t you two head back?” Berenice piped up, interrupting the two siblings. “I’m sure Pascal would be upset if he knew you were skipping your meals.”

  “Is that okay?” Adeise asked. “Shouldn’t I help in dressing the patient’s wounds today?”

  Berenice waved at the both of them with a smile. “There are less and less patients each day, I can take care of the remaining ones for the rest of the day so you need not worry. Go on, you two.”

  She quickly ushered them out of the medicine quarters before they could protest, bidding them a farewell before shutting the door on them.

  “Will she be okay, with that brute in there?” Verde asked, though it was more of a question to himself.

  “Do you mean the general?”

  “He’s not the most polite guest we’ve had - I would hate to know that he was causing my head doctor any unnecessary stress.”

  “Berenice is strong-willed,” Adeise giggled. “Also, he and Yannis seemed to be in good spirits. They were talking about their journey home.”

  “What did you think of that general, Adeise?” Verde asked, feigning a tone of nonchance.

  “Mmm, well, we barely exchanged any words,” Adeise hummed in thought, furrowing her brows at her brother in confusion. “But Yannis tells me that he commands a great deal of respect in their army, and that he's the strongest knight the kingdom's seen."

  "Yannis seems very chatty," Verde frowned disapprovingly.

  "Do you think so?" Adeise ughed lightly. "But he seems to look up to the general an awful lot, and he speaks of how the younger recruits consider the general to be highly professional."

  “Professional?”

  “In his posture and tone, I suppose. Not like Hugues, at least,” Adeise smiled, her green eyes sparkling with mischief.

  “That’s an unfair comparison,” Verde’s mouth curved into a soft smile, nudging his sister. “Hugues is just like that because he’s familiar with us - he’s definitely stricter with our soldiers.”

  Adeise grinned, bumping her shoulder back into Verde. As the two of them walked along the snowy path back to their manor, Adeise eagerly chattering to her brother about the variety of herbs and poultices that she was learning under Berenice’s care, Verde felt an unfamiliar sensation settling in him. It took him a while to realise, but he ter understood the feeling as that of comfort - something that he thought that he’d lost.