A Reason Beyond Conscience

The answer Leon Valcherio gave was something Shana had never imagined in the slightest—he treated it as if it were nothing more than exaggerated whining.

“No, Vice-Captain. Your direct superior nearly died just now. How can you possibly react like that?”

“The Captain would never die in such a situation.

Even on the battlefield, no matter what crisis he faces, he has never once shown agitation in front of his subordinate knights.

So why would he say something like that to a fragile young lady who cannot even fight?”

“Well… that’s…”

“If I had to guess, perhaps he was exaggerating a bit because he wanted to receive your concern, Lady.

Or perhaps it was simply a joke.”

A joke?

The words If I return alive, grant me a wish were just a joke?

Shana’s brows knitted slightly.

“That’s a little disappointing. He’s never once joked with us like that.

It seems the Captain thinks of you as someone very special.”

Leon said this while staring intently at Shana.

That gaze felt a little uncomfortable.

“…He doesn’t joke? Lucian?”

Lately, all he ever did was joke.

“Well, of course.

On a battlefield where lives are constantly at stake, jokes are a luxury.

I’ve always thought the Captain to be an extremely serious and reliable person.

He possesses perfect self-discipline, unrivaled ability, and leadership that completely commands his subordinates.

If there ever comes a day when I must give my life, I’ve always thought I would want to offer it for the Captain.”

His shining eyes made it clear he wasn’t just saying empty words.

He truly meant it.

‘This guy’s loyalty is a bit excessive…’

He clearly had no idea what Lucian was really like.

He seemed to worship him as nothing more than a perfect hero.

For some reason, Shana felt a faint sense of distance and took a step back.

Meanwhile, Leon wrote down the information Shana had told him about the monster in a small notebook.

“Thanks to you, I can now at least file a rough report about the monster.

Thank you for the valuable information. If it’s not too rude, may I ask your name?”

“…Shana Crowell.”

‘I deliberately didn’t introduce myself earlier because I didn’t want him finding out I went to the border with Lucian.’

But since he had asked, she had no choice but to answer.

Shana sighed inwardly.

Even if she tried to lie, it would be obvious soon enough.

“Crowell…My apologies, but how is that spelled?”

Leon seemed unfamiliar with the surname Crowell.

Well, it was a fallen baronial family.

“Like this.”

Shana handed him a modest business card she always carried in her bag, decorated with a drawing of medicinal herbs.

Leon accepted the card and carefully placed it inside his coat.

For some reason, his blind devotion bothered her.

If Lucian ever faced a truly dangerous situation he couldn’t handle, what would this man do then?

Shana watched Leon’s departing figure for a moment.

Then she suddenly noticed that his gait was subtly unnatural.

“Vice-Captain. Is your right ankle bothering you? It looks like a sprain.”

“…How did you know?”

Leon turned around, startled.

He had been walking while subtly circulating mana around the injury so it wouldn’t show, but to Shana it was obvious.

“I could tell from your walk. Excuse me for a moment.”

Shana crouched down and grabbed Leon’s ankle with both hands.

“W-wait a moment… Lady! Ah!”

Crack.

With the sound of bones snapping into place, Shana quickly twisted his ankle to the side before returning it to its proper position.

“W-what was that…?”

“Try moving it.”

Leon still looked extremely flustered, but he soon rotated his ankle a few times.

Then a look of amazement spread across his face.

“Incredible… the pain is gone. And my ankle moves much more smoothly now. What kind of medical technique is this?”

“I just stimulated the muscles.”

People who regularly strengthened their bodies by circulating mana often overused certain muscles without realizing it.

If you loosened them like this once, it usually fixed the problem.

Shana rummaged through her herb pouch and took out an ointment with muscle-relaxing properties.

“Apply plenty of this ointment before going to sleep tonight. It should heal within a few days.”

“Thank you.”

Leon smiled.

Shana immediately held out her palm toward him.

“The ointment costs ten silver.”

Leon stared blankly at Shana’s face, clearly not expecting she would charge him.

Shana looked straight back at him, her expression saying, Does this look like a joke?

“Ah…”

It was practically forced sales, but Leon obediently took out his wallet and handed her the money.

‘As expected.’

Noblemen usually couldn’t refuse in situations like this because of their pride.

It made them perfect targets for overcharging.

Shana quickly slipped the money into her apron pocket.

After that, the nursing continued until Lucian woke up.

The doctors came and went, changing the bedsheets and writing notes on Lucian’s condition chart, but they didn’t really do much else.

Left with little choice, Shana started personally taking care of him.

Since she had the plausible title of Lucian’s personal apothecary, no one stopped her from staying by his side.

Shana prepared recovery herbs and tools she had hurriedly brought from the apothecary, anticipating when Lucian would wake.

Periodically, she helped him sit up and carefully fed him flower tea or water.

A full day passed like that.

Night had deepened once again.

Shana had been dozing lightly in a chair when the sound of rustling from the bed suddenly made her jerk her head up.

“…Shasha.”

“Lucian?”

Shana immediately stood up.

“This isn’t… the apothecary.”

Lucian looked around the room.

Since it wasn’t his first time in the Imperial Palace’s treatment ward, it sounded like he was asking why he was here.

“…I called the Imperial Knights.”

Lucian didn’t seem pleased about the situation.

His expression darkened instantly.

“Your internal injuries were serious, so we had no choice but to bring you here.

You should be grateful it didn’t end up requiring surgery.”

The doctors hadn’t actually mentioned surgery.

That would only happen if the internal injuries were far worse.

But Shana deliberately exaggerated.

‘This is a good chance to fix his habit of recklessly pushing his body.’

It was hard to believe he had faced dangers like this countless times on the battlefield and simply brushed them off.

He seemed to have a habit of acting cool and pretending nothing was dangerous in front of others.

“I liked it better when it was just you and me, Shasha.”

Lucian muttered in a slightly hoarse voice.

The light complaint didn’t sound unpleasant.

If anything, it felt like proof he was truly alive.

Shana quietly murmured,

“…I’ve been taking care of you the whole time, so don’t be upset.”

“Really?”

Lucian asked while grabbing the damp cloth resting on his forehead.

“This too?”

“Yeah.”

Lucian smiled playfully.

Then he pointed to his hair.

“Then what about this? Did you comb my hair too?”

“I did.”

Lastly, Lucian grabbed his pajamas with both hands.

“Then this too…Did Shasha change me into this?”

“I did not!”

Shana shouted without thinking.

Her face heated instantly.

After clearing her throat once, she said firmly,

“Of course the palace attendants changed you.

And since we’re in the Imperial Palace, don’t call me Shasha in front of other people. Call me Lady Crowell.”

Even though the treatment ward was far from where the imperial family lived, it was still the Imperial Palace.

She didn’t want strange rumors spreading about the two of them.

“What? Lady Crowell?

You want me to call you something that stiff? Shasha is Shasha.”

“My name isn’t even Shasha.”

It was just a nickname Lucian had arbitrarily started using when they were children.

“This won’t do. Let’s go back to the apothecary…”

Lucian tried to get up from the bed.

Shana immediately pressed his shoulder and forced him back down.

“That’s a discussion for after you recover.”

Shana let out a long sigh.

There was no way he was in any condition to leave yet.

“By the way, I brought you here on purpose so you’d receive proper treatment.

Why is no one paying attention to you? Shouldn’t all the doctors here be fired?”

“That’s because I’m fine.”

Lucian said indifferently.

“No you’re not.

They didn’t even properly examine you.

It felt like they’d just leave you alone unless you were literally about to die.”

“It can’t be helped. I have Mana Rejection Syndrome, so magical tools can’t be used on me.”

“…I didn’t realize Imperial medicine depended that much on magical tools.”

It was Shana’s mother who had passed down pharmaceutical knowledge to her.

Her mother had been a skilled healer from a neighboring kingdom and had taught Shana many things.

Shana had vaguely known that most treatments in the Empire relied on magical tools.

But she hadn’t expected them to neglect even basic herbal medicine.

“Shasha.”

“What.”

“Were you worried?”

“Of course.”

She couldn’t deny it.

Part of the reason he had gotten hurt was her fault as well.

Until Lucian woke up, she had been sick with worry the entire time.

“Really?”

Lucian’s blue eyes sparkled with anticipation.

As if he had been waiting a long time just to hear that answer.

Shana unconsciously avoided his gaze and added bluntly,

“You got hurt trying to save me, and…it’s only natural. I do have a conscience, you know…”

Lucian leaned closer to her.

“Hmm. Is that all?”

Lucian gazed steadily into Shana’s eyes.

“Huh?”

“I’m asking if there’s any other reason besides that.”

‘If you asked whether wanting to help Lucian came only from a sense of conscience…’