Chapter 1 – Part 3

“Anne…”

Kyle looked toward the door, subdued, and groaned out the words.

“Anne?”

Evan Davis’s gaze turned to the entrance of the tent as he too was subdued.

Anne looked as if her beige military uniform had been soaked with blood to the point of turning dark red. A closer look revealed a red bruise on her cheek.

‘I wonder who the hell hit her….’

It was clearly a mark from being hit by someone.

‘D*mn it.’

The battlefield was no place for that young woman, and there was going to be an argument centered around her.

It was time for Evan to once again consider getting rid of the royal seal stamped on the woman’s contract.

Anne stepped closer and shouted.

“I need you to let go of Kyle right now.”

“This guy?”

“Yes. Kyle has no sense of exercise. If he gets muscle pain just before he has to work…”

“What?”

“Anne, no.”

It didn’t seem to matter to her that Kyle was red from ear to ear with embarrassment.

Evan let out a small laugh.

“Alright. Here’s the deal. If you promise to stay here alone while the rest leave quietly, I’ll let him go.”

“I can’t do that.”

Despite Kyle’s protests, Anne nodded and said it coldly.

“Fine. Have someone escort him out. And Kyle, hurry to the hospital. The patients you’ve admitted… some might be on their last breaths right now.”

“Anne! You too….”

“It’s an order.”

As Kyle eventually left the barracks, Anne watched and thought.

It was clear why the commander had called her here. She’d made a fool of herself around the patient.

He must not have liked the idea of leaving the hospital in her hands.

Finishing her thought, Anne looked at Evan.

He had blond hair that glistened slightly in the sunlight and blue eyes.

He had a face that could be mistaken for gaunt, but his unusually stiff posture gave him away as a ‘duke-born commander’.

‘Handsome. ’

“What do you want?”

“That you pack up and go home at once.”

“That seems unfair.”

“Unfair?”

“Yes. Unfair.”

“With such an unremarkable record, well, if you’re good at cleaning, that would be lucky.”

Evan’s tone, rather than being sarcastic, seemed genuinely concerned about Anne’s abilities.

Knowing this, Anne’s eyes narrowed.

If she quit now, she would never be able to buy the small bunkhouse of her dreams, and she would be living on the streets again.

The last thing she wanted was to be alone.

There was something comforting about staying here with Kyle and the other medics, even if it was in a war zone where lives were at stake.

Anne whispered firmly and somewhat mournfully.

“I can’t.”

“Why?”

She was speechless when he asked her why.

Could this man understand her determination to work hard and enjoy life?

Probably not.

How many times had she heard the news that the Duke-turned-commander who had gone on a mission had returned and his legendary anecdotes before coming to this barracks?

To make sure she didn’t make a fuss, Anne began reciting her mission as a doctor that she had seen on TV when she was a teenager.

“When I see people hurt, it breaks my heart, so if I can help, I’ll sacrifice my sleep, my food, my clothes… no, I’m even willing to sacrifice myself for them.”

Then the corners of his mouth twitched.

She’s trying to deceive someone who routinely captures and interrogates prisoners.

“Even if it means getting beaten up?”

Anne covered her cheeks with her hands, in denial.

This was the kind of thing that could be… tolerated.

“I fell and hurt myself.”

“Who hit you, a common private? Or is there some other reason you can’t tell me?”

“…….”

It was no secret that she’d been hit by the Count of Evian, who periodically patronized Carl Hessen’s Field Hospital. Anne’s hands were shaking.

If she wanted to keep her job, no one else had to know about the violence in this hierarchy.

“Alright. You don’t have to say anything. It’ll all be nothing once you leave here anyway.”

His words opened a wound she’d forgotten she had.

Even though she was being treated unfairly, if she just kept her mouth shut, everything would disappear as if it had never happened, not just in Korea but here too.

Maybe she was repeating the same foolishness as in her previous life.

She used to think, ‘It’s inevitable. I just have to endure this.’ Even in those nightmare-like times when she was bullied and harassed for baseless rumors.

‘Ba-wool, you fool.’

Anne chewed her lip hard, realizing she was being silly again.

Then it happened.

The man’s thumb brushed across her lips. She was so startled that she took a step back.

The man leaned in even closer, cupped her cheek, and commanded her sternly.

“Stop biting your lips. And if you need money, I’ll give you a job at the Davis Mansion.”

With his other hand, he pulled an expensive ring from his pocket and handed it to Anne.

This is not a favor, but a command.

Feeling a little resentful, Anne’s eyes widened, and she pulled his hand away from her cheek, saying,

“I’m not leaving.”

“Lieutenant Anne Riley. The military is a place where you follow orders from your superiors, and it doesn’t matter if you think they’re being unreasonable; I have no intention of letting a mere twenty-year-old stay here.”

“Commander Evan Davis, what the hell is your real reason for wanting me out, if that’s what you’re after….”

The words didn’t finish, and a frighteningly cold gaze met Anne’s.

“Such a thing? Has anyone here made such a demand of you?”

Anne swallowed dryly, tensing at the sharpness of the voice. She felt like she’d just made a mistake.

“…….”

Evan’s lips drew an arc.

“Lieutenant Anne Riley, I don’t care what you’ve been through or how you’re going to be treated.”

Simply put, as long as this woman caused trouble for the military, she would be sent away.

“If it seems like a bad sprout, cutting it off is the right thing to do.”

“It’ll be a good sprout!”

Evan snorted at her cheeky response.

“Let’s find you a place to live after you’re discharged.”

A bitter wind blew into the barracks, but neither of them stirred so much, just looking into each other’s eyes.

Anne had no intention of obeying such an arbitrary order.

“…….”

“Answer.”

His fingertips moved back to her lips.

For a moment, she took a step back, but then he added in a low voice.

“Speak up, unless you want me to call the medics.”

“That’s….”

“Don’t tell me you’re carrying a child on your belly….”

“No!”

Evan sighed with relief at her answer, but still, he brushed his hand over his head as if troubled.

‘Well, that’s a relief.’

‘Relief? ’ Evan’s heart sank, strangely enough, as he watched her cute lips curl in displeasure.

From the thought of occupying this place maliciously, he now found it foolish for a woman to be alone in this dangerous place.

Unbeknownst to himself, Evan was worrying about Anne.

‘A week, until I can find something bad about here, should be enough.’

“Anne Riley, you have one week to prove yourself, and if you can’t, you don’t deserve the thousand millan salary, and you’ll have to relinquish the title of lieutenant.”

“…I will.”