Chapter 2 – Part 2 

“Commander!”

Anne asked urgently, bending down to touch the area around his thigh where the largest shard of glass had lodged.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Lieutenant Riley.”

Anne lifted her head to look at him with concern.

Evan took a step backward as if nothing had happened, then held out his hand to her.

When he saw that she remained still, he bent down slightly and whispered in her ear.

“What shall we do with them?”

‘Do with them…?’

Anne bit her lip, wondering how far his thoughts went. Until now, she had only endured the pain without complaint. Should she ask him to kill them all? Or to render Gabriel incapable as a man? All sorts of curses she had harbored came to mind as she stared at him blankly.

It almost felt like he would do it if she asked him to.

“Don’t.”

Anne turned her head to refuse.

Evan Davis cupped her cheek and whispered again.

“Why are you trying to be nice?”

Anne looked at him, his voice sounding displeased. She had once harbored such hatred that she carried a medical scalpel with her, thinking she could harm someone. The thought of having that weapon had darkened her mind.

“…I’m not trying to be a good person.”

“That’s a lie.”

Anne found it hard to meet his gaze, as if he could see right through her. Even though his hand on her cheek kept her from looking away, Anne lowered her eyes.

At first glance, Evan’s face was like a sculpture, his flowing blond hair shining brighter than anyone else’s, even in this war zone.

Such a man.

“I’m not lying, I don’t want to get tangled up in this anymore, and if time goes on like this, I’m going to….”

At this, Evan Davis let out a low sigh and nodded. His sharp gaze snapped to the adjutant who had come up beside him.

“Check if the Evian family’s donations are lacking compared to other noble families that haven’t been conscripted, and if there are any violations.”

“Yes, sir.”

“No! That’s ridiculous!”

Anne turned to the loud voice. Gabriel’s face, usually flushed red, had turned vicious. It was the same expression he had when hitting his subordinates—a look Anne knew all too well. Seeing Anne clutching her collar, Evan spoke in a cold voice.

“The military will handle everything. And what are civilians doing in a military hospital, disrupting their work?”

Evan’s words came out sharply, and Gabriel Evian only clenched his fists as if he had been insulted.

Gabriel Evian is helpless in the presence of Evan Davis.

The reason he was so bold was solely because he was the eldest son of a count.

Normally, Anne would have found this one-line passage maddening.

But Commander Davis was treating Gabriel like a child. Suddenly, Evan’s position seemed distant.

“Let these men go now, and Lieutenant Anne Riley, please come here.”

Evan slipped a claw into Anne’s hand and nudged her forward. His other hand tightened around her waist as the sudden movement jolted her.

“Careful.”

She wondered if it was an illusion to feel the thorn in her side.

He pushed open one of the doors to the secluded hospital room, and Evan sat Anne down in a chair in the corner, gripping the chair’s handle with both hands, trapping her in his line of sight.

His piercing navy blue eyes turned to Anne.

“Commander.”

“Is Lieutenant Anne Riley always this way?”

“What?”

“Always avoiding, enduring, and becoming a laughingstock.”

Embarrassed by Evan’s gravelly voice and crooked grin, Anne stammered.

“You say everything you need to say in front of me, and then you just nod and humble yourself in front of a guy like that. I’m going to hear your excuse, because I think I’ve earned it.”

Anne’s lips parted, but she made no reply.

She knows her true self.

Not Anne Riley, not Ba-wool. The inevitable patheticness of it all was now obvious to anyone who hadn’t seen it before.

Suddenly, memories of the past flashed before my eyes.

“You bastard.”

“You, I’m calling you, Ba-wool.”

She remembered seniors who told her to just do as they were told if the head ordered something.

‘Can’t you even do this properly? How will you be useful in society? Use your brain. Both of you are idiots.’

‘Ugh, the man’s hysterical. But Ba-wool, it’s not like you haven’t been through pain once or twice. Why do you do it all the time?

‘…….’

‘Maybe you should write down everything you said verbally. It shouldn’t have come out in the first place. It’s your fault, but why should we have to suffer the consequences? Let’s make it right, okay?’

It was all Ba-wool’s fault. Society was cold, and people were hierarchizing, making everything her fault.

‘I didn’t want that here, either.’

Anne looked at Evan. The crease in his brow told her he was already angry. She realized she’d already screwed up.

“Commander. Why are you being so nice to me?”

“…What?”

“Aren’t we just a temporary fling? Just meeting occasionally to forget our loneliness. You didn’t need to tell everyone I was your lover.”

Evan Davis’s crisp laugh echoed through the room as his bland voice echoed in the hospital room.

“A fling? Lieutenant Anne Riley?”

“Yes.”

“Are you expecting me to pay you? Is that how you want to be treated?”

The words stung.

It wasn’t. Anne wanted to be able to stand beside him, not to be flattered, and she knew best how vain that was.

The words of a commoner in love with a nobleman were not good.

Better to be abandoned, to have a relationship with a predetermined end. Picking and choosing the right words, Anne said something that plunged a knife into her heart.

It was a warning to herself.

“Yes. I’d love it if you paid me.”

“Money…”

Evan smirked. The last time he’d checked in with Kyle, he’d told him that she bought medical supplies on the black market out of her own pocket.

Evan ran a hand through his hair at the foolishness of her behavior.

Other noblewomen would dream of marriage just from being his lover.

It was a self-evident fact.

Considering the rumors about him just from dancing with someone, it wasn’t arrogance. But this woman, even after he declared her his lover, called him ‘just a fling.’

With an innocent face, she claimed to want payment from him.

Evan burst out laughing, followed by a harsh curse word.

“D*mn it. I’ll do whatever you want.”

Pulling away from her, Evan Davis dropped the few gold coins in his pocket to the floor and stalked out of the room.

Left alone, Anne laughed at herself and clutched her stomach.

She laughed like a madwoman for several minutes.

Anne stared at the shiny gold coins lying in a heap on the floor.

Gold coins, the symbol of nobility.

Unlike Milan, which was generally used among the commoners, gold coins symbolized the wealth and status of the nobility. Anne stooped down and began to pick them up, one by one.

It was obvious that Anne Riley would never be able to use them, but Evan Davis would not know that.

She didn’t need to pick up these gorgeous gold coins, but she couldn’t just leave them there..

After all, they were a gift.

* * *

A loud clatter. Even in the unseasonably hot weather, the medics never stopped chattering, never running out of things to talk about.

This reached Anne Riley, but, as usual, she said nothing.

Clink

Setting the syringe down on the tray, Kyle finally gave in to his curiosity and asked her quietly.

“Anne, you didn’t… behind my back… surely not?”

“Why? What kind of answer do you want?”

“Good grief. Either way, it’s worrisome, isn’t it? If you stirred up the Evian family like that and you’re not really the commander’s lover, your safety… ah, never mind. But if you are truly dating the commander… don’t tell me you’ve given him your heart deeply!”

As Kyle’s anxious words drew the attention of the other medics, they began to gather around as if there was something going on. Anne chuckled softly.

Anne let out a small laugh.

“Kyle, you always jump to conclusions.”

“Anne, you’re out of your mind. Why did you get on the bad side of the Evian family in the first place!”

The words stopped Anne in her tracks, but she quickly broke her stony expression and smiled.

“You know how it is. Commoners must do as the nobles say.”

Anne looked at Kyle with desperate eyes, hoping he would agree with her. She felt she might go mad otherwise. She hoped Kyle shared her thoughts.

Only then could she justify the self-degradation she had inflicted upon herself.

Kyle concentrated for a moment, drawing blood from one of the soldiers and undoing the elastic on his arm, before he answered.

“Usually, that’s the case.”

Anne felt relieved and smiled satisfactorily.

“Right. My goal is money. To build a foundation for a happy life, that’s all.”

“What?”

“Kyle, I know many medics follow you. I can trust you, right?”

“Anne, my concern for you is genuine. If you have a problem, you can talk to me. I may not be able to help, but I can listen.”

Anne breathed a sigh of relief at Kyle’s reassurance, then turned her head to the right, as if determined.

“Hey!”

“What?”

“You want to know?”

It was a question without a subject, but Kyle was a quick thinker, and he straightened up and shouted.

“I’m curious!”

Anne nodded as if she knew what he meant.

“I am in that kind of relationship where I receive money from him.”

“Anne, you’re being paid?”