A Contract Marriage with My Child’s Father - Chapter 46

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 46

 

Startled by Marie, who came running in a hurry and spoke with a terrified expression, I bolted up from my seat.

 

“The training grounds?”

 

“Y-yes…”

 

Marie trembled all over. Her expression looked utterly terrified.

 

Come to think of it, I had heard before that Marie couldn’t stand the sight of blood. She developed hemophobia after the carriage accident.

 

“I understand. I’ll go right away. Do you know how they got injured?”

 

“W-with real swords during tr-training… Hic!”

 

Marie seemed unable to continue speaking and hiccupped. Her trembling eyes reflected self-reproach for being unable to continue her words.

 

“It’s okay. That’s enough information.”

 

Just knowing it involved real swords was enough to determine what I needed to do.

 

I hurriedly swept up everything I could find – hemostatic agents, tetanus medicine, and so on.

 

Then I left the trembling Marie in the apothecary and began running toward the training grounds.

 

The training grounds were located by going straight in the opposite direction from the main building from the annex.

 

Though I was breathless, I didn’t stop and pushed myself to run even faster.

 

The training grounds I arrived at were massive, befitting the Ashern Duchy, but finding where the patient was wasn’t difficult.

 

I could hear murmuring sounds and screams coming from one direction. I headed straight there.

 

In one corner of the dusty training grounds, young men with boyish faces wearing training clothes instead of official knight uniforms were gathered in a crowd. They were apprentice knights.

 

“Hey, hey! The bleeding won’t stop!”

 

“Apply pressure! Apply pressure first!”

 

“Bring ointment! Quickly!”

 

They were in great panic, running around frantically.

 

Among them, I could see an injured person sitting on the ground, clutching his leg and groaning.

 

Fresh blood dripping along his clothes was staining the dirt ground dark red.

 

‘Good heavens. This is a complete mess…!’

 

If left like this, it would be a disaster.

 

I took a deep breath and pushed through the crowd.

 

“Excuse me! Let me through!”

 

“Uh, uh…?”

 

Surprised by the appearance of a stranger, yet overwhelmed by Viola’s presence, they blankly made way for her.

 

“Excuse me, but who are y-you…?”

 

“I’m an apothecary!”

 

There was no time for detailed explanations beyond this. I immediately knelt in front of the injured person and examined the wound.

 

‘It’s deep…’

 

The appearance of the wound was clearly a cut from a real sword at first glance. It seemed like an accident during training… At least it appeared to have missed the artery.

 

“Press this down as hard as you can!”

 

“What? Ah, yes!”

 

The apprentice knight who answered reflexively followed my instructions and applied pressure to the injured person’s wound.

 

“Could you take out the white bottle from my bag?”

 

“Ah, yes!”

 

“Not that one, the one next to it.”

 

The knights who had been at a loss now seemed to regain their senses and nodded vigorously.

 

* * *

 

Apprentice knight Eric had been in chaos until just moments ago.

 

They had simply been swinging wooden swords during autonomous training time when Knight Commander Morden suddenly burst in and shouted.

 

“Wooden swords? Who ordered wooden sword training?”

 

“Instructor Yujin ordered wooden sword training.”

 

“…Useless. Do you think you can become shields for the dragon’s blood by swinging wooden swords?”

 

Morden, who coldly observed the apprentice knights, soon threw them real swords.

 

It essentially meant to train anew with real swords.

 

The apprentice knights immediately followed the knight commander’s sudden order, but something felt unsettling.

 

‘…Is this really okay?’

 

They hesitated since there was no instructor watching, but none of them had the courage to go against the knight commander’s order.

 

So they continued training for a while. Eventually, the feared situation occurred.

 

Someone was seriously injured while wielding real swords.

 

In the confusing situation, Eric and all the apprentice knights were at a loss.

 

Since the knight order’s healer had quit recently, there had been no replacement, and Instructor Yujin wasn’t present either.

 

All they had was some ointment they had received through Eric’s hometown friend Marie recently, but they weren’t sure if it was appropriate to use in this situation.

 

They had certainly learned about emergency situations. But when such a situation actually unfolded before their eyes, none of the young apprentice knights could remain calm.

 

So everyone was in confusion, running around frantically.

 

Suddenly, a pink-haired woman appeared, introduced herself as an apothecary, and began taking command of the situation in an instant.

 

Eric faithfully followed what the woman instructed. Unlike the frightened and hesitant knights, there wasn’t a trace of hesitation in her eyes.

 

She cleaned the dirt from the wound, disinfected it, and treated the injury efficiently, even stopping the bleeding.

 

Finally, she finished the treatment by wrapping the wound with a pressure bandage.

 

Though he was a layman in medicine, her skills seemed superior to even the knight order’s former dedicated physician.

 

It was at that moment. The apothecary seemed relieved and brushed her chest as if her mind was finally at ease.

 

“Thank you all for your hard work.”

 

Only after meeting those melting, sprout-like eyes did Eric realize.

 

He had been too distracted by the urgent situation to notice.

 

The woman’s characteristics were very familiar.

 

Pink hair that looked fluffy like cotton candy. The profession of apothecary.

 

And the biggest characteristic was…!

 

“She’s really kind and beautiful. I hope I can continue to s-serve her forever…”

 

Marie’s boasting seemed to ring in his ears.

 

Eric blinked and looked at her face again. There was no mistake. It matched everything Marie had described without exception.

 

Squirrel Lady!

 

That person was definitely the rumored Squirrel Lady. The Count’s woman!

 

It wasn’t just Eric who figured out her identity, as the apprentice knights exchanged glances with each other. Some even whispered quietly.

 

In fact, she was already a major topic of conversation within the knight order.

 

First, because the ointments she had sent through Marie were extremely helpful.

 

The second reason was due to a scene one of the knights had accidentally witnessed recently.

 

The scene where that cold Count actually carried Squirrel Lady in a ‘princess carry’!

 

‘That Count…?’

 

Though they didn’t know the details, it was a truly shocking story. The people in the knight order had been in an uproar about it for a while.

 

Wondering if spring was finally coming to the Ashern Duchy as well.

 

When they heard that story, they thought it was an exaggeration…

 

But seeing her now, she herself was like a spring goddess. To think someone could smile so brightly!

 

“Is there anyone else who’s injured?”

 

At her worried-sounding question, the apprentice knights blushed slightly.

 

“Yes!”

 

“No one!”

 

While answering that way, Eric regretfully examined his own body.

 

‘Is there anywhere I’m hurt… Even a small scratch would do.’

 

But unfortunately, not a single scratch was visible.

 

Eric was startled and shook his head. What was he just thinking about?

 

“Hey there! What’s going on!”

 

Just then, someone strode into the training grounds with a booming shout.

 

The man who appeared with tiger-like momentum was Yujin, known as the vice-captain’s right hand. He was also their training instructor.

 

“I-Instructor Yujin!”

 

The trainee knight with bandages on his leg looked as desperate as if he’d encountered a demon.

 

Though it was due to the captain’s unreasonable order, the result was that he’d caused an accident using forbidden real swords.

 

Yujin saw the bloodstains and bandages, then frowned and clicked his tongue.

 

“Hah. You really can’t help but cause trouble, can you? Who had the nerve to draw real swords during independent training!”

 

“Well, the captain suddenly…”…”

 

When he carefully pointed out the real culprit, Yujin seemed to have an idea and abruptly stopped moving.

 

“…It looks like treatment is finished, so move the injured person inside.”

 

“Yes!”

 

That’s when Yujin finally realized something strange.

 

Come to think of it, he seemed quite badly injured. Who on earth gave such excellent first aid?

 

There’s no way these trainee knight brats could be this skilled.

 

Yujin turned his head to check the surroundings, but all he could see were the faces of dark-skinned men and a pink crown of hair… wait.

 

‘Pink crown of hair?’

 

He looked down in confusion.

 

“Oh, hello…?”

 

Only then did he see a small woman among the pole-like trainee knights.

 

In the entirely drab training grounds, she alone was glowing brightly.

 

Though this was definitely the first time seeing her face, he felt an inexplicable familiarity.

 

Yujin finally realized the reason.

 

“…Squirrel Lady?”

 

“Yes?”

 

The woman tilted her head with bewildered eyes.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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