The Military Doctor Excels at Being a Contracted Duchess - Chapter 25

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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 25】

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“Aaaah! Aah! Aaaah!!!”

At that moment, Ebel grabbed hold of Damian. She threw herself forward and barely managed to catch him as he tried to climb up the tree.

She was covered in dirt and soaking wet, but it wasn’t unpleasant or anything like that. Rather, it felt somewhat refreshing.

‘Maybe this kind of thing suits my constitution.’

Letting out a hollow laugh, Ebel leisurely dodged the hands that were clawing at her.

When several kicks failed to make her let go, Damian’s eyes blazed with fury as he snorted angrily and tried to bite her neck.

When that didn’t work either, this time he truly growled like a beast, showing his anger.

Looking at him carefully, this time it really was ‘Damian’ himself.

“Instead of up in the tree, let’s hide in a corner.”

His excitement level was too high. In times like this, simply saying ‘no’ or ‘let’s go back’ wouldn’t work at all.

When dealing with patients in such an overexcited state, the absolute thing you must not do is give negative commands.

Instead, it helped to understand the patient’s feelings and appropriately reset their purpose to redirect their path.

Ebel looked straight into the child’s eyes and quietly called his name.

“Damian.”

“!”

“Damian. Shall we run away together to a secluded place? Are you scared of the thunder? I’m scared too.”

Just then, lightning struck again.

Damian’s face, pale as a sheet, was fully revealed.

His eyes and nose were red from crying, and blood vessels had burst in his pupils from excitement.

‘Did he always act like this when thunder and lightning struck? Or was there something particularly frightening today?’

Ebel gradually relaxed her body and spoke slowly once more.

Calmly, as if something like this was nothing at all.

“Where would be good to hide? Will you show me? Damian. It’ll be quieter if we go over there.”

Somehow, calling his name seemed to have the effect of lowering his excitement level. Ebel loosened her grip enough that the child could escape if he wanted to, sliding her body that had been pressing firmly from the front to the side.

The subdued Damian still growled and showed wariness, but no longer tried to bite.

‘It seems right that he understands everything that’s said. Could it be selective mutism?’

Even young animals try to run and hide when frightened. Instinctively, they go to the safest place they can find.

‘In other words, the house isn’t safe for Damian. Normally he would hide under the bed, but…’

As she was analyzing rationally, Damian squirmed and broke free from her embrace. Then, instead of trying to climb up the tree anymore, he ran off somewhere.

‘As I thought. Going up the tree was a choice made in excitement. Now that he’s calmed down a bit, where will he go?’

Her feet were throbbing. Easily ignoring such pain, she followed Damian while keeping her distance.

The boy would glance back occasionally as if concerned about her, but at some point he ran and disappeared. When she pushed through the overgrown bushes, she saw an oak tree.

It was a massive tree with a hollow at its base large enough for her to sit in as well.

“Are you cold?”

Approaching with a gentle tone, she stopped in front of the child who was trembling while curled up.

Deciding to ignore her skirt that was already too dirty to salvage, Ebel plopped right down in front of him.

Etiquette and such could go to hell, but honestly it was comfortable.

“Can I sit next to you too? I’m cold.”

“Ugh.”

The boy who had been making unclear grumbling sounds made room with an expression that said ‘I really have no choice but to move over.’

Smiling slightly, she squeezed her body into the cramped space and whispered ‘thank you.’

Whoooosh.

The thicker raindrops pounded the ground.

When she tentatively reached her hand toward Damian, he immediately became fierce and growled.

‘He acts like an animal with bad memories about hands. Has he been hit?’

Who would dare lay a hand on Bayern’s bloodline?

The only one who could do that would be someone of the same Bayern bloodline.

“Did Genevieve hit you?”

Damian didn’t answer. It could have been a frustrating situation, but Ebel remained calm and persistent.

“If that’s the case, she’ll never be able to hit you again. Because I’ll stop her.”

“Grrr.”

“Really. Will you try believing me just once? Whether I’m lying or not.”

There was no evidence of Genevieve’s violence.

Not yet.

‘Victor isn’t the type to knowingly turn a blind eye.’

Maybe she cleverly hit only places that wouldn’t show, leaving no marks, or pinched him, or… what other methods might she have used to torment him?

She wasn’t the type to be particularly creative.

‘If not that, then the children’s hostility toward adults doesn’t make sense. Genevieve also dislikes the children intensely.’

Ebel looked at Damian, who seemed slightly subdued, and sang softly. It was a song her nanny used to sing when she was very young.

“I am a little sweet potato. I will become a big sweet potato. I eat vegetables diligently. Crunch crunch, crunch crunch.”

Hmm, now that she was singing it, the lyrics were somewhat strange.

According to her nanny, it was a song often sung to children in the countryside.

It was odd, but perhaps because he liked the melody, Damian approached her with a more relaxed attitude.

Ebel pretended not to notice and continued singing.

‘Victor will hear this and come looking.’

Ebel, who had been singing loudly and enthusiastically like a frog for fear of being drowned out by the rain, paused at the mumbling she heard near her ear.

Damian was… following along with clumsy pronunciation.

When she stopped singing, the boy growled fiercely. He wanted her to sing more.

‘Damian likes songs.’

That was good information.

How long had they been like that? Vibrations like horse hooves striking the ground echoed, and then Victor appeared, soaked through just like her.

“I found you thanks to the singing.”

“Victor!”

Since she desperately wanted a warm bath, his appearance was most welcome.

But Damian’s reaction was not good at all.

The child who had seemed calm made beast-like sounds again and hid behind Ebel’s back. Victor let out a hollow laugh seeing this.

“Um, Victor. I think Damian is wary because you’re too big. How about lowering yourself a bit?”

Ebel, who had spread her arms as if protecting Damian, spoke gently. Victor followed her words without delay.

Damian was still in a defensive posture, but just having the man who had been standing tall as a mountain bend down made things a little better.

“I think Damian is probably afraid of you. If you treat him carefully like you’re doing now, perhaps you two could become close.”

“Afraid…”

The man who had been murmuring quietly extended his large hand.

It wasn’t a carelessly intrusive feeling, but a slow movement like approaching an injured puppy.

“Damian. Your foot is hurt, isn’t it? Does it hurt? Shall I ask him to carry you?”

The child who clung tightly to her without moving an inch was a warm dampness.

Thump, thump. She could feel his small heart beating.

She had thought her heart had already hardened beyond use, but when the child’s soft cheek touched her back, she felt… an indescribable feeling.

She couldn’t even remember that Damian had just been biting her, getting angry, and being wary.

“If you get carried, you can see very, very high up. It’s more fun than climbing up a tree, you know?”

She could feel Damian hesitating.

Victor took in that scene and waited patiently.

The rain was still falling steadily, and they were all soaked through, but it didn’t bother him much.

If it had been him from before, he would have considered such commotion a waste of time and been quite displeased… but now he was different.

He’d been covered in blood and dust without washing for over ten days before – what was a little rain?

The servants and butler came running urgently, but he gestured for them to stop.

This was a moment when Damian was trying to open his heart, even just a little.

There should be no interference that might stimulate the child.

“…”

The child, who had been hesitating for a long time, finally crawled out with great difficulty when Victor turned to show his back.

Carrying his nephew for the first time, he gestured with his chin for Ebel to get on the horse, then walked on through the rain.

Not knowing what to say, he kept his mouth shut. The damp breath of the young child touching his back… it was quite a strange feeling.

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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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