Dressing Her Wounds

He avoided her question, instead unraveling and ripping off part of his bandages.

"Answer me!"

Looking up with those doe-like eyes of his, he wordlessly handed Code X the unsoiled white cloth alongside a little clay bottle, gesturing to her thigh.

"Elder sister, let's take care of your wound first. I won't look."

In the heat of the moment, Code X had forgotten about the cut on her own leg. And until the little boy had pointed it out to her, she had subconsciously avoided the pain. But now that he mentioned it, the injury stung like a thousand needles pricking into her skin as her robes scraped against the gash.

"I know that you didn't want those guards to know about your wound, but I secretly saved a bit of the poultice the apothecary had given me for you to use." His face lit up with a toothy smile as he nudged the items towards Code X.

She cocked her head in response, not sure what to say. Her pride got in the way of properly expressing her gratitude, and biting her lips, she squeezed out a mere "Thank you" as she took the gauze and the medicine from the boy's small hands.

Especially in an ancient kingdom where medical knowledge was lacking, she would have to treat the wound quickly before she risked having it infected.

"Turn around and make sure no one comes into this alleyway."

Blushing, she felt ashamed at undressing in the general public. It wasn't like she hadn't been forced to do such an act in the middle of her missions, as she would often have to slip out of a disguise and change into another one, but there was something different about taking off her pants in an ancient alley.

"Go stand in front of the alley opening!" Seeing the little boy stand with a blank look of shock on his face, she urged him to move along, half pushing him to the alley entrance. "Make sure no one comes in, or I will have your head! And if you dare sneak a single peek, I will claw out your little pupils."

The little boy opened his mouth.

"Understand?"

He nodded, slowly at first but then almost like a rattle drum.

Perhaps it was Code X's imagination, but a small blush crawled up the boy's cheeks. She shook her head, thinking that it must have been her much-too-active imagination or another failure of her old eyes. There was no way that this young boy would be twisted in his thoughts. He was much too young for this.

But just to double check, she made sure that his back was to her, staring at him for a few moments just to make sure he wouldn't sneak a glance.

With a sigh of relief, she realized that the little boy stood like a stiff wooden log, his body barely moving at all. Instead, he seemed to be so scared that even his breathing was kept to a minimal.

Relieved, she tried to remove her outermost bottom robes, wincing as the bloodied cloth dried into her wound. As she tried to peel off the fabric, the gash reopened, gushing out a new wave of crimson blood. Biting her teeth, she tore the entire strip off in one swift movement, not wanting the pain to drag on for too long.

Yanking off the cap to the medicine, she plastered on a little bit of the creamy poultice onto her thighs. It felt cool to the touch, refreshing in a sense as it helped dull out the pain from her legs.

So when she tightened the white bandage around her legs, although the crimson blood immediately seeped into the white cloth, she barely felt the pain.

This was some good poultice, she mentally reminded herself to invest in some for the future just in case.

Just as she was about to secure her robes again, it suddenly hit her. These legs were thin and fragile, hardly an ounce of muscle in the entire leg. In fact, it was more like a stick with all the leaves beaten off of it.

Shaking her head, she finally accepted the fact that she had gone insane over the strange transmigration. She never thought herself to be the type, but maybe she was really shallow over looks. And for whatever reason, she had apparently hallucinated during the fight to the point that she had seen her former face reflected back at her instead of her current old version.

But why would the guards not have recognized her? There was no way that they also went crazy.

Throwing her head back in confusion and frustration, she tightened the belt around her waist.

"You can turn around now."

The little boy looked up, a million stars twinkling inside his eyes.

"Thank you, beautiful elder sister."

"For a man of such young age, you surely went blind early," she scoffed, not telling if she was more annoyed at how she hadn't actually been back as her former self of if this boy was obviously untruthful.

"But elder sister is breathtaking." His expression was earnest as he took her hands in his little ones once more. "If I could, I would hold elder sister's hands all day."

"Then tell me, who are you?" In lightning fast speed, Code X's arms slipped from his grasp, sliding upward to the boy's neck. She spun him around, holding him in a loose chokehold as his body was pressed against hers so that he had no room to escape. "Stop the smooth taking. It's not going to work when it comes from a little boy barely out of his infancy.

From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of her skin.

Almost with shock, she realized that her hands were young once again.

At once, she released the boy from her grasp, and within a few moments, wrinkled and age spots began to appear on her before-fine skin.

Smiling, the little boy offered his own hands to Code X again, almost as if he knew for sure that she would take it.

"See, I told you that you were beautiful, elder sister." He smiled, his expression playful. "I would never lie to you, elder sister, not when you had saved my life."

And with a more stern expression, he added, "And I never will either."