CHAPTER 25 "TREATING THE WOUND" (2)

"Archduke," I leveled my gaze carefully at Kyle, "what did the doctor say when he saw my injuries?"

I tried to ask my question as casually as possible. If the doctor had seen my condition and judged that it was a hopeless case requiring me to lose my right hand and cheek, then I would have no choice but to leave it as it is. Theoretically, I could heal it later when the original owner of this body, Riddel Spencer, returns. Although, at that point it would be a bit impossible to heal it later.

"I didn't show him," Kyle replied.

Truthfully, I had already given up on the idea of healing my body to some extent, but his answer surprised me. Kyle continued to talk as if he were responding to my eyes that questioned why he chose not to reveal my condition.

"I thought that I would call the doctor later, if it turned out you couldn't heal it."

Hmm… I don't think that Kyle is lying.

Secretly, I was immensely relieved to hear that he hadn't shown my wounds to the Romani family's physician. If the specialist didn't see it himself, or was even aware that I had suffered such a severe injury, then I could heal it without raising suspicions. When Kyle asked whether I could heal myself or not, I turned my attention to the wound and studied it. Luckily, the wound was actually not as severe as it looked, and I figured I could just lightly heal it.

"Is it that you can't treat it yourself?" Kyle pressed me again with a serious face.

"No, I can heal it. Although, my abilities can't always restore things flawlessly, but I'm normally pretty good at it."

Just in case, I decided to not heal my hand entirely and figured I would just leave behind a bit of my injury. That way, we would have an excuse in case someone started questioning what had happened between us and why he had called for frostbite medicine. I took Kyle's silence to mean he assented to my plan.

"Then," I announced, "I'll start."

Placing my left hand over my right, I was careful not to touch the wound as I summoned my divine strength. I deliberately decided to take it a little slower, at least until the black part was removed. After my hand reached a state I was satisfied with, I asked for a mirror to heal my right cheek. For my cheek, I decided to treat it until it was completely healed. A long time had passed since I began healing my wound.

"I can only heal it to this extent," I finally said after a while. "Won't it be okay if I just put some medicine on the rest of it? I'll have to ask the doctor for details on the exact treatment I need."

I smiled and held out my hand to show off the results of my efforts. My hand still bore a few symptoms of frostbite, but overall it was not nearly as bad as before. The skin was just a bit discolored compared to normal.

Kyle suddenly stretched out his hand toward mine, but then he hesitated. I was confused. Why did he suddenly do that?

What's going on with him?

He put his hands away as soon as possible, but I was already surprised. Something else had caught my interest over Kyle's unexpected behaviour.

"You're wearing gloves?"

I had seen a pair of white gloves on his hands that looked to be pretty dirty. They were stained with blood and medication.

"Archduke," my voice was full of amazement, "you're the one who put medicine on my wound?"

"No, I didn't."

"Then why are your gloves dirty?"

"They're not dirty."

"Just tell me the truth. You're the one who applied the medicine, right?"

"I've told you already that I didn't treat your injuries," Kyle grumbled. "Just like before, why do you insist on focusing on useless details?"

"Thank you."

"What?"

"What do you mean, 'What'?" my eyes met his as I replied. "When a person is sick, they feel lonely if there's no one beside them. I want to thank you for staying with me. Or is there something else I should be thanking you for?"

I asked my questions with a straight face, but as usual, Kyle just clicked his tongue. He looked to be quite annoyed at my prodding; however, I was very excited. If he truly did treat me, then that meant some human emotions still remained within Kyle. Not only that, but I also believed his actions meant he was starting to care about "Riddel".

I wondered what the situation would be like once I broke his curse and returned to my own world.

The original Riddel will then come back to this body, right?

In that case, Kyle may be able to get closer to the original Riddel sooner than later and build a stronger bond with her. Of course, I could fail to go back to my world, so I shouldn't expect anything. But, even considering that, Kyle's change was definitely in a positive direction.

And even if it's not this time, I'll find a way to go back someday.

I hoped that, after I return to my world, this world's Riddel and Kyle would be able to have a happy ending together.

"Why are you smiling?" Kyle asked flatly upon noticing my sudden happiness. Normally, I would have glared at him, but I was in a good mood so I ignored his blunt tone.

"Because I like this," I beamed.

"… What?"

"When we first met, I mentioned that I wanted to get along with you. I'm glad that it's happening."

"You're talking nonsense again," he was quick to dismiss me, as usual.

"It's not nonsense," I insisted. "It's a nice and pleasant topic."

As I smiled at him, he looked annoyed.

"You," he muttered.

"Huh? I've already told you this several times. No, not 'you', but–"

"Riddel."

"Yes?"

"I already know your name."

"… Ah, really?"

"Didn't you hear me just now? I called you Riddel."

His unexpected reply left me speechless. Kyle just continued speaking as if he had done nothing out of the ordinary.

Only

"I'll tell the doctor to come check on you later, so just continue resting for now."

After finishing his remarks, he got up from his seat. I felt a strange mix of emotions swirling around my head similar to the ones I had felt when we were strolling around the garden.

This is also a good change.

Kyle, who was about to leave the room, suddenly turned his head back toward me.

"Ah," he added, "I guess you should get dressed first. I'll send the maid in."

Huh? What's wrong with my clothes? I lowered my gaze down and realized I had totally forgotten about my nakedness while I was treating my wounds. The blanket had fallen off my chest again and I could see my bare breasts through my hair. And he hadn't even said anything until now!

Hey, you–! F*ck! What a jerk!

Kyle went out before I could throw my pillow at him. He was so annoying.