I’ve Become a S*ave Bride - Chapter 19

Starting with the old woman, Lenette began examining each person in the Pond Garden one by one.

‘It must be because this empire is wealthy—there aren’t any illnesses caused by lack of food.’

Most of the issues were chronic conditions caused by overworking the body over long periods or repeating a single motion in poor posture.

‘But these kinds of illnesses are actually trickier to deal with…’

The reason being that they required the patient themselves to correct their harmful habits. And habits that have been formed over half a lifetime aren’t easily changed overnight. In these cases, nine out of ten people go right back to their bad habits once the pain goes away—and the pain inevitably returns.

‘Still, this is all I can do.’

It wasn’t like she would be living face-to-face with these people for the rest of her life anyway.

Unfortunately, Lenette didn’t feel a strong sense of duty as a “physician.” Especially not in a foreign land where she’d been sold as a slave.

After examining the last patient, Lenette washed her hands in a basin of water.

“You remember what I said, right? You need to massage under your right armpit and your glute muscles morning and night. Since your right leg is naturally shorter, your body’s balance is easily thrown off—and because you mostly use your right side, it’s even worse.”

“Y-yes, I understand.”

The soldier didn’t catch half of what she said but nodded earnestly, listening closely.

“And if it hurts again, come find me anytime.”

“Oh, miss, how could it hurt again after this? Just like you said, I feel completely better now.”

“You never know.”

When Lenette lifted her hands from the basin, the soldier quickly stood and offered her a towel.

One might have hesitated at such a sudden act of service, but Lenette accepted it calmly.

That didn’t mean she forgot her manners, though.

“Thank you.”

“Not at all. I should be the one thanking you.”

“Then I’ll take a short break.”

“Oh! You must be tired from treating patients for ten days straight. I spoke without thinking… Please rest well!”

The soldier, showing proper form as if saluting a superior, gave a respectful bow to both Lenette and Kazen before grabbing his sword and leaving.

Lenette waved at him with a graceful smile, but the moment the door closed, her expression turned stern.

‘That was exhausting.’

“Phew…”

She sat down, patting her shoulders, and muttered inwardly.

‘I’m going to get sick at this rate.’

But despite her complaints, a hint of satisfaction appeared on her face.

‘Still, the results are good.’

Take that soldier just now—he had initially treated Lenette like an ornament in the abandoned palace. He hadn’t spoken to her, hadn’t even made eye contact.

When he first came for treatment, he was so wary that he held his sword the entire time, even pointing its blade at her the moment she tried to touch him.

If not for the words—

“What are you doing?”

—spoken by Kazen, who had been lounging nearby, Lenette might’ve ended up with at least one cut on her pale skin.

Lenette glanced over at Kazen, who was sitting in the corner reading a book.

‘What’s with him reading a book? It doesn’t match his image at all.’

“I’m done treating everyone.”

She spoke while folding up the portable cot she’d been using, but Kazen kept his eyes fixed on the book, not reacting.

Lenette hadn’t expected much of a response anyway, so she continued tidying up.

Then—

“Is that how things usually are in Ecaron?”

Lenette froze mid-motion and straightened her back.

“What do you mean?”

“Can women be physicians there?”

“Ah… Well, it’s not common, but it’s not unheard of either. Unlike in the Tazetra Empire, we don’t place strict limits on women’s roles.”

There simply weren’t enough people to do that. With famine and war constantly cutting down the population, everyone—women, the elderly, even children—had to roll up their sleeves and step onto the field.

“Really?”

Kazen, unaware of such circumstances, lowered his book and looked at Lenette with surprise.

“You’re completely different from the Ecaronians I know.”

It was a vague remark, but Lenette could easily guess who he meant.

‘Probably one of his parents.’

Still, she played dumb and asked, “You know someone from Ecaron?”

It was a direct question, clearly ending with a question mark, but Kazen didn’t answer. Instead, he stood and walked toward her.

“So in Ecaron, it’s not strange for a female physician to touch a male patient?”

“…Excuse me?”

What kind of ridiculous question was that?

She looked up at him with disbelief, and he leaned in slightly, pressing further.

“You didn’t hesitate to touch them.”

“They’re patients.”

“Before that, they’re men.”

“To a physician, there’s no such thing as man or woman.”

At her firm reply, Kazen sat on the edge of the table and gave a short laugh.

“So you’re saying he’s not a man?”

“That’s right.”

“Then… are you saying you did see me as a man?”

“……”

Quick-witted as she was, Lenette immediately understood what Kazen was getting at. It was because of the way she’d been acting around him lately.

Ever since experiencing his strange sleep behavior, she’d instinctively flinched and pulled away at the slightest touch from him. Even if she didn’t want to, her body reacted first.

‘He did find it odd after all…’

When she pressed her lips tightly together instead of replying, Kazen smirked, his lips curling in that annoying way as he leaned closer.

“You flinch even when I barely touch you. Are you conscious of me?”

“…That’s—”

She tried to say something in return, but her voice caught in her throat, and only her lips moved without sound.

“…Think whatever you want.”

There was no point in making excuses now—not when her actions had already spoken volumes.

Cutting off the conversation on her own terms, she turned away sharply. From behind her, a low voice followed.

“Just in case, don’t fall for me.”

Despite how shameless the words could’ve sounded, his tone was entirely serious.

“I hate troublesome things.”

“I won’t be troublesome.”

“You don’t know that.”

Lenette stared at him intently.

It was the definition of self-important, but she had to admit… his face could get away with throwing out lines like that without sounding completely ridiculous.

So instead of wasting energy arguing, she chose to make a vow.

“You won’t ever have to worry about me forgetting my place.”

Nothing more, nothing less—just enough to show she clearly understood his warning.

Perhaps pleased by her neat response, Kazen pulled his face away from hers.

“You’ve worked hard these past few days. Get some rest.”

The words were spoken coldly, not like to a wife, but to a subordinate he’d use a few times and toss aside. Then, without another glance, he left the room.

Left alone in the now tension-free room, Lenette glanced toward the door and muttered in Ekarian,

“He really has no manners.”

She grumbled for a moment but soon composed her expression.

Now wasn’t the time to be irritated by every little action of the palace’s master.

“First, let’s take care of the old lady.”

Lenette pulled out the piece of paper Kazen had given her—meant for recording patient information. She hadn’t been able to use it during treatment with him watching the whole time.

“The old lady’s condition is…”

She began writing out the symptoms and information in handwriting so tiny it was painful to look at. She planned to hide these records deep in her clothing, so conserving paper was crucial.

“Just five names today.”

She intended to use this information to build rapport with the people of the ruined palace.

And through them, she planned to make the surveillance on her as lax as possible.

☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

“Everyone seemed to be in such a good mood yesterday. I bet it’ll be the same today, right?”

Ophelia whispered to the vice captain as she stepped into the workshop. She looked quite eager about what she’d see inside.

“You think so too, don’t you, Vice Captain?”

When there was no reply, Ophelia asked again. But Vice Captain Cameron simply shook his head.

“Please refrain from using honorifics like ‘sir’ with me, Your Highness.”

“……”

With yet another daily correction, Ophelia exaggeratedly pouted her lips.

‘There he goes throwing cold water again…’

“Daws said it was fine too.”

She had said enough that a reluctant “Understood” would have been expected, but the vice captain didn’t say it. He simply furrowed his brow with pity and offered her a strained smile.

“Your Highness! You’re here!”

Just then, they arrived at the workshop, and the engineers who spotted her quickly stood up.

“You’re here again today, Your Highness!”

One of them even dropped what he was doing and rushed over to Ophelia.

“Oh dear, I keep saying you don’t need to come here every day.”

“Everyone’s working hard—how could I not?”

Ophelia answered with a soft smile that crinkled the corners of her eyes. The middle-aged engineer let out a hearty laugh at her harmless expression.

“For us, it’s truly an honor to see Your Highness so often, hahahaha.”

Just a month ago, when Ophelia had first taken charge as the workshop’s general overseer, the mood had been very different.

Now, everyone looked genuinely pleased to see her, and some seemed eager just to speak with her.

Sensing the noticeable shift in atmosphere, Ophelia glanced over at Vice Captain Cameron.

‘See that? I’m doing a pretty good job, aren’t I?’

That was the look she gave him.

But as usual, all she received in return was another troubled smile.

“……”

Ophelia’s expression darkened a little at his deflating response.

‘What’s his problem, anyway…?’