Don't Be Holy! - Chapter 4
“Thank you all for your help! Thanks to you, we’ve saved a life today!”
The villagers’ attention shifted to Eir’s face. They studied her carefully—her nearly golden, wavy hair cascading like sunlight on water, her clear green eyes, and her refined features that, while slightly tinged with exasperation, made her undeniably beautiful.
Satisfied with their work, they seemed to conclude, ‘Well, if someone like her lives here, it makes sense.’
“We’ll check on him again tomorrow.”
“Are you sure you’ll be fine alone?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine. He lost some blood, but it’s manageable.”
Alf intervened, his tone a mix of exasperation and concern.
“That’s not what I mean. He’s still a stranger…… but, well, I guess he can’t do much tied up like that.”
After another glance at the restrained patient, Alf chose Eir’s safety over any ethical qualms about leaving her alone with the man.
As they left, the village chief and Alf threw Eir a few lighthearted remarks to ease the tension.
“Anyway, you worked hard treating him. You’re usually clueless, but your eyes turn sharp at times like this.”
With a chuckle that sounded almost like a joke, they stepped out of the house. Exhausted, Eir couldn’t even muster a retort and simply waved them off in farewell.
When she returned home, she found Rubel lying on her precious bed as if he were dead.
His hands were tied over his stomach, and his mouth was tightly gagged.
‘To think the day would come when Rubel Shinote would end up lying on my bed.’
Her head drooped forward from sheer fatigue, but she clenched her fists and forced her eyes to stay open.
Mixing various herbs, she fed the concoction to the man and redressed his wounds. Soon, blood-soaked bandages piled up beside her like a mountain, and the water in the basin turned a deep red.
After taking every possible measure and washing her bloodstained hands, Eir let out a deep sigh.
‘Come to think of it, Granny always told me never to let strangers into the house.’
But this was a man so close to death that it wouldn’t be strange if he expired any moment. Besides, his hands were tied, and his mouth was gagged. Surely it would be fine?
Eir rationalized her decision and double-checked that every locked door in the house, including that room, was secure. Even then, she felt uneasy, so she gathered every lock she had and spent the night installing them. The process made her feel like she had kidnapped someone, but when she peeked into that room, there was no one there.
Only items that must never be touched.
“There’s no way this will open, right?”
And by tomorrow morning, she was planning to shift him somewhere else. No matter what!
She didn’t expect the man to wake up until then.
Eir lay her body down in the rocking chair. It was the house she had lived in with her grandmother, but after her grandmother had left, she had been told to burn all the things she used, so the only place she could rest was here, aside from the bed. Exhausted, Eir closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.
About three hours later, after she had passed out, the man silently opened his eyes in the dark, but Eir, unaware, continued to sleep soundly.
***
“Haam.”
It was past noon when Eir finally woke up. Her small face stretched wide in a yawn, and she groggily rubbed her eyes.
As she forced her eyelids open, she noticed how bright the sunlight was. For a moment, she enjoyed the warmth, but then something felt off.
The pleasant sunlight itself was the source of her unease.
‘That can’t be right. Granny told me to always keep the curtains drawn because of the medicine bottles…….’
Eir’s eyes flew open as she suddenly remembered the man she had brought into her house the previous night.
“I can’t believe this!”
She quickly pulled the curtains shut, starting with the ones near the cabinet full of medicine bottles. Then, she looked around frantically, searching for the culprit.
Her gaze landed on the man sitting calmly at the dining table, staring back at her.
“…….”
The man’s clothes were still filthy, but his face was surprisingly clean, as if he had washed it. Eir’s head turned sharply between the bed where she had left him and the man now sitting upright.
Hadn’t she tied him up? Even if she hadn’t, how could someone on the brink of death look so healthy now?
She was too stunned to speak.
“A-are you alright?”
Eir cautiously approached and placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. At that moment, a delicious aroma wafted through the air, distracting her entirely. Her attention was drawn to the bowl of soup in the man’s hands.
The thick broth, the deep, rich aroma, and the abundance of ingredients—all of it captivated her.
“What is that?”
Without waiting for an answer, she snatched the bowl from him and glared. The man, seemingly puzzled, raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Soup, isn’t it?”
“I know that! But my soup never looked like this!”
“I added some flavor. It was barely edible as it was.”
He drank from his cup as if even the luxurious soup before him didn’t quite satisfy him.
Eir stared at the soup, which contained what must have been her entire two weeks’ worth of food supplies. She wanted nothing more than to grab the man by the collar.
