OPDSP 18

“By the way, Your Grace, what brings you to me…?”

Aeryl took a sharp breath and whispered,

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief.”

“I just had a strange feeling. But you look fine, so that’s enough.”

With that, the Grand Duke turned and went back to his place.

‘A strange feeling?’

It seemed his pheromones had leaked out when his emotions suddenly surged. The Grand Duke must’ve sensed it and come over. Aeryl hadn’t expected him to be so attentive, and honestly, it was surprising. He stared blankly at the Grand Duke’s retreating back.

‘Even I’m wavering like this when I’m perfectly fine—how is he managing to endure?’

Fighting every day in this forest in such an unstable state, both physically and mentally… It wouldn’t be possible with ordinary willpower.

He remembered those palms, torn to shreds with nail marks. Knowing what kind of pain the Grand Duke was enduring made that dignified back taste bitter in his mouth.

‘He does look better than yesterday.’

The medicine seemed to be working better than expected. Adjusting the dosage and timing might just be enough. He was glad he could be of help—relieved, even.

‘Whew, I really thought I’d be stuck beside the Grand Duke, having weird thoughts.’

He’d preserved his dignity. Though it only temporarily raised his pheromone levels, it wasn’t a fundamental solution. He also had to be mindful of side effects.

They reorganized the formation, moved, and purged monsters. It was a simple routine repeated over and over.

Aeryl had to treat the wounded between those moments, but people sought out the medics instead of him. Even though his healing magic was far better than the simple treatments medics could offer.

‘Do they really have to go this far just to ostracize one person?’

It was absurd, but he couldn’t drag people over to heal them if they didn’t want it, so he had no choice but to stay put. As a result, he had nothing to do.

‘Standing around alone doing nothing feels awkward.’

He wandered here and there, observing the Grand Duke or examining nearby herbs. But at some point, he sensed something off. He subtly turned his head.

‘Huh? That woman?’

A woman with striking navy hair stood a step away. He remembered she was a porter. Unlike other porters who always moved in groups, she was alone, as if it were natural, making her stand out.

‘Am I imagining things? Something feels…’

Aeryl moved as if inspecting something elsewhere. The woman followed and again stood a step away.

‘Why is she following me?’

He’d thought it odd how she kept ending up nearby during their movements earlier. It didn’t seem like a coincidence. Yet she didn’t seem to have any business with him—she didn’t speak or even look at him.

‘Feels like people are staring more because I’m with her.’

There were more sideways glances in his direction. He was already sensitive from being ostracized—this woman’s behavior only made him more self-conscious.

Eventually, he couldn’t hold back and spoke up.

“Excuse me, why are you following me?”

“When I saw you earlier, I thought I shouldn’t leave you alone,” she replied bluntly.

Was she worried about him? She seemed to be looking out for him, but her expression and tone made it hard to tell.

“Thank you for your concern.”

He expressed his gratitude anyway.

“What’s your name?”

“Innis.”

“I see. I’m Aeryl.”

They exchanged names.

“But… is it okay for you to help me? I think I’m being ostracized.”

“Ah…”

Innis glanced toward the soldiers.

“Those idiots aren’t worth paying attention to. Always getting swept up in gossip.”

Her words were harsh, but there was something oddly friendly about her tone.

She was a porter, yet seemed familiar with the soldiers? But he’d never seen her mingling with them.

So they really were talking behind his back. Figures.

“Well, that’s a relief.”

Aeryl turned his attention back to the herbs. After that, Innis never left Aeryl alone, except when handling monster corpses. She didn’t initiate conversation—she simply stayed nearby. But even that was enough to calm him down significantly.

Her expressionless face seemed to be just how she naturally looked. Innis answered every question Aeryl asked. Thanks to that, Aeryl found out that the reason morale was low today was because of the Grand Duke’s injury yesterday.

‘If they knew he fainted, it’d cause a huge uproar.’

Aeryl completely understood why the Grand Duke was pushing himself so hard to go into battle. Honestly, he felt bad now for thinking he was overdoing it at first.

‘I should treat him better.’

Aeryl cut down the number of things he wanted to test on the Grand Duke’s body.

Because of the low morale, the battle lasted longer than usual, and they returned about an hour later than expected. When they got back to the base, the people left behind greeted them with worried faces.

After briefly entering the tent to organize the log, he came back out and caught the savory scent of food being prepared for dinner. Aeryl followed the smell to the dining area. The cooks were serving food, and a long line had already formed. Most of the faces were unfamiliar.

‘Do I just line up?’

As Aeryl hesitated, Mason, who was somewhere in the middle of the line, spotted him and waved.

“Sir Aeryl! You’ve come to eat?”

“Yes. I was thinking of getting in line.”

“No need for that. Please wait over there, where I left my coat. I’ll bring your meal to you!”

“You don’t have to go that far.”

“I haven’t even properly thanked my savior. At the very least, let me serve your meal.”

Mason looked so pitifully dejected as he said this that Aeryl had no choice but to nod. Somehow, it reminded him of the big dog his sister used to raise.

“Then I’ll wait over there. Thank you.”

“Yes, sir!”

Mason’s face instantly lit up, and a smile also appeared on Aeryl’s. Helping someone with the skills he had trained so hard to acquire—and being appreciated for it—filled his heart with pride.

‘I’m glad I studied so hard.’

But there were those who were watching this heartwarming scene with cold eyes—Fedel and the other two military doctors.

There were three military doctors in the subjugation unit besides Aeryl: the supervisor Kyla, the female doctor Jenx, and the male doctor Beryl.

“What the hell? That guy’s the new doctor, right?”

“Yeah, that’s him. He ignores us but gets along fine with the knights? Even eats with them.”

From the military doctors’ perspective, Aeryl had already earned their dislike.

Three days had passed, yet he hadn’t once shown his face to Kyla, his superior, or to them, his colleagues and seniors.

They could understand if he was overwhelmed on the first day, and they knew he’d been assigned to the combat unit yesterday. But at the very least, he should have visited the medical ward this morning.

To them, it felt like he was completely ignoring them. And now, seeing him eating comfortably and receiving special treatment from a knight—it was hard not to take offense.

Aeryl had no idea this was how they saw it. From his point of view, it was the military doctors who had been ostracizing him.

He had definitely tried to greet them on the first day, but they told him to wait because they were busy, and then left him alone. In the meantime, the Grand Duke had collapsed, and Aeryl had exhausted himself nursing him all night.

This rift in perspective was entirely Fedel’s doing. His instigations were the cause of the current situation.

But Fedel felt no remorse. In fact, he was pleased the military doctors disliked Aeryl. If they didn’t, he might have gone mad with jealousy.

The fact that Aeryl—someone he had looked down on—was actually highly skilled and being recognized for it was driving Fedel insane.

Aeryl was living the very life Fedel had dreamed of.

‘That newcomer… how dare he…!’

Fedel’s heart seethed with jealousy, inferiority, and malice. The tree branches overhead trembled, nearly blocking out the sky, and a deep shadow seemed to engulf him.

“He’s doing it again,” Fedel muttered deliberately within earshot of others.

“Huh? Doing what again?”

A member of the purge unit took the bait. Fedel smiled inwardly.

“Look. The people who were on the combat team today—the knights are fine, but the soldiers are all injured, right?”

This was because of the rumor Fedel had spread, making the soldiers reluctant to approach Aeryl. And yet, Fedel twisted it to make it seem like it was Aeryl’s fault.