The horses ran as hard as they could, and when they grew too exhausted to continue, the knight’s party switched to fresh horses and sprinted on again. Never having ridden a horse before, Misha quickly found herself exhausted too. But knowing the reason for their haste, she couldn’t bring herself to complain. Plus, if she complained while being jostled about on horseback, she’d probably just bite her tongue and hurt herself.
Though nerves had kept her tense at first, she had eventually relaxed, leaning her full weight on the young knight behind her. She realized that was easiest, both for her and for the knight. With time, she was even able to accept being so tightly pressed against a man she had just met, though that was mostly because she was too exhausted to maintain any sense of embarrassment.
Once she had managed to force her body to relax, her brain finally started moving again. And naturally, the first thing that came to her mind was her father. What kind of injury was it? How long ago had he been hurt? If he had left the battlefield immediately...maybe three days?
The letter mentioned nothing other than that he was gravely injured and on the verge of death. Misha hadn’t treated many injuries herself, but her mother had drilled the knowledge of what to do into her. Foremost in that knowledge was how difficult it was to treat an injury that had been left to grow worse over time. If a wound wasn’t properly cleaned right away, nasty stuff could get into it, causing the flesh to rot and the blood to get contaminated. Once that happened, even an apothecary had a fifty-fifty chance of saving them at best. The rest was up to the patient’s endurance and luck.
Please let us be on time...!
Jostled back and forth on horseback as she was, there was only one thing Misha could do: pray.
And so, after what felt like an eternity from Misha’s perspective, they finally arrived at the mansion. Their horse dashed right through the front door, taking them much farther into the house than any horse had business going.
Finally slipping out of the saddle, Misha’s legs unfortunately weren’t quite ready for the transition, dropping her to the floor. Her bottom hurt, and her legs were wobbly and weak, just as expected from someone unaccustomed to riding. For a first-time rider, a lap or two around the stable would probably have been the most they could handle if the horse was running at a gallop, but she had been subjected to it for two hours straight. It was impressive she hadn’t just passed out.
But collapsing to the floor like that while everyone else was okay was a bit too embarrassing. And yet, as if her legs now belonged to someone else, no matter how she struggled, she just couldn’t get them to move. Seeing her distress, the knight that brought her thus far lifted her up under his arm.
“I’m impressed you made it here without any whining. You’ll get feeling in your legs again soon. Until then, let’s find a spot for you to rest.”
She nearly yelped at suddenly being pulled to her feet. Still, she could clearly feel the knight’s sympathy through his curt words, leading her to button up.
“Do as he says, Misha,” her mother instructed. “I will go take a look and see what we need. Come along once you can move again.” As pale as she was, her voice was strong. She marched her way farther into the mansion.
“Please, come with me,” an older maid said, guiding a dumbstruck Misha—or rather, the knight carrying her.
They were taken to a guest room facing the inner courtyard. Decorated in a calm and clean style, the room had a comfortable air. The knight set Misha down gently on one of the sofas in the middle of the room. She had honestly expected him to throw her, so his care took her by surprise.
“I will fetch some tea,” the maid declared, heading to the small kitchenette in the corner of the room.
Meanwhile, Misha sank into the cushions. She still felt like she was being shaken back and forth as she watched the maid go. She then turned to look at the knight standing at her side.
She didn’t think she could stomach anything to drink yet, but he would probably be fine. In fact, he probably hadn’t had a minute’s rest since leaving the battlefield. He’d need something to drink for his own health.
“Please, have a seat,” Misha said, motioning to the sofa across from her. After a moment’s hesitation, the young knight sat down.
As the tea arrived, Misha was starting to feel a bit better, so she began rummaging around in her bag.
Hmm. Upset stomach, dizziness, and leg pain?
Eventually she drew out some pills and powder, measuring them out in their proper amounts and mixing them in a small mortar and pestle.
“Sorry, is there any more hot water?” she asked, and by the time she finished speaking, the maid had placed a cup of steaming hot water in front of her. Taking it with a word of thanks, Misha mixed the prepared medicine into it and gulped it down.
The knight watched intently as the girl winced at the taste. “What was that?”
Taking a sip of tea to clear the bitterness from her mouth, Misha thought for a moment. “Stomach medicine and a painkiller. And some herbs that help you feel refreshed.” She assumed giving him the names of the medicines she used would be pointless, so she simplified the explanation for him.
The knight responded with a look of astonishment. “You’re also an apothecary?”
The tools she had laid out on the table in front of her must have looked quite strange. The various small bags of powder she carried probably all looked identical to him. Some would come out a little green, and others a little brown, but there wouldn’t be enough difference for him to distinguish between them.
“An apprentice, and I’ve only just been given that title.” Misha shook her head before popping a sugar candy from the table into her mouth. Being so used to raw fruit and honey, the sharp sweetness of it brought a bit of a scowl to her face.
Taking another mouthful of tea, she slowly attempted to rise back to her feet. She was still a bit shaky but much better than before. After taking a few careful steps to make sure, she nodded.
“I should be okay now. Could you please take me to my mother?” She normally spent her days running about the forest, so she was actually quite sturdy. The unexpected trip on horseback might have taken her by surprise, but she had recovered quickly.
Nonetheless, her rapid recovery was quite the shock to the two accompanying her. The knight had expected her to need an hour or two at the very least, while the old maid had been looking for an opportunity to offer her a bed to rest in.
The knight had needed to carry her into the room, yet as soon as she made some medicine for herself, she immediately stood up and declared she was okay. It was a borderline frightening experience for the two of them. Just what had been in that medicine? And who was this girl, that she could make medicine that effective?
“Umm... Hello?” Misha tilted her head, confused at the two paling faces staring at her. She never would have guessed that her behavior was anything to be scared by.
“Ah, right. They should be with my lord now. I will take you.” The maid was the first to recover, hurriedly stepping forward to show Misha the way.
Grabbing her bag from the sofa, Misha hurried to follow.
The first thing that struck her when she stepped into the room was the smell, bringing a frown unbidden to her face. Medicine, blood, and pus—every bit the scent of death.
Looking around the room, she found her mother standing among the crowd and ran over to her side. Being so used to walking around the forest, she had naturally learned to move softly, so her sudden and unannounced appearance caused more than one of the adults to jerk back in surprise. Meanwhile, her mother didn’t so much as lift her gaze from the mortar and pestle she was working as she started doling out instructions.
“Make an antiseptic to clean the wound. They are boiling water for us already, so start grinding up some lai seeds.”