North x Northwest
Chapter 181

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Levi, as tall as Ed, stood in front of the bed as if protecting Lil. The message from her bulging eyes was clear. But even though Levi was shielding the bed to the best of her ability, Ed could still see Lil, who was lying on the edge of the bed due to the need of a change of clothes. Ed gaze briefly lowered to the blood-soaked clothes on the floor. At the same time, the maids around the bed gathered the stained dress and basins before leaving the room.

Remarkably, Levi seemed to be unconditionally standing her ground. However Ed didn’t want to argue with Levi, especially with Linhardt there, so instead he hurriedly looked away from her. With the bed on his right, his line of sight drifted towards the left. The space in front of the fireplace was in disarray due to the decorative sword above it being forcefully removed, and a little more left lay a tumbled chair and a broken vase.

His face twitched slightly as he slowly looked around the room, and then, like a possessed man, walked forward. Ed’s eyes narrowed while focusing his attention towards the decorations on the mantelpiece.

“So, she drew a sword…”

Linhardt let out a sigh and repeated his words.

“Yeah, you heard me, right? A sword on us…”

“And then something like this?”

“..?”

Ed turned away from the fireplace and headed for the window. He started off walking normally but suddenly stumbled like someone drunk. It was because the carpet had been scuffed messily, hence resulting in Ed mimicking the stride and steps of Lil. As he followed Lil’s traces, his face grew more and more delighted. After passing the remains of the vase and the overturned chair, Ed finally reached the window.

“Like this! She walked like this!”

With an expression undeniably filled with joy, Ed’s shoulder shook greatly every time he breathed in.

Against the background of the night, Ed’s excited face was reflected in the glass. Noticing that he could see the night view outside, he realised that the curtains had been opened.

Ed cheerfully asked why the curtains, he had closed himself, were open now.

“…Why did she open the curtains? Why…”

After examining the torn curtain, Ed pulled it further away and eagerly peered through the glass. He then enthusiastically put both his hands on the window frame. The clear sky was exceptionally bright, and the waxing moon floated high.

Ed easily deduced the most basic of human habits.

“…She checked the time. All right, so there’s a time element… Or rather, did she want to confirm what I told her? Couldn’t she believe that this much time had passed? Patients who wake up after a long period of unconsciousness usually experience the loss of sense of time as most traumatic. Yes, that could be. I wish it was the latter… I wish it was the latter…”

Levi and Linhardt looked out the window before staring at Ed who was talking to himself.

“…He sank so deep into his thoughts… that he’s only repeating that the latter is much better… like some kind of madman…”

“I told you, he’s losing it.”

“Yeah, really. Should I keep him away from the patient?”

Suddenly returning to the large desk, Ed picked up his glasses and scrawled something. It was a large desk unsuitable for a bedroom, but the desk wasn’t the only awkward piece of furniture there. The room has turned into something comparable to a research lab, with various professional instruments and medical equipment crammed into it.

Even though it wasn’t the first time he saw it, Linhardt clicked his tongue at the sight before him. Every time he witnessed it, it annoyed him because it brought back memories from 10 years ago…

‘It was when he brought that foreign girl and did all kinds of crap. If he loses this woman as he did back then, there’s no estimate of how long he will be digging again. At that time, he dug up the lands on the Western Continent, so it can very well be the Central Continent now.’

Linhardt’s head already started hurting from only thinking about it.

‘Edgar doesn’t know how to back down. He habitually says that medicine is a domain developed by humans, but he never admits that the realm is terribly limited. He insists that the area is actually wide like he’s pushing out the walls himself, with his own body.’

Linhardt was sure he already knew the outcome.

‘The woman will eventually die, unable to endure the experiments done on her…Edgar has already done the crazy thing of injecting her with that poisonous Maltine… Only because he became impatient and frustrated with the repeated situation of her seemingly waking up, but unable to regain full consciousness… He’s still the same, still greedy, arrogant, and selfish…’

Linhardt spoke firmly to Ed, who was holding the quill.

“There’s no progress.”

Ed, who had been sucked into the desk, raised his head. The glasses he wore sparkled in the bright light of the chandelier. Underneath were two pairs of shining glass beads instead of his eyes. His tightly closed lips spread apart, revealing his white teeth.

“No.”

“…”

Having understood Linhardt’s vague words, Ed answered determinedly.

“I know she’ll make it through.”

“…”

Levi left behind the confrontation between the two of them and tidied up the rest of the patient’s clothes. The two men butting heads was a daily occurrence, so somewhere down the line, she stopped caring about it. Instead, Levi took a wet towel and wiped the patient’s face.

‘I don’t even know her name, so I can only call her patient, Miss, or Visha. She’s very beautiful, even in the eyes of us Northerners who have a different standard of beauty than the people of the Empire. And she remains beautiful even though I can no longer replace any traces of vitality in her after not having eaten proper food for nearly two months.’

Levi muttered while wiping the unsuitable bloodstain from the frail-looking face.

‘What a terrible thing to happen to such a beautiful young girl. Seeing the way he looks after her, she appears to be a girl Edgar likes. But it’s clear that he can’t even take care of her properly as he can be such a nasty guy…’

“Don’t belittle her. She’s stronger than anyone else.”

“..?”

Levi looked back at the eerie voice. Ed, who had taken off his glasses, looked directly at her as if he had read her thoughts. There was no sign of blaming them for opposing the administration of Maltine in his sullen, glistening eyes, instead he had that look that screamed ‘I was right in the end’ and his joy was evident.

“I knew. That’s why I trusted her that she could persevere.”

“…”

‘Edgar still seems to be in a state of excitement, he’s been like that since walking back from the window. Apparently, this indescribable emotion continues to engulf him. Who would have thought that the patient’s awakening could stir his feelings…’

Even Levi, who expected Ed to reprimand her for not applying the anaesthetic incense on time, was confused and contemplated whether it was something she should cry or laugh about.

“I knew it!”

“…”

Now, instead of his glasses, Ed’s eyes flashed. Looking like he was about to do something, Levi hesitantly moved her steps toward Linhardt. As soon as she moved from bed, Ed strode across the room as if he had been waiting.

“Hahahahaha!”

“…”

A human bursting into laughter with his arms wide open wasn’t normal for anyone to see. At first, the two, who were so astonished that they froze, didn’t think of stopping Ed. It was only when Levi noticed that Ed was approaching the bed, that she became wary. But it was a bit too late.

“She’s walking!”

Ed whipped up the blanket and grabbed the patient’s foot. The action made Levi panic.

“Hey!”

Simultaneously with her shout, Linhardt turned around with his eyes closed. However, the completely unbothered Ed looked down at the soles of Lil’s feet with emotion, as if he had excavated a treasure.

“This… this is moving!”

Linhardt, who almost saw the woman’s feet, asked Levi with a shudder.

“Crazy bastard… Why is he acting like that?”

“She sustained a wound that penetrated the middle of her body. He was most worried she might have injured her spine…”

“So, she could’ve been paralyzed?”

“Yeah.”

Linhardt glanced disgustedly at Ed who looked like he could kiss the foot at any moment.

“I’ll vomit if I stay here any longer. I’m going out.”

“Me… me too. I don’t like this either.”

Linhardt was about to move forward when he suddenly stopped, looked back and gave a subtle sneer.

“Rub it well.”

“..!”

Ed’s laughing instantly stopped and his shoulders became noticeably stiff. Linhardt added some more with a sarcastic tone.

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t touch her apart from the purpose of therapy? Who was that jerk who said that he won’t be doing anything for self-interest?”

Levi paused too and murmured.

“…Oh? Come to think of it…”

“You know what? Levi, I think you should stay, just in case…”

Embarrassed, Ed yelled, throwing the nightcap.

“Get out!”

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