GDTEA Ch 69

Let It Be

Sharti woke up to the sound of morning birds.

Slowly blinking her eyes, Sharti gradually raised her upper body. As her hood fell off, her wavy wheat-colored hair cascaded down.

‘When did I fall asleep?’

Sharti rubbed her eyes while trying to recall her last memory.

She remembered waiting for Ren, and thinking their conversation might take a while, she had laid down on the bedding.

‘And then while thinking about various things, my eyes became heavy.’

It seemed she had fallen asleep when she only meant to close her eyes briefly.

With both physical and mental fatigue at high levels, her consciousness had slipped away as soon as tension was released.

Sharti yawned widely as she stretched.

‘Ren?’

Looking around the room, there was no sign of Ren.

Sharti continued loosening her muscles.

‘I wonder if the conversation ended well.’

Since a magic-sensitive mage had confirmed it, Ren’s constitution that magic didn’t work on must be certain.

However, for Sharti, who had met and treated the dying Ren in the cave, there remained an unresolved question.

At that time, Ren had suffered severe burns from a magic explosion. Though it might not have been a direct attack, there was a high probability the explosion had targeted Ren.

‘If magic doesn’t work on him, how could it cause such a serious injury?’

She couldn’t tell whether Ren had an ambiguous constitution or if the mage who attacked him was extraordinary.

Sharti had spent the night making various conjectures but ultimately failed to establish any convincing hypothesis.

‘Isn’t Ren curious?’

After all, it was a constitution that even Ren himself didn’t know about. Moreover, he possessed a special constitution different from others. Just seeing how Shukadi’s eyes sparkled was enough to tell.

Ren’s rare constitution was a special ability.

Naturally, wouldn’t Ren be curious about his life before losing his memories?

‘Ah, knowing Ren, he might say he’s not curious.’

Sharti burst into laughter imagining Ren’s indifferent face.

But gradually her laughter lost its sound, leaving only a bitter smile.

‘Am I the only one still clinging to Ren’s missing memories?’

Meddling in someone else’s memories must look desperate and foolish.

Sharti tilted her head back.

She stared blankly at the ceiling before closing her eyes.

[Can you handle it?]

For Sharti, Ren’s question from last night was answer enough.

Yet, Sharti couldn’t give Ren a sufficient answer.

She couldn’t even remember what she had been feeling at that moment. There were only words lingering in her mouth.

What if I can handle it?

Sharti buried her face in her hands.

A deep sigh escaped from the depths of her chest.

‘I’m glad I didn’t say anything then.’

Could they just move on as if nothing had happened?

Pure goodwill, human affection, interpersonal courtesy. Wouldn’t that have been enough?

Sharti wanted to avoid awkwardness with Ren and continue as they had been, normally.

Doctor and patient. Or master and assistant. No more, no less, she wanted an ordinary relationship.

‘…Even if it’s cowardly, I can’t help it.’

Knowing yet pretending not to know, looking into things first and then dismissing them—she knew this was beyond cowardice, it was selfish behavior.

But what other choice did she have?

‘I don’t have certainty about Ren.’

More precisely, it was Ren’s past that she didn’t know and the present he had lost that were causing anxiety.

Sharti bit her lip.

‘What if he’s a married man?’

Objectively, Ren was handsome.

Not in the conventional way. His thick eyebrows, strong jawline, and sharply defined nose bridge formed a perfect harmony.

His physique was beyond words. Tein had described him as a bear, but those broad shoulders and statue-like muscles were firm and sensual.

His tanned skin and dark brown hair enhanced Ren’s intimidating aura, but those turquoise eyes that shined whenever he smiled were captivating.

‘It’s impossible that no one would desire such a man.’

Sharti wasn’t strong enough to open her heart with uncertain convictions.

Though not widely known, Sharti was an illegitimate child of the Krianet royal family.

Having spent her childhood not in the palace but wandering the alleys, she vaguely guessed the entangled story of her birth.

She was either the daughter of a woman the King of Krianet had taken for amusement, or the daughter of a commoner whom the king had met while concealing his identity, only to abandon.

‘Either way, I wasn’t the first.’

There wasn’t much age difference with Princess Arisviyan.

In other words, Sharti was born from the king’s infidelity.

‘I don’t want to be the ‘other woman’ driving a stake into someone else’s heart, on top of being an illegitimate child.’

The self-deprecating attitude and timid demeanor stemmed from a defensive personality.

Originally, Sharti was resilient. She had built walls to avoid getting hurt and to hide her wounds. Within those walls, Sharti cherished herself.

She couldn’t make an ambiguous choice that might leave her heart—protected for so long—shattered and alone in the log cabin someday.

‘It’s only natural to waver because Ren is a good person. It’s okay.’

Despite reassuring herself and keeping her distance dozens, hundreds of times, it had been useless.

Human emotions are something even gods cannot control. It wasn’t a matter of effort.

How could one stop where the eyes go, where the heart leads, what makes one smile? It must have been a feeling that couldn’t be prevented from the start.

‘If I can’t handle it, let’s just let these feelings flow as they are.’

Until they eventually overflow and nothing remains.

Once her thoughts settled, her emotions and heart became much simpler. With a lighter feeling, Sharti got up from her seat.

She braided her wavy wheat-colored hair into three strands and finally pulled her hood down deeply.

‘I should go to the patients.’

Sharti opened the door and left the accommodation.

There was still no sign of Ren. His absence felt somehow unfamiliar, as he had always been by her side.

‘The village atmosphere seems quite unsettled?’

Sharti, who was looking around the lodging for Ren, surveyed the village.

‘Ah! Grandmother!’

Belatedly recalling news that the mercenary group had been fighting outside the village all night, Sharti abruptly turned—and her head collided with the face of someone standing behind her.

Swallowing the sharp pain, Sharti retreated a step.

“D-Doctor, are you okay?”

Hearing Ashu’s surprised voice, Sharti raised her gaze.

“I’m sorry! I was just trying to greet you…”

“…!”

Sharti urgently reached out her hand.

At the same time, blood trickled from Ashu’s reddened nose.

‘N-Nosebleed!’

Moving closer, Sharti covered Ashu’s nose with her sleeve.

As the herbal scent permeating Sharti’s body wafted right in front of his nose, Ashu froze without even blinking.

‘Oh no. We must have collided really hard. The blood keeps flowing.’

Sharti examined Ashu’s nose intently with a serious expression.

Meanwhile, Ashu’s entire face began turning red. The distance was so close, and as Sharti raised her head, her face—usually hidden by the hood—became visible.

Upon discovering her white face, chin, lips, cheeks, nose bridge, and finally… her crimson eyes, Ashu gulped nervously.

“Y-You’re so beaut—ugh!”

Speaking with a trembling voice, Ashu suddenly felt the pain of something being stuffed into his nostril and tightly closed his eyes.

Sharti, who had been searching her bag with one hand and inserting the hemostatic herb into Ashu’s nostril, pulled back her hand in surprise.

<The hemostatic herb needs to be inserted deep to be effective for nosebleeds.>

Receiving the note Sharti handed him with an apologetic look, Ashu finally regained his senses.

Fumbling to check his nose, Ashu covered his face with his hands.

“Th-Thank you.”

Ashu turned away abruptly, covering his face with both hands.

All the effort he had put into dressing up had been for nothing, as he ended up with herbs stuffed in his nostril—it was utterly embarrassing. Thinking he must have looked foolish not even knowing his nose was bleeding, Ashu let out a small groan.

As Ashu staggered from embarrassment and shame, Sharti’s expression also grew serious.

‘Is he feeling dizzy from losing too much blood? Or did we collide too hard?’

Watching with concern, Sharti patted Ashu’s back.

“Are you feeling unwell?”

“…!”

Ashu’s back flinched at the sound of Sharti’s voice.

But it wasn’t possible to communicate via notes with someone covering their face and staggering.

Sharti bit her lip firmly before gathering courage again.

“You might have a bone injury. Let me see.”

“I-I’m fine.”

Ashu refused, shaking his head vigorously.

“It could swell up after some time.”

“……”

To avoid the worst, Ashu turned around.

Reluctantly lowering his hands while squeezing his eyes shut.

‘Hmm, the bone seems okay.’

Sharti carefully checked Ashu’s nose, which was slightly bruised, and felt relieved.

Just in case, she also took out an anti-swelling ointment.

“It might hurt a bit, but please bear with it for a moment.”

“Yes, yes!”

Ashu nodded, hands clasped together as if in prayer.

Feeling the moist ointment being applied to his nose, Ashu slightly opened his eyes.

Sharti was still close. Suddenly concerned that her arm might be hurting, Ashu bent his knees slightly.

“…Mmh.”

“Does it hurt?”

“N-No, no, not at all! No!”

As their eye levels became similar, Ashu closed his eyes tightly again, unable to bear it.

For Ashu, who had no immunity to the opposite sex, the stimulation was too intense. Thanks to that, he didn’t even feel the pain in his nose.

“Sha, you’re awake.”

Just as Sharti finished her treatment, Vireta arrived.

Having observed everything from a distance, Vireta scrutinized Ashu up and down with disapproving eyes.

Somehow, all the men who had taken a liking to Sharti seemed to be awkward in one way or another.

If Ren was a big, bulky mutt, the Ashu before her was a small dog.

<Grandmother, are you hurt anywhere?>

“Not at all. There wasn’t a single casualty. Don’t worry.”

Vireta shifted her gaze from Ashu and patted Sharti’s shoulder.

“I should be the one asking that. I heard from the kids. You must have been quite frightened.”

<I was fine.>

Standing awkwardly beside Vireta and Sharti as they conversed, Ashu had no choice but to step aside.

He had mustered up the courage to visit because he was still troubled by how Sharti had fled like she was escaping during their previous conversation, but it seemed for nothing. Feeling disappointed at the continually missed opportunities, Ashu trudged away.

“The village chief’s son, isn’t he?”

<Yes.>

As Vireta looked closely at Ashu, Sharti brightened.

Surely Vireta would know her granddaughter Virena’s ideal type.

Sharti decided to give a little help for Ashu.

<He’s a kind person.>

“Hmm?”

<He’s friendly and courageous. He seems pure-hearted and affectionate.>

“…Really?”

Vireta looked at Sharti with a surprised expression. As Vireta appeared to be contemplating, Sharti grew tense too.

She hoped Vireta would view Ashu favorably for Virena’s sake.

“Sha, he has quite a different atmosphere from your mutt. Do you prefer this type?”

<For an ideal type—>

Pondering the puzzling words, Sharti suddenly raised her head.

With a startled expression, Sharti pointed at herself.

‘Me?’

Vireta looked at her as if to say who else would she be talking about.

Sharti hastily shook her head. Seeing Sharti’s vehement denial, Vireta’s eyes narrowed.

“Then do you prefer that mutt?”

“……”

When Sharti couldn’t answer, Vireta chuckled.

“I see. He’s become quite admirable.”

“…?”

It was a generous assessment that seemed unlike Vireta, who had been viewing Ren unfavorably.

To the bewildered Sharti, Vireta informed her of Ren’s whereabouts.

“…Ren asked to be taught? By the mercenaries?”