Chapter 24: A Debt of Kindness

“How is she? Is she alright?”

“There’s no serious harm. Fortunately, we found her early and stopped the bleeding in time. She’s just a little unconscious right now, but she’ll wake up soon. However…”

“However what? Is she seriously ill? Is that it!?”

“It’s nothing particularly serious, Young Miss, please don’t be so anxious. I merely observed that this child has numerous old wounds. When I undressed her just now, I counted no fewer than ten areas that were festering. Based on my decades of experience, festering wounds indicate inflammation, which can cause a fever. You might not understand these medical terms, but in essence, the festering wounds will significantly impede her recovery.”

“I see… Wounds are something we maids often encounter. It can’t be helped.”

“Ah… In any case, I’ve already treated them all. The rest is up to your care. Remember to bandage and clean her wounds daily, or her recovery will be very difficult. Also, I’ll leave these herbs here; remember to administer them according to the instructions. With a few days of proper recuperation, she should recover quickly.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“Thank Captain Thor, rather. After all, a maid is not, in principle, worth using the precious medicine aboard the Long Wind.”

Gradually, the voices in my ears seemed to fade, becoming less cacophonous. As a door clicked shut, the surrounding air slowly settled into tranquility, leaving only the relentless downpour and thunder echoing from beyond the window.

A profound exhaustion permeated my body. I couldn’t even exhale properly; the air felt trapped in my lungs, and my chest was heavy with a suffocating pressure.

My body felt terribly hot everywhere, sweat constantly breaking out from within. My skin was drenched and clammy, like mud left by a heavy rain. It was an unbearable, agonizing sensation.

Yet, as moisture evaporated, my senses grew increasingly cold. Even bundled beneath the covers, I shivered uncontrollably, a chill creeping down my neck.

I couldn’t open my eyes, but my consciousness remained.

I surmised that I hadn’t died; I must have been brought to a room below deck, perhaps under someone’s care.

However, I was clearly sick, though I couldn’t pinpoint the reason. These were unmistakably the symptoms of a fever.

Ah…

How unlucky. I had finally managed to secure a day off, only to fall ill and be confined to bed.

What about work the day after tomorrow? So many clothes needed washing, ironing, and the floors needed mopping, and…

“Mm…”

A steady support emerged behind my back, and I felt my upper body being slowly lifted.

A hard vessel was pressed against my lips, gently prying open my teeth, then tilted to pour some warm liquid into my mouth.

The liquid was intensely bitter, with a faint grassy aroma, and an aftertaste that was even a little sour and spicy.

I presumed this was the so-called medicine—bitter but good.

My back was gently patted a few times, as if to encourage me to swallow. I complied, drinking the medicine down to the last drop.

My empty stomach slowly warmed, and amidst the lingering pain, I felt a slight comfort spreading through my body. It was a comfort so profound that a faint flicker of strength began to emerge.

This nascent strength gradually climbed to my eyelids, allowing them to slowly part. My vision was blurry and indistinct.

“You’re awake?”

A familiar voice reached my ears, imbued with a tone of profound relief.

“Mm…”

I mumbled a response, my weary gaze settling on the face beside me.

That exquisite face was etched with worry, her beautiful brows furrowed together, and even faint traces of fatigue were visible at the corners of her eyes.

‘Good heavens…’

‘Is it truly necessary for you to worry so much?’

‘I’m just a useless, worthless piece of trash, damn it…’

I yearned to make a joke like that, but I lacked the strength. So I skipped that step, conserving my energy to say:

“Young Miss Aisha, thank you… Your cooking… was truly… delicious…”

I was referring to the wild boar heart she had brought. I’d bet my life that she had tampered with it.

Although it looked raw on the outside, still oozing crimson blood, the inside was perfectly cooked, making it entirely effortless to eat.

I had no idea how she had guessed I was in the Young Miss’s room, nor what cooking method she had employed.

But she had undeniably helped me immensely.

Aisha didn’t reply immediately. After a prolonged silence, she set the bowl of medicine aside, then slowly took my hand, gripping it tightly.

I could feel the force emanating from her palm, connecting to her trembling body. It seemed as though some powerful emotion surged within her, desperate to break free.

“Back then…”

She finally spoke, her voice struggling to emerge through clenched teeth,

“Back then, I had already finished preparing my dish and was searching for you everywhere, but I couldn’t find you for a long time. So, I had to return to the maids’ lounge, thinking you would eventually come back. I waited and waited, until the old woman returned, until the lackey returned, but you never did…”

“It was precisely then that the Young Miss suddenly pulled the bell, asking me to prepare a plate of raw food. A suspicion began to form. This pampered woman wouldn’t eat such a thing herself, simply smelling it would make her lose her appetite. So I had a rough guess—I guessed that you were trapped in that cabin, being tormented by her…”

“She probably wanted you to eat that thing, didn’t she?”

“Mm…” I nodded slightly, saying with a touch of admiration, “The inside was cooked, the outside raw. Your skill is truly amazing…”

“You just need to insert a red-hot iron skewer. If not for the time constraint, I could have made it even more beautiful.”

Aisha sighed, then turned to retrieve a wrung-out towel. She gently began to wipe me down, from my forehead to my armpits, and then to the small of my back.

“Eh?”

It was only then that I realized my clothes seemed to have been changed. I was left with only a white undershirt and underwear.

No wonder I felt so much lighter…

“I changed them for you. Your old clothes were taken to be washed.”

As she spoke, Aisha wrung the towel in a basin. With the towel’s contortion, murky bloodstains seeped out, dissolving into the water.

“I see, you truly went through a lot of trouble. Thank you…”

Watching her toiling back, my heart felt incredibly heavy, as if steeped in a barrel of sour brine, numb and aching.

I could only offer this meager thanks, but the words felt so utterly pale and powerless.

This sense of powerlessness slowly morphed into guilt, settling heavily in my heart, refusing to dissipate.

I felt as though I owed Aisha, and the debt was growing substantial.

After all, we were two strangers who had no obligation to help each other.

Not long ago, I had even mistakenly thought she was a flirtatious, dissolute woman because of her alleged seduction of Lord Axas…

Yet, throughout this journey, she had diligently cared for me.

Even though I should be much older than her, Aisha had acted like an elder, striving to provide assistance in every way she could.

But I had done nothing for her…

‘Damn it…’

‘How do I repay this favor?’

I didn’t know, absolutely didn’t know. The immense confusion and guilt left me hesitant and uncertain.

I thought, if Aisha were a man, perhaps under the weight of this guilt and gratitude, I might actually ask him if he wanted me to repay him with my body.

But then, a second thought struck me: if a disgusting person like me were to do something like that, wouldn’t it merely defile them?

‘What could a repulsive existence like me possibly do?’

A crushing sense of inferiority weighed down on my heart like a mountain, making it difficult to breathe.

“Here, let me wipe your back once more.”

After wringing out the towel, Aisha returned to my side, gazing at me with a gentle, kind expression.

Her wheat-colored eyes seemed to conceal a pure, formidable strength.

‘Don’t look at me like that…’

“Wait a moment…”

Instinctively, I pushed her hand away, and under her surprised gaze, I asked,

“Tell me, your reason for being so good to me.”