XVI
The hours passed by in a blur. Y/N had been running from patient to patient throughout the night and into the early hours of the morning.
Light from the sun began to pour in through the windows of the physician's workroom and illuminated Y/N's sleeping body on the floor.
She had worked so diligently that it allowed the other Healers to take their sleep shifts first.
Except she wasn't asleep. Lennox, who had been watching her supposedly sleeping form from his room, wasn't able to see the way her eyes were shut tight and tears fell down the side of her face.
He couldn't see how her shoulders were shaking ever so slightly and how she bit down on her lips to prevent making a sound.
Her body was exhausted, but her mind did not allow her to rest.
All the revelations of the night had finally caught up to her.
Lennox continued to watch her. She had checked up on him multiple times throughout the night to make sure he was in stable condition and didn't need anything. Each time, he grumbled that he was fine, and she just nodded and left.
———
"Does everything look correct?" he asked Healer Ellis.
She came in shortly after Y/N had completed her stitching and examined the prince to make sure everything looked good.
Healer Ellis noted the way Lennox seemed on edge with having Y/N in charge of his healing, and she didn't miss the colourful language he had used towards her when she was only one room away.
"Yes, everything looks perfect. In fact, I can't see one thing that I wouldn't have done myself." She took her gloves off and threw them in the garbage next to the door. "You are very lucky to have someone so gifted looking after you, Your Highness."
Lennox stared at the doorway as she walked out.
Anna, sitting on a chair in the corner, spoke up. "Do you not like that healer or something?"
He leaned back against the headboard. "I don't want to talk about it."
———
Y/N finished wrapping the bandage around the young boy's arm. She smiled down at him, "You're all done! You handled that like a champ. Make sure to keep it dry." She turned to his mother, "And make sure to change it every morning and night."
"Thank you so much, Healer." Lady Rosa thanked her.
"It was my pleasure," she responded.
The lady walked out with her son. Y/N leaned back in her seat and let out a sigh. Right when she woke up, it was back to work. Some servants had gone around and brought people their breakfast, which ended up being some sort of vegetable stew. The girl had wiped her bowl clean in under a minute.
She turned towards the clock. 7:22 am. She stood up from the chair and dusted off the skirt of her dress. It was time to check up on his royal highness. She quietly picked up the salves and bandages she needed and headed towards his room. The guards on either side of the door nodded at her.
The thin curtain that covered the window allowed just enough golden light to allow her to see.
There, on the patient's bed, Lennox slept peacefully.
He lay there on his back, his chest bare, minus the bandages wrapped around his torso.
The light of the morning sun made his side profile more prominent, and Y/N noticed the way his sharp nose and jawline created a shadow on the wall beside him.
He truly looked like a Renetian God statue.
She placed her tools on the table beside his bed and placed her head on her fist as she just stared at him.
People were most vulnerable when they were asleep.
Y/N had never thought in a million years she would ever witness Lennox in such a state.
In a way, she was almost fascinated by him.
How had the prince of her kingdom become such a common player in her life?
For some reason, she couldn't pull her eyes away from him.
This was her soulmate. The person Goddess Irene had decided was her perfect match.
She clearly had a wicked sense of humour.
Ever since she had met him, he had treated her with nothing but disdain.
It had occurred to her that perhaps he was like that with all women, so when she saw the way he treated the noble ladies with such gentleness and respect, it lit a fire within her.
Why had SHE not been deserving of his respect?
But that was a stupid question. She already knew the answer. Being Lenorian was her only crime.
When he began to rouse from his sleep, Y/N quickly shot up to her feet and pretended to be busy. How embarrassing it would be if he had caught her staring at him. With her back to him, she heard the rustling sounds of him sitting up, and she felt her heart rate pick up speed. That was a close one.
"You're awfully good at sneaking around," Lennox commented.
Y/N paused in the middle of putting on her gloves. "I came to reapply salve on your cuts."
Lennox, still half-asleep, simply nodded his head. Not that it would do much considering she wasn't facing him.
Y/N walked back to his bed and motioned to take off his bandages. "May I?"
Lennox turned his gaze to the corner of the room, and Y/N took that as his way of saying whatever. Hey, his not talking at all was better than him saying something stupid.
Y/N began to peel his bandages off and looked at how the cuts had healed.
They certainly looked better than they had last night when they were fresh.
They were beginning to clot, which was a good sign.
She grabbed a saline solution pad and began to wipe the leftover residue of the salve off of his chest.
Her touch was feather-light and almost felt ticklish.
Lennox found himself trying not to squirm.
Once everything was clean, she grabbed the salve and began to reapply it all over his cuts.
The feeling of her gloved fingers rubbing all over him made a knot form in his stomach.
Honestly, what in the world was wrong with him?
He knew this feeling wasn't disgust or anger, but he didn't want to ponder what it really was.
"Can't you go any faster? This feels weird." Lennox muttered.
"I assure you, your highness, I am going as fast as I can while ensuring you get the best quality care."
"If I really were getting the best quality care, then one of the senior healers would be here instead of you," he shot back.
"And yet, Healer Ellis has enough confidence in my abilities to put you under my care. I think that speaks volumes to the quality of care I can deliver, don't you?" Y/N replied monotonously.
At that, Lennox went silent. Because it was true, the conversation he had had with Healer Ellis only a few hours ago confirmed that. For the first time, he felt a pang of guilt for the harsh words he had thrown at her.
Enjoying the silence while it lasted, Y/N quietly finished bandaging him up.
Birds could be heard chirping in the distance, and the sun had fully emerged from the horizon and lit up the world.
After all the chaos of yesterday, a new day had started.
And with that, so many questions remained unanswered.
The fate of Y/N's life would be determined in the coming weeks.
And Y/N had never felt more uneasy.