episode_0161

I was completely out of breath. My lungs felt like they were being shriveled, and it felt like there was a knife in my side.

My ankle, which I had sprained a little while ago, hurt as if someone was holding it from both sides and squeezing it, and a sweet smell came from my mouth.

“Ha… … . ha… … .”

My weak body, which I normally thought nothing of, felt so cursed at this time.

After running to the point where tears came to my eyes, I saw the health room in the distance. My legs were shaking and my eyes were spinning, but I didn’t stop.

With a grunt, I leaned against the door and opened the door to the infirmary. I could see my nephew lying on the bed and an unknown student sitting next to him.

“Priscilla, Professor… … ?”

My nephew’s face, looking at me with surprised eyes, seemed like a translation of the word haggard itself.

At first glance, his wide-open eyes were dull and lacked any light, and his skin was lifeless and rough. Her once shiny red hair was dull, and deep traces of fatigue remained under her eyes.

Early in the morning, I felt my heart sink as I noticed traces that I had not seen when I was asleep. At the same time, my anger towards that man welled up. And, I felt so disgusted with myself.

Why didn’t I notice it sooner? Why couldn’t you talk to me sooner? Why did they try to kill such a child?

Guilt and regret came rushing in like a torrent. Just as a stone hit by a wave is chipped away and eventually breaks, my emotions were chipped away at my heart, and eventually my knees, unable to withstand the weight, buckled.

“Ah… … . Charles… … !”

In the end, I couldn’t control my emotions and my nephew… … . No, he went to the side of the bed where Charles was sitting, knelt down, and wrapped his hands around her.

Those hands were as cold and bony as mine that day. I thought it was okay, I thought it was fine, but it wasn’t. This child was just desperately holding on.

Just like me that day. I was just enduring the pain, swallowing my emotions, and burying the loneliness in my heart.

“Now, it’ll be okay now… … .”

“Professor… … .”

Because I knew how great the pain was, I couldn’t open my mouth.

All I could do here and now was hold Charles’ cold hand and tell him it was okay.

“Aunt… … .”

When I slowly raised my head at the sound of Charles’ voice sounding a little trembling, I made eye contact with Charles, who was looking down at me with a faint look on his face.

Charles’ eyes were still dark, but there was a bit of warmth in them. But at the same time, his eyes looked very sad.

Her eyes, filled with a mixture of emotions, had a complex light that could not be described in words.

“I’m fine.”

How many emotions are contained in that single word? Because I had experienced similar pain, I was able to feel the weight of Charles’ words.

I knew how hard it was to say those words and how painful it was, so I quietly got up and hugged her.

I felt the warmth from her body in my arms.

“You don’t have to try hard to say it’s okay, it’s okay.”

Even though I couldn’t say much, it was one word that I came out after gathering and refining my big and rough emotions.

This was the best I could do right now.

I quietly gave Charles the words I wanted and the warmth I wanted.

“… … Thank you.”

Fortunately, Charles didn’t push me away. Just saying “thank you” feels so big… … . I almost shed tears again, but I held it back and hugged her even stronger.

My heart was pounding to the point where it hurt from running earlier, but I was able to handle it. Because that’s not what’s important now.

“Hehe… … .”

Charles, who was quietly being held by me, smiled lightly and leaned against me.

For a moment, I felt a strange sense of relief and a small sense of responsibility at the light weight, and then I expressed my doubts when I saw Charles suddenly smiling.

“Why… … . Is that so?”

I slightly leaned back, wondering if I was suffocating, and Charles looked up at me and gave me a faint smile.

“No, just. I have a family who worries like this… … . I like it.”

“Charles… … .”

“It would have been nice if we could have met a little more, earlier… … .”

Her face looked so sad as she said that, so I hugged her tightly again.

I thought that it would be great if my warmth could soothe Charles’ heart even just a little.

However, I think a little differently than Charles. There is a saying that it is fastest when you think it is too late.

okay. When it’s really late, words like that don’t even come out. From now on, let’s be by her side and be the pillar that supports her.

“From now on, I will be by your side.”

okay. In just a few days, the person who is bothering you will disappear. So please be patient. After everything is over, an indescribable emptiness will come and weigh you down.

Please don’t try to endure it all alone, because there are many people by your side. Because I have a sister and I also have a sister. Because many people I don’t know will support you. Please get over it.

There was a mountain of things I wanted to say, but I was afraid that the moment I said them out of my mouth, they would all lose meaning and weight, so I quietly mulled them over and swallowed them back.

“By the way, weren’t you here during class?”

“Ah.”

“You sweat so much… … . Are you running by any chance?”

It may have sounded like a reprimand at first glance, but the soft, worry-filled voice made me feel that it was something he said out of concern for me.

An aunt worried about her nephew. I also really grew older in vain. I smiled awkwardly as I saw Charles looking at me with worried eyes.

“I heard that my precious nephew is injured, how can I stay silent?”

Perhaps because my words were unexpected, Charles, who was blinking in surprise as before, soon smiled slightly.

“Anyway, what should I do if the professor skips class?”

“Umm… … . Yes… … . Clearly, I wasn’t very adult-like about this… … .”

As I was sighing quietly, I heard the voice of the female student I had seen earlier coming from behind me.

“Excuse me. Are you two in a relationship? … .”

When I turned around, I saw the face of a female student blinking. This is literally the face of a female student I am ‘seeing for the first time’.

“… … You are the student I don’t remember. Who are you?”

“Ah, that… … .”

She blinked her eyes several times as if she was in trouble, then sighed softly and took out Taeyang’s eyes from her bosom and showed them to her.

It was the same item that the male investigator I saw not long ago had, which meant that this woman was an investigator.

“Now, not only have you been following my nephew’s back, but you’ve also put him under surveillance… … ?”

“Wait a minute! Please wait a moment! I hope you give me a chance to explain too!!”

“… … I don’t think this is something to talk about in front of a patient, so let’s change places.”

I said that, lightly smoothed Charles’ hair, and stood up.

Because I was running with a sprained ankle, just standing was quite painful, but it wasn’t unbearable, so I quietly tried to get out.

“Aunt… … .”

When I heard Charles’s voice from behind me, I stopped for a moment and turned around, and when I noticed that her gaze was focused on my feet, I felt like I should have missed it.

Even if I tried to hide it, there was no way to hide it, so as I was fidgeting with my feet, Charles, who had been quietly looking at my feet, tried to get up.

“Charles!?”

“Wow! No! Didn’t the public health teacher just tell you to rest?”

“Uh, ah… … .”

Charles seemed to have remembered his own physical condition only then, smiling bitterly and lying down on the bed again.

Then, he looked at me and lightly gestured as if to say, “Come here,” and I quietly walked next to Charles.

“Aunt, if you don’t mind, could you show me your feet for a moment?”

“If it’s healing magic, then I… … .”

“Hehe… … . i know. But if I don’t tell you now. I think you will leave it until your ankle swells up a lot later. and… … .”

Charles smiled slightly and closed his eyes as he held my hand.

A warm and cool feeling passed through my entire body, and I soon felt that the pain in my ankles had greatly reduced.

“My aunt, who came because she was worried about me, is walking around hurt, so I can’t be concerned about her.”

“Charles… … .”

“Okay, your ankle should be fine now. And I think I’ll have to stay here for a while anyway, so if it’s okay with you, you can wear my shoes.”

You must be in so much pain, but you take care of others before yourself… … .

The image of my older sister appeared overlaid on Charles’ sweetly smiling face. But I slowly closed my eyes and opened them to erase my sister’s fantasy.

Charles is Charles, and my sister is my sister. Seeing Charles’s appearance overlap with his older sister… … . It would be rude to both of them.

“Thank you, Charles.”

“Not much to say.”

I looked at Charles and smiled slightly, then got up and tried to leave the health room. At that moment, the health teacher, covered in sweat and out of breath, came into the health room.

“Ha… … . ha… … . Priscilla, Professor… … ! You left your shoes… … !”

“Thank you, Mr. Mayr.”

“Phew… … . As for the class, I said it well. Don’t worry.”

I nodded at her words and left the health room.

Before leaving the health room, I looked at Charles one last time, saw Charles lightly waving his hand, and left the health room.

“You, please follow me. I will tell you the story about Charles slowly as I go.”

“Ah, yes.”

Saying that, I walked into the classroom.