novelMadeline's heart
| ← Ch.012 | Ch.014 → |
Translated by XianPiete
Olivier and Madeline carried Guy to the medical office, Alicia and Claude followed close behind. The doctor who worked at the campus clinic was a thin frail looking older man with bushy eyebrows, he frowned and said, "Another sword training accident? Drop him on the table and let me take a look." As they laid Guy on the table he coughed up a pink frothy mess the Doctor's eyebrows went up and said, "Oh, he must have an injury to his ribs. I can't use leeches or a poultice to fix this injury." The doctor rubbed his chin in thought.
Madeline felt tears roll down her cheeks as she asked in a shaky voice, "Will he die from his injuries?"
The Doctor made a noise and then asked, "That depends, is this boy from a good house?"
Olivier said coldly, "He is Duke Montfort's son."
The Doctor slapped his palm with a fist and then said, "In that case, he'll be just fine. Where did I leave that..." The Doctor started rummaging through boxes and cabinets. He pulled out a shiny purple bottle that looked to be made of a strange crystal. He pulled the stopper on the bottle and took a deep breath, "Ahh, still potent. Would you care to try a sniff?" He held the bottle out to Madeline.
Madeline cried out, "Can you help him Doctor?"
"Of course! I'm a doctor, not a lunch lady!" The Doctor looked offended. He walked over to Guy and upended the bottle into his mouth, Guy started to choke, a bit of ugly green liquid spilled out, which the doctor scooped up with his fingers and wiped on Guy's lips."There, he'll be good as new in a month."
Olivier looked pale, "He'll be out for a month?"
The Doctor turned and glared at Olivier, "Of course a month, he has a very serious injury, did you think I would pour a potion down his throat and he'd jump up ready to dance at the next Ball? I'm a doctor, not your fairy god mother."
Madeline, gently brushed her hand through Guy's hair, "Can I stay with him?"
The Doctor nodded and said, "You can, but he can't stay here, take him back to his own damn room. Oh, and try not to jostle him too much. You can use that stretcher." He pointed to Olivier and Claude, "You two, carry the boy back to his room."
As they loaded him on to the stretcher and started to head out, the Doctor snapped his fingers and said, "Little girl." He pointed at Madeline, "Yes, you. He'll need to stay in bed for the next month so make sure you bring him his meals and arrange for the servants to keep him clean. You should get that help from House Montfort."
Madeline nodded.
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Later that evening as Madeline sat by Guy's bed reading a book, he started to stir, he opened his eyes and looked at her and weakly said, "I forgot that I am not the main character in the game.."
Madeline tilted her head, "Game? Lord Molester, I don't understand.."
His eyes closed for a while and then opened up once again and he looked at her and said in a slurred tone of voice, "My name is Ito Aoi, not molester, can't you even just call me Aoi once?" A tear ran down his cheek.
Madeline felt a tear start to run down her own cheek as her vision blurred, she leaned closer and said softly, "I'm so sorry, I wish I had the courage to say this when you would remember it, but, the truth is I fell for you a long time ago, I just can't say your name, because I don't want to endure the pain of being rejected ever again. I have been afraid that if I encourage you, I'll end up discarded again when you find someone better." She softly sobbed and then wiped her nose on her sleeve and said, "I try so hard at my studies and with the sword, and yet I can't measure up to Alicia, to you, to Claude, even Olivier turned out to be the crown prince."
He opened his eyes and again and said, "Shhhh shhhhh." He put a finger up to his lips and then whispered, "I'll tell you a secret..." He looked around before he continued, "If you have Alicia fight that Wonton Van Pepperburg guy, she'll win."
Madeline frowned and said, "You really aren't making sense, Alicia can't even win against me."
He chuckled and then winced in pain before whispering again, "That's because you aren't trying to hurt her or kill her. Trust me... Alicia is the heroine. She has plot armor." He closed his eyes again.
Madeline shook her head and gently stroked his cheeks, "Idiot. You just get better."
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The next day at lunch Madeline decided she should at least go down and see the others to get some fresh air and take a break from her around the clock vigil. When she sat down Alicia said, "Maddy, you look terrible, maybe we could all take turns with him so you can get to some classes and sleep."
Claude nodded and said, "That's a good idea, Madeline, you are taking too much of this upon yourself."
Olivier smiled and said, "I agree, we'll all take turns so that no one of us unfairly takes on a burden."
Madeline smiled and nodded, she took a sip of coffee and then said, "Guy said some some strange things last night, one of them was that Alicia could beat Prince Wolter von Plettenberg in a duel."
Claude rubbed his chin and said, "Is that it? That's brilliant, that might actually work."
Alicia blinked her eyes and then said, "Claude, Guy was clearly delusional, you know."
"No, no, hear me out. You see, when you reach a certain level of mastery, sometimes when you face an opponent you are looking down on you can get distracted. In your case Alicia, you are a competent swordsman, but clearly not at his level. Which means he wouldn't have the urge to defeat you, on top of that, you are a very attractive woman. I can't imagine most men would be looking to hurt you or kill you." Claude turned and looked at her, "I think you should challenge him to a duel."
Alicia looked at Claude and smiled, "You are an idiot."
"If Guy was fully awake and made that suggestion, I would agree to it without hesitation. I have never met any one quite like him. He is truly a genius. Some of the suggestions, ideas and inventions he has made are being talked about at the palace on a daily basis. Even my father calls him a genius." Olivier said while looking at Claude.
Madeline then chimed in and said, "He also said that his name was Eatoh Howie and we live in a game where Alicia is the heroine."
Claude nodded his head and then turned to Alicia, "You're right. I am an idiot."
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