CH 74

Air raids on the mainland of Padania by the Axis forces continued day after day. Every day, civilians hid in air-raid shelters and could not sleep to the sound of the bombs coming from the ground.

The Allied Forces of Padania fought fiercely to defend the mainland. However, they had to give up the front in the face of an onslaught by France, Armania, and even the Balichens.

They won a few battles and lost a few. It was also difficult to keep track of all the battles, how many there were.

Along the way, the news that Padania allies had defeated France’s navy in the southern straits came. It was a great victory obtained under various adverse conditions.

The Padania allied forces once again reversed their tilted version of the war by preventing the occupation of Pasala Island, which connected supply ships in the Black Sea.

Pasala Island was a key military point of great significance. However, the war was still raging. The power lines changed several times a day. Numerous soldiers were wounded and killed for advancing only a few meters.

In particular, the front line of the Central Group Army, which was defending Huntingham to the death, was heavily pushed out. It was also the location of the field hospital where Annette worked.

The Huntingham Field Hospital was therefore saturated by the influx of patients. The existing medical staff could no longer cope with the situation.

“Check the patient here! He’s not breathing right!”

“Damn it, tsk, give me some medicine!”

“Oh, help me, it hurts too much, please—“

A mountain of wounded soldiers were brought in from the nearby battlegrounds. Among them, a considerable number had already died and rigor mortis had set in.

“Annette! Stop the bleeding here! He’s going to need stitches!”

“Now, hold on!”

Annette grabbed gauze and bandages and ran. Her nursing uniform was a mess, covered in blood and sweat.

Without time to properly check the condition, she quickly began to stop the bleeding. Blood spurted out with a popping sound. The soldier’s face, already white, was like a sheet of paper.

“Oh, oh, oh….”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, I’ll sew you up now, it’s okay!”

She didn’t know how many times she said it was okay, or even that it was okay because it really was okay. Annette memorized those words like a spell. It’s okay, it’s okay.

As soon as the stitches were done, Annette immediately looked at the next wounded soldier. Perhaps because she had seen too much blood, an optical illusion occurred as if the front of her eyes had turned red. No matter how much she washed her hands, the smell of blood did not go away.

The time for the shift change was getting closer. Annette blinked and checked the chart. At that moment, she heard a rough voice from behind her.

“Annette?”

The voice was unfamiliar, but Annette reflexively turned around. A man lying on his bunk was looking at her, his head slightly raised. Annette approached the man and asked.

“Is there anything you need?”

“Uh, no. Um, maybe — you don’t remember me?”

“Huh?”

“We’ve met before.”

She raised her eyebrows, thinking he was playing tricks. To which the man said, gesturing this way and that in a frustrated manner.

“Um, Cynthia! At Catherine’s fruit shop! I delivered fruits that day!”

“…… Ah!”

Annette, realizing belatedly, raised a small voice. Finally, she remembered. It was Bruner’s acquaintance who had flirted with her at the fruit stand.

She had seen so many similar soldiers that she had not been able to recognize him for a moment. His name had been mentioned in Catherine’s letter.

“Hans—? Is that correct?”

“Oh, you remember. Yes! I saw the article about you serving as a nurse. It was true!”

Annette replied with a laugh, “Hmmm. So you thought it was fake?”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to imply that you pretended to serve for the sake of your reputation and actually you were staying in a safe place.”

People seemed to think that was the case. Annette smiled, not answering specifically about it.

“Catherine’s letter mentioned you. She said that you joined the Recruiting Corps……….”

With that, her eyes fixed somewhere for a moment. Annette turned to him with a stiff face.

Hans laughed awkwardly and scratched his head.

“Well, it happened.”

She hadn’t noticed because of the covers. The white blanket covering his legs had disappeared completely under his knees. (*he lost his legs at the knees). Annette mumbled, stunned.

“What happened…….”

“Booby traps.”

Hans imitated the shouts he screamed when he discovered the mines. Annette, however, could not laugh.

According to Catherine’s letter, Hans was a recruit for the rear.

But the situation seemed to have worsened as the other soldiers died and he was pushed out to the front. Indeed, the situation was such that from this Huntingham Field Hospital suddenly became the closest hospital from the central front.

“Does Catherine know?”

“No one back home knows yet. Oh, the lady is the first to know. If you can say that you are also from my hometown—.”

“You’re not going to tell them until you get back?”

“What’s the point of telling them in advance? They’ll find out anyway.”

“Still…”

“More importantly, am I holding you back from your busy work?”

“Oh …… that’s okay.”

It was true that she was busy, but the words that she had to go didn’t come out. Even though they didn’t have a relationship, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for the young man who lost both of his legs in an instant.

“Wow, but when I met you in Cynthia, the lady was really beautiful, and at first glance I knew you were from a noble background. Now you look very tired. I guess people change depending on their environment. Oh, of course, you’re still as beautiful as ever.”

Annette smiled awkwardly. She had no idea what answer to give. She was clueless about this kind of person.

“Oh, yes… You didn’t happen to volunteer here because of me, by any chance, did you?”

“What? What do you mean by that?”

“Well, it seems that I was mouthy for no reason that time, and spread rumors against you. Know that Brother Bruner was very angry with me. I’ve been wondering if maybe you left Cynthia because of the rumors.”

Frankly, it was troubling. The problem was not limited to her; it even affected the Grott family.

But that was not why she volunteered to be a military nurse. It was merely a slight acceleration of what she had originally thought.

“Half right, half wrong.”

“Huh?”

“It’s true that I got in trouble because of Mr. Hans, but I didn’t volunteer to be a military nurse because of you.”

“Oh …… I’m glad it’s not half.”

Hans rolled his eyes, scratched his head, and spoke in a small voice,

“Well, anyway, so……… I just wanted to say I’m sorry. It’s been on my mind for a long time, and it’s good to see you here, too.”

It was a lousy apology. But Annette could see that this young man really cared about the issue.

“—– I’ll accept your apology.”

Hans laughed out loud at her answer. It was a hearty laugh.

***

“Hey, didn’t you see it earlier?”

“See what?”

“I see the kid slobber as he watched the Commander-in-Chief’s ex-wife.”

“You have to say the subject. Hey, isn’t she pretty?”

“Too skinny. It’s not my taste.”

“Crazy guy, you’d welcome a woman like that if she came along.”

“You don’t know anything. Just because a woman is beautiful doesn’t mean she’s everything. Men get tired of that quickly.”

“Pretty is important to me. Then what’s more important?”

“It’s not the face, it’s the body.”

“Hey, it’s because you haven’t looked closely enough. She may look skinny, but if you look closely, you’ll see that her breasts….”

Clink!

The iron tray fell to the floor and made a sharp popping sound. At the same time, the eyes of the two soldiers were drawn to it.

The nurse closed the curtains and looked out.

“Miss, I’m sorry.”

Annette was sitting next to the smiling, apologetic nurse. The soldiers, upon confirming her presence, froze with a grimace.

The nurse closed the curtains again. The soldiers, frozen solid, were hidden behind the cloth. The nurse picked up an iron tray and slowly pulled the tray again as if nothing had happened.

Annette gave her a little bow. The nurse received a light look, then left.

“Made fun of just doing my job…?’

Annette sighed and put away her supplies. In fact, it wasn’t as if she had heard soldiers bad-mouthing or sexually harassing her once or twice.

Most soldiers wore a peculiar lightness and touch. Those who did not do so in the civilian world became especially bad on the battlefield.

Annette found that it was the way they withstood the killing. It was a place where they had to be light to survive in a sane way.

But understanding that was another matter. Annette’s appearance and her past as the former wife of the Commander-in-Chief made it easy for people to talk up and down.

She pushed the thought aside and focused on her work. But within seconds of making that decision, the entrance suddenly became more noisy.

Annette stood up with a suspicious look on her face. She wondered if wounded soldiers had been brought in, but something was out of the ordinary.

The atmosphere was unusual. Everyone was buzzing. Through the increasingly loud commotion, someone shouted.

“The outskirts of Huntingham have been taken over by enemy forces! We must retreat!”