Chapter 336 -: 335 Awkwardness.

"Really?" Rosalina’s eyes settled on the petite green-haired girl, who was still trembling beneath her gaze. The timid healer instinctively shrank her shoulders, her fingers nervously clutching the hem of her robe as though trying to gather enough courage to speak. "Y-Yes..." Sylviana stammered, swallowing hard. "I-I can heal Sir Julius." Her voice shook with every word, barely louder than a whisper, yet the determination hidden beneath her nervousness was unmistakable. Rosalina slowly turned her head toward Leon, silently asking whether the girl truly possessed such ability. Leon simply met her gaze and gave a firm nod. Without another word, the tension on Rosalina’s face melted away. For the first time since they had entered the shelter, a warm, genuine smile bloomed across her face. "That’s wonderful." She let out a small sigh of relief before continuing, "That fool is far too reckless. Escaping all the way here must have exhausted whatever strength he had left. There were countless pursuers after us, and I was unconscious for most of it..." Her expression softened with gratitude as she looked back at Sylviana. "Thank you. If you can lessen his suffering even a little, I’ll be truly grateful." Much to Leon’s surprise, Rosalina gave the petite healer a respectful bow. Sylviana’s emerald eyes widened in panic. "N-No... please..." She frantically waved her hands, unable to form a proper sentence, before simply lowering her head and nodding repeatedly. Rosalina chuckled softly before turning toward the wooden door. Resting one hand against it, she unconsciously smiled. "Now that we have a healer... I’ll be able to worry a little less." Taking a quiet breath, she pushed the door open. The three of them stepped into the room. At its center rested a carefully prepared bed made from layers of broad leaves, soft moss and woven animal furs. It was simple, yet surprisingly comfortable for something built inside a hollow tree. Julius lay peacefully upon it. His lustrous golden hair had grown slightly longer during the weeks he had remained unconscious, brushing against the back of his neck while loose strands rested across his forehead. His eyes remained gently closed beneath long golden eyelashes, his sharp nose and perfectly sculpted features giving him an almost unreal appearance. Even in sleep, his face carried a quiet dignity that made it difficult to look away. His upper body was uncovered, revealing a physique that had clearly been tempered through relentless training. Every muscle had been carved to near perfection, yet the countless wounds scattered across his chest, shoulders and abdomen completely ruined the image. Fresh blood continued to seep from several deep gashes, staining the bedding beneath him despite Rosalina’s constant efforts to clean them. Rosalina’s expression immediately changed. "...Crap." Beside her, Leon froze. Sylviana froze as well. For a single, painfully awkward moment, complete silence filled the room. Rosalina had become so accustomed to tending Julius’s injuries every few hours that she had completely forgotten one rather important detail. He wasn’t wearing anything. The blanket she normally used to cover him had slipped away while his wounds reopened, leaving him entirely exposed. Rosalina drew in a sharp breath. Without even thinking, she launched herself forward. Thud! She landed directly across Julius’s lower body, shielding everything that absolutely did not need to be seen. Only then did Leon finally blink. His face instantly turned away. "..." "...I’ll pretend I saw nothing." Sylviana’s cheeks had turned a brilliant shade of red. She desperately tried to avert her eyes, but her panicked mind lagged several seconds behind her body’s intentions before she finally managed to squeeze them shut. Rosalina, whose own face had become equally red, slowly let out the breath she had been holding. "C-Could you two... wait outside for a moment while I dress him?" "Ah... of course." This time Sylviana answered almost immediately. She grabbed Leon’s sleeve and practically dragged him toward the exit. The wooden door quietly closed behind them. Only after they had left did Rosalina release another exhausted sigh. She carefully stood up before kneeling beside Julius once more. Blood had soaked into the front of her blouse during her rather undignified leap, but she paid it no attention. Taking a clean cloth, she gently wiped away the fresh blood flowing from the wounds around his thighs before wrapping another piece of cloth around his waist to preserve at least a little of his dignity. She would have preferred to dress him properly. Unfortunately, that simply wasn’t possible. The wounds covering his body reopened every few hours. Many stretched across his shoulders, chest, waist and legs. Every time they split open again, she had to remove whatever clothing he wore just to clean the blood and prevent infection. Putting fresh clothes on him again and again had long since become pointless. "...At least this is better." Satisfied that he was finally covered, Rosalina inhaled deeply before raising her voice. "You can come in now." A moment later, Leon slowly pushed the door open. Sylviana cautiously stepped inside, her face still carrying a faint blush, though she visibly relaxed after seeing Julius properly covered. Rosalina coughed awkwardly. "...Let’s all forget what happened just now." She rubbed the back of her neck. "It became too troublesome taking his clothes off every time his wounds reopened so I... left him like that." She cleared her throat once more. "Ahem... anyway... you can begin." Sylviana nodded before quietly walking toward the bedside. Kneeling beside Julius, she carefully examined every injury covering his body. The deeper she looked, the more shocked she became. Some wounds were so severe that an ordinary person would have died instantly from a single one, yet Julius had somehow endured dozens of them simultaneously. Even while unconscious, his body stubbornly clung to life with unbelievable resilience. After taking a slow breath to steady herself, Sylviana gently raised both hands above the largest wound on his chest. Rosalina watched anxiously. "...Can you really heal those wounds?" Sylviana lifted her head. This time, the timid hesitation that usually filled her expression had completely disappeared. When it came to healing... She carried a confidence unlike anything she showed in ordinary conversation. "I can." She looked back at Julius’s injuries before continuing calmly. "However, treating every wound with healing magic isn’t possible. There are simply too many of them, and my mana reserves aren’t large enough. If I try to heal everything with spells, I’ll collapse long before I’m finished." Her fingers lightly hovered above the wounds as she continued her assessment. "I’ll use healing magic only on the most dangerous injuries—the ones threatening his organs and blood flow. The smaller wounds I’ll close manually before treating them with medicinal herbs. It’ll take longer, but it’ll consume far less mana while still giving him the best chance of recovering." Rosalina listened attentively. "What do you need?" Sylviana thought for a moment. "My lady... could you bring me something thin and sharp, like a needle?" She paused before adding, "And... a knife." Rosalina studied the young healer for several long seconds. Then she slowly nodded. "...Alright."