If You're Going to Sell Yourself, Sell It to Me - Chapter 21

‘Willow Courtney!’

At the mention of a broken rib, both of them thought of the same person.

Was that lunatic really trying to kill his own sister?

It was easy to understand why Georgiana had shot him, even at a glance, with her fragile appearance.

Why had he hesitated back then? Lockwood deeply regretted not shooting the man, whether she tried to stop him or not. After all, the police wouldn’t have been able to chase him.

It was the fact that the man was her family that made him hesitate at that moment.

“Fortunately, the swelling isn’t too severe, so it seems the broken rib hasn’t damaged anything else,” the doctor said, causing Lockwood to exhale in relief.

On a battlefield, injuries of all kinds were to be expected.

Beyond just guns and swords, they often ended up in hand-to-hand combat, and it was common for ribs to get broken. Most people survived broken ribs unless an arm or leg was cut off, but if the broken bone pierced inward, it could lead to infection or sepsis, causing death.

If something like that had happened to Georgiana, Lockwood vowed he would kill that man without hesitation. No, even though it didn’t seem to have come to that, this incident had made him resolve to definitely kill him.

“However, to treat her, we’ll need to undress her… But there isn’t a female doctor here. Onboard the ship, there aren’t many injuries, and the laborers usually take care of themselves, so I’m the only doctor available,” the doctor bowed apologetically.

“Since it’s not a laceration, the only thing we can do is bandage her until it heals and give her painkillers and antipyretics, isn’t that right?”

“You seem to know quite a bit,” the doctor looked up at him in admiration, surprised that someone who clearly appeared to be a high-ranking noble knew about such injuries.

“My younger sister once got injured in a fall, so I’m well aware,” Lockwood replied.

“I see.”

“If you leave the medicine and bandages, I’ll handle the treatment.”

“That would be best.”

Treating a noble lady was quite a delicate task, so the doctor, relieved, placed a large amount of bandages and medicine on the table.

“I’ll still need to monitor her progress, so I’ll visit twice daily, in the morning and afternoon, until she regains consciousness. If the fever doesn’t go down even after taking the medicine, or if her condition worsens, please come find me at any time.”

“Thank you. You’ve been very helpful.”

After the doctor left, Lockwood stared at the medicine on the tray, deep in thought. Although the doctor had given him powdered medicine, he wasn’t sure if she could swallow it in her unconscious state even if he mixed it with water.

Deciding to dissolve it as much as possible, he mixed the powder with water in the bowl the doctor had left behind.

“Are you going to feed it to her yourself?”

Henry, who was still in the room, watched him with wide eyes.

“Who else would do it, you?”

“No, of course not.”

At Lockwood’s words, the lieutenant jumped, and Lockwood issued an order for him to leave.

“Go on, you’ve done enough.”

He didn’t need Henry’s help anymore. Henry’s darkened eyes showed he was exhausted, and Lockwood could tell without looking at the wall clock that it was quite late.

“Should I call a maid for you? There’s one on standby, and I heard you can call her at any time.”

“No need. It’s better if no one comes in or out of this place for later.”

“You’re right, considering the situation.”

“If something happens, I’ll call you, so get some rest.”

Henry nodded at his words and left the room.

The room fell silent, and the only sound was the clinking of the medicine as Lockwood dissolved it.

After resolving himself, he carefully lifted Georgiana from the bed. Her limp form immediately slumped, so he propped her up with a cushion to support her upper body.

Holding her jaw with one hand, he gently opened her mouth and spooned the medicine into her mouth.

As expected.

She couldn’t swallow the medicine. The liquid dribbled out of her mouth, and Lockwood quickly wiped it away with a handkerchief.

“Whew…”

After two or three failed attempts, he let out a short sigh and then poured half of the medicine from the bowl into his mouth. The medicine was so strong that the bitter taste stung his tongue.

Lowering his head, he pressed his lips against hers.

Her small, warm lips, heated by fever, were pressed against his. Lockwood tilted his head, pushing the liquid into her mouth bit by bit.

Gulp.

Perhaps because her mouth was blocked, the sound of her swallowing the medicine echoed faintly. To prevent her from choking, he fed her small amounts at a time, taking quite a while until the bowl was empty.

He ended up kissing her quite a few times.

At first, the bitter medicine tasted sweet at the end.

Lockwood stared at her lips, still breathing heavily, as the medicine had not yet taken effect. Although he didn’t attach any special meaning to the kiss, he knew it wouldn’t be easily forgotten. It was likely to be both the first and the last.

His subordinates often teased him, saying it seemed like he was married to the country. They weren’t wrong. He didn’t intend to meet anyone until he had completed the work he’d been given.

And when that work would end, no one knew, not even him. He had no intention of sharing his dangers with someone else.

This incident was one of the rare exceptions for him.

He increasingly felt a sense of responsibility for the fact that the woman he had chosen was going through this because of him. The more he looked at her small, curled-up body, the more he felt guilty.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her, even as he wiped his face with a dry hand, feeling an inexplicable frustration.

As time passed, her breathing became softer.

Now that he thought about it, this was the first time he had properly seen Georgiana’s face.

Even under the dim lamp, her face had a noticeable presence. Her rounded forehead, straight eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, small lips, and prominent nose—there wasn’t a single feature that wasn’t beautiful.

And her rare royal blonde hair.

He understood why people couldn’t take their eyes off her. He, too, had unconsciously held his breath several times. He just hadn’t shown it.

It wasn’t that he didn’t notice.

Fortunately, she had just turned twenty. If she hadn’t, who knows how she might have been exploited because of her looks. Her gentle nature only added to her vulnerability.

He couldn’t understand why her family seemed more interested in tormenting her than cherishing her.

His instincts told him something was off.

He resolved to investigate the matter properly if they ever returned to the Empire.

Even after feeding her the medicine, there was still a hurdle left.

Having never undressed a woman before, he was at a loss, confronted with the numerous ribbons—or rather, the few ribbons—that tied her dress. Though known for his calm and quick judgment, those traits were utterly useless in this situation.

He briefly considered calling a maid, but he realized that letting someone into the room, especially seeing Georgiana’s injuries, would inevitably lead to rumors.

He couldn’t allow Georgiana’s bruised body, likely from Willow’s abuse, to be seen by just anyone.

One thing he had learned while crossing to the Empire on the ship was that people in confined spaces were extremely curious about others’ affairs.

By lunchtime, everyone on board knew what he had eaten for breakfast.

If it became known that a noblewoman’s wife had sustained such injuries, rumors would spread from the third basement level to the seventh floor in a single day.

He couldn’t let Georgiana become the subject of gossip.

He was about to cut the dress with scissors when he noticed that the front of the dress was fastened with small buttons.

“What a fool.”

Cursing himself, he carefully unbuttoned the tiny buttons, each smaller than a fingernail.

Although he didn’t want to, he couldn’t help but notice that despite her slender figure, her chest was quite full, making the area particularly tight. This made unbuttoning the dress even more challenging.

Deliberately avoiding looking at her full chest, he focused on undoing the buttons, but his hands slipped several times.

Finally, after beads of sweat formed on his forehead—a feat even the battlefield hadn’t managed—he succeeded in removing the dress. Several times during the process, he felt an urge to cut it with scissors.

After setting aside the dress, he proceeded to remove her undergarments as if completing a mission. The more clothes he removed, the deeper his sighs became.

Even someone as stoic as him couldn’t remain indifferent after seeing the reddish-purple bruises covering her small body. He had anticipated it, but the reality was far worse.

Her body, which had seemed thin even when clothed, was nothing but skin and bones once undressed. What had she been eating to look like this?

He knew she was so poor she had even sold her hair, but she looked more emaciated than the orphans he had seen.

Bastard.

As he wrapped bandages around what appeared to be a broken rib, he resolved once again that he wouldn’t let Willow die easily.