Damian waved to the child and his mother, noticing passersby looking at them.
“I'm really fine, so don't worry.
Well, the tram is here, so...”
It felt like he was running away, even though he was the victim.
Damian deliberately avoided looking back and got onto the tram, sitting on an empty seat.
He was fiddling with where his right elbow had been, then muttered:
“I need to get a prosthetic arm...”
It wasn't just an inconvenience; He didn't even like the looks of pity he was receiving.
***
The middle-aged doctor looked at Damian like a ghost, adjusting his round, thin-rimmed glasses.
“So... you're saying that a grenade exploded up close, and your liver was damaged, but you survived...?”
“They said the lodged fragments compressed a blood vessel, preventing excessive bleeding...”
The doctor clicked his tongue at this indifferent explanation.
“The Goddess of Luck must have been particularly impressed with you.”
Damian smiled weakly.
"I think so."
Was my desperate desire to live the cause of a miracle?
If it wasn't for Plintray, who made him feel this way, even though he no longer knew who she really was, he would have died right there.
“Anyway, um… we will need to do various follow-up tests for a while, so make sure you come in for regular outpatient treatment, and you will have to take medicine for the rest of your life.”
The new doctor muttered to himself as he looked at the chart the previous doctor had sent and nodded.
Damian groaned inwardly.
He didn't mind taking medication for life, but it was tiring.
“Today, it would be a good idea to have a blood test and an X-ray.
I will give you a prescription after the tests are done.
The blood drawing room is located on the third floor, and the imaging diagnostic room is located on the first floor, so come in.”
***
Damien took the test request form from the doctor, went to the third floor to have his blood drawn, then went down to the first floor to take an X-ray.
He finished the tests, but the results would take two hours.
He had some time before seeing the doctor again.
He was thinking about what he should do with a dull expression, then decided to go to the café outside and pass the time reading the newspaper.
He was heading towards the first floor exit when...
A woman passed by Damian, and he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Her hair was swaying as she walked, and she smelled of perfume.
'The smell of flowers...'.
He didn't know much about sweet pea, rose, or other flowers, but he was sure that this familiar scent...
It was the same lingering smell from the handkerchief that he burned, and the perfume that the sender sprayed on him whenever she went out!
Damian's eyes widened, and he recklessly grabbed the woman's wrist as she passed, the force causing her to spin around to face him.
Even without checking her face properly, Damien said,
"No...
Mrs.
Lintray?!"
His heart was beating hard, his breathing quickened as if he was running with all his might, and his voice trembled with unconscious tension.
The woman stared at Damian, who grabbed her wrist, her eyes as wide as a rabbit's.
Her eyes were the color of the ocean, sparkling in the sunlight.
Her light golden hair, which had been fluttering when she turned, was now sitting elegantly, shining gently.
Her slender wrist felt tender in Damian's large hand.
Her slender silhouette suggested lightness, and she looked very dismayed as she was pulled toward him with a gentle tug.
Without a moment to react emotionally to Damien's sudden and rude behavior, I reflexively asked,
“Excuse me?”
Facing her clearly troubled expression, Damian swallowed and asked again,
"Aren't you...Mrs.
Lintray?"
"no".
The woman shook her head and furrowed her eyebrows.
"Um, can you please let go of my arm?
It hurts."
"What?
Oh yeah!"
Damian snapped out of his daze at her words, and quickly released her hand in surprise.
Her wrist was red where he had grabbed it.
Seeing this, Damian started to break out in a cold sweat and bowed his head.
"I'm so sorry!
I mistook you for someone else.
Are you okay?"
“Well... it hurts a little, but...”
Damian glanced at the woman who was rubbing her wrist with her other hand.
She looked about the same age as him, in her early twenties.
Her eyes were large with double lids and her nose was small but prominent.
Her skin wasn't great due to her pale lips, but she was still very beautiful.
She was wearing a hospital gown, which was a bit loose on her, suggesting she was an inpatient.
The woman narrowed her eyes and looked at Damian.
Her expression softened slightly, perhaps because of his sincere apology, and she let out a small sigh.
“I'll let it go because you don't seem to have any bad intentions.”
"Thank you".
Damian bowed his head again.
:naturally.
'I've abandoned my crazy plan to search every hospital in the capital, so there's no way I'll run into Ms.
Lentray unexpectedly like this.'
"And perhaps the perfume is a popular perfume used by others other than Lentrae.
How could I mistake it for Mrs.
Lentrae just because it smells similar...?" Damian's actions were truly rude.
"Anyway, be careful."
As the woman turned to leave, Damian hurriedly called out to her.
"Sorry!".
She turned her head towards him, and spoke cautiously.
“I feel so bad...
Can I order you a drink?
I was heading to a café...”
The woman's facial expression became more strange.
I looked Damian up and down blankly and muttered,
“If you're trying to attract a girl, you should try a better approach...”
Damian finally realized how his words could be misinterpreted.
His face turned red and he waved his hands.
“No, no!
That's not what I meant!
I literally meant to buy you a drink, nothing more!
If you're uncomfortable, you can refuse...”
Damian's voice finally stopped.
The woman crossed her arms, thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Okay, just one drink.
I have some free time.
But...”
She looked at her clothes and muttered,
“I'm not sure it's appropriate to come out with this.”
Damian quickly took off his coat and offered it to her.
She blinked, then accepted the coat and put it on.
The coat was too big for her, and the sight of her fingertips peeking out of the sleeves looked funny, but she didn't seem to mind.
“There is a café right in front of the hospital.
Can I accompany you there?”
“Sure, they have good drinks there, and it's close, which is nice.”
The woman started walking with light steps, and Damian followed her, saying:
"I...I don't have any ulterior motives.
Please don't misunderstand."
"Understood".
The woman laughed and extended her hand.
"I'm Liliana Carnell."
Damian was surprised by the sudden introduction, so he stared at her outstretched hand and said embarrassedly,
"I'm Damian Stearns."
Damian didn't know how to respond to the hand offered to shake.
It had only been a month and a half since he lost his right arm, and he wasn't used to how to compensate for the tasks his right arm was doing.