"Finally!"

Carlotta wasn’t that heavy, but I still didn’t feel entirely comfortable carrying her while she clung to me like a stray cat that had suddenly decided I was her new personal bed.

It felt… unnatural.

Like I was witnessing something impossible. Worse, something that would probably earn me the beating of a lifetime later.

Every time she breathed near my neck, my back stiffened a little more.

So yeah. I was pretty damn happy we’d finally reached the infirmary.

Even if it wasn’t exactly elegant, I ended up knocking on the door with small kicks since both of my hands were still busy holding that troublesome aristocrat.

The ivory-colored door trembled slightly.

From inside, Carola’s mature, calm voice echoed softly.

“Come in.”

I adjusted Carlotta’s weight against my body a little and freed one hand to turn the golden doorknob.

… Wait.

Doorknob?

I frowned.

How the hell was that possible?

The entire Academy was filled with panels, automatic doors, and electronic or mechanical systems with those clockwork-style gears.

But this door… it was completely manual. Analog. Like something pulled out of another century.

“Aghm…”

Carlotta’s tiny groan forced me to abandon that existential crisis for another day.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The infirmary looked exactly the same as the first time I’d come here.

Clean, with polished tile floors that honestly almost made me slip a couple of times.

There were a few massive shelves against the wall to the left.

And what had always felt strange to me—that weird scent floating in the air somewhere between medicine, coffee, and dried flowers.

The only difference was that this time I noticed the floating beds more clearly in the back of the room. They hovered a few inches above the floor, surrounded by small glowing blue magic circles.

… Pretty damn impressive!

“Well then, what brings you here today? Injured again… Wait. Is that Lady Wiebke?”

“Uh… yeah. I kinda… hit her. Well… more like REALLY hit her… I fell on top of her from the stands. And after that she started acting suuuper weird.”

The Nurse Carola raised an eyebrow slightly.

“I see. Don’t worry, sweetness. Please take Lady Wiebke to that bed.”

… S-She called me sweetness.

Before I could recover from that surprise attack from a mature woman, she lightly brushed my chin and smiled.

Charmingly, too. Her deep purple lipstick made her mature lips stand out even more.

“What are you waiting for, sweetness?”

O-Okay. I think I just unlocked a brand-new emotional problem.

Damn… nurses are dangerous, huh?

No… don’t think about that!

What the hell!?

Again. That thing where my brain started focusing on things it absolutely SHOULD NOT be focusing on.

Just obey.

Yeah. Obey and get my mind away from all the weird, suspicious thoughts.

I walked toward the floating beds area. My footsteps echoed softly across the shiny floor while Carlotta remained wrapped around me.

Once I got close enough, I decided to put her down.

“Uh…”

… I said, I decided to put her down.

Nope.

I shook my body again, but she didn’t move even a little.

She was still clinging to my neck with surprisingly firm strength for someone who had looked half-dead a few minutes ago.

I tried shaking her off like I was peeling a cat whose claws were hooked into my clothes.

Nothing.

I tried leaning a little.

Nothing.

Carlotta remained attached to me like a panda hugging a eucalyptus tree.

“… She won’t let go…”

“Mnh…”

“Ermh… Carlotta?”

“Uh…?”

“You know… mind letting go? Look, the bed’s right there. We made it to the infirmary.”

Carlotta only seemed to realize it then. Her body jerked violently and her voice came out squeaky.

“I-I see!”

Like she’d just woken up from some strange trance, she instantly released my neck and landed on the white blanket of the floating bed.

Then she quickly twisted around, trying to hide her face with her sleeve.

But she didn’t manage completely.

And for the first time, I saw her properly.

Her face was slightly flushed.

Two small white fangs peeked out from the corners of her lips.

Not only that.

When she lifted her hand to cover herself, I noticed her nails had grown a little longer, turning dark—almost black.

“… Ah.”

That was definitely not normal.

“What… are you looking at? I appreciate the assistance, but stop staring. It’s disgusting.”

Her voice sounded more embarrassed than aggressive.

And honestly, that was way scarier.

“Oh—right, sure. I’ll go. Want me to close the curtain?”

Carlotta, now fully wrapped in the blanket like an otter hiding inside its den, barely muttered:

“… Yes.”

I slowly walked toward the front of the infirmary, where I could hear Carola rummaging through the shelves.

As I walked, I took the chance to massage my neck a little.

Carrying Carlotta had left me more tense than I wanted to admit.

I could still feel the lingering warmth of her body on mine.

So my mind kept replaying the vivid sensation of her pressed against me.

Those uneven breaths. Those sudden little noises that sent a strange ticklish feeling twisting through my stomach.

Damn… even if I don’t want to think about it… I have to admit…

That felt kinda… erotic…

I’d never thought about it before, but… the sounds someone makes while feeling pleasure and while being sick sound kinda similar.

Or maybe that’s just Carlotta.

It’s not like I’ve heard other people in that kind of situation before.

I tried shaking the feeling—and those thoughts—away, but the lingering heat wasn’t making it easy.

… I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about this.

It’s almost like she left some kind of mark on me.

That’s weird.

I hope this feeling fades soon. Otherwise I’m gonna start acting really weird and self-conscious around her.

I closed my eyes and kept massaging my neck.

“What the hell was all that…? Is she gonna be okay?”

I may not like her, but I definitely don’t want Carlotta to suffer or have terrible things happen to her.

My heart’s not THAT dead.

I opened my eyes and—

“UH! Damn!”

Carola was bent over one of the drawers in the shelves with practically half her body shoved inside while searching for something.

That position…

W-Was pretty suggestive.

Her white coat hugged certain curves dangerously well.

Goddamn, she’s got one hell of an ass!

… No, wait.

Now that I think about it, that sounded really obscene.

Let me correct myself.

I was NOT looking at her in a perverted way.

This was totally professional female admiration!

Kathryn’s body looked nothing like Julia’s. My real body.

And one of the greatest tragedies of my reincarnation—besides dying because of some damn drug addict—was that my glorious, carefully trained ass had vanished.

So seeing Carola’s incredible rear only reminded me of one of my goals in this new life: reclaiming my lost assets.

With all the insane crap happening lately, I’d almost forgotten I wanted to do that.

So yes! I’m admiring Carola’s ass passionately and respectfully!

… That sounded way less dignified than I hoped.

Carola kept searching with intense concentration.

“Mmm…”

“… Nurse?”

“Well… damn it all…”

“Uh… Miss Carola? Hello? Can you hear me?”

I poked her lightly in the side.

The nurse jumped slightly and finally pulled herself out of the drawer.

“Ah! Sorry. Were you talking to me? When I focus too much, I tend to lose track of the outside world.”

“I just wanted to ask about Carlotta. I wanted to know if she’ll be okay… or if there’s anything I can help with.”

Okaaay, that last part was a lie.

I only said it to look good.

You know, if Carola tells that psycho I showed concern for her, maybe it’ll soften her heart enough to stop wanting to murder me.

“Oh, that. Don’t worry, she’ll be fine. It’s just…”

Carola’s relaxed smile faltered for a second.

“What’s wrong?”

“Mmm… I ran out of blood.”

… I blinked.

“B-Blood?”

“Yes. I thought I brought enough, but I was wrong. Hm? Why that face, sweetie? You look like you saw a ghost.”

“How is THAT not the issue!? Why would she need blood!?”

Carola tilted her head slightly.

“… Ah. You don’t know.”

Her expression shifted a little.

More careful.

“Let’s just say Lady Wiebke requires ‘transfusions’ because of the nature of her Magic. Her Traits are… somewhat unique.”

“Unique how? Is she anemic or something?”

Because honestly, that made sense.

If her magic involved firing blood around like some kind of human machine gun, obviously there’d be side effects.

Like muscle pain after exercising.

Except psychopath aristocrat edition.

“Mmm… yes. Let’s go with ‘anemic.’”

She was definitely hiding something.

“Still, it’s not my place to discuss my patients’ private matters. If you want to know more, you’ll have to ask Lady Wiebke directly.”

“Lucky me.”

And honestly, I meant that.

I didn’t want Carlotta to die.

But I also didn’t want to get too involved with her.

As long as she stopped hating me and abandoned her possible homicidal urges, I’d be satisfied.

I didn’t need more emotional drama in my life.

“Wait. Didn’t you say you ran out of blood? Then… what’s going to happen to her?”

“Nothing serious. I just need to get more transfusion bags. But I don’t want to leave Lady Wiebke alone in that state… though I also don’t want to stay if she goes crazy…”

“What was that last part!?”

“I’ll be right back! The blood is stored in another area of the Academy. A special Wiebke storage facility supplied by Lady Wiebke herself. So… erhm… keep an eye on her for me, okay?”

And then…

The woman slid her fingers lightly across my lips before giving me a wink.

My brain stopped functioning for approximately three seconds.

“Ehm… ah… yeh…”

“Thanks, sweetness. And hey… be careful! Don’t let her get too close to your neck. Bye-bye~ Keep watch for me. I’ll be back soon!”

“Heh… uh, heh, heh, heh… Bye~”

… Huh?

No.

Wait!

“What do you mean be careful!? What’s wrong with my neck!?”

But my question died before it could leave my mouth.

The Nurse had already left the infirmary.

And to make things worse…

I heard the sound of a key turning from the other side of the door.

… Shit.

That did NOT sound good.

I slowly turned toward the curtain behind which Carlotta was resting.

“No, seriously… what the hell?”

I swallowed nervously.

“Carlotta’s so weak from anemia that even a baby could turn her into minced meat! What exactly am I supposed to be careful of?”

… Well. Yeah. I was weak too.

But still.

That was kinda offensive.

I crossed my arms, trying to convince myself.

“I can handle a half-dead, anemic Carlotta…”

The silence of the infirmary suddenly felt strangely heavy.

… Right?

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