Chapter 10: Violet

Your face, as beautiful as the flowers in the land of fairies, in the sea of violets blooming over these hills, you will be the owner of this name. In the future, you will grow into a woman who lives up to her name. Your name is Violet Evegarden.

The war was nearing its end. The enemy was making a last stand, but that resistance would eventually turn into greater despair.

"Sorry for the trouble, Doctor."

"No problem, just be patient."

Aetil held a sanitation ball in his hand and inserted it into the wound where he had just removed the bullet. The man in front of him twisted his face in pain, his other hand hitting the table repeatedly.

"There is no one else here, Lieutenant Colonel Hawkins. If you are afraid of pain, just say it. It doesn't matter."

Lieutenant Colonel Hawkins wanted to maintain the last vestiges of his adult dignity in front of the teenage girl, Aetil, gritting his teeth to endure the pain.

"I'm fine..."

A small attack from the enemy during a patrol had resulted in a bullet wound to his arm. Hawkins was an old acquaintance of Major Gilbert, a capable officer with striking red hair, lowered eyebrows, and a unique charm that radiated from his seemingly lazy appearance.

"Why are you so young and yet on such a brutal battlefield?"

Aetil listened to Lieutenant Colonel Hawkins' question but didn't seem to know how to answer.

"Compared to me, you should pay attention to Major Gilbert, who has a master gun in his hand, a woman like me."

"Gilbert? He's on this front too?"

Hawkins hastily got up, said goodbye to Aetil, and ran out of the tent.

"Gilbert!"

Inside the frontline tent, Hawkins gasped and lifted the tent curtain.

"Finally, I find you. I can't believe we can still meet alive!"

Major Gilbert saw Hawkins and quickly put down the corn juice in his hand. The two men were very happy to see each other.

"This young girl..."

"Violet. I named her."

"Good, very good name!"

The two animatedly chatted about their parents and what had happened on the battlefield. Gilbert let Violet go freely, but she still stood mechanically next to the Major.

"Since when did you become so gentle with girls? I thought it would be better if you two had a family and forgot about it."

The Hawkins family was very powerful and prestigious, providing a lot of military expenses for marching and fighting, so the army took great care of Hawkins, and the places where he took up posts were war zones with little hostility.

"The person who made great achievements in Capria was him, wasn't he?"

Lieutenant Colonel Hawkins turned around with a smile.

"When the war ends, I want to retire from the army and open a company. When that happens, I will hire you."

Major Gilbert also smiled and waved his hand.

"Let's talk about it if we're still alive."

Hawkins gave Gilbert two packs of valuable tobacco from the battlefield and left the frontline tent, enjoying the reunion he had just had.

"That young girl named Violet is very beautiful. Who would have thought she was such a terrifying war machine."

Hawkins paced slowly. The seemingly endless trail in the night seemed to work against him when a flash of white light caught his attention, and Hawkins looked closer.

"Dr. Aetil?"

Aetil was seen walking past the tents of wounded soldiers, coming upon a dying soldier.

"I'm sorry, we did the best we could."

The soldier coughed and gripped Aetil's hand hard.

"I... I want... I want to go home..."

The soldier pointed at his shirt pocket. Aetil took out the contents, a photo of the soldier's wife and daughter.

"Aetil... sir... you can..."

The soldier breathed his last breath, in so much pain he could barely speak.

"I... miss my love..."

Aetil raised his hand and gently rubbed the injured soldier's face.

"Go quietly."

When his hand was raised again, the soldier stopped struggling. Although the wound was still bleeding, it was as if he had fallen asleep, and his distorted face gradually relaxed.

Hawkins looked on in amazement at this miraculous sight. He watched as Aetil returned to his tent, took two leather straps, and tied himself securely to the bed.

"Hope you have no complaints or regrets."

Aetil closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

It was late at night, and although Lieutenant Colonel Hawkins was curious as to why Aetil had tied himself so securely, sleepiness eventually overcame his curiosity.

"This might just be a special talisman."

Hawkins turned around and was about to leave when suddenly, Aetil's bed made a clicking sound. He saw Aetil's face twisted in pain, her arms and legs thrashing as if she had dreamed of something terrible.

"What happened?!"

Hawkins rushed into the tent, seeing Aetil's belt being strangled by her own tightness. The usually respected military doctor was struggling in pain, sweat beads oozing from her forehead, looking like she was being tortured.

Hawkins rushed into the tent, knowing nothing about medicine and feeling helpless. While he was confused, the struggling stopped. Aetil opened her eyes slightly, unfastened her belt, and slowly got up.

"It's rude to watch someone sleep, even if you're a lieutenant colonel."

Aetil's tone was as cold as an ice cellar, giving Hawkins chills.

"Look at the state of the injured soldier."

Hawkins hurriedly followed Aetil to the wounded soldier's tent, seeing the soldier lying there, stopped breathing, but with a smile at the corner of his mouth, his face filled with happiness and peace, as if he was in a dream and saw something incomparable.

"On your way to heaven, don't forget to look back at the earth, even though this world disappoints you infinitely."

Aetil placed the steel helmet over the soldier's face and folded his hands to pray for him.

"What happened today rots in your stomach. Don't say anything to anyone."

The sky was already flooded with a glimmer of white light, the rising sun dyeing the sky a fiery red like a prairie fire burning every corner of the sky.

Aetil threw away the soldier's corpse and said to Hawkins, "In the future, don't peek at me sleeping."

Lieutenant Colonel Hawkins looked at the mysterious medic in front of him, feeling that the woman was more mysterious than Violet.

"What exactly are you doing?"

"As you can see, I am different from others."

Aetil turned around, and the rising sun shone on the mountains and seas, dyeing her long, snow-white hair a reddish, fiery, and holy red!

"May you live forever, Lieutenant Colonel Hawkins."

Aetil took a white feather from somewhere, placed it with the photo of the soldier's family, and when the two touched, a warm fire enveloped them both, then burned them to ashes, carried away by the wind.

"Don't forget your picture, soldier, and in heaven, pray for your family too."

Hawkins saw Aetil's slightly changed appearance. She came to Hawkins, raised her hand, and pressed it on the bullet wound on his arm. The pain disappeared, and the wound felt crisp. Aetil raised her own arm, in the same position as Hawkins' wound, a red mark appeared, even silk blood seeped out.

"Who are you..."

Hawkins looked at Aetil's arm, seeing the wound getting worse while his own wound was healing quickly.

"Who are you...!"

Hawkins looked stunned, seeing Aetil's shadow, it seemed to have grown a pair of wings. The wind slightly ruffled her shadow, the wings even swaying gently with the wind.

"Shhh..."

Aetil made a silent gesture to Hawkins.

"I will charge you ten cans for this treatment."