In the southwest of the Hawke Empire, in the ward of Costa Fortress.
Erin wiped the sweat from her forehead, and then said to the injured person lying on the hospital bed: "Okay, today's magical treatment is over. Please ask the doctor to change your dressing after dinner."
"Thank you very much, Miss Irene." The injured soldier said gratefully.
"You're welcome, this is what I should do." Irene nodded to the wounded with a satisfied smile.
Although this severely burned face should look ferocious and terrifying, the wounded man couldn't help but grin after seeing Irene's expression. But he didn't smile for long before the contraction of his facial muscles caused the wound. He couldn't help but gasp.
At first, many soldiers complained about having such an ugly person in the medical department. Why is he so ugly and still hanging around in front of the wounded? Isn't this deliberately slowing down the recovery of the wounded
But Eileen has been silently enduring this. There are too many people who say she is ugly. She can say that she is used to it, but sadness is inevitable. But with Eileen's character, she would naturally not take revenge on those who said she was ugly. All she can do is try to make herself useful. She hopes to use this simple and clumsy method to make people change their view of her.
And now it seems that she really did it. Now in Fortress Costa, almost all the soldiers call Irene the little angel behind her back. Because although this half-elf girl has a devilish face, her pure and clean heart like an angel has become her greatest beauty.
Now, if any soldier dares to insult or slander Irene secretly, then this guy will probably be beaten into a pig's head by other soldiers. This is not an exaggeration. In fact, there were many fights in the military camp a few months ago. The reason is that someone called Eileen ugly, but people who agreed with Eileen heard it, and then their argument turned into a quarrel, and then the quarrel turned into a fight...
And every time Erin heard that others were fighting because of her, she would feel very guilty. Fortunately, Nancy often comforted Irene, so Irene did not live in guilt all day long. As time went by, most people changed their views on Irene, and now no one would say anything bad about Irene.
The change in the attitude of the people around her made Erin very happy. She liked the feeling of helping others, she liked being respected by others, and she liked everything about Fortress Costa. Sometimes Irene would think that if it weren't for Regnar, it would be good for her to continue living here. Because she lives a fulfilling and satisfying life here.
Today is another fulfilling day. Erin has been busy in the ward since praying early in the morning. She cast magical spells on the five wounded to speed up their recovery, and by the time she finished everything, it was already noon. In the afternoon, because her magic skills were exhausted, Irene began to use medical skills to treat the wounded. In short, Irene used everything she learned to help others throughout the day.
After a busy day, Erin ran to the bakery after dinner and bought a few large pieces of coarse bread, and then walked in a zigzag manner through the Costa Fortress.
Although these small alleys looked dark and unusual, and some criminals might be hiding there, Irene didn't care at all. If you just look at the face, I'm afraid that even if the gangster tries to intercept the man's lust, he won't put his idea on her head. If she wanted to steal money, Irene usually only had a few silver coins with her, so it wouldn't be a pity if she lost them.
More importantly, Irene is now a well-known figure in Fortress Costa, both among the people and the military. Most of them like and love this "little angel" from the bottom of their hearts. So if anyone dares to put his idea on her head, then he must have made up his mind to run away after the business is done.
Erin jumped to a dark corner of the alley, and she carefully broke the bread into fist-sized pieces. Then he shouted softly in a clear and melodious voice: "Everyone, come out, dinner is ready!"
In less than a minute, the kittens and puppies hiding in an unknown corner of this war fortress and struggling to survive ran out.
Erin looked at these little animals with a smile, and then gently placed the bread on the ground. It didn't take long for these little guys, who had been hungry all day, to rush there and start eating.
"I'm so sorry, I'm late today."
"Don't grab it, you can only eat one piece."
Irene squatted there and looked at the little creatures with a smile, and from time to time she would chatter like a mother taking care of her children. She didn't care whether these guys understood them.
"Meow... meow..." The little tabby cat that ran over to eat the bread first ran to Irene's feet after feasting. It gently licked Irene's white ankles with its rough pink tongue, and then gently rubbed its furry body against her calves from time to time.
"Xiaohua, you've gained weight again!" Irene couldn't help but giggled as the kitten made her feel a little itchy.
These stray cats and dogs were discovered by Erin accidentally. Because after Regnar left, Irene would inevitably feel a little depressed, so sometimes she didn't have the time to read medical books at night. And these kittens and puppies were discovered by her accidentally while wandering around.
And for nearly half a year since then, Irene would buy bread and feed these little guys every day, rain or shine.
"Uh..." A somewhat embarrassed male voice came from behind Irene.
As soon as Irene turned her head, she saw Alpacino also holding a pile of bread. He was standing there at a loss, as if he was hesitating whether to leave or say hello to Irene.
"Brother Alpacino!" Irene spoke first instead. She seemed very happy to see Alpacino.
"Hi... Erin... long time no see..." Alpacino nodded awkwardly.
"Huh?" Irene turned her head in confusion. She didn't know why. It seemed that Alpacino had always been evasive in front of her since Regna left. The few times I saw him before, he seemed to have hurriedly made excuses to leave, and it seemed like he was still like that today.
However, the good-tempered Irene did not feel dissatisfied with Alpacino because of this. Her attention was quickly attracted by the bread in Alpacino's hand. She smiled and asked, "Are you here to feed these little animals too?"
"..." Alpacino was silent for a moment, and finally relaxed and walked over. He smiled and said, "Yes, the army just gave me the afternoon off today, so I went out for a walk and fed them by the way."
"Brother Alpacino is really kind!" Irene nodded happily, as if Alpacino came to bring her food.
"I'm just learning from you..." Alpacino smiled bitterly and shook his head. What he said was not nonsense. In fact, after giving Regnar the promise, Alpacino had been paying attention to Irene in the dark. Later he discovered Eileen's habit.
Perhaps it was out of admiration for Irene, or maybe I was moved by Irene's kind behavior. In short, Alpacino has been sneaking over to deliver some food to these kittens and puppies whenever he has time in the past six months. But it might be because he had been rejected by Irene before, or it might be because of the pressure that Regnar put on him. Alpacino always avoided meeting Irene head-on.
Because Irene's feeding time was an hour late today, Alpacino bumped into Irene.
"I didn't do anything shameful, why do I have to avoid her?" Alpacino kept asking in his heart, and today he finally had direct contact with Irene again.
"Think of it as a snack for you today. There will be no such good things in the future!" Irene said a few more words to these creatures.
"You don't seem to feed them well every time?" Alpacino couldn't help but ask.
"yes."
"Why?"
"Because they can't rely on me forever." Irene replied with a smile: "Perhaps after a while, brother Regnar will take me back. If they form a habit of relying on me, if I leave, they will What should I do? They can't always rely on me... just like I can't always rely on Brother Regnar... "
"Are you leaving soon?" Alpacino's eyes dimmed.
"I don't know either." Erin touched the head of a khaki-colored puppy. She didn't mind it being dirty, so she picked it up directly, and then continued: "But I always feel that Brother Regnar will come over recently. Looking for me, maybe I miss him?"
Alpacino turned to look at Irene, and he found that when Irene mentioned Regnar, there was always a hint of happiness and blind trust in the corner of her mouth. This made him even more frustrated. It seemed that the relationship between Irene and that guy was really deep, so deep that Alpacino felt that he was unable to compete for anything.
"I think he must also miss you very much." Alpacino replied pretending to be calm.
"Really?" Irene seemed a little surprised when she heard Alpacino say this. The simple half-elf girl always easily believed what others said. So, when he heard Alpacino say this, he took it as fact.
"Of course it's true..." Alpacino smiled weakly. He really couldn't understand. This girl must have experienced a lot of hardships in the past, but why did she always maintain that rare innocence and kindness
Thinking of this, Alpacino felt a little hatred for himself. As Regnar said, he was too weak, too weak to protect the innocence and kindness of the girl next to him. Because she is innocent and kind, you like her. But if you don't have the strength to protect these qualities of hers, what qualifications do you have to be with her? Being with you will only make you watch the things you cherish being destroyed bit by bit, right
Alpacino felt that rather than saying this, it would be better to watch from a distance. At least this will keep those good things good forever.
"Isn't it time to give up on some things?" Alpacino thought silently in his heart. He looked at Irene's ugly face, and then added to himself: "Tonight, you will be the one who likes her. Let’s talk more on our last night.”
"Irene..." Alpacino said.
"Um?"
"Have you ever thought about what your plans will be when—I mean, the war is over?"
"Yes, when the war is over and Brother Regnar is willing to leave Melinder, I will find a quiet village to live with Brother Regnar and the others. I want to cook for them every day!"
"He is the Director of Military Intelligence, how could he be willing to live a simple life with you?" Alpacino thought with some heartache, but in order not to hurt Irene's heart, he still nodded and said with a smile: " I think Regnar will also yearn for such a life."
"Um!"
In this way, Alpacino and Irene were chatting here while feeding these stray little guys. He never imagined that this would be the beginning of the most glorious moment in his life. At the same time, this is also the beginning of the last moments of his life.