Dahee focus

"He's feverish," physician Jung Hoseok stated after checking the little brute's forehead. The royal medic had arrived a moment ago. "Second princess should consider removing the cloth over his face once I'm gone, so that he can breathe freely. I will prepare some of physician To's tea. It will help with lowering his temperature."

Dahee nodded curtly. She had told the man that the little brute did not want anyone to see his face because it was disfigured, and Jung had respected that. But that seemed to leave her with the task of feeding him the concoction and it made her feel... uncomfortable.

"Little brute," she whispered to the barely awake man once the physician had left the room. "I will make you pay for making me do this." It had come like the assassin had predicted at To mansion; she would take care of him. But Dahee could not stand that his prediction had come true.

Though when she received no snide comment, her anger dissolved and only left concern. Cautious not to touch him, she sat down on the bed. "If you die in my house, I will feed you to our dogs," she threatened him halfheartedly, combing the sweaty strands out of his face to look into the hazy brown eyes.

A knock on the doorframe made her pull back her hand hastily and get up.

"The tea has to sit for a while, so let us change his bandages, shall we?" Jung asked her.

"We?" Dahee asked shocked.

"If her highness would be so kind to call for one of her servants?" the physician asked of her, obviously not meaning for her to assist him. What had she been thinking?

But the servants could not know, so she had to accept the bitter broth she had cooked up herself. "No, no it is fine," she stopped him immediately. "I can help master Jung. What do I need to do?"

The man looked slightly startled at her proposal. "Second princess seems to care much for this one."

"No, I... well, he just is my most loyal guard. I value him very much, and I am concerned for rumors that might arise because I treat him at my own house, so I would rather not bother the servants," she lied. It was a bad lie, but she hoped that her being a woman might cloud physician Jung's judgement of her motives.

As expected, the man looked at her like he thought that only a woman could be this silly. "As her highness pleases. Then second princess shall steady him while I change the bandages."

Dahee nodded and watched the medic perform the same actions as master To to get half-naked Jungkook into a sitting position before he gestured her to hold him by his shoulders. The bare skin felt hot under her hands, so hot that she almost pulled back in shock.

"He is burning," she stated shocked.

The movement had caused the little brute to become livelier. He hissed in pain. "Careful, little princess, or I might rip apart again," he joked weakly.

"And you would deserve it. Stupid man," she said without much vigor, mind filled with concern.

Physician Jung spoke up. "I'll remove the bandages now, clean the wound, and apply new ointment," he explained. "It may hurt, but you'll feel better afterward."

Jungkook snorted. "It always feels better afterward. How can it not when no one's touching anymore?" He sounded sour.

The medic stood up with a displeased frown to get the bowl of boiled water and some cloths. Apparently, Jung Hoseok was not very pleased with his patient.

"Try being more grateful to master Jung," Dahee told the little brute. "He will come here to take care of you for the next days."

Said man had seated himself behind the assassin again and started wiping at the stab.

"Ahrrr... oh, Buddha," Jungkook pressed out, body almost toppling over to the side.

Dahee stepped closer and pulled him against her to steady him. "Stop whining like a boy and behave like a man," she scolded coldly while her heart started beating twice as fast. She should not be this close with another man, not under physician Jung's sharp look, not ever. But she could not let go either or she would ruin all the effort that had been put into little brute's treatment until now, and she needed him to become better quickly.

A peculiar mix of a sob and a laugh left the little brute's mouth, muffled by the fabric of her dress. "Maybe it would be less painful if little princess would-"

"Do not be shameless again," she interrupted him, voice tense. If he started to babble in front of physician Jung, her mother might be informed about it, and the last thing she needed was her mother asking to see the guard she was so prone on caring for. It was bad enough as it was right now.

Master Jung looked like he would rather want to stab little brute a second time than take care of him. It was probably the first time that he was rewarded with so little appreciation. But no wonder when he normally was showered with her mother's gratitude for treating her hurting joints.

"Master Jung, do not listen to this one. His tongue is just as quick and sharp as his sword, but he knows loyalty, so he will not forget about your service," she tried to pacify the young physician.

"What kind of nons-" Jungkook said, but she quickly covered his mouth with a hand.

"The wound looks good," the medic said uncaringly. "I don't understand why he has such a high fever. Physician To's ointment does its purpose." He took some of said medicine onto a small wooden spatula and covered the wound again.

Jungkook tensed under Dahee's steadying hands. She did not even want to know how painful a wound like this was. He husband was covered under scars from such incidents and they looked gruesome even when healed.

The body in her hold shivered.

"Only the bandaging and then he should drink the tea and be kept warm under the blanket while someone cools his head with a wet cloth," Jung advised at the sight of his patient's goosebumps and gave Dahee a side-glance.

Once he had wrapped a fresh layer of wraps around little brute's middle, he helped him back into a lying position.

"Master To advised him to lie on his stomach," Dahee noted. He knew that master Jung was just as knowledgeable as the old master, as expected of an excellent disciple, but she wanted to make sure no mistakes were made.

"I know," the young master replied. "But second princess needs to feed him the medical tea and cool his head a little. Afterward he can be turned around." He began to pack up his things.

Dahee wanted to object, tell him that it was not her duty to take care of a simple man, but then she remembered why it had come to this and swallowed back her words. A weak shadow of the mischievous grin could be seen around the half-lidded eyes of the little brute, making her want to slap him.

After the medic bit his goodbye and left, she turned around to him and hissed, "Saving your life and treating you like I am your servant, you will have to repay me." Then she grabbed the bowl with the special tea and sat back down on the edge of the bed, roughly pulling down the cloth that covered Jungkook's lower face.

"Had it not been for little princess' impossible task, I would not be in need of a lifesaver," the little brute dared to object her with a weak grin on pale lips.

Dahee just huffed and fed him the first spoon of the medicine. "How did this even happen?" she wanted to know. After she had returned from the palace, Jungkook had been fast asleep, so they had not been able to have a proper talk.

"Lap dog," was all the man pressed out

"Did you at least kill him?" she asked brusquely.

A weak headshake accompanied by a groan was her answer before she spooned another gulp between the lips.

Slight relief caused the pressure in her chest to lessen. "It does not matter. Perhaps it is better this way," she admitted.

Little brute looked confused. "What made you change your mind?"

Dahee pondered over whether she should tell him everything now or wait until he was better. Her impatient side won. "This war comes at an unfortunate time as much as it is contributing to my plans," she began. "General Park is an experienced man. He can win this battle without the crown prince. But his mind could have been thrown into turmoil had you killed his favorite son."

Jungkook nodded softly, eyebrows furrowed in an effort to stay concentrated and not give in to the fever's delirium. "Why do you want the lap dog dead?" he asked quietly and accepted the last spoon of tea.

"General Park has yet to decide on his successor," she explained biting her lip in distress. "I fear that the old man's judgement is clouded by his love for his first son, ignoring the achievements of my husband." For years the old Park had only shown favoritism towards his own blood, ignorant of his nephews' hard work and sacrifices. If he did not choose the adopted son Seojoon of the Park family, so be it, but her husband naturally was the best choice to inherit his position.

"So hungry for power?" the little brute asked teasingly.

It was not solely her appreciation for power but also careful consideration of their kingdom's situation. Park Jimin was unfit to lead an army; he was strong and rightful, but he lacked the wits of a general. As for the crown prince, he was too shallow, too satisfied with what his kingdom already had, so set on maintaining without the willingness to obtain something better. And he was unwilling to listen to reason, adamantly holding up the peace his father had established, coating weakness as wisdom.

Minister Kang was part of the problem with telling the crown prince that their fields were enough, their barns able to support the nation. But why was that? Because their soldiers became farmers in times of peace. But what if war became inevitable? What if Rouran or Northern Wei overturned Goguryeo and marched further southwards? Then there was no one tending to those fields, able to support a battle and survive the winter. Then they could only give up.

"Don't frown, little princess," the little brute's voice stopped the storm in her mind. "I can see that there is more to it." Serious brown eyes looked up at her.

"I will get some water," she said flatly and left the guestroom.

When she returned Jungkook had already fallen into a restless slumber, so she decided that they would turn him around later and simply placed the cool cloth on his forehead.

With a look at the black cloth around his neck, she remembered physician Jung's words and reached for the knot to unfasten it and pull it off. But what greeted her underneath was unexpected and caused her to inhale sharply.

The was a cut at little brute's throat that was violently red and wet with strange liquids.

"You stupid man, why did you not tell me," she exclaimed and threw away the cloth she was still holding.

Making a decision she got up and left again. This time for the kitchens.

"Old lady Ahn, please give me a pot with boiled water," she asked of the housekeeper.

"Sure, my lady," the old woman replied and hurried to find her what she needed. "If I may ask: who is the man young lady is taking care of?" the lady asked when she came back with the steaming pot and a few white cloths.

For a moment, Dahee froze. So, the servants already knew. "He is a good friend of my brother the third prince," she lied. "But since it would be improper to take care of him in the palace, brother asked me to accommodate him until he can find him a place to stay."

"Oh, so it is like this," the old lady said, looking relieved. What had this old maid cooked up in that head of hers?

Dahee sighed when she understood that her words to physician Jung might have become reality. "I was concerned that rumors would arise if I asked the servants to assist me," she continued her lie. "But since they already seem to know, may I ask of lady Ahn to stop the talking for my sake?" She looked at the old lady as helplessly as possible. "I will explain it to my husband once he comes back from the war."

"Of course, my lady, of course!" old lady Ahn assured her. "I will see to the servants."

With a grateful smile Dahee took the pot and the towels and hurried back to the guestrooms.

"Oh, little brute, why do you have to make things so difficult for me?" she asked annoyed when she sat back at his bed and took another look at the wound.

It did not look deep, but even she could tell that something was wrong. But for now, she could only do her best and ask master Jung to handle it properly tomorrow. Thus, she dipped a cloth into the hot water, hissing when it touched her fingers, and began to clean the cut.

When her hand touched the disgusting wound, the little brute's eyes shot open with a pained cry. "What in Buddha's name are you doing?!"

Shocked she pulled back her hand. But her shock was quick to turn into anger. "Why did you not tell me about your neck?" she shouted back. "I am paying every expensive physician in the capital to treat you and you decide to ruin all my efforts by keeping that a secret." She gestured at his neck.

A rough hand lifted to feel the cut but pulled back quickly when it came in contact with swollen skin and clear liquid. "I forgot," Jungkook said short-breathed and relaxed back against the bed.

"Forgot?" she growled. "How can one forget that their throat was almost sliced?"

"Don't be mad, little princess," the man begged her weakly. "I was almost dying of blood loss, so how could I care about a minor cut like this?"

Dahee had several reasons she could name him, but she decided that this was of no use and dipped the cloth back into the water. "Let me clean it."

"With scorching hot water? Princess to you want to torture me?" the little brute asked with a pained expression.

"Is that not right?" she asked confused. Had physician Jung not asked for boiled water as well?

"Boiled, yes," Jungkook breathed out exhausted. "Boiling, no."

Now she understood her mistake. The water needed to cool down in order not to burn the skin. What a stupid mistake to make.

"I will not apologize," she said matter-of-factly. "This is your punishment for not telling me about your other wounds."

Jungkook snickered quietly. "As expected of little princess."

"Why are you calling me that?" she asked. Of course, she called him little brute, too, but he had called her little princes from the very first time they had met.

"I call everything 'little' that can be killed with a single strike," the assassin answered her, no sign of humor in his eyes. Even through the haze of fever she could see the cold calculation in the brown orbs, and it scared her.

"Right now, you could not even kill a fly," she snarled at him and roughly started to clean the wound with the cooled-down cloth.

He hissed. "Don't be fooled, little princess. Only because I'm like this doesn't mean I can't defeat a woman."

"Be quiet," she snapped weakly. What kind of mother had raised a brat like this? Threatening people left and right without a care.

To her surprise, the little brute complied to her words and closed his eyes, enduring the cleaning. Once freed from dried blood and all the other unsightly things, the wound had started to bleed again.

"How does it look?" Jungkook asked her, breath heavy from pain and fever waves.

"It is bleeding and red," she answered.

"Good," the man replied. "Put some of that ointment on."

"Why can you not do it by yourself?" she asked, scared to touch the burning skin again.

"Because I can't see it, princess. Now help me," he growled annoyed and grabbed for the bowl of master To, holding it out for her.

"You owe me," she repeated once more.

"I owe you my wounds and I owe you my treatment. We're even," he disagreed.

With a frown Dahee took some of the thick cream on her finger and began to cover the bleeding cut on this idiot's neck. "Why are you suddenly so talkative?" she noticed displeased.

The crooked grin was back on his face. "Maybe the treatment of little princess is working wonders," he joked, only making her snort and shake her head.

"Can I leave it like this?" she asked once she was done covering the wound. The blood flow was now blocked.

"It should be fine," Jungkook answered seriously, eyes already closed again. "But princess?"

She looked at him expectantly and an eye opened to meet her gaze. "I have a wound on my thigh and wrist, too," he said, grin already slipping onto his lips again when he lifted the arm that was wrapped up with a black cloth. Only now she noticed that the material was dark with wetness.

"Oh, you little wretch! I will show you respect!" she shouted and hit his chest several times, watching satisfied when the little brute coughed drily. To take advantage of a princess so shamelessly... There had to be an end to this.

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