Chapter 475 To Run Into Her Once More Inside the hospital.
The doctor examined Natalieâs foot and determined that there were no fractures. However, she had sustained severe soft tissue damage that may require proper rest over the next couple of days.
After the nurse had dressed Natalieâs foot and was preparing to leave, she found herself stopped by Bastien.
âWait, you should take a look at her hand as well.â
While he spoke, Bastien held Natalieâs slender hand and opened it up to reveal her badly cut and bloodied palm.
Natalie regarded Bastien with astonishment.
This manâs very perceptive, able to notice things that even the doctor and nurse managed to overlook.
Once she got that patched up as well, the nurse exited, leaving only Natalie and Bastien inside the vastness of the ward.
âDoesnât it hurt?â Bastien asked.
âBut of course, it hurts! How could it possibly not? I suppose that you must be curious as to why I didnât act as though it did,â
Natalie replied with a broad smile. âIâve been used to getting knocked around a bit in the past so that made me better at enduring it compared to other girls.â
It impressed upon Bastien that this young lady before him was simply different in every conceivable way, for he had yet to hear her elicit as much as a whimper in spite of her sustaining as many injuries as she did.
Sheâs a real toughie!
âDo you mind if I ask you something, Mr. Nine?â Natalie regarded Bastien in earnest.
âAsk away.â
âObviously, you were right there beside me, so why didnât you act to help sooner?â
âI thought that you could handle it.â
âHuh?â
Looking at Natalie, Bastien replied candidly, âYou didnât look like the type who needed any help, sticking that broken bottle to that manâs throat the way you did. Though your foot was already hurt, not only have you managed to fool them, you had me fooled as well.â
âOh, I see! But regardless, Iâm really grateful for today.â Natalie extended a hand. âNameâs Natalie Nichols. Natalie with an âiâ and âeâ, and Nichols with an âoâ, âlâ and âs.â
Bastien returned her handshake and introduced himself quite simply. âScholl. Bastien Scholl.â
Their eyes met before Bastien shifted his attention to a wound on Natalieâs right cheek.
âYour face looks like itâs been dinged as well,â Bastien helpfully reminded.
Bringing her fingers to her face, Natalie realized that it was not a wound but a fissure in her hyper-realistic mask, sliced open by glass fragments.
âIâll get the nurse back in to look at it.â
âItâs not necessary.â
âYou must have it attended to.â Bastienâs brow tightened into a taut furrow, and there was a domineering quality to his otherwise genial tone. âDoes it not bother you that you might become disfigured?â
âIâm not disfigured. This face is a fake.â
A fake?
Amidst Bastienâs skeptical gaze, Natalie gently peeled off the hyper-realistic mask just to show him what he assumed to be a wound. âThis isnât my face, so itâs not going to cause my appearance to be marred even if itâs damaged. It could become quite troubling for me if you were to get the nurse in here, though.â
After examining the mask more closely, Bastien concluded that it was as Natalie described.
However, when he lifted his eyes and took a better look at Natalieâs face, his heart skipped a beat.
Itâs her?
It was no wonder he found her familiar, as she was the one who had been constantly on his mind.
After the quake in Loang, there was a woman who scurried around the disaster zone in her white coat and subdued smile, curing the wounded villagers with her assortment of medicinal brews.
In spite of only having taken one glance at her, he was determined to seek her out after the situation stabilized, only to discover that she had vanished from Loang since.
So this is where she came afterward!
When Natalie noticed how the wordless Bastienâs eyes fixated upon her, she raised her hand and waved it in front of him. âDonât tell me that youâre that shocked?â
âNo.â
With his gaze tinged with increased warmness, Bastien was merely quietly pleased that he had managed to run into her once more.