A month has passed and Nao is still alive.
No one could really believe that Lord Yuto did not want to kill Nao after she yelled at him. Nao was completely fine, eventually going into bed and falling asleep while the other women in her quarter stayed up in fear of guards barging through the door. Roon cried at the thought of one the women her quarter being taken away and murdered, and Veva had to comfort her. Everyone knew that Nao's death would come, but they did not think it would arrive so soon.
However, Nao was still alive, now making noodles for Admiral Wooseok's lunch.
After Admiral Wooseok heard about the incident, he raced over to Lord Yuto's room and spoke to him for two hours straight, convincing him that Nao was truly the best maid and that Lord Yuto's health was flourishing because of her. At midnight, Lord Yuto finally changed his mind, his face red with anger.
"If she crosses paths with me one more time," he growled, "or even looks me in the face, I will have her boiled in oil."
Nao was removed from any task that involved her having contact with Lord Yuto - from making his meals to cleaning his robes. However, Admiral Wooseok noticed that Lord Yuto had stopped eating his food, so he told Nao to secretly prepare Lord Yuto's meals and make Kin deliver the food.
In fact, Admiral Wooseok had been noticing a lot of changes. One, Lord Yuto was talking less and less everyday, going back to his silent self like he used to be. His body was thinning again, his cheeks only mere skin attached to bone. His old scars were showing through again, looking as ugly as before, and sometimes Lord Yuto's bad eye burned so badly that he had to lift his eye patch in front of Admiral Wooseok so he could rub it gently.
Admiral Wooseok had enough.
"Listen to me, and listen good," Admiral Wooseok said, after he had cornered Nao in the kitchen. "If you would have just kept your mouth shut when Lord Yuto yelled at you that night, you and him would not be in this bad position. You lost his trust, and he is deteriorating physically. You are going to his room tonight to serve him his dinner and you will put the cream on his scars like you used to."
"But Adm-"
"Shut up!" He yelled. "He's sick and he is itchy, his skin has been aching. The other maid assigned to him as tried to help but nothing worked. You will bring the cream and some food to him, and even if he rejects you, you stand your ground."
"He will kill me," Nao told him, "he will."
"He did not kill you last time, so he will not kill you now. Do not make any excuses," Admiral Wooseok snarled, grabbing his food from Nao's hands before stepping out.
In the evening, Nao and Admiral Wooseok stood in front of Lord Yuto's bedroom door, Nao holding a tray of chocolate-covered fruit slices with a container of the healing cream on the side.
Admiral Wooseok opened the door, revealing Lord Yuto sitting on his bed, his robe pulled off his body and wrapped around his lower region. His hands were running up and down his skin, his fingers scratching at the scars on his skin.
"Who said you could walk in without warning me?" Lord Yuto said monotonously. His eyes landed on Nao, his eyes widening before he looked back at Admiral Wooseok. "How dare you?"
"Look at yourself," Admiral Wooseok spoke, "your skin is peeling, you have become skinny, and you talk less. Even if you do not like her, she is doing good things for your health and you should be thankful."
"Why are you always going against my words?"
"Because I know you better than you know yourself, you need help," Admiral Wooseok pushed Nao into the bedroom, her almost dropping everything on the tray. "I will be standing outside. If I hear an disagreement or argument from inside, I will hit both of you!"
His voice rang through the bedroom before he had slapped the door behind Nao. Lord Yuto looked at her angrily before looking away.
"I brought a wet rag this time," Nao spoke first, lifting the damp, black towel in her hand. "If I make your body wet, the cream will not sting as much. I promise."
"I should have killed you," Lord Yuto said to her, looking into her eyes.
"I should have stayed in the house when you were walking through the street," Nao crossed her arms. "However, we are both here, and your skin is burning. So, let me do what I do best and help you."
Lord Yuto raised his eyebrow before Nao pressed the cold rag onto his skin. It was icy cold, and it cooled the skin so much that Lord Yuto sighed from how nice it felt. Nao smiled when he closed his eye, the coolness removing the itching for the time being. She rubbed the towel over his chest and arms twice before picking up the cream.
"Ready?" She asked.
Lord Yuto did not say anything.
Nao spread the cream down his back and he sighed contently. Nao was glad that she came up with the towel idea, seeing that he was not in as much pain as before. It made Nao realize that even though Lord Yuto disliked her much, she could never, ever live with the fact that she did not save his life that one day many, many weeks ago.
Nao and Lord Yuto did not talk for about twenty minutes, Nao massaging the cream into Lord Yuto's skin and Lord Yuto sitting and enjoying the fact that his skin is not burning anymore. It was a quiet, calm atmosphere, so quiet that Admiral Wooseok secretly worried that the two of them had killed each other off without him noticing.
Nao stood in front of Lord Yuto now, lifting up his eye patch pressing the cold towel onto his face for a few moments.
"The skin on your eye is not as bumpy and rough," Nao said softly, "I think it might heal completely one day, and be completely smooth."
Lord Yuto looked up at Nao's face, astonishment on his face.
"You think so?" He mumbled.
"I know so," Nao answered, "it is already looking good."
Lord Yuto looked at Nao's face for a few more moments before closing his eye again. Nao then placed some cream on his bad eye's itchy skin. Lord Yuto suddenly groaned, his face scrunched together.
"What? What did I do?" Nao asked, leaning away from Lord Yuto's face, concern written across her face.
"Just continue," he mumbled again.
Nao continued to massage his eye, Lord Yuto's face still scrunched up. When she had finished, Nao placed the eye patch back into place and took a step back, looking at how the cream was practically seeping into the scars and broken skin all over his body.
"I finished," Nao said, "would you like to eat now?"
Lord Yuto placed his hand on top of his chest, where his heart would be. He winced, and Nao took a step forward, moving his hand aside and putting her own on his chest.
"What are you doing?" Lord Yuto looked at Nao with a stern look.
"Your heart is beating so fast, and it keeps going faster and faster, are you alright?" Nao asked, completely ignoring Lord Yuto's question. She looked at his face and realized he was now breathing more deeply.
"Stop touching me," Lord Yuto slapped her hand away from him. She stood away from him, watching him catch his breath again.
"Should I get Admiral Wooseok?"
"No, leave him out there," Lord Yuto groaned, closing her eyes. "I do not need his help."
Nao looked at Lord Yuto carefully, checking for any signs that he was not okay. When she did not see anything, she turned away, picking up the wet rag and wiping her hands on it.
"W-Why?" Lord Yuto mumbled.
Nao turned, looking into Lord Yuto's face, her eyes wide. "Why what?"
"I am the spawn of Satan himself, I am evil, I deserve to die," Lord Yuto said lowly, "but you always keep coming back. You keep making me breakfast, you keep saving my life, you keep caring. Do you not realize that I am supposed to die? Do you realize how many people would be at peace if I just die?"
Nao could not utter a word.
"I keep telling you to stop interfering with my life, but you keep coming in. Why?" Lord Yuto asked.
Nao had never seen Lord Yuto in this state, so innocent, so vulnerable. He sat there in front of her, practically naked, and shaking. Nao immediately walked over and pulled his robe on that was wrapped around his waist.
"Stop!" Lord Yuto slapped her hand away, pulling on the robe himself. "Answer my question!"
"Because I would not be able to live with myself knowing that you were not okay. I am responsible for you, whether you like it or not, I care about you more than you think."
"If I die, you get to go home," Lord Yuto mentioned. "Stop saving me. Stop caring."
"I'd rather die myself, then go home knowing you died because of my selfishness," Nao answered, surprising both herself and Lord Yuto.
He sat silently, as Nao quickly picked up the rag and the now empty bowl of cream.
"Please, enjoy your meal," Nao said, "I'll be back to get your tray."
Nao rushed out of the room, Lord Yuto placing his hands on his cheeks. They were suddenly so warm and red, and his heart was still beating rapidly.
"So, it is you," Lord Yuto said, his hand now pressed to his chest, "that keeps making my body react like this."