"During the practical lesson yesterday, you used a spell you shouldn't have and lost control. It was a big mess. There was ice and snow everywhere around the training field. It all melted now, but the whole area is flooded because of it. You injured several of your classmates and ended up suffering from mana rebound."
"...I didn't remember activating any spells, though…? No, wait… maybe I did…? It's all a blur…"
The woman explained, and the boy muttered white rubbing his forehead.
"The thing is, your injuries were far too severe for them to be caused by mana rebound. I was also told that you were being aggressive towards student Edemsworth, which resulted in Student Justin challenging you to a duel for her sake."
"...what…?"
The nurse continued, and this time her words caused Rotsard to freeze up and stare with such disbelief that if someone else entered, they would have to assume that the woman just stated the most insane conspiracy theory as if it was a fact.
"I've learned about it from other nurses. Someone had to stay by your bedside the whole night and use healing crystals just to keep you alive. By the way, you should be grateful to not just me but the Royal Academy as a whole. I've used the entire available supply of healing crystals, and only thanks to them I managed to piece your internal organs together. Even if barely..."
The nurse pointed out, proudly puffing out her chest and raising her head.
"Thank you for doing the job you are paid to do out of my family donations, and using the supplies bought by my family donations to keep me alive, I guess?"
"...what was I expecting from a scum…"
Rotsard raised his brows and tilted his head to the other side before saying doubtfully, making the nurse scowl and mutter under her breath.
"Haaa… Anyway! The duel was supposedly for you to stay away from student Edemsworth. If you won, student Justin would leave the Royal Academy. You obviously lost. And I guess that even if you do remember that happening, you will still claim that you don't. Because you are just the worst."
"..."
The woman sighed and scoffed, unable to stop herself from adding a jab, but what was Rotsard supposed to do in that situation? He didn't remember a thing, but he clearly would not be believed either way, so he stayed silent and waited for the continuation of the story.
"But! Here we arrived at an injury that cannot be explained by anything that was reported!"
"...?"
The nurse suddenly declared in a spirited voice and stepped up right to the bed, leaning over the taken aback boy, and grabbed his right hand, rolling down the sleeve of his sleepwear.
"What in the world…?!"
Even Rotsard could not hold back a shocked call at the sight of the deep purple, almost black stripe going across the entire length of his forearm!
"See? It might be a spot where you supposedly got hit, but it doesn't make sense. That is not a bruise. That's a frostbite. A severe one. And student Justin cannot use magic that could cause that."
The nurse announced with the expression of a seasoned detective hot on a case.
"...I… then… so… haaa… in that case, what caused it? Did I self-inflict it upon myself then?"
"You can't be that ignorant."
Rotsard furrowed his brows and asked, jolting back his hand from the woman's grip and pulling his sleeve back up while she shook her head at him with a smile full of pity for someone with less intellectual prowess.
"I actually don't believe that you lost control over a spell… I don't believe you used a spell in the first place."
"...then what happened…!?"
The nurse leaned in and whispered with a cheeky smile, making Rotsard call out in annoyance.
"All of the traces make it obvious, don't they? Someone from the Vallhall family tried to get rid of you, making it seem like an accident during training~!"
"...haaa... I see how it is. In the end, you're just a dumb peasant…"
She revealed triumphantly, but in response, Rotsard groaned, rolling his eyes and leaning back onto the pillow.
"What?! Why would you say that?!"
"Because you are, Miss Peasant. Don't try to go around spreading such nonsense, for your own good."
The nurse blushed and cried out, clearly hurt by the remark, while the bleached-blond-haired boy shrugged his shoulders and glanced around one more time..
"Hey! I am just trying to…"
"Yeah, yeah. Sure. NAAAAN!"
The nurse tried to be argumentative again, but was dismissed with a wave of a hand that was followed by Rotsard's sonorous call.
"No shouting in the hospital wing!"
The peasant nurse shouted.
"How do you know that your maid is around?"
Still angry, she added.
"I guessed. I'm wearing my nightwear. Are you saying that you went to my room and then changed me?"
"..."
"Young master, you're awake…!"
Rotsard raised his brow and pointed out, but the nurse was given no time to respond as the boy's maid burst into the hospital wing.
"Young master! How are you feeling!? I already contacted the family and requested time off from the Academy for you! Can you sit up? Are you hungry? Is there anything I can do for you!?"
"...!?"
Her erratic behavior and panicked speech pattern were exceedingly similar to the behavior of a dog that witnessed its beloved owner getting hurt. Honestly, it startled the peasant nurse who never imagined someone could be that dedicated to the scummy first-year well-known in the Royal Academy for his shameful behavior.
"Nan, ease up."
"...! Y-yes."
"..."
The nurse flinched and frowned, seeing that the way Rotsard acted towards the maid was also almost exactly like an owner would act towards a well-trained dog, calming her down with a stern voice and a gesture that made her plop down by his bedside.
"Is the cold room completed?"
"Y-yes. To the Vallhall's standard. B-but, young master…! You… you can't seriously intend to enter it in that state!?"
Rotsard asked, and the maid nodded her head before tensing up and whimpering with a worried expression.
"Nan. That is exactly what will happen. Help me get up, and then toss me in there."
"...!"
The boy didn't even bother to put up an appearance of considering his maid's words and declared, reaching his hand towards her, which she grabbed with a worried expression, clearly more of a learned habit than actual willingness to follow the request.
"Tsk… Hey! The least you could do is to tell your family to supply us with more healing crystals!"
As the bleached-blond-haired boy and his maid were walking out of the hospital wing, the peasant nurse clicked her tongue and called after them.