673,

Judging by the bloodstains on the door, the blood on Little Dragon’s arm had come from the little boy too.

Now that she looked more carefully, the little boy’s clothes weren’t fancy or new, but they were intact—not a single hole in them.

Normally, it was perfectly ordinary for clothes to have no holes. There’d be no reason to point it out.

But look closer: his shirt was new, while his trousers were old, with several patches made from different-colored fabric.

Those patches made it clear that the little boy came from a poor family.

Watching him kneel in front of the door and sob, Elyse couldn’t bear it any longer.

“Little one, what happened?”

Perhaps Little Dragon had played the villain, making Elyse seem like an angel when she asked that question. The little boy trusted her at once.

Or perhaps Elyse’s beauty had made him trust her without even realizing it.

Whatever the reason, the little boy turned around while still kneeling.

“P-please save my mom!”

Elyse took the little boy’s hands and checked them. Sure enough, the blood had come from his hands.

Little Dragon had already brought out the first-aid kit and began helping Elyse give the little boy emergency treatment.

The sight was horrific. The little boy’s left palm was covered in countless tiny shards of glass, while his right palm had a deep gash.

Given his injuries, the person who needed treatment first wasn’t the little girl from earlier or the little boy’s mother. It was the boy himself.

“The glass shards need to come out. I’ll take care of his right hand.”

Little Dragon had experience treating wounds in an emergency. With an injury this serious, it was right to let her handle it.

Meanwhile, the shards of glass in his left hand needed to be removed too. Elyse could take care of that, allowing them to finish the whole process quickly.

But before they could begin, the little boy pulled both hands behind his back and shook his head.

“I-I’m okay, but my mom…”

At the little boy’s reaction, Little Dragon immediately set down the first-aid supplies and pressed a button at her station.

Then Little Dragon said,

“The doctor already knows. But until then, we need to treat the wound on your right hand, at least!”

Ignoring Little Dragon’s stern words, the little boy grabbed Elyse’s sleeves with both hands and tugged at them several times.

“My mom’s going to die! Please, please…”

The door opened. Before Elyse could say anything, Hilmirya had opened it.

“What’s going on…?”

Hilmirya’s words cut off as soon as she saw the blood-soaked scene.

Besides the little boy’s hands, there was blood on Little Dragon’s arm and Elyse’s hands as well.

Little Dragon guessed what Hilmirya was thinking and quickly corrected her.

“No, the blood’s the boy’s! Hurry—stop the bleeding in his right hand first!”

Hilmirya didn’t understand what had happened, but her experience told her to trust Little Dragon.

At this rate, they might not have time to see the next three patients.

Hilmirya decided to act quickly and gave Elyse an instruction.

“Elyse, take the remaining patients to the old doctor first…”

Hilmirya had intended to send the other patients to the old doctor first. That way, Cyclone could go out and see what had happened to the little boy’s mother.

But the little boy clung desperately to Elyse, his eyes filled with unease.

Seeing the look in the little boy’s eyes, Hilmirya had no choice.

“…Understood. Then, Little Dragon, you go.”

The situation had changed. Comforting patients was part of a nurse’s job too, so Hilmirya had to change her plan.

Little Dragon understood and immediately handed the first-aid kit to Elyse.

“Just stay with them.”

After handing Elyse the first-aid kit, Little Dragon stood up and led the other patients to the old doctor’s home.

Hilmirya nodded to Elyse. Elyse glanced at the little boy, then understood what Hilmirya’s nod meant.

Then Elyse asked the little boy,

“Let this big sister take care of your right hand for now. After that, we’ll go to your mom, okay?”

Though Elyse had spoken, the little boy still hesitated.

Just then, Cyclone came out from the doorway too.

“We’re not leaving until we treat your right hand.”

Cyclone stated their position bluntly, leaving the little boy no choice.

“Don’t you want to save your mom?”

That one extra question made treating himself the necessary first step on the way to saving his mother.

Hearing that, the little boy had no choice but to hold out his right hand.