Girl from Mitras ★ A. Arlert

Chapter 21 - Influence

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The rest of the day passed in a blur. Y/N worked automatically. She wanted to drop everything and go straight to Erwin, question him and help. But it was impossible. She understood it. She tried to disengage as much as possible from thoughts about the commander. She thought about anything but what she saw.

She sat in Dr. Carvert's office while he was visiting one of his patients and filling out regular paperwork. Her thoughts wandered somewhere, and suddenly they tried to return to Erwin again, but... Y/N realized what had almost happened. Her face began to burn. She felt awkward. «He wanted to... kiss me? Or not? And if we did, then...» She suddenly felt ashamed, because the thought of being close to another person reminded her of Armin and her newly acquired dreams about him. Her heart beat faster. «Damian is a good person, but it won't happen. No. It's not right. And Armin... I don't know, I miss him, but everything is difficult, it's not known when we will see each other, if he...» And again her thoughts returned to the wounded commander. «What if he, too, is injured or worse...» Tears rose in her eyes, she didn't want to lose him. She didn't want to lose anyone.

She decided not to stay up late: a lot of stress affected the quality of work. She decided not to return home immediately, but to walk around the city a little in the hope of calming her raging nerves. She went to a tea shop and bought her favorite tea, as well as herbal tea to calm her nerves. Bought some groceries to make something to eat at home, and also grabbed some fresh bread from the bakery and some of her favorite sweets. Before heading home, she decided to visit her favorite bookstore, which she and her father had been going to for as long as she could remember. It was a large two-story store with large glass windows, filled with all sorts of books. This place always comforted her - it reminded her of how much she still didn't know about this world and that she had her whole life ahead of her to try to learn as much as possible.

She wandered around the store, periodically pulling out books, reading the annotation and the last page. She always did that with fiction - if a book caught her, she bought it. With scientific and non-fiction, she read several pages, leafing through the book.

She was in the Nature section on the second floor of the store, flipping through the latest edition of the biological encyclopedia.

- Do you like this book, miss? I want to buy something similar for my niece, she like to read.

- «If she likes science, then she will like it», Y/N turned, deciding to look at her interlocutor as her eyes widened. «Uncle Er...»

Erwin put his finger to his lips.

- You probably understand this, can you tell me more?

- I... Yes, of course I'll tell you, it's not difficult for me.

They moved a little deeper into the section, and at first, Y/N did tell him about biology. Then he took the book from her and said to her in a whisper:

- Now, tell me, how are you?

- We don't have much time, so, I'll be brief: I got a job at the palace with the current royal doctor. Now I have access to even more rooms in the palace, and I also have access to personal patient cards. I haven't found my father's notebook yet, which you asked me to find, I didn't have much time to look, but I will find it. I promise.

- «I asked how you are, not about your work, Y/N», he looked warmly at the girl. «Your father was an adult, and he was very stressed by what he did for me, even though he realized that it was right. I'm worried about you, for your well-being»

- I think I'm fine. I found a way.

- Please be careful. I will come here every evening as long as I have the opportunity. Soon, Hange will return to the Capital, I'll have to transfer certain tasks to them. So, I hope you have something interesting for me.