"Ah..."

Blake swallowed, his breathing steadying little by little before he forced out a smile.

"You must be the doctor."

The man stared at him for a moment, one eyebrow raising slightly, before stepping inside and quietly closing the door behind him.

"You may sit on the chair, young master. I’ll take a look at your condition."

Blake did as instructed, sitting down slowly.

Even then, he still hesitated a little before rolling up his sleeves and lifting the fabric of his pants.

The bruises underneath looked still awfully fresh.

The deep purple staining along his foot looked especially bad, while the bruising around his abdomen and back had spread wider than before despite the change in color.

The doctor remained silent for a while.

Blake could feel the man’s eyes carefully scanning every visible injury one by one.

Then the older man crouched slightly near him.

"Does it hurt when I press here?"

A hand gently touched the side of his abdomen.

Blake immediately winced.

"...Yeah."

"I see."

The doctor continued checking him methodically after that.

His hands moved with calm familiarity, carefully examining the bruising beneath the plasters without being rough about it.

At some point, he reached for Blake’s wrist to check his pulse.

The moment he did, Blake felt his own heartbeat stutter slightly.

The doctor’s gaze flickered upward briefly, but he said nothing.

Instead, he simply continued the examination like nothing had happened.

’Is he noticing something...?’

Blake quietly looked away.

The room remained silent aside from the occasional rustling of cloth and the faint clinking of glass bottles inside the doctor’s bag.

Then, after checking the bruising around his ribs again, the doctor finally spoke.

"These injuries are unusual."

Blake stiffened slightly.

The older man frowned faintly while adjusting his glasses.

"The bruising pattern is inconsistent with ordinary blunt trauma."

"...Hm?"

"There are no cuts. No tearing. No fractures either, from what I can currently tell." The doctor gently pressed near Blake’s side again before continuing. "Yet the internal impact must have been extremely severe to leave bruising like this."

Blake scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Well..."

The doctor looked at him carefully.

"To be direct, young master... this doesn’t look like something a human could normally inflict barehanded."

"...."

"And yet," the man continued calmly, "there are also no visible signs of weapons."

Blake stayed quiet.

What exactly was he supposed to say to that?

’Ah yes, doctor, I got shot multiple times but my defense buff bounced the bullets away while still turning my body into a punching bag internally.’

Yeah, no way, that would screw him over, of course!

The silence stretched slightly.

In the end, Blake simply smiled awkwardly and looked to the side.

"I’m pretty durable?"

The doctor stared at him for a few seconds, then he sighed quietly through his nose.

Still, surprisingly enough, the doctor didn’t continue pressing him about it.

Instead, he reached for Blake’s shoulder and lightly turned him around.

"I’ll check your back now."

Blake obeyed.

The moment the fabric lifted slightly, the doctor’s expression tightened again.

The bruising there was arguably even worse.

Dark patches spread unevenly across his back, some purple, others yellowish near the center.

The older man remained silent for a long while this time.

Blake honestly started feeling a little nervous.

Eventually, the doctor stepped back.

"Your body is recovering fast, don’t worry."

"Hm?"

"These bruises are fresh, but the color changes already indicate healing progression." He paused briefly. "Still, you should avoid straining yourself."

’That’s probably impossible.’

Blake only nodded.

The doctor began writing something down on a small notebook he had brought.

As he did, he suddenly spoke again.

"Earlier... why did you speak as though you didn’t know me?"

Blake’s heart skipped a beat.

"...Huh?"

"When you opened the door." The man calmly capped his pen. "You said: ’You must be the doctor.’"

Oh, that was bad.

Blake felt a tiny wave of panic rise inside him.

Did the previous Blake know this doctor personally?

No, scratch that, of course he did, or he wouldn’t be asking, which meant Blake had accidentally exposed himself without realizing it.

’Crap.’

Still, his expression barely changed, Blake simply smiled lightly.

"Ah, I’m just a little tired lately."

The doctor looked at him quietly.

For some reason, that gaze made Blake even more nervous than before.

It wasn’t suspicious exactly.

Just... thoughtful.

Like the man was observing something he couldn’t quite explain.

"I see."

Thankfully, he didn’t push further.

Instead, the doctor stood up and walked toward the leather bag he had left near the bed.

After rummaging through it for a moment, he took out a small metal container.

"This pomade should help the bruising heal faster. Apply it carefully around the darker areas twice a day."

"...Thanks."

"It is quite effective," the doctor added, putting it in his pocket. "Though your foot will likely take longer to recover than the rest."

"Yeah, I figured."

The older man nodded before suddenly saying:

"You should also spend some time under the sun."

Blake blinked once.

"The sun?"

"Yes. Light movement and fresh air would be beneficial for your recovery." The doctor adjusted his glasses slightly. "I will supervise it."

Blake instinctively shook his head.

"I’m still pretty tired..."

"That may be true," the man replied calmly, "but this is something I need to make sure happens."

Why was he being so insistent?

Wasn’t he just the family doctor?

Still, Blake had no intention of drawing unnecessary attention to himself right now.

"Alright."

"There is no need to change clothes," the doctor added. "We’ll only walk through the garden."

Blake nodded.

After slipping on a pair of crocs near the bed, he followed the older man outside.

The villa’s back garden was just as beautiful as the front.

Maybe even more.

Flowers stretched across nearly every visible corner, blooming in countless colors beneath the morning sunlight.

White flowers.

Purple ones.

Yellow ones.

And rows upon rows of purple blossoms swaying gently in the breeze.

Blake stared at the scenery for a moment.

That strange feeling from earlier faintly stirred again somewhere inside his chest.

Still, he calmly kept walking beside the doctor.

At the same time, his thoughts wandered elsewhere.

’Why is this man so insistent on supervising me personally...?’

Surely a family doctor wouldn’t normally go this far.

Unless...

’Was the old Blake seriously close to him or something?’

That possibility honestly made things troublesome. The doctor suddenly slowed his steps slightly.

"Do you still like that flower?"

Blake looked over.

The man was pointing toward a patch of large purple flowers nearby.

"...Hm?"

"That one."

Blake stared at the flowers.

Then he smiled naturally.

"Of course. I still like them."

A complete lie, he had never liked flowers like those in the first place.

They were too big and scented.

If anything, Blake preferred smaller flowers with softer scents.

The kind that didn’t stand out much.

Like the ones he had given Myles.

Still, the doctor simply nodded.

His faint smile never disappeared.

"I see."

They continued walking quietly after that.

Eventually, they reached a bench near the center of the garden.

The doctor sat down first.

Blake followed shortly after.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

The breeze moved softly through the flowers around them.

Then the doctor suddenly asked:

"Are you still feeling sad?"

Blake almost froze.

’...What?’

He hid it quickly enough, but internally, alarm bells immediately started ringing.

’This is bad... what exactly was Blake’s relationship with this man?’

Because this no longer sounded like an ordinary doctor-patient interaction at all.

Blake forced himself to stay calm.

"Not as much anymore."

The doctor quietly waited for him to continue.

Blake looked ahead at the flowers.

"Recently... I’ve started doing all the things I like again."

"And what of those you’re doing more?" the older man asked gently. "If I may ask."

Blake thought for a moment.

Then he shrugged lightly.

"I read more."

That part, at least, wasn’t a lie anymore.

"And spending time with my friend."

Myles.

"...That’s about it." Blake leaned back slightly against the bench. "Sometimes I watch the news too."

The doctor listened silently, then he gave a small nod.

"That sounds healthier."

Blake smiled faintly.

Honestly, he still had no clue what exactly they were talking about.

But whatever issues the previous Blake had apparently struggled with, he knew it was bad. Since he even killed himself.

The conversation drifted after that.

Mostly simple things.

The weather.

His recovery.

The flowers in the garden.

At some point, the doctor explained which bruises would likely fade first and which ones needed more attention.

Blake listened carefully enough.

Eventually, though, the walk came to an end.

The doctor needed to leave.

And Blake honestly felt relieved about it.

The older man gathered his things near the villa entrance while speaking briefly with one of the workers.

Blake simply nodded goodbye before heading back upstairs.

His foot still hurt slightly from earlier, though the walk itself hadn’t been too bad.

As he climbed the stairs, however, he suddenly paused.

"...Hm?"

The pomade.

The doctor still had it.

Blake stared at his empty hands for a second before sighing quietly.

"Seriously..."

Turning around, he walked back downstairs.

Voices echoed faintly from one of the nearby rooms.

Blake slowed his steps unconsciously, since the door wasn’t fully closed.

"...doesn’t remember."

Blake froze.

The doctor’s voice.

"He doesn’t remember. For some reason... he isn’t the same."

Silence.

Blake’s pupils shrank slightly.

For a moment, the hallway suddenly felt far too quiet.