# 19
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The two started eating lunch. While talking, Scarlett pulled Isaac's hand and noticed hard marks on his palm.
“Look at these scars like nails.”
“Isn't it wonderful?”
“What's so great about that?”
“The effect of work finally showed up. I never had any of it my whole life because I didn’t work.”
Isaac enjoyed, then touched Scarlett's fingertips. Her fingertips, daily engaged in delicate work, were tattered.
Isaac smiled and said, “Your hands are amazing too.”
“Well, maybe it looks like it.”
Scarlett somehow agreed, and Isaac took out a can from the pocket of his hanging jacket.
“By the way, this is a gift.”
“What is this?”
Scarlett opened the box and saw delicate silver butterfly earrings.
She exclaimed in surprise: “Why did you buy something like this?”
“Just... I wanted to buy you a gift with my first paycheck.”
Scarlett looked at the earrings in her hand for a long time.
“It's so beautiful...”
“Really? This is great.”
Isaac was nervous, because he chose her by touch.
Scarlett wore the earrings with a strange feeling. Issac was always the one who needed to be taken care of, so receiving a gift from him made her feel strange.
“You didn't have to give me something like that.”
"What does it look like? Does it suit you?"
Usually the giver would say it would fit, but Isaac, tilting his head, asked. Scarlett laughed and said, “Yes, of course.”
Scarlett was silent for a moment, then Isaac asked: “Is something wrong?”
“What? No, nothing.”
“Tell me”
Scarlett laughed loudly at his worried voice: “Really, nothing.”
If Isaac knew about the plane's plans, he would be involved, too.
Scarlett cut the bread, folded it into square paper to make it easier to eat, and presented it to him.
While Isaac was eating, I asked, “Do you still have the bandage on your eye?”
“Yes, I am used to it, and I am afraid that people will be terrified if they see my eyes.”
“Why? She's fine.”
When Scarlett touched the bandage, Isaac was surprised and turned his head.
He had never avoided her hand before. Scarlett was confused, but laughed indifferently: “Well, if you don’t want to, it’s okay.”
“Sorry”
“For what?”
They finished the topic of the bandage, and talked about interesting things from their daily lives while eating. Scarlett then told Isaac that she had to go to the other side of the lake, so he gave her a ride.
After Scarlett left, Isaac covered his eyes with his hand.
Carrie, the raft manager, ran to him: "Sir! Do your eyes hurt again?"
Isak, with his attractive face, attracted customers in huge numbers, a treasure to the raft owner.
Isaac smiled and shook his head: “I'm fine. It's not because of the pain.”
“Tell me immediately if you feel pain. Your condition is the most important for the raft trade.”
“Not to this extent...”
“Yes, that much. You can’t believe your handsomeness because you can’t see your face.”
Isaac smiled.
Ever since he used the medicine Scarlett brought, he felt terrible pain under the bandage. Curry saw him once and fainted, meaning he was hideous in appearance.
He could never take the bandage off in front of Scarlett. Even if he had to wear it for a lifetime, it was okay, as long as it wouldn't hurt her heart.
***
The Navy Office was bustling that day. Nicholas, one of Victor's retired henchmen, visited the place after a long absence.
The Marines greeted him enthusiastically: “Hey Nico, what’s the name of the ice cream shop?”
“How many times will you ask? Uncle Bahariya Ice Cream Shop”
The Marines laughed noisily.
Nicholas, raising the atmosphere, stood in front of the commandant's desk.
In any army, the senior officers were from the royal family, and the Navy was no exception. Chief of the Naval Staff, Prince Adam Eren, was an honorary position, but Victor Domfelt, commander of the ship Rubid, actually commanded the navy.
Despite his long service and retirement, Nicholas felt uncomfortable with Victor. Especially when he's holding ice cream for someone who's used to fine foods.
“Oh my God, I'm crazy”
“He'll love it,” Nicholas muttered, and Blight laughed, standing at the door.
Blight knocked and said: “Mr. Nicholas is here.”
He opened the door, said hello, then left.
Nicholas smiled embarrassedly as he held up the ice cream container: “I opened an ice cream shop.”
Victor gestured with his hand. He was still a scary person.
When he opened the can on the table, the ice had not melted due to the cold. Nicholas said embarrassedly: “It seems that ice cream is not appropriate in this cold, Commander?”
“Looks like you're late.”
Victor brought out the ice cream himf. Nicholas sighed in relief.
“Your expression is better,” Victor said.
“Yes, it's better than my hand. Durable.”
Victor laughed at Nicholas' natural response.
As a sniper, Nicholas was hit in the wrist by a poisoned arrow, so he had to cut off both arms. He bought a prosthetic arm with state compensation, but it took a year to make.
Nicholas showed his fist and said, “It looks lousy, but it can catch.”
“Better than I expected”
“You're still arrogant. That's your charm, Commander.”
Nicholas joked playfully, then watched Victor warily. But Victor laughed indulgently.
Nicholas thought Victor was forgiving due to him losing his hands.
Nicholas, ten years older than Victor, was the only non-noble officer in Roubaid. He surpassed the nobles from the Officers Academy in shooting accuracy, and achieved successive achievements.
“Is your thumb intentionally not moving?”
“Ah, this. Looks broken.”
“Fix it.”
"Don't say that. It took six months to make, and six months to arrive. The repair will take another half a year. How can I live without a hand?"
“Order a new one. I'll pay.”
“Great, but it's too expensive, so I'll decline.”
After speaking, Nicholas smiled and said, “I didn’t expect you to meet me, Commander.”
“Why?”
“Honestly...I felt frustrated when you ordered me to get off the ship. You didn’t have to stop the operation and come back because of me.”
“The process depended on you, but you couldn't do your part.”
“Even if that's the case, you… well, since I've retired, I'll be honest. You're abandoning those who are no use to you.”
Nicholas vented his frustration, then realized he had gone too far, and his face turned pale.
Fortunately, the door suddenly opened before Victor could respond.
Scarlett stopped, shocked, upon seeing the visitor.
She hesitated between being surprised at seeing a man with prosthetic arms or her ex-husband eating ice cream. “There's a mechanic over there,” Victor said. “Ask her to fix it.”
“What? No, that’s not...”
Nicholas, who recognized Victor's ex-wife, turned pale, thinking that this was punishment for his transgression.
Victor said to Scarlett indifferently: “No matter how much you care about machines, staring at a prosthetic arm is not polite.”
“You eating ice cream is amazing too.”
“It was brought by someone without hands, so I had to eat it.”
Nicholas looked at Victor with eyes that said, “You are more impudent!” Then he smiled gently at Scarlett: “There’s nothing to fix, but you can look cloy if you want. I heard that you opened a watch shop...”
“Maybe you should say miss. She's single now.”
Nicholas closed his mouth, even more embarrassed by Victor's words.