Reincarnated as the Villainess... Yeah, I'm Doomed

Chapter Nine: Fever

My ears were bleeding by the time my father had stopped shouting. Since he was unaware of the medical experience I possessed, he assumed that I was overestimating my abilities after reading a few books. I didn't blame him for it though. If another girl my age were to try and get on this boat, I would assume she was either crazy or an idiot. In fact, I was kind of happy that my father had yelled so much. I had never seen him this angry or worried about me before, so seeing him that shaken up made me feel like a daughter he cherished.

"Callista!" My brother called after our father's voice had turned hoarse from all the yelling.

"Don't do anything you don't need to do. If you need to rest then rest, if you need to give up on a patient then give up. People are relying on you, so you can't ignore your own wellbeing." He shouted, a worried smile stretching across his face.

"Okay! I will!" I reassured, tears forming in my eyes. It seemed that my brother had really grown to understand me over the past few years. Instead of getting mad at me, he told me exactly what I needed to hear. I was lucky to have him.

After I explained the situation in greater detail to my family, my father and mother left for the estate, leaving Caden to stay at a nearby inn so that he could help manage the situation on the land. Him being close by reassured me, and I headed below deck feeling more hopeful than before.

"Looks like you got chewed out." Connor jested, approaching me after checking in on one of the patients.

"Yeah, I'm in big trouble when I get home." I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Have there been any major changes in the patients' conditions?" I asked, surveying the room. We had relocated the critical patients to one side of the deck, where they lay in beds that Serge and Vin had hauled down from some of the sleeping cabins.

Serge had explained how they had originally tried to separate the sick from the healthy, and kept the ill below deck instead of where the sleeping cabins were. While most of the men were crew without a high social status, there were a few men who looked to be of considerable social standing. Unlike the crew members who were thankful for our help, these men were harder to deal with.

"Why are those workers getting beds while we have to sleep on cots. Take us back to our rooms, we are guests on this ship, we do not deserve to be treated like this." A larger man with a balding head and a failed attempt at a goatee complained as I preformed a brief check up.

"Luckily you are doing fine sir, your symptoms are mild, so there is no cause for concern as of yet." I said, ignoring his whining. I didn't have time to deal with pricks like him.

"Are you ignoring me?" The man yelled, enraged as he watched me turn away. Before I could react, the man had wrapped his meaty hand around my arm, pulling me closer to him.

"Listen here pretty lady, the only reason I am being this lenient is because you have a nice face, but if you ignore me one- GAH!"

Ryland grabbed the man's hand, pulled me behind him, and then with a swift movement bent the man's wrist back causing the man to shout out in pain.

"W-what do y-you- AGH" The greasy meatball yelped as Ryland tightened his grip.

"If you touch Lady Callista with that hand one more time, I will make sure that you will never be able to use it again." Ryland snarled, releasing the perv's arm. The large man fell back onto his cot and shrunk away, his eyes shaking.

"Thanks Ryland, but he's still a patient-"

"I don't care who he is, he will not lay a finger on you without consequence." Ryland said, his eyes boring into mine. My face heated up and I wiggled out of his grasp, cursing myself for being so embarrassed.