***
‘Oh my God!’
Amarion bit her lip to hold back her laughter. But the two didn’t seem to care about their surroundings.
“Really, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. How are you? Are you over your cold? The medicine I sent you…”
“Don’t worry, I’m fine now. But your hands are really…”
Sir Leonard quickly hid his bandaged wrist behind his back.
“It’s just a scratch. I’m okay.”
“But…”
Julianna looked up at the blonde knight, biting her lip. Her big eyes filled with tears.
“I was very worried. You always hide when you’ve been hurt in our correspondence.”
“I’m really okay. I’m sorry for making you worry.”
“Don’t apologize. You fought with honor, didn’t you? I’m just… it’s been too long…”
The lady clenched her fists and avoided his gaze.
“I missed you, Leonard.”
Leonard opened his mouth in surprise. His face was burning as hot as a bonfire.
Yet he didn’t even blink when a Chimera screamed in his face!
He stuttered in reply.
“M-me too, Julianna.”
Amarion covered her mouth, as did the maids accompanying Julianna.
They were so cute that it was embarrassing to look at.
Amarion understood why their story had spread throughout Morte.
She walked away from the pair with Sir Raoul, feeling itchy with unknown loneliness. They wanted to give the lovers alone time.
＊ ＊ ＊
“This is the best time.”
Raoul lamented as they climbed the dusty mountain path.
Amarion smiled as she steered her horse into the mountain pass.
“Is that so?”
“Of course. They don’t live together and they don’t have children. Isn’t dating all about walking hand in hand? In those times, there is nothing in the world to wish for. But marriage is different!”
Raoul sighed.
“After a year or two, all illusions are shattered. The love is not the same, your children cry every night, and before you get old, you have to be secure.”
“Have you experienced it somehow?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
Raoul calmly shrugged his shoulders.
“I’m married. I have a wife and son in my hometown.”
[E/N: Noooo I was shipping Mary and Raoul (╥﹏╥)]
“What?!”
“Wait, you didn’t even tell us?”
The other knights chimed in. Judging by his looks, he seemed to be in his prime.
Raoul pulled the reins sternly.
“What are you talking about? We were in the midst of war.”
“Regardless! Do you have any portraits?”
“No.”
‘Ah.’
Amarion suddenly understood.
Mercenaries didn’t often talk about their families to their colleagues. Let alone portraits, letters were often burned as soon as they were received because someone with a grudge might retaliate against their family. Didn’t mercenaries hide their names for fear of revenge in the first place?
That’s what he was saying.
“Are you going to introduce them to us soon?”
When asked with a smile, Raoul scratched his head.
“As expected, Madame is sharp.”
The knight laughed softly.
“After this is over, I will bring them to Morte. I’m a member of the Knights Templar, so it will be easy for them to live.”
“Is that why you joined the Knights?”
“Why did I become a knight? I earn half the income.”
Amarion smiled quietly at his joke and turned away.
Home.
It was a word that was still unfamiliar to her.
Seeing how unhappy her mother was in Amari, she never dreamed about marriage. It would be really hard to marry a lord who ruled a place like Amari.
She never thought deeply about children. As Amari’s only heir, she knew it was something she had to do someday, but she didn’t have the courage to raise a child in such an uncertain land.
So she had always respected the Amari people. Even in such a place, they married, started a family, and raised a sword to protect everything they had.
But fate was a twisted thing, and she was here now as the Grand Duchess of Morte. She was scaling the rugged rocky mountain to protect this land.
This was probably not something a normal couple would do. A life where they did not sleep together at night and wielded swords every day. No, could they ever be ‘normal’?
‘He didn’t even reply to my letter…’
“Wait a minute.”
She stopped talking and pressed a finger to her lips. The knights immediately understood and fell silent. Amarion concentrated on the sound.
“Can you hear that?”
“No, we can’t.”
It was roughly 3,000 steps away.
She quietly drew her sword.
The rocky mountain, where the cold wind blew, was seemingly calm. Only sparsely growing thorns and weeds were swaying in the wind.
But she heard it. The sound of flapping wings.
“It’s a Griffin! Back off-”
Before her warning could be finished, monsters flew over the huge rocky cliff.
Huge wings, the head of an eagle, and the body of a lion. Griffins, the rulers of the plateau, cried out sharply.
It was a sight she had seen several times while coming here, but nevertheless…
“I can’t believe it…”
Raoul looked up at the sky, lost in thought.
There was no end to the Griffins. Like a swarm of bees, monster after monster soared across and enveloped the sky.
She looked up at the black shadows that obscured the sun.
It had been a long time since she had been this fearful. Holding her sword, she instinctively thought of the strongest man she knew.
‘Victor…’
＊ ＊ ＊
Victor Morte ran without a moment’s rest. Except for occasional encounters with monsters, he didn’t even draw his sword.
He stopped only when he had to change his sweaty clothes or satisfy his hunger. He didn’t want to stop by lords’ castles, so he stayed at inns along the way.
His people seemed peaceful. As reported, the villages where monsters had attacked were slowly recovering.
The children sat on the street and sang.
“Our lady is a white knight,
With sharp eyes and a smile like the moon.
She can pierce five hearts at once,
Ah, but she disappeared like the north wind.”
“…What is that song?”
“That? It’s a song that miners have been singing for a while now.”
A horseman replied sternly.
“Our fearsome Grand Duke returned and sent a subjugation army, but the new Grand Duchess came along with them. I thought she was as scary as your highness. There’s no one who’s as kind.”
“…”
“Thanks to her, food carts can come and go again to the village. We wanted to thank her, but there’s nothing we can do for her right away, so we’re just singing. So that all of Morte knows.”
“I couldn’t believe what the nobles said… how she was a barbarian from the North!”
“That’s what I mean! That’s why I sing until my throat is sore everyday.”
The merchants raised their voices with excitement.
The Grand Duke silently paid them a coin and got back on his horse. The innkeeper asked.
“Aren’t you going to eat?”
“…I have to go quickly.”
“Why are you in such a hurry? Do you want to meet the Lady?”
At the joke, he smiled faintly for the first time in a long time.
“Yes.”
He didn’t pay attention to any other stories.
Neither the reputation of nobles nor admiration for Marion.
All he cared about was how many monsters she had fought.
Even though he knew she was the only one who could compare to him, he was still worried about her.
‘After saving so many people, Marion… are you really okay?’
＊ ＊ ＊
In conclusion, their Griffin hunting was half successful.
After ordering the knights to fight in moderation, Amarion attacked a large group of Griffins alone.
Griffin’s skin was not thick, so it was easy to cut. The problem was that there were too many.
She frantically swung her sword, avoiding their claws and beak. Monsters fell like leaves with her every movement.
But the problem was her sword. An ordinary iron sword could not endure hundreds of monsters. Every time her blade got broken or stuck, she had to pull out a new one.
She brought plenty of swords just in case, but when all three swords were damaged, she took out Chimera teeth and used them.
She held the teeth with both hands and swung them until the tips were blunt. Only then did she lift her head.
The Griffins, who had lost many of their kin, no longer attacked and were hovering in the air.
“Let’s go back!”
The knights quickly mounted their horses. They left the ridge quickly.
Amarion was exhausted. It had been a long time since she fought like this. In Amari, she would often cut down monsters until ten swords were broken, but in Morte, there was no reason for that.
But now she had to. Because it was important to reduce the number of monsters when they were first discovered. She killed 100 or so, so it would be more convenient the next time she came.
Raoul handed her a canteen as she removed her blood-stained gloves.
“Madame, here.”
Amarion smiled broadly in delight and accepted the canteen. She moistened her dry throat and wiped her bloody face.
Raoul, who was riding next to Amarion, had a very strange expression.
‘What’s wrong? Do I look dirty?’
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Amarion rubbed her face with her sleeve.
The knight said abruptly.
“I don’t understand how Madame doesn’t know her skill.”