***
In the dark space, she had no sense of time passing.
Amarion closed her eyes and swung her sword.
The screams stopped only after her seventh sword was broken. She raised her head. It was pitch black, so nothing was visible, but there were no signs of life anymore.
‘Am I done? Or did they run away?’
In any case, the soldiers would soon come in, take the bodies away, and miners would be able to work again.
She was tired of thinking about why Kobolds, who usually lived in the forest, came to this place. When everything calmed down, she would definitely go up the mountain.
That was the time to think about it. Not now.
“My Lady!”
A voice rang out from behind. She turned around and saw Sir Raoul and Sir Leonard carrying torches.
‘Why are you here?’
Raoul ran to her with wide eyes.
“The hunt ended early, so the two of us were waiting near the entrance. But the fighting sounds stopped, so I just ran in.”
“It ended successfully? Are there any injuries?”
“Can we compare ourselves to you when we talk about success?”
Raoul raised his torch.
The hazy light lit the corpses that were piled on the floor. There was almost no room to walk.
She jumped over the Kobolds and headed towards the knights.
Leonard seemed to be at a loss for words. Just like when he heard the story about the Griffins, he stared blankly at the Kobolds. He asked, a bit late.
“Did you get hurt?”
“No. I’m a little tired, but…”
“That’s a relief.”
Amarion followed the knights out of the mine. After washing her hands, she climbed onto her horse.
The mine was a bit far from the castle, so it took a long time to get back. Still, this was good. On other estates, she was always anxious because the place where people lived was threatened, but in Fidelburg, thanks to the strong walls, the village was safe.
‘It would have been nice if Amari was like this too.’
She pondered while she listened to the reports of the knights.
When Raoul finished telling her how the Knights Templar had cleared out the remaining Drakadas, Leonard suddenly spoke.
“When I see Madame fighting, I think of the Grand Duke.”
“Oh? Leonard said that too.”
Raoul said jokingly. But Leonard was serious.
“His highness used to fight alone all the time. Even on the battlefield, when he was young.”
“…”
“He didn’t move alone like Madame, but he always tried to protect everyone on the front lines. Even when he wasn’t as strong as he is now. So everyone in this land loves him. As he loves this land.”
Amarion blinked a few times.
Leonard, speaking of the young Victor, was confident. It was as if he was talking about a childhood friend, not a master to whom he was loyal.
An obvious question followed. A question that she couldn’t ask before, but kept tormenting her.
“Then why… did Victor execute his vassals?”
A shadow fell over Leonard’s face.
Raoul bit his lip, and only the sound of birdsong could be heard in the dry wilderness. The blonde knight opened his mouth after a long silence.
“Because they spread the rumour that his highness killed his brother.”
Amarion’s eyes widened instantly.
“If it’s his older brother, Lord Mortheon…?”
“Yes. He was the Grand Duke who died on the battlefield.”
Raoul frowned.
“How could that be? If he was killed, his highness wouldn’t have been the only one who saw his death…”
“No, it was only his highness the Grand Duke.”
Leonard took a deep breath. Then he explained grimly.
“It was during the Southern War. At the time, half of the knights, including myself, were on another operation, and his highness Mortheon and the Grand Duke remained at the base. Then one night, assassins came.”
“Then?”
“According to his highness, they used magic to mask themselves. Even in such a situation, he slashed every enemy that approached him… He couldn’t protect his companions.”
Leonard bowed his head.
“When we returned, Master was on his knees in front of his brother’s body. He looked like he was going to kill himself on the spot with his sword.”
“…”
“We burned the corpses of our colleagues, and since then, Master has not slept properly. When we came back, a rumor spread that his highness had killed his brother.”
“Why did such rumours spread?”
“Some were spread by vassals for political purposes. However, there are still many people who doubt his highness. There were no bodies, no witnesses.”
“That is utter nonsense.”
Amarion asserted. Leonard stared at her and asked.
“How are you so sure?”
“What?”
“How can you be sure of his highness’ innocence? You know that his highness is cruel.”
Amarion blinked. She couldn’t understand why Leonard, who would give his life at his Master’s command, asked such a question.
“If he did it himself, he wouldn’t suffer so much every night.”
She remembered Victor of the night.
Blurry eyes, a staggering body, a sword swung unconditionally, and painful moans.
She now knew what he was seeing in his dream.
If he killed his older brother, why would he suffer from such an illness?
So painfully, sometimes with a face begging for death.
Why did he look at her like that every night?
‘Why did you have such a face that the world was collapsing when you said his name?’
Leonard seemed to understand what Amarion was saying.
He shut his mouth, and they kept quiet for a moment and rode their horses.
When the castle was in sight, Leonard suddenly spoke.
“I once resented his highness.”
“…Why?”
“Because the execution was so cruel. They were sinners, so we couldn’t stop it, but too much blood was spilled.”
Amarion stared at him quietly. The knight’s eyes were filled with pain and guilt.
“I have known his highness for a long time, so I knew he was not a merciful knight. Still, it was painful. I knew some of the dead since I was a child.”
Raoul intervened.
“Then why are you still following his highness?”
The deputy chief did not answer for a moment. His hair swayed gently in the wind.
Soon, he answered firmly.
“He is my Lord.”
He was the continent’s catastrophe, the Emperor’s dog, a blood-crazed dragon…
“And he did it to protect us. So I can’t leave him.”
Leonard slurred his words. His horse began to run speedily towards the castle.
She followed him without a word, facing the sandy wind that she had become accustomed to.
＊ ＊ ＊
In just a few days, Fidelburg was noticeably stable. Now, smoke rose from fires everywhere in the village, and people started walking along the streets again. The children recognized them and waved.
“She’s over there. Madame! Lady! Hello!”
“Watch out! Oh, dear…!”
“No, it’s okay.”
Amarion smiled, bent over, and threw them a bag of apple confectionery.
Apple confectionery was made by crushing and drying oven-baked apples. Confectionery was sweet and could be stored for a long time, so it was an essential snack for soldiers.
She crossed the street with a smile as she saw the children playing happily.
After she entered the castle and exchanged short greetings with the servants, she headed to her room.
“My Lady!”
Pleasantly, she ran into Mary.
“Mary! Are you done already?”
“No, the patients are still there. But there were no serious injuries, so Miss Julianna sent me up to rest for a while.”
Mary smiled broadly.
Her eyes looked tired, but there was a hint of joy in her haggard face. These days, she always went out early and came back in the middle of the night.
Amarion washed up, put on a shirt and pants, and had a snack with Mary after a long time. They ate freshly baked bread and wine.
Mary told her about the current situation of the castle.
“Deliveries started going back and forth yesterday! Supplies carts are also arriving in the village. Villagers are starting to plant wheat in their fields outside the castle.”
“Good. I wondered what would happen if they couldn’t farm wheat this season.”
“It’s all thanks to Madame and the knights. I heard that Madame got rid of all the Kobolds in the mine during the day. Now the whole castle is talking about you!”
Amarion smiled shyly.
It was certainly to everyone’s credit that the situation here had been organized so quickly, but everyone seemed to be paying too much attention to her. Of course, she felt really proud.
She quickly changed the subject.
“How’s the situation at the treatment center? There were a few people with severe injuries.”
“Yes. Their conditions have stabilized, and all those with minor injuries were encouraged to go home and recuperate.”
Mary said proudly. Her hair was brittle, her skin was dry, and her hands were scarred, but she looked very happy. She looked much more lively than when she had been Amarion’s maid.
She suddenly became curious. As she did with Leonard, Amarion asked frankly.
“Why did you follow this subjugation?”
“What? Of course, for the sake of Madame…”
“But you’ve been hiding that you’re a healer. You also come from a family of pharmacists.”
Mary opened her eyes wide.
Amarion asked carefully.
“If you don’t want to say, you don’t have to, but why did you follow me?”
The girl pursed her lips.
Amarion watched her carefully.
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Mary, who was such a competent healer, was only a maid?
Birdsong filled the room. Soon, Mary answered.
“I didn’t want to live as a healer.”