***
The situation as seen from above was even more dire. Wooden roofs caught fire, with sparks flying in all directions. The soldiers were evacuating villagers near the wall, but there were many people who were beyond help. Regret washed over her.
‘Why did I think this would end easily?’
‘Why was I reassured that I would be able to return home soon?’
‘Why did I fall asleep on the battlefield…?’
Amarion shut her eyes tightly in regret, dragging her sword along the floor, making a grating noise.
Rasp!
The Chimeras turned to her.
She opened her mouth and ran at the monsters.
“AAAHHHHHH!”
She swung her sword almost unconsciously.
There was no end to the monsters, and she had to take swords from the bodies of the dead to continue.
The knights supported her by throwing harpoons from behind, but it was not enough. After the soldiers put out a fire, another broke out somewhere else.
A sense of helplessness prevailed. It would have been better if they had fought on a plain.
But there were people here, so she couldn’t leave this place. That would increase the damage, but there was no other way. The land they had all been protecting together…
At that moment, a sharp whistling sound was heard from afar.
It was a sharp noise that the Chimeras disliked, so when the Chimeras heard the sound, they flew towards it. Without further thought, she cleaned up the remaining Chimeras and climbed down the wall.
Only after running around frantically did the commotion subside a bit. When all the monsters that flew into the castle were sorted out, the soldiers and knights started putting out the fires together.
It was then that she thought about the sound she had heard earlier.
‘What if it was a passer-by or traveller?’
‘What if they accidentally got involved in a fight?’
As soon as the thought crossed her mind, her stomach went cold. She mounted her horse straight away and ran to the gate.
“My Lady, where-”
“Open the gates, please!!”
At her command, the soldiers frantically lowered the drawbridge.
Amarion hurriedly ran outside.
＊ ＊ ＊
It was surprisingly quiet outside of the castle. There were small fires across the wheat field, but since the sprouts were still young, it wasn’t spreading.
But she was afraid of the stillness.
If the Chimeras left, there would only be corpses left to collect.
She rubbed her eyes with charred hands. She couldn’t even cry because it was so painful. She constantly reminded herself.
‘All these people died because of me.’
It was the same in Amari. Because she was weak and lacking, many people died. Even now, she couldn’t even protect Victor’s people. It had always been like that…
Always.
“It’s all because of me, because of me…”
As she rode her horse while muttering painfully, she noticed a particularly large fire in the field.
She slowly brought her horse to a halt.
“What…?”
What she saw was the corpse of a Chimera, not a human.
Monsters were piled up all over the field. Not quite as many as she killed, but still a huge number. She carefully got off her horse.
They were obviously not killed by other monsters. All of them were cut so cleanly that she couldn’t believe it. Just like a dragon’s claw…
Amarion thought of the only person who could do something like this.
The flames in the fields burned more fiercely than expected.
The fire from the dry grass lit up her surroundings more and more.
In the middle of it, all stood a man in a black cloak. He raised his sword, exhaling harshly. His large shoulders were drooping from exhaustion, and his hair was covered in ashes.
‘Is this a dream?’
She couldn’t believe it, so she called out in a low voice.
“Victor?”
The man turned his head.
His tired face, stained with soot, slowly changed.
From surprise to joy to pain.
It had been a long time since they had seen each other. It had been three weeks since they had exchanged a word. One week before the campaign and two weeks after she left for subjugation.
It was their longest time apart since getting married. She didn’t know what to say. She had hoped to see him wearing the fancy clothes she liked. But here they were, staring at each other, tattered with injuries.
Amarion opened her mouth several times and closed it.
So did Victor.
He didn’t seem to know what to say, just as she did. He looked down at his burnt and punctured clothing and rubbed his face with his sleeve, trying to get rid of the soot somehow.
Victor finally looked at Amarion. After a few attempts, he confessed.
“I can’t sleep…”
Clank.
She threw the sword she was holding into the dirt. Then she hugged Victor as if she were going to crush him.
＊ ＊ ＊
They traveled back to the castle without saying a word. It was not the time nor place to enjoy a reunion.
Sir Raoul ran up to her as they crossed the drawbridge.
“Madame, where have you been? …Grand Duke?!”
“Raoul, report on the situation.”
Raoul turned to look at Victor with wide eyes. Victor nodded his head, and Raoul spoke quickly.
“It’s the Chimeras that live on the mountain. They were coming down gradually, but they never attacked the castle. It seems they came all the way here because of lack of food.”
“Probably because we killed Griffins for a few days. Chimeras only eat fresh meat…”
She bit her lip.
“It’s my fault. We should have attacked the top of the mountain first.”
“Don’t say things like that, Madame! If it wasn’t for Madame, the soldiers would have died on the ridge.”
Sir Ulan intervened. His sweaty cheeks glistened as he threw water on a fire. He looked up at her to see if she had any injuries, then glared at Victor with suspicious eyes.
“By the way, who are you? You’re strangely familiar.”
Victor spoke quietly.
“It’s been a while since I last saw you, Ulan.”
“What? How can you… Wait a minute.”
Ulan’s eyes widened, and his mouth fell open.
“Second Young Master, no, Grand Duke…?”
“Yes, now shut up. I don’t want to confuse the command system.”
Ulan nodded hastily. He looked around for a moment. Destroyed houses and corpses littered the village to the point that it was painful to look at. There were many places where fires had not been put out yet.
Victor got off his horse.
“Where are the knights?”
“They are waiting for orders to evacuate people.”
“Let’s go that way. Victor, you are…”
Raoul walked straight ahead.
“There are still Chimeras along the outer wall of the castle. It seems that there is also a herd of fire wolves.”
“Guide me.”
Victor turned towards Raoul. She stared at his back for a moment, then followed Ulan.
＊ ＊ ＊
By the time they finished cleaning up, dawn was upon them.
All night they had collected corpses of monsters and people and put out fires. After she bit her lip with excruciating fatigue, Sir Leonard and Raoul sent her back to the castle. They offered to help with her share of the chores.
“Madame needs to rest. Didn’t you fight hard all night long?”
“You have to rest to prepare for the attack of other monsters. Of course, it’s not just Madame anymore, but…”
Leonard slurred the end of his speech. The sudden appearance of his Lord surprised the calm knight.
But somehow, he seemed to understand everything.
“Both of you, go back and rest. If anything happens, I will call you right away.”
Amarion and Victor mounted their horses and headed off.
They saw no one on their way back to the castle. Because of last night’s commotion, most of the villagers were in their homes or shelters.
‘No, it’s not an illusion. He’s really by my side.’
‘How did he get here? It must have been rough to come alone…’
They went on silently for a long time before she asked.
“Why didn’t you reply to my letter?”
Victor stared at her. Then he replied as if he had realized something.
“…I’m sorry. I was running here.”
“…”
“Did you wait for my reply?”
Victor seemed desperate.
Amarion bowed her head. Still, she couldn’t hide her feelings.
“Yes, I’ve been waiting.”
“Marion, I…”
“But everything is fine. Now I know why you didn’t answer. I wondered if you hated me enough to not want to write a letter.”
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Victor’s golden eyes widened. There was a little bitterness on his face, and he looked younger than usual because of his messy hair. He gripped the reins tightly.
“That will never happen.”
His knuckles turned white as he averted his gaze. He spoke hesitatingly.
“… I didn’t know if I could reply to you…”