Chapter Twenty-One #7
Before daybreak the next day, the party made preparations to set out once more. Sensing that her mana was somewhat replenished, Maxi used magic to heal some of the wounded. The men must have assumed that she was using divine magic, as none of them showed any surprise when she healed them.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Maxi went to the spring intending to help with the meal preparations. There was no one there, however, presumably because the women had already collected enough water.
She was about to make her way back when she paused to gaze at the clear, flowing spring. Her face and nape were clammy with sweat because she’d had her hood drawn over her head all day.
After a brief moment of inner conflict, she crouched down and threw back her hood.
She scooped up the cool water with her hands and hurriedly washed her face and neck.
Her clothes became soaked in the process, but she did not mind.
She rolled up her sleeves and thoroughly washed her arms and even her underarms before getting up.
It was then that she heard a crunching sound over her head.
Maxi froze and slowly looked up. Kuahel Leon was languidly perched atop a pointed rock. His inexpressive eyes bore into her as he took a bite of an apple.
Maxi quickly pulled her hood over her head. It finally occurred to her that the reason there were no other people in sight was that the area had been cleared to allow the commander of the Temple Knights to rest undisturbed. When she hastily tried to leave, his bored voice stopped her in her tracks.
“What possessed you to come here?”
Maxi’s heart plummeted in her chest.
Sir Kuahel tossed his half-eaten apple into the bushes and nimbly jumped off the rock. “I’ve tried probing Duke Aren, but he seemed completely oblivious to your presence here…. How did you manage to smuggle yourself in?”
“I-I’m afraid…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Maxi said in a poor attempt to feign ignorance while pulling her hood down to her chin.
Sir Kuahel remained silent for a while, his eyes piercing her like daggers. Maxi could feel her mouth drying up.
“I-If you’ll excuse me, I still have work to do,” she muttered.
“I have conveyed your letter.”
His words rooted Maxi to the spot like a snare. She bit her lip. She was aware that this could be a ploy to make her reveal herself, but she simply could not shake off the temptation to ask about Riftan.
“W-Was he unhurt?” she asked after a long while.
“As if anything is capable of wounding that man,” Sir Kuahel replied flatly.
Relief flooded her. Maxi felt her eyes well with tears. She looked up at the knight to confirm that he was not lying and found him staring down at her as though he were regarding something utterly baffling.
Cocking an eyebrow, he asked, “Did you come this far just to confirm that?”
Maxi’s face flushed at the exasperation in his voice. “P-Please keep this a secret. I-I will not trouble anyone, so—”
“You don’t have to do something so extreme for that man to be safe.”
Maxi glowered at him. “R-Riftan…is not invincible.”
The knight opened his mouth as if to retort but abruptly clenched it shut. An inscrutable emotion flashed behind his cold eyes.
“You coming here will not change anything,” Sir Kuahel said, his voice as icy as his gaze.
Maxi was unable to answer immediately.
“I am aware of that,” she finally said. “I-I merely…wish to see him, e-even just from afar….”
Embarrassed by her own words, she felt the burning flush creep from her cheeks up to the tips of her ears.
Kuahel Leon regarded her with an enigmatic expression. “Calypse is most likely camped a day’s journey from Serbin Castle. It would be highly improbable for you to chance upon him.”
Masking her disappointment, Maxi took a breath and replied as calmly as possible, “I-It does not matter. I will be c-content to be near him and be a-able to hear his news.”
That seemed to silence him. Maxi looked up imploringly at the knight’s impassive face. His brow furrowed ever so slightly as he turned around and grabbed the cloak he had hung on a branch.
“I do agree that it would be less burdensome for me to pretend not to know of this matter than to be forced to provide you with a personal guard,” he quipped dryly. “You may do as you please.”
With that, he slowly ran his eyes over her with a glazed expression. Suddenly realizing just how ragged and filthy she must look, Maxi hunched her shoulders with shame.
The knight opened his mouth to say something, but swiftly turned and left instead. It seemed as if he had stopped himself from blurting out something inappropriate.
When he was out of sight, the tension in Maxi’s shoulders finally eased. It was not likely that he would interfere with her plan. Indeed, her actions were of no concern to the lofty commander of the Temple Knights.
After quickly composing herself, Maxi returned to the camp and helped the female clerics prepare breakfast. By the time they had finished assessing the conditions of the wounded and the party set out again, the sun was already high in the sky.
Those who were well enough mounted their horses once more, while those who were not rode in the wagons. As a result, the already narrow wagon became even more cramped.
Wedged between passengers, Maxi nodded off to sleep. The other female clerics, bone-weary from the events of the last two days, also had no trouble dozing despite the constant rattling of the wagon.
They traveled for what seemed like half a day when the wagons suddenly came to a halt. Maxi groggily opened her eyes. Outside the window was a towering rampart. They had reached Serbin Castle.
Maxi snapped to attention. “I-Idsilla…I think we have arrived.”
Idsilla, who had been sleeping with her head on Maxi’s shoulder, jerked awake. She leaned over Maxi and stuck her head out the window.
The firmly secured gate swung wide open, and the wagons began to roll forward once more. As they passed through the gate, Maxi surveyed the city with wide eyes. Signs of the former troll occupation lay in the rubble that stretched in every direction.
Half of the rampart had collapsed, and dark piles of ash were scattered about the place as though everything had been burned down. Had it not been for the tightly packed rows of tents and the Livadonian banner in the center, Maxi would have thought it was a forsaken city.
The soldiers made the wagons form a long line, then opened the doors.
“We have arrived,” a soldier announced. “You may come out now.”
Maxi stepped out of the wagon along with the other women, and one of the soldiers led them through the tents.
“Follow me,” the soldier said.
As the women made their way through the camp, Maxi saw horses tied to a makeshift fence and soldiers hauling items around the tents.
Clerics bustled about as they tended to the wounded.
Maxi strained her neck in her efforts to find a familiar face and ended up bumping into Selina as the soldier guiding them abruptly stopped.
“This area is for the women,” he instructed, opening the flap to the tented barracks.
It was a low tent, its floor covered in a thick layer of hay. Bits of cloth were spread out on the hay for use as makeshift cots. Maxi scanned the interior with a dark expression. It was clear that this place was set up solely for sleeping; it was utterly bereft of any private space.
The cots themselves lacked proper bedding, and the tent was so narrow that Maxi did not think they would have any space to move while they slept. Even so, one by one the women crammed themselves in.
Maxi and Idsilla chose the cots at the end, unpacked their bags, and promptly went outside. A cleric greeted them and explained their duties.
Every day, the women were expected to prepare breakfast and dinner for the army and tend to the injured.
On top of that, they were also tasked with ensuring that the camp never ran out of water, washing laundry every ten days, managing the horses, collecting fodder, and occasionally serving the knights.
The color drained from Maxi’s face as she listened to the barrage of tasks, but she was in no position to complain.
She steeled herself and got to work. Though she wished to inquire about the Remdragon Knights, her heavy workload did not allow her the time to speak with any of the soldiers. Inwardly, Maxi gnashed her teeth in frustration.
Selina evidently felt so bad for her that she snuck away and somehow managed to collect news of Eth Lene Castle. Maxi was stacking kindling for a fire when Selina approached and motioned for her to come closer.
“It appears that Balto has sent reinforcements, and the situation isn’t all that dire,” Selina whispered.
Maxi turned away from lighting the fire, her face streaked with soot.
“I-Is that true?” she asked with a hopeful smile.
Selina nodded. “Sir Riftan apparently played a significant role during the battle. They say he managed to hold off an assailing troll army—nearly a thousand in number—with only two hundred knights. He truly is worth a hundred men.”
Despite Selina’s praise for Riftan, Maxi’s face fell. Her blood ran cold as though she had been doused with freezing water.
Trolls were monsters with bull-like proportions, possessed of frightening regenerative powers that allowed them to reattach nearly severed heads—Maxi had seen that gruesome strength firsthand.
And yet Riftan had fought a thousand of them with an army but a fifth of their number. What in the world was he doing?
Instead of feeling relieved by Selina’s words, Maxi felt her heart spasm. She tentatively opened her mouth. “A-And the casualties?”
“Don’t worry,” Selina assured her. “They say that none of the Remdragon Knights were killed during the battle.”
Maxi’s relief was short-lived, as Selina added hesitantly, “But…I’m told that some were wounded.”
Fear skittered through Maxi’s chest. “D-Do you know who?” she asked frantically. “How many…Are they seriously wounded?”