Chapter Thirteen #3
“Then, shall I bring your supper to your chambers so you can rest early?”
Maxi shook her head. “I-It would not do for me to dine in my chambers…wh-when we have guests. I-It would be unbecoming behavior from the lady of the castle.”
“I am sure the guests would understand if they hear that you are not feeling—”
“I-I really am all right,” Maxi said, cutting Ludis off. The maidservant’s continued insistence was beginning to annoy her.
Ludis pressed her lips together, and an awkward silence fell over the room.
Maxi nibbled on a piece of bread and forced the food down her throat.
Her body did feel heavy and tired, but it was obvious that she would only drown herself in self-deprecating thoughts if she were to stay in bed for the rest of the day.
Believing that keeping herself busy would be better for her state of mind, Maxi lowered her food, got out of bed, and put on her cloak. She mused that she might as well inspect the kitchen before meeting the peddler.
“There you are, my lady!” Rodrigo rushed toward her as she stepped out into the corridor, his face ashen.
“D-Did something happen?”
“The construction site—we have received word that workers have been attacked by monsters. They have requested reinforcement and aid.”
Blood drained from Maxi’s face. Riftan was supposed to be at the construction site, so if such a disaster had arisen even with him present, it meant that they were dealing with something truly terrifying.
Although she was momentarily filled with fear, Maxi pushed it down and regained her composure.
She had dealt with a monster attack last winter.
What instructions had Ruth given her back then?
“P-Prepare…a-all the necessary materials…and load them onto a wagon immediately. A cauldron, firewood…bowls, c-clean cloth, thread, needles, herbs…and a-anything else that might be needed!”
“Yes, my lady.”
“H-Have a carriage ready, a-and prepare sheets and blankets j-just in case. Wh-Where is the m-messenger?”
“He is at the training grounds preparing the sentries.”
“I-I would like to h-hear the report from him directly. W-wait for me at the castle entrance with the carriage.”
Rodrigo nodded and rushed down the stairs. Maxi followed him and scurried outside. Ruth was not here, so this was up to her. Maxi wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt as she quickly made her way through the garden. Beyond the gate, sentries were already loading three wagons. She rushed over.
“Wh-Where is the messenger…who brought the n-news of the attack?”
A middle-aged soldier in a helmet stepped forward. “It is I, my lady. I was sent by Sir Ursuline to bring back aid.”
Maxi swallowed hard. “I-Is the situation grave? H-How many are hurt?”
“About twenty workers and fifteen or so of the sentries. With the battle still raging, the sorcerers can only tend to the critically wounded….”
Maxi’s hands turned cold at the news. The fighting was not over yet?
“I-Is his lordship…u-unharmed?”
“I cannot say for certain, my lady, but knowing our liege, I am sure he is well.”
The soldier’s certainty helped Maxi regain a bit of composure. “I-I understand. Please…make haste.”
The soldier nodded and returned to helping load the wagons. Maxi stood frozen for a moment, watching the sentries loading weapons, tents, and rations onto the wagons. She could feel the call to action filling her body with flinty determination.
Her husband was the greatest knight on the continent. There was no need for her to worry about his safety. Her only duty right now was as the lady of the castle.
She clasped her hands and offered a silent prayer.
—
When all the preparations had been made, Maxi stepped into the carriage. The sentries manning the wagon were clearly troubled by her presence, but they could not rightfully stop her from coming along.
She watched the scenery pass by the carriage window in silence, fraught with anxiety.
They reached the bottom of the hill, and, before she knew it, the carriage had darted past the village square all the way to the southern gate.
Bricks and sacks of sand were piled in front of the gate, the entrance left only half open.
As two carts were rolled through carrying the injured, Maxi rushed out of the carriage to the patients.
She threw herself into triage, losing all sense of how long she had been there. In the middle of inspecting the broken leg of a pale-faced worker, she heard a familiar voice calling from behind. “My lady!”
Maxi’s eyes widened when she saw Ulyseon, clad in full armor, rushing toward her.
He looked even more surprised to see her there. “What are you doing here, my lady?”
“I-I heard what happened and…I brought reinforcements. Are more of the wounded…being transported here?”
“We lacked the men to transport all of the injured, so we only brought those we could move safely.”
Maxi inspected the three men in the cart that had come in with Sir Ulyseon.
Although their wounds did not appear to be life-threatening, all three were bleeding heavily.
Maxi approached one of the men, who was sitting on the edge of the cart, and undressed the cloth that was tightly wrapped around his thigh.
Fortunately, it was clean. After making sure the bones were properly aligned, she ripped the man’s tattered trousers further and healed his wound with magic.
The mana she had accumulated drained away rapidly, leaving her dizzy.
It was her first time healing such a severe wound, and the toll it took on her body left her shaken. Did such a wound really require so much mana? Even her arms prickled from the sudden depletion in her mana pathway.
“Are you all right, my lady?” Ulyseon asked, looking down at her pale face with concern.
Maxi forced herself to look calm and smile at him before moving on to heal the other two men.
Cold sweat trickled down her back as mana bled out of her, but Maxi knew she could quickly replenish it.
Once she was sure her patients were stable, she asked the sentries to take the men to the sick bay, then climbed back into the carriage.
Ulyseon followed behind her. “My lady! It is too dangerous. Please, do not endanger yourself and return to the—”
“D-Don’t be absurd! I-I am the lady of the castle. It is my duty to help…wh-when problems arise. Did you not just see m-me heal those men?”
“But you have only recently learned how to use magic, and there are still monsters lurking—”
“I-I can also do my part! D-Did I not tell you h-how…I was unfazed by o-ogres and werewolves in the past? Y-You need not worry,” Maxi said coldly before slamming the carriage door closed.
Her pride was wounded; even a young man of sixteen was treating her like an incompetent child.
Had she not chosen to learn magic so she could be useful in just such moments as this?
If she had intended to stay cooped up in the castle all her days, then she would not have bothered to learn magic in the first place.
She gave the coachman the order, and he directed the carriage out of the gates at full speed.
Ulyseon quickly mounted his horse and followed.
She could see the squire throwing concerned glances at her through the carriage window, but she did her best to ignore him and focus instead on replenishing her mana.
After a while, the brick road ended, and a humble camp dotted with piles of soil and sand came into view. The carriage pulled to a stop in a clearing, and Maxi stepped out, immediately recoiling in fear when she saw the gigantic corpse of a monster that lay amongst the felled oak trees.
Ulyseon leapt off his horse to come and steady her. “It is a wyvern, my lady. It is that beast that caused all this wreckage.”
It was not long ago that she had feigned fearlessness, and now she could feel her face flushing in embarrassment. Could anyone appear unfazed at the blood-chilling sight of this unfamiliar, enormous monster?
The wyvern was sprawled on the ground with its tongue lolling from its mouth. It was at least forty kevettes tall. Its massive body was as black as charcoal, its head akin to a giant serpent, its broken wings bat-like.
And dragons are…ten times bigger than wyverns.
The thought made goosebumps prickle her arms. Just how terrifying had the monster been that Riftan faced in the war? The reality of a battle she had only vaguely imagined dawned on her and seized her with terror.
“You look pale, my lady. I really think you should return—”
“I-I am all right. I-I will be fine…once I’ve replenished my mana.” Concealing her fear under the guise of exertion, she turned and instructed two sentries to light a fire and boil water while the others helped to unload the wagons.
“Where…a-are the injured?” she asked one of the sentries.
“This way, my lady. We couldn’t leave them exposed to another attack, so we hid them in the trees.”
“And wh-where is Ruth?”
“He is in Cabro Valley, aiding the lord. A horde of wyvern apparently migrated there during the winter. The other mages left to join the raid after scouts spotted at least twenty in the area.”
“T-Twenty?”
Riftan is battling twenty of these colossal monsters.
Maxi felt her heart drop. Stomach-churning anxiety settled in her chest, urging her to rush to Riftan, but it soon became anxiety about her current situation. Maxi scanned the surroundings, noting the men sprawled on dirty sheets on the ground.
“Does that mean…there is no one else here…capable of healing magic?”
“We called in an herbalist, but there are simply too many patients for her to treat alone.” The sentry pointed to an old woman tending to the wounded in a corner of the camp.
“I-I understand. I-I’d like to see…the patient in most need of treatment.”
The sentry pointed to one wounded man. “He was the sentry on guard. The wyvern hurled a rock at his head and knocked him unconscious. He’s still breathing…but his body has been growing cold. Please, see to him first, my lady.”