This love is like a curse (44)
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Edric quickly made his way through the bustling soldiers.
Not even an hour had passed since the end of the battle, but the camp, which until recently had resembled a battlefield, was rapidly being put in order.
While the warriors removed weapons from the carcasses of the wyverns and collected the damaged tents, the servants loaded boxes and bales onto carts, and the maids collected the bodies of the dead in one place, wrapping them in shrouds.
Edric, hastily walking around the camp, estimated the number of victims by eye.
There are seventeen corpses in total.
If you add those who were swallowed by the wyverns, you get about twenty-five to thirty dead. And if you also take into account the wounded, the losses were considerable. He clenched his fists.
"Packs of Wyverns in the Season of Fire..."
Typically, wyverns wake up after the end of the Season of Rest and begin to gather in packs only with the beginning of the Season of Water. After the breeding season, they usually disperse in pairs. Therefore, the appearance of more than a dozen wyverns at the same time during the Season of Fire is extremely rare. Moreover, in this area the environment was not suitable for such large monsters to live in.
“Too suspicious to chalk it up to bad luck.”
Squinting at the bodies of the wyverns scattered along the hillside, Edric pushed away his disturbing thoughts. There was no time for that now. He walked decisively towards the place where the knights had gathered.
- Commander!
The longboat, who was giving instructions to the knights, turned towards his voice.
Edric involuntarily froze, shuddering. In the light of the torches, his boss’s face, usually cold as if made of marble, was stained with blood. Surely he himself looked no better, but this ice mask with blood stains on his skin inspired something strange, alarming.
- Found it? - Sir Siekan asked in the same even voice.
Edric immediately came to his senses and hastily reported:
— Traces of a wyvern fall have been found in the north. It looks like she fell into a ravine.
The longboat turned his head towards the north. The light of the torches in the hands of the knights dimly illuminated the ominous shadow of the forest. Who knows what other creatures are lurking there in the dark.
Edric spoke with alarm:
“We need to immediately organize a search party.” We can't waste time...
- What the hell is a search party?!
A sharp, rough voice interrupted him. Edric turned around sharply. The crown prince with his black hair tousled like a lion and his entourage walked straight towards them.
Edric bowed hastily. The prince ignored him and walked straight up to Longboat.
“But it’s already clear that she’s dead!” Don’t waste time on pointless searches, but get ready to leave immediately! What, do you want to get attacked by monsters again while you're sitting here?!
Edric frowned. These merciless words, coupled with the crown prince's pale, tense face, clearly showed fear. It looks like he was seriously shocked. In the end, having never even encountered ogres, let alone wyverns, all his life, he found himself in the thick of it. But this did not evoke even a drop of sympathy in Edric.
Throwing a glance at the prince full of hostility, the knight turned his eyes to Longboat. He was silent. He was suspiciously silent.
“Is he really going to follow the prince’s orders?”
Even if she is illegitimate, Thalia Roem Girtha is still the daughter of the emperor. Moreover, she is the eldest daughter of the current empress. You can't just leave her to be devoured by monsters because of the prince's personal enmity. This is a matter of the knight's honor.
Gritting his teeth, Edric spoke again:
“If you allow me, I will personally lead the search for Her Highness the Second Princess.” Please...
- Oh, you impudent creature! How dare you oppose the order!
The enraged prince grabbed him by the collar.
Edric looked him calmly in the eyes. He was already used to outbursts of rage from the crown prince. Remaining polite, he spoke:
- Please forgive me. But I can't leave the princess...
- Princess? — the prince snorted and, grinning, bit out every word, looking straight into Edric’s face. - Remember, brat. There is only one princess in this empire - Ayla Roem Girtha. And that piece of trash, Thalia, should never have been born. Becoming food for monsters is a fitting end for this bastard...
- That's enough.
Тихий голос заставил Эдрика вздрогнуть и посмотреть на командира. Longboat always maintained due politeness, even in front of such an unceremonious person as Gareth. Yet now he not only interrupted the Crown Prince's speech, but also addressed him without respect. Edric's breath caught in surprise.
It seems that he was not the only one who was surprised: the prince stared at Longboat in shock. However, the commander himself remained calm.
“Your Highness, you better return to your chambers and rest.”
Having said this completely dispassionately, Longboat nodded to the knights standing behind the prince.
- Bring the magicians immediately. I will assemble a search party of the ten most agile ones.
The knights immediately rushed to carry out the order. The Crown Prince, who was watching this with a stunned face, threw Edric aside and stepped towards Longboat.
“Are you... are you ready to go against me because of this girl?”
“His Majesty ordered me to guard all three,” Longboat responded in the same emotionless voice. “And the emperor’s orders cannot be lower in importance than the orders of your highness.”
- No need for excuses! - the prince growled, blocking his path. “Do you think I didn’t notice how you’re always running around with that Thalia?” Admit it. You... you come to her...!
- Gareth! — a sharp female voice cut through the tense air.
Edric, who had been watching what was happening with hidden excitement, immediately turned around. The first princess, accompanied by two ladies-in-waiting, walked gracefully between the knights.
Immediately after the defeat of the wyverns, she personally supervised the care of the wounded. Her tired appearance and traces of blood on her clothes indicated that she still had not had time to rest. But still, approaching her brother, she looked at him firmly and directly.
- Sir Siekan is right. We can't just leave Thalia. Anyway, she is our sister.
-Are you out of your mind?! — The crown prince looked at his sister with fury. “You know what our mother had to go through because of this creature, and you still say that?!”
“Please be reasonable,” she interrupted her brother firmly, with dignity.
Although the age difference between them was only minutes, she looked much more mature compared to the prince. Without looking away, she calmly continued:
“If we return to the palace, abandoning Thalia, it will cast a shadow on both Sir Siekan and you.” It's of no use to you.
Edric held his breath. It was unexpected to hear such cold words from a woman who was considered the embodiment of kindness.
She added affectionately, calming her enraged brother:
“At least we’ll find her body and bury her properly.”