Maxi felt discouraged by Ulyseon's words.
Was Riftan using the meeting as an excuse to avoid it?
After all, he was always skilled at escaping her when he was angry.
She anxiously picked at her food and tried to rest.
When Riftan didn't return even in the late hours of the night, Maxi supposed his suspicions were correct.
She waited in bed until fatigue finally dragged her to sleep.
Unsurprisingly, she woke up to an empty bed.
She quickly got ready for the day.
Just when he was about to run out, Ulyseon entered the tent.
“Good morning, my lady!”
The young knight gave him a bright smile and placed his breakfast on the table.
Maxi tried to hide his anxiety behind a composed expression as he asked, "Riftan...
didn't come back last night.
Did the meeting last all night?"
"The meeting ended in the early hours of the morning, my lady.
I was on guard duty in front of the tent and only returned to the quarters after Sir Riftan returned." Ulyseon tilted his head.
“He probably didn’t wake you up because he thought you might be tired.”
Maxi would be willing to bet all of her accumulated mana that Riftan had quietly slipped in and out of the tent to avoid her.
His brow furrowed in irritation.
“Can you tell me… where he is now?”
"He must be outside the gates, inspecting our defenses.
Is there any urgent matter to discuss with him, my lady?"
Opening and closing her mouth, Maxi weakly shook her head.
The truth was, she didn't know what else to say to him.
Everything that needed to be said had already been said.
All he could do now was wait for his anger to subside, as the princess had advised.
Maxi sighed resignedly.
Four days later, with no glimpse of Riftan, his anger slowly grew.
Like a coward, he slipped in and out of the tent while she slept.
It was irritating.
Even though she tried to stay awake, her tiredness always won.
On the other hand, Riftan was a man who didn't know what it was like to be tired.
He could definitely wait all night for her to fall asleep.
Annoyingly brushing away the strands of hair stuck to her face, Maxi tore the herb in her hands and dropped it into the boiling kettle.
She was staring at the bubbling mixture, seething with rage, when Idsilla returned with a handful of firewood.
Idsilla tilted her head at Maxi.
"What's wrong?
Is there something wrong with the medicine?"
Maxi quickly tried to ease his expression.
"N-No.
I was just… thinking about something."
"Your husband is going to the front lines again.
You must be worried."
Maxi neither confirmed nor denied the girl's assumption and just gave her an ambiguous look.
Idsilla looked at Maxi knowingly as if she understood everything.
“They say there won’t be a large-scale battle anytime soon, so don’t worry so much,” she said, in a consoling tone.
“I’m sorry,” Maxi replied after a pause.
“You must be… more anxious than I am…”
"We're both worried about our families.
It wouldn't be right to say that one is more anxious than the other.
For now, it's enough that I know he's okay," Idsilla said optimistically.
Maxi learned from Elliot that Idsilla's brother, Elbarto Calima, was safe.
The girl's face visibly lit up when Maxi told her the news.
“The division… guarding the front should be returning soon… I'm sure you'll see your brother then.”
“I don’t want him to know I’m here.”
Idsilla shook her head firmly as she pushed dry sticks into the fire.
"Elba may be an exceptional knight, but he is not invincible like your husband.
I have no doubt he is already struggling because of his bad arm.
I do not want to add to your worries.
I will see him when the war is over."
Maxi felt a blush rise on her cheeks at the girl's rationality.
She felt embarrassed for worrying about not seeing her husband for a few days.
At the same time, she was worried that her presence might become a burden to Riftan.
Hadn't she given him one more thing to worry about when the war was already weighing on him?
“You are here, my lady.”
The unexpected voice brought Maxi out of her thoughts.
She turned around and saw Ruth coming out of the dense forest.
“Ruth… what brings you here?”"The rune I spent an entire night formulating for Sir Hebaron's injury failed.
It looks like he's in a lot of pain, so I'm here to get some medicine to help ease it."
Rubbing the back of her neck, Ruth gave an undignified yawn and leaned over a tree stump.
Maxi's face hardened with concern.
“His condition isn’t serious, is it?”
“Your life is not in danger,” Ruth said flatly.
Then he added with a sigh, “But the wound is getting worse due to the infection, and it seems like the pain is only increasing.”
“S-So, shouldn’t we treat the wound properly… instead of just relying on magic?”
“I've been applying ointment regularly, but it hasn't been much help.” Ruth ran a hand through her hair roughly.
"The biggest problem is that the curse is lowering the morale of the allied forces.
Everyone is afraid of ending up like Sir Hebaron.
Duke Aren also proposed postponing a full-scale war until we find a way to break the curse."
"I-I...
agree with him...
about that.
If...
monsters are able to cast a curse freely, even White Dragons...
won't be safe."
“I understand your concern, but prolonging this war would only put us at a disadvantage,” Ruth said gravely.
"Our enemy is capable of unlimited regeneration, while we are not.
Not to mention the growing division within the coalition army.
It would be better for us to strike first before the solidarity of the forces weakens further."
He sighed and shrugged.
"But you needn't worry, as my opinion is being completely ignored.
Small skirmishes are likely to continue for the foreseeable future.
I'm afraid we'll have to spend the winter here at this rate."
Maxi's face wasn't the only one to darken at Ruth's words.
Idsilla, who was sitting silently in the corner, also looked worried.
Feeling the heaviness in the air, Ruth quickly changed the subject.
"I'm afraid I stayed too long.
Sir Hebaron will pull all the hair out of my head if I don't return soon with the medicine.
I heard you have an effective potion.
Could you give me some of it?"
"Of course.
But first...
would you mind if I also took a look at Sir Hebaron's f-wound?"
“You, my lady?”
He looked at her with surprise, which Maxi found a little irritating.
"I...
I studied a lot while you were away, you know!
Things that even you wouldn't know, s-under the guidance of a new wizard staying in Anatol.
Who knows, my medicine might work better than magic..."
“Well, it can't hurt to try,” Ruth replied flatly, shrugging her shoulders.
After frowning at her apathetic response, Maxi asked Idsilla to take care of the boiler and went to gather her medicines and tools.
Upon leaving the camp, Ulyseon jumped off the small wooden sculpture he was working on.
"My lady!
Where are you going?"
“I am… taking my medicines to Sir Hebaron.”
At her response, Ulyseon's gaze shifted to Ruth.
“The curse hasn’t been broken yet?”
Ruth shook her head as they walked forward.
With Ruth and Ulyseon at her side, none of the soldiers tried to approach her, although she could feel some eyes turning towards them.
Relaxing, Maxi followed closely behind Ruth.
They threaded their way through the cluster of densely packed tents before stopping in front of the White Dragons' quarters.
Ruth was the first to enter.
The moment he entered the tent, Maxi heard a deep voice bellow from inside.
"Look who's finally back!
I thought you were waiting for me to die!"
Maxi's eyes widened as she entered the tent after Ruth.
Hebaron lay on a bed with his muscular torso wrapped in bandages, furious at the sorcerer.
Surprised to see him so excited, Maxi stood there blinking when the knight spotted her.
His angry expression turned into a cheerful smile.
"And who is this?
I heard you were here, my lady, but I must say I'm still surprised to see you.
Your courage never ceases to amaze me."
"I...
I heard you were injured.
How...
is your wound?"
Maxi approached the bed, and Hebaron furrowed his thick eyebrows.
"No one here seems to care about my honor!
Did you really need to tell his lordship that the invincible Sir Hebaron was injured?"“I'm afraid your honor is already completely tarnished,” replied Ruth.
"Men are already calling you a knight with the monster's curse.
I assure you, everyone in Eth Lene already knows your situation."
"Curse!"
The anger in his voice made Maxi flinch.
Hebaron furiously tugged at his orange locks as if to express the extent of his anger.
“There is no greater humiliation!”
"If you wish to preserve your reputation, I suggest you cooperate by keeping your mouth closed during treatment.
I find it difficult to concentrate with you shouting all the time," Ruth said through clenched teeth.
Hebaron glared at Ruth before turning his back to them as if he was truly upset by the sorcerer's words.
Maxi felt like he should tread carefully, and his eyes moved between them before placing down the herbs and tools he had brought.
"I...
I'd like to take a look at your wound.
Would you let me...
undo the bandage?"
Ruth and Ulyseon helped Hebaron sit up and unwound the bandages.
Maxi stifled a groan when he saw the wound.
The injury that ran from his shoulder to his chest was like a red centipede crawling over his skin.
Inflamed flesh surrounded the wound, and dark blue veins spread from it like the legs of an insect.
“H-How…”
"It was a whip," said Hebaron in an annoyed voice, "and I owe it to a lizard with black scales.
A peculiar creature."
"Lizards have the highest intelligence of the dragon subspecies.
It is not uncommon for them to use advanced magic.
My guess is that the monster that attacked Sir Hebaron is a superior specimen even among its kind."
“Well, that’s depressing.”
Maxi was momentarily uncertain about how to treat the horrifying wound.
In the end, she carefully applied the ointment she had brought to the injury.
Among the remedies Melric had taught him, it was the most efficient in relieving inflammation and pain.
It must have proved effective, as Hebaron's face soon became visibly brighter.
"Great God, that worked like a charm!
I think I could fight right now if called upon."
"I just d-numb the pain...
the wound isn't healed yet.
You shouldn't try too hard...
just because you don't feel it."
Maxi warned him as seriously as he could, then bandaged his wound with clean bandages.
She asked them to light a fire and used the flames to collect herbal ashes in a linen bag.
"Use this like a hot compress...
on the wound for about twenty minutes.
The area is numb, so s-be careful not to burn it."
Maxi waited patiently until the bag was at the right temperature before handing it to Ruth.
He looked at it with a dubious expression before carefully placing it on Hebaron's shoulder.
Hebaron frowned as if he found the heat uncomfortable, but soon fell asleep.
Ruth explained in a whisper that the knight's fatigue must have been great after weeks of painful, sleepless nights.
"Thank you for your help, my lady.
I think we can have some peace until I can break the curse."
“T-It only relieves you of the pain and inflammation temporarily.”
"That's more than enough.
Please leave the rest to me.
It's just a monster curse; it shouldn't take long to find a way to undo it," Ruth said, looking exceptionally determined.
Offering him an encouraging smile, Maxi quietly gathered her things and left.
They were in the tent for quite a while, and the sky darkened to lavender.
Maxi quickened his steps.
She wanted to check on the injured men in the infirmary one more time before retiring for the night.
She was almost leaving the dorms when someone blocked her path.
Startled, Maxi took a step back.
A tall man with fierce eyes stared at her.
"I've never seen you around here before.
Why are you wandering around the dorms?"
“Get away!”
Ulyseon quickly hid Maxi behind him and grabbed the hilt of his sword.
“His lordship is not someone you can approach so lightly.”
“And what do we have here?” Clearly unfazed, the man smirked and looked Ulyseon up and down.
"Aren't you the white lizard's little dog?
What a shame.
Here I was thinking two pretty girls needed a pimp."Ulyseon's face turned red as a pepper.
In the blink of an eye, his sword was out of its sheath and positioned at the man's throat.
He moved so quickly that Maxi could hardly believe his eyes.
The man looked surprised too.
He took a step back, but Ulyseon quickly closed the distance between them.
“I suppose you northern pigs don’t know anything about decency,” growled Ulyseon menacingly, looking nothing like the naïve young man Maxi knew.
“If Sir Riftan had not ordered us to avoid trouble, I would have cut off his head for polluting his lordship's ears with his disgusting growl.”
Laughter echoed at the squire's response.
Hunched behind Ulyseon, Maxi flinched and turned her head toward the sound.
Not far from them, a group of burly men were playing dice.
One of them howled with laughter and shouted: "Hey, Devron!
Didn't I warn you not to mess with that kid?
Some have already lost their noses because of him, fooled by his pretty face.
Imagine what his temperament must be like for people to call him the son of the devil even though he's just a squire."
Ulyseon's expression hardened, and Maxi cautiously studied the speaker's face.
He was a young man with ash-blond, almost white hair.
He seemed to have a fierce manner.
Throwing the dice on the table, he gave Maxi a forced smile.
"Damn, another two-three.
I'm having terrible luck today, lady.
Why don't you come over here and become my goddess of fortune?"
"Enough!
I will not tolerate any disrespect towards your lordship, even if you are the vice-commander of Phil Aaron's Knights!" Ulyseon shouted.
Maxi's eyes widened.
To imagine that such a rude man was Balto's commanding officer.
She could hardly believe he had such a high position.
"Your lordship?
Listen here, son of the devil.
There are no nobles here.
Not even a princess is considered one on a battlefield.
Still, with you making such a fuss, it makes me wonder who she is."
Taking a sip of wine straight from the bottle, the man analyzed Maxi from head to toe with the cold gaze of a snake.
"I heard Calypse dragged a woman into her tent.
I think it was you."