Ch#127
Chapter 127"You think we'll let you live well all alone?"
"Die! Die!"
Two women suddenly burst out from the darkness, screaming.
Even in the pitch-black night, the blades in their hands seemed to gleam with razor sharpness.
"Edel!"
Laslo, who had stepped ahead to open the carriage door for her, hurriedly rushed toward Edel.
But one of the women swung her arm first, and a slicing sound rang out—slash.
"Argh!"
"I'll kill you!"
As Edel collapsed to the ground, Laslo shoved the two women away. In the process, the blade also sliced into Laslo's palm.
The two women, flung powerlessly to the ground by Laslo's strength, sprang back up with frenzied eyes.
Despite their disheveled hair, hollow gazes, and vulgar attire that exposed half their bosoms, Edel recognized them instantly.
"Lauren? Daria?"
But instead of answering, they gnashed their teeth.
"It's all your fault! Our family fell because of you, and we're like this because of you!"
"You made us like this and get to live happily ever after? You cursed wench!"
The women, half out of their minds, charged at Edel again.
In that moment, everything seemed to move in slow motion to Edel's eyes.
The startled onlookers from the sudden attack, the guards from the marquis's house rushing over shouting, Lauren and Daria with their eyes bulging and faces twisted like monsters, the blades flashing in the light spilling from the mansion, and Laslo extending his right arm forward to block their swings as he tried to shield her—all of it.
.
"Laslo!"
A sharp scream erupted.
Lauren's blade had embedded itself in Laslo's forearm, and Daria's was caught in his hand.
The scene felt utterly unreal, but Edel soon saw black liquid dripping onto her skirt.
This was no nightmare or illusion—it was stark reality.
"No!"
Edel's vision spun. The terror that Laslo, a knight, might lose the use of his right arm if left like this overwhelmed her.
She reached down, grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, and flung it at Lauren and Daria's faces.
"Agh!"
"Kyaa!"
As the two women ducked their heads from the dirt Edel threw, the marquis's guards seized them.
"Throwing dirt like a coward? Let me go! I have to kill that bitch so Father can rest in peace!"
"Ptoo! That whore who seduces every man she sees! Die!"
Lauren and Daria spat curses at Edel, tears streaming from the dirt or their resentment.
But none of it reached Edel's ears.
Her eyes remained fixed on the blade still lodged in Laslo's forearm.
"La, Laslo... the, the blade... the blade..."
"Edel! Are you hurt? I saw that woman swing at you earlier!"
Laslo dropped Daria's blade from his hand and checked on Edel.
His palm, which had gripped the blade, was deeply cut. It looked blackened, undoubtedly from blood.
"I'm fine! More importantly, you...!"
- 3 -
"Count Criserus! Edel! Don't move or the wounds could reopen! Our family physician will be here soon!"
Barbara, who had witnessed the assault right before her eyes, nearly fainted but managed to compose herself and began controlling the situation with her son.
They gagged the screaming Lauren and Daria and dragged them away, while hurriedly calming the guests who had panicked thinking more assassins were about.
"We've captured the culprits, so we'll share details of the incident shortly. There might be accomplices nearby, so please board your carriages for now!"
"The guards are searching the area. Please wait just a moment!"
In an instant, the marquis's estate was lit up brightly, and security personnel were deployed everywhere.
However, being in the middle of the city, there weren't many places for assassins to hide nearby, and the incident was concluded as the solo act of two deranged women.
Even after the commotion settled, the guests couldn't hide their unease and fled the mansion as if escaping.
"Damn. This might bury the Canian family issue from earlier."
Laslo gritted his teeth as he pulled the blade from his stinging, burning forearm.
He quickly tried to fetch a handkerchief from his pocket to bind the wound, but it was tricky with one hand.
Then a pale hand appeared from the side and firmly tied the handkerchief around his forearm.
"Edel..."
"What do we do... sob, what do we do..."
Tears streamed endlessly down her cheeks.
"What if you lose the use of your right arm?"
Seeing Edel pacing and crying as if the world had ended made Laslo's heart pound fiercely. He knew it didn't suit the situation, but he couldn't help it.
She's so lovable.
That thought nearly brought tears to his eyes.
"Edel. I'm okay."
"The blade went in so, so deep..."
"I've rolled through warzones for ten years. This is nothing."
.
"Having bigger scars before doesn't mean this doesn't hurt!"
Edel shouted fiercely. Her childlike sobbing was so adorably pitiful he couldn't help but smile.
"It'll heal quickly with treatment. My fingers are moving, so the tendons aren't severed. You're the one I'm worried about."
Laslo examined Edel.
He had clearly seen one of the women swing at her, but in the darkness and with her dress stained by his blood, he couldn't tell where she was hurt.
"You're too worked up right now to notice. You must be injured somewhere. Check for pain."
At Laslo's calm voice, Edel regained some composure and looked down at herself.
"Ah... here..."
Edel glanced at her left forearm and shuddered.
Her neck and shoulders had been protected by thick fur, but her forearm, covered only in gloves, had been sliced by the blade.
Fortunately, the wound didn't seem deep.
"I'm fine too. It's not a deep cut..."
"Raise your arm. Check if all five fingers on your left hand move properly."
"They all move."
It really was a shallow wound. Yet Laslo, with his severe injury, frowned as if her cut were worse than his.
"I'm used to getting hurt, but this is your first time, right? It must hurt... Hold on, I should at least unwrap my cravat and bind it."
He fumbled to loosen his cravat with his left hand.
"I'm really okay! Leave it on. It's cold out."
"Is the chill the issue right now? Your blood's still flowing!"
"This is your blood! Mine seems to have stopped, so don't move and stay still!"
Edel barely managed to calm him, but upon seeing his right hand, she changed her mind.
"We need to bind your hand!"
With trembling hands, she unwrapped Laslo's cravat. Worried the cold wind would chill his neck, she unconsciously stroked it with her hand before carefully wrapping the still-warm cravat around his hand.
"Does it hurt? It's cut so deep."
"I told you it's fine."
In truth, the hand wound was the least of Laslo's concerns.
This woman seduces people even without trying.
The unexpected stroke on his nape sent shivers down his spine—not from displeasure, but from the intense stimulation.
If she kept touching him like this, it might get awkward...
The night breeze was cold, but heat rose to his neck.
Just then, the marquis's family physician arrived, and servants rushed to assist Edel and Laslo, preventing Laslo's face from flushing further. What a relief.
"You're incredibly fortunate."
The doctor, finishing Laslo's treatment, let out a long sigh.
"Will he be okay? He's a knight. He needs to wield a sword..."
"As the count mentioned, since the tendons aren't severed and the muscles aren't completely cut, he can wield a sword again. He'll just need some recovery time."
The doctor packed away ointments and bandages into his bag.
But this time, Laslo grabbed him with questions.
.
"My wife is really okay, right?"
"Madam's wound is just a minor abrasion. The silk glove seems to have caused the blade to slip."
"She was still cut. Will that treatment be enough? What if it scars?"
"...That's a bit excessive worry from the one who got stabbed. Madam doesn't even need stitches—just bandage it for two or three days. Oh, and apply ointment daily."
Not just the doctor, but everyone in the room stared at Laslo oddly.
He had just endured stitches on his forearm and palm without a single groan, despite the pain even with strong numbing agents.
And now this man was fussing over Edel's minor cut.
.
