70 - The Crown I Will Take From You
70
“Were you bitten just now?”
It was the arm that had fended off the Hydra that lunged at Medeia.
He had managed to avoid being bitten and cut off its head, but it seemed he had been bitten after all.
Hydra's venom was known to be so potent that even a graze could kill a person.
'Is he strong, or just foolish?'
Even in that state, he dealt with the Hydra and then the assassins. His shoulder also bore the wound from Medeia's Dagger strike.
It was incomprehensible how he had been moving so leisurely in that state until now.
"I need to detoxify you."
Medeia tore her clothes, tied up the wound, and prepared to draw out the poison.
"Don't worry. Ma, Princess."
He shook his head.
"My body is immune to poison. I just get a little tired… and unsightly."
The curse left by the Primordial Darkness swallowed even the Hydra's deadly venom.
The conflicting energies had caused a sudden seizure, but Cesare knew that he wouldn't die from the Hydra's poison.
"Princess, how did you know about this passage?"
Medeia didn't answer. Cesare, anticipating that he wouldn't get an easy answer, got to the point.
"Get out of here on your own. Be careful, they're quite persistent."
Even in this situation, his arrogant tone of giving orders remained unchanged.
"Do you think you can get out of here alive in that state?"
The assailants were clearly targeting this man.
Cesare chuckled at the cold question thrown in a calm voice.
Medeia first tied up his arm, bitten by the Hydra, and his shoulder, stabbed by the Dagger, with the cloth she had torn off earlier.
Cesare found it strange that the Princess, who had probably never even scratched herself in her life, was treating his wounds so skillfully.
Apart from that, the sensation of her small hands brushing against his skin was excessively vivid.
Cesare felt like he was going to blush like an awkward teenager.
"No need, I told you…"
He tried to twist away, but his stiff body was not up to the task. His once relaxed eyes sank deeply.
'If the seizure recurs…'
Thinking that he didn't want to show her that side of himself, he lost consciousness.
"Achares?"
With a thud, his hand fell, and Medeia called out to the mercenary. The eyes that should have been shining brilliantly were tightly closed.
She put her hand on his neck. A faint pulse could be felt. He seemed to have lost consciousness due to his injuries.
'What should I do?'
Could she really leave him here? Medeia hesitated.
'If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have been poisoned.'
This mercenary could have simply let Medeia be bitten by the Hydra. But he didn't.
Contrary to his threat to strangle Medeia and not let her go, the mercenary had surprisingly protected her.
Whatever the reason, the fact that she owed him a debt remained unchanged.
"……."
Medeia bit her lip. Aside from her family, Peleus, he was the first man who had tried to protect her.
"Medeia, hurry and run away! It's dangerous!"
"Are you okay? That was close. You should have been more careful, Medeia."
"All talk, that bastard."
Her husband, Iason, always looked out for his own safety whenever he encountered dangerous Demon Beasts in the expedition.
He had even abandoned his son, Rian, and fled when he encountered a dangerous monster.
Since then, Medeia had never let her guard down when it came to Rian's safety.
She instinctively realized that Duke Iason, known for being generous and benevolent, valued his own life more than his family, contrary to his reputation.
At least compared to him, Achares could be said to be a loyal man.
"Ha."
Medeia let out a hollow laugh.
The loathsome ex-husband only served to confirm how terrible her choice had been, no matter who she compared him to.
'Rian, if only your mother had protected you better…'
Medeia, who was longing for her child, paused and shook her head. This was not the time to be lost in thought.
"……."
Medeia looked down at the unconscious mercenary.
'No, not a mercenary, but the real leader of Facade.'
Leaving aside the debt, if it became known that she had left the leader behind like this, Facade might retaliate against Medeia, and by extension, the royal family.
One must know which cards to discard and which to keep. At least for now, there was a good enough reason to move with him.
Medeia looked around.
Right next to the alley they had entered, there was a shabby house.
The interior, visible through the broken window, was empty. It seemed to be an uninhabited house.
Clang.
A faint cracking sound echoed through the alley. Medeia lightly climbed through the window.
If Duke Claudio saw this, wouldn't he shout at the top of his lungs that the Princess was burglarizing an empty house?
A moment later, Medeia, who came out of the door, took Cesare inside.
Drag. The door closed with the sound of a heavy object dragging across the stone floor.
The street became quiet again.
\ \ *
Bang, bang-!
"…there… search…"
"Open the door…"
The noise and voices echoing through the street could be heard.
'They've already tracked us this far.'
Catching her breath, Medeia first laid the mercenary down on a flat surface close to the bed.
He was so large that his legs stuck out quite a bit, but when she covered him with a shabby blanket and roughly covered the side with gauze, it looked like just a pile of luggage at first glance.
Searching the interior, she also found women's clothes. Medeia roughly dusted them off and put them on.
She didn't forget to stuff clothes inside to puff up her body. She smeared soot from the fireplace on her face and tousled her hair.
Her appearance reflected in the faded mirror was just like that of a commoner woman.
She paused as she checked the place where Cesare was hidden.
'Oh no, the smell of blood because of the injuries…'
Since it was an uninhabited house, the smell of blood was even more prominent. The assassins would definitely notice.
'At this rate, we'll be discovered.'
Thump-bang!
The sound of doors opening and closing was getting closer.
They seemed to be checking each house one by one, starting from the upper floors.
"……."
She had sent a Communication device message to Neril, but it would take quite a while for her to arrive here.
Above all, she couldn't let Neril face them alone. Her deliberation was short.
Slash-! Medeia slashed her hand with a Dagger.
She tied up the wound with the cloth that was next to her. The white cloth was quickly soaked red.
Bang, bang-!
Just in time, someone knocked on the door. Her heart felt like it was going to burst.
"Royal Castle Guard. We are chasing an escaped prisoner, open the door!"
Bang, bang-!
Medeia stood by the door and made a feeble voice.
"I'm sorry, but my husband is not home right now. I can't open the door for you…"
"We are only searching for an escaped prisoner. If you don't want to be dragged away on charges of aiding and abetting, open the door and cooperate with official duties."
When she opened the door, a man wearing a guard armband looked down at Medeia.
She pretended not to notice his murderous eyes quickly scanning the interior of the house.
"Oh my, what should I do. I'm sorry for bothering you with official duties, but I don't have much to offer because I'm so poor…"
"Just now, did you see anyone suspicious? Tall, agile, but injured and not in good condition."
The shadow, unable to find any particular flaws in the shabby interior, asked Medeia.
"I'm sorry, I've been so busy with work that I have to finish by tomorrow that I haven't been paying attention to the outside."
Medeia blinked her eyes. She tried to make an innocent voice.
'This isn't it.'
The shadow, about to turn around, paused and stiffened.
It was because it smelled the faint scent of blood in the air.
The murderous eyes looked around the house once more and then glared at Medeia.
"What, why are you doing this…"
A woman with a youthful face blushed. The shadow noticed her blunt hand.
"What's that wound?"
"Ah, this? I cut myself while cutting cloth earlier…"
"Untie it."
"It's ugly, you might not want to see it-"
"Hurry!"
