Chapter 45
45
Edric moved swiftly through the soldiers bustling back and forth.
Less than an hour after the battle had ended, the campsite—which had been nothing short of a scene of carnage—was rapidly being brought to order.
While soldiers recovered weapons from the wyvern carcasses and cleared away ruined tents, laborers loaded crates and bundles onto wagons, and maids began the grim task of collecting the bodies and wrapping them in silk.
Navigating the camp with quick steps, Edric estimated the death toll by eye.
Seventeen bodies in total.
Including those swallowed whole by the wyverns, it seemed roughly twenty-five to thirty people had perished. Considering the wounded, the scale of the damage was significant. He clenched his fists.
‘A pack of wyverns appearing during the Season of Fire…’
Usually, wyverns wake from hibernation at the end of the Season of Rest and only begin to form packs once they enter the Season of Water. Since they scatter in pairs after the breeding season, it was extremely rare to see a pack of over a dozen wyverns appear all at once during the Season of Fire. Furthermore, this region was not a suitable habitat for large magical beasts like wyverns.
‘To dismiss this as mere bad luck… something feels off.’
Edric surveyed the wyvern carcasses scattered across the hills with narrowed eyes, but he soon pushed the lingering doubts from his mind. Now was not the time for such idle thoughts. He moved his long legs without hesitation toward the spot where the knights were gathered.
“Commander!”
Barkas, who had been issuing orders to the knights, turned his head toward him.
Edric flinched involuntarily, his steps halting. Under the flickering torchlight, his superior’s face was stained with dark red blood. Though his own appearance was likely no different, the sight of Barkas—his cool, marble-carved face covered in blood and his eyes shining with a chilling light—gave off an eerie aura.
“Did you find her?”
Lord Siekan asked in his characteristically level voice.
Snapping back to his senses, Edric hurried to report.
“I found traces of a wyvern falling to the north. It appears it plummeted down into the canyon.”
Barkas turned his gaze northward. The torches held by the knights dimly illuminated the ominous shadows of the forest. There was no telling what other violent magical beasts might be lurking within.
Edric spoke up anxiously.
“We must organize a search party immediately. There’s no time to—”
“What search party?!”
Edric whipped his head around at the sudden, harsh voice. The Crown Prince, his thick black hair disheveled like a lion’s mane, was approaching them followed by his attendants.
Edric quickly bowed his head in respect. The Crown Prince didn’t even acknowledge him, stepping right up to Barkas.
“It’s obvious she’s dead anyway! Stop wasting time on useless errands and prepare to depart at once! What if we’re attacked by another swarm of monsters while we’re dawdling here?”
Edric’s face hardened at the utterly heartless words.
Perhaps significantly shaken by the sudden disaster, the Crown Prince’s face was paler than usual. Having never faced so much as an ogre in his life, let alone a wyvern, it was understandable that he was frightened. However, Edric couldn’t feel a shred of sympathy for the Crown Prince, who seemed pathetically on edge.
Glaring at the Crown Prince with eyes full of resentment, Edric shifted his gaze to observe Barkas’s reaction. He was strangely silent.
Surely, he wouldn’t follow the Crown Prince’s wishes?
Even if she was born illegitimate, Talia Roem Guirta was the Emperor’s daughter. Furthermore, was she not the eldest daughter of the current Empress? He could not allow an Imperial Princess to be left as monster bait simply because of the Crown Prince’s personal grudge. This was also a matter of his honor as a knight.
Edric spoke up urgently.
“If you organize a search party, I will personally look for the Second Princess. So, please…”
“You insolent brat, how dare you speak up in my presence!”
The Crown Prince exploded in a fit of rage, grabbing Edric by the collar.
Edric looked up at him with calm eyes. He was well-acquainted with the man’s violent temper. Edric spoke as politely as possible.
“My apologies. However, we cannot leave the Princess like this…”
“Princess?”
The Crown Prince let out a dry laugh and spat out each word with emphasis right in his face.
“Listen well, you greenhorn. There is only one Princess in this Empire: Aila Roem Guirta. That bitch Talia should never have been born in the first place. Ending up as monster fodder is exactly the conclusion that bastard deserves—”
“Enough.”
At the low voice, Edric flinched and looked at his superior. No matter how insolently Gares behaved, Barkas had always treated him with formal etiquette. The fact that he had not only interrupted the Crown Prince but spoken to him without honorifics left Edric momentarily stunned.
The Crown Prince seemed equally shocked, turning to look at him with wide eyes. But Barkas remained composed.
“Your Highness should return to your quarters and rest.”
Barkas spoke flatly, then gestured to the knights waiting behind the Crown Prince.
“Bring a mage immediately. Select ten of the most agile men to form a search party.”
The knights instantly dispersed to carry out his orders. Watching them go with a dazed expression, the Crown Prince shoved Edric’s collar away and stepped toward Barkas.
“Are you… actually defying me because of that girl?”
“I was ordered by His Imperial Majesty to escort all three of you.”
Barkas’s voice was devoid of emotion.
“Surely Your Highness’s instructions cannot take precedence over the Emperor’s command.”
“Don’t give me excuses!”
The Crown Prince blocked Barkas’s path.
“Do you think I haven’t noticed how you’ve been strangely protective of that girl Talia? Tell me the truth. You, toward her—!”
“Gares!”
At that moment, a sharp, high-pitched voice sliced through the tense air.
Edric, who had been watching the two men with bated breath, turned his head. The First Imperial Princess, accompanied by two attendants, was walking gracefully through the knights.
Immediately after the wyverns were defeated, the Princess had taken charge of the maids to tend to the wounded. Clad in a layer of deep fatigue she hadn’t yet managed to wash away, the Princess approached her brother with a firm gaze.
“Lord Siekan is right. We cannot leave Talia behind like this. Regardless of anything, she is our flesh and blood.”
“Are you serious right now?”
The Crown Prince glared at his sister with eyes full of betrayal.
“After the humiliation our mother suffered because of her, you’re saying that?!”
“Please, act rationally.”
The Princess interrupted her brother with an authoritative tone. Though she had entered the world only a few minutes before him, she appeared far more mature than the Crown Prince.
She looked her brother straight in the eye and continued slowly.
“If we return to the Imperial Palace having abandoned Talia, not only Lord Siekan but you as well will be subject to unnecessary gossip. Why take such a risk?”
Edric was momentarily speechless at the cold words coming from the First Princess, who was famously known for her benevolent nature.
She added softly, as if soothing her fuming brother.
“At the very least, let us recover her body properly so that a funeral can be held.”
