Chapter 46
As soon as the Imperial Princess finished speaking, a sound like air escaping a deflating balloon—a thin, raspy laugh—burst from the Crown Prince’s lips.
“I see. Bringing the Empress that girl’s corpse wouldn’t be a bad idea at all.”
The mere thought of the scene seemed to exhilarate him, as his laughter grew even deeper.
He reached out and gripped Lord Siekan’s shoulder firmly with one hand, whispering ominously.
“Fine. If you insist on being so stubborn, I won’t stop you any longer. Go ahead and scour the mountains all night long looking for that girl.”
Giving his shoulder a forceful pat, the Crown Prince turned and walked away toward the far side of the disorganized campsite. Following behind her brother, the Imperial Princess cast a composed remark toward her fiancé.
“Then, I’ll leave the child to you.”
As soon as the two royals departed, they immediately headed north.
Edric gripped a torch in one hand as he cut through the woods, which were thick with a heavy darkness. He was deathly anxious that the traces left by the Wyvern might have vanished during their brief squabble.
“Careful. You’ll end up tumbling down the ravine yourself at this rate.”
The senior knight following closely at his side, Sir Theoric Hart, whispered in a worried tone.
Edric didn’t reply, merely giving a sharp nod as he raised his torch to illuminate the rugged dirt path. Soon, jagged rocks and a steep slope were revealed between the straight-backed conifers.
“It’s here.”
As he pointed toward the steep descent, his superior, who had been following silently, stepped forward like a shadow.
Edric moved aside so he could examine the drop. After scanning the canyon below with the torchlight for a moment, Barkas pulled a chain with a grappling hook from a pouch on his belt.
Securing it firmly into a crevice in the rocks, Barkas threw himself down the slope that was little more than a precipice. Edric stood and shone the light down until he confirmed Barkas had landed safely at the bottom, then followed him down the rock face.
Fortunately, the valley wasn’t that deep. Stepping carefully onto protruding rocks as he descended the slope, Edric held the torch in his hand high to signal the knights remaining above. Upon seeing the signal, the waiting knights began to scale down the rocks one by one.
After watching them for a moment, Edric turned to inspect his surroundings.
It seemed the impact of the Wyvern’s fall had sent a massive shock through the rock wall; boulders and piles of earth were scattered everywhere. It would take a considerable amount of time to search through all this debris.
Edric scanned the pitch-black darkness with an anxious gaze before leaping over a large boulder. After moving along the uneven ground for a while, he managed to discover a dark shape rising next to a pile of fallen rocks.
He brought the light closer to examine it.
‘……It looks like I found the right spot.’
The carcass of the Wyvern, one wing shriveled black as if grazed by fire magic, lay prone amidst the rockfall.
Wondering if the Princess might be pinned somewhere beneath the monster’s body, Edric searched the area thoroughly until he froze at the sight of a dark figure standing a short distance away.
As he brought his torch closer, he saw Barkas standing beside a large rock. Edric ran toward him in a single breath.
“Commander! Did you find anything—!”
Edric’s frantic shout cut off abruptly when he discovered the limp, pale form lying before the man.
The torch, held in a trembling hand, cast a faint light over the woman’s bloodless face and tangled hair. Staring blankly down at her, Edric let out a heavy groan of despair as he saw the fragments of rock, large and small, covering the lower half of her body.
He had known the chances of her being alive were slim. It was a sight he had prepared himself for to some extent. Even so, seeing the woman’s horribly broken state with his own eyes felt as if his blood were turning to ice.
Hesitating, he approached her with trembling steps.
Her upper body was relatively intact, but her legs were nearly crushed.
Observing her left leg, which was pinned beneath a large boulder and twisted at an unnatural angle, Edric pushed a sizable stone aside. As he did, the rocks piled next to it came tumbling down.
His face clouded with a sense of failure, and Edric jerked his head up to ask for help. But he stiffened, startled by the expressionless, mask-like face he encountered.
Barkas was standing tall, quietly observing the woman. The dry gaze, devoid of even a trace of emotion, sent a chill down Edric’s spine.
He knew this man and the Second Princess were practically enemies. But still, hadn’t they known each other since they were children? He couldn’t understand how someone could remain so composed after seeing her in such a state.
Edric shouted as if in protest.
“What are you doing?! Please, help me!”
But Barkas did not move an inch.
Glaring at him with a face flushed with indignation, Edric stood up to try and move the rocks himself. But as he pushed with both hands against the stone crushing her legs, a sound like a small animal gasping for breath reached his ears.
Edric whipped his head down.
Beneath the light, he saw the pale face twitch minutely. For a moment, his legs felt so weak he nearly collapsed.
Overwhelmed by a surge of relief, he cried out loudly.
“She’s alive! She’s still breathing!”
As if responding to his voice, her thin eyelids fluttered, revealing eyes with hazy, unfocused pupils. It was clear she was barely conscious.
Edric hurriedly straightened his back. He had to get her to a healing mage immediately.
He reached for the torch he had set on the ground to call over the knights searching elsewhere. In that moment, he saw a faint smile ghost across the woman’s paper-white face.
Edric instinctively froze. From her parched, blood-flecked lips, a sound so indistinct it was hard to recognize leaked out.
“Barkas……”
His eyes widened at the name uttered like a plea, just as the man who had been as still as a statue leaned down toward her. The woman’s eyes wavered faintly, as if recognizing that calm face. It was a look as if she had witnessed a single ray of salvation from within the abyss.
“I…… I knew it. I knew…… you would come to save me.”
As the woman’s eyes curved slightly, tears pushed past her thin eyelids and soaked her pallid cheeks.
The shadow of the fire flickered over the man’s cold face as he looked down at her. The light sparkled even in his empty, lifeless eyes. Yet, the man still seemed as if he were submerged in a deep, dark place.
Holding his breath for reasons he couldn’t explain, Edric reached out and caught the man’s shoulder.
“Are…… are you alright?”
Barkas lifted his head and looked at him. A slight furrow appeared between his handsome brows. He looked as if he couldn’t understand why such a question was being asked. Edric himself didn’t know why he had asked it.
Why had this man looked like he wasn’t alright?
As he stared at that calm face, which looked no different than usual, with confused eyes, the sound of busy footsteps approached from somewhere.
Snapped back to his senses, Edric hurriedly raised his torch. Recognizing his signal, several knights came running toward them in haste.
