Chapter 47
Edric shouted toward them at the top of his lungs.
“Her Highness is injured! She needs healing magic immediately!”
Upon hearing this, Lord Hart ordered the knight following him to bring a mage at once.
A short while later, a young mage belonging to the Imperial Palace came running.
While he examined the Princess’s condition, Edric began the task of clearing the stones away with the other knights.
As they lifted the boulder crushing her knee, her completely mangled knee and calf were revealed beneath the hem of her torn skirt.
Edric swallowed a groan when he saw several shards of bone protruding through the skin. In this state, she might never be able to use her leg again, even with healing magic.
“If we let the wound close like this, the leg will be completely deformed. First, we must move her to the camp and set the bone.”
The mage, who had been examining the Princess’s condition with a grim expression, spoke in a heavy, sunken voice.
Edric looked at him with a dark look in his eyes.
“Can she hold out until then?”
“I’ve cast a recovery spell, so she should be fine for the moment.”
The mage replied with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck before adding, “Still, it would be best to apply a splint to the leg so the wound doesn’t gape further. Do you have anything suitable?”
“Will this do?”
Lord Hart unfastened his scabbard from his waist and held it out.
The mage took the scabbard, gave it a light shake as if gauging its weight, and then nodded slowly.
“I’m going to bind the leg now, so please hold it from below.”
Following the mage’s instructions, Edric immediately and carefully supported her swollen calf.
At that moment, a pained scream erupted from the limp woman’s mouth.
Startled, Edric accidentally lost his grip. The leg with the protruding bone fell to the ground, spurting dark red blood. As he stood there helpless at the gruesome sight, Barkas, who had been watching the situation from a short distance away, wrapped his arms around the Princess’s upper body and held her firmly.
“Stop the bleeding, quickly!”
Snapping back to his senses, Edric hurriedly grabbed her leg.
Meanwhile, the mage tore a cloak to apply pressure to the long wound stretching from her thigh to her knee. With her face buried in Lord Siekan’s chest, the Princess let out beast-like groans, her dark red fingernails clawing wildly at the nape of his neck.
“Done! Now, tie the splint!”
At the mage’s urgent cry, the knights bent down and secured her leg against the long scabbard.
Once the emergency treatment was finally finished, Lord Siekan gathered her into his arms.
Edric hurriedly reached out toward him.
“I will carry her. Commander, you should check your wounds…”
Just as his hand was about to touch her, the man’s arms pulled the woman’s body tighter toward himself. Edric flinched at the defensive gesture.
Barkas narrowed his eyes as if annoyed and gestured with his chin.
“Forget it. Just lead the way. There’s no time to dawdle.”
“I—I’m sorry.”
Muttering an apology despite himself, Edric hurried to light the way with a torch. Since they couldn’t take the Princess up the steep slope in that condition, they had to circle around the cliff to reach the camp.
As he moved along the dark forest path, he stole a glance back at Barkas.
The light held by the knights faintly illuminated one side of the man’s face. Edric stared intently at that face, which looked beyond cold—almost bored—before quickly snapping his head forward. Now was not the time to be curious about that man’s inner thoughts.
Clearing the stray thoughts flickering in his mind, Edric quickened his pace and emerged from the dense forest.
It felt as though her leg were on fire.
Groaning at the searing pain that felt like her skin was boiling, Talia managed to force open her heavy eyelids, which felt as if they were glued shut.
Through her flickering vision, she saw a ceiling where light wavered. After a brief moment of confusion, Talia twisted her body and let out a sharp scream at the bone-aching pain.
“Hold her down so she can’t move!”
Drawn by an unfamiliar voice, she looked down to see a stout, middle-aged man leaning deep over her leg.
Pressing down on her thigh with one hand, he rummaged through her blood-soaked knee with something resembling small forceps.
Talia watched the scene with eyes full of terror before twisting her body to escape the man. At that, someone standing at her head pressed down violently on her shoulders.
“Your Highness! Please, be still!”
Panting heavily, Talia looked up at the dark shadow looming over her.
The haggard face, steeped in deep fatigue, looked somewhat familiar. It took a few seconds for her to realize it was one of the maids Senevia had assigned to her. However, she didn’t feel the slightest bit of relief.
With pupils dilated, Talia looked back and forth between the maid’s hardened face and the man poking at her knee, then reached out and clawed at the woman’s face.
The maid, who had been pinning her down with sun-browned, sturdy arms, let out a scream and hurriedly pulled her hands away. Seizing the gap, Talia tried to crawl away on the bed, but a strong hand suddenly appeared and pinned her wrist to the mattress.
Talia struggled violently like a beast caught in a trap.
“Let go! I said, let go!”
“Calm down! We are treating the wound right now. You must not move like that!”
The man shouted desperately, pressing his armored chest down against her upper body.
Talia began to struggle even more fiercely. It felt as though the extreme pain was tearing her entire body to pieces. However, the fear that she had to escape right now overwhelmed all other senses.
“No! Don’t touch me!”
“Bring the sedative immediately!”
The man shouted loudly.
Talia looked up with terrified eyes at the rugged face cast in deep shadow. Her personal knight, who had always acted like a half-witted fool, was now restraining her with a grimly set face.
A familiar fear and helplessness tightened around her throat.
She reached out to claw at his face.
“Go—go away! Leave me alone!”
As she shrieked through ragged sobs, a short curse escaped the man’s mouth.
Talia twisted her body even more desperately. At that, the man gathered her wrists into one of his hands and brought a cold glass bottle to her lips.
“Drink this. Everything will be over when you wake up.”
Talia clamped her mouth shut.
But he did not give up easily. Pressing the mouth of the medicine bottle against her lower lip, the man spoke as if pleading.
“It isn’t poison! It’s medicine to help you not feel pain while we treat you. So please…”
Despite the knight’s desperate appeal, Talia held out with her teeth clenched.
She couldn’t trust anyone.
They were all surely waiting for the moment she became helpless to commit some terrible deed.
Striking the medicine bottle away with her elbow, Talia forced herself up. She kicked her bloodied leg, struggling to escape the beasts holding her, when a slender shadow suddenly stepped into the tent.
Talia froze as she recognized his face.
The man, bringing with him the heavy scent of rain, grabbed her upper body with arms like a noose.
She didn’t even have time to escape. Positioning himself behind her, Barkas held her upper body firmly with one arm and signaled the knight with a tilt of his head.
“Bring the medicine.”
The knight obeyed the command immediately.
Taking the new medicine bottle, Barkas pulled the cork out with his teeth and thrust the mouth of the bottle to her lips.
Talia stared at it with trembling eyes before shifting her gaze to his expressionless face.
Barkas urged her in a low tone.
“Drink.”
