Chapter 53
I moved to step forward, leaving Eden to support Knox, but a casual remark from Knox caught my ankle.
“Miss Cherry, are you sure you aren’t infected?”
“Excuse me?”
I turned back to him with a look of bewilderment. What on earth was he talking about?
“I’ve never been bitten.”
“I suspect that super strength of yours isn’t from some medicine, but rather a result of infection. Since you’re immune, it likely stopped at just granting you strength.”
“This appeared long before the incident happened. It’s been years.”
“Hmm. A few years ago, you say… I don’t recall hearing any stories about Cherry Sinclair possessing superhuman strength.”
“Listen. Of course I hid it. I’m a person with a social reputation to maintain, you know? They say the virtue of a high-society lady is fragility.”
“Calling that a virtue… what a strange standard. Personally, I’m not fond of fragility.”
Knox stroked his chin, answering with total sincerity. I looked at him, utterly dumbfounded.
“Are you just going to keep talking whatever comes to mind?”
“Just saying.”
Knox offered me a nonchalant smile.
Even while relying on Eden for support, Knox remained so relaxed and composed. It felt very much like him.
“You’d better shut up and move fast before I throw you,” Eden snapped irritably.
Knowing Eden, he wouldn’t just stop at words; he was fully capable of pulling his arm away and dropping Knox right then and there. Knox shrugged and fell silent.
The closer we got to the mansion, the more the tension tightened. We all went quiet, and every step we took became deliberate and cautious.
Two monsters were lingering in front of the mansion’s main gate. I turned to Knox and spoke.
“I’ll carry Mr. Rudfercher.”
“…Handle me with care. Think of me as fragile glass,” Knox said with a resigned expression, as if he had finally given up.
I nodded, handed the bag I was carrying to Knox, and hoisted him up over my shoulder. Eden watched the scene with a somewhat peculiar expression.
“Hey, friend. Focus on what you need to do. Don’t mind me.”
Dangling over my shoulder like a sack of rice, Knox snapped at Eden with uncharacteristic gruffness. In short, he was telling him not to look because he was embarrassed.
“The blood is rushing to my head. I feel like I might vomit.”
Ignoring Knox’s grumbling, I looked at Eden. Eden made a finger-gun gesture. It was the signal to attack.
Gripping my axe with the hand that wasn’t holding Knox, I walked toward the gate.
However, Eden stepped ahead, skillfully wielding his sword and cutting down both monsters in a single stroke. It happened in an instant. He seemed to face no difficulty at all, even while dealing with two of them simultaneously.
‘Wow, looks like there’s no need for someone like me to step in.’
Watching Eden clear the path, I strolled along comfortably with Knox in tow.
Fortunately, aside from those two, most of the monsters had drifted toward the village, allowing us to reach the gate with ease.
After unlocking the gate and stepping inside, I finally set Knox down on the ground.
“Mr. Rudfercher needs to rest immediately.”
I placed the back of my hand against Knox’s forehead. His body had been like a furnace the entire time I carried him. The fever was likely rising because of the wound on his leg.
Eden threw his weight into closing the open gate.
“Dammit, how was this thing even installed?”
The gate—the Stone Gate—was exceptionally heavy. Eden groaned as he slid the bolt shut, returning to us while muttering every curse word under the sun.
Eden then slung Knox over his shoulder. Knox offered no resistance. His fever had been climbing steadily, and once we reached the safety of the house, the sudden release of tension seemed to have sent him into a stupor.
His eyelids flickered as if they might close at any moment, before finally sinking heavily shut.
Just like that, he drifted into a deep, dark sleep.
