Tenua quickly brushed aside his thoughts and chuckled.
“After all, I’m free for now.”
He may not have captured Leticia immediately, but time was on his side. Opportunities would come soon enough.
“Ramhoot!”
At Tenua’s call, the air resonated with a deep sound.
A black wind approached as if it were a wave, scraping the ground. In an instant, it enveloped his entire body.
Tenua whispered cruelly.
“Let’s go to the nearest village.”
With those words, Tenua disappeared in the blink of an eye.
A moment later, where Tenua had vanished, a small whirlwind emerged with a bubbling sound.
It was the wind spirit that Tenua had seemingly banished and pretended to be dead earlier. The spirit, still disguised as if it were playing dead, shook itself as if regaining its senses and then rushed towards Ahwin as its captive.
“Master! He’s gone.”
“I know.”
The spirit, covered in wounds all over its body, met Ahwin’s pitying gaze.
“Oh my, I’ve given you quite a difficult task.”
When Tenua summoned the wind spirit, Ahwin quickly switched it to his side. It was all to protect Leticia. Fortunately, he succeeded in protecting her, but the wind spirit suffered a great deal.
Due to the opposite nature of Tenua and Ahwin’s powers, whenever their powers clashed, the spirit could only suffer injuries.
The sight reminded Ahwin of his own struggles, trapped between two Saints, and he couldn’t help but feel bitter.
“I’m really sorry.”
A faint blue light emanated from Ahwin, healing the spirit’s injuries. The spirit, which had been limp and barely moving, suddenly sprang to life and started moving energetically.
“It’s okay now!”
“Fortunately.”
“But what about the second wing? He said he’s going to the village. It seems like he wants to vent his anger on the people.”
“Tenua can’t attack innocent people.”
Ahwin said firmly as he got up.
“We need to divert his attention. Since he wants to rampage, let’s throw him some prey for now.”
His crimson eyes scanned the surroundings coolly.
“There should be a few dormant marrows underground nearby. Can you awaken them right now?”
“There are two or three, but awakening marrows is not a common task.”
Awakening marrows required a significant amount of power. There was a possibility that Josephina might notice Ahwin’s involvement later.
“If she finds out that we awakened the marrows to protect her, she won’t be happy.”
“Don’t worry. I have a plan to handle that.”
“Despite the pain of the Covenant?”
Ahwin remained silent for a moment. Then, he chuckled bitterly and mumbled.
“That’s already…”
“What?”
“Never mind. Let’s go.”
Ahwin smiled gently and raised his head.
“Hurry. Before Tenua harms anyone.”
In the end, the wind that had anxiously hovered around Ahwin dissipated into the air.
As he watched the blue sky where the spirit had disappeared, his smile vanished.
Cold sweat trickled down his pale neck. The sharp pain intensified as if it could tear him apart.
His throat constricted horribly, making it impossible to breathe properly. The excruciating pain felt like thousands of needles piercing his body, causing every cell to scream in agony.
The punishment inflicted on the wings for disobeying the owner’s command.
It was the pain of the Covenant.
“Is it almost the limit now?”
Ahwin opened his eyes slowly as he gasped for breath. He had been disobeying his only master’s command, Josephina’s command, for quite some time.
The command he received from Josephina, his sole owner, was not to protect the envoys. It was the massacre of the envoys of the Principality.
“Ahwin, I hope you and Noel will be happy.”
For the sake of protecting Leticia.
—
With Dietrian, Leticia entered the makeshift tent once again and was once again surprised.
Everything was in place inside the hastily arranged tent. Tables, chairs, and even a teapot and teacups for tea time were there.
It was because everything was there that Leticia was bewildered. She had never seen such a tent in her past life.
The fact that this tent was a fervent expression of affection from the envoys of the Principality toward her was beyond her imagination.
Perplexed, Leticia was seated in a chair, and Dietrian brought a first-aid kit.
“It might sting a little.”
“Yes.”
As Leticia watched the approaching dampened disinfectant cotton, something felt off. No matter how long she waited, the cotton didn’t touch her wound.
“Your Highness?”
“Hmm.”
Dietrian let out a faint sigh and furrowed his brow slightly.
“I apologize. It seems I’m afraid.”
“What?”
“Please, if it hurts, let me know.”
Leticia swallowed a short breath as she pondered his words with curiosity. Was he afraid that I might be in pain?
“I’ll finish it quickly.”
The stinging sensation was completely absent, to the point where she couldn’t feel it at all.
‘He’s afraid that I might be in pain?’
It was the perfect phrase to misunderstand.
‘Please, calm down. What kind of imagination is this?’
He cherished her.
It was so sweet that it was frightening to hold it in her heart.
In the midst of it all, she realized that his face was suddenly inches away from hers. Leticia couldn’t even blink as she took him in.
Slightly wrinkled clean forehead, long eyelashes, and dark, captivating pupils… he was excessively handsome.
‘My heart feels like it’s going to burst.’
Her heart couldn’t possibly beat any faster than it already was.
Leticia couldn’t take her eyes off his face.
Fortunately, he was so focused on disinfecting her wound that he didn’t notice her agitation.
And at some point, time seemed to slow down to a crawl, as if it were ten times slower than usual. Dust particles floating in the air glowed white as they caught the sunlight.
She wanted to touch him. Leticia unconsciously raised her hand, slowly moving it toward his cheek. At that moment…
‘I must be insane!’
Leticia was startled and quickly withdrew her hand. Trying to caress his cheek was something only a madwoman would do.
‘I must be really crazy!’
What was even crazier was that amid all this, her desire to touch him continued to swell endlessly.
She wanted to touch him, to embrace his neck, to bury herself in his scent, to kiss his beautiful lips.
Beyond kissing, she wanted to do more. Something deeper. Her mind was filled with all sorts of fantasies.
She couldn’t believe she was having such wicked thoughts. Leticia was so surprised that she was breathless.
“It’s done.”
“Yes, yes.”
Leticia managed to regain her composure and nodded deeply. Her heart was still pounding with surprise.
She wasn’t sure if she was making the right expression. She just hoped her face wasn’t too red.
Dietrian quickly noticed her change.
“Is it too hot inside the tent? Your face seems flushed.”
“Yes, um…”
“Oh dear, I didn’t pay enough attention to ventilation. Please wait a moment.”
Dietrian got up quickly and headed towards the entrance of the tent.
Little did he know that she was indulging in the vivid and unexpected fantasy that he had been longing for.
As he rolled up the cloth covering the entrance to secure it, shadows loomed behind the cart placed in front of the tent.
Dietrian squinted his eyes, wondering if it was just his mood. It seemed that their misconduct was getting worse as time went on. It was probably best to deal with them before Leticia noticed.
“While I’m at it, I plan to prepare a meal. Please wait a moment.”
Dietrian left Leticia alone and went outside. At the same time, the shadows hiding behind the cart trembled and shook. He eventually stopped, realizing that he might reveal everything to Leticia.
“Come out, all of you.”
The shadows revealed themselves to be the anxious members of the Principality’s envoy. They had been circling around Leticia like baby ducks following their mother. The cart remained still.
“Hurry.”
As he urged them again, Enoch, who had been hiding behind the cart, cautiously emerged.
After giving Enoch a meaningful look, Dietrian knocked on the cart with his fist.
“What about the others?”
The cart remained silent. Enoch cleared his throat.
“Sir, we’ve been discovered. Please come out quickly.”
“Cough! We, we were just passing by and heard such a beautiful sound that we decided to linger here for a moment!”
“That’s right. Her Grace may have such perfect voices… Oops! No, not that!”
“Well, aren’t you hungry? We should prepare a meal right away, don’t you think?”
“Right! Just as you ordered a moment ago… Cough!”
“You mean you’re about to give orders, right? Haha!”
After joking among themselves, they all disappeared in the blink of an eye. While Dietrian chuckled in amazement, Enoch approached hesitantly.
“I told them not to do that.”
“And yet, you’re the one who was closest to the tent?”
“Oh, you knew?”
“You were making a fuss right outside the tent. How could I not know?”
“Um, are you angry?”
“…Not really.”
Why would he be angry when his people were treating her so well? However, his heart was complex. They still didn’t know the truth. Right now, all he could hope for was that they would accept the truth as it was.
“Hehe, it’s hard to resist Her Grace’s allure.”
Enoch chuckled.
“My brothers and I feel full just by seeing you both together. I feel the same way. I want to go to the Principality quickly, serve Her Grace without worrying about the Empire, and repay the favor of saving my life.”
Even though he spoke so passionately, Dietrian couldn’t scold him for doing so. Eventually, Dietrian chuckled and ruffled Enoch’s hair before saying, “Well then.”
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