A sharp sting accompanied by the turn of my cheek. I touched the wound with the back of my hand and realized with some dismay that more blood was flowing than I expected. She shouted at me with a sharp voice.
“I told you not to come near me!”
I glanced sideways. Under the crimson desert sunset, my attendants stood frozen, watching us with stiff expressions. Some of their eyes changed when they noticed the blood. I quickly raised my hand to stop them. Trying not to provoke her further, I spoke slowly.
“I just want to check your injury.”
She had been limping slightly for a while now. Despite my earlier resolve not to approach her, I broke that decision and stepped closer. I didn’t want to make her uneasy, but I had to check her injury.
In the desert, a wound on the foot could be like a shackle. Even the smallest wound could become a life-threatening danger if it became infected.
“There’s no wound.”
Even while limping, she wouldn’t allow me to approach. She even picked up a shard of glass she’d found in the desert, threatening me with it.
As the standoff between us dragged on, I grew more and more anxious. I was worried not only about the wound on her foot, which was likely festering, but also about the sharp shard of glass she held in her trembling hand. I realized that prolonging this would do no good.
I took a decisive step toward her.
“Just get out of my sight alr—”
“You’ve hurt your foot.”
Despite her earlier threats, the moment I stepped closer, she flinched and retreated in surprise. Unfortunately, she stepped on her injured foot, letting out a short scream as she wobbled. I quickly caught her.
She lost her balance completely, collapsing into my arms.
Before she could gather herself, I swiftly removed the glass shard from her hand and tossed it away.
“These kinds of wounds often happen to people crossing the gravel desert for the first time.”
From the moment she fell into my arms, she froze, unable to do anything.
She resembled a bird that had puffed up its feathers in front of a predator, only to freeze the moment it was caught.
I carefully sat her down in the sand. She didn’t resist.
I was starting to feel more confident about her behavior patterns.
I frowned as I checked her wound. Her foot was in worse shape than I had anticipated. The leather shoe was soaked with blood.
Why hadn’t I noticed this earlier?
“Let me just take a look at the wound for a moment.”
Saying that, I carefully removed her shoe. Despite my efforts to be gentle, she flinched with every movement.
The only relief was that she wasn’t pushing me away anymore. I had been worried she might refuse treatment, but she didn’t.
“I’m going to clean the wound. It’s going to sting a bit. Please bear with it.”
Using my dagger, I tore the cloth wrapping her foot and opened my canteen to pour fresh water on the wound.
“Ben! Bring the disinfectant and bandages.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
As I wiped away the blood flowing from her wound, I became even more concerned. The injury was a mess, with pus oozing from multiple places. There was a high risk of infection.
If the wound festered in the desert, the infection could spread throughout her body. She needed proper treatment, but there wasn’t a proper physician anywhere nearby.
For now, I decided to treat it as best I could and monitor her condition. To do that, we’d have to stop our journey for the day.
“We’re camping here for the night! Yulken, start preparing the campsite!”
“Here, Your Highness?”
“Yes. Make preparations to rest as soon as possible.”
My sudden change in plans left not only Yulken but also my other attendants bewildered. We still had an hour left until the scheduled campsite. Ignoring their questions, I focused solely on her.
In her confused green eyes, I saw my reflection, blood dripping down my cheek. I prayed that my sincerity would reach her as I spoke.
“I don’t care what you do to me. You can hurt me far worse than this if you want. But you mustn’t harm yourself.”
* * *
“Your Highness, I can’t take it anymore.”
It was while I was patrolling the area after we finished setting up camp. Banessa suddenly spoke. I turned to him, puzzled, but then froze. His red eyes, reflecting the torchlight, flickered with murderous intent.
“As soon as we pass through Rozantin, I’m going to kill her. If we say she died from a monster attack, not even Josephina could do anything about it. And if someone must take responsibility, I’ll do it. I’ll die for it if I have to!”
“Banessa! Hold your tongue!”
I scolded him harshly, but unlike usual, Banessa didn’t flinch. His face, already gaunt to the point where his cheekbones stood out, was twisted with pure malice.
“No! I refuse! I don’t want to live as a fool any longer!”
He pointed toward her, shouting angrily.
“That crazy woman harmed you again today! And yet, as your knight, I can do nothing! How is this right?!”
“Who harmed whom, exactly?!”
“She poured hot tea on you, and if that wasn’t enough, she dared to scratch your face! We can’t let her go on like this! One day, she’ll do something far worse! She might even try to kill you!”
“I told you to shut your mouth!”
I grabbed Banessa by the collar. I had ordered him more than once to respect her as a member of the royal family. His behavior now was a blatant defiance of that order.
But more than defying orders, it was his threat to kill her that infuriated me.
Her, trying to kill me? Banessa was completely wrong. She couldn’t threaten me at all. Even if I strangled her, she wouldn’t fight back—she’d simply cry silently, paralyzed by fear.
“This is your final warning. If you insult her again, I’ll see to it that you’re punished by martial law.”
I spoke through gritted teeth.
“When we return to Genos, if you want to be expelled from the knights, go ahead and keep talking. If not, shut your mouth now!”
I let go of his collar with a shove. This time, it seemed my warning got through, as Banessa fell silent. But even then, he glared at her as though he could kill her with his eyes.
I had intended to rebuke him further, but in the end, I held my tongue. Despite my anger toward Banessa, I understood his hatred.
To him, she was the enemy responsible for killing his nephew and Enoch. No matter how much I defended her, it wouldn’t matter to him.
A wave of self-loathing washed over me.
‘What am I even doing?’
Perhaps it would have been easier if I had followed Banessa’s suggestion and treated her like a demon.
At least then, I could have lent an ear to Banessa’s frustrations.
Instead, I was taking neither side, making things harder for both him and her.
I knew what the right course of action was, yet I kept retreating from it, making myself seem pathetic.
* * *
As if things weren’t bad enough, my worst fears came true. Her wound became infected. Exhausted from everything that had happened over the past few days, she began to weaken. By evening, she was running a fever, and after midnight, she lost consciousness.
I stayed by her side all night, but I could only manage to bring her fever down slightly. Rest would have been the best remedy, but we couldn’t delay our journey.
Despite everyone’s objections, I decided to carry her on my back.
By dawn, she had regained some consciousness, but only barely. She could hardly blink at me, exhausted.
“Are you awake?”
I immediately supported her head in my arms. After taking care of her all night, I had grown used to this level of contact. I gently poured water into her parched lips. Thankfully, she didn’t resist the water, likely too dehydrated to refuse.
“I’ll carry you for now. I know it’ll be uncomfortable, but once we get through the gravel desert, you can ride in the carriage. Please bear with it for just a few days.”
I waited for her permission, but she said nothing, only panting heavily. Soon, she slumped in exhaustion.
I brushed aside the strands of hair sticking to her sweaty forehead and briefly pulled her closer by the shoulder.
As I felt her frail body and burning heat through the thin fabric of her clothes, I found myself thinking:
Who are you, really?
「Please, save me…….」
Once again, she spent the night fighting her nightmares.
I listened carefully, wondering if she might call my brother’s name again, but she didn’t.
And at some point, it no longer mattered.
She looked far too tormented in her nightmares.
After watching her for hours, I had to admit it.
I could no longer see her as a demon.
A demon wielding unchecked power wouldn’t be crushed by something as insignificant as dreams.
“Will the day ever come when I learn the truth about you?”
Muttering those words, I pulled her into my arms.
* * *
After walking for three full days, we finally reached the end of the gravel desert.
At the desert’s edge lay a small village, where old carriages were tied up in various places.
This village served as a sort of stopover, renting horses and carriages to travelers emerging from the gravel desert.
“Finally, the wretched gravel desert is behind us.”
My attendants, relieved to be free of the desert, looked at me holding her and immediately grew somber.
“Brother, try talking to him again.”
“I told you, it’s pointless.”
“Still, it’s worth a shot.”
Ignoring his companions’ urging, Yulken eventually let out a long sigh and approached me.
“Your Highness, now that the gravel desert is behind us, may we—”
“We should start by splitting the group. Have as few people as possible secure lodging, while the rest of you focus on getting horses and carriages. We have a long journey ahead, so don’t skimp on good horses.”
“Understood.”
Yulken, clearly expecting this, turned back with a defeated expression.
The other attendants exchanged glances, silently blaming Yulken for his failure. But it wasn’t his fault.
None of them would have been able to persuade me.
Throughout our entire trek across the gravel desert, I had stayed close to her.
At night, I barely slept, caring for her, and during the day, I carried her on my back as we trudged through the desert.
It was a strange experience.
I had never spent so much time in close proximity to anyone before.
No, it wasn’t just that.
Even if I had been close to someone before, nothing could compare to the time I had spent with her.
Over the past few days, she had relied on me entirely, from start to finish.
She had been so sick that she couldn’t do anything without my help.
During our rest breaks, she stayed nestled against me, eating thin porridge and drinking water. Sometimes, she would fall asleep in that very position.
Naturally, I found myself thinking only of her.
In the cold desert nights, we slept leaning on each other for warmth.
At some point, I began to feel as if we were the only two people left in the world.
Leave a Reply