WYDM 22

The former Count had truly engaged in a wide variety of external activities. He’d known many people, socialized with many, and because of that, he’d enjoyed spending very quiet time when he returned to the county.

That’s why the Count and Countess’s room was neat and tranquil.

But the person inside it now wasn’t quite so tranquil. His eyes kept churning restlessly.

“Are you all right, Sir Knight? Is the pain starting to come on now?”

Himoph had rushed over first at her summons. He examined the wound first.

“Ugh… The pain I couldn’t feel at all is gradually getting worse. …Urk.”

“This is just the beginning. The pain will get worse as time goes on. Your left side—about half a span above your heart—was pierced through by a dagger. The exterior has been sutured, but the interior wasn’t sutured as precisely, so it will take a long time to heal.”

Himoph quickly pulled various items from his bag, took out painkillers, and carefully poured them down his throat along with water.

“Pierced through.”

“That’s right. The exterior was sutured so it will recover without problems, but since the interior still has healing left to do, this is just the beginning. You’ll need to… endure well. How about I give you more painkillers?”

Naturally, if there was a reason to stay here longer, it would be favorable for Ethan. To remain with her, he needed to heal slowly.

“This wound… how long will it last?”

“…If you’re asking about recovery speed, I believe it will take quite some time to fully heal. To move comfortably, it will probably take nearly two weeks to a month. But more than that, the painkillers…”

“If it pierced through, it can’t heal easily. For the flesh to properly attach, I’ll need to move carefully.”

She hated being in the middle of this irony most of all.

Sehera stood at a distance behind them, listening to the entire brief conversation between Himoph and Ethan.

Ethan was grimacing from pain, of course, but his words kept giving off the strong nuance that he didn’t want to leave this place.

“Focus on what Himoph is saying, Sir Knight. You need to listen to the doctor to get better quickly, and once you’re better, you’ll go back, won’t you? If you leave your position empty this long, it seems like the position itself might disappear.”

Sehera finally snapped in irritation at Ethan, who kept ignoring Himoph’s question about whether he wanted more medicine and instead asked how serious his condition was.

But Ethan wasn’t the only one shocked by those words. Sana and Romina, who’d been keeping watch beside her and the injured knight, and even Himoph were startled.

She wasn’t someone who could treat people coldly, even if they weren’t her own people. Moreover, she was fundamentally soft-hearted and kind enough to seem gentle.

That’s why they hadn’t thought it particularly strange that she was so devotedly nursing and caring for this injured knight who’d fallen on them like a bolt from the blue one day.

They’d simply thought, “Our lady has a soft heart, so she wants to properly treat and nurse this badly injured knight.”

But she looked like a completely different person as she gazed at the knight who’d just woken up. Her sharp words and her demeanor—completely unlike her usual kind self—made her seem that way.

“Lady Sehera…”

Sana called out to her without realizing it. She seemed to be checking if this was really the person she knew.

“Yes, Sana. Shall we leave this to Himoph and go out?”

“Sehera…”

Sehera was thinking about taking the others downstairs for a quiet tea time. Once Himoph gave him another dose of painkillers, he’d fall into peaceful sleep again.

Sehera, who’d been about to go down to prepare tea for Himoph as well, froze at the sound of her name from over her shoulder.

She carefully turned around and looked down at the bed. Unable to sit up or lean back, he lay flat in position, looking at her.

She’d definitely thought they’d agreed earlier that he wouldn’t acknowledge her…

She hadn’t thought he’d be someone who couldn’t understand what was said and just pushed forward with his own will.

Then again, if he’d been someone who did things her way, she wouldn’t have had to run away from him like this…

Sehera looked down at him with increasingly intense eyes.

He watched her reaction carefully, observing her with deep, persistent eyes.

Those eyes…strangely didn’t have that aggressive feeling of trying to argue or break her spirit.

They gave off a strangely strong feeling… but it was much more the feeling of simply looking at her intensely.

“Sir Knight, is there some problem?”

Sehera only responded more coldly. Whatever she felt from his gaze had to be none of her concern. From now on—no, from a year ago—he had to be someone with absolutely no connection to her.

“There’s no— Kugh!”

“Does it hurt?”

She caught the moment his eyes seemed about to change to look slightly hurt.

And just as that change was about to occur in his gaze, severe pain passed through the wound area and seemed to pierce his heart, making him groan violently.

“Quickly, take this medicine.”

A commotion broke out. Between Himoph pulling out medicine to administer and Sana rushing over to fetch water to help him swallow it, things were chaotic for a while.

And throughout it all, Ethan’s eyes, even as he held his breath, remained fixed on her. Sehera tried hard not to stand out under that persistent gaze.

Pretending not to be shaken, pretending not to be worried.

She had to pretend nothing was wrong… enough to feel self-reproach for having to go this far.

“You’ll fall asleep soon. Then the pain will ease.”

“Himoph, please take good care of him. Having him treated well and leaving… will put my mind at ease.”

That was the last thing she said before leaving the room.

* * *

“Ahahahaha! Isn’t this truly remarkable? Ahahahaha!”

The Emperor’s hearty laughter echoed throughout the conference hall where nobles had gathered.

Relief was clearly written on each noble’s face, and they looked proudly at those standing in a position where they and the Emperor could look down on them.

“Well then, shall we hear how that insane plan succeeded?”

The Emperor said this with an incredibly excited face, peering at the face of the one standing at the very front of the knights.

Many of the knights were injured, so instead of kneeling on one knee to show proper respect, they stood upright in place.

Some looked so severely wounded that standing there without wavering seemed to be the best they could manage.

The one at the very front was the largest in build among them and had almost no wounds. At a glance, he might look like the commander of this Third Knight Order, but strictly speaking, he held a position roughly equivalent to vice-commander.

Unlike the extremely excited Emperor, he wore an expression somewhere between solemnity and grief as he bowed his head.

“The Commander always found the stagnant fighting frustrating. Above all… the war had dragged on for three years, and with so much secret movement, everyone was growing exhausted, which troubled him most. You may not know this, but… aside from those dying in battle, the number dying by s*icide was gradually increasing.”

The knight who’d quieted the excited Emperor spoke as calmly as possible despite his fear.

He wasn’t trying to ruin the mood…he was telling them the reality.

Why they’d thought to carry out such an operation in the name of the Imperial Knight Order, and why everyone had agreed to such a plan.

Those who just sat here saying “next there, then there” while ordering absolute silence would never know.

Just how hellish those times had been.

“So he said we should devise a plan with minimal casualties. Even though it might sound… like a gamble staking the upper knights of the Third Knight Order… strategically speaking, in one-on-one combat, we were confident. So… we proceeded.”

The nobles who heard their explanation quieted their murmuring slightly. They could tell from the explanation given through gritted teeth just how cornered they’d been.

But the Emperor alone still wore a triumphant smile.

“I thought there might be this kind of effect from gathering only troublemakers in your Third Knight Order. I’d given up a bit when I put that bastard Ethan as commander, but who knew he’d succeed like this.”

Watching him speak like he’d foreseen everything, the knight who’d just been spitting out his explanation with a desperate feeling could only bite his lips hard.

He had to tremble at the Emperor’s words and actions, which seemed to place them, move them, and destroy them like pieces on a chessboard.

After laughing heartily for a while in apparent enjoyment, the Emperor looked down at the knight’s shoulder. He smiled quietly while watching him suppress his anger.

Why had those bastards been troublemakers? He should give them some visible punishment, but the Emperor didn’t particularly feel the need. That’s exactly why they’d been even more troublesome.

Ethan was the same. When someone was too outstanding, it only increased the envy and jealousy of the inadequate, but after losing the war and dying, the power that had supported him and his family disappeared, leaving only envy and jealousy behind.

Ethan was still insufficient to protect that.

That’s why the Third Knight Order was ultimately necessary, and why he’d had no choice but to send Ethan there.

He probably wouldn’t understand my intentions.

But that was fine. The former Duke Croft in heaven… would understand his intentions.

“If I’d known in advance, no one would have permitted it, calling it an insane plan. That’s the part worth being grateful for. Since proceeding with the commander’s unilateral authority after calculating that far led to good results, how fortunate is that?”

When the Emperor said this, the knight had nothing more to say.

It was true that things had ended well, and it became difficult to remain angry before an Emperor who honestly said he was grateful and relieved.

“After that battle, the Prezer forces, having lost many of the heads who could lead their enemy lines, hesitated, and in the meantime, the First and Second Knight Orders stepped forward to strike down the remaining soldiers. Now I hear that only the infantry side has knights left to resist. And finally today, I received word that they’re conducting a full withdrawal from the wilderness at various points along the border.”

“A with… withdrawal…!”

“It’s over. It’s over!”

At the Emperor’s words, the nobles erupted in cheers. It meant that the anxiety in the imperial palace and the war talk at every noble meeting was finally over.

Now they could comfortably discuss domestic affairs.