Herietta’s eyes darkened. There were moments where she was infinitely joyful and beaming. At that time, she didn’t know how precious those moments were and she let it slip away.
It was good even just once. If only she could go back to those days and be with those who made those moments shine. She would give anything and everything if she could.
But Herietta was well aware. Even if she regrets it now, it’s too late. Even if she hoped and hoped, she would never be able to go back to those days.
Herietta saw the knight. She felt strange. Even though she and the knight don’t have a single part that resembles each other, Herietta felt a strange sense of kinship at this moment. To the knight who would give her life without hesitation in order to protect her precious things.
“Can you promise not to lay a finger on me?”
“What do you mean?”
The knight narrowed her eyes at Herietta’s sudden question. Perhaps Herietta was up to some trick, the suspicious eyes turned to her.
But Herietta didn’t give in. She didn’t even feel intimidated. She just hoped that she would not regret her actions later.
With both her back and her head straight, she approached the wounded knight.
“The arrow stuck in your leg.”
Then, with a silent gesture, she pointed at the arrow lodged in the knight’s leg.
“I’ll get rid of that arrow, so don’t even think about harming me.”
* * *
Pulling out Destrude was far more complicated than she thought. The tips, like hooks bent in the opposite direction, were lodged in the knight’s muscles and did not come off easily. However, if she pulled it out recklessly, all of the leg muscles would be destroyed.
Velicia designed something really terrible, Herietta silently hated it.
“It will hurt a little.”
She spat out a warning that wasn’t actually a warning, and started disassembling Destrude in earnest. It was fortunate that Bernard had taught her, who had shown interest in Destrude, how to get rid of it as a pastime. Otherwise, she would have been at a loss as to where to start with this monstrous weapon.
“You can scream if it hurts. There is no one here to belittle you for doing that.”
Every time her hand touched it, the knight flinched and broke out in a cold sweat. Herietta tried to speak as bluntly as possible without emotion, but she couldn’t help but notice the sympathy in her voice. But even so, the knight stubbornly swallowed her screams.
“Should we take a little break?”
“…… no. continue…….”
The knight gasped and urged. The person whose face was white like a sheet of paper. Now that she sees it, the knight fainted and woke up but wouldn’t say anything about the pain with her mouth.
Isn’t it pointless to try to protect her pride? No matter how careful Herietta may be, it would sure to hurt because the raw flesh was exposed.
Herietta clicked her tongue as she looked at the knight. Her hands, which had been loose for a moment, became busy again.
“Are you a healer?”
The knight asked, breaking the stillness. Herietta, who was diligently applying medicine to the wound, raised her head slightly and met the knight’s eyes. After completely removing Destrude and applying an excellent medicine to stop bleeding and relieve pain, the knight looked much more comfortable than before.
“To be called just an ordinary villager, you are good at handling herbs and seem to know that strange arrow well.”
When Herietta made no reply, the knight continued.
“You don’t look like someone from here. Your appearance, your accent.”
“…….”
“I wonder if your true identity…….”
“That’s enough questions.”
Herietta coldly cut off the knight’s words.
“Aren’t you the one who trusts people too easily?”
“Trust people easily?”
“Yes. How do you know if what I have in my hands is medicinal or poisonous?”
Herietta waved the homemade herb at the knight. The green herbs placed on the broad leaves gave off a scent similar to that of mugwort.
“I said it’s good for pain, but how do you know it’s true? It might be a paralyzing drug strong enough to take your breath away.”
“No way.”
The knight laughed, finding Herietta’s words absurd.
“I would have died if I was left alone anyway, so why would you go to such trouble and poison me?”
“Maybe I’m trying to make the death as painful as possible.”
Herietta muttered in a sullen voice. The knight flinched and trembled as Herietta’s hands tightened as she reapplied the medicine. She didn’t mean to, so she stopped touching it and exclaimed in surprise.
A face stained with guilt asking does it hurt a lot? Herietta carefully examined the knight’s face. But she soon realized that the knight was looking at her, and she quickly calmed her expression. She resumed her actions as if nothing had happened.
“As I said before, I will only treat your wounds. After that, you take care of yourself.”
“If I ask you to point a colleague to my location, will you refuse?”
“Of course. It is absolutely forbidden to get involved with the Kustan Army.”
Herietta flatly refused. The knight didn’t expect Herietta to agree from the beginning, but she didn’t seem to be very sorry.
“You seem to hate it quite a bit.”
The knight said.
“But then why are you helping me? You probably know that I belong to the Kustan army, too, right?”
‘I know.’
Herrietta retorted in her heart. It was a twisted and self-deprecating mind.
‘A knight from Kustan. A knight from the enemy country.’
Herietta felt bitter, repeating the fact. She could see as clearly as black and white what the relationship would be like between the knight of Kustan, and her, a native of Brimdel and helped by Velicia. If Herietta had seen the knight from a distance, she would not have hesitated to draw her bowstring towards the knight when she needed it.
But the more Herietta talked to the knight, the more she realized that she was a human being just like her. Able to speak, think, and agonize. A person who bleeds when injured and suffers when wounded.
“Keep quiet before I change my mind, get it.”
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