Chapter 85: My Enemy Owes Me One [Part 1]

Chapter 85. My Enemy Owes Me One [Part 1]

I sighed.

The unconscious woman remained sprawled beside the rock as if fainting in front of a blood-covered stranger was somehow a reasonable survival strategy. I walked over and crouched beside her, pushing my hood slightly higher so I could examine her without removing it completely.

Up close, her condition wasn’t wonderful.

Blood had soaked through the torn sleeve of her traveling coat, and another cut ran along her thigh beneath the shredded edge of her dark blue riding dress. Neither wound looked immediately fatal, but she’d lost enough blood to explain why she’d collapsed. Her breathing was shallow, her face pale beneath the dirt smeared across one cheek.

I stared at the wounds.

I wasn’t a healer.

I knew magical medicine, anatomy, potion crafting, mana circulation, and enough biological theory to explain exactly why she might die if I left her here.

Actually healing someone directly?

Different department.

Fortunately, civilization had invented bottled solutions for people like me.

I opened my Dimensional Ring. "Health Potion it is."

A small crimson bottle appeared in my hand.

Before dealing with that, however, I hooked one arm beneath her shoulders and moved her carefully against the same rock I’d been using. Her body sagged against it immediately, head tilting sideways.

Her hair spilled over her shoulder.

Expensive perfume lingered faintly beneath the smell of blood, sweat, and forest dirt.

Definitely noble.

I grabbed the dried fruit I’d abandoned earlier before I popped one into my mouth while studying her.

"Hey."

Nothing.

I tapped her shoulder. "Wake up."

Still nothing.

I frowned and gave her cheek a light pat.

No reaction.

Okay.

Not good.

I uncorked the Health Potion and brought it toward her lips, carefully tipping a tiny amount against them.

The potion immediately ran down her chin.

I stopped.

That had accomplished absolutely nothing except wasting expensive medicine and making her face sticky.

I tried tilting her head slightly and pouring another drop.

Same result.

There were probably more medically sophisticated methods for handling this situation. I could examine her throat, position her properly, stimulate swallowing, perhaps even use a controlled mana pulse.

Instead, I chose efficiency.

I pinched both of her cheeks.

Her lips parted.

Problem solved.

I lifted her face slightly, placed the bottle against her mouth, and poured a small amount straight in.

Yup.

Gentleman.

That was me.

Of course, my gentleman package was exclusively available to my wives. Ariel, Lily, Seris, Nia, and Liora had purchased the limited edition with lifetime membership benefits.

Everyone else received standard emergency service.

No refunds.

The woman suddenly coughed. Her eyes snapped open. She choked on the potion, jerked forward, and nearly headbutted me before I pulled away.

"Easy."

She coughed several more times while the Health Potion began working. Crimson mana spread beneath her skin, gathering around the wounds. The bleeding slowed first. Torn flesh knitted together along her arm, followed by the wound on her thigh.

Color gradually returned to her face.

The potion wasn’t high enough quality to restore blood immediately or eliminate exhaustion, but she wasn’t going to bleed out anymore.

Her coughing finally stopped.

Then she looked at me.

Really looked at me.

Her eyes widened.

I understood why.

From her perspective, she’d awakened with some hooded man crouching directly in front of her while covered in enough blood to suggest he’d recently bathed in a slaughterhouse.

Her mouth opened.

I lifted one finger. "If you scream, I’ll leave you here."

Her mouth snapped shut.

Excellent communication.

I extended the remaining Health Potion toward her. "Here. Drink the rest."

Her gaze dropped suspiciously toward the bottle. Then toward me.

I could practically watch every terrible possibility running through her noble little head.

Poison.

Drug.

Kidnapping.

Murder.

I sighed and shook the bottle lightly. "If I wanted to kill you, I could’ve saved the potion."

That apparently qualified as reassuring by current standards.

Her fingers hesitantly closed around the bottle.

She drank.

I stood, walked back toward my rock, and sat down before retrieving my water again. The woman watched every movement, keeping the potion bottle clutched between both hands.

"Thank you," she finally whispered.

"Who are you?"

Her shoulders stiffened.

"And why are you here alone?"

Silence.

I drank some water.

She stared at me.

I stared back from beneath my hood.

The difference was that I had considerably more patience than she did, mostly because I still had dried fruit.

I ate another piece.

She shuddered.

Fine, perhaps eating casually while covered in monster blood wasn’t helping my image.

Not my problem.

"You better speak," I said calmly, "or I’ll leave you here alone."

That worked beautifully.

"My name is Evelyne."

I waited.

She swallowed.

"Evelyne Harven."

My chewing slowed.

Oh?

"I am Duke Harven’s daughter." Her voice strengthened slightly now that she’d revealed the important part. "Please don’t hurt me. If you escort me home safely, my father will reward you greatly."

I stared at her.

Harven...

Duke Harven...

That Duke Harven!

The noble who disliked Rey Valen so intensely that hearing my name probably caused spontaneous indigestion.

I looked at the woman again.

Then somewhere behind her, as if the universe might be standing between the trees laughing at me.

I had just saved my enemy’s daughter.

Damn it.

Of all the noblewomen wandering through northern wilderness while being chased by A-rank monsters, I had somehow collected his.

For one wonderfully petty second, I considered being annoyed at her on principle.

Then common sense returned.

Her father hated me.

She hadn’t done anything.

Blaming her for Duke Harven’s hostility would be ridiculous, and I wasn’t going to become the sort of idiot who punished someone’s children because I disliked their parents.

Besides, this situation could be useful.

"I see," I said.

Lady Evelyne shifted uncomfortably beneath my gaze.

I leaned back slightly. "Why are you here?"

"My carriage was passing through this region."

I glanced toward the forest. "This close to Hollowgrave?"

"We weren’t supposed to come this close. The main road farther east was blocked, so the driver took another route." Her fingers tightened around her dress. "Then something attacked us."

"Something?"

"I don’t know what it was. There were several creatures. Everything happened too quickly."

That explained the Siegehorn.

Possibly more monsters had wandered out after prolonged exposure to the Maledict Sovereign Crystal. Removing the crystal might have calmed Hollowgrave itself, but creatures already outside wouldn’t magically return home and apologize for causing inconvenience.

"You had guards?"

She nodded immediately. "Yes, but..." Her voice faded. "Most of them were already lost when I ran."

Lost.

A beautifully noble word for probably torn apart.

I stood. "Show me."

Her head lifted. "What?"

"The carriage. Show me where you were attacked."

Fear immediately returned to her face.

"There might still be monsters there."

"I noticed. But we still need to check if anyone’s alive."

She stared at the blood covering me.

Apparently that answer suddenly made sense.

Evelyne pushed herself upright using the rock. Her legs trembled at first, but the Health Potion had done its job. She adjusted her torn coat, and for a moment embarrassment flashed across her face when she noticed how damaged her dress had become.

I politely looked away.

See?

Gentleman.

Standard edition still included basic manners.

"F-Follow me."