Under the Oak Tree

Chapter 219

Max felt dejected at Yulysion’s words, she wondered if perhaps those were only excuses so Riftan could avoid her. Whenever he was angry at her, that was always his course of action, keeping away from her. Max ate her dinner with a worried expression, then went to rest.

As if her suspicions were proven right, Riftan did not return even until the night was deep. Max forced herself to stay awake, but the overwhelming fatigue engulfed her, and she eventually fell asleep. The next day when she woke up, she was alone as she had expected. She hurriedly got up from bed to wash her face and fix her hair. When she was done wearing her outfit and was just about to head outside, Yulysion, who came to wake her up, greeted her.

“Good morning, m’lady!”

The young man placed a plateful of breakfast on the table accompanied with his usual cheerful smile. Max asked him, doing her best to appear calm and nonchalant.

“Last night… Riftan did not return. Did the meeting drag on a-all night?”

“The meeting concluded at dawn. I stood guard in front of the tent and when I saw Sir Calypse return, I went back to my barracks.” Yulysion replied while tilting his head. “Perhaps the lady appeared so tired that the Lord did not bother waking you up.”

What Max understood from that was that he was careful not to make any sound when he returned and quietly left as well in an effort to avoid her. And she was probably too exhausted from using magic to notice. Max frowned, looking annoyed.

“May I ask…where he is now?”

“He went to the front of the castle gates to oversee the defenses. Does the lady have any urgent matters?”

Max licked her lips and shook her head weakly. In truth, she didn’t know what to tell him. She already told him everything she had to say. Just as the princess said, there was no other choice anyway but to let his head cool and settle. Max sighed in resignation.

However, four days had passed, and Max still hadn’t managed to see the man’s shadow. Rather than feeling dejected, Max began to feel angry. When she thought of her cowardly husband, who snuck into the barracks in the dead of night, then slipped away before she woke up to avoid her, she became furious. No matter how much she tried to program herself not to fall asleep, she was so exhausted that eventually she would succumb to her fatigue. On the other hand, Riftan seemed not to know the definition of exhaustion. For him to wait for Max to fall asleep and leave before dawn when she wakes up, the man only slept a few hours at best.

Agitated, Max brushed her hair out of her face and angrily tossed the herbs into the boiling pot. It made her even more upset that he stopped by every night to check on her but wouldn’t even show her his face. As she glared angrily at the herbs boiling in the cauldron, Idcilla, who was coming in with firewood, tilted her head.

“What is it? Is there something wrong with the medicine?”

Max quickly wiped the emotions out of her face. “N-No. I was just…for a moment I was lost in my thoughts.”

“Are you worried about your husband leaving for the frontlines again?

Max did not confirm nor deny her question, her face turning into an ambiguous expression. Then, Idcilla comforted her as if she knew what she was feeling.

“They say that an all-out battle won’t happen for now, so don’t worry too much.”

“… I’m sorry. Idcilla, you must… have more things on your mind than I do…”

“There’s no person who wouldn’t worry about their family. For now, it’s enough for me to know that he’s doing well.”

Idcilla said courageously. Not long ago, she was able to get information about Sir Elbarto Calima through Elliot and Idcilla’s face noticeably lit up.

“Soon… the kn-knights guarding the frontlines will change… you’ll be able to see your brother.”

“I will never go to meet him.” Idcilla firmly shook her head and vowed in resolution as she threw branches into the fire. “Elba may be a great knight, but he’s not invincible like the Lady’s husband. He must be pushing himself to his limits because of his arm injury. I don’t intend to burden him and make him worry about me. I’ll go and greet him when the war is over instead.”

Max felt embarrassed after hearing how mature Idcilla sounded. She felt ashamed that she was frustrated and angry for not seeing Riftan’s face for only a number of days. And now, she began to feel anxious that perhaps her presence here added undue burdens to Riftan. Maybe he was too stressed, bearing the brunt of this war, taking care of the lives of his men, and now her.

“Ah there it is.”

Max snapped out of deep thoughts when someone called out to her. He turned and saw Ruth trudging out of the trees.

“What do you need from…h-here?”

“I’ve been working on magic formulas all night to break Sir Nirta’s curse, but to no avail. He must be in excruciating pain, so I came here to get him some painkillers.”

He massaged his stiff neck and yawned loudly, then flopped down to sit on a tree stump. Max’s face hardened with concern.

“I-isn’t that serious?”

“It’s not a life and death situation.” Then, Ruth continued to speak with a sigh. “However, because of the inflammation his wound is getting worse. The pain also seems to be turning severe.”

“Shouldn’t he be treated with medicines… aside from healing m-magic?”

“He’s taking regular medicines. However, it’s not making any big difference” Ruth ruffled his hair in frustration. “But this curse is causing a much more serious problem. It is reducing the morale of the allied forces. Everyone is worried that if they fight the monsters, they will end up in the same situation as Sir Nirta. Even His Grace, Grand Duke Aren, suggested that it would be better to postpone the war until we find a way to break the curse.”

“I also… think it’s better to wait… until we discover a w-way to break the curse. If… the monsters cast more of such curses, even the Remdragon Knights… w-won’t have the guarantee of being unscathed.”

“I understand where you are coming from. However, if we let this go on for longer, it will put us at a disadvantage. Our enemy’s regeneration powers are infinite, while ours is not. There’s internal division already ensuing. It’s better for us to attack before the alliance weakens.” Ruth shrugged and took a deep breath with his serious words. “Don’t worry, ignore my arguments. For now, it’s more likely that only small confrontations might continue to arise. What’s making me worry is for us to end up staying here until winter.”

Max and Idcilla, who was sitting silently in a corner, had clouded expressions. Sensing the heavy atmosphere he created, Ruth quickly tried to change the subject.

“I’ve talked too much. Anyway, I have to hurry and bring Sir Nirta his medicine before he pulls all my hair out. I heard that you have very effective painkillers, can you give some to me?”

“Of course. About that… is it a-alright if I take a look at Sir Nirta’s injury?”

“The Lady?” Ruth looked at her with skeptical eyes.

Max felt a bit furious about how he reacted. “I’ve studied a lot all th-this time! I learned so m-many skills from a new wizard who came to Anatol, things that even Ruth doesn’t know about. Who knows, maybe it will work better instead of magic…”

“Well, there is nothing wrong with trying.”

Ruth shrugged with an arrogant smirk. Max felt disrespected with his attitude, but left Idcilla to tend to the boiling herbs in the cauldron and took with her medicine and tools for treatment. As she came out of the camp, Yulysion, who was carving wood with a dagger, immediately followed her.

“M’lady! Where are you going?

“To Sir Nirta… I’ll bring him some medicine.”

Yulysion turned to look at Ruth. “Hasn’t he overcome the curse?”

Ruth could only shake his head weakly and they proceeded to walk to their destination in a gloomy atmosphere. She felt the gazes of other soldiers follow her, but because Ruth and Yulysion were with her, no one approached them. Max felt secure and followed behind Ruth at a slow pace. After going through the densely set up barrack tents, they finally reached the Remdragon Knight’s barracks. Ruth was first to go in. Then, they heard a hoarse voice exclaiming.

“You’re finally here, you sure took your time! I thought you were going to wait until I died before coming back!”

As she entered and followed after Ruth, Max’s eyes widened. Hebaron appeared quite restless lying on the bed with thick bandages wrapped around the upper part of his muscular body. She was quite taken aback by how animated the supposed wounded knight was, and when Hebaron finally saw her, he broke out into a bright smile.

“Now who do we have here? I heard you were here, but now that I’m seeing your face, I really am impressed. I must say, your courage is truly formidable.”

“I heard you were h-hurt. How is your…injury?”

As Max approached his bed, the knight’s thick eyebrows furrowed. “No one here cares about my pride! Did you really have to tell the lady that the invincible Sir Nirta was injured?”

“The pride you have left wouldn’t even amount to a handful of dust.” Ruth clicked his tongue and responded with his usual cynical sarcasm. “Sir Nirta is known to everyone in the barracks as the ‘Knight Cursed by a Monster’. There is not a single person who does not know the tragedy that has happened to you.”

“Bloody hell!”

Max’s shoulders flinched at the harsh outburst. He clutched his scarlet, curly hair like he was really furious.

“I’m more disgraceful than an idiot!”

Max flinched at the profanity thrown around him as she continued to watch their exchange of words.

“If you want to restore your honor, then please cooperate obediently during treatment. Every time you start screaming, I lose concentration and have to start all over again.”

Ruth said through clenched teeth, as Hebaron stared daggers at him as if he was deeply offended. Max glanced at them and then began to prepare the herbs and tools she had brought.

“I wish to examine your i-injury. The bandages… may I take them out?”

Ruth and Yulysion helped Hebaron to sit up and quickly undid the bandages. Seeing the large, ripped flesh, Max swallowed the groan coming up her throat. The deep wound extended from his shoulder to his chest. It was red and swollen, like a red centipede crawling up his body. As Ruth said, the skin was reddened from inflammation, and she could see dark blue silky fibers sticking out of the wound, resembling the legs of insects.

“H-how did you get such a wound…”

“A whip.” Hebaron answered in a slurred voice. “A lizardman with black scales hit me with a whip. It was a strange monster.”

“Lizardmen possess the highest intelligence among dragon subspecies. It is not uncommon for them to know how to cast high-level magic. The one Sir Nirta faced was probably the best of the best.”

“Makes it worse.” Hebaron commented.

Max didn’t know what to do with the wound. After careful thought, she gently applied the salve she brought with her. Among the pain medicines that she had learned how to make from Medrick, it was the most effective one she knew for alleviating inflammation. Fortunately, after about ten minutes of observation, Hebaron’s face became noticeably brighter.

“Woah, this is amazing. I feel like I can go out and fight right now.”

“The pain went away by n-numbing the feeling… it doesn’t actually heal the wound. It’s just numbing the pain… you must never force yourself.”

Max warned him in the strictest voice she could manage, then bandaged the wound with new strips of cloth. She then burned some herbs, removed the ashes, and placed it in a cloth pouch.

“Please apply this to the wound… for about 20 minutes. Because Sir Nirta’s nerves are numb from the pain reliever, be c-careful not to burn his skin.”

After carefully testing the temperature, Max handed the small bag to Ruth, who eyed it warily before applying it to Hebaron’s shoulder. The knight grunted when the hot compress made contact with his wound, but soon relaxed and fell asleep. Ruth muttered that he must have been very tired from the pain and hadn’t been able to sleep well for weeks.

“Thank you for your help. Now that he’s quiet, I can focus on breaking this damn curse.”

“It’s just a temporary relief for the p-pain and i-inflammation.”

“That’s more than enough. Please leave the rest to me. I’ll break the monster’s curse as soon as I can.”

Ruth’s tone sounded a bit muddy, so Max gave him an encouraging smile and then quietly packed up and went out of the tent.

Time passed surprisingly fast, the sky was already a faint purple color. Before returning to Riftan’s tent, Max hurried her steps so she could return to the infirmary and do a final check on the wounded. Just as she was about to leave the barracks, someone blocked her way. Max squealed and took a step back. A tall, brute man with a scary look in his eyes was staring down at her.

“I haven’t seen this b*tch before. Why are you wandering around the barracks?”

“Back off right now!” Yulysion quickly hid Max behind him and grabbed the hilt of his sword. “Men of your kind should not talk with such rude words to her.”

“Who’s this guy again?” The man looked at Yulysion, his eyes full of ridicule and smirked with mockery. “Well, if it isn’t the puppy that is raising white lizards. At first glance I thought they were two pretty b*tches looking for customers.”

Yulysion’s face burned red in anger at the man’s blatant insult and in an instant, his sword was drawn and aimed at the man’s throat. His movement was so fast that Max couldn’t believe even upon witnessing it with her own eyes.

“The pigs in the north have no manners indeed.” Yulysion spat back so fiercely that Max could hardly tell if he was the same innocent boy she knew. “If only Sir Calypse had not ordered me to not cause trouble, I would have already cut your throat in this instance and made you pay the price for having your filthy words reach the Lady’s ears.”

Suddenly, a round of snorts and laughter erupted after his venomous remarks. Max, who was hiding behind Yulysion, shuddered in fear and turned her head towards where the sound came from. From a short distance away, several large men were sitting around, playing dice. One of them yelled at the man who was blocking their way.

“Hey, Devron! I already told you not to mess with that kid. Bane wasn’t the only one who got his nose cut by letting their guard down with that pretty faced kid. He’s a son of a devil, a bad- tempered little chick who hasn’t even been appointed as an official knight.”

When Yulysion turned to see who the man was, his expression grew fiercer. Max’s eyes looked at him, alarmed. The man speaking seemed on the younger side, with pale blonde hair and a sharp impression. He tossed the dice he was holding onto the table and flashed her a sly smile.

“Damn, 2 and 3 again! I have really bad luck today, young miss. Won’t you come here and become my goddess of luck?”

“That’s enough! Even if you’re Phil Aron’s right-hand man, you have no right to speak rudely to the Lady.”

Max’s eyes widened at Yulysion’s screams. That scoundrel is the commander of Balto’s forces?

The man simply laughed frivolously, not taking him seriously at all. She couldn’t believe that such a barbarian held such a high position.

“Lady? Hey, you son of a devil. There’s no such thing as a Lady here. Even your Princess could not be treated as a Princess in this war. But it makes me wonder who this woman is, that this kid is making such a big fuss.” The man took a swig from the bottle he was holding and scanned her from head to toe with the gaze similar to a snake. “I heard Calypse brought a woman to his barracks, are you that woman?”

Note – LF: Hebaron and Ruth bickering is a different level of comedy lol. AnYway, YURI PLEASE SLIT THEIR THROATS

Nymeria: I’m ready to throw hands. These brutes! But Yulysion is making this auntie proud <3