“Right now, they still believe we’re on the same side. Madam, you’re being evacuated to a safe place at the duke’s special request, just in case anything happens.”

“The marquis agreed so easily?”

“The duke made a bit of a threat.”

“A threat?”

“Yes. You know, that aura he has, like he could kill someone just with his presence. The marquis was so scared he handed over the pass on the spot.”

“Scared… what are you saying, Jayden? You should use proper language.”

“Really, Madam? You’re going to nag me even in this situation?”

“…Sorry.”

Feeling a bit embarrassed, I covered my mouth and quietly descended the stairs. Just as I reached the first-floor hall, a sudden thought struck me.

“Jayden, wait a moment.”

Just as he was about to grab the doorknob, he looked up at me with a questioning gaze.

“What will happen to the people in this mansion after we leave?”

“The marquis will probably figure it out and head to the mansion soon. There are signalers around the mansion, so as soon as he arrives, the mansion will be attacked immediately. Then everyone will die.”

The vague idea was expressed sharply and clearly as a fact, piercing my ears.

I was too shocked to speak. Death had always been close to me, and dealing with it was my job, but it was always as an outside observer. My work as a healer only began after everything had settled.

But now, if I disappeared like this, at least dozens of innocent lives I turned away from would meet death.

“Wake up all the knights and employees of the mansion and tell them to escape from here. I’ll persuade the marquis’s wife.”

“That won’t work. I told you, we need to leave immediately. The marquis is on his way! Besides, if they are loyal retainers, they won’t leave even if you tell them to.”

Jayden protested in a low voice.

I knew what I was trying to do. In the worst case, not only I but also Jayden and the soldiers could be in danger. But did I have the right to weigh lives? I shouldn’t, and I didn’t intend to. If there was even a small chance to save people, hesitation was a sin.

“Instead of getting mad at me, wake up one more person and get them out. Quickly.”

“Madam!”

“No compromise.”

Jayden’s face crumpled. I met his explosive expression head-on without flinching. Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, “…Ten minutes. The marquis isn’t far away. I’ll tell the mansion’s knights to take care of the retainers. Leave the rest to them. I’m coming with you, Madam.”

It was probably the maximum concession he could make as a knight.

Resolutely, I nodded and headed towards the marquis’s wife’s bedroom.

Located at the far end of the first-floor corridor, her bedroom was firmly closed with a door engraved with elegant relief patterns.

“Madam! Madam! It’s Hazel! Please open the door!”

I knocked loudly and called out to the marquis’s wife, but there was no response from inside. In my urgency, I shouted once more.

“Madam, it’s an emergency! If you don’t open the door by the count of three, I’ll break it down! One, two—”

Click.

Fortunately, before I finished speaking, I heard the sound of the lock turning, and the marquis’s wife appeared. Meeting her sleepy gaze, I felt more anxiety than relief.

“…What is going on?”

“Forgive the intrusion, but you must evacuate immediately! Only take what’s absolutely necessary. If you need help, I’ll assist you. Time is of the essence.”

I was anxiously rambling on, but the other person still seemed relaxed, as if she were half-asleep.

“Madam, let’s just go. This is a waste of time.”

Jayden, sounding displeased, tried to dissuade me. Short screams and the sound of running began to echo all around. As if trying to grasp the situation, the marquis’s wife slightly rolled her eyes. She shook her head and let out a short sigh. She said nothing, and the open door began to close again.

“Madam!”

I wedged my hand into the gap to stop it, but she irritably brushed my hand away.

“Go alone. I’m staying here to die.”

“You can’t—”

“I can. Aaron Rumatera is my husband. His success is my success, and his failure is my failure.”

“But you should live if you can!”

I spoke urgently, but all I got in return was a scoff.

“Would such a life have any meaning? It’s treason, after all. Even if I survive, I’ll be hunted. The law will demand my execution. Living on the run for the rest of my life… I just can’t see myself doing it.”

“The Empire might help you. His Majesty is a generous person,”

Before I could finish persuading her, the marquis’s wife interrupted with a twisted expression.

“Hazel Lawrence. I think I’ve said enough for you to understand. Do I sound like I’m speaking lightly?”

Startled by her sharp, icy tone, I flinched, and Jayden stepped in front of me protectively. I pulled him back.

The marquis’s wife, now draped in a thin shawl, leaned against the doorframe. Her voice, calmer and clearer, continued.

“Have you ever experienced the pain of losing a loved one and being left alone? I have. Four times, in fact.”

She paused to swallow.

“The first was my old nanny who passed away without me realizing it. The second was my father, whose body was never recovered after his ship was wrecked in a storm. Next was my frail young sibling. Lastly, my mother, who couldn’t overcome her grief after losing both her husband and children.”

“That’s…”

“So, I fled to this country. I feared I would suffocate in sorrow like my mother. My husband was a man obsessed with power, yet he knew how to be devoted to his wife. Over time, I slowly found stability.”

The noise around us was growing louder.

“Falling in love with him was natural. But… now I’m afraid again. I know too well what life is like for those left behind. It will surely be painful. Unbearable sorrow will overflow, and the poisoned arrow of loss will pierce my entire being. It would be torture.”

Was my expression sad or sympathetic? At the very least, I hoped it wasn’t one of pity, and I remained silent.

The marquis’s wife smiled faintly.

“Do I need to explain more, dear and kind healer?”

“…No.”

“Alright. …This morning, I hoped my husband would wake me, but it’s a pity. Farewell, then.”

Thud.

The sound of the door closing was especially lonely, just like when it had opened.

***

After riding for some time, following Jayden, we arrived near the border. The barren land with dead trees, withered grass, scattered stones, and swirling dust didn’t seem like a place for a military outpost. A shabby single-story house stood there, oddly out of place.

“Jayden, is this really the right place?”

“Yes, Madam. You have to look closely!”

No matter how hard I looked, the scenery remained the same.

“There’s nothing here. Are you sure you didn’t take a wrong turn?”

I asked in a puzzled voice, and Jayden chuckled before pushing open the wooden front door of the single-story house.

“Please, come in.”

Still skeptical, I stepped inside.

“Oh my…!”

I couldn’t help but exclaim at the sight before me. Instead of a barren sandy land, there was a lush green field, orderly triangular tents, familiar faces diligently sharpening weapons, and numerous soldiers bearing the emblem of the principality.

“Were you surprised?”

Jayden boasted as if it were his own doing. I looked back in astonishment, but the view through the open door remained unchanged.

“Healer!”

Someone called out to me from a distance, running towards me.

“…Alendia?”

The mystery was quickly solved. Like the protective coloration of animals, she had used illusion magic to disguise the military outpost as part of the sandy terrain.

“I’ve been anxiously awaiting your arrival. We need you, healer. Quickly!”

Without giving me a chance to ask how she was, Alendia urgently grabbed my arm. She was wearing a men’s ruffled shirt and pants instead of her usual robe, and her face was drenched in sweat.

“There are injured soldiers. Not many, but more keep getting hurt. The marquis must have been very thorough in his preparations.”

“Are the patients in critical condition?”

“Yes, I’m worried if you’ll be able to heal them, healer.”

“As long as they’re not dead, I can heal them. Don’t worry too much.”

I tried to reassure her with confidence, but I couldn’t shake the tension as I recalled the injured people I had encountered in Fojetta.

As I followed Alendia through the crowd, knights who recognized me nodded in greeting. I returned their greetings with quick nods and headed straight to the tent where the wounded were gathered.

The place she led me to was more of a canopy than a tent, just barely shielding from the sky. Inside, injured soldiers lay in a line, their feet touching each other, while medics busily bandaged, cleaned, and wiped away their blood.

Amidst the usual groans mixed with curses, there were occasional piercing screams. As I approached the soldiers with particularly severe injuries, I immediately understood why Alendia was worried.

Skin torn so wide it seemed bones might be visible, limbs crudely severed, and even a face unrecognizable. I had thought the sufferings of the residents of Fojetta were horrific, but this was beyond comparison.

‘When treating war wounds, your skills improve the most. There are injuries beyond your imagination. But I don’t wish for your skills to improve through such experiences. You understand why, don’t you?’

And now, I was witnessing firsthand the stark difference between knowing something in theory and experiencing it in reality.