Chapter 2.5

Even as the sky, once dark, brightened and the heavy clouds slowly parted, Shylo said nothing before the two knights who knelt, begging to be executed for failing to protect Marquis Ford.

Olivia had long since collapsed upon hearing the official news of the Marquis’s disappearance. In the quiet room, with the ladies gone, only Shylo’s sighs echoed.

Unable to bear it, the steward, tears in his eyes, was about to offer a word of comfort to the new master.

“Oh…? There’s a carriage outside! It’s coming this way!”

Marie, standing at the window, cried out in surprise. At her words, Shylo jumped to his feet and rushed over. A shabby carriage was climbing the hill, approaching the manor.

“Open the gates!”

Shylo, face tense, ran out of the room. As the carriage emerged from the thick underbrush, it revealed a strange wooden cart attached to its rear. By the time he realized there were people inside, the carriage had passed through the gates and stopped before them.

At last, the one who appeared from the carriage was none other than Marquis Ford.

“Father…!”

Shylo ran out and hugged the Marquis tightly. He felt a surge of relief, but quickly asked anxiously,

“Where’s Brienne? And Herace, that guy? Did you see them?!”

Just as Shylo, afraid to hear that they hadn’t been found, looked around, Herace Belif appeared, holding a child’s hand as he stepped down. Seeing this, Shylo’s face went white.

“You…!”

Shylo hurriedly pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it to the long gash on Herace’s stomach. Herace shook his head as if to say he was fine, but Shylo, even using his shirt sleeve, stammered,

“Why, why… Why do you look like this? Brienne! What happened?!”

“…I’m sorry, Young Master Ford.”

Herace, pausing for a moment, lowered his gaze with a gloomy face. As Shylo mulled over the meaning of those words, his grip tightened.

“You… you bastard…!”

He must have kidnapped Brienne and put his sister in danger. Shylo glared at Herace, eyes bloodshot.

And at that moment, Brienne appeared outside the carriage.

“Shylo, stop. I’m fine. Young Master Belif is just acting like that because he’s afraid of your sword.”

“Brienne!”

Striding up to his sister, Shylo checked her over and over. He turned Brienne’s face this way and that, but just as she said, there wasn’t even a scratch.

“Ha, thank goodness. Really, thank goodness…”

Shylo, his legs giving out, stifled a sob and covered his face. Damon patted his son’s shoulder and looked at Herace.

“Young Master Belif saved my life. Everyone here owes their lives to him.”

“Is that true?”

Shylo looked up and scanned the people getting out of the carriage and the cart. As someone jumped off the driver’s seat, heavy footsteps thudded on the ground.

“Hey! Mister Lord, that’s a little cold, isn’t it? Did you forget me? Before this flashy mage showed up, everyone here owed their lives to me, didn’t they?”

“Sir Zen…! How can you say such rude things!”

The man who’d gotten off the driver’s seat ran over to stop him. At the stranger’s ridiculous words, Brienne gently tugged Shylo’s arm.

“Shylo! Get the patient inside first.”

“Ye-yes… Got it.”

Only then did Shylo come to his senses and place Herace’s arm over his own shoulder. Suddenly transformed from Kaiden’s friend into a patient, Herace accepted Shylo’s support with a bitter smile.

“Open up the guest rooms and guide everyone inside. Keep the fireplaces burning hot and prepare plenty of blankets. Ah, and bring some straw for Young Master Belif as well.”

Damon, limping, gave orders to the steward. Brienne, watching this, was about to follow the Marquis when—

“Hey, Miss.”

Sweeping back his wet hair, the man named Zen approached with a sly grin. Brienne looked up at him in surprise.

“…Were you calling me just now?”

The man, who had suddenly come right up in front of her, slowly leaned forward.

“Hmm…”

His brown eyes openly scanned Brienne’s face. As his gaze traveled from her forehead down to her eyes and nose, and finally stopped at her lips, Brienne, tense, unconsciously held her breath as well.

The man seemed to notice and smiled mischievously.

“I didn’t get to introduce myself earlier because things were hectic. Is this what they call love at first sight? What’s your name, Miss?”

Crack. The moment those words ended, the cane in Herace’s hand snapped. The steward, who had just handed over his own cane as a temporary measure, picked up the two broken pieces with trembling hands.

As disappointment filled his face, a chilly smile appeared on Herace’s.

“Sir Zen! Again, again!”

Whack!

Just then, a man appeared behind Zen and slapped him on the back.

“Hey, that hurt!”

While Zen clutched his back and whined, the gray-haired man stepped right up to Brienne. The situation changed with every blink, and Brienne looked between them in a daze.

“You were startled, right? Please don’t worry too much. Sir Zen has no sense of propriety, so with every woman he meets, he always…”

“Lusell! Why would you say that? The mood was just getting good!”

“Getting good? Even a passing dog would laugh! Sir Zen, think of your size. No matter how nicely you speak, with that scary face…”

At that moment, a large hand landed on Brienne’s shoulder. Soon, a low voice tickled the nape of her neck.

“Miss Ford. I am in pain.”

Startled, Brienne quickly turned around. But Herace’s face was right in front of her, causing her to lean backward.

“…Ah!”

Thud. Because of this, the back of her head hit someone’s solid chest. As Brienne looked up at the person, she stiffened, and Herace, who had been bending to match her height, slowly straightened his back.

“Let’s go this way, quickly.”

He gently extended his hand. As Brienne nodded and reached for it, Zen suddenly slipped between them.

“Hey, mage. Didn’t you hear them say to get the ‘patient’ inside first?”

“That’s none of your concern.”

Herace’s cold response left Brienne slightly flustered. The smile that had always shone like sunlight was now icy.

How much pain must he be in to act like this?

Brienne hurried to his side and grabbed his arm.

“Where’s Shylo? Why are you alone?”

“I’m fine, so I sent him to help the Marquis.”

Only then did Herace’s smile regain its warmth. With that gentle smile, he spoke to Zen.

“Miss Ford is uncomfortable, so I’d appreciate it if you disappeared now.”

“What are you talking about? To me, it looks more uncomfortable for her to support you. Come here, I’ll help you as much as you want.”

“I’ll pass. I’m not so gravely injured that I’d entrust myself to a suspicious stranger whose identity I don’t even know.”

Meanwhile, Brienne bowed her head and carefully checked Herace’s wound. Although a servant had applied a cloth, blood kept soaking through, and it looked quite painful.

Brienne’s brow furrowed, remembering exactly how he’d gotten that injury.

<Brienne…!>

He’d always addressed her formally as Miss Ford, but when things got dangerous, he called her by name.

This strange man, Herace Belif, had saved her life.

It had all happened in the blink of an eye. If she’d read it in a book, it might have been a scene to fall for, but reality was not so sweet.

<Brienne, get out of the way!>

The overwhelming fear that she might die clouded her thoughts. Even knowing the tree was falling above her, Brienne couldn’t move and just stared at its shadow.

At that moment, Herace had lifted her up. When she opened her eyes to the sound of a crash, she was already inside the carriage. He was gone.

<…Young Master!>

As she frantically looked around, she saw Herace’s back blocking the door. Blue flames extended from his hand, spreading in a circle through the air.

A toppled tree swayed precariously right above that.

<Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?>

<N-no! I’m fine!>

During that moment, a large, sharp branch had grazed Herace’s abdomen, but Brienne hadn’t realized it then. The reason she didn’t see the big wound was that Herace had hidden it with magic while dealing with the aftermath.

If he hadn’t used up all his remaining magic saving people on the hill, he probably would have kept hiding it even now.

When exactly had he planned to tell her?

“…Enough! Let’s just go. The more you move, the more you bleed.”

Brienne shook Herace’s arm, cutting off the pointless argument between the two men. Herace glanced down at his arm, then lowered it and intertwined his fingers with hers.

“Is that kind of man your type?”

“What?”

Zen’s voice interrupted, right by Brienne’s ear.

“Hah, what’s wrong with me? I’m better than some pretty-faced idiot like you. Using magic in a natural disaster. Don’t you know that’ll get your mage license revoked?”

‘What is he talking about now?’

Mage license revoked?

Brienne looked at Herace in confusion. But Herace seemed intent on ignoring Zen’s words and said nothing at all.

Unable to suppress her curiosity, Brienne asked the same question.

“License revoked? There are such rules for mages?”

“Yes.”

“…Yes? Then isn’t that a big problem?!”

“Who knows. I actually think it’s a good thing.”

Herace smiled meaningfully. As Brienne pondered his words, she realized that her hand was still tightly held by Herace.

“Ah, when did this…”

But as Brienne tried to pull her hand away, she couldn’t.

“Didn’t you call me a patient? I already knew you were a bit much, Miss Ford, but I didn’t expect you to be so cold as to not even help a patient…”

“…Fine, I’ll help you.”

At that, Zen, who had walked ahead of them, turned around and looked at Brienne. Having caught Brienne’s attention, Zen grinned and rolled up his shirt.

On his well-built, dark skin, a small wound was revealed.

“Miss, I’m a patient too. Give me a blow here.”

As a result, Brienne tightly closed her eyes.

‘Wow, that startled me… Is he really crazy?’

“Sir Zen! Please!”

At that, Lusell, who was following behind, ran up and grabbed Zen by the waist. Zen shouted something as Lusell stopped him, but none of it reached Brienne’s ears.

She didn’t know who these people were, but one thing was certain—they were noisy. Extremely noisy.

It was truly an exhausting return home.