The Mongrel (1)
Hiiiiiing-!
Horses are sensitive creatures. And if I might add a fact known to anyone who has spent time around them, they are also incredibly skittish animals.
They are even surprisingly intelligent.
That is why, no matter how hard a coachman cracks his whip, a horse that hasn't been properly trained will stubbornly stand its ground if it senses danger, refusing to head toward the source of a sudden, thunderous noise.
“Oh, oh-!”
“We’re going to crash, we’re going to crash!”
“Argh!”
Behind the spot where Aiden and Jamie had swapped places and bolted, the screams of beasts and humans tangled together in a chaotic mess.
The spectators, who had eagerly climbed onto carriages and horses to get a closer look at the race, were in such a state of panic that they could barely think straight, let alone calm their startled mounts.
Everyone was equally curious about what exactly was happening up ahead, but the situation had devolved into a tangled disaster of horses and carriages.
Pee-wee, pee-wee!
“Is anyone hurt?”
“If you can move, get out of there quickly!”
“Over here, there’s a patient! I think their leg is broken!”
As soon as Lapisha, who had been participating in the race, saw the carnage, she immediately abandoned the match and blew a long, thin whistle she kept tucked in her robes.
At that signal, Lapisha’s disciples, dressed in white, emerged from various spots among the crowd, each carrying a bag as if this were a routine drill, and began weaving through the chaos.
They moved with such purpose, as if determined to prove that the time they spent in the war zones hadn't been in vain. The way they worked together—sorting, transporting, and treating patients with the seamless coordination of well-oiled machine parts—left the relatively uninjured onlookers with their mouths agape.
“At least thanks to the deep snow, it doesn't look like anyone is critically injured.”
It was an irony that the Northern snow, which usually only gave people reason to curse, was actually proving helpful in a disaster.
The soft, thick snow had safely cushioned the impact for the horses, the carriages, and the people alike.
While there were certainly those who had been struck by carriages or had fallen in awkward ways, resulting in broken bones and blood, there was no one whose life appeared to be in immediate danger. Though she hadn't examined everyone closely, her experience told her there were no injuries likely to cause permanent disability.
“Move them to the clinic immediately.”
“Yes, Master.”
Lapisha let out a low sigh of relief, then turned her gaze toward the source of the thunderous noise.
“I’m heading out now. A few of the seniors, follow me.”
She then climbed back onto her horse.
“Master, wouldn't it be better to finish up here first before you go?”
One of the disciples shouted urgently. The disciple, whose eyes were trembling violently, was a child she had taken in only recently. In other words, a sprout still too tender and green to have witnessed the horrors of war.
In terms of talent, the child had surprised even Lapisha, but a healer could not be raised like a flower in a greenhouse. If one stood before a patient showing such internal turmoil, it would inevitably plant seeds of doubt in the patient’s mind.
“I, I’m just anxious if you aren’t here, Master...”
“Trust in what you have learned.”
“But, Master!”
“If you still have doubts, trust the colleague beside you.”
“B-but...”
“And when even your colleague cannot help, trust in those two hands of yours.”
They are the hands I discovered, aren't they? I am never wrong.
With those words spoken in a low voice, her master rode off, leaving behind another talent that was struggling to grow.
“Hiyah!”
There was only one reason Lapisha was in such a hurry.
‘The Administrative Officer grabbed the reins and bolted the moment the blast was heard.’
Lapisha recalled the sight of the Administrative Officer, who hadn't shown any interest in learning to ride for the longest time, suddenly handling his horse as skillfully as a veteran knight. Watching him ride, she had thought it was less a learned skill and more a kind of instinct.
‘As far as I know, Adjutant Jamie’s horse isn't trained for loud noises.’
Jamie was the type who thought watching the carriage race was enough and hadn't bothered to put his own horse through any extra training. And yet, he had grabbed the reins of a horse that had no such training and dashed off at such speed? Was that even possible?
“Master!”
“...Increase your speed!”
“Yes!”
Lost in thought for a moment, Lapisha realized her disciples were already catching up behind her.
‘Right, now is the time to confirm what has happened.’
Lapisha gritted her teeth, spurred her horse, and began to widen the distance between herself and her disciples.
***
“XX!”
Meanwhile, the scene that greeted Aiden and Jamie as they rushed toward Kalisa made Jamie’s eyes turn bloodshot instantly.
“Don’t just watch, help!”
The Kalisa they found was already riding a horse detached from her carriage, desperately trying to evade her pursuers. Specifically, four masked individuals dressed in black from head to toe.
The carriage she had been riding just moments ago was already smashed to pieces, and looking closely, her left arm moved unnaturally—clearly, something was wrong. There even seemed to be blood staining her clothes.
Shing-, Thwack!
Hiiiiiing!
Jamie immediately slashed the ropes securing the horses to the carriage and urgently vaulted onto the back of one of them.
“Catch!”
Aiden tossed him a bow and quiver that had been rolling around the back of the carriage, along with a hunting knife—shorter than a standard sword but definitely longer than a dagger—still in its sheath.
Whiz-!
Thwack!
Before he could even thank Aiden, Jamie demonstrated a near-supernatural feat, aiming his bow while riding with both hands off the reins, striking one of the masked figures.
He didn't know what kind of situation this was, but since some masked bastards were ganging up on his colleague, it was only natural to help out. ...Though, his methods were twice as brutal as usual.
The masked figure, whose head had been pierced through by the arrow, fell from his horse; unless he became an undead, he wouldn't be walking on two feet again.
“......”
Aiden’s brow furrowed slightly. Perhaps thanks to having witnessed men lose their lives during the Lontes campaign, he didn't show the indecency of retching. Kalisa was still struggling to dodge the blades and whips of the masked figures, and Jamie was charging in, biting his own flesh to focus, trying to save her.
This was, in the end, a fight to see who could kill the other first. While moral standards could be applied to the problem of survival, there was no room for legalistic judgments about excessive force or self-defense.
“Nice shot!”
“Do you have the nerve to spout nonsense in this situation?!”
“Support has arrived, so I have to spout nonsense to boost morale!”
“Shut your mouth and just dodge!”
Jamie couldn't help but hurl an insult at Kalisa, who was cracking jokes in the middle of this.
‘It’s not a joke; she’s trying to rattle the masked men.’
Aiden, trailing behind, realized that Kalisa’s words weren't just jokes. She was trying to shake the mental state of the remaining masked men while looking pale from blood loss. If she were lucky, she might even be calculating that she could force at least two of the four chasing her to turn their attention toward Jamie. Regardless, she was a woman whose head for business worked perfectly even when her own life was hanging by a thread.
Unfortunately, the remaining four remained calm despite Kalisa’s psychological warfare. It meant that even though their comrade’s head had been turned into a kebab, they were still obsessively targeting Kalisa with mechanical precision. These were men who made the clumsy masked thugs the First Prince had sent previously look like amateurs.
Swooooosh-!
Another arrow Jamie fired flew toward the masked men. Perhaps because the distance had closed, the arrow carried significantly more force than the last.
Thwack!
“Ugh!”
A pained groan escaped the lips of the man who had been closing in on Kalisa—whose speed was flagging as her strength waned—as if he were about to swing his blade. Unfortunately, he only wobbled heavily and did not fall from his horse. He had managed to cover his head with his arm, perhaps having seen the end of his comrade who had been skewered.
The arrowhead had been shot with enough force to crush the armor he wore on his arm, and the flesh and muscle beneath the steel were mangled; he would likely need a long recovery after this was over.
‘This is the end.’
However, this side was the winner. The lips beneath the mask curled into a bitter smile. Checkmate. Now, if he just drove his dagger into the nape of the slowed target...
Piiiiiing-!
Thud.
“......?”
An arrow flew from somewhere. It certainly hadn't come from the direction of the giant man who had been firing arrows while riding his horse.
‘What? Who is it?’
The body of the masked man, who had been about to throw his dagger at Kalisa, slowly slumped over on his horse. He didn't even know who had driven the arrow into the back of his neck, and just like that, he collapsed into the snow without even being able to close his eyes.
“Administrative Officer?”
The first to read the direction from which the arrow had come was Kalisa, who was half-out of her mind. Even as her condition worsened by the second, she had been keeping an eye on the whole situation, perhaps fearing a variable might arise. Honestly...
“Jamie!”
“Yes!”
Realizing by the mere calling of his name that Aiden would cover his back, Jamie gritted his teeth and dove between the three remaining masked men and Kalisa’s horse. He couldn't understand how his superior had become so good at archery, but he figured he should focus on saving lives first, so he poured all his attention into the enemies before him.
Blood vessels burst in the whites of Jamie’s eyes. He looked like a demon incarnate. There were three black-clad figures left. To make matters worse, the target had veered off in a direction where they would have to get through that demon to reach her.
The eyes of the three men met in the air. The atmosphere was different from when the first comrade had died by Jamie’s arrow. It seemed the second masked man to meet his fate had been their leader; his death, combined with the appearance of another archer, seemed to be making the three hesitate.
Nod.
The masked men seemed to have made a decision. Turning their horses—they had chosen to retreat?
“Mongrel. Just wait. We will be back!”
With that, they shouted at Kalisa, who was slumped over the horse’s back, sweating cold sweat. At the masked man’s shout, Kalisa’s eyes, which had been closed, snapped open. It wasn't just a generic villain’s line; it seemed the main purpose was to unsettle her.
The words sounded as if they were sneering, ‘There is nowhere you are safe.’ The blatant use of the word ‘mongrel’ was the same. ‘Do the colleagues who came running to save you know that you are a ‘mongrel’?’ Wasn't that what they were asking?
Kalisa’s strength suddenly drained away. She wanted to give up on everything now.
‘If only I hadn't entered the carriage race...’
She felt her lips trembling at the thought that, after trying so hard to do something she enjoyed, she had ended up being called a mongrel again in front of the people she trusted most. ‘Mongrel.’ How was she supposed to explain this to them now? Should she tell the truth, or just pretend she didn't know?
Swooooosh-!
Thwack!
“......?”
At that moment, the sound of an arrow tearing through the air was heard once more.
“Who said anyone was going to let you people go?”
A low, growling voice. It was her superior.
‘Ah-.’
The moment Kalisa heard that voice, she realized. Her superior probably wouldn't ask. He wouldn't ask what a mongrel was, who those people were, or why she had been chased. Aiden was just that kind of person. From the beginning until now. Always.