Chapter 222: The Knight's Oath
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 222: The Knight's Oath
I had to spend a good while soothing Loik, who had turned pale, assuring him that wasn't the case.
By the time he calmed down, the area outside the cave had grown quiet.
"It seems things have been settled outside. We should head out now."
At Loik’s words, I took his hand and headed toward the exit.
As we approached the mouth of the cave, a sickening, fishy stench began to waft toward us. And the moment we stepped outside, my entire body froze at the gruesome sight.
Realizing his mistake a moment too late, Loik hurriedly covered my eyes. He spoke, unable to hide his flustered state.
Through the gaps in his fingers, a grotesque afterimage remained burned into my mind. Countless corpses were strewn outside the cave.
Are those monsters? They’re way scarier than I thought!
They looked somewhat like wolves, but they were grotesquely large with blood-red eyes. They lay scattered throughout the forest, bleeding profusely.
And why on earth do they have six eyes?!
My heart hammered against my ribs as I recalled the horrifying eyes of a monster I had briefly locked gazes with.
Loik turned his body completely, shielding me from the view.
"I was so distracted that I forgot this isn't something you should see, Annette."
He reached out as if to embrace me, then hesitated before suddenly starting to strip off his clothes.
"Loik? What are you doing?"
Constine, who had been following beside us, looked away in embarrassment as Loik shed his jacket and even began unbuttoning his vest.
"There's blood on my clothes."
He looked ready to take off his shirt as well if necessary, so I quickly grabbed his large hands to stop him.
"It didn't get on you! There's no blood on your shirt."
Finally stopping there, Loik scooped me up into his arms. He cradled the back of my head gently to ensure I couldn't see our surroundings.
"I'll head down as fast as I can, so just keep your eyes closed for a moment."
I did as I was told, burying my face obediently against his solid chest.
Loik tightened his grip and took a few steps when it happened.
"Duke Kyle?"
At Constine’s near-scream, I instinctively lifted my head.
Duke Kyle was leaning against a slanted rock, groaning and drenched in a cold sweat. It looked like a monster had bitten his side; blood continued to seep through the cloth he had crudely tied around his waist.
Three Holy Knights were huddled around him, pouring their holy power into the wound.
Loik looked at Teor, a knight from the 1st Knight Division, seeking an explanation.
"We found him nearby after he was attacked by a monster and brought him here."
Loik raised his voice. "Attacked by a monster?"
Duke Kyle’s pale face flushed red in an instant.
"Are there any other casualties?"
At Loik’s question, Teor cleared his throat. "The knights from the Temple sustained minor lacerations."
The Holy Knights performing the healing also bit their lips, looking sheepish.
As everyone stood there watching Duke Kyle receive treatment, the Holy Knights exchanged troubled glances and stopped their work.
"Is the treatment finished?"
One of the Holy Knights stood up and spoke with a hesitating voice.
"We apologize, but all three of us exhausted most of our holy power when we encountered the monsters earlier... It will be difficult to fully heal the Duke."
The Holy Knight glanced toward Constine. It was a look that suggested they didn't particularly expect much from the Saintess's healing abilities, yet she was their only hope.
Everyone’s eyes turned to Constine at once.
Perhaps because the injured man was an outsider, the knights simply watched the situation unfold with curious eyes.
Constine looked at me, her eyes filled with panic. But before our gazes could meet, Loik subtly turned his body away.
Meanwhile, Duke Kyle’s complexion was turning more deathly pale by the second.
Eventually, pushed by the weight of their stares, Constine approached Duke Kyle.
"I... I'll try."
"Thank you, Saintess."
Even in his pain, Duke Kyle directed a desperate gaze toward Constine. As she reached her hand toward his injured waist, a faint light began to trickle into the wound.
Norton leaned in and whispered to Loik.
"The monsters were deeply tainted by demonic energy. Ordinary holy power won't be enough to heal that."
"They wouldn't know that," Loik replied curtly.
His tone suggested that the capital knights, who had never faced a real monster, wouldn't have a clue.
"...Are you going to let him die?" Norton asked in a low voice.
"That wouldn't be such a bad outcome."
I gave Loik’s chest a firm thwack at those words, causing him to let out a dry cough.
Constine was now drenched in sweat from the effort.
"Leave the treatment to the Mage when he arrives," Loik said indifferently, looking at Duke Kyle’s white face. "I'm heading down with the Grand Duchess first."
"But Captain, the Mage might not return quickly." Norton’s gaze shifted toward me. "If we leave him like that, he really might die."
"Can't we treat him with holy water?" I asked, thinking of the water from the Spring of Enlightenment.
"Holy water works for illnesses or plagues, but wounds inflicted by monsters are difficult to treat that way."
Duke Kyle’s lips had already turned blue.
As I carefully opened my mouth to speak, Loik cut me off.
"Do you know what I'm going to say?"
"You're thinking of healing the Duke, aren't you?"
"His life is in danger."
"Annette, your life was in danger just a moment ago as well."
Loik furrowed his brows, insisting that since the dragon had drained so much of my holy power, I needed to return to the castle and rest immediately.
"I feel fine now."
"Didn't you promise me last time that you would take care of yourself?" Loik said with a stern look. "Besides, if the Duke finds out you're the Saintess, it will cause a massive problem."
"We can worry about that after we save him."
"It's a losing deal for you, Annette. I refuse."
Loik tightened his hold on me as if he had no intention of letting me down.
"It's not a loss; it's making him owe me a debt. Now, put me down."
Pouting, Loik eventually set me on my feet. He picked up his cloak and used it to shield my view so I wouldn't have to see the gruesome corpses as I walked.
As I approached the Duke, Constine, who had been attempting to heal him, looked up.
"Step aside."
At Loik’s command, Constine stood up without a word.
Just as I was about to sit down, Loik reached out and blocked me. He looked at Duke Kyle and spoke in a harsh voice.
"Make a Knight's Oath."
Gasping for air, Duke Kyle rasped back, "What...?"
"It means you must swear that even if it kills you, you will never speak a word of what you see here today."
"What... are you... talking about... all of a sudden...?" His words were punctuated by ragged breaths.
"Grand Duke, let's just heal him first...!"
"I will not compromise on this."
I eventually fell silent at Loik’s firm tone.
Under Loik’s pressure, Duke Kyle—without even knowing why—swore a Knight's Oath never to reveal the events of today. Only after extracting the same oath from the surrounding Holy Knights did Loik reluctantly release me.
As I held my hands near the wound in the same posture Constine had used, Duke Kyle knitted his brows.
"What are you—!"
But before he could finish, a brilliant light erupted from my hands and surged into the wound. The necrotic, bluish flesh around the injury regained its natural color and began to knit together rapidly.
"...This is impossible."
Duke Kyle’s eyes widened in disbelief. Small gasps of awe escaped from the Holy Knights standing behind us.
Once I confirmed the wound had completely closed, leaving only bloodstains behind, I slowly withdrew my hands.
"Th-thank you, Your Highness."
Duke Kyle stammered. For a brief moment, I saw his eyes darting back and forth between Constine and me. His tone became noticeably more respectful.
"I owe my life to Your Highness."
As he tried to sit up, his bare skin was exposed through his torn shirt.
Just as my gaze drifted toward the unexpected exposure, a pair of thick hands wrapped around my waist and hoisted me up.
Lifted into the air in an instant, I was tucked back into Loik’s arms.
"Can we go now?"
Loik met my eyes, looking somewhat sulky.
Loik, you're jealous.
A giggle escaped me despite myself.
"Let's go, honey."
"Ho—!"
At that word, Loik turned red from his neck to his face. I could feel his heart thudding wildly against me.
"Aren't we going?"
"W-we're going."
With his previous grumpiness nowhere to be found, Loik began to walk with a shy expression. Listening to the rhythm of his racing heart, I comfortably closed my eyes.
*
In the couple's bedroom of the Grand Duke's Castle.
Loik gently brushed back the hair of the sleeping Annette. She had fallen into a deep sleep the moment they stepped into the carriage.
As he suspected, she hadn't been "fine" at all.
An ordinary person’s mind would crumble just from facing a dragon. Yet she had not only faced one again but had nearly had her holy power stolen.
And in the midst of that, she insisted on healing the Duke.
If it were anyone else, they would have questioned why she would go that far when she wasn't even the Saintess—but his wife was the true Saintess.
For some reason, he didn't like that fact one bit.