He Entered the Forest Alone
In the end, Ludville feigned defeat and went about his days with Odelli in tow.
Why…….
Why, of all people, could he not ignore this woman? Because he had granted her a fortnight's reprieve? Because he had told her that, until it ran out, she might do as she pleased?
Yes. That would be why. He settled the matter with himself, and did not care to remember that he was a man perfectly capable of contradicting himself the moment it suited him. Not in this moment, at least.
He posted Elderick—his escort knight, and captain of his guard—at Odelli's side.
"If you catch even the slightest whiff of something suspicious, report it."
"Yes."
"Watch her. Don't let her do anything foolish, and do not allow her to act alone. If she leaves your sight for even a moment, the blame will be entirely yours."
"……Yes."
Elderick's answer was reluctant. Until only recently, Ludville had looked as though even breathing were a bother, and now he was suddenly talking far more than usual.
If you trust me so little, wouldn't it be better to guard the lady yourself?
He thought it. He did not say it.
Unlike the aide, the captain of the escort knew how to mind his tongue. And so, for the whole of the march toward the forest, he had to endure the stinging glare his lord kept fixed on him.
At the mouth of the forest, the subjugation party's steps came to a natural halt.
The north was deep in winter. The days were short, the wind was fierce, and gray snow laced with miasma settled over the earth without a sound.
The threshold of Arcadia Forest was different. Monster miasma lay so thick that the snow could not linger and melted almost at once. The trees crowded black and dense, and between them a heavy, damp fog seeped out.
The soldiers had all dismounted and drawn up in formation. Not one of them was checking his weapons.
"Hold the line. Stand by."
With nothing more than that, Ludville spurred his horse and rode into the forest ahead of the ranks.
He had brought the troops this far only for the sake of form. Whenever he set out without a pretext, tiresome people latched onto him, so he at least had to leave a record of a campaign. That was also why he had not tried very hard to stop Odelli when she said she would come. He had meant to go in alone from the start.
"……Your Grace!"
Elderick called after him, stricken.
"Are you coming? If you want to be cut down by a blade I swing blind, I won't bother stopping you."
It was neither taunt nor threat. Only a dry, indifferent statement of fact.
Those who knew what became of him the moment he drew his sword did not even dare to follow. Of late he was less a man than a natural disaster falling out of the sky. He struck with no warning and left no time to run. When he split the forest at a charge, still in the saddle, the monsters lost their heads and had their bodies torn open before they even understood what was happening. Neither his speed nor his direction could be predicted. If he swung, they were cut. If they drew near, they were run through.
"Your Grace……."
"Don't just stand there calling after me. If you have something to say, say it."
"……."
He said as much, and yet he showed no sign of meaning to listen—not even with half an ear.
So that's why you left Sir Edwin behind.
The only aide who could seize Ludville and scold him was not here.
While Elderick was still choosing his words, Ludville had already vanished.
No murmur rose among the soldiers. A strange stillness settled instead. Not one of them asked why; they simply waited, as if this were familiar. It was clearly not the first time, nor the second.
"……Is he always like this?"
Odelli asked, unable to hide her bewilderment.
Elderick let out a breath, then conceded without resistance.
"Yes. Always."
"Alone? Like that?"
The soldiers nearby each gave a nod. For them, it seemed to have become ordinary.
"He will go in by himself and nip the grauters in the bud, as he always has. If we disobeyed our orders and entered, we would only be in the way."
They said it, yet they could not quite hide their discomfort at having sent their lord into the forest alone. That discomfort sprang from loyalty, not from worry.
"Has it been this way since three months ago?"
Odelli asked.
Elderick thought for a moment. Then his eyes went wide, as if the realization had only just struck him.
"Yes. Until then, a monster subjugation was exactly that—an ordinary subjugation……."
Subjugation. Once, the word had meant a military action: hunting the monsters that crossed the border, and protecting the people. Now their lord swung his sword so indiscriminately that the word had been bled of meaning.
With a troubled face, he turned his gaze toward Arcadia Forest—the place they called the forest of monsters—and went on.
Self-harm.
The word came to Odelli at once.
……So this is why I followed.
When she stayed silent, Elderick added in a rush, as if to reassure her.
"Ah—of course, there is no need to worry. His Grace's skill is exceptional. If anything, one might say it is the monsters who ought to be worried……."
Odelli gave no reaction at all.
Perhaps he found the silence hard to bear. All at once he began to chatter about the campaigns that had come before.
"Not long ago, he annihilated an entire village that had become a velusa nesting ground. Before even an hour had passed since he entered, the terrain itself was overturned…… and after that, not a single living thing remained."
"……."
Was this really a hero's tale? Shouldn't it be called a ghost story?
It was the sort of account that would change its shape depending on who heard it.
"……Tell me more."
"Yes? Ah—yes……."
Odelli spent the time listening in silence to the strange things Ludville had done over the past three months.
He'll go in alone and nip the grauters in the bud. As he always has…….
Elderick had said so. For now, she decided to believe him, and to wait until Ludville came out unharmed. Even soldiers whose trade was subjugation said they would only be a hindrance—what could she do by going in?
The moment he comes out, I'll purify him.
She was doing her best to hide her unease when a shriek tore out of the forest.
It was not a human cry, but a monster's horrific scream, and then the ground began to shake. The battle had begun. Distant as the sound was, she could roughly picture what was happening, because the noise of a one-sided slaughter rang out, one after another.
Hm. Maybe there was no need to worry.
Her private relief lasted only a moment.
The trouble began not with Ludville, but at the edge of the forest.
"……Kh!"
A soldier waiting nearest the trees groaned and staggered.
Monster miasma. It had broken past the boundary and come spilling out.
"……!"
Odelli sprang up from the jut of rock where she had been sitting and started forward without hesitation.
"M-My lady? It's dangerous!"
Elderick cried out and reached to catch her, then froze.
The monsters' miasma, spreading like gray fog, seemed to be parting around Odelli, as if to avoid her.