Chapter 46
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 46
The moment the Princess finished speaking, a dry, wheezing laugh escaped the Crown Prince’s lips.
“I see. Presenting that girl’s corpse to the Empress… now that is an amusing thought.”
The mere image seemed to delight him, as his laughter grew deeper and more jagged. He reached out, gripping Sir Sieorkan’s shoulder with a firm, bruising strength, and whispered in a sinister tone.
“Fine. If you insist, I won’t stop you any longer. Go ahead and scour the mountains all night looking for her.”
The Crown Prince gave his shoulder a forceful pat before turning away, walking toward the far side of the chaotic campsite. Following behind her brother, the Princess cast a composed, lingering remark toward her fiancé.
“Then, I shall leave the child to you.”
* * *
As soon as the two royals departed, the group immediately headed north.
Edric clutched a torch in one hand as he cut through the forest, which was now swallowed by a heavy, suffocating darkness. He was deathly anxious that the traces left by the wyvern might have vanished during their brief altercation with the royals.
“Careful. At this rate, you’ll end up tumbling into the ravine yourself,” the senior knight following closely beside him, Sir Theoric Hart, whispered in a worried voice.
Edric didn’t reply. He merely nodded once, raising his torch to illuminate the rugged dirt path. Soon, jagged rocks and a steep slope revealed themselves between the straight, towering trunks of the conifers.
“It’s here.”
As Edric pointed down the steep descent, his superior, who had been following silently, stepped forward like a shadow.
Edric moved aside to let the man inspect the area below. After scanning the canyon floor with the torchlight for a moment, Barkas pulled a grappling hook and chain from the pouch at his waist.
Securing it firmly in a crevice between the rocks, Barkas threw himself down the slope, which was little more than a sheer precipice. Edric stood at the edge, lighting the way until he confirmed Barkas had landed safely at the bottom, then followed him down the rock face.
Fortunately, the valley wasn’t very deep. Stepping carefully over the protruding stones, Edric reached the floor and held his torch high to signal the knights remaining above. One by one, the waiting men began their descent.
Edric watched them for a moment before turning to survey his surroundings.
The impact of the wyvern’s fall had caused extensive damage to the cliffside; shattered rocks and mounds of earth were scattered everywhere. It would take a considerable amount of time to search through the debris.
Edric scanned the pitch-black darkness with an anxious gaze before leaping over a large boulder. After navigating the uneven ground for a while, he spotted a dark shape rising beside a pile of collapsed rocks.
He brought the light closer to inspect it.
...I found it.
The carcass of the wyvern lay sprawled among the stones, one wing shriveled and blackened as if it had been scorched by fire magic.
Edric searched the area thoroughly, wondering if the Princess might be pinned beneath the monster’s massive body, when he froze. Another dark silhouette was standing a short distance away.
As he brought the torch closer, he saw Barkas standing beside a large rock. Edric ran toward him, his breath coming in short gasps.
“Commander! Did you find any—”
Edric’s urgent shout died in his throat as he saw the limp, pale form lying before the man.
The torch, held in a trembling hand, cast a flickering light over a woman’s bloodless face and tangled hair. Edric stared blankly, letting out a heavy groan of despair when he saw the fragments of rock crushing the lower half of her body.
He had known the chances of her being alive were slim. He had tried to prepare himself for this. Nevertheless, seeing her mangled state with his own eyes made his blood run cold.
Hesitating, he took a shaky step toward her.
Her upper body was relatively intact, but her legs were almost completely buried. Edric inspected her left leg, which was pinned under a large rock and twisted at an unnatural angle. He tried to shove a sizable stone aside, but as he did, the surrounding rubble began to shift and tumble.
His face clouded with frustration, and he looked up to call for help. He stiffened, startled by the expressionless face—almost like a porcelain mask—that met his gaze.
Barkas stood tall, silently observing the woman. The dry look in his eyes, utterly devoid of even a shred of emotion, sent a chill down Edric’s spine.
He knew this man and the Second Imperial Princess were practically enemies. But still, hadn’t they known each other since they were children? Edric could not understand how he could remain so composed while looking at her like this.
Edric cried out in protest.
“What are you doing? Help me, quickly!”
But Barkas did not move an inch.
Glaring at him with a face flushed with indignation, Edric stood up to try and move the rocks himself. As he pushed against the stone crushing her legs with both hands, he heard a sound from below—a faint, ragged noise like the panting of a small animal.
Edric’s head snapped down.
Under the torchlight, he saw the pale face twitch minutely. For a moment, his legs felt so weak he nearly collapsed. Overwhelmed by a surge of relief, he shouted at the top of his lungs.
“She’s alive! She’s still breathing!”
As if responding to his voice, her thin eyelids fluttered open, revealing eyes with a hazy, unfocused glaze. She appeared to be drifting on the edge of consciousness.
Edric straightened up hurriedly. He had to get her to a healer immediately.
He reached for the torch he had set on the ground to signal the other knights. In that moment, he saw a faint smile ghost across the woman’s paper-white face.
Edric stopped mid-motion. From her parched, blood-flecked lips, a sound so blurred it was barely intelligible leaked out.
“Barkas...”
Edric’s eyes widened at the name uttered like a plea, just as the man who had been frozen like a statue finally leaned down toward her. The woman’s eyes flickered faintly, as if recognizing that silent face. It was the look of someone witnessing a single ray of salvation from within the abyss.
“I... I knew. I knew you would come... to save me.”
The corners of her eyes crinkled, and tears pushed past her thin lids to soak her colorless cheeks.
The firelight danced across the man’s cold face as he looked down at her. The light sparkled even in his empty, lifeless eyes. Yet, the man still seemed submerged in a deep, dark place.
Holding his breath for reasons he couldn’t explain, Edric instinctively grabbed the man’s shoulder.
“Are... are you all right?”
Barkas raised his head to look at him. A slight furrow appeared between his handsome brows. He looked as though he couldn’t understand why such a question was even being asked. Edric himself didn’t know why he had asked it.
Why did this man look like he was the one breaking?
As Edric stared with confused eyes at the calm face that seemed no different from usual, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from nearby.
Only then did Edric snap back to his senses and hurriedly raise his torch. Recognizing the signal, the other knights came rushing toward them through the dark.