Chapter 143

Did that mean the Yesters had existed somehow when it was warm in this region? Aden cocked his head thoughtfully.

In the winter region, the focus was always on survival, not on the study of history. Barely anyone gave thought to questions about what was before, and Aden was no exception. Still, he had moments when curiosity would pop up.

And whenever he thought to dismiss such questions, he’d find the knowledge they offered was important. Aden could no longer think only about survival in the winter region. Whatever it took, however rough or bloody the path, he would bring summer to this land again.

For Ilyin.

“Let’s withdraw,” he said. The area was too open and too far north for Delrose to make use of, anyway. If not for the Yesters, even the monsters would have no use for this place and its fierce winds. And as long as they destroyed all the lectura, the Yesters wouldn’t be back any time soon.

Where would the Yesters go now, he wondered. He drew a map of the winter region in his mind and pored over it as he turned back toward Biflten. More than anything else, he was eager to tell Ilyin of the victory they’d won today.

***

“She’s bleeding too much,” Ves said. The doctor for Delrose actually looked paler than Ilyin at the moment, not from blood loss but from ma’am’s condition.

With her weak stamina, the Mistress wouldn’t be able to endure this kind of bleeding for long. It was critical that they stopped it.

“Bring more bandages!” she cried. They’d already used several to try and stem the bleeding, but they had turned from white to blackish red as the Mistress’ wounds still poured blood into them.

“This is the last of the herbs we purchased from the warm region,” a maid said from outside the door.

The 7th floor maids were bustling around the mansion, as always. After Vas ran hurriedly up to the 7th floor, rumors began to spread swiftly among them.

Something’s happened to the Mistress of Delrose.

None of them knew what the problem was yet, but once they came to take away these soiled bandages, the truth will spread like wildfire.

“This is …,” the maid started to repeat.

“Brew it and bring it!” Ves snapped. Candin, the herb to restore stamina. It was common enough in the warm region but dried out so quickly it was hard to store. It was almost impossible to find in the winter region. What little they had now was only because Milo regularly sent people to buy it in the warm region.

She checked Ilyin’s status again. The Mistress was still unconscious, pale, and taking shallow breaths. Even Milo didn’t know her status yet, could never have guessed this was possible.

The Mistress of Delrose had been attacked on the 7th floor of the mansion, in her own room. In what should have been the safest place in the world for her. The Duke of Winter was returning to a mansion frozen in fear.

***

Emil of the Delrose knights look as pale as Ves.

“I examined the wound with Ves,” he said. Emil was with Etra, who’d notified the knight order of Ilyin’s condition and advised them to increase security around the mansion.

“As did I,” Etra said. Neither of them had thought when they’d spoken earlier that they’d be standing together again so quickly. “That wasn’t a wound made by any human weapon.”

Knights were well acquainted with the wounds caused by swords, daggers, arrows, and all manner of weapons. Etra knew the shapes and marks of too many weapons to count, and Ilyin’s wound was made by none of them. She looked down at her own hand.

“It was a wound made by a claw,” Emil said.

“You were thinking the same thing,” she replied, cocking her head. Emil nodded in response. “But it didn’t look like any monster’s claw.”

Emil nodded again, as though bidding her to continue.

“Neither Mollys nor Yesters could make that kind of mark,” she said. “They … make a deeper and wider wound. The other three monsters are the same.”

The Mollys and Yesters were the most bestial of monsters, things that used their claws as their main weapon. But the wound on Ilyin’s stomach was different.

“I think it rather looks more like it was done by the long fingernails of a very strong human,” she said. But she couldn’t imagine how. Ilyin’s door was shut securely, and Etra had been in the adjoining room. If there had been any sound, even any movement in that room, there was no way Etra wouldn’t have been aware of it.

She glanced toward the stairs.

“The Lady of Mille is staying on the 6th floor, correct?” she asked.

“She is, but the knights are on guard,” Emil replied.

And the Setoze, the Mille’s divine object that hides one presence, was still held by Ilyin, she thought. It couldn’t have been Rippo. And the wound on Ilyin’s stomach couldn’t have been made by Rippo’s manicured nails – or her delicate arms. But then who could threaten the Delrose Mistress in her own room?

“One thing is certain,” she said. “We have to contact Milo right away.” They would need more Candin from the warm region, and as quickly as possible. But that meant crossing Biflten in April, and without the Duke of Winter.

There was no one suitable for that task. No one used to travel alone that could handle themselves if they crossed paths with monsters. Not to mention someone that could be trusted by Milo without a document bearing Aden’s seal.

“I think I have to go,” Etra said uneasily. She didn’t like the idea of being away while Ilyin was in danger. But if she didn’t bring back more Candin, the danger to Ilyin was even greater. Winter region herbs wouldn’t suffice for a softer warm region person like her.

“Of course,” Emil said heavily.

Etra couldn’t lose the Mistress of the Delrose. Both the mansion and the master of Biflten had finally had sunlight come upon them, and Etra was going to save that no matter the cost.

And I’ll make whoever was responsible for this pay dearly, she thought as she turned and walked away.