Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Max, who was organizing a pile of documents, slowly raised his eyes.

Hizen, sitting at his desk, was very determined. His eyes were sharp as if cutting the document, and he was staring at his signature.

It was the start of the decisive battle. The red-haired girl had become his exclusive maid. It was exactly an hour later.

Max could not believe the two people who had been so desperate were now master and servant. He was worried but at the same time curious. It would not be full of laughter. The two of them were more opposed than water and oil.

‘They’ll fight, they’ll fight.’

Max was worried about the vivid future ahead of him. He suspected that Hizen was overwhelmed by the situation and made a sudden decision.

He had asked if it would not be better to do a sword test, but he was answered that it was not suitable for the situation. He only heard that the outstanding maid was justified in her promotion as an excellent maid.

“Excuse me, Commander-nim. With all due respect, why don’t you change the arrangement of the maid? You’ve been living a long life without a maid, so I’m afraid you’ll feel uncomfortable.”

“What are you talking about?”

Tack.

Hizen put down the pile of documents loudly. He crossed his legs and spoke confidently.

“I don’t change what I said once. I can’t do such an unjustifiable thing. She’s an excellent maid, and she has worked for one of the three major families, the Duke of Armada, so she’s a perfect maid for me.”

That was true, but Max was worried. Because Leasis was Hizen’s natural enemy. Her behavior was unpredictable.

Tap tap.

He turned his head to the sound of a window tap. Over the tightly closed window, he saw a giant eagle. A small cloth was tied to its feet.

Hizen hurriedly opened the window. When he untied the cloth tied to its feet, he could see ridiculous handwriting. At first glance, it looked like a prank, but it was actually a wartime code. His blue eyes shone sharply.

“Max, I’ll use my emergency vacation tomorrow.”

“What? Emergency vacation?”

He could not believe it even if he heard it with his own ears. The Commander was known for never taking a day off. All the knights, including Max, had tried in vain to force him to take a vacation.

‘Hidden lovers’ connections? No, it can’t be.’

Max, who was agonizing over it, shook his head quickly. Hizen was not interested in any woman after his fiancee’s death. She was a sunflower that only one person had seen, as if it would hurt the hearts of those around him.

Then was it a highly advanced operation to get rid of the maid? Max made an interesting expression. He peeped at the cloth on the desk.

“This…”

His brown eyes widened. Max held the cloth with both hands and put it closer to his eyes. The ciphertext was quickly decoded.

“Commander-nim, isn’t this…”

He did not even have time to ask. Hizen, who had hurriedly packed only two swords, tried to leave the Commander’s office.

Max blocked him because he had a different ominous feeling than usual.

“You can’t go alone!”

“Move.”

His blue eyes shone dangerously. His body was trembling, but Max did not avoid him. Hizen spoke warningly.

“It’s my job.”

“It’s too dangerous!”

“Move. It’s an order.”

“But…”

“I don’t die easily. Don’t waste your time on useless things and just earn your meals properly.”

Max faltered when he spoke coldly on purpose. Hizen pointed to the desk with his chin. The desk was overflowing with a large number of documents to be solved today.

Hizen had the personality to never leave his work to others, even if he stayed up all night working. Nevertheless, Hizen was now asking Max to do it. This meant that it was such an emergency. Max, understanding the situation, saluted with all his might.

“I’ll take care of everything!”

Hizen nodded slightly and left the Commander’s office. He arrived in haste in an empty place at the end of the training ground.

No one was there because it was right after the morning training. Hizen took out a sword and drew a magic circle on the floor. It was a teleportation magic that he had practiced so much at the knights training center.

Standing on the magic circle, Hizen took back the sword. He put the white scroll he had taken out of his arms on the floor and said a spell.

At the same time, he disappeared with the wind.

*

Blue eyes opened. He was inside a barracks made roughly of old cloth.

He covered his mouth with his sleeve, feeling suffocating. In the aftermath of the teleportation, nausea and coughing simultaneously occurred.

“Cough!”

“Cough! Cough! Cough!”

Hizen frowned. He heard a loud cough coming from behind. Turning to an ominous foreboding, he saw a red-haired girl in pain with her hands covering her mouth.

Why is she here? Hizen doubted his eyes. She smiled with a happy face.

“Hehe. How are you, Count Dratius-nim?”

“Did you come back? Where are you going right now?”

“I’ve been assigned to be Count Dratius-nim’s maid from now on! I was just chasing Count-nim because you disappeared.”

“That’s what you’re saying…”

No, this was not the time. Hizen swallowed his words and escaped from the barracks.

He was in the middle of hell. There were bodies everywhere, and crows were biting flesh. He rubbed his eyes and looked for peace, but could not find it.

Leasis, who followed behind, covered her mouth with both hands. Her stomach started acting up and she turned white. Hizen laughed.

“Now you realize it.”

“Where are we?”

“You wouldn’t know even if I told you. It’s the Island of Death that can’t be found on maps.”

Hizen hurriedly drew a sword and carved a magic circle on the floor. He could not hurt the innocent maid. He tried to say the spell several times, but it did not work. It seemed possible to come in, but not to return.

Flames rose thickly in his blue eyes. Hizen looked far away at the burning ships and bit his lips. Even the only way to get out of here was disappearing.

“Heaven must have abandoned you.”

Hizen’s cool voice scattered around her ears. His strong shoulders were stiffened by tension.

Was it such a dangerous place? Leasis’s mind was filled with questions rather than fears.

“Why is it called the Island of Death?”

“You don’t even see it with your eyes? Many people have already lost their lives.”

If so, he meant that there was an enemy. It was also a strong enemy that would make Hizen nervous. Leasis’ eyes sank low.

“Hizen!”

From far away, a blond-haired man with bandages all over his body approached. It was a man whose eyes were as clear as a lake. But the man seemed to be hurt a lot. His arms and upper body were wrapped in bandages, and there was a lot of blood. He only hugged Hizen with his left arm without bandages.

“You’re here, Hizen! Thank you.”

Leasis, who was looking at the reunion of the two, bowed her head.

“Hello.”

“Hmm? Hizen. Who’s that girl? I don’t think she’s your lover.”

Come to think of it, he did not even know her name. He could feel Leasis’ sparkling eyes on him, but Hizen looked around.

“A nauseous maid.”

*

“There’s an intelligent monster hiding. The fire you saw earlier was also his fault.”

Hizen looked through the map on a rotten wooden board. In his head, a cruel battlefield had already been reproduced several times. But things that he could not understand made his head dizzy.

Tap.

His long fingers tapped on the rotten wooden board. Such a big creature on such a small island. No matter how hard he thought about it, he could not figure the cause.

“…That’s strange.”

“It would be good if it was only strange. There are monsters everywhere, the only way to escape was the ships, which are now on fire, and most of the young men have died…”

Listening to the conversation between the two men, Leasis fiddled with a wooden chair. The man named Godius was not an official knight, but a student who was discharged from the knights training center. After leaving the training center, he continued his family business in his hometown, and was recently confronted with a monster’s invasion.

It was a serious issue, and Godius had asked the Imperial Palace for assistance. However, no one was interested in a bean-sized island that was not even properly mapped.

In a hurry, Godius desperately needed someone’s help. He had sent to Hizen an eagle that he had raised with him during his training camp.

“Thank you for coming even though you’re busy.”

His whole body hurt when he spat out the words. Godius forced himself to smile, holding back the pain in his throbbing arm.

“I’m sorry. I haven’t seen you in years, and I can’t even afford to drink water, let alone alcohol.”

Godius kept trying to tell his story. The more he did, the deeper Hizen’s eyes became.

Hizen knew Godius well. He was too weak-minded to be a knight. So Hizen decided to be cooler.

“Godius. Someone has to be bait on the side of the cliff.”

“…”

“There will be casualties. At least half.”

Even Hizen could not protect everyone by blocking monsters attacking from all sides. There were on an island without a proper plan.

Godius’ eyes shook greatly. He also knew that fact better than anyone else. But everyone here was his friend, neighbor, and family. Their deaths were not acceptable, and he could not ask them to do such a thing.

“I’ll be the bait.”

Hizen was silent. In the first place, the conditions he spoke of were premised on him and Godius being bait and blocking the north and south.

Even if the two men blocked the north and south, the west and east would cause problems. Who else could fight monsters properly on such an island? Even if the remaining people blocked the monsters from the west, the east would still be a problem. If the monster came to them tomorrow night at low tide, the smell of blood would spread everywhere.

In Hizen’s silence Godius clenched his fist. Blood flowed from the torn wound, but the pain in his heart was greater.

“…I know, I see.”

The front of his eyes was blurred. The first thing he had learned at the knights training camp was to give up personal affection.

Godius could not do that. He tried, but it did not work. That was why he gave up the process of becoming a knight in the middle. The color disappeared from his boyish face. He made a strange expression that neither smiled nor cried.

“But… not all are dead. Still… the others… I’ll try to convince them.”

Godius tried to smile.

“Thank you, Hizen. I’m glad you came. I’m relieved.”

His eyes turned red. He rubbed them with his unbanded hand. His dried blood was soaked in his lukewarm tears.

“Come on, take a break. I need to take a look at the people, too.”

When Godius got up, Leasis hurriedly followed him. Outside the barracks, Godius was shedding tears. Leasis, hesitating, approached carefully.

“Hmm… Godius-nim. Are you all right?”

“…It’s okay.”

Godius smiled, wiping his eyes with his palm.

“Do you have anything for me?”

“I’d like to help you, too.”

“Oh, I’ve already disinfected the wounded.”

“No, what I’m talking about is healing magic.”

Healing magic? Godius looked at her with astonishment. A meticulously tied red hair, a good and straight look, a well-pressed black maid suit and a white apron. No matter how much he looked at her, she was far from being a wizard.

“Uh, excuse me.”

At the same time as she spoke, Leasis suddenly grabbed Godius’ arm. He was about to scream at the tingling feeling, but his head seemed to clear up.

The energy flowed through his body in an instant. It felt familiar. Godius could not keep his slightly open mouth shut. Leasis asked anxiously.

“Are you okay? It’s my first time doing it for someone else…”

“Oh, my God… are you a wizard?”

“No, I’m Count Dratius-nim’s direct maid.”

“But how can you use magic?”

“Well, this is a secret. I learned a little from Ramashter-nim.”

Do the maids of the Imperial Palace learn magic these days? Godius could not hide his confusion.

Leasis’ red eyes sparkled. Fortunately, there seemed to be no adverse reaction. Then other people could also be healed.

She let go of his arm, which was more than half healed.

“A lot of people are hurt, right?”

“Yes.”

“Please take me there.”

Godius immediately took Leasis to a thatched house on the edge of the island. Even while going to the house, Leasis did not rest at all. Her red eyes moved back and forth.

The characteristics of the cliffs, the direction of the strong sea winds, the condition of the soil and even minor stones were imprinted in her head. Then she quickly arrived in front of the thatched house.

Godius could not open the door easily. It was not a good sight for a young lady.

“They’re all in bad shape… Would that be all right?”

“It’s all right.”

She had to be firm. Standing in front of the door, Leasis clenched her fists. It was as expected. It was full of men complaining of pain and women treating them. Some patients were even asking to be killed.

She moved her stiff head to look around. The basin near the entrance caught her eye. After washing her hands clean, she looked at the patients.

The priority were the patients in a critical state. There was a patient whose leg was amputated far away. The maggots crawled from the severed leg, and a rotten smell stabbed her nose.

She could not just watch it. Leasis ran to him and knelt. Then she put her hand on the injured area and focused her attention.

The maggots wriggled disgustingly under the palm of her hands. The feeling was particularly vivid. She closed her eyes tightly and focused her mind.

[Ramashter-nim, please teach me healing magic.]

[You still haven’t given up?]

At first, Ramashter refused Leasis’ request. He said that healing magic required not only effort but also natural talent.

However, Leasis had a different idea. She did not want to believe that this life-saving magic chose people. She wanted to let him know that even if one was not born with a specific blood or talent, one could achieve it with effort alone. She wanted to prove it herself.

Was her sincerity enough? Ramashter taught Leasis a spell, even though he expected her not to be able to use it anyway.

As Ramashter expected, Leasis failed to use the spell. She had nothing. She had never received a proper education, had no teacher, and had no knowledge about how to use magic. It would have been strange if such a person could use magic.

Instead, she was more patient than others. Since that day, the spell had been engraved in her head. Without knowing whether she was doing well or not, she practiced day and night, and even tried to hurt and heal herself. Because of that, Leasis’ body was covered with wounds. It did not hurt, but it would take a long time to heal completely. By the time the wounds had accumulated on her body, Leasis had learned the healing technique. Ignorant but honest, it was her way.

Swish.

A strong light coming from Leasis’ hand healed the severed leg. It only stopped the blood and made him forget the pain. It was not enough compared to Ramashter’s skill, but it was not too hard to save lives.

The people in the thatched house stared blankly at the scene. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and said.

“Next person! Please tell me the most urgent ones first.”

Leasis treated all patients without a break. She was bathed in sweat and exhausted all over. Unaccustomed to magic, she used a lot of energy every time she healed.

Having barely come to her senses, she left the house to enjoy the breeze. Her neat hair popped out here and there. She wanted to rest for a while. Exhausted, she laid on the floor. It was night before she knew it. The starry night sky seemed to reach for her when she stretched out her hand. As she moved her numb arms, her vision became completely dark.

When she blinked her eyes, there was a sweet smell. She then lifted her body and saw a familiar uniform. The black uniform swallowing the darkness covered her upper body.

Next to her stood Hizen with his arms folded. He had taken off his black uniform and was wearing a white shirt. His pathetic gaze was looking down at her.

“Count Dratius-nim!”

In her hectic treatment, she completely forgot that she was Hizen’s maid. Leasis tried to get up in a hurry.

However, her body did not move at her will. Because he was pressing on her head with his hand. Leasis had an awkward position, unable to stand up or sit down.

“Count-nim?”

“Sit down.”

Hizen gave his hand more pressure on her head. It caused her to sink down.

“Don’t be afraid and sit down.”

“But Count-nim’s meal…”

“Am I the only one who is starving? I won’t die if I don’t eat one meal.”

There was nothing to refute. When Leasis stared blankly, he threw something.

Tack.

Reflexively, she opened her eyes wide. It was an apple. While looking alternatively between the apple and Hizen, she asked seriously.

“Do you want me to make you some juice?”

“…”

“I was kidding.”

Leasis smiled awkwardly at the fierce look. She mumbled, fiddling with an apple.

“Thank you. Thank you for the food.”

Hizen hesitated for some reason. He said with a cough.

“Tomorrow too… please.”

“Heh. Of course.”

There was a silence between the two. Leasis took a big bite in the apple and smiled slightly. It was sweet.

One precious apple had been eaten out. She opened her mouth as she looked at the apple with only the core left.

“Count-nim.”

Hizen stared at her as if to tell her to go on. She asked carefully.

“Why didn’t you ask the Imperial Palace for help?”

The answer did not come out immediately. Frustrated, she asked questioningly.

“You know that, Count-nim. If only a few more Imperial Elite Knights came, this kind of thing…”

“You seem to be mistaken.”

Leasis swallowed back her words. A cold voice came down on her shoulders.

“The Imperial Elite Knights don’t belong to me.”

“But…”

“The knights are always doing their best. They have already been assigned the right mission and are fulfilling it with the right rest time. I can’t force them to do a mission that has been filtered out of the Imperial Palace.”

Leasis opened her eyes wide at the remark. His low voice was the same as usual, but still felt a bit different. After a long thought, she found the answer and shut her mouth. It was anger.

“You must have had too much fantasy. A knight is neither a hero nor the puppet of anyone. It’s just… fulfilling a mission that suits them.”

“What about Count-nim?”

Hizen ignored her earnest gaze. He said, fiddling with his stiff back neck.

“Stop being nosy, there’s nothing for you to do now.”

“But…”

“You’ve done your part today. You’ll have to pay attention to your life tomorrow.”

Hizen, who uttered the words, disappeared somewhere. Left alone, she clenched her fists.

After a long time of agonizing, she jumped up from her seat.

“Count Dratius-nim!”