Chapter 17

Chapter 17

“That’s great.”

Hizen disagreed with Godius’ admiration. He just gave him a cold glance.

At the end of the cliff was a huge number of stones piled up like a tower. Next to it was a red-haired girl full of energy, so excited about it that she could not even eat properly. She was greedy too. Looking around, she shook her hands that had been soiled while piling up the stones. Then she ran to a middle-aged woman who was whining from behind while carrying a stone.

“Give it to me!”

“Thanks.”

“Hehe, it’s nothing.”

The island had changed. Unlike yesterday, there was a hopeful atmosphere. Hizen was looking at her without even realizing it. He could not take his eyes off her.

He was the one who fought countless times through various battlefields. That was why he could not understand even more. Changing the mood of all these people in an instant was hard to do, even for a great hero.

That red-haired maid seemed to have some unknown power. Just like Neren. Neren had always made the impossible possible. He had always done it with sincerity and effort. He used to try to minimize the damage by considering each and every soldier as a precious life. Even after staying up all night, he would re-arranged the plan. Hundreds of times, thousands of times.

He had always stayed the same. His heart would also be conveyed to the soldiers, and the battlefield used to always be filled with laughter with Neren there. He used to be a man like the spring sunshine, litting everyone up.

“Neren…”

His heart hurt in longing, so he deliberately turned his eyes away. Hizen’s lips closed tightly.

“Hizen, it’s time for them to wake up.”

Hizen nodded at Godius’ words. He walked toward the red-haired girl.

“Count-nim!”

The red eyes that found Hizen grew bigger. She wiped her hands on her waist and smiled.

“Count Dratius-nim! You’re here?”

She’s the same as usual. Her eyes, facial expressions, and voice. What is she doing? Isn’t she afraid of death? Intrigued, Hizen stood in front of her.

Despite the desperate situation, she did not lose her smile. The sight reminded him of someone else, and Hizen was heartbroken again. He spoke in an emotionless voice.

“…You’re doing quite the imitation.”

His blue eyes stayed on a pile of stones piled up like a tower. At first glance, they seemed to have been stacked roughly, but they were properly lined up.

Hizen lowered his gaze. Her nails were broken here and there, and her fingertips were white and scratched.

He was going to say something, but bit his lips and closed his mouth. Turning around, he purposely spoke harshly.

“Are you having a picnic here? Don’t make a fuss on the battlefield for nothing.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

“You.”

“Yes?”

Hizen, who unknowingly called her, was embarrassed. A pure voice rang through his ears.

“What is it? Do you have something to ask me to do?”

Why did I call her? Hizen questioned himself. But the answer did not come out easily. It was strange.

“Count-nim?”

It felt even stranger when her red eyes blinked in wonder. He spoke in a fit of anger.

“You. If you don’t want to be killed, get your act together and fight properly.”

It took Leasis a few seconds to understand what he meant. She looked up at him with astonishment.

“…Are you saying this because you’re worried about me?”

“Don’t get me wrong.”

“Eh. You don’t have to be ashamed.”

“You’re out of your mind today.”

Leasis was happy no matter what Hizen said. Just being next to him relieved her tension. She gently shook her hands.

“Count-nim, do you know Stone Throwing?”

Hizen affirmed in silence. There was no way he did not know. ‘Stone Throwing’ was the oldest game in the Harknon Empire. Originating from the village of the former Empress, the game spread throughout the Empire. It was a simple game where the goal was to hit a black stone on the floor with white stones.

Approaching a pile of stones, she grabbed one and posed. She said, as she turned her body half way and held the stone in both hands, preparing to throw it fiercely.

“I’ve never lost at Stone Throwing in my life.”

“That’s great.”

The stone she caught had a subtle blue color. But she could not see it because she was only looking at Hizen. He was scrutinizing the pile of stones again.

After completing his final check, Hizen turned around. He did not even talk to her because his business was over. He walked toward Godius.

One, two, three steps. He stopped walking.

“Hey, maid.”

“…Yes?”

Hizen was different from Neren. He did not have a kind personality, and did not know how to express feelings. He was the same on the battlefield.

Leasis looked up. Hizen faced her straight. He spoke harshly as if punishing her.

“You, you’ll stick there and hold on for five minutes.”

“…What?”

“Didn’t you hear me? Keep your eyes open for five minutes.”

Her red eyes blinked greatly. He said fiercely.

“This is the first order I’m giving you. Exactly five minutes. I’ll check in five minutes.”

He was telling her not to die. Leasis took a big breath. His intense blue eyes were full of confidence.

It was the first time. For the first time, Hizen let her be herself. That alone was overwhelming, so her heart tickled. She waved her hands and shouted in a bright voice.

“I got the order! But Count-nim must be on time!”

“You’re funny. Do I look like a man who can’t keep his promise?”

Hizen snorted and disappeared with long strides. His back was clearly imprinted in her red eyes.

Leasis clenched her fists. She did not want to disobey Hizen’s first order. She would obey it by all means. She tried hard to lift the corner of her mouth. It was her first time seeing a battlefield, but she could tell. While everyone was in despair, he could not be scared. The fraud Max was talking about was impressive.

Before she knew it, the smoke announcing the battle came up. Leasis took the lead after assigning a place to each person. It was the most dangerous position.

There was a strange sound around the island. It was softer than the howling of animals and louder than the chirping of birds. A filthy smell poked her nose and a fear ringed in her head.

Something moved at high speed under the cliff. The nervous islanders trembled and murmured prayers. Please, be kept from the fear of death.

Here it comes. Her red eyes were fluttering. Her body reacted first before she could process the situation. Her hand holding the stone clenched strongly. Fear slowed her body’s movement a little. She bit her lips hard enough to bleed.

‘Wake up, Leasis!’

Leasis moved as she had practiced all night without a break. She threw it as hard as she could.

Thud!

There was a tremendous sound and she could hear something breaking. Surprised, the islanders looked at her all at once. She shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Throw them!”

“Ahhhhh!”

“You bastards!”

Encouraged by Leasis’ actions, people threw stones to death. Most of them fell to the beach without hurting anything, but luckily some hit the monsters’ heads or legs.

But it was only a few. She could not use all of her strength because of the fear of death. To make matters worse, she could see monsters climbing up, already at more than half of the cliff.

There were more than hundreds of eyes stuck on their long, large bodies like centipedes. They were demons with a long tongue fluttering through their torn mouths.

The islanders screamed and threw stones at them. Among them, there was one with a pentagonal gem on his back that was behaving strangely. It moved its long and flexible body.

It started climbing across the cliff diagonally. It had a fast pace that was hard to track with the eyes.

Leasis tried to throw a stone at it, but it was impossible. It went up in the opposite direction of where she was. It was the location of a young girl with green hair.

Surprised, Leasis shouted hurriedly.

“Run away!”

“Ahhhh!”

The appearance of the monster in front of her eyes was disturbing. She threw a stone in a hurry, but it avoided it flexibly.

It was no ordinary monster. Leasis, who bit the inside of her gums, gave strength to her hand grabbing the stone.

‘What should I do? If it continues like this, they’ll die!’

“S-save me…”

“Please…”

She was awakened by desperate voices. At this point, worrying was a luxury. There was only one thing that came to her mind. Killing that monster.

Her red eyes sank deeply. The monster with the gem encrusted instinctively turned around.

Its disgusting glossy eyes were bent when they found Leasis. She turned half way towards the monster running in her direction, and did what her body was telling her to do.

[Leasis. I’m bored. Should we play Stone Throwing?]

[Stone Throwing? What’s that?]

[What, you don’t know Stone Throwing?]

She was embarrassed. Leasis lowered her head. The tips of her ears were red.

[It’s a good thing that there’s something new in the world to learn, right?]

Was he making fun of her? Neren’s bright voice made her look gloomy.

He came to her and smiled brightly.

[The feelings you feel when you first learn something, fear, excitement, tremor, curiosity. You can only feel them once.]

Her red eyes blinked greatly. It was a friendly voice.

[Will you give me the precious honor of introducing you to Stone Throwing?]

Neren’s smile was brighter than the sun when she nodded slightly. He stood next to her and put her into position.

[Yes, like that. Look straight ahead and give strength to your eyes.]

[Strength to my eyes?]

[Yes. You should be confident that you’ll get everything right! Should I say that you’re supressing the stone with just your eyes?]

[Hmm, Neren-nim. Is that necessary? Stone is not a living thing.]

[Listen, Leasis. From now on, your eyes should always be alive. Whatever it is!]

[Why?]

His silver eyes shone brilliantly. In them, a red-haired girl opened her eyes wide.

[Because you’re a knight who’ll protect everyone.]

The red eyes staring at the monster shone like an animal. Leasis raised a corner of her mouth and threw the stone as hard as she could.

The monster’s hundred eyes grew bigger. The small stone had a white glow that it had never seen before. It instinctively tried to escape, but the stone had already penetrated his head.

Aaack!

A deafening roar rang the island. The monster fell off the cliff and disappeared with black smoke. The other monsters, stimulated by its death, became faster and faster. They climbed the cliff restlessly.

Success! Leasis’ forehead was full of sweat. As she tried to pick up a stone again, her sight shook greatly.

‘No…’

Leasis unconsciously struck her leg with a stone. The flesh was scratched roughly, but she did not feel any pain.

Leasis felt like the time had slowed down. There were no monsters at the end of the cliff, no stone-throwing islanders, or calls for escape.

Was she dying? Leasis slowly blinked and laughed. If she died like this, what excuse should she make when meeting Neren? She could not believe she would be following him right away without becoming a knight.

The monster in front of her sticked out his long tongue. Sensing death, Leasis slowly closed her eyes.

Interestingly, at that moment, Hizen’s voice came to her mind.

[This is the first order I’m giving you.]

[I’ll check in five minutes.]

‘I wanted to keep the Count-nim’s first order…’

Two streams of tears flowed out of regret. Then, a cool breeze came near her.

“Get a hold of yourself.”

She was horrified by the feeling stimulating her whole body. When she opened her eyes, she saw a monster with blood flowing out like a fountain.

One, no, two… Are there three?

“It’s not over yet.”

Whew. She took a deep breath. A smell sweeter than macarons, the stable sound of a heart, a warm body temperature.

As she raised her head, she could see fine gold threads flying in the wind.

“…Count Dratius-nim?”

It was Hizen with a lot of blood on his body. Wrapping Leasis’ waist with one hand, he raised his eyebrows. He was displeased with her condition. How could she be so arrogant and then let herself go?

It was not enough to nag her a hundred times. But he did not say it. Hizen shouted, wielding his sword with his other arm.

“There’s not much time left! Everybody throw all the remaining stones at the cliff!”

“Yes!”

The islanders came to their senses and threw the stones. Everyone was here, even Godius, who had handled the other side.

In Hizen’s arms, she trembled like a puppy in the rain. He hugged her tightly.

Everything was the first time for her. She was hugged by him, she heard someone else’s heart, and she felt secure. A cold voice rang in her embarrassed ears.

“You’ve done well enough. Leave the rest to me.”

“…”

“It’s an order. Close your eyes from now on.”

There was one more thing. It was her first time being in such a stable darkness. She smiled without realizing it.

* *

The red hair on the bed sheet was tangled like a spider’s web. Leasis’ face, with her eyes closed, was full of tranquility.

Hizen’s gaze at her darkened. He thought it did not matter to him what happened to her, but it did.

He felt strange beyond description. Did he feel this way when he was in training camp and forced himself to endure it without macarons for a year? Or when he had the noisy Princess Ashley next to him… No. He was even more upset than that.

He bit his lips. The feelings he was experiencing now were completely out of control. She was only a maid. There were many people in the Imperial Palace, and many were maids. But the less she woke up, the lower his mood sank. It was full of things that he could not understand. Was this guilt?

“Hizen.”

Someone came in while he was thinking about it over and over again. Godius’s expression had noticeably improved.

“Oh. Is she still asleep?”

Hizen nodded slightly. Somehow, Leasis had not open her eyes even after half a day, but she was not seriously injured.

Godius sighed for a long time. Leasis was the island’s benefactor. Thanks to her, no one died, and the enemies were properly wiped out.

His heart was heavy because she was not waking up. Godius murmured like making an excuse.

“Hoo… I didn’t know the leader of the monsters would go to the cliff.”

That had also been an unexpected variable for Hizen. He looked at Leasis without saying a word.

Then, Godius tried to put a wet towel on Leasis’ forehead. But Hizen grabbed his hand.

“I’ll do it.”

“Oh, yes.”

Gordius, embarrassed, nodded. When Hizen picked up the towel, he quietly left the room.

Hizen wiped Leasis’ face with a dissatisfied expression. She was sleeping with a happy face, making him wonder what kind of good dreams she was having.

She was still a tactless woman, who did not know how to adapt to others’ pace. He spoke out.

“What a stupid woman. Who’s taking care of who? You can’t even take care of yourself.”

“…”

“Wake up.”

“…”

“It’s an order.”

It could not happen. Hizen let out a small sigh. She had been lying down like this for a long time since she had became his direct maid. She suddenly appeared and bothered people like a hive, making him frustrated. As expected, he concluded that this woman was not compatible with him. She may have been an enemy in his previous life.

But then, her eyelashes trembled a little.

“Count-nim…”

Her red eyes curled finely. She yawned like a child who just woke up from a sweet sleep.

“Where am I?”

Squeak.

The chair squeaked and fell. Hizen, who jumped up unknowingly, grabbed her shoulder.

Her red eyes grew as if they were going to pop out. She stopped breathing because she was surprised by his hand on her forehead. It was hot.

“Are you all right?”

“That… that’s… I have a slight headache.”

Leasis could not tell whether this situation was a dream or reality. If it was a dream, then it was definitely a good one. Because Hizen’s eyes were warmer than before.

His eyes were only on her. Red hair, lively eyes, breathing lips, swollen hands. After carefully examining everything, Hizen relaxed his grip on her shoulder.

Leasis was confused, but soon found an answer. He probably seemed worried because it would be a problem if his direct maid died after her first day. She smiled brightly as if she were okay.

“I’m fine. By the way, are the others all right?”

“You’re worried about other people.”

It was a prickly comment. So Leasis asked in a serious voice.

“I’m sorry. Are you okay, Count-nim?”

He did not mean it like that, but she was very tactless. Maybe she was doing this on purpose to scratch his nerves. Hizen looked down at her with suspicious eyes.

Why? Her red eyes blinked innocently twice.

“…Don’t talk.”

With a small sigh, he got up from his seat.

“Let’s go together!”

She tried to lift herself up to follow after him. But she was blocked by a big hand.

She looked up at the person pressing on her head. Her red eyes blinked greatly.

“…Count-nim?”

“Stop being stupid.”

A stuffy voice. This kind of nuance could be frequently heard when Neren talked to her. Leasis smiled slightly with some unknown affection. Hizen and Neren were friends, but she had thought they were completely different. But there seemed to be a strange similarity. It was warmth.

Hizen looked down at Leasis with discontent. He could not understand what was so good to make her smile. He spoke coldly.

“You. Lie down until I get back.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Leasis answered soflty. Hizen looked at her one more time and walked toward the door.

Clatter.

At the small sound, Hizen turned around. He saw Leasis trying to reach out her arm to pick up the apron on the floor of the room.

Caught… Facing his blue eyes, Leasis said with an awkward smile.

“…Sorry.”

“Are you outright breaking orders now?”

“I’m sorry…”

Hizen, who had been holding the doorknob, folded his arms. He pointed at the bed with his chin.

“Lie down.”

“Yes!”

Leasis lied down on the bed right away. Then he said in a soft voice.

“There, like that. Breath only.”

“What? But…”

“It’s an order.”

It was an embarrassment for Leasis, who had been busy all her life, to lie down without doing anything. Still, the Commander, Hizen, was going out like that, and she was resting in bed. She cried a bit.