Episode 15. A Strange Man

Even the darkened sky began to brighten, and the massive storm clouds gradually dispersed. Before the two knights kneeling and begging to be executed for failing to protect the Marquis of Ford, Shiloh said nothing at all.

Olivia had long since collapsed upon hearing the official news of the marquis’s disappearance. In the silent room left behind by the lady, only Shiloh’s sighs echoed.

Just as the castle steward, unable to bear it any longer, was about to offer a word of comfort to the new lord—

“Oh…? There’s a carriage outside! It’s coming this way!”

Marie, who had been standing by the window, cried out in surprise. Shiloh immediately jumped up and rushed to her side. A shabby carriage was climbing the hill, heading toward the lord’s castle.

“Open the gates!”

With a tense face, Shiloh ran out of the room. As the carriage emerged from the overgrown brush, a strange wooden cart attached to its rear came into view. By the time he realized the figures inside were people, the carriage had passed through the gates and stopped before them.

And stepping out of the carriage was none other than the Marquis of Ford.

“Father…!”

Shiloh ran forward and embraced the marquis. His momentary relief was quickly replaced by anxious questions.

“Where’s Brienne? Hereis, that guy? Did you meet them?!”

Just as Shiloh, afraid of hearing they hadn’t reunited, asked, Hereis Belif appeared, stepping down while holding a child’s hand. Shiloh’s face turned pale at the sight.

“You, you…!”

He hastily pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it against the long wound across Hereis’s abdomen. Though Hereis shook his head as if to say he was fine, Shiloh added his own shirt sleeve and stammered.

“Why, why… why do you look like this? Brienne! What on earth happened?!”

“…I’m sorry, Young Marquis Ford.”

After a moment of searching for the right words, Hereis lowered his gaze with a gloomy face. Shiloh’s grip tightened as he processed the meaning of those words.

“You… you bastard…!”

So he had kidnapped Brienne after all, and had put his sister in danger. Shiloh glared at Hereis with bloodshot eyes.

And in that very moment, Brienne stepped out of the carriage.

“Shiloh, stop it. I’m fine. The young duke is just acting like that because he’s afraid of your sword.”

“Brienne!”

Rushing to her side, Shiloh checked her condition over and over. He turned her face this way and that, but just as she said, she didn’t have a single scratch.

“Ha, thank goodness. Really, thank goodness…”

Overcome with emotion, Shiloh collapsed to his knees and covered his face, stifling a sob. Damon patted his son’s shoulder and looked at Hereis.

“Young Duke Belif saved my life. Everyone here owes him their lives.”

“Is that true?”

Shiloh looked up and scanned the people disembarking from the carriage and cart. When someone jumped down from the driver’s seat, their heavy footsteps thudded on the ground.

“Hey! Lord, I’m feeling a bit hurt here. Did you forget about me? Until that flashy magician showed up, wasn’t everyone indebted to me for their lives?”

“Sir Zen…! How can you say something so rude!”

The man who followed down from the driver’s seat rushed over to stop him. Brienne tugged Shiloh’s arm slightly as he stood dumbfounded by the stranger’s absurd speech.

“Shiloh! Get the patient inside first.”

“Uh, yeah… Got it.”

Snapping back to his senses, Shiloh slung Hereis’s arm over his shoulder. Now reduced from Kaiden’s friend to a patient, Hereis accepted the support with a bitter smile.

“Open the guest rooms and guide the people inside. Stoke the fireplaces well and prepare plenty of blankets. Ah, and bring something soft for the young duke to lie on.”

Damon, limping on his ankle, gave orders to the castle steward. As Brienne watched, she was about to follow the marquis when—

“Hey, miss.”

Sweeping his dripping wet hair back, the man named Zen approached with a sly smile. Brienne looked up at him with a bewildered expression.

“…Did you just call me?”

Suddenly right in front of her, the man leaned his upper body forward.

“Hmm…”

His brown eyes blatantly scanned Brienne’s face. As his gaze descended from her forehead to her eyes and nose, then paused at her lips, the tense Brienne instinctively held her breath.

Noticing that, the man grinned. “I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself earlier, but… I guess this is what they call love at first sight. What’s your name, miss?”

Crack. Even before he finished his sentence, the cane in Hereis’s hand snapped in half. The steward, who had just handed over his own cane moments ago, picked up the broken pieces with trembling hands.

As a look of despair crossed his face, a chilling smile formed on Hereis’s.

“Sir Zen! Again, really?!”

Whack!

Just then, a man appeared behind Zen and smacked him on the back.

“Ow, that hurt!”

Clutching his back and whining, Zen stumbled as the gray-haired man stepped in front of Brienne. Caught off guard by the rapidly changing situation, Brienne stared blankly at them in turn.

“You were startled, weren’t you? Don’t worry too much. Sir Zen has no sense of propriety, so with every woman he meets…”

“Russel! Why would you say that? The mood was just getting good!”

“Good mood? Even a passing dog would laugh! Think of your size, Sir Zen. No matter how nice your words are, with that intimidating face…”

At that moment, a large hand rested on Brienne’s shoulder. A low voice tickled the back of her neck.

“Lady Ford. I am in pain.”

Startled, Brienne turned around. But Hereis’s face was right in front of her, and she leaned back in surprise.

“…Ah!”

Thud. As a result, the back of her head bumped against someone’s firm chest. Brienne, looking up at her target, flinched and stiffened as Hereis, bent to her height, slowly straightened his upper body.

“This way, please. Quickly.”

Then he gently reached out his hand. As Brienne nodded and was about to place her hand on his, Zen abruptly stepped between them.

“Hey, magician. Didn’t you hear that you should get the ‘patient’ inside first?”

“That is none of your concern.”

Startled by Hereis’s cold response, Brienne paused. His smile, which had always been as bright as sunlight, now felt chilly.

Just how much pain must he be in to act like that? Brienne quickly approached and grabbed his arm.

“Where’s Shiloh? Why are you alone?”

“I’m alright. I sent him to help the marquis.”

Only then did warmth return to Hereis’s smile. With that gentle expression, he addressed Zen once more.

“Lady Ford is uncomfortable, so I would appreciate it if you disappeared.”

“What are you talking about? It looks more uncomfortable to have her support you. Come to me. If it’s support you want, I’ll give you plenty.”

“I’ll pass. I’m not in such critical condition that I need to entrust my body to a suspicious stranger.”

Meanwhile, Brienne lowered her head and carefully examined Hereis’s wound. Though a servant had applied a cloth, blood continued to seep through, and he looked to be in considerable pain.

Brienne, vividly remembering how he got that wound, furrowed her brow.

“Brienne…!”

He had called her name directly when things turned dangerous, despite always addressing her formally as Lady Ford.

That strange man, Hereis Belif, had saved her life.

It had happened in the blink of an eye. In a book, the situation would have been romantic, but in reality, it was anything but sweet.

“Brienne, get out of the way!”

The overwhelming fear that she might die clouded her thoughts. Even knowing the tree was falling over her, she couldn’t move, only staring at its shadow.

In that moment, Hereis scooped her up. When she opened her eyes to the crashing sound, she was already inside the carriage. He was gone.

“Young Duke!”

As she frantically looked around, she saw Hereis’s back blocking the carriage door. Blue flames extended from his hand, spreading in a circle through the air.

The tree above it swayed precariously.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

“N-No! I’m fine!”

During that process, a sharp branch had grazed Hereis’s abdomen, but Brienne hadn’t noticed then. He had used magic to conceal the deep wound as he managed the aftermath.

If he hadn’t used up all his remaining magic saving the people on the hill, he probably would still be hiding it now.

When exactly had he planned to tell anyone?

“…Enough! Let’s go already. You’re bleeding more because you keep moving.”

Brienne, cutting off the meaningless argument between the two men, shook Hereis’s arm as if to urge him on. At that, Hereis glanced down at his arm, then intertwined his fingers with hers.

“Is that man your type?”

“What?”

Startled, Brienne heard Zen’s voice by her ear.

“Ha, what’s so wrong with me? I’d be better than a guy who’s all looks and no brains like you.”