Homecoming (3)

“Shut up, Kaltz.”

My mouth fell open at the growling voice.

My husband was the finest gentleman in the Empire, always refined, perfect, and captivating. No matter how tired he was, how could he curse like that?

He glanced at my startled expression before elegantly furrowing his brow.

“Kaltz truly is a problem. He is always teaching me vulgar language.”

“No……!”

I frowned and looked at Sir Kaltz.

I was in no position to criticize his manner of speaking, but I wished he would restrain himself somewhat when speaking with his lord.

Kaltz, who had been about to say something, gulped down water like alcohol with an expression that suggested he was about to burst from frustration.

“I wonder if this is how an Empress feels while watching the Emperor be led around by his concubine.”

“Why are you the Empress? His Highness would be the Empress.”

“Is that what matters right now?!”

Leonard patted the furious Kaltz on the back as though consoling him.

I watched them without understanding, then simply rested my hand over Victor’s eyes. Dideric quietly brought over a blanket and covered Victor, who had closed his eyes. I thanked him with a glance and watched the flames burn with soft crackling sounds.

Beyond the distant horizon, the stars shone as though they might pour from the sky.

Then I must have dozed off.

“─Careful, this way……!”

My eyes flew open at the sound of clashing blades.

The campfire had nearly died, leaving only embers, but my trained instincts clearly revealed the situation even in the darkness.

An unbelievably enormous monster had approached right up to the edge of the campsite.

A Nightmare Urg. These monsters lived deep within the mountains and moved at night. Despite their enormous size, they were notorious for approaching silently and taking human lives.

Why was an Urg out on a plain like this?

I looked around in confusion. Several knights had thrown chains and were barely preventing it from moving, but the massive creature, nearly twice the height of a man, silently swung its arms as it tried to snap them.

I bit my lip and tried to rise, but felt a weight against my left thigh. Victor was asleep.

“My lady.”

Leonard noticed that I had awakened and quickly approached.

“Please remain still. We deliberately did not wake you.”

“Will you be all right?”

“One Urg is manageable. His Highness is finally sleeping as well, so please rest.”

I nodded uneasily and set down my sword.

In truth, they were not so weak that the mere sight of them inspired pity. They were around the level of high-ranking knights in Amari, so ordinary monster hunting should have been within their ability. But even those high-ranking knights struggled to handle an Urg.

While I watched anxiously, two knights quickly approached the monster from behind. They seemed to be aiming to cut the vulnerable points behind its knees.

But if they made that much noise, it would be dangerous……!

At that moment, Victor suddenly opened his eyes. Startled, I looked at him.

“Victor? You are awa……”

Without listening to me, he rose and drew the sword at his waist. Then he strode toward the monster.

The knights shouted when they saw their lord approaching the Urg’s range.

“Your Highness! It is dangerous!”

“……!”

The next moment, my mouth fell open in shock and awe.

“Impossible…….”

The Urg was collapsing from a single sword strike. Victor’s blade, swung with the full weight of his body behind it, split open the Urg’s belly in one blow.

Even I needed two strikes to kill an Urg. Urgs were strange monsters whose hides were as tough as membranes, so my sword could not pierce them in one blow. Victor’s strength, however, made it possible.

Exclamations of admiration rose from the knights all around us. I sprang to my feet and ran toward him.

“That was incredible, Victor! You are the only person who could do something like…… that…….”

Ah.

My steps gradually slowed.

Every instinct in my body was sending out warnings. The hair along my spine rose, and goosebumps prickled behind my ears.

Slowly, Victor’s gaze shifted toward the knights while he held his sword. At the same moment, I shouted.

“Move!”

Crash!

The tent collapsed with a sound that was impossible to believe had been caused by a sword strike.

Gritting my teeth, I blocked the incoming blade. Victor, who drew his sword back, clearly appeared unconscious.

I understood. Victor was currently in the state of having “awakened from sleep.” Yet his blade was fiercer than on any previous night.

Why was this happening? Because it had been so long since he last slept? Or because we were outdoors?

I struggled to lure him toward the open field and glanced behind me. The knights were rapidly fleeing while protecting Dideric. Unlike when they fought the Urg, they ran without even looking back. I understood why, yet still felt somewhat abandoned.

I should have simply killed the Urg myself…… The Urg would have been much easier…….

Before I had time to lament, Victor’s sword thrust heavily toward me. I danced aside from its chilling murderous intent and turned my blade. With a sharp clang, our swords met.

“At least you will sleep deeply tonight.”

“…….”

“Victor.”

You cannot hear me, can you?

I smiled bitterly and knocked his blade aside.

Perhaps because it had been so long since I last saw him like this, it felt even more painful. His clouded eyes and the hand gripping his sword tightly as he wandered through a nightmare. How much would he torment himself when he awoke tomorrow?

I evaded his blade and slipped behind him. For now, I simply wanted to put him at ease as quickly as possible.

“Go to sleep.”

With one brief movement, his solid body collapsed.

Victor did not awaken until late the following morning.

“You are awake?”

I had been rummaging through the Urg’s corpse for quite some time when I cheerfully greeted Victor as he approached.

His expression became strange when he saw me.

“What are you doing?”

“I am removing its venom gland.”

Nightmare Urgs had a sac in their throats that produced venom, which they used to paralyze prey. It was poisonous when used as it was, but when diluted, it became a valuable ingredient for making various medicines. That was why Amari held a feast whenever a Nightmare Urg was killed, saying we had struck it rich. Though the feast merely meant adding another plate of preserved meat, in any case.

The knights standing guard watched in horror as I expertly cut open the throat and removed the sac. Victor sent them away and approached me.

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“It is all right. Please stay back in case blood splashes.”

“You are already covered in it.”

I raised my head and looked at Victor. He wore a bitter smile.

“I heard that I awakened and injured you.”

“Ah.”

At the beginning, I had injured my arm while forcing myself to block a strike aimed at the knights. It was not a serious wound, but Dideric had insisted I receive treatment, so it was currently wrapped in a bandage. I pointlessly hid my arm behind my back.

Victor’s expression twisted.

“I am sorr……”

“I told you not to apologize for something that was not your fault.”

I spoke firmly while placing the venom gland inside a leather pouch.

“It is an illness. An illness we are trying to cure together, though it is not easy. I do not resent someone for being sick.”

“…….”

Victor’s eyes darkened.

I could not read his thoughts. One thing was certain: he could not produce his usual smooth smile. I spoke whatever came to mind in an attempt to comfort him.

“Victor, you may not realize it…… but at night, you are far too weak to hurt me.”

Victor’s golden eyes widened slightly.

“Even yesterday, if I had not been protecting the knights, I would have finished without a single scratch. Indoors, it does not even take a few minutes.”

“…….”

“Would you become angry if a puppy you raised scratched you?”

Victor repeated my words after a beat.

“……Are you saying I am a puppy?”

“Is that strange?”

“No…… I have simply never heard that comparison before.”

He seemed rather bewildered. In the end, I burst into laughter.

“You said I was like a wildcat too.”

“I did. You still look that way to me.”

“At night, Victor seems the same to me.”

A magnificent gentleman during the day, but as weak as a child at night. That was exactly who Victor was to me.

I had certainly feared him at first, but now that I knew everything, he was far too weak to be a genuine threat.

That saddened me. Seeing such a powerful person in that condition. Knowing that every night, I witnessed the moment when both his body and mind were at their weakest.

I wiped my hands with a cloth and approached him.

“So simply thank me and smile. I prefer that.”

A smile slowly spread across Victor’s lips, though he had seemed slightly surprised. It was bitter, but as beautiful as ever.

He pulled me into his arms.

“How can someone like you exist?”

For a moment, I could not answer, so I simply wrapped my arms carefully around his back. As our warmth passed between us, an inexplicable comfort washed over me. I hoped he felt the same.

At that moment, someone shouted from far away.

“That is enough! How can you possibly flirt in a place like that?”

Startled, I pushed Victor away. Only then did I remember that the enormous Urg corpse was sprawled behind us.

Victor glared fiercely at the jeering knights and took my hand. With my face bright red, I allowed him to lead me back to the campsite.