ITMWG 39

Chapter 39…

Risky decision.

Even though it was a very urgent situation, Altair couldn’t decide on the direction and bit his lip in agony. Cain tilted his head, puzzled, as he looked at Altair, who was hesitant in a situation that required immediate actions. Marie, who had followed Cain, couldn’t dare to urge him, but looked really on edge.

“My lord?”

Unable to stand it, Cain eventually called out to Altair to remind him of the urgent situation, and only then did his tightly sealed mouth open.

“…I will go to Dolsian.”

Compared to his hesitation, his voice was calm. It meant that he had already made a firm decision. However, unlike the calm Altair, Cain widened his eyes in shock as if he had been scalded by fire. Feeling ominous about Cain’s reaction, Marie looked alternately between the two of them in tremble.

“What’s with Dolsian? Is there something wrong?”

“…Dolsian is a village belonging to the Calthas Kingdom.”

“Pardon?!”

The Kingdom of Calthas was a country bordering the Lupes Empire (their own country), and due to geographical reasons, they had long fought each other as enemies. Yet, he wanted to go to a village that belonged to that country? Marie looked at Altair with eyes seeking clarification. If it was the usual Marie, who was well aware of a maid’s place, she wouldn’t have dared to look at her master like that, but now it was an emergency. Still, Altair didn’t point out Marie’s seemingly rude gaze.

Dolsian Village was in the kingdom of Calthas, and Kudra Village was in the territory of the Lupes Empire, but due to the characteristics of the eastern part facing the border with other countries, a strange situation arose that the village belonging to the kingdom of Calthas was closer. Realising the reason for Altair’s decision, Cain sighed at the complicated situation and scratched his head roughly, slightly frustrated.

“It’s at least 3 hours difference. We are in a rush.”

“That…but…it’s the kingdom of Calthas…”

There was no way they would welcome people from the Lupes Empire. For that same reason, Altair hesitated because he couldn’t find the right resolution.

“Right now, Nadia’s treatment comes first. I’m going to Dolsian.”

“Then take the knights…”

“Are you going to boast that we are people of the Lupes Empire? The fewer people, the better.”

As Altair said, he removed all the buttons from his coat and threw them on the floor. Since the buttons were engraved with patterns symbolising the Lupes Empire and the Aylesford family, they could be discovered by those with good eyesight.

“Everyone wait here and investigate the situation. It’s an area where the mystical beasts don’t normally appear, but since we were suddenly attacked, there must be someone behind it.”

“… yes.”

“And if there is no news from me after three days, return to Aylesford first.”

“How could we-…!”

“If they hear the news that Lupes’ knights are hovering near the border, it can lead to misunderstandings. It’s not a decision made out of consideration for just you, so follow it.”

“…yes.”

Cain lowered his head with a look of resentment. In this situation, he seemed to be bothered that there was nothing he could do on his own. Altair, not aware of Cain’s feelings, lightly tapped him on the shoulder and encouraged him.

“I’ll leave you to be in charge of this place, Cain.”

“…Have a safe trip. Make sure to get the madame treated too.”

“Of course. Who are you even worried about?”

Altair snorted and lightly kicked Cain in the shin. Unlike usual, it was a weak kick, almost ticklish. Somehow, the tip of his nose got a little spicy, and Cain handed Nadia over to Altair with a slight frown. Altair took Nadia with great care and lifted her up, turning his head in the direction he was supposed to go. Dolsian Village in the kingdom of Calthas. There they went.

A peaceful border village was turned upside down by the appearance of a visitor covered in blood.

“Kyaaa!”

Oh my goodness.

They didn’t know better when he was far away, but the face of the stranger was quite worth looking at. No, it wasn’t quite, it was very worth seeing. The power a handsome face held was so great that the women forgot that they were in panic, as they stood in daze with their mouths slightly agape in surprise. But soon, the strong smell of blood pricking their noses pulled them back to their senses. In the arms of the suspicious man, a woman covered in blood was cradled, motionless. From what they saw, they thought he must have encountered them while trying to dispose of her corpse after killing her.

W-w-we have to run away!

The women quickly exchanged glances. They had to somehow escape to the village and call the security force. But this time as well, the man acted faster than they could. The elegant Calthas language came out from his mouth.

“My wife is seriously injured. Is there a physician in the village by any chance?”

“…yes? Your wife?”

The women blinked blankly at his unexpected words. The man holding the corpse, no, the man holding his injured wife asked again, frowning slightly as if he was frustrated by their sluggish behavior.

“Oh dear!”

Only then did the women, who had properly grasped the situation, approached the man, throwing all of their laundry aside.

“How did your wife get hurt like this?”

“While traveling, we were attacked by a beast.”

“Oh my Goodness. There are indeed many mystical beasts here. This is not the time to do this, so follow me!”

The friendly-looking woman, who seemed to take pity on them, started walking in the lead, and Altair followed her after carefully examining the atmosphere.

Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like he’s from Lupes.

There was not much difference between the people of Calthas and the people of Lupes, so it seemed that the natural Calthas language had worked well in his favour. The eastern nobles often had to face the Calthas one way or another, so they had learned the Calthas language from a young age, but Altar never thought he would come to use it in this way. The woman, who gave a warm impression, rambled on without knowing that Altair was watching her with keen eyes.

“Well, you’ve got a stroke of luck in this misfortune. Even though our village is small, we do have one decent clinic. The mystical beasts, and the Lupes…there are a lot of injuries every time we have to deal with them.”

“That’s the clinic!”

Looking in the direction the woman was pointing, he saw a small building with a white flag that marked the clinic. Having found his destination, Altair, unable to wait for the woman’s guidance, sped up and rushed to the clinic at once.

“Oh my! What did the husband eat to run this fast? W-wait up!”

The lady who kindly guided Altair also hastened her pace and followed him. But of course, it was unreasonable for her, a village woman with ordinary legs, to catch up with a knight who handled auras. Altair made his way to the clinic in a beat and swung the door open. The physician, who was organising his medical tools, turned his head in surprise. And when he saw Altair and Nadia covered in blood, his expression hardened.

“Patient this way.”

There was no need for a long explanation. The physician quickly pointed to an empty bed and prepared a treatment kit. Right away, Altair silently followed his instructions and put Nadia down on the bed.

“She injured her head when the carriage was overturned by the beast. I tried to stop her bleeding, but the blood loss was too much that she passed out.”

“…You did a very good job of stopping the bleeding. It was of high technique.”

There was a strange hint in the doctor’s words, and Altair knew right away that it wasn’t just a compliment. He trained with the sword as a knight and was able to perform all kinds of first aid, but it seemed that his proficiency had been captured by an expert physician.

“… I am a knight belonging to the Calthas regular army, so I know how to stop bleeding.”

Altair made an excuse with a moderate amount of lies. Since he knew how they were organized to fight against Lupes, he was able to come up with plausible lies.

“Oh, so I’ve thought.”

Fortunately, the excuse seemed to work, and the physician began to focus on the treatment, letting his guard down.

“The wound is long and open, so it needs stitching.”

The doctor skillfully moved his hands to sterilise her wound and finished the suturing. Perhaps because he was used to taking care of the wounded in the border area, his hand movements were so fast that Altair momentarily forgot the situation and was immersed in admiration.

“The problem is her consciousness… How long has it been since the accident?”

“About four hours.”

The physician looked at the pale Nadia with a grim expression, then turned to the warm-looking woman who had belatedly followed Altair into the clinic.

“Miss Ritti, I think I’m running out of bandages… Could you get me some thin cloth from the general store? Please tell them that I will pay for it later.”

“Oh my. Yes, I got it, sir. I’ll be right back!”

At the doctor’s kind request, Ritti, a warm-hearted lady, nodded without any hesitation and hurriedly left the clinic. Due to Ritti’s haste to leave, the door slammed shut loudly, leaving a strange silence inside the clinic. It was just the physician and Altair. They kept their mouth shut and not a word was heard. Altair was the first to move. He took quick steps and overturned the medical kit on the desk. At his sudden action, the tools contained inside poured out. Among them were bandages.

“There’s no way the person who was organising this up until a moment ago forgot that there were bandages in here.”

“…”

“Seeing that you lied to send the woman away, you must have sensed something.”

Altair picked up the scissors that were among the spilled medical tools and slightly raised the corner of his mouth. Perhaps feeling a cold threat, the doctor clenched his fists. Altair twirled the scissors and slowly approached the doctor, bringing the sharp edge to his throat.

It was a threat sharper than the scissors. However, even amidst a dire situation, the doctor stood still and looked intently at Altair. At that composure, Altair’s eyes also glinted slightly. The doctor, who calmly confronted Altair for quite a while, gently pushed the scissors away from his neck.

“I’m the only one who can heal her right now, so you wouldn’t hurt me, Baron Aylesford.”

The true identity of Altair came out of his mouth without false.