TMLHGCFTV 54

Chapter 54

The courtyard was a complete battlefield.

Kael stood in the middle of it. The werewolves kept appearing one after another, seemingly from nowhere. Golden aura flowed from the blade of his sword.

A severed torso split apart as it fell onto the dirt, and the creatures behind it trampled over the corpse as they charged forward.

They had no intention of retreating. Gritting his teeth, Kael spun halfway around and slashed to his left.

That was when—

“Your Highness!”

Kael raised his head.

All he could do here was trust Rosana and Seraphine and wait for them to return safely.

And his waiting was finally answered.

Rosana was standing at the edge of the roof.

She was wearing a dress Kael had never seen before. The hem below her knees was torn, and the seams had burst in several places, yet beneath the moonlight, she somehow stood out more than anything else.

Whenever the wind swept across the roof, her skirt billowed and her black hair streamed behind her.

Kael’s gaze locked onto Rosana.

Suddenly, he remembered a story he had heard as a child.

It was about beings who possessed wings but had fallen to the earth and could never return to the sky.

The priests had called it “corruption.”

Kael still remembered how the old priest telling the story had lowered his voice whenever he reached that particular part.

As a child, Kael had thought the story was frightening.

But he had been wrong.

Corruption was dazzlingly beautiful.

Rosana jumped from the roof.

It was an unreal, breathtaking sight, like an angel falling from heaven. The fact that she had thrown herself down without hesitation, completely trusting him, quietly shattered something inside him.

Her skirt, which had billowed in the air, fell back down around her.

The moon illuminated Rosana so brightly that it almost hurt to look at her.

She was undoubtedly a complete mess.

And yet she was beautiful.

Without realizing it, Kael stretched out his arms.

Rosana fell straight into them.

She was lighter than he had expected.

Unable to withstand the impact, Kael staggered back two steps. Even so, he held tightly onto Rosana in his arms, refusing to let her go.

For some reason, Kael felt as though this moment was perfect.

Rosana slowly pulled herself away from him.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

Rosana flashed him a grin, hopped down, and drew her sword.

Then she turned toward Kael and cheerfully declared,

“Reinforcements have arrived!”

Kael burst into hearty laughter before he even realized it.

Apparently, his fallen angel belonged on the battlefield.

Seraphine came down after her.

She moved sideways along the eaves, transferred herself onto the top of the surrounding wall, then crouched and landed.

There was no time to stand around in a daze.

“We secured the key. Let’s get out of here now.”

At Rosana’s words, Kael nodded.

Now that they had obtained the key, there was no reason to waste any more time here.

“Retreat!”

Kael’s command rang out.

Unlike when we had entered, there was not a single moment on the way back through the forest when we could let our guard down.

The werewolves relentlessly pursued us. Their pursuit showed no sign of stopping, as though they were trying to vent their rage after losing their leader.

Just as we finally reached the edge of the forest while fighting them off—

“Aaaah! Somebody save me!”

Under a huge tree at the forest’s edge, Hald was fighting off several werewolves.

One of his legs was bent at an unnatural angle, and he was sitting with his back against the tree, desperately swinging a broken branch that he could barely hold.

“You fucking bastards! Stay away! I said stay away!”

“Hald!”

I called his name and rushed toward him.

I decided to take out the nearest one first.

I drove my dagger into the exposed side of its torso and dragged it downward.

“Gyaaah!”

The creature collapsed, vomiting blood.

I moved on without stopping.

By the time I cut through the second werewolf’s throat, Kael and the others had arrived as well.

Seraphine finished off the remaining werewolves.

I knelt in front of Hald and examined him.

“Hald!”

“Lady Rosana…”

“Is your leg broken?”

Hald panted heavily.

It was almost painful to watch a grown man sob so hard that tears and snot were streaming down his face.

There was no way we could treat him properly here.

I knelt in front of Hald and held out my hand.

“What are you doing? Hurry and take it. Do you want to die here?”

Hald stared blankly at my hand before grabbing it tightly.

I pulled him up and draped his arm over my shoulder.

“Lady Rosana…”

Hald spoke between ragged breaths.

“You can leave me behind.”

“Don’t say that unless you actually want me to leave you behind.”

Hald muttered something very quietly, but I heard it.

“…Thank you.”

Kael gave the order.

“Move.”

The pursuers were still following us from behind.

The exit was right in front of us.

We crossed the boundary of the forest.

Even after that, I ran another ten or so steps while supporting Hald.

“Huff… huff…”

Then I suddenly sensed something strange and turned around.

They weren’t following us.

The werewolves had stopped at the edge of the forest. They fidgeted restlessly, baring their teeth at us.

“Hald.”

“Do you know what’s going on?”

“Lady Rosana, could you… could you let go of my shoulder for a moment? I think my ribs are about to break.”

“It’ll be better than falling over. Your leg must hurt a lot.”

After taking several deep breaths, Hald answered.

“I’ve heard the old folks around here say something about it. Apparently, the beasts haven’t been able to leave this area for some time. They even call it the curse of the forest. But I never knew there were such horrible things inside. That bastard Callad. He kept something like this a secret?”

It was probably because he was after the Holy Relic.

Since he had failed, he must have hoped that someone—anyone—would come out carrying the key to the sanctuary.

“Then why didn’t you tell us sooner that they couldn’t leave?”

“I thought it was just superstition. There must be more than a hundred rumors like that around here.”

I let out a deep sigh.

At any rate, we had survived.

The werewolves could no longer follow us, and we had succeeded in obtaining the key to the sanctuary.

When I looked back, the eastern sky was beginning to brighten.

After helping Hald sit down on the ground, I bent over, panting heavily.

My entire body ached.

It felt like there wasn’t a single part of me that didn’t hurt.

It had been an incredibly intense battle.

I staggered without realizing it, and Seraphine hurried over.

“Lady Rosana!”

“I’m fine. My legs just gave out a little.”

“You’re bleeding, Lady Rosana! Forgive me, but I’m going to lift your skirt.”

“No, wait—”

There wasn’t even time to stop Seraphine.

She pulled me down to sit on the ground and lifted my skirt.

I saw Radan and Kobe sharply turn their heads away.

Hald did the same.

Kael, on the other hand, was staring intensely at me.

Or rather, at my injury.

I looked down at it myself.

A long wound stretched from above my left knee along the outside of my thigh, spilling bright red blood.

“…When did this happen? Did I get cut during the fight?”

Seraphine sighed, then tore a long strip from the hem of her dress twice.

She folded one piece and placed it over the wound, then firmly wrapped the other piece around it and tied it in a knot behind my knee.

After finishing the treatment, she spoke briefly.

“You shouldn’t run yourself too hard for a while.”

“Ouch. Be gentle, Seraphine!”

I was making a huge fuss over the pain that had finally begun to catch up with me when a shadow fell over me.

Kael was looking down at my injury with cold eyes.

“Can you walk?”

He asked the question with a face that looked strangely angry.

“No, there’s no point in asking. You’re going to say you’re fine anyway.”

Kael muttered coldly before suddenly scooping me up into his arms.

I didn’t even have time to object.

Nooooooo! Seraphine is watching!