Chapter 109
Magic attacks were hard to predict their trajectory. And because they were fast and powerful, Raymond couldn’t avoid the attack.
He quickly pulled his horse to the side, but it was impossible to completely escape the blast radius of the fire bomb.
“Cough—!”
“Your Grace!!!”
Melas’s shout split the air of the battlefield.
Aileen, who had been hiding in the bushes and watching, snapped her lowered upper body upright.
“R-Raymond?”
She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
The sight of Raymond being blown away with his horse, collapsing onto the ground, and Melas rushing over to support him felt like a dream. Whether her ears were ringing from the explosion or her mind was refusing to process the shock, the loud noises raging all around felt as if they had vanished into a vacuum—she couldn’t hear anything at all.
“Ah.”
But a moment later, when she came to her senses, the noise of the chaos surged into her cochlea all at once like a tsunami. Realizing reality a beat too late, Aileen screamed and ran forward.
“N-No!!”
The sudden intervention of the mages instantly reversed the tide of battle. Kyle watched from afar with a satisfied smile.
“As expected, magic is the best!”
“Thank you.”
When he clapped and praised them, the mages nodded slightly with arrogant expressions.
‘They’ll retreat while taking the injured Raymond with them, right? Then it’s game over. This is way too easy.’
Kyle grew even more covetous of the power called magic. Just moments ago, they had been on the back foot—was it really okay for things to be this easy? It was understandable why the Magic Tower, wielding such overwhelming power, would covet the Empire.
He was just starting to think that hostages were useless—
When Kyle, who had been watching the battlefield, frowned. A scene different from his scenario was unfolding.
Into the chaos caused by Raymond’s injury, someone charged in like a wild boar. The sudden intruder scooped Raymond up into their arms and dashed toward the forest. Thanks to that, the rebel forces, following their commander’s orders, regained order and began rebuilding their attack and defense lines.
“What’s going on? What the hell is this…?”
As the Emperor, who had been smiling brightly just moments ago, trembled his fist in anger, the mages shrank their shoulders, afraid of getting caught in the fallout. Even the rebel forces, who had been flustered by the magic attacks, gradually adapted and began responding properly.
The chief attendant standing beside him narrowed his eyes, then shouted urgently. He had recognized the face of the one who had disrupted the operation.
“Your Majesty. That person is Lady Cowett!”
“What?”
At those words, he hurriedly turned his head toward the forest. For a fleeting moment, it seemed as though he saw pink hair fluttering in the air.
Kyle was dumbfounded. How could a delicate young lady from a noble family lift a large, tall man with ease? Just what was that utterly unreasonable strength?
‘Right. Come to think of it, it was the same back when we invaded Rus!’
He had been startled even then, but being busy with other matters, he had brushed it off. It was infuriating to realize that he had forgotten something so important.
While Kyle’s eyes were wide with shock, the chief attendant urged the soldiers on.
“Hurry and chase after the Lady! Search the forest thoroughly!”
“Yes!!”
And so, the Imperial army began pursuing Aileen and Raymond.
Carrying Raymond in my arms, I immediately dashed into the forest. Melas, startled by my sudden intervention, received a gallant request from the Grand Duke to entrust Raymond to me and lead the troops to the end.
But unlike how confidently I had spoken, this was a forest I had never been to before, and I had no idea where to go. Thinking about the enemies chasing after us, I needed a place where we could hide, but no matter how I looked around, I couldn’t find a suitable spot.
That was when I felt movement in the bushes over there. Judging by how violently the leaves were shaking, it seemed like there was a wild animal.
‘This is bad. What do I do?’
I fixed my gaze on the spot, worried that something like a wild boar might burst out. My fingertips stiffened with tension. But after a long rustling, what jumped out of the bushes was a small fox with pure white fur all over its body.
‘It’s a fox?’
It looked very similar to the light fox Gwangho.
The difference was that it was small, like a cub, and unlike Gwangho, it didn’t emit light. The white fox didn’t seem to be just passing by me by chance. It stared straight at me with its pitch-black eyes, then perked up its ears.
“Baekho. What’s wrong?”
I gave it a name on the spot. Since it was a white fox, Baekho. I wondered if the name was a bit too valiant, but whatever—let it grow up brave. And as if it understood what I said, Baekho hopped up and down happily in place.
Oh, as expected! My naming sense really is something. Hehe.
Feeling pleased that Baekho seemed to appreciate my naming sense, I smiled.
The fox stopped moving, turned its back to me, then peeked its head back over its shoulder. That gesture looked as if it was telling me to follow, that it would guide the way.
It seemed that people and animals communicated well in this world. With a sense of wonder, I hurriedly followed behind Baekho.
Hopping along ahead of me, it seemed to head deep into the forest path, then suddenly stopped. After jumping in place a few times, it slipped straight into a grass-covered area. No matter how I looked at it, it just seemed like a patch of bushes. I carefully stepped forward after it. Then I realized that what I thought was just a pile of grass was actually a path leading into a cave.
“Huh. To think there was a cave in a place like this.”
It was exactly the kind of place I had been looking for. A suitable spot to hide, not easily discovered by just anyone. Moreover, judging by the roaring sound of water pouring down, there seemed to be a waterfall at the opposite end. Perfect—secured drinking water and noise concealment at the same time.
“Thank you, Baekho.”
Baekho lifted its head high, perked its ears, then slipped back out the way it had come.
After checking the cave floor, I carefully set Raymond down from my arms. Thankfully, it was a place with plenty of soft grass, so I didn’t have to worry much about him getting hurt further.
Only after laying him down could I examine his condition in detail. Raymond hadn’t taken a direct hit from the fire bomb. However, because he was close to where the explosion occurred, he and his horse were pushed by the force and flung up into the air. Then, as his body fell back down, he was injured and lost consciousness.
Recalling that harrowing moment made my body tremble. I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them wide again to inspect him. On the outside, there were only minor wounds—no major injuries. But I didn’t know how severe his internal injuries might be, so I had to treat him quickly.
‘There was a waterfall over there.’
Fortunately, the waterfall flowing down the mountain was drinkable water. I first walked to the opposite side of the cave to fetch some. Just as expected, the deeper I went inside, the stronger the sound of flowing water became. When the cave path bent once to the left, the refreshing roar of the water dominated my ears. Water completely covered the opposite entrance of the cave as it flowed down.
‘Perfect.’
I pulled out a small empty bottle from my bosom. I always carried it with me, just in case. It was only about the size of a finger, but in a crisis like this, even that could be a great help.
I opened the lid, stretched my arm out as far as I could, and caught the waterfall water inside. I poured it into my mouth first and took a sip. After repeating this about three times, on the fourth time, I added my saliva into it. The water in the bottle, now imbued with healing power, sparkled.
Having finished what I needed to do, I immediately returned the way I came. Approaching Raymond, who was lying quietly asleep, I applied the healing liquid little by little to his wounds. I could see the torn and swollen injuries closing up in real time. At least outwardly, he now looked perfectly fine.
Next was treating the internal injuries. I had done this before, so it was okay.
They said that kissing was safer than directly pouring the water down his throat. Remembering Melas’s advice, I leaned my face closer. Raymond’s face looked peaceful, like someone asleep. And he was very handsome. My favorite was his blue eyes, but thinking that gemstones were hidden beneath his eyelids made my heart race.
I pressed my lips against his well-shaped, faintly red lips. Then, like inserting a straw, I slipped my flesh between his lips. Moving slowly to reduce resistance, saliva seeped out and began flowing into his mouth below. Thanks to drinking the waterfall water, the amount was sufficient.
Even in his unconscious state, Raymond instinctively moved his throat and swallowed the pooled saliva. After several gulping sounds, color began to return to his previously pale face.
“That should do it.”
I had done everything I could, so now all that was left was to wait. I placed Raymond’s head on my lap and leaned my back against the cave wall. Despite being a completely natural place, it was surprisingly comfortable to stay in, as if it had been artificially made.
As I relaxed my tense body with deep breaths and caught my breath, I felt Raymond waking up. After wriggling slightly, he snapped his eyelids open. Perhaps the place felt unfamiliar—he blinked a few times, then our eyes met.
“Aileen.”
He looked just like someone who had woken up in the morning. His voice was calm, and a bright smile formed on his face when he saw me.
“So I really did die. There’s an angel right in front of me.”
“……”
“If that’s the case, dying isn’t so bad.”
“What are you saying?!”
When I snapped at him sharply, Raymond’s eyes curved gently. Even though it was a serious situation, his smile was so pleasant that I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
Instead of sitting up, he reached his hand toward my face. Then he grabbed my chin, pulled me down, and kissed me.
