CHAPTER 135………………………………………….
The journey to pursue the Demon King was nothing short of grueling.
We had to avoid traps dug by demons everywhere and fight off beasts that ambushed us every other day.
The expedition party inevitably grew exhausted.
With the relentless march day after day, fatigue accumulated without any chance to rest.
As fatigue increased, so did the number of injuries.
Even Owen seemed to reach his limit—he no longer healed silently like before.
Instead, he scolded endlessly, and unless the injuries were severe, he delayed treatment considerably.
The person who received the most scolding was Leonhart.
He always took down the highest number of monsters in battle. Naturally, frequent injuries followed.
As soon as we entered the barracks, Owen stopped abruptly.
Leonhart lay face down on a camp bed, the middle of his densely muscled back deeply gouged by a demon’s claw.
Adela, inspecting Leonhart with a worried expression, brightened upon seeing Owen.
“Owen, you’re here? Check on Leona for me.”
“Adela, are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine. How about Leona’s back? No scars, right?”
“What does it matter if there are scars? Considering how recklessly he uses his body, it’d be stranger if there were none.”
Adela fell silent at Owen’s sarcasm, sensing his tension.
Lately, the number of injuries had increased, making Owen extremely tense, and Adela’s naivety only made it worse.
She gently let go of Leonhart’s hand and stepped back quietly, ignoring his pitiful gaze.
Honestly, Leonhart deserved a scolding. While everyone else fought one monster at a time, he tried to tackle five by himself—no wonder he got hurt.
Owen looked down at Leonhart with an expressionless face.
“Your Highness, you’re hurt again. I asked you just three hours ago to be careful.”
“Hmm, Owen…”
“How many times must I say it? Your life is not unlimited.”
Ruspell, sitting in a chair and tapping his feet, chuckled.
“Judging by what you’ve been doing lately, even ten lives wouldn’t be enough.”
“Why don’t you ever listen? Are your ears blocked?”
Ruspell chuckled at Owen’s uncharacteristically rough words.
“Do you ask because you don’t know? You trust him, so he keeps overdoing it. Even if he gets hurt, you heal him perfectly, so he doesn’t need to defend himself.”
Indeed, the party members acted carelessly because they trusted Owen to heal them. His divine power was both a blessing and a curse.
Finally unable to hold back, Owen shouted.
“Do you think my divine power flows endlessly? I heal him, and he gets hurt again! I scrape together my depleted energy to heal him, and he gets hurt again! How many times a day do you get injured? Have you no conscience?!”
“……”
“And the larger the wound, the more divine energy it consumes! Do you understand what that means? When I heal you, someone else goes without!”
“……”
“That’s why I told you, if it’s a claw, it’s better to just let it pierce you! Even a Sword Master can’t handle that?”
‘Wow, he’s really blown up. You better calm him down.’
Ruspell mouthed this to Adela. Leonhart sent her a pleading look for help.
‘Why does everyone always want me to intervene? You do it!’
Adela hesitated briefly but had no choice. Only she could calm angry Owen.
“Owen, Leona wanted to listen to you, but if he made a mistake and got stabbed in a vital spot, you’d suffer more. That’s why he didn’t.”
But Owen’s anger didn’t subside; he twisted his mouth bitterly.
“Really? Fine, I’ll tell you then.”
“Huh? Tell us what?”
“The spots where you can be pierced without dying. I’ll show you.”
“…There really is such a spot?”
Owen pointed to his own body to indicate the location.
Everyone stared in disbelief at his side.
“Between the navel and the flank—one-fifth the way. If pierced there, you’ll feel extreme pain and bleed heavily until fainting, but you won’t die instantly. Organs could tear, sure, but it won’t be fatal right away. You’d writhe in agony for half a day, then die slowly if untreated.”
“…Hell…”
“Meaning, if healed within half a day, you’ll survive. Small wounds consume less healing energy, so it’s economical too.”
Everyone in the barracks realized something.
From now on, any injuries would be treated only when near death.
Eventually, Leonhart admitted defeat.
“Owen, I was wrong. I won’t get hurt again.”
After that, his injuries significantly decreased.
Leonhart was moved to the Third Prince’s palace.
Thanks to Owen’s timely healing, he survived the critical situation, but having lost so much blood, he needed rest for some time.
Ruspell and Owen took care of him, but effectively he was under confinement.
Royal knights were stationed outside his room, and even the steward could not enter.
After half a day trapped without news of the outside, the emperor appeared at the bedroom door.
Seeing Ruspell and Owen, he clicked his tongue in displeasure.
“Look at you, gathering together after being used and abandoned. Well done.”
Ruspell and Owen bowed awkwardly.
The emperor’s gaze then fell on Leonhart’s sleeping face.
“You fool.”
Though deceived by a dark sorceress and giving both his heart and body, seeing his pale face brought no comfort.
“Why haven’t you recovered your senses? You were only stabbed in the abdomen! And you got healed immediately, right?”
“He lost a lot of blood… A few days of rest will suffice, Your Majesty. Do not worry.”
“When did I worry? I asked because I was appalled you collapsed from a mere stab!”
“……”
Unlike Owen, who was too embarrassed to speak, Ruspell looked thoroughly dissatisfied.
“Your Majesty, do you think a Sword Master is immortal? How can he be fine with a hole in his abdomen?”
Owen tried to restrain Ruspell’s arm, but the emperor had already heard everything.
The emperor’s face turned crimson as he roared.
“Can’t you shut your mouth? Why answer back every time?!”
“What did we do wrong this time…?”
“Wrong? Do you call that wrong? The First Prince is inciting the nobles to punish you! You may claim you were used by the Duke, but that won’t absolve you!”
“Then punish us or don’t—do as you please. We could just go into exile in another country anyway.”
“Who will protect this one if not for you?”
“Ah…”
Both stared blankly, and the emperor shook his head.
“Now I understand why the Duke abandoned you. Even with talent, what can you do? With such short-sighted thinking.”
“…We’re sorry. We didn’t think that far.”
“The one son I liked is in this state, and your so-called friends are incompetent… Who would I trust with the empire?”
A deep weariness emanated from the emperor.
Owen spoke cautiously.
“Your Majesty, we don’t know what’s happening outside. Is the situation that serious?”
“The First Prince seems determined. At first, he insisted on punishing anyone who helped Leonhart.”
“Punish the helpers?”
Anyone who hired or aided a dark sorceress would lose all property and face lifelong forced labor—this was the ‘punishment for helpers.’
Of course, since Leonhart was a prince, he would avoid labor, but for Sieghrit, this was a major victory.
Owen and Ruspell nodded; they had expected this.
“Fortunately, Duke Ibrante stabbed Leonhart and fled. In the process, he even took his adopted daughter Piace hostage. Punishing Leonhart made no sense.”
So Sieghrit changed tactics.
He painted Leonhart as an incompetent man, abandoned after being used by a woman.
“When public opinion didn’t go his way, he switched strategy. The method doesn’t matter to the First Prince. As long as he removes you from the crown race, success is guaranteed.”
“Exactly. He also took the chance to humiliate you, bewitched by the Duke’s appearance.”
Ruspell snorted.
“Are they blind? How do we look like people who’d fall for that?”
“Better than being accused of siding with a dark sorceress, right?”
The emperor, silencing Ruspell instantly, sighed deeply.
“When I heard the Duke caused this injury, do you know what I thought?”
“……”
“I was grateful it wasn’t worse. Otherwise, you’d all be in prison now. Never thought I’d thank a dark sorceress in my life.”
The emperor, laughing wearily, tilted his head.
“Still, one thing puzzles me.”
“What’s that?”
“Why did the Duke attack him?”
“I told the First Prince, didn’t you receive the report?”
“You mean, he attacked because following a Sword Master is troublesome?”
“You’ve heard everything—what are you really curious about?”
“How could he follow someone who instantly teleported? Does a Sword Master even have that ability?”
“……”
“In my opinion, the Duke intentionally injured him—afraid he might be accused of conspiring with the Duke.”
The emperor was shrewd.
Ruspell felt a cold sweat run down his spine at how close the deduction was to the truth.
“Be honest. Did you truly not know?”
“Uh… know what?”
“That the Duke is a dark sorceress.”
Ruspell and Owen’s eyes met briefly, a flicker of shock passing between them.
