Chapter 155: Steady Heartbeat
Aideen pressed the back of her hand against Tillian’s burning forehead once more, chills running down her spine as the heat of her husband’s skin seared her own. The fever showed no signs of abating, and he remained unconscious, lying completely still as if ready to succumb to the dark embrace of death.
When the Raven Knights set out to search for the Duke, they found him to the west of the forest, on the path leading to another, larger village within his fiefdom. It was evident that he was engaged in a fierce battle with a massive wolf beast that threatened to attack the villages, but he had managed to halt its advance.
Beneath the wolf’s body, the knights discovered Tillian, his large black sword protruding from the beast’s broad back. Though the monster had been defeated, it had inflicted several deep wounds on the Duke’s chest and stomach. The long, wide gashes left by its claws were stained with his opponent’s crimson blood.
Duke Valentine clearly struggled to lift the wolf’s body off himself, but he was too weak to succeed and eventually fainted, utterly exhausted.
’And now he’s lying in front of me like this... Neither dead nor alive. It truly was a miracle that the knights managed to find him before he froze to death.’
Aideen placed her fist against her chest; the feeling of her heart contracting was almost unbearable. She could practically feel the same amount of pain her husband must have felt when he was wounded; simply looking at the deep markings on his body was tearing her apart from the inside.
The chapel’s doctor had arrived at the village in time and was able to stop the bleeding and disinfect the wounds. However, with the fever this high, he said it would be another miracle if Tillian lived through the night. Without the urgent help of a mage, his chances were as good as none.
Although Sir Noah, the fastest of the knights in the Raven Knights Order, was already on his way to fetch Ahspid from Duke Valentine’s castle, the princess still could not help but feel dangerously restless. The sight of her husband suffering so needlessly like this was more than simply overwhelming, and she could not help but feel completely responsible for it.
’If only I had let him go with me to the forest instead... None of this would have happened to him. If only I were not such a coward, if only I had not allowed my foolish assumptions to consume my resolve... All of this is my fault. No matter what I do, I seem to only cause suffering.’
All sorts of negative thoughts continued to drown her already feverish mind, making both her body and soul ache even more.
But one particular thought refused to release her frantic mind, pushing its sharp claws into the nerves of her very soul––what was the point of making such quick progress with different, now seemingly useless magic spells, if she still didn’t know the most important type of magic––the one that could heal.
’I am so helpless... I can’t do anything new without Ahspid’s instructions. What if I make a mistake and end up causing Tillian even more harm? I can’t stand myself right now. I’m filled with hatred for this very being that is myself.’