Chapter 18

‘It’s Altair!’

Though his face was obscured by the deep hood, his imposing presence and chilling voice were enough to identify him as Altair.

‘You’ve returned safely…!’

I had been worried that the wish bracelet would break, but fortunately, he didn’t seem to be seriously injured. His voice was merely lower than usual, showing no signs of pain, and his gait was normal.

‘It must have been my clumsy craftsmanship that broke the bracelet.’

I sighed with relief. At that moment, Lord Galad, who had been holding my wrist, tightened his grip, causing an immense pain to surge through me.

“Ouch!”

“W-welcome back, Lord Eilsford!”

Lord Galad, who had been shouting confidently just moments ago, suddenly fumbled and released my hand as if throwing it away. Pushed by his immense force, I stumbled and fell to the ground.

‘Ouch…’

As I massaged my roughly grabbed wrist and frowned, a massive shadow loomed over me. It was Altair. He had already removed his deep hood and was glaring fiercely at Lord Galad.

“Lord Galad. To come to a house without an owner and cause a ruckus—have you lost your mind?”

“Y-You’re back early, my lord!”

Lord Galad wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief from his pocket, carefully gauging Altair’s reaction. Even the overbearing Lord Galad seemed to find Altair intimidating.

“Why don’t you explain why you’re here, Lord? The reason you shouted at my knights and treated my wife so rudely. You need to give a proper explanation.”

“Eek!”

Lord Galad took a step back in fear. Despite the solid line of soldiers from the Galad region behind him, he was trembling and shivering under Altair’s gaze.

“You said the lord wouldn’t return, didn’t you? And if he did, he would be seriously injured?”

Lord Galad grabbed a man among the soldiers and began to complain. Though he thought he was whispering, his voice was clear enough for even me, with my not-so-keen hearing, to hear. It was likely that everyone present had heard his words.

“We came here thinking that without the lord, we could take the magic stone mine, but this guy is, is, is, perfectly fine!”

“He, he, he, he said he was going to hunt a dragon alone! It, it, it, it’s practically suicide to hunt such a strong dragon alone…”

As Altair listened to the two men trembling and talking, he let out a hollow laugh and drew his sword from his waist. The cold sound of the sword being drawn made the lord and the man turn pale and fall silent.

“Blan.”

“Yes.”

Altair, keeping his eyes on the two men, asked Blan.

“Invading another’s territory with troops without permission is tantamount to a declaration of war, isn’t it?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Then, cutting off the invader’s head here would be self-defense.”

“Yes, a very legal… defense.”

Blan emphasized the word ‘legal’ as he drew his sword from his waist. As if this was a signal, the knights of Eilsford, who had been surrounding the area, began to draw their swords one by one. The cold sound of swords being drawn from all directions made Lord Galad tremble and turn around. He seemed ready to run, but Altair was faster, grabbing his shoulder.

“Eek!”

“Where are you going? Huh?”

“I-I’m sorry! I made a mistake! It won’t happen again!”

“You should apologize to my wife, not me.”

At Altair’s words, Lord Galad looked at me, who was sitting on the ground, and waved his hand loosely.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“A more sincere apology is needed, my lord.”

Altair, with a polite tone, kicked the back of Lord Galad’s knee. Lord Galad’s legs buckled, and he knelt before me. His face, red with shame, was visible to everyone watching. Of course, Altair didn’t show any sympathy.

“You haven’t apologized yet, have you?”

“…I’m sorry. I made a mistake. It won’t happen again.”

Lord Galad whispered his apology and quickly stood up. Though his legs were trembling from fear or shame, he fled with surprising speed. He even stumbled and rolled on the ground but quickly got up and ran away. Altair didn’t bother to chase after him. It seemed he had no intention of confronting him from the beginning.

“Will he be alright? He’s still a lord…”

As I stood up and brushed the dirt off my skirt, Altair frowned and sheathed his sword.

“He’s a coward who doesn’t have the courage to face a fight. That’s why he came to an unguarded house and caused a ruckus. The dogs guarding the house couldn’t even properly deal with him.”

Altair’s cold gaze turned to the knights. The knights, who received his gaze, bowed their heads deeply, as if they had no words to say even if they had ten mouths.

“Since you failed to do your job, you will all be punished. Go inside and reflect on your actions.”

“Yes, my lord.”

The knights bowed with stern faces. Even Cain, who was usually cheerful, was rigid. However, the person who should have been blamed was not the knights. When the lord was away, I, as the lord’s wife, should have properly guarded the house. But my response was a complete failure. Instead of showing the dignity of a lady, I was overpowered by the lord and rolled on the ground.

“I’m sorry!”

I bowed to Altair as I stood up. I could feel his intense gaze on my head, making it hard for me to speak.

“I was here… but I couldn’t handle the situation properly…”

“…”

I thought he would be angry with me like he was with the knights, but Altair showed no reaction. Curious, I cautiously lifted my head to find that Altair was already right in front of me. Surprised, I tried to step back, but Altair grabbed my wrist.

“You’ll have a bruise. You should apply some medicine.”

“It’s just a wrist grab.”

“True, but look at the bruise marks. You’re really too weak to understand.”

Altair frowned and carefully examined my wrist. Unlike the rough Lord Galad, his touch felt somewhat gentle, making me feel strange.

‘But…’

As Altair got closer, a familiar scent tickled my nose. It was a scent so familiar that I didn’t need to ponder its origin.

‘Could it be…!’

I quickly opened Altair’s robe to find his abdomen stained with blood.

“Blood…!”

Shaking, I looked up at Altair, who had a calm face that didn’t suggest any injury.

“Ah. I got a little hurt fighting the dragon.”

“A, a, a, a little? A little injury doesn’t cause this much blood!”

Though I was about to faint from my fear of blood, I opened my eyes wide and examined Altair’s condition. The red-stained area was still spreading.

“We need to call a doctor immediately!”

“It’s fine. There’s no need to cause a commotion.”

“What are you saying! If someone loses this much blood, they can die!”

I bit my lip. My parents had also died from losing too much blood in a carriage accident. Their blood-soaked faces, with their eyes closed, were still vivid in my mind.

“Hey…? Why are you shaking like this?”

Altair wrapped his large hands around my shoulders. Despite the stability his hands provided, my trembling didn’t stop, and tears welled up in my eyes.

“L-let’s not do this here. Let’s, let’s treat you first. Okay?”

With trembling hands, I grabbed Altair’s robe and gently pulled. Fortunately, my earnestness seemed to have gotten through, as Altair, who had initially refused my suggestion, didn’t reject it this time.

“Alright. I’ll get treated or whatever. So stop shaking. Okay?”

Altair looked at me with a somewhat anxious face. I nodded and, with trembling hands, pulled Altair. My mind was filled with the thought of getting him to a warm and comfortable bed.

* * *

The doctor, who had been urgently called, cut off Altair’s blood-soaked clothes without hesitation. The large wound on his abdomen was revealed.

‘Gulp!’

I gripped my skirt tightly to keep from fainting. The patient was calmly receiving treatment, so the guardian couldn’t faint.

“Ouch. This wound is quite large. First, we’ll stop the bleeding, then stitch it up, and prescribe some painkillers.”

To me, it looked like a wound that could kill someone, but the doctor moved his hands as if it was routine. Neither Altair, the patient, nor Pavel and Blan, who were watching, seemed particularly shaken.

‘Why are they all so calm…?’

It seemed like they were used to such situations.

‘Ah. Looking closely…’

Altair’s body was covered with large and small scars, some old and some recent.

‘It must have been very painful.’

Even a small cut on my finger made me cry. If the scars were this severe, the pain must have been immense.

‘He must be in a lot of pain now, but he’s enduring it.’

Wanting to ease his pain even a little, I approached Altair and spoke.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

When I asked carefully, Altair’s eyebrow twitched.

“Does it hurt?”

“I, I thought I could hold your hand… When I was sick as a child, my mother would hold my hand, and it made me feel better… Of course, I’ve never been injured this badly…”

Was it too childish a solution? As I stammered, Altair twitched his eyebrow again and extended his hand to me.

“It hurts.”

“Huh?”

“It hurts. You said you’d hold my hand if it hurt, right? Hold it quickly. It might make it hurt less.”

“O-Okay!”

At Altair’s urging, I quickly grabbed his hand with both of mine. His hand was warm, perhaps from the fever caused by the wound.

* * *

After the treatment, the doctor gave some instructions: avoid strenuous movement, take painkillers when in pain, and change the bandages daily. I opened the door, repeating the doctor’s instructions several times to make sure I wouldn’t forget. Altair, perhaps due to the painkillers, was fast asleep with his eyes closed. Though I shouldn’t have been thinking about it with an injured person in front of me, the fact that Altair, who had been away from the marital bed for a while, was now lying here made me feel strangely emotional. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and sat on the bed.

‘First, I’ll take good care of Altair until he recovers!’

This is what a wife should do! As I looked at Altair with enthusiasm, his eyelids seemed to tremble. Of course, he was asleep from the medication, so it was probably just my imagination.