Chapter 36

The surroundings of the Serio farm were overgrown with grass and weeds, thanks to the rain that fell beyond the boundaries of the property.

For the animals of the barren land, hungry for water and food, this place was a rich cafeteria. Lizards, snakes, rabbits, mice, foxes, wild horses, and even camels gathered here at night in search of grass, rain, or prey.

A male puma, injured in a territorial dispute in the forest far west of the capital, had drifted here after losing one territorial battle after another. Now, this place was the puma's territory. Here, he had no shortage of water or prey.

One day, several people were in the farm, where they should not have been at night, in search of prey. The puma, who was afraid of humans, let the first person pass and crouched in the grass to let the others pass as well. But the last person in the group noticed him.

This person scattered a unique "scent of fear" that animals marked by predators emit.

The puma, lured by the scent and the movement of the person trying to escape, was driven by instinct and pounced. He bit the person's leg from behind and knocked him down.

"Ah!"

When Meir screamed, Marks turned around to see a large puma pinning Meir down and biting his leg.

"Joachim, chase it!"

A person who seemed to be Hilde started running, and Joachim followed. Marks drew his sword and faced the puma.

The puma, growling while still biting, eventually let go of Meir's leg with a reluctant look, backed away, and disappeared into the darkness.

"Meir, are you okay? Hang in there!"

"Your Highness, I'm sorry."

Meir's pants were turning dark under the faint moonlight, apparently because a large vein had been injured. The smell of blood strongly permeated the air. Marks tore his shirt and tightly bound Meir's leg below the knee, then helped him up and encouraged him as they climbed through the fence, heading for the farm buildings.

"Someone! Help us!"

When they reached a place where their voices could be heard, they shouted, and a person with a lamp ran over. Meir, who had lost too much blood, started to shiver.

(Not good.)

"What happened?"

"It's an injured person. Attacked by a puma."

"Your Highness!"

Serio and Nathan joined, and the three men carried Meir into Serio's house. Meir, whose consciousness was fading, finally slumped and lost consciousness. The rain had stopped.

Alesia, in her nightgown, came out and, seeing Meir lying on a long chair, immediately brought a white cloth.

"Your Highness, use this!"

"That's... I'll leave it to you. I'm sorry."

Alesia rolled up Meir's pants and wrapped his leg with the white silk cloth, which quickly turned red. After a while, she gently removed the cloth, and a leg without a single wound appeared.

"Wow!" Ethan, who had woken up, was surprised, and Serio muttered, "To this extent." The women all let out a sigh of relief. It seemed that the people of the farm were seeing the effect of the silk cloth for the first time.

"What should we tell Meir?"

"Oh, right."

Meir was still unconscious.

Nathan said, "Let's say he lost control of his bladder when the puma attacked him," and took off Meir's blood-soaked pants and underwear. "For now, that's the only option," Ilda and Benita quickly dressed Meir in Serio's pants. Everyone moved quickly and without hesitation.

"Your Highness, you should change too. You have blood on you."

At Alesia's suggestion, Marks took off his torn, blood-stained shirt and changed into Serio's shirt. Alesia quickly hid the blood-stained cloth and clothes.

A little while later, the door was knocked on violently.

"Your Highness! It's Joachim! Are you all right?"

Hearing the voice from outside the door, Marks hurried to it.

"We're fine. Meir is safe. What about the other one?"

"He got away. I'm sorry."

"I see. Can you keep watch outside the door? Let me know if he comes back. I need to talk to the people of the farm."

"Yes, sir."

"Sorry for the commotion at night. Actually, someone was exploring this farm. We chased him here. He's a very troublesome person. He might have been looking for this cloth. If... if his father appears, our country won't be able to resist him."

After hearing the story, Alesia tilted her head slightly and said, "I don't think the person was looking for the cloth."

"Why do you think that?"

"If he was looking for the cloth, he would have come during the day to search for us. He probably didn't know about the cloth."

Alesia was remarkably calm.