episode_0030

A monstrous roar!

The enormous fur-covered mass began to retreat hesitantly.

Blood dripped onto the dirt floor.

Numerous wounds were visible on the bear’s hide.

Its fur was soaked wet with blood seeping from the injuries.

A deep growl!

The beast roared fiercely but dared not rush forward.

From the opposite side.

A girl was glaring at the bear.

Tia’s voice was low.

“…Come on.”

Who could believe it? This sight of a small girl, holding a single sword, confronting a bear.

Tia furrowed her brow and raised her sword. There was no fear in her red eyes. It seemed to hold only a killing intent, a desire to ‘kill.’

Overwhelming ferocity. Enough to make a bear much larger than herself back away.

Growl…!

The bear cried out in pain. Its eye was lost, torn open by a long gash, and blood streamed from its neck and chest.

The sharp shortsword, ‘Rose Saber,’ which had pierced through the thick hide dozens of times, gleamed, wet with blood.

Swish!

Just as Tia was about to swing her sword.

Roar! Roar!

The bear immediately turned and fled.

Her crimson eyes pierced through the retreating beast. Sweat dripped profusely from her rapidly rising and falling chest.

“…”

She could have chased it, but she didn’t. Tia remained still, guarding the spot until the bear completely disappeared. When the unpleasant, bloody smell of the beast faded.

Clatter!

The shortsword dropped to the ground.

Tia immediately turned her head to look down the slope.

“Rits!!!”

There, Rits lay collapsed.

It was horrifying. The thick blood blooming from his chest that stained his clothes crimson… anyone could tell he was on the brink of death.

Tia’s voice trembled.

“…Rits, no…”

He was unconscious. His breathing was uneven. Tia instinctively realized that the person she loved was about to die.

Rip!

She tore Rits’s clothes. The wounds on his chest and abdomen were exposed. They were deeply cut, enough for the tip of a finger to fit inside. Blood continued to flow from the wounds. She had to stop this bleeding immediately.

Tia put her hand into her pocket. As if she had consistently kept them for this very moment, her pocket contained bandages that ‘Rits had made for her.’

Tears burst forth from fear.

“Sob…”

With trembling hands, she unwound a bandage. She rolled it into a fist-like shape, then stuffed it into Rits’s open wound. The pristine white bandage instantly turned red, stained with blood.

“Please… please live…”

She took out one more bandage and did the same, staunching the bleeding wound. Her tightly pressed lips and gasping breaths were filled with the determination to save Rits.

Fortunately, the bleeding stopped. However, she couldn’t carry him like this. Rits’s body would shake, and his wounds would worsen.

She needed people’s help.

“You have to live…”

First, she dragged Rits into the bushes. To prevent the smell of blood from spreading far, she chewed strong-scented herbs and spit them around.

Next, she wiped the bear’s blood from the sword blade onto her cloak and covered him with it. This was so that even if beasts were drawn by the smell of blood, they would smell the bear’s scent and stay away.

“Don’t die… please…”

Tia left those words and ran towards the village.

Time passed relentlessly.

When it was almost dark.

A murmuring sound began to be heard from afar, and the elders rushed over with Tia.

As soon as they found Rits, they securely fastened his body to a stretcher.

“Rits! Dammit, how did this happen…!”

“He’s still breathing! Let’s go!”

The people ran with incredible speed. It was no exaggeration to say they flew down the mountain in one breath. As soon as they arrived at the village, they laid Rits in Shery’s bedroom. And when they lit the lamps, the horrifying tragedy was finally revealed before everyone.

“…”

At that moment, everyone realized.

This, he absolutely couldn’t be saved.

Rits’s breath grew shallower and shallower. The gaping wound across his chest, the bruises all over his body, and the messy dried bloodstains… he was as good as a corpse.

Everyone looked at each other with terrified eyes.

“What do we do? Has the Village Head-nim been informed?”

“Not yet…”

No one dared to step forward. How could they tell the revered Village Head-nim that ‘your son is on the verge of death’?

It was a serious situation. As it was, the Village Head-nim had collapsed, causing chaos, and now his son, Rits, the village doctor, was also dying.

It was an existential crisis that threatened to erase Brizden’s future entirely.

Who on earth had done this to Rits? A bear?

No. That was merely a terrible disaster happening in this sacred Dragonez.

There was someone responsible for this mess.

“…Tia.”

The elders turned around.

There stood Tia, her face fearful.

“Why did you do it?”

“…”

“Why on earth! I asked why you took Rits into that dangerous forest!”

Everyone knew. Rits was not the kind of person who would enter such a deep forest. He was always a boy who prioritized the peace and safety of the village. He never sought adventure.

That’s why they could entrust Rits to ‘keep an eye’ on that fearless kitten-like Tia.

But Rits had one fatal weakness. And that was, he was particularly weak to Tia’s requests.

It was obvious. Tia must have provoked Rits and taken him into the deep forest.

Like a grim reaper.

It was the same during the ‘Behemors Incident’. Ruyef had explained that it was all his own doing, but people didn’t believe him. They knew that the stoic Ruyef, like a megalith, would never propose such a reckless gamble, let alone even conceive of it.

Everyone had long ago suspected Tia was the culprit.

They had simply turned a blind eye out of consideration for Rits’s and Ruyef’s reputations.

The villagers had endured for a long time. They felt sorry for her, thinking perhaps it was because she had no parents, and they missed Helina, who had died giving birth to Tia.

They tried not to bother Tia, who had grown up without incident.

But they thought that after her baptism, when she matured, she would at least get better than she was now, and they waited quietly.

However, if it had resulted in Rits, ‘the Village Head-nim’s son,’ dying like this.

It had become a problem they could no longer ignore.

“Do you even know what you’ve done now!”

“…”

“Yes. You shouldn’t have anything to say, even if you had ten mouths.”

The elder’s shouts resounded loudly.

“Get out. Get out right now and somehow bring Rits back alive!”

“…!!”

Tia’s eyes widened.

In Brizden, no one ever yelled at Tia. Who could have hated this pure baby angel, who always smiled so brightly and vibrantly?

But the arrows of blame, once unleashed, tore her pristine wings to shreds.

The eyes of the people, who were convinced that all this tragedy and all this disaster had originated from the mouth of this ‘devil’ masquerading as innocence.

Faced with eyes filled with hatred she had never experienced since birth.

Tia was frightened and stumbled backward.

That’s when it happened.

“Where is the patient!”

The Tailden physician arrived. The physician immediately entered the room, saying they would check Rits’s condition first.

There wasn’t just one physician. A woman had come with him, and she identified herself as a ‘court physician’ before entering the room together.

The people went outside.

Only the physician and the woman remained in the room.

“Oh dear.”

The Tailden physician squeezed his eyes shut.

“All of his skin is gone. His body is cold, and his skin is pale. This will be difficult.”

“…No. Not yet.”

The woman shook her head.

“I don’t know who it was, but fortunately, the initial treatment was appropriate, which is why he’s still breathing. If we can stop him from bleeding any further, he can survive.”

“Are you saying you can save him now? I’ve seen patients in many wars, but when someone is injured this badly, there’s usually no hope…”

“I know. But we must do our best.”

“Why are you, such an esteemed person, going to such lengths?”

“This child. He is Amon’s son.”

“What?”

The woman said no more, adding no further explanations. As befitting her high position as a court physician, she gave instructions in a strict voice.

“Keep the room appropriately cool… and tell a villager to bring pigskin, and Doctor-nim, please prepare purified water. And make Enbus using the recipe I gave you.”

“‘Enbus’… that poison?”

“There’s no other way. We need to clot the blood quickly.”

Time flowed again. The court physician, with a cautious expression, began the surgery.

The work was done carefully and meticulously.

The bandages that had filled the gaping wounds were removed, and purified water was carefully poured over them.

As soon as the Enbus was prepared, it was poured into his mouth, and the time was measured.

Afterward, she selected pigskin, cut it into small pieces, covered the wounds, and stitched them one by one.

It was a very long operation that took a full day.

When the next morning dawned. The Tailden physician spoke blankly.

“My goodness. You saved him after all.”

“Fortunately, we’ve overcome the crisis.”

“You, you truly are that miracle…”

“No. I merely helped. The miracle was created by that child’s earnestness.”

The woman pointed out the window. There, a girl was huddled, her face buried in her knees.

Both physicians knew. It was quite chilly at night in autumn, yet the girl sat outside the house, waiting all day. She didn’t eat. All they could see was her clutching her necklace and constantly praying.

“Now, I must deliver the good news to that child.”

The woman approached Tia. She gently patted her shoulder and informed her that Rits was still alive.

At that moment, Tia hugged the woman and cried profusely. She cried so sadly that the woman had to pat her back for a long time.

Another day passed. The court physician called Tia aside.

“…Dienbus?”

“Yes.”

The woman explained calmly.

“There’s poison in this child’s body now. Because of that medicine, his blood flows very slowly. He’s breathing properly now, but he won’t last long like this. His blood will gradually rot, and waste will accumulate, causing his body to rot from his toes upward.”

“What?!”

Tia trembled at the chilling words.

“Even if the people here take proper care of him, half a year is the maximum. It’s not certain. Being young might make it even more dangerous. So, you must give him ‘Dienbus’ as soon as possible to remove the poison.”

“How… do I make that medicine?”

“I’m sorry, but it’s impossible to make it here. You’ll have to get it.”

“Where?”

“From ‘Deseo,’ where all things gather.”

“…”

The woman gently held the girl’s shoulders.

“Perhaps you won’t even be able to find it there. It’s a very rare medicine. But seeing your earnestness while you waited outside… I thought you might somehow be able to do it. That’s why I’m asking you this.”

“Ah…”

“To save that child. Can you do it?”

Just going to Deseo from here was a difficult task in itself. Moreover, going to Deseo, which was completely different from this kind and humble countryside, a hotbed of desires. It would certainly not be easy for a girl alone to obtain ‘Dienbus.’

Nevertheless, to the very serious question of whether she could bring the medicine.

Tia answered without the slightest hesitation.

“It’s because of me. Rits almost died because of me… I have to go. Please… let me go.”

The woman nodded. Then she stood up and handed her something bright red.

It was a blood-stained bandage.

“This saved your friend’s life. You handled the situation very calmly and well. Have you ever studied surgical knowledge?”

“No… I only saw a little in a book at the pharmacy.”

“You’re smart. So much so that I want to take you as my disciple right now. You could become a truly excellent and courageous physician.”

“…”

“Haha. I was just joking. You have your own path, don’t you?”

The woman smiled fondly and firmly pressed the bandage into Tia’s hand.

“It will surely be difficult. If it becomes too hard… look at this bandage and remember your friend. Rely on that strength to keep going until the end.”

Smoothly.

A sealed letter was placed in front of Tia.

“Lastly, this will be helpful when you reach Deseo. Please… have a safe journey.”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Tia carefully accepted the bandage and the letter, then looked down at the sleeping Rits.

Tears welled in her reddish-brown eyes.

“Rits.”

She slowly approached and kissed his forehead.

“I’m sorry. I’ll wake you up. I’ll be back soon… so just… just wait a little longer.”

And that day.

The girl from Brizden left the village.