DSLA 07

Chapter 7

“Please help me! Someone…!”

The man muttered in a low voice as he approached with one hand tucked into his coat. Lily struggled desperately, trying to roll her body away to escape. She screamed with all her might, trying to alert someone to her presence, but only an echo replied.

The man pulled his hand out. His right hand, which had only three fingers remaining, held a dagger.

“I’ll stop the bleeding for you. I’ve been cut plenty of times, so I’m good at it. Don’t worry.”

With a villainous chuckle, the man raised the dagger high. In the moment the cold blade glinted faintly in the moonlight, Lily saw a shadow reflected on it—black, ominous, and not the man’s own.

“Ugh…”

The dagger stabbed into something deeply. Lily stared blankly at the blood dripping before her eyes, then looked up at the man shielding her body.

“Are you alright, Lily?”

It was the young master who had opened that quiet, narrow basement door and pulled her out. He looked at her with tightly clenched lips.

“W-Why… how are you here…?”

“I’m sorry. I should’ve come sooner.”

Stuart’s cold hand gently caressed Lily’s cheek. His touch was careful, tender on her swollen, red face. But Lily couldn’t take her eyes off his shoulder.

A bruise from a slap would heal in time, but Stuart’s shoulder had been deeply pierced by the dagger, leaving a ragged wound.

Blood dripped from his shoulder onto Lily’s arm, and the thick scent of it made her dizzy.

“Your shoulder… your shoulder…”

Stuart paused, having just begun to untie Lily’s arms. The dagger was still lodged in his shoulder, its angle now altered.

Despite the pain, Stuart didn’t flinch. He simply held the man’s wrist—still gripping the dagger—firmly behind his back.

“Just wait a moment.”

Speaking softly, almost cheerfully, Stuart stood up. Though his wound widened as he moved, he seemed entirely unbothered.

“What the hell is this guy?”

The attacker hadn’t sensed any presence. Where had he come from? Either he could hide his presence or he moved too fast to be noticed—either way, he was no amateur. The man gritted his teeth.

‘Of course… things were never going to go smoothly!’

As Stuart pulled the dagger from his shoulder, a spray of blood splashed across the attacker’s face. The sticky blood trickled down his chin unpleasantly.

Only then did Stuart turn to face the man, showing no signs of pain—just calm composure.

“Heh…”

As the clouds cleared and the moon emerged, its light revealed Stuart’s face—silver hair glowing faintly and blood-red eyes. The resemblance to Duke Yvonne of the North was unmistakable.

“No wonder! The young master of the Yvonne family himself! I didn’t expect such a grand guest!”

The man scoffed. He had thought the boy was attractive, but to have even captured the attention of the heir of House Yvonne?

Keeping his distance, the man fired a ball of black mana at Stuart, aiming directly for his injured shoulder. The accuracy was impressive despite being on the move, but Stuart evaded every shot with subtle movements.

The man reached into his coat in haste. Stuart, in a flash, drew his longsword and slashed forward with a burst of sword energy aimed at the man’s wrist.

The man rolled clumsily to avoid the attack. In the process, something caught on his fingertip—he pulled it out quickly.

“If you ever find yourself in danger…”

It was something his employer had handed him discreetly just before he left for the North.

“Drink this.”

“What is it?”

“It temporarily boosts mana. It’s rare, so guard it well.”

The man had nodded obediently. A medicine to boost mana? He had his doubts, but figured someone rich probably got it from the black market.

He drank the potion swiftly. Immediately, his blood boiled and surged through his veins. A strained groan escaped his clenched teeth. Bracing himself on the ground with trembling arms, the man began to howl like a beast.

Startled birds took off into the dark sky.

“A mana enhancer, huh?”

Stuart narrowed his eyes, studying the man. His reaction was the same as the ones who had attacked Lily on her way north.

“So he thinks one dose is enough to beat me.”

How slow were these people to learn? Stuart couldn’t help but scoff at their foolishness.

Even as ridicule rained down on him, the man didn’t respond—he couldn’t. He had no presence of mind left.

“If you had that kind of power, you’d have joined the Royal Knights, not played errand boy for the high priest.”

Stuart raised his sword. The heirloom blade of House Yvonne pointed directly at the man, sending painful chills through his body. The fear of death overwhelmed all other senses. The man reached out desperately.

Mana poured from his body and wrapped thickly around Stuart’s feet. It slithered up his legs like red, sticky waves, gnawing at his ankles with an unpleasant hissing.

“Huh, at this point, a stamina potion might’ve done you more good.”

With a short laugh, Stuart stabbed his sword straight into the mana swirling around his feet. A burst of blue sword energy erupted from the blade, instantly devouring the magic.

“Urgh…!”

The man, still connected to the mana, coughed up blood. The sword energy was simply too strong.

The violent force tore through the man’s body, igniting his insides. The combination of the enhancer and sword energy was catastrophic. His insides felt like they were flipping over. The man bent over, dizzy.

“Is that it?”

A black shoe stepped into his vision. Stuart tapped the man’s arm with his toe.

“You really thought this was enough to take Lily?”

A wave of fury surged—directed at no one in particular.

The black shoe pressed firmly on the man’s throat. Just as his eyes rolled back, a presence appeared from behind.

“Young master!”

“Quite late, Sir Nathan.”

“My apologies. I was still on the errand you ordered…”

As soon as Stuart lifted his foot, the man fainted. Seeing that the intruder had been restrained, Stuart rushed to Lily.

“Lily… ah.”

Her face, bathed in moonlight, was a mess. Her once-red cheeks were now blackened and swollen so much that even the knight captain hadn’t recognized her at first.

Silence settled. As the captain bound the intruder, a sigh slipped from his lips.

Tears fell onto Lily’s unconscious cheeks. But they weren’t hers.

❀ ❀ ❀

When she woke, she was in a room. Realizing it was hers, Lily finally unclenched her fists.

The sky outside was bright. She stared out the window for a while, then quickly drew the curtains.

“It must’ve been the high priest…”

Who else would go so far as to send someone after her? Only the high priest.

Trembling under her blanket, she curled into herself.

“This is the North… The temple is so far away…”

She had thought the distance and the duke’s mansion would protect her. How naive that was.

Running her hand down her arm, she suddenly caught the strong scent of blood.

A wound?

But aside from the beating, she hadn’t been cut.

Fumbling around, she realized the source of the smell was her blanket.

It was soaked in someone’s blood. Still damp, it stained her hand as she touched it.

“…Young master!”

She remembered the blood pouring down her arm from Stuart’s shoulder. That deep wound, that overwhelming bleeding—and yet, he had asked gently if she was okay, looking into her eyes.

Her breathing grew irregular.

“Where is he?”

She hadn’t even treated his wound with her holy power before fainting.

She shot out of bed. He had fought to protect her. And she hadn’t even healed him.

What if something went wrong because of that wound? He had lost so much blood…

The gauze on her cheek and the wound beneath it no longer hurt. Her bruises were nothing, but his shoulder…

Lily felt faint.

A divine healing would fix it instantly, but because she hadn’t done it in time, Stuart must’ve been suffering.

She burst out of her room. Five knights stood guard outside.

They visibly relaxed seeing her walk out unharmed, but she didn’t notice. She grabbed the nearest knight’s collar.

“Where is the young master?!”

“…This holy power of yours—can it really heal deep wounds instantly?”