DSLA 24

Chapter 24

The senior knights assigned to a different forest stood with their arms crossed, glaring at the entrance. The sound of urgent hoofbeats striking the ground echoed.

“We couldn’t even imagine something like that back in our day.”

“Well, we didn’t have anyone like Hegelstern back then, either.”

The tournament had only been going for less than two hours, yet someone was already returning — it could only be Lily Hegelstern.

The knights harshly criticized Lily, who, in their eyes, lacked both skill and perseverance. They made sure to lower their voices so the Duke or the Young Duke wouldn’t hear.

“She’s hopeless even in terms of attitude. She has none of the virtues a knight should possess.”

“If the Young Duke sees this, he’ll be disappointed too, right?”

“Then it’s only natural she’d be kicked out.”

While they exchanged their unfounded hopes, the horse finally appeared at the entrance. But contrary to their expectations, no one was riding it.

“That’s the horse Hegelstern rode out on…”

The vice-captain, who had helped choose Lily’s horse, recognized it immediately. Stewart, who noticed it even before that, was already running toward it.

‘What the hell is this…?’

The robe Stewart had handed Lily was tightly tied around the horse’s neck. That meant Lily was now left alone in the forest… with nothing.

Moreover, the horse was in terrible condition. It limped from an injured leg and bore wounds all over its body. Wounds that could easily be healed with even a drop of Lily’s holy power — which meant one thing:

‘She couldn’t even use her holy power?’

Stewart bit his lower lip hard. Without another thought, he dashed into the forest.

The Duke and vice-captain stood up to stop the reckless Young Duke — but just then…

“GRAAAAAHHHH!”

“…Th-that was… a b-bear…!”

A bear’s roar shook the entire forest. Without hesitation, the Duke and vice-captain charged into the woods. The senior knights quickly began to surround the forest to protect any onlookers.

“Lily…”

Stewart ran, murmuring her name over and over. It wasn’t hard to tell which path she had taken. He only had to follow the trail of blood the horse had left behind.

He ran faster than he ever had in his life.

‘…Should I have done something, anything, to stop her?’

His heart pounded wildly. He’d hung back because he didn’t want Lily to hear more hurtful things. He didn’t want her heart to break. But had that made things worse? Should he have ignored everything and just acted on his feelings?

“Please, Lily… please…”

What remained at the end of his countless regrets was nothing but self-loathing. Blood trickled from his bitten lip, but he had no energy left to notice his own pain.

And at the end of the path—

“LILY!”

Stewart’s scream echoed through the forest. It was so chillingly loud that birds scattered in a flurry of flapping wings.

The first thing he saw was a baby bear tied to a tree. Around it, traces of immense holy power had scorched the ground. And beyond that… the mother bear.

The mother bear lay dead, eyes wide open. She seemed to have been pierced through the chest, yet there was no visible weapon nearby capable of making such a clean wound.

But the real problem was Lily. She was clutching her shoulder tightly. Blood dripped steadily from it — the wound appeared to have been torn apart by the bear’s claws and was in a dire state.

The blood had already soaked the grass around her into a vivid crimson.

“Lily, are you okay?”

Of course, she wasn’t.

Her shoulder was drenched in blood. Stewart cursed quietly through clenched teeth, hating himself for always asking if she was okay and doing nothing more.

He crouched down, at least to wrap her wound with some bandages.

“Young Master.”

“Yeah… I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I…”

“I killed the bear.”

Still clutching her shoulder, Lily stared blankly at the fallen beast in front of her. When the bear had torn into her shoulder, a red light had burst from the wound.

As if it had been waiting, the red power surged toward the bear’s chest. Concentrated into a single point, the energy pierced the bear like paper.

Even as it died, the bear glared at Lily. She could still feel its hatred and hostility clinging to her fingertips. Shutting her eyes tightly, she whispered,

“The bear cried.”

Whether from pain, or because it had failed to kill her… she didn’t know.

By the time the captain and vice-captain arrived, knights from other parts of the forest had begun to gather as well, drawn by the screams.

The knights’ faces paled. A baby bear, a dead mother bear, and Lily Hegelstern soaked in blood, her white trousers and blue shirt stained red. The situation was clear at a glance.

Lily slowly closed her eyes. Stewart caught her as she fainted and quickly wrapped her wound with a bandage. But the fabric was soon soaked in red.

None of the knights present said a word. Not even Brendley. He clenched and unclenched his fists, biting his lip nervously.

Before the bandage, Lily’s shoulder had been a mess — words couldn’t describe it. But why? Holy power heals all. So why wasn’t Lily healing herself instantly?

“…Why…”

Brendley muttered. His gaze was fixed on Lily’s shoulder. Despite the holy power leaking from her, her wound didn’t heal at all.

‘That… that can’t be.’

Hadn’t even the mages praised the overwhelming strength of Hegelstern’s holy power? Then why wasn’t it healing her own body?

The bandage Stewart wrapped was now soaked through. Brendley stared at it blankly — and then, a terrible suspicion crept into his mind.

Maybe… maybe she can’t heal herself with holy power.

Come to think of it, even when Lily had been completely exhausted from training, she’d wandered the mansion like a ghost without ever using her power.

Back then, everyone mocked her for trying to look pitiful. But what if… what if she hadn’t been able to use it at all?

Brendley swayed on the spot.

Without hesitation, Stewart lifted Lily in his arms. Without a word, he took another knight’s horse and mounted it, holding her tightly. The captain also mounted up to escort him.

The pounding of hooves echoed rapidly and then faded away.

“All knights, assemble.”

The vice-captain spoke coldly, his face stone-like as he addressed the knights.

“Let’s find out… what monster wearing human skin did this.”

His eyes never left Brendley. Brendley averted his gaze, trying to hide his trembling heart. Cold sweat drenched his palms.

He swore on his name — he really hadn’t meant for things to turn out this way.

❀ ❀ ❀

She didn’t remember fainting, but when she opened her eyes, she was inside the mansion. It wasn’t her room or the infirmary, but she recognized the training yard and garden outside the window.

Lily tried to push herself up, but the searing pain in her shoulder made her clench her teeth.

“…Lily? You’re awake?”

At her soft groan, someone rushed to her side. Stewart was sitting by the bed, papers stacked high next to him. His voice cracked as he hurried out to get the doctor.

“Young Master.”

“Don’t use your arm yet — it’s not healed.”

“Thank you… for bringing me back when I passed out.”

Stewart didn’t reply. His shoulders shook slightly as he stood with his back turned. That broad back looked smaller than ever today. Lily turned her head on the pillow and shivered from the pain.

“Oh, thank the heavens. You’re awake, miss. Thank goodness, truly!”

The doctor, a Northerner who apparently believed in God, dropped to his knees and offered prayers of thanks.

“Will I… be able to use my arm?”

That was the first thing Lily asked. But no one had expected such a question. Everyone in the room froze.

The Duke, who had just entered the room, the Duchess, the doctor treating her — and Stewart, who stood like a guilty man in the corner, unable to meet her eyes.

“It felt like the claws pierced right through my shoulder.”

Lily’s voice was eerily calm. She figured it couldn’t be helped. It had been a freak accident, and she was lucky to have survived.

The doctor wiped his sweat and answered,

“It’ll take a long time, but you should recover enough for daily life. Using a sword or spear again… might be difficult.”

Lily’s face brightened. While that would sound like the end of a career to a normal knight, Lily — who wasn’t all that attached to swordplay — was more than grateful.

The Duke approached her gently and offered comfort.

“You’ll be on medical leave, so just rest until you’re fully healed.”

“Thank you. But who caught and tied up that baby bear? Even in a hunting tournament, how could someone go after a cub?”

Whoever it was deserved punishment. Lily furrowed her brow and asked. The Duke patted her uninjured shoulder and replied,

“The captain and vice-captain are investigating. The vice-captain said he has a good guess. Apparently, there are some people with grudges against you.”

“…What?”

What did someone’s grudge against her have to do with hunting a baby bear? Lily frowned in confusion.

So they hunted a baby bear… because they didn’t like her?

Lily remembered the thick rope that had bound the cub. It had been strong enough that even a sword couldn’t cut it. That wasn’t something one could just stumble upon. Someone had prepared it specifically.

‘When I entered the forest… there was only one path left.’

Anyone could have guessed that Lily, inexperienced with riding, would enter last. The last to enter couldn’t choose — only one path would be left.

The hot blood in her veins turned cold in an instant. Her whole body felt chilled. A mother that had lost her cub would naturally go looking for it — and if a human happened to be nearby then… and not even a proper knight, just someone with a bit of holy power…

“…They were trying to kill me.”