Chapter 41 – Maximilian
December 11, 2023
Cordelia held her breath and slowly backed away, even blinking cautiously.
‘I can’t die meaninglessly here.’
Cold sweat trickled down her body, but she didn’t look away. Her instincts warned her that the moment she turned her back, the monster would pounce.
A tense standoff followed.
A short whistling sound suddenly pierced the air—undeniably human. The monster turned its head toward the noise.
In that fleeting moment, Cordelia spun around and began to sprint in the opposite direction.
It hadn’t been long before a heavy thud sounded behind her.
‘That’s Belluce!’
After putting some distance between them, she turned to see the black-haired knight locked in a fierce struggle with the monster.
His sword had been flung far away, and Belluce was grappling the beast barehanded.
The tide quickly turned in the monster’s favor. It pinned Belluce down and opened its gaping jaws as if to devour him whole.
Belluce gritted his teeth and held the jaws open with both hands, but his groaning showed he was losing strength.
“Ugh…”
Cordelia hesitated for just a moment. Then, summoning every ounce of strength, she dashed toward Belluce’s fallen sword. Snatching it up swiftly, she ran straight at them.
“Belluce!”
As if understanding her intent, Belluce twisted his body, exposing the inside of the monster’s mouth to her.
Cordelia drove the sword into its gullet with all the strength she could muster. Her still-healing left hand throbbed painfully, and she nearly dropped the weapon.
A fountain of blood erupted. Both of them were drenched in the beast’s hot, sticky fluid.
KRAAAARGH!
The monster thrashed wildly. Belluce slipped out from underneath it and delivered the final blow.
He grabbed the half-embedded sword and shoved it all the way in. The sharp blade pierced through the roof of its mouth and emerged from the back of its neck.
“Huff… Huff…”
“Haah… Haah…”
They didn’t breathe until they were sure the monster was completely dead.
Strangely, the blood of the demonic beast didn’t smell as foul as human blood.
Belluce spoke first.
“Why didn’t you run?”
“Why would I run? I’m nothing if not loyal.”
To be honest, she had considered running away. She’d been angry with Belluce for the cruel things he said back in the boat.
But at the same time, she was thankful. If he hadn’t warned her, she might have been caught off guard and overwhelmed with betrayal. Instead, she had time to prepare herself.
“Hmph.”
“You’re the one who’s surprising. I thought if I got eaten, you’d just collect my left hand and call it a day.”
She was only half-joking. She wouldn’t have been surprised if Belluce had watched her get devoured from a distance.
“The master hasn’t used you yet.”
“Oh, so you kept me alive because I’m still useful. Fair enough.”
Cordelia nodded, accepting his logic.
“But how did you find me?”
“Some idiot was yelling in a monster-infested forest. I figured they had a death wish and came to watch.”
“…I thought there’d be nothing worse than a wolf or two.”
“Yeah, well. Can’t help it. Stupidity is something you’re born with.”
An awkward alliance had formed. Cordelia and Belluce walked side by side, keeping neither too close nor too far.
But Belluce began falling behind. Without much thought, Cordelia turned around—and was shocked to see drops of blood spattering the bushes.
The blood was his. It was flowing from a wound on his abdomen.
“You’re hurt? Why didn’t you say anything?!”
“And if I had? Would you be able to cast healing magic?”
“Maybe not, but I can at least stop the bleeding!”
Cordelia borrowed his dagger and without hesitation tore the hem of her skirt. She tightly wrapped the wound. Her weakened left hand made tying difficult, so Belluce finished the knot himself.
“You can’t die.”
“That’s my decision.”
“If you die, who’s going to protect me when the next monster shows up?”
“You’re shameless. Asking me to save you again?”
“When it comes to survival, shame and pride don’t matter.”
Cordelia spoke shamelessly. Belluce’s pace slowed until they finally stopped to rest beneath a giant tree trunk.
“How did you meet your master?”
“Why are you suddenly asking about my past?”
“Because I’m curious why you’re so obsessed with him.”
“Obsessed? Please.”
“Fine, maybe not obsessed. More like jealous of everyone around him?”
At that, Belluce glared at her sharply, but Cordelia no longer found him intimidating.
“I heard a bit from the master. That your father tried to kill you because you were born out of wedlock.”
“Nice of you to casually bring up someone else’s family trauma.”
“I’ve got a similar dad, you know. Mine sold me off for five hundred thousand Linkits. He wouldn’t sell a family heirloom even if we starved, but the moment he drank, he became a monster. Beat me with his fists or a leather belt… If I’d been illegitimate, he’d probably have killed me at birth.”
“…”
“So, how did you meet your master?”
Since she had revealed her own painful past first, Belluce hesitated a moment, then began to speak.
“I met him on the street when I was twelve. He was the brightest person I’d ever seen.”
“Really? I’ve never seen his real face, so I can’t picture it.”
“When the master regains his original body, you’ll understand what I mean.”
“Hmm. Now I’m intrigued. Then what happened?”
“When I found out he was the heir of Atilay, I went straight to him and begged to become his subordinate. Of course, he ignored me at first.”
“What was he like back then? The same as now?”
“He’s mellowed a lot with age.”
“…This is mellow?”
That was the most shocking thing she’d heard all day. If this was mellow, how terrifying had he been in the past?
Belluce slowly blinked.
“Even after being rejected, I kept following him. He said he’d take me in once I proved myself useful. So, I started learning swordsmanship—”
“You started training from then. And?”
His voice faded, and his gaze lost focus.
In truth, Cordelia wasn’t just curious about his past.
When she bandaged him earlier, she realized the wound was deeper than expected. And he’d lost a lot of blood.
She approached and slapped him across the face. Belluce winced and sat upright.
“Ow! What the hell are you doing?!”
“You look more like the one dying, not me. Snap out of it if you don’t want to get slapped again.”
“I’m not dying.”
“If you take too long to answer again, I’m slapping the other cheek.”
At her warning, Belluce looked annoyed but didn’t argue.
“Now, keep going. You said you started learning swordsmanship.”
“Have you learned how to use that bracelet?”
He suddenly changed the subject. Cordelia raised her left hand and looked at the bracelet.
“Huh? This? No.”
“The Treasure of Everad is a magical artifact with powerful ancient spells. It can only be used three times.”
“Only three?!”
Cordelia’s disappointment was obvious. Leonard had searched a whole year for it—she expected something extraordinary. But just three uses?
“Three chances to save your life.”
“What kind of spell does it cast?”
“Teleportation. Think of the place you want to go and say the activation word.”
Only then did she understand why it was so valuable. Teleportation was an ancient spell lost to modern mages.
Even the great Leonard didn’t know its principles.
Cordelia clapped with excitement.
“Great! Then I can use it to return to the village! If I call a doctor right away, Belluce—”
“It only works for the caster. Listen carefully. The activation word is Leonard. The master’s name.”
Cordelia instinctively turned around. She saw nothing, but a chill ran down her spine.
Why was Belluce telling her this now?
She stood up, her eyes scanning the surroundings. And finally, she saw them—at least five pairs of monster eyes, faint but unmistakable.
They had barely survived one, and now there were five.
Belluce had likely sensed them already. That’s why he was saying all this.
“Go. Now.”
“What about you?”
“My dream’s always been to become monster food when I die. Just go. If you die, the master can’t reclaim his body.”
He gave a bitter chuckle. Cordelia’s legs froze. Her mind screamed to run, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak.
Meanwhile, the monsters slowly emerged, tightening their encirclement. Cordelia gasped, her breath caught in her throat.
Belluce gasped out a shout.
“Don’t just stand there! GO!”
“I want to… I really do…”
Cordelia’s hands trembled as she drew a sword from Belluce’s scabbard.
“But if I run now, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
“What are you doing?! Are you insane?!”
“Probably.”
She longed to say the activation word, but the thought of leaving Belluce behind terrified her more.
Living with that guilt would be worse than death.
“GO! Are you deaf?!”
“How do I use this sword?”
“Oh, for—!”
Belluce groaned, dragging himself up. He snatched his sword back and handed her a dagger instead.
“I’ll give up one arm. While I distract them, stab one of their eyes.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Then how about you give up your arm instead?”
Cordelia promptly shut her mouth. Her trembling hand clenched the dagger.
“If we both end up as monster food, the master will be thrilled.”
“If he finds us inside a monster’s belly, at least he’ll avenge us, right?”
“Hahaha.”
Belluce laughed loudly—for the first time, a pure, carefree laugh.
But the smile vanished from his lips as the leader of the monsters leapt high into the air, aiming straight for them.
