The knights waiting for the Duke who had gone into the forest couldn’t close their mouths.

It was because of the woman hanging on Sched Lester’s shoulder like a deer carcass as he returned from hunting after hearing animal sounds.

“My lord! That woman is…”

“…She’s my prey.”

“What? A, a person?”

If someone else had said it, it would have sounded like a joke, but since it was Sched Lester speaking, the knights couldn’t take it as a jest.

Whether aware of the knights’ bewilderment or not, Sched Lester placed the woman he had hunted from the forest onto the wagon.

The petite woman in blood-stained clothes was curled up and shaking.

Seeing this, the knights thought:

‘At least he didn’t kill his prey.’

That was fortunate.

But that doesn’t mean this situation was fortunate for that woman.

The bloodstains on her clothes were vivid…

“Duke Lester! D-did you really shoot at a person while hunting?”

A knight’s eyes widened as he looked at the woman’s legs.

The blood soaking her clothes must have come from her legs, no doubt.

Though the wound wasn’t clearly visible due to all the blood, it was evident that bleeding was still ongoing.

“Even if you’ve just returned from the battlefield, this is…”

“Sir Hedrick.”

When Sched turned his eyes to look at him after putting the woman down, the knight’s mouth snapped shut.

Whatever had happened, it was clear the lord was in a foul mood.

“Medicine.”

Sched ordered curtly.

At that, Knight Hedrick quickly ran off to fetch medicine.

In the knight’s absence, Sched turned his attention back to Riana.

As he bent down and reached for her injured leg, her small body flinched and retreated.

It was quite laughable. As if she had anywhere to run.

“It’s better if you stay still.”

Sched mercilessly grabbed her frightened leg.

Then, seemingly unconcerned with her modesty, he tore off the long tights covering her knees in one go.

“Ugh…”

As the cloth covering her wound was removed, she grimaced.

Deep bite marks from a beast on her calf.

“…Louise.”

“Riana.”

When he called her name, she corrected him.

“Riana Serpens…”

With a tiny fist clenching her dirty maid’s uniform, and a terrified face.

Stubborn fear reflected in her green eyes.

“…Fine. Whatever the name, it doesn’t change anything.”

Sched tore the hem of his white shirt and twisted it into a strip.

As he tightly tied the twisted cloth above her blood-stained knee, Riana pulled back her body in resistance.

“It’s okay…”

Riana shook her head and tried to escape his grip.

She didn’t want to entrust her treatment to him. No, more precisely, she didn’t want to be involved with him. Because he was a remnant of the past she had barely managed to shake off.

She would rather be chased by hunting dogs.

At that, the purple eyes beneath his long lashes lifted and turned to her.

Just meeting his gaze made her heart sink.

“…I see. It looks fine. If we’re lucky, we might end up just having to amputate the leg.”

Due to his flat tone, Riana found it difficult to discern whether he was being sarcastic or not.

Sched rose with an indifferent face and detached a water canteen hanging on one side of the wagon.

Then he grasped her ankle again with his large hand.

“Bear with it.”

After a brief warning, clean water flowed over the wound.

Riana curled up and bit her lip hard at the pain that felt like it would stop her breath.

“Ungh…!”

As water seeped into the wound, the pain doubled.

Riana squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed a small moan between her teeth.

With the bloodstains washed away, the deep bite marks from the beast became even more vivid on her pale calf.

Should she consider it fortunate that chunks of flesh weren’t torn out?

It was a large wound that would make even a trained knight cry out in pain, but Riana didn’t let out a single loud scream.

Sched stopped pouring water and looked at her again.

Blood was seeping from her lip where she had bitten it to endure the pain.

“…You still have that habit of biting your lip.”

Her heart sank at his low voice.

He remembered a long-standing habit that even Riana herself hadn’t been aware of.

“You should break that habit. Unless you want me to treat your lips every time too.”

Sched’s voice sounded somewhat irritated at the end.

Just then, Hedrick, who had been away, returned with a box containing first aid supplies.

“I’ve brought it, my lord. For the treatment…”

“I’ll do it.”

As Sched held out his hand, Hedrick hesitated for a moment before obediently handing over the first aid box to him.

It was a box containing medicine and bandages packed for a long journey.

Sched dismissed the knight and knelt down on one knee.

Then he pulled Riana’s injured leg onto his knee.

Because the bleeding hadn’t fully stopped yet, blood stained his pants.

Sched, seemingly unconcerned about this, began to apply ointment to the torn flesh.

The moment his ointment-covered fingertips touched her leg, Riana’s body reflexively shook violently.

“Ugh…!”

“I told you not to bite your lip.”

He frowned as he saw Riana biting her lip again out of habit.

Riana disliked having her unconscious habit noticed by him.

But she disliked even more the idea of making sounds that seemed like whining about pain in front of him.

She tried to endure the pain without biting her lip, but every time his fingertips touched her leg, a pain-soaked moan threatened to escape.

Each time she held back a moan, her trembling lips involuntarily curled inward.

Then, long fingers gently rubbed her lips where blood had pooled red.

Unlike his brusque and cold tone, careful fingers caressed her sensitive skin.

“Hah.”

A hot breath burst out between her parted lips.

Startled by the sound she made, Riana hurriedly turned her head, avoiding his touch on her lips.

The hand that had paused in mid-air for a moment dropped down.

As if nothing had happened.

Riana covered her lips, where his hand had touched, with the back of her hand and pressed down hard.

Meanwhile, Sched, having finished the treatment, skillfully wrapped a bandage around her leg.

Riana found his touch confusing.

Even while grinding his teeth with hatred, her heart ached at his gentle touch.

“Stop…”

Riana uttered in a trembling voice. Sched’s hand, which had been tying the bandage, stopped.

Taking advantage of this pause, Riana raised her body that had been sitting on the edge of the wagon.

“Then I’ll be going now.”

As she turned her body as if to flee, a chilling voice held her back.

“You have to pay for being saved.”

Her limping steps stopped as if caught on something.

She had been saved from being chased by hunting dogs, and even treated.

Naturally, it would be polite to show gratitude.

“…Thank you very much.”

She finally found some banknotes in her pocket and held them out to Sched.

She wanted to sever her connection with him, even if it meant paying.

Sched sneered at the crumpled banknotes she held out.

“Just 3 dela?”

Sched looked down at her as he stood up.

His height was too tall, much taller than she remembered, making it feel oppressive just by itself.

“You think anything can be resolved with this kind of money?”

Sched scorned her for offering money that wouldn’t even cover the cost of one of his meals.

He was a great noble of the empire, owning vast territories.

Riana’s face flushed red with shame.

3 dela was all the money she had right now.

Helplessly, she had no ability to repay her debt to Sched Lester.

“But…”

“Of course, I’m not saying I won’t accept payment.”

He cut off Riana’s attempt to add an excuse and tossed the remaining bandage into the medicine box with a thud.

“I’m saying I’ll receive proper payment.”

He wasn’t the kind of person to treat someone without any plan.

[This is the timeline separator]

Sched took out a locket pendant from inside his jacket.

Click, as he opened the pendant, an old folded paper inside became visible.

It was a newspaper article from years ago, with ink having fallen off in patches.

Though the letters were faded, he could read the article title he had seen so many times it was worn out.

— Extinction of the Ideana Count Family: Met Their End Through Heresy Trial!

Below the bold headline were portraits of the Ideana family people, printed as woodcuts.

In the middle of the portraits, a young girl with a youthful face was staring straight ahead expressionlessly.

Below the girl, in very small letters, was written a name.

— Louise Ideana

‘As expected… it doesn’t look like her at all.’

Even when the newspaper article came out years ago, he thought it was a crude and sloppy woodcut.

The corners of his dry lips lifted slightly.

Click, the locket pendant closed in his fingertips.

Among things known as truth, lies are sometimes mixed in.

Sched had believed that lie for a long time.

[This is the timeline separator]

Louise Ideana, no, Riana was loaded onto the wagon like a piece of luggage.

Because the wagon’s canvas was completely covered, the outside wasn’t visible.

All she could sense was the vibration of the wheels rolling ceaselessly with a rattling sound.

Riana curled up small, clutching her collar with trembling hands.

‘…Why did he have to be there of all places.’

She had been constantly worried about being close to the Lester duchy.

So she had planned to leave quickly once she found what she was looking for.

But fate, as if mocking her efforts, dragged her in front of him and offered her up like a sacrifice.

Riana wrapped her arms around herself and shrank down.

Just then, the carriage stopped.

“Come out.”

As the entrance curtain was lifted, a large shadow backlit by light appeared.

Within it, purple eyes shone, watching her as if monitoring.

Behind him, a familiar mansion came into view.

Baron Godwin’s residence.

The main residence of the baron who had been the director of the Dunames Library, said to be the largest grand temple in the world, and the reality she had been driven to.

‘We came to the baron’s house…?’

Just as strange relief, odd suspicion, and inexplicable anxiety were overwhelming her, Riana’s body floated up into the air.

Because of that, even the worn-out shoe she had been wearing on one foot fell off onto the ground.

“P-put me down…!”

Riana was dangling from Sched’s shoulder.

“You can’t walk in with that leg, can you?”

“I can walk…!”

But Sched moved on, regardless of her resistance.

He headed towards the main gate of Baron Godwin’s residence with Riana slung over one shoulder like a sack of luggage.

Then a sentry from the baron’s house blocked his way.

“Who are you?”

The sentry with a naive expression asked tensely as he looked at Sched. The pressure emanating from the unfamiliar visitor was extraordinary. At a glance, he was clearly not an ordinary person.

Only, the color of his eyes…

“I have something to deliver to Baron Godwin.”

“To the master?”

“Tell him Duke Sched Lester has come.”

At that, the sentry’s eyes widened as if they would pop out upon hearing the name.

Translation complete. 100% of original text translated.