Feeling the weight of the man slumped over her body, Diana let out a sigh of relief. Her heart, which had been beating roughly, also calmed down.

Diana lifted Rodrick’s heavy upper body and stood up.

They had to quickly get organized and leave, but everyone’s condition was too serious to move them directly.

One person, two people. Bern, who had laid out the seven sprawled men in a row, shrewdly changed into clothes from the knights’ luggage.

“Young lady. It’s too much for me to carry them on my back.”

It was obvious that even if they were put on the bear’s back, they would fall off, unable to keep up with the speed.

What to do. It was quite a distance for Bern and her to carry them one by one.

An ominous energy was creeping back around them. The forest’s movements, which periodically flipped, did not stop.

“It would be nice if we could properly use teleportation magic.”

At the mention of teleportation magic, not only Bern but also the intelligent staff jumped up.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Looking up at the hulking man with a serious expression, Diana snorted as if annoyed.

“I know.”

Rustle. At the sudden noise, Diana’s expression hardened.

“Young lady?”

“Shh-”

She raised a finger to her lips. Her nerves had become sensitive, and she focused on the unfamiliar noise carried by the wind.

“Sniff. Sniff.”

At the sound of sniffling, she spotted a wriggling lump in the darkness. A child who had been hiding between the uprooted trees poked their head out slightly.

As soon as her pink eyes met the child’s, large teardrops dripped from the whimpering red eyes.

“Noel?”

“Waah.”

“Is it a baby?”

The tiny child ran towards her and thump- fell over.

The sight was so pitiful that Bern’s thick fingers twitched.

“Noel!”

The child, whose entire body was grimy, got up without caring and came running to Diana. The oversized clothes kept slipping down, making the child stumble.

“Waah. Sis!”

Swoop. As Diana lifted Noel into her arms, the child wept miserably.

The body, which had returned to being 3 years old after exhausting its mana, was so small. Noel was relieved by the warmth enveloping the entire body.

Diana, who had turned despair on the brink of destruction into hope, had saved them.

The fatigue that was too much for the child’s body seemed to hit all at once. As if truly becoming a baby, Noel burst into tears.

“Do you know the baby?”

“Yes, it’s my younger brother.”

At Bern’s thick voice, the child whimpered and nestled into Diana’s arms. She soothingly patted the child to calm him down.

“Shh- Noel. It’s okay.”

“Wah.”

“But why are you here? Did you come with Rodrick by any chance?”

“Sis disappeared, so I came looking with mister.”

Diana frowned. Benci must have sent a butterfly with her voice.

“Didn’t you get my message?”

Noel shook his gray head. The message must have been missed or there was a problem.

How shocked they must have been by her sudden disappearance. Judging by their appearances, they seemed to have searched frantically without rest.

“Phew, okay. Let’s get out of here first.”

“How do you mean?”

“……”

There were too many people. She hoped the staff could cast magic again, but the staff remained unresponsive.

“Sis. I can use magic one last time.”

Noel, who had noticed her concern, spoke softly.

“No. I told you not to use magic here.”

“I can use it if that’s there.”

The child’s finger pointed to the witch’s staff standing alone. The staff turned its head as if avoiding eye contact.

What, it was possible but pretended not to know? How infuriating.

“Come here.”

At Diana’s sharp glare, the staff slowly approached. Diana gripped the staff tightly, as if it would crack, and whispered.

“We’re in a hurry, you know? If you act uncooperative again, you might break.”

At Diana’s threat, the staff vibrated as if frightened, answering in its stead.

“Now, Noel. What do we do?”

Even before she finished speaking, the tip of Noel’s finger that touched the staff- shone brightly.

The intense light, bright enough to make it difficult to open one’s eyes, engulfed all surrounding objects.

“Sis. Don’t worry even if I can’t wake up for a while.”

“Noel?”

In the crumbling halo, Noel smiled slightly, telling her not to worry.

Noel, who had pulled out mana to the last drop, entered a coma in exhaustion.

Flash- A flash of light burst and a teleportation spell was cast to the exact coordinates engraved on the staff.

“What is this!”

At Benci’s scream-like exclamation, Diana, who was recovering her vision from the intense light, was relieved. They had arrived safely.

“My cherished carpet is covered in blood!”

“I’m sorry. I’ll compensate you.”

There were eight robust men including Rodrick. All of them had serious injuries with blood still flowing.

The knights’ faces were pale from excessive bleeding.

Each and every one of them was barely breathing, to the point that it wouldn’t be strange if they died at any moment.

“Please. Please heal them.”

“Where the hell did you go, rescuing these things?”

“Aunt. We need to heal them quickly.”

Diana held the child tightly with one arm and clung to Benci with the other.

Benci glanced at Noel, who was sound asleep in Diana’s arms, and let out a deep sigh.

It was the dragon who had informed her of Angela’s end. The witch, who usually hated moving for others, decided to be generous.

As Benci reached out, the long staff was gripped in her hand as if being sucked in.

“I’m not doing this for free, you know.”

“Thank you! Auntie. I’ll pay for everything.”

“Don’t say such things carelessly.”

Thump- As Benci stomped the floor, a magic circle rose and teleported them to another room.

The sound of bubbling stimulated the hearing, while the intense smell of disinfectant and medicinal decoction tickled the nose, awakening the five senses.

Deep green eyes hazily surveyed the surroundings under fluttering eyelids.

“Oh my, are you coming to your senses?”

“……”

What is this, some beauty was looking down at me. Is this heaven? Am I dead?

Buzz, who had been blankly blinking, frowned.

It was a familiar person. The person his lord had been searching for so desperately.

Diana Beatus was beside him.

“Oh, young lady?”

What’s going on? I died. Then……

“Sir Buzz. Are you alright?”

“Is the young lady dead too?!”

Buzz, still dazed, broke out in a cold sweat and sat up abruptly.

‘No way. Is everyone dead?! Poor lord! He was so crazy searching for the young lady!’

The deep green eyes shook crazily as if there was an earthquake.

“Sir Buzz. Calm down. Does it hurt? The bones haven’t fused yet.”

Diana spoke calmly, trying to reassure Buzz who had sat up as if having a fit.

“We’re not dead. First, take a deep breath and calm down.”

Deep breaths. Only then did Buzz inhale and exhale deeply, facing reality. His burly body was tightly wrapped in white bandages.

Clearly, not only the muscles but even the tendons had been severed, making him unable to move one arm, but now his arm was moving according to his will.

Buzz asked in a dumbfounded manner, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“I, I’m alive?”

Although they had been cleaned with magic, the knights’ appearances were a mess.

Especially Buzz’s neatly shaved beard had somehow grown back thick like a bandit leader.

“Yes. You’re alive. Sir.”

“……”

Alive. I’m alive. Buzz roughly wiped his face with his bandaged hand. Along with the relief of being alive, his eyes reddened.

The crybaby, known as a husband, shed tears with bulging eyes like that. He couldn’t control the flowing tears. This time, he really thought he would die.

“Sob. I thought I’d die without seeing my wife. Sob. I should have stayed close to the young lady like Carol said.”

“Here. Sir.”

It was a rose-embroidered handkerchief Carol had made.

After working late into the night, his wife had embroidered the handkerchief praying for her husband’s safety, and the man’s sobs burst out even louder.

Diana got up from her seat, pretending not to see the tears of the man crying profusely.

The knights lying on the beds lined up in the room had also woken up from their deep sleep.

Normally, they would have cursed at Buzz and scolded him, but this time, they let it slide.

The elite knights of the 1st Knight Order. That honorable position was always a group of death, prepared for death.

That’s why they didn’t have lovers, wives, or children. Not forming families was for that reason.

Buzz, who always refused because he never knew when he would die, and Carol, who married him after her ardent courtship, were an unusual case.

When Buzz, who had always refused, finally couldn’t resist Carol’s sincerity and mustered up the courage to propose, Carol had burst into tears.

Their love story was special even within the knight order.

Therefore, they could understand the crying Buzz. Who would want to die leaving behind a loved one?

“Sob. Carol. I’m alive. Sob. Honey!!!”

“……”

“……”

As Buzz’s crying grew louder, the veins on the temples of the quietly lying knights bulged.

Their camaraderie lasted only 3 minutes.

“Hey, someone shut him up. This won’t do.”

“Argh. Have some decency. You bastard!”

“Ugh. I want to stop him, but I can’t move.”

Those who had been cleaned and treated with magic were not completely healed, but their lives could be saved.

Benci’s mana was not fully recovered either, so she could only heal wounds that were deep enough to show bones. She couldn’t immediately fuse broken or shattered bones.

After replenishing the lacking blood and performing emergency treatment on serious areas with magic, splinting broken arms and legs, and tending to the knights who couldn’t move an inch on the bed were all Bern’s responsibilities.

The hulking man moved diligently, meticulously taking care of the knights.

He naturally took care of everything as if it was ingrained in his body.

Bern, who was doing the work of more than 4 people alone, was standing in front of a door with a different color, holding a bowl of water.

Knock knock. With a neat knocking sound, he opened the door.

Beside the man, who he thought would be alone, was someone else.

In the warm air, there was a clear affection floating between the man and woman.

On Diana’s face, as she looked down at the man with his eyes closed, was the gentle smile he had seen before.

It was the first time. Someone with such an expression.

Her smile, which captivated his gaze, was heart-flutteringly beautiful.