I Tried To Be Her Loyal Sword

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Chapter 249

I stared blankly at the river. The frozen surface reflected my face.

‘This would be fine for a water source.’

The river appeared pristine enough to drink without any special purification process. I could see fish swimming beneath the thin layer of ice, suggesting it could serve as a food supply.

The river was broad enough that it was difficult to see beyond it with the naked eye. I had to sharpen my senses to barely catch a glimpse of what lay beyond.

A flat area suitable for making a barracks, with a dense forest behind it.

‘That forest connects to the North, so it should be easy to escape if needed.’

In front, the river; behind, the forest.

This place satisfied all needs for food, water, and escape routes, making it ideal for the Northern army to ambush us.

If we could just cross this river.

“How deep is the river?”

“During the day when the sun is up, it’s only got a thin layer of ice, but at night, it gets pretty thick.”

Indeed, as the sun set, the temperature was dropping rapidly. At night, the river would undoubtedly freeze over quite solidly. Behind me, Julian wrapped his cloak around himself, shivering slightly.

“It’s likely they’ll try to cross at night.”

They had to come when the river was frozen over enough so their mages wouldn’t lose too much mana. The Northern army, having so few soldiers, would surely want to conserve their precious mages as much as possible.

“Do we have any intel on when the Northern army will arrive?”

“From what I heard earlier this afternoon, the last sighting was around the crossroads near Uterus and Pavlov.”

“In that case…”

“They’ll likely come to Pavlov.”

We had to prepare for an invasion urgently.

I quickly looked around. The light snow had begun to cover the frozen surface of the lake.

“The Northern army uses fire arrows. I have faced them once before. Considering the distance, it’s likely they’ll employ them again. We should set up barricades and protective magical artifacts in front of the lake to prepare for that.”

“Fire arrows… they can be problematic. But since there is snow, it’s unlikely the fire will spread to the village.”

‘Sometimes annoying snow can be helpful.’

At least it was something. I turned to look at Cassia.

“Count Cassia.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“I am ordering you to find the shaman controlling the monsters this time as well.”

Her blue eyes shone brightly in the dim moonlight.

“Do you think we can find them this time?”

I smiled faintly. This was the first time I realized how intensely blue could also be fiery, thanks to Cassia.

With a fierce look in her eyes, she thumped her fist against her heart and bowed her head.

“If you give me a chance to make up for my past failures, I won’t disappoint you this time.”

Her voice bore a firm sense of responsibility. I nodded and slowly looked up at the waning crescent moon peeking through the clouds.

The moment of battle was approaching.

After finishing discussions on urgent matters with Eunice, I sent the reinforcements to the barracks and headed for the village. I wanted to see the state of the village.

‘It doesn’t look too bad.’

There were no grand buildings like the capital, nor was there any lack of necessities. Having only seen villages crumbling under the weight of monster eradication missions, I was relieved to find it in better condition than expected.

Since it was already late into the night, there were almost no people on the streets. Enjoying a rare moment of tranquil solitude, I walked aimlessly until I turned my head at the familiar presence coming from a right-side alley.

“Feeling better now?”

“Ugh, I can’t get up…”

The low voice, sounding almost mechanical in its subdued tone, was surprisingly gentle.

Upon recognizing the face of my target to confirm the kill, I couldn’t contain my shock.

“I’ll help you. Are you in a lot of pain?”

A kindly-faced Jonathan was helping a child, who lay on the ground with blood staining the knee of his pants, looking miserable.

‘You shouldn’t judge a person by appearances, but… this is just too mismatched…’

Jonathan, who was being gentle with the child, reminded me of a devil carefully arranging a flower arrangement.

I must have missed my chance to speak or pass by as I awkwardly stood there, but our eyes met when Jonathan turned to look at me.

“Commander, are you finished with your business?”

Jonathan reverted to his usual serious demeanor and bowed slightly. I nodded, feeling a significant disconnect between his current self and the earlier sight I had seen.

“Everything went well. Why are you still out here instead of resting? And who is this child?”

Bending down, I smiled as brightly as I could at the child gazing up at me with terrified eyes. Startled, he hid behind Jonathan and peeked out.

‘Kids are always tricky.’

Children are more sensitive to danger than adults and tend to instinctively feel my aura and be afraid. I felt as if they would break if handled improperly, so I hesitated to approach them directly.

Getting too close would likely scare the child more, so I stood up and faced Jonathan. His grave look made the hairs on my arms stand up.

“This child got hurt in a collision with me. I was trying to take him home.”

“Ah.”

Given the child’s small stature, he likely took a big fall if he ran into Jonathan. After considering briefly, I bent down again to carefully make eye contact with the child.

“Would you like me to treat your wounds?”

“……Isn’t it okay? I’m fine, really…”

“I’m just able to treat it here right away.”

I pulled a glass vial containing finely crushed herbs from my pocket. In wartime, I didn’t have the luxury of time to gather and prepare herbs, so I always carried a supply of them ready to use for emergencies.

“I won’t hurt you. It won’t take long.”

I widened my eyes in encouragement. The child, gripping Jonathan’s cloak, looked around anxiously.

“Can you roll up your pants just for a moment?”

At my gently coaxing voice, the child eventually nodded and rolled up his pants. His shyness was cute.

“Wait a moment.”

As I bent down to reach for the child’s knee, Jonathan caught my arm.

“I will do it. Please hand it to me.”

“……You?”

“Yes.”

His hand snatched the glass vial from my grip. Even as he crouched down on the snow-covered ground, his expression remained stoic.

“It is the duty of a deputy to ensure that the commander does not bend in any situation.”

His tone was both indifferent yet considerate. He was an utterly unpredictable person.

“Do you know about the herbs? How to use them?”

“I grew up in the countryside, so I know a thing or two about it. This is Cassor herb, isn’t it?”

Despite the herbs being ground to an unrecognizable state, Jonathan immediately identified them.

‘It only grows in the Northern regions; not many know about it.’

I hid my surprise and watched his actions.

Wiping away blood with his handkerchief, he generously applied the herbs to the child’s knee and secured them with a fresh handkerchief. It was clear he had done this before.

After ensuring it was secured enough, he stood up.

“Don’t overdo it. Don’t run around and collide again like this.”

“……Okay.”

The child flushed red with embarrassment as Jonathan smiled slightly at him.

It was the first time to see him smile like that.

“I’ll take you home. Which way is your house?”

“Yay! It’s just over there!”

The child’s small fingertip pointed to a house not even 200 meters away. Was I no longer frightening? The beaming child waved goodbye at Jonathan and me.

“Thank you for your help! Goodbye!”

Kids are astonishingly pure. The innocence reflected in their eyes, which I never fully experienced in my childhood, always left me with mixed feelings of satisfaction and confusion.

While I found children challenging, I never disliked them.

“Do you like children, Count?”

After the child disappeared completely from view, I asked. Jonathan, who had also been looking at the child’s retreating figure, slowly turned his gaze to me.

“No. I don’t particularly like them.”

“For someone who doesn’t like children, you seemed to get along quite well just now.”

Recalling his chillingly new attitude, I wondered, and Jonathan’s dark eyes brightened sharply.

“Protecting and aiding children is the duty of adults. A society that does not protect its children deserves no title of civilization.”

Those words were heavy and profound. In that moment, his expression shifted slightly. I nodded without realizing it.

“Let’s head back to the barracks. It’s extremely cold.”

Quickly regaining his composure, Jonathan took off his cloak and draped it over my shoulders. I hesitated to reject it, but predicting Jonathan’s mechanical response about it being his duty as a deputy, I held back.

“Alright. Let’s go back.”

The sky continued to pour down snowflakes as if to overturn the earth.

The morning in Pavlov was beautiful. The sun rose over the river like a painting. As usual, I woke up earlier than anyone else and sat on the stone wall to watch the sunrise when I heard an approaching presence and turned my head.

“You’re quite diligent.”

Eunice approached me with a warm smile. I returned her smile reflexively.

“Count Shirley too. Why are you already out? You should take a bit more rest.”

“I haven’t been able to sleep deeply lately. Once I wake up, I can’t fall back asleep. Since I’m already awake, why not start the day early with Count of Crisis?”

He replied cheerfully.

After a moment of pleasant, non-awkward silence, I voiced the question I had held since our first meeting.

“Count Shirley, you’re not a swordsman, are you?”

“……How did you know?”

Eunice looked at me with surprise in her eyes.

“Your hands are a bit different from those of someone who wields a sword.”

“You’re observant. That’s right. I’m a spear wielder.”

‘A spear wielder?’

While most commanders were sword fighters, there were also quite a few magic user commanders. So I had assumed she might be a mage, but a spear wielder was certainly unique.

“Haha. You find that hard to believe?”

“No, it’s just fascinating since I’ve never seen someone who uses a spear as their main weapon.”

Spear usage was generally viewed as merely a subsidiary method learned while mastering swords. While its longer reach was advantageous, it was often seen as tricky to slash with, often leaving it predictable.

Eunice, laughing heartily, kept her eyes shining.

“Well, it’s rare being a spear wielder. Let me show you just how strong it can be.”

Her voice was filled with confidence. Just then, as my interest piqued and I narrowed my eyes, a thunderous rumble echoed from a distance.

Kugugugu, the ground started to tremble.

It was a usual response when dangerous things were nearby. With a steely expression, I turned my gaze back to the land beyond the river.

The snow piled on the ground swirled like dust as the land shook. The river was churning, and the trees swayed wildly. I focused my attention on the approaching group.

‘Ah.’

And then, as the outline of a figure became clear for the first time, my heart sank.

‘Zigmund, you bastard. You must be plotting something.’

The one leading the Northern army was the very commander of the Northern raiding party I had let go during our first battle. Hilda Vesto.

How many would die because she was still alive?

She constantly threw dilemmas my way.