TOPWL 192

“Don’t act like getting hit by one arrow is a trivial matter. If you’re going, I’m going. If you’re not, I’m not going either.”

Shane was in this state because of me. Shane frowned as Yudit stubbornly stood firm. And the enemies finally revealed themselves.

Three swordsmen on horseback, swords drawn. There were probably archers lurking in the dark as well. One of the taller swordsmen rode forward, pulled something from his coat, and held it up to the light. Then he looked straight at Yudit.

“Yudit Friedrich Adenauer.”

What he was holding looked like a portrait of Yudit. That meant they might not be from the capital or the palace, Yudit had been showing his face publicly since last year. Were they simply mercenaries? Could he even persuade them? Yudit’s mind raced, even with enemies right in front of him.

“What do you want?”

“My employer wants your head.”

He was probably a mercenary. Or pretending to be one.

“If you let me go, I’ll pay you twice what your employer offered. Three times, if you tell me who it is.”

The two men behind him glanced at each other. Tempted. But the man in front stood firm.

“No matter how rampant betrayal is, if we handle things this way, we’ll be the ones getting stabbed in the back.”

He raised his sword. Yudit bit his lip and pointed at Shane.

“This person has nothing to do with this. Let him go.”

“No one’s uninvolved after seeing this.”

“Right. And besides I got, uh, hit with an arrow.”

One of the men in the back tapped his forehead. Looking closer, there was a small smear of blood. He must’ve been grazed by one of the arrows Yudit or Shane had deflected. Strictly speaking , it wasn’t even Yudit’s fault, but he looked genuinely bitter about it.

“I should’ve coated it with poison.”

“Then I’d be dead!”

The two men chattered among themselves. They were relaxed, confident in their numbers. Yudit swallowed dryly. There might still be a way. He glanced at the arrow lodged in Shane’s arm and bit his lip.

“The jokes are over now.”

The front man slowly approached. Shane stepped between them.

“Remember what I said.”

The part about taking the side path while he bought time. Yudit nodded. Shane looked relieved, he thought Yudit was going along with it. He raised his sword high.

“You think you can fight with an arrow in your arm?”

“Maybe now you finally stand a chance against me.”

Shane’s calm reply made the man’s face flush red with anger. As the man lunged at Shane, Yudit began to run toward the horses. The man shouted at the two behind him.

“Stop him!”

The two in the back rushed at him at the same time.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

One of them grabbed the reins, thinking Yudit was trying to flee. Quick reaction. But Yudit had never planned to run.

He grabbed the whip tied to the saddle and cracked it across the horse’s flank. Crack!

The horse neighed and reared up in pain. The man holding the reins was yanked off the ground. One horse went wild, and the other followed. The two of them disappeared into the darkness. Yudit tossed the whip after them, silently wishing they’d get away, then turned and started running again.

“Shane!”

At his call, both Shane and the enemy turned. Their blades had already drawn blood. At a glance, Shane seemed to be holding up, but the arrow wound was bleeding heavily, he was running out of strength. As he ran toward them, Yudit released all the pheromones he’d held back.

“Ugh…!”

The man staggered.

As expected, he was an alpha. Shane, being a beta, didn’t notice, but the air around the man filled with the sticky sweetness Yudit had poured out. Since lphas could suppress people with their scent. Yudit figured he might be able to do the same, at least a little, and fortunately, it worked.

“You bastard!”

The opening was brief, but enough. Yudit darted between them and grabbed Shane’s hand.

“Shane, jump!”

Yudit held Shane’s hand and ran down the cliff. Swoshh, the of the waterfall rang in their ears. The enemy’s face twisted in frustration. But he didn’t give up. As he hurled his sword, he shouted toward someone behind him.

“…Tool loose the arrow!”

The arrow flew straight at them. Shane looked back and pulled Yudit into his arms, spinning mid-air. Thunk. There was a sound of something piercing flesh, but it was soon drowned out by the sound of the waterfall.

Splash. Yudit’s body plunged into the depths of the river. The current was so strong, it felt like it would tear them apart. He gritted his teeth and held tight to Shane. They surfaced. But the waterfall’s spray made it hard to breathe properly. Yudit looked up through his blurred vision, They were checking from above, holding torches over the cliff. Watching to see if the two of them came up. Fortunately, the area was dense with trees, and the current was fast. In the dark, it’d be hard to spot them.

“Shane, we survived.”

Yudit spoke in relief only for Shane to suddenly cough up dark red blood. Confused, Yudit reached for him. He felt a second arrow lodged deep in his back.

“I’m fine.”

Shane spoke with a pale and exhausted expression. He didn’t look fine at all. Yudit dragged him toward the bank. The river had narrowed, but the current made it hard to reach shore.

By the time they finally made it out, Yudit was completely drained.

Shane was heavy. Like soaked cotton. No, soaked cotton would’ve been lighter. Yudit reached the brush and vomited up the water he’d swallowed. Then he patted Shane’s back. His body was ice-cold. Yudit suddenly felt frightened.

“We need a physician. You need treatment.”

He tried to lift Shane, supporting him from under his arm. But they lost balance and fell. The arrow almost drove in deeper. Terrified, Yudit pulled out a dagger and cut off both ends of the shaft. They couldn’t pull it out yet, not until a physician saw the wound.

“Tou go first. You’ll be tracked if we stay too long.”

“No. If I planned to leave you behind, I wouldn’t have jumped with you.”

If Shane hadn’t taken the hit, the arrow would’ve been meant for him. Yudit opened his pouch, pulled out a dried root, and dripped a few drops of liquid from a small glass vial onto it. Then he placed it in Shane’s mouth.

“Keep chewing.”

It was a painkiller. The liquid was a processed narcotic, great for numbing pain, but addictive. They had to be careful. Fortunately, the effect was fast. Shane’s face eased slightly. Yudit slung him over his back. His weight caused Yudit lower back to ache, but he ignored it.

“I’m carrying you to a physician. No matter what. So if you’re going to try to persuade me to leave you behind. Just stay quiet.”

Yudit spoke firmly. Shane opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then gave up. Yudit started walking, following the river. They kept going for a long time. The path kept sloping downward, and Yudit focused all his attention on each step. One wrong move, and both of them would be in danger.

“Haa…”

He exhaled after finally reaching the bottom of a steep slope. Then realized, Shane hadn’t said a word in a while.

“Shane?”

“……”

No response. His chest tightened. Yudit shook him gently.

“Shane, are you okay?”

“…I’m fine.”

His voice was hoarse and low. He needed to stay awake. Yudit kept talking to him. Fortunately, the slope evened out, making conversation much easier.

“Don’t fall asleep.”

“Yes.”

But there was one thing Yudit had overlooked, Shane wasn’t much of a talker. He was loyal, yes. But not good at conversation. So Yudit kept trying to fill the silence. Until eventually, he had to ask:

“Don’t you have anything you’re curious about me?”

“…There is one.”

Maybe he felt bad for making Yudit work so hard to keep him conscious. Yudit perked up.

“What is it? I’ll tell you anything.”

“What did you write in the letter?”