Chapter 15

In her current memory, though the monster subjugation was over 4 years ago, to her twenty-two-year-old self, it was just a year ago.

Her voice lowered and became urgent. At the same time, Benedict and Walter also guessed what was happening.

Benedict mounted his horse and extended his hand to Rudy, who took it without hesitation and climbed onto his horse.

“Walter, move out.”

“Yes sir!”

Rudbeckia quickly gathered her long hair into one bundle and tucked it inside her torn robe.

Benedict spoke quietly from behind her.

“Excuse me, Lady Diaz.”

“Yes.”

Though she answered gravely, she couldn’t help but let out a groan shortly after.

This was practically acrobatic horseback riding. She had never even imagined riding at such speed on such a narrow mountain path.

Even during monster subjugation, she had always moved slowly from the rear, and now she could barely hold the reins and had to rely almost entirely on Benedict’s support.

As she felt like she might bite her tongue and couldn’t say anything, Benedict suddenly shouted at her.

“Duck!”

“Ah.”

Though her vision was swaying, she pressed herself down flat for survival. Benedict’s body overlapped hers from above.

His solid body pressed against her back. For a moment, her instincts felt relieved as if finding a way to survive, but even that was fleeting.

“It’s alright.”

Even as Benedict whispered soothingly, she was not alright at all. Now his horse was leaping over rocks. Worried the horse might get startled, Rudbeckia remained curled up without even being able to scream.

Just as her body naturally trembled more as they climbed higher, Walter, who had climbed the cliff first, shouted.

“Your Highness! Over here!”

Benedict drove his horse even faster and more roughly.

Her ears had been ringing from the wind and altitude, but suddenly she heard the roar of rushing water.

Finally, the horse had reached the summit.

A vast lake and the large waterfall cascading below it came into their view one after another.

The relief of arrival was brief. Like the rushing waterfall, their anxiety also poured forth.

Rudbeckia, with the lake below her feet, turned her head to look for the group that had gone ahead. She immediately grasped the situation.

“Too far……”

“It will take at least 20 more minutes to go around to that spot.”

Rudbeckia narrowed her eyes and stared blankly below.

The monsters that had been sleeping beneath the deep waterfall were now revealing themselves above the water’s surface to drink human blood. It was a somewhat familiar situation for those who had been on subjugation missions.

Rudbeckia bit her lip.

Looking at the hair color and build of those lying by the water, they were Idris and Derek. The person next to them appeared to be Raziel, who seemed to be purifying the two who had been poisoned by monster venom.

In that situation, the other knights were continuously striking down the creatures with pincers that kept crawling up above the water’s surface. One wrong move and they too could be dragged under the waterfall.

Everyone knew from experiencing this at least once. They knew that if they could purify the water immediately, the urgent situation would be resolved.

That’s why it was strange. Currently, Irene wasn’t able to take any action.

“Your Highness.”

Rudbeckia’s and Benedict’s eyes met. Her red eyes wavered aimlessly. Benedict had also noticed something wrong with his sister, but now wasn’t the time to speak carelessly.

“What do you need?”

Benedict, who had dismounted first, looked up at her.

At his sharp gaze and calm tone, she also began to think. However, given the situation, only the most effective yet extreme method came to mind.

“I have what I need.”

Rudbeckia, dismounting with Benedict’s help, drew the dagger at her waist. The small black blade with an eagle pattern carved in gold was a weapon for self-defense that Aaron had given her.

“Lady Diaz?”

Walter called out to her anxiously, but Rudbeckia approached the cliff edge without answering.

She leaned forward and stretched her arm out into the empty air beyond the cliff. Below that arm, the dark blue lake water was creating ripples, and the waterfall spray was strong enough to reach them.

“What are you doing!”

At her alarming behavior, Benedict raised his voice for the first time. However, Rudy asked without even turning to look at him.

“I’ll explain later. Someone please hold me.”

Without even saying where she wanted to be held, she just kept looking down at the lake.

“I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but if Aaron finds out about this, he’ll kill me.”

As Walter muttered in confusion, Rudbeckia stretched out her other hand holding the dagger into the air.

“Your Highness, just in case! Lady Diaz!”

Benedict and Walter’s eyes widened simultaneously as they approached her.

In truly the blink of an eye, the blade sliced diagonally across her palm.

Her bright red blood whirled through the air.

Due to the wind created by the waterfall’s drop, the droplets scattered to who knows where.

She checked the lake just in case, but as expected, there was no change.

So she coated the already blood-soaked dagger with more of her dripping blood and threw it forcefully into the lake.

The entire sequence didn’t take long.

Rudy tried to crane her neck again to check the situation.

“Ah!”

However, a sudden force grabbed her waist and she was pulled back from the cliff edge as if flying, then her vision spun.

Thrown down to the ground in an instant, she frowned while rubbing her waist.

“You scared……”

Rudy couldn’t finish her sentence.

Benedict was looking down at her with an indescribable gaze. Instinctively, chills ran down her spine.

“Rudbeckia.”

Benedict, speaking her name in a cold voice, fixed his fierce gaze on her left hand.

Where the sharp blade had passed, blood redder than her eyes continued to flow without stopping.

Moreover, it was a self-inflicted wound.

“What kind of madness is this?”

Benedict asked in a suppressed voice. Though Rudbeckia flinched, even that was a softened expression to him.

If he were to express his current feelings outwardly, most would be rough curses.

“I, well, I had to do something.”

“Don’t make excuses that this was the best course of action.”

He spoke harshly, and she couldn’t even blink.

Blood gushed from her palm and continued to drip between her clenched fist.

Benedict, unable to stand the sight, forcefully opened her hand. His hand also became stained with blood.

“Your Highness, just a moment. Lady Diaz must be very shocked.”

“The situation.”

“It seems to be getting under control.”

Walter was in the middle of exchanging signals with Aaron, who was already looking this way.

Benedict, slowly rising, asked Rudy who sat dazed.

“Don’t you have healing medicine?”

“In Sharon’s, I mean, in my bag.”

Spiritual power cannot heal oneself. Benedict painfully frowned at this fact that he had always accepted as natural but couldn’t accept at this moment.

“Walter, do you have any medicine?”

“Here it is.”

Walter, who had urged Rudy to take action when they first discovered the monsters, now hovered around her restlessly.

As extreme as it was, the effect was quick. It was a truly frightening power.

“Give it here.”

Benedict held her hand, which was much smaller than his, then paused. Consciously loosening his grip, worried that even slight pressure might break it.

“I’ll… do it myself, Your Highness.”

Rudbeckia tried to pull her arm away, concerned about her blood staining his hands.

Benedict, as if that was out of the question, held her wrist and sprinkled the hemostatic agent on her palm.

“For hands and general external wounds, you can trust someone who handles swords.”

Walter, thinking she was worried about Benedict’s skills, kindly explained to her.

As Walter said, Benedict wrapped the cloth with quicker hand movements than any other healer. However, having only treated knights’ hands before, he didn’t know how tightly to bind it.

“You can tie it tighter.”

Although the hemostatic powder was stopping the bleeding, the flesh remained grotesquely split open. Benedict hesitated for a moment, carefully observing her expression as he retied the bandage.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Let’s get down now. I’ll escort you, Lady Diaz.”

Walter brought his horse closer to her. With his righteous nature, Walter felt both a sense of duty to comfortably escort his superior and a strange sense of debt toward Rudy. For Walter, having her ride his horse was the more rational and comfortable choice.

“Take my hand and stand up.”

She glanced sideways at Benedict. It was just receiving consideration from a knight, but she found herself needlessly watching his reaction.

Rudbeckia found her own behavior amusing and nodded her head almost defiantly.

“I gratefully accept your kindness.”

“Should I ride behind you, my lady?”

“Ah…… Yes.”

Though she managed to stand up holding Walter’s hand, Rudy struggled to mount the saddle with one injured hand. Walter watched and moved to help her.

At that moment, Benedict also brought his horse beside them.

“Excuse me.”

Right after his now-familiar brief words, he wrapped his arm around her waist and swiftly lifted her onto his saddle.

Even as Rudbeckia stood dumbfounded, he calmly mounted behind her.

“It’s safer to ride with the knight positioned in the rear.”

He explained in an emotionless tone.

Though Rudy only nodded while looking straight ahead, not wanting to be enchanted by just his voice from behind, Walter couldn’t manage his expression and raised his eyes in bewilderment.

In that instant, Benedict and Walter’s gazes crossed.

Walter hurriedly mounted his own horse.

“Indeed. I’ll lead the way down. Please follow carefully!”

His kind but tactless subordinate often angered his superior unexpectedly, and today was one of those days.