A Marriage Alliance for Revenge - Chapter 37

Ragged breathing rushed past her ears.

 

Briella listened to the sound of her heart beating in his tight embrace.

 

The sound of her racing heart was strangely calming.

 

“What the hell were you thinking?”

 

Briella clamped her mouth shut at Lucas’s growl.

 

He grabbed her arm roughly and examined her.

 

Briella’s arm was sticky and damp with the blood she’d lost.

 

She frowned at the stinging pain she hadn’t felt while holding Eve’s hand.

 

“Aah!”

 

Briella shrieked at Lucas’s sudden approach, his hand tugging at the hem of her dress.

 

Cold, long fingers slid up her calf.

 

Lucas ripped her skirt open at the seams, ignoring Briella’s screams.

 

Compared to the soiled hem of her dress, the underskirt was relatively intact.

 

“Oh, it hurts!”

 

Briella said cautiously to Lucas, who was holding her arm and applying a torn cloth to the wound.

 

“Of course it hurts.”

 

His tone was nonchalant, but his anger was palpable.

 

Briella’s jaw clenched at Lucas’s tone.

 

“Hessel!”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Take the Duchess and Lady downstairs.”

 

“Yes.”

 

The surroundings were still in chaos.

 

Briella knew that by leaving, she was helping Lucas.

 

But the cold touch of Lucas’s hand on her back made her heart sink.

 

“Lady Eve.”

 

Eve was with Hessel. Her tear-streaked face was a mess.

 

Her golden eyes, wide with terror, darted to Briella.

 

“Du-Duchess.”

 

Briella looked at Eve, who called her in a raspy voice, then at Hessel.

 

“At your service.”

 

Briella’s eyes flicked to Hessel, who looked down the hill.

 

Tap.

 

Drip. Drip.

 

Cold droplets of water fell on my face.

 

One or two drops quickly turned into a roaring torrent.

 

Briella looked at the half-dazed Eve and unwound Lucas’s tightly wrapped arm.

 

The inky darkness hid her actions.

 

“Come on.”

 

Unwrapping her wound, Briella moved to Eve’s side.

 

Her arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders, and she fell in behind Hessel.

 

Hessel walked quickly.

 

Arrows flew overhead, and someone’s scream lingered in the air.

 

Hessel sometimes led Briella and Eve in front, then moved back to send them ahead.

 

“Aah!”

 

Eve screamed as she slipped. Briella wrapped her arms around her and rolled her across the floor.

 

Her injured arm scraped somewhere, and a stabbing pain shot through her head.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Hessel, who was escorting them from behind, hurriedly approached the two individuals.

 

“Ugh.”

 

As he rose to his feet, a groan escaped involuntarily.

 

“Are you okay? There’s, there’s blood!”

 

Eve, who was examining Briella, spoke in a loud voice.

 

Blood once again trickled from the wound that Lucas had barely bandaged.

 

Eve covered her mouth in shock, alternating her gaze between Briella and the wound.

 

“Oh dear.”

 

Hessel, inspecting Briella’s wound, swallowed the groan. There was quite a bit of blood being washed away by the raindrops.

 

“…I’m fine.”

 

Although her forehead furrowed involuntarily as the water touched the open wound, Briella faintly smiled towards the two.

 

“Perhaps it would be best to hurry. Lady Eve’s condition seems alarming.”

 

Hessel looked at her incredulously at Briella’s words.

 

It was clear to anyone that Briella was in a serious condition.

 

Not only was she bleeding profusely, but her lips were already tinged with purple.

 

Strangely, her eyes seemed to shimmer in the darkness.

 

“Excuse me for a moment. Lady.”

 

Her body temperature rapidly dropped in the cold rain, and Eve, with her legs completely giving way, was supported on Hessel’s shoulders.

 

As Briella, tidying her disheveled appearance, suddenly turned around, she saw Lucas guarding the hill where she descended, wielding a large sword that gleamed in the moonlight.

 

Descending the hill path under the pouring rain was no easy task. The drenched dress weighed heavily, and the cacophony and darkness swirling around were terrifying.

 

“We’re almost there,” Hessel remarked, glancing back at Briella, who was lagging behind.

 

Eve seemed to have lost consciousness, slumped over on Hessel’s shoulder.

 

With each step Briella took, blood trickled down.

 

The wounds appeared deeper than expected, causing her vision to blur repeatedly.

 

Gasps.

 

Barely arriving at the village, Briella sank to the ground.

 

In contrast to the noisy hill, the village was eerily quiet, shrouded in a deathly silence.

 

The villagers had extinguished their lights and held their breath, enveloped in a silence that Briella found unsettling. Lucas, fighting alone in the darkness, came to mind.

 

‘For whom, for what, is this sacrifice?’

 

Briella’s warm tears, mixed with rain, pattered down to the ground.

 

Was that the night he wandered alone in this darkness?

 

Pressing her dragging steps forward, Briella traversed the dark path in all directions.

 

Though Hessel kept looking back, Briella’s eyes remained distant.

 

In her eyes, there was nothing but the darkness of a silent void.

 

As lonely and desolate as that night, Lucas endured alone.

 

“Here, we’re here.”

 

It was when she staggered lethargically, her body soaked in rain.

 

Somewhere, a large cloak draped down from above her head.

 

Someone enveloped Briella’s body and urged her along the path.

 

“Come this way.”

The voice, mingling with the sound of rain, felt unfamiliar.

 

Indeed, having arrived in Perta today, familiarity seemed even stranger.

 

“Sigh – Your body feels frozen stiff. What a predicament.”

 

A voice filled with pity echoed in her ears.

 

Though her sight was obscured by the cloak, oddly, it didn’t feel oppressively dark.

 

After the sound of a door opening, a warm heat swiftly enveloped her.

 

“Goodness. You should change into dry clothes at once!”

 

Unfamiliar women rushed in at once and led Briella into a small room.

 

Suddenly, as her vision brightened, Briella blinked.

 

“Good heavens.”

 

A woman, who finally noticed Briella’s wound, furrowed her brow and hurriedly went outside.

 

“Let me start with stopping the bleeding.”

 

Returning with a clean towel, the woman sat Briella down and applied pressure to the wound.

 

She grimaced. 

 

Due to the strain of carrying Eve, the wound area had worsened.

 

“It would be wise to change your clothes. However, there seems to be no suitable attire for you to change into.”

 

The woman hesitantly handed over some clothes.

 

“Your belongings are being taken care of by the party who arrived with you. For now, this… is a freshly laundered garment.”

 

Sensing any offense that might disturb Briella, the woman cautiously observed. She was the same woman who held a child’s hand upon their recent arrival in Perta.

 

“Thank you.”

 

Briella accepted the offered clothes without hesitation.

 

The current dwelling seemed to belong to this woman.

 

It might have been the best thing she had to offer.

 

With the woman’s assistance, Briella changed her clothes.

 

“It’s potato soup. It will warm you up.”

 

As she gazed at the rustic bowl of soup, memories of something Lucas had said came to mind.

 

 

 

–It was a time when you had lost your parents and didn’t know the fate of your sibling. Do you know what was most agonizing for you?

 

–Hunger and cold.

 

 

 

Hunger and cold.

 

Just as Lucas had said.

Concern arose for Lucas, who fought alone without anyone to rely on, as his empty stomach had been pleading with hunger since a while back.

 

Despite changing into clothes dampened by the winter rain, her body still shivered.

 

Wrapped in a cloak and gazing outside through thick curtains.

 

To prevent the seeping light, the drapery laid out was closer to a patchwork of fabrics than actual curtains.

 

Silently, Briella scooped a spoonful of soup and placed it in her mouth.

 

The woman, who had been anxiously watching Briella, finally took a deep breath and approached her side.

 

“I will treat your wound, madam.”

 

“…No. Leave it be.”

 

“Pardon?”

 

Although the bleeding had stopped, without proper treatment, it could reopen at any moment.

 

The women were at a loss as Briella insisted on leaving such a wound untreated.

 

“Where is Lady Eve, or rather, the woman who came with me?”

 

“She was escorted by the knights to the inn. Ah! The newcomers have unpacked at the inn. Your belongings should be there as well.”

 

Briella nodded in response to the woman’s words.

 

The rain outside continued to pour heavily.

 

If Eve had gone to the inn, there was no need to worry about that side.

 

With Lady Lawrence in attendance, there was no need for Eve to fret.

 

“We need people who can work with a large pot. Can you help?”

 

Upon Briella’s request, the women exchanged glances. They had already heard of Briella’s identity.

 

The women were taken aback by Briella’s request.

 

“I do not intend to burden you.”

 

In their silence, Briella hurriedly spoke.

 

“Madam, do you have separate tasks for us?”

 

The woman who had handed clothes to Briella stepped forward.

 

With a slightly tense expression, Briella nodded her head.

 

Promptly responding to Briella’s words, the village women started to move quickly.

 

The next morning, at dawn.

 

The surroundings were tinged with a whitish hue, thankfully, as the rain had ceased after midnight.

 

“Madam! The knights are descending.”

 

From the hilltop, the figures of knights began to appear one by one.

 

Emma, who had been assisting Briella since last night, came running.

 

Fortunately, Emma had heeded Briella’s request well and had taken the lead in gathering people.

 

“Have the men had a hearty breakfast?”

 

“Yes! Some have already gone towards the embankment, while others are waiting at the village square.”

 

Briella nodded in response to Emma’s resolute answer.

 

“Then, please proceed as I have instructed.”

 

“Understood.”

 

As Briella’s words fell, Emma swiftly moved.

 

Soon, the sun rose crimson.

 

As Briella scanned the hill where the knights were descending, she let out a soft sigh.

 

As she anticipated, the first to descend the hill were the injured knights or those supporting them.

 

The men waiting at the square rushed to their aid.

 

They guided the soldiers to the makeshift infirmary and offered them steaming hot potato soup from a large pot.

 

Seeing the villagers bustling about, the knights looked puzzled.

 

“What is all this about?”

 

“Lady Viterpan instructed us to guide you this way. She also ordered the preparation of these foods.”

 

Upon hearing the name Viterpan from the villagers, the knights followed their guidance, were reassured, and moved accordingly.

 

The knights with severe injuries headed to the houses of the villagers, who had already cleared space for them, while those in need of rest made their way to the barracks.

 

“Is she mad?”

 

Briella, bustling around here and there, froze at the voice that came from behind her.

 

She couldn’t bring herself to turn around and look at Lucas.

 

The voice that cut through the air, still heavy with the aftermath of battle, sounded unfamiliar.

 

In the darkness, the image of him holding a sword behind her to protect her remained vivid.

 

“…”

 

As Briella fell into silence, Lucas approached steadily from behind.

 

A shiver ran down her spine.

 

Just as she unknowingly tried to turn around at the sound coming from behind her.

 

“Ah!”

 

A short cry burst from Briella’s lips.

 

The arm that held her was sore.

 

“Have you not even disinfected the wound?”

 

Lucas’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Briella’s arm.

 

His furrowed brow simply wouldn’t smooth out.

 

While Lucas examined Briella’s arm, she was studying him in return.

 

The tension in his shoulders, still taut from the battle’s aftermath, the flicker of muscle not yet relaxed, and the person reflected in his black eyes.

 

Even in the midst of chaos, a sense of relief washed over her at the realization that the person reflected in Lucas’s black eyes was herself.

 

“I am glad you have returned safely.”

 

A voice whispered softly, causing Lucas, who had been inspecting Briella’s arm, to lift his head.

 

His previously furrowed brow gradually smoothed out.

 

He was in a sorry state.

 

Lucas, stained with the marks of battle, looked quite different from his usual self.

 

From the bloody stains and torn uniform to the scattered wounds.

 

Briella, too, was dressed as a peasant woman.

 

With a scarf on her head, she mingled among the people, giving various instructions.

 

Strangely, among the crowd, Lucas immediately found Briella.

 

“Sigh…”

 

Lucas exhaled deeply, running a hand through his hair.

 

His eyes, previously glittering with vitality, calmed down.

 

As Lucas’s face softened and relaxed, Briella, who had been stiff, finally let go of her tension.

 

Her shoulders, tense with anticipation, now ached.

 

“Ah! My lady.”

 

And without a chance to refuse, the small body was drawn into Lucas’s embrace.