TFM 45

Chapter 45

***

Edric swiftly cut through the bustling soldiers moving back and forth.

Less than an hour after the battle ended, the campsite, which had been nothing short of a battlefield, was being tidied up in an instant.

While soldiers recovered weapons from the wyvern's carcass and cleared away damaged tents, laborers loaded chests and bundles onto carts, and maids began gathering the bodies, wrapping them in fine silk cloth.

Edric, striding briskly across the camp, estimated the number of corpses at a glance.

Seventeen in total.

Adding those swallowed whole by the wyvern, it seemed roughly twenty-five to thirty had perished. Considering the wounded as well, the scale of the casualties was considerable. He clenched his fist.

'For a wyvern pack to appear during the Season of Fire........'

Typically, wyverns awaken from hibernation near the end of the Season of Rest and only begin forming groups once the Season of Water arrives. After the breeding season passes, they pair off and disperse. Therefore, the simultaneous appearance of over a dozen wyverns during the Season of Fire was an extremely rare phenomenon. Moreover, this region was hardly a suitable habitat for large magical beasts like wyverns.

'To say it was just incredibly unlucky is an understatement.’

Edric, surveying the wyvern corpses scattered across the hillside with narrowed eyes, quickly pushed the question from his mind. Now was not the time for such pointless thoughts. He moved his long legs without hesitation, heading toward where the knights were gathered.

"Captain!"

Varkas, who had been giving orders to the knights, turned his head toward him.

Edric flinched involuntarily and halted his steps. The face of his superior, revealed beneath the flickering torchlight, was splattered with dark red bloodstains. His own state was likely not much different, but the sight of him—his marble-like, stoic face drenched in blood, his eyes gleaming coldly—somehow felt eerie.

"Did you find her?"

Varkas asked in his characteristic monotone.

Snapping back to his senses, Edric hurriedly reported.

"We discovered traces of a wyvern crash in the north. It seems to have fallen into the gorge below."

Varkas turned his head to look north. The torches held by the knights dimly illuminated the gloomy shadows of the forest. Who knew what other violent monsters lurked within.

Edric opened his mouth anxiously.

"We must form a search party immediately. There's no time to delay………………."

"Search? What search?!"

Edric snapped his head around at the sudden, fierce interruption. The Crown Prince, his thick black hair tousled like a lion's mane, approached them with his retinue.

Edric hurriedly bowed in respect. The Crown Prince ignored him completely and stepped before Varkas.

"She’s dead anyway! Stop wasting time on useless nonsense and get ready to leave immediately! What if we get ambushed by another horde of monsters while dawdling?"

Edric’s face hardened at the utterly heartless words.

The sudden ordeal had clearly shaken him; the Crown Prince's face was paler than usual. It wasn't surprising he was frightened, having never faced even a single ogre, let alone a wyvern, in his entire life. Yet Edric felt not a shred of sympathy for the Crown Prince, who looked so visibly shaken it was almost pitiable.

Glaring at the Crown Prince with a look of resentment, Edric rolled his eyes to gauge Varkas's reaction. He was strangely silent.

Surely he wasn't going to follow the Crown Prince's lead?

Even if born illegitimate, Talia Roem Guirta was the Emperor's daughter. Moreover, she was the eldest daughter of the current Empress. He couldn't allow the empire's princess to become prey for monsters simply because of the Crown Prince's personal grudge. This was also a matter of honor as a knight.

Edric urgently spoke up.

"If we would form a search party, I will personally look for Her Highness the Second Princess. So..."

"Who does this insolent brat think he is, daring to speak of safety!"

The Crown Prince erupted in fury, grabbing him by the collar.

Edric looked up at him with calm eyes. He was well accustomed to the Crown Prince's violent outbursts. Edric spoke with the utmost respect.

"My apologies. But I cannot simply leave Her Highness the Princess behind..."

"Princess?"

The Crown Prince let out a dry laugh, then spoke each word with deliberate force, his voice echoing in Edric's face.

"Listen carefully, you insolent. There is only one princess in this empire: Ayla Roem Guirta. That whore Talia should never have been born into this world. Becoming prey for the monsters is the fitting end for that bastard child…"

"Enough."

At the low voice, Edric flinched and looked at his superior. It was Varkas, who always addressed Gareth with proper decorum, no matter how arrogant he acted. The fact that such a man had not only interrupted the Crown Prince but spoken to him with such disrespect left him momentarily dumbfounded.

It seemed he wasn't the only one surprised; the Crown Prince also turned to him with wide eyes. Varkas, however, remained calm.

"Your Highness, it would be best if you returned to your quarters and rested."

Varkas uttered this matter-of-factly, then gestured to the knights waiting behind the Crown Prince.

"Bring me a mage immediately. Select about ten agile men to form a search party."

The knights immediately dispersed at his command. The Crown Prince, watching them go with a dazed expression, released Edric's collar as if tossing him aside and stepped forward toward Varkas.

"Now... are you defying me because of that woman?"

"I was ordered by His Majesty the Emperor to provide three escorts."

A dry voice flowed from Varkas's mouth.

"Surely Your Imperial Highness's instructions cannot take precedence over His Majesty the Emperor's command."

"Don't make excuses!"

The Crown Prince blocked Varkas's path.

"Do you think I hadn't noticed how you've been strangely protective of that woman, Talia, all this time? Be honest. You and that wench…!"

"Gareth!"

Then, a sharp, high-pitched voice cut through the tense air.

Edric, who had been watching the two with anxious eyes, abruptly turned his head. The First Princess, accompanied by two attendants, was crossing between the knights with an elegant stride.

It was the Princess who, immediately after all the wyverns had been killled, had personally directed her attendants to tend to all the wounded. Still cloaked in deep, unwashed fatigue, she approached her brother and fixed him with a resolute gaze.

"Lord Shiokan is right. We cannot leave Talia behind like this. Whatever happens, that child is our flesh and blood."

"Are you out of your mind?"

The Crown Prince glared at his sister with eyes filled with betrayal.

"That bitch caused our mother such humiliation, and you say that!"

"Please, think rationally."

The princess cut him off with a voice full of authority. Though born only minutes apart, she appeared far more mature than the Crown Prince.

She looked straight at her brother and continued calmly.

"If we return to the palace leaving Talia behind, not only Lord Shiokan but you too will be dragged into unnecessary gossip. Why take that risk?"

Edric was momentarily speechless at the cold words coming from the mouth of the First Princess, renowned for her benevolent nature.

She added softly, as if soothing her restless younger brother.

"At the very least, let us properly recover that child's body so we can give her a proper burial."