#8. In Search of a Fateful Encounter (10)

Eleonore carefully tilted her head to the side.

If her body had obeyed her, that was probably what she would have done.

Held in Dmitri’s arms as he sprinted, Eleonore stared blankly at his face. It felt rather strange to see only him clearly while the scenery around them blurred.

Was it because her body was growing stiffer by the moment?

Ordinarily, her heart would probably have pounded so hard she couldn’t even look at his face properly. But now, gazing at him—at Dmitri—from this close, her heart remained calm.

The man filling her field of vision had bold, striking features. His hair, eyebrows, and eyes were all black, which might have been why. Or perhaps the combination of colors was so familiar from her days as Seo Juha that it simply felt easy on the eyes.

But one thing was certain.

He was a man with a style entirely different from that silver-haired man.

Unlike the silver-haired man, there seemed to be nothing hidden behind his black eyes, fixed on some distant point. His honest, direct gaze was so clear and transparent that she could see right through his thoughts.

Unlike the silver-haired man, who overflowed with sensuality and decadence, the man before her was the very image of a novel’s protagonist. That is, if this novel had been the kind of fantasy for men that Seo Juha used to enjoy reading.

Suddenly, Eleonore’s gaze fixed on the bead of sweat running down his temple.

She wanted to wipe it away with her own hand. But now, her body couldn’t even manage to speak.

Her eyelids grew heavier by the moment. Even his face, which had remained so clear, was beginning to blur.

Perhaps the spider monster’s poison was affecting her head, too.

Beyond her increasingly dark vision, a tear slipped from her sky-blue eyes, born of regret that she could no longer look at him.

“…my lady. S… stay con…scious. It’s… not too late… Lady Ele… Eli!”

You know, Dmitri. You’re finally calling me that, too. Honestly, only that slick silver-haired man ever called me that, so it had bothered me a little.

Smiling brightly, Eleonore looked at the man. Of course, that was what she would have done if her body had obeyed her.

From Dmitri’s perspective, Eleonore was simply lying there with her eyes quietly closed.

#.

Eleonore gently lowered her thin, flawless eyelids. As Dmitri ran with her held carefully in his arms, he looked at her chest beneath her white jacket, her eyes firmly shut.

Fortunately, her chest was rising and falling, if only faintly.

At least they had brought a neutralizing agent. Her condition shouldn’t worsen any further here. Even so, he couldn’t simply rely on it. Without proper treatment, he couldn’t guarantee her life.

Of course, Dmitri wasn’t a doctor, nor was he particularly knowledgeable about medicine. He was fairly good at battlefield first aid and bandaging, but that was the extent of his medical knowledge.

Still, he could make a guess based on his experience.

He had seen Northern soldiers bitten by snowfield wolves collapse and die several times a year. Their condition had been quite similar to Lady Eleonore’s now.

How long had he been running? Before long, flimsy wooden buildings came into view, one after another.

Weaving around the buildings, Dmitri dashed straight toward the crowd. Fortunately, it seemed they had obeyed his order to gather in one place.

“E-Eli!”

The first person to rush out from the middle of the gathered group to meet Dmitri and Eleonore in his arms was her maid, a woman named Eugenie.

Her violet eyes glistening with tears, she came up to Dmitri and stroked Eleonore’s pale face.

“Y-Your Grace. What happened to my lady? What happened to our Eli?”

Her voice was thick with tears, but it didn’t waver.

“She was poisoned by a Shilob. You there, hurry and get the neutralizing agent!”

After answering curtly, Dmitri looked toward the knight who had earlier informed him and Dominique of the Shilob’s appearance. When the knight met his glare, he hurried over and handed Dmitri a glass vial containing the neutralizing agent.

“P-poisoned by a Shilob?”

Dominique repeated in alarm at Dmitri’s words.

The Shilob was a well-known monster. Its appearance and hard shell were familiar to many, but it was its potent poison that had made it famous across the continent.

Assassins favored Shilob poison because even a small amount could easily kill its victim. Even the founding king of the Kingdom of Galatea had been poisoned with it.

After giving the princess a slight nod, Dmitri carefully laid Eleonore down on the freight wagon. Then he uncorked the vial and dripped a few drops between her dry lips.

“How soon can we prepare to leave?”

“We can leave immediately. However, the horses are exhausted after covering quite a distance…”

“Bring my horse here first. What’s the nearest village? Somewhere that might have an antidote.”

At Dmitri’s words, the man who appeared to be the knights’ captain grimaced, his already sour expression growing even darker.

Antidotes had always been expensive. They were difficult to obtain, and their price meant that not just anyone could use them. If a commoner was poisoned, all they could do was buy time with a neutralizing agent and hope the patient could fight it off. Or pray to the gods.

Besides, this area around the capital and its outskirts was one where dangerous, venomous monsters and magical beasts had been wiped out—or were believed to have been.

The captain mulled it over, then finally managed to give a difficult answer.

“There’s a village two hours away.”

As soon as he heard the answer, Dmitri handed the half-empty vial to Eugenie and rose to his feet.

“I’ll take the young lady and set out ahead. Don’t worry about her. No matter what, get Her Highness the Princess safely back to the capital.”

“W-wait, Dmitri! I’m coming with Eli, too!”

Her wheat-colored hair swayed softly. Dominique slipped the short sword in her hand into the sheath at her waist as she spoke.

“No, Dominique. The neutralizing agent may have bought us a little time, but you can’t come now. Even I can’t protect you while carrying Lady Eleonore in my arms.”

“Dmitri! Even if you won’t protect me—”

“Save your whining for after Lady Eleonore is back on her feet.”

Cutting off the princess, Dmitri firmly refused. His tone was forceful enough that anyone else might have called it disrespectful to speak that way in Her Highness’s presence.

However, everyone here except Dominique and Dmitri belonged to House Béarn.

With their young lady’s life hanging in the balance, respect and etiquette were the last things on their minds. Even Dominique, the one he had addressed, could only bow her head.

Soon, the knight from earlier stood before Dmitri, leading a black horse by the reins. Dmitri spoke to Eugenie, who had given Eleonore all the neutralizing agent and was pressing her cheek against her young lady’s.

“We still have a long way to go, and the young lady is cold. Wrap her up in the blankets we brought.”

“A-all right.”

Eugenie looked as if the slightest touch would make her burst into tears. Even so, she resolutely swallowed them back and got to her feet.

After that, Dmitri prepared to leave as well.

First, he tossed every last bit of the small baggage on his horse to the ground. The emergency jerky, the hip flask he’d brought to drink from in secret that night, even the whetstone he always carried—all of it went flying.

Dmitri did the same himself. As he spoke to the knight who appeared to be the captain, he undid the fastenings of his armor.

“I’ll save your young lady, no matter what. Get Her Highness the Princess back to the capital as quickly and safely as possible. Not a single scratch is to befall Her Highness.”

After removing all his leather armor and carefully taking the remaining neutralizing agent with him, Dmitri continued.

“If something happens to Lady Eleonore, it’ll cause an uproar in her family. But if anything happens to the princess, we could be suspected of rebellion. And you are House Béarn, of all people.”

It might have seemed a little unfair when their young lady was hovering between life and death. But the man who appeared to be the captain only nodded in silence.

It couldn’t be helped.

The Imperial Family had always looked unfavorably upon House Béarn. Though a contract made by their predecessors prevented them from openly opposing the Imperial Family, they still lived high on the hog in those rich lands as if they were the masters of the West.

Besides, the Western nobles paid more attention to House Béarn than to the Imperial Family, given the way the House conducted itself.

And now, for the princess to be injured—even slightly—at a mine owned by House Béarn? The thought alone was horrifying.

That was, in fact, why Dmitri had joined the journey.

Originally, he had felt a little awkward about his strange relationship with Lady Eleonore, so he had planned to send Daphne, a woman, instead. But one careless slip of the tongue had dragged Dominique into this journey.

He was receiving help without giving anything in return, so the least he could do was avoid causing them trouble. That was why Dmitri had volunteered to escort Dominique and, by extension, Lady Eleonore, and joined the journey.

It seemed the young lady was ready at last. Eugenie approached Dmitri, clasping her trembling hands together.

“Your Grace. Please take care of my lady. Our Eli.”

“I can’t promise there’s nothing to worry about. But I’ll do everything I can.”

After mounting his horse, Dmitri took Eleonore, bundled tightly in a blanket, into his arms.

Unlike before, he was now on horseback, so he held Eleonore facing him to keep her from falling.

He had lightened his load as much as possible to spare the horse. Thanks to that, even with a blanket wrapped around her, he could feel her soft body in his arms.

Gazing at her pale yet beautiful face as she lay quietly with her eyes closed in his arms, Dmitri gave the horse a light kick in the flank.