Chapter 81: Chapter 81

His bloodshot eyes flashed wildly. When he maximized all the senses of his body, his vision was extremely wide, and all the sounds nearby pierced his ears.

He heard several small animals running on the grass and the sound of the wind shaking the trees. He smelled the moisture from nearby waterfalls. At that moment, he instinctively sensed the shadow of a bird flying from afar.

“… Poibe?”

Curtis narrowed his eyes and looked up at the sky. A white bird flew through the green forest.

As he looked closer, he clearly saw what it was. It was obviously Poibe, the golden crown parrot he sent to Marianne at the emperor’s order. As it was better than any other parrot in terms of language imitation, he highly valued the messenger bird since childhood. For him, who had raised and trained many birds, Poibe was among the top five.

“Poibe. Why are you here?…”

Poibe rested on his stretched arm and pecked on his lapel with its beak. With its mouth stained with some red juice, it nodded its yellow crest. There was a ripe golden tassel hanging on the neck.

Curtis quickly changed his face. That tassel belonged to the emperor.

“The emperor is hurt and we can’t move,” Poibe said.

Marianne’s voice, which was familiar to him, rang through the tranquil forest.

“Are they all alive? They’re together right now, right?”

“They shed a lot of blood, so I need to hurry up. Huh?”

Poibe replied casually to his urgent questions. He could infer several situations from the answers.

First, the one who had Poibe imitate words was Marianne, which meant that she was alive.

Second, Eckart was bleeding a lot and probably hurt so seriously that he couldn’t move.

Third, fortunately, they were waiting for him in one place.

“Okay. Let’s hurry. You go ahead. I’ll follow you right away.”

Poibe flew high instead of answering. He fastened the boot straps and pulled a pair of axes from the back. His eyes filled with anxiety now regained vigor.

In no time, the white cloak of the Eluang Knights began running through the forest.

* * *

“Don’t you think Phebe found us quite quickly?”

Marianne pulled the straps of her black leather boots hard. With a little moan, she made a pretty ribbon knot with her slender fingers.

“I actually thought we might have to stay here for a day or two more.”

Even though she tightened her boots, she felt a little loose. Obviously, her boots would be inconvenient for her long walk. She cut off the hem of her dress gown with a sullen expression. She was changing it to make a little less inconvenient when walking.

Eckhart watched her doing it for a while and opened his mouth.

“Don’t you want to go back?”

“Pardon? Of course, I do want to go back as soon as possible. That way, I can treat your wounds properly.”

Marianne’s answer was quick and without hesitation. He felt her reaction was very swift.

Basically she wanted to go back on his behalf as soon as possible, but he felt a bit unpleasant unconsciously.

“But when I go back, I don’t think I can afford to spend time with you like this, right?” she said as if she read his mind accurately.

He shook his head to one side. Putting on a gown and knotting it at the waist, she looked at him.

“I feel some regrets about it,” she said.

Indeed, she seemed to greatly regret it. A tender affectionate smile was reflected in her eyes.

He looked at her eyes for a long time. Time paused momentarily. Her fresh green eyes scanned his eyes gently. Her eyes were honest, sweet, and lovely. Her eyes were a mirror that made him unable to hide anything, a divine prophecy that made anyone want to believe and the water of the Lete River that made one forget everything.

Only then was he convinced that some feelings were boiling inside his heart. He couldn’t retreat anymore.

“Don’t you have any regrets?”

But knowing her heart and expressing his feelings was completely different.

He bit the inside of his lips instead of replying. As the time was approaching nearer to return to the bloody battlefield, the forgotten realities that he forgot for a moment strangled him. They threatened to cover his eyes, close his ears, and shut his mouth.

It was at that time that Poibe flew in out of the blue.

“Fool!”

Poibe sat lightly on Eckart’s knee.

Fool.

Perhaps it might have called Marianne, but he felt like Poebe’s imitation was a whip against him.

“Phebe!”

On the other hand, Marianne smiled at it with a bright expression. Poibe’s return was evidence that somebody was around the corner to help them.

“Your Majesty…! ”

Indeed, as expected, Curtis was approaching slowly over the gravel of a shallow stream.

Although their clothes were messed up, Curtis was also dressed in tattered clothes.

She thought for a moment that Curtis looked like a wounded animal.

“… Curtis.”

At last, Eckart called his faithful servant’s name.

Curtis scanned him during that brief moment. He could see signs of his desperate struggle all over his body. He wished the emperor called him as a survivor, but when he came to his miserable master, he was devastated with sadness.

He knelt helplessly before the emperor. The surface of the creek splashed when he knelt before him.

“I’m so sorry. It’s my mistake. I should have found you earlier…”

A pair of axes held in his hand slipped. He grabbed water in his empty hands. He dropped his head deeply.

Patting Poibe in her arms, she made a sad expression.

Curtis was crying. Trying to muffle it as much as possible and clenching his teeth, he was crying so much that his jaw was trembling.

His green eyes turned to Eckart. Unlike Curtis, he did not show a dramatic change in facial expression.

“Drink.”

But when Eckart gave him a silver wine glass full of water, there was something resolute in his short command.

Marianne seemed to know what it was.

It was sorriness, gratitude, a little bit of self-reproach as well as trust and friendship. Perhaps it was a collection of feelings that he would never admit when asked straight away.

“I know your personality very well. Obviously you must have come here with no sips of water and no sleep.”

She was quick-witted enough to stand up right away. Poibe jumped and sat on her shoulder. She took a glass of water from the emperor’s hand and put it directly into Curtis’ hand.

Curtis looked at the glass of water, Marianne, and Eckart, who leaned against the wall over there. His black eyes trembled hard.

“You see, I can’t go back without your help. The same is true of Marianne.”

Marianne nodded loudly as if she agreed. Even Poibe said, “Peep.”

“I will surely take care of you responsibly. But as your servant I’ve made an indelible sin against you. I would gladly take it even if you punish me capitally.”

“Do not torture yourself. Did I ever let you do that?”

Eckart frowned. His cool gaze and voice that restored authority was not different from his noble attitude. His words and gaze had the power to overwhelm and captivate others. Although he was messy, he didn’t look servile or cowardly.

“Curtis. As long as I’m alive, your mission is still valid.”

Eckart slowly erected his body leaning against the wall. A sharp pain on the back pulled him out of the illusion.

“So… Let’s go back now.”

His blue eyes looked over Curtis and Poibe and finally at Marianne. He concealed his innermost feelings about her as if blocking the downstream hydrologic gate.

Even if he returned to the bloody battlefield of the capital, he would never forget this day as a lucky day in life and as a curse that made him dream of vain hope…

* * *

The night in Roshan was early and long.

The priests got up before the sun rose and began to pray, and they did not finish praying until the stars rose at dawn. Meals were served once every morning and afternoon. The carts selling miscellaneous goods or visitors’ wagons used to leave the temple long before sunset. If they were late, they had to spend nights trembling in the valley without lights.

The temple on this day was not much different. There were lots of people coming in and out of the temple during the day due to the large-scale search, but they returned to their places when darkness fell.

Cardinal Helena left the serene hall after an evening prayer. The reddish sunset was reddening the pure white temple. She took off the hood she was wearing and called Arsenio who was waiting at the entrance.

“No news about the emperor?”

“No, not yet at this hour…”

Arsenio fumbled words as if it were her sin. Helena sighed deeply. Her golden eyes stared at the clouds flowing far away.