The Forgotten Field

She felt a bead of sweat roll down her forehead and slip into the corner of her eye.

It might be a medicine that would bring unimaginable pain.

It might even be poison.

Even as those suspicions refused to leave her, Talia parted her lips.

Varkas tilted the bottle, pouring the bitter liquid into her mouth.

She coughed weakly and instinctively turned her head away, but he caught her chin and pressed the bottle to her lips again.

Talia swallowed the liquid helplessly as it seeped into her mouth and looked up at him.

Firelight flickered across his pale eyes, as though a curtain had been drawn over them.

She searched desperately for some trace of emotion within those inorganic eyes.

Finding nothing, she slowly let her arms and legs fall limp.

She strained to keep her eyes open.

Fought desperately to hold onto consciousness.

But her thoughts gradually became muddled, and her vision rapidly blurred.

Her eyelids fluttered once.

Twice.

Then Talia sank into a silence as deep as death.

She had no idea how much time had passed.

Perhaps only a few seconds.

Perhaps an entire lifetime.

Staring blankly into empty space, Talia frowned at the rhythmic sound of hoofbeats and the rattling of wheels.

As her vision slowly cleared from its fog-like haze, the dim interior of a carriage came into focus.

For a fleeting moment, she wondered whether everything had been a dream.

The terrible monster.

Varkas abandoning her to rush to Aila's rescue.

Being carried away by the wyvern and nearly dying.

Perhaps it had all been nothing more than a nightmare.

As if rejecting that hope, searing pain suddenly spread from her knee to her waist.

Talia bit down on her lower lip and grabbed her burning leg.

Beneath her thin chemise, she felt the rough texture of cloth.

Her fingers traced it.

Then her eyes widened.

Her entire left leg was wrapped in thick bandages.

Pulling up her skirt, she found strips of stained cloth stuck to her thigh and side, blotched with dried blood and seeped fluid.

Her trembling fingers wandered across them.

Then she lowered her skirt again and slowly sat up.

The spacious carriage was lined with thick padded cushions.

Pillows and summer blankets lay scattered everywhere in disarray.

She stared at them blankly before grasping a handle mounted on the wall and dragging herself upright.

But her leg refused to obey.

No matter how hard she tried, she could not stand.

Her limbs felt like solid blocks of lead.

As she struggled to straighten her leg, agonizing pain shot up her spine.

With a dull thud, she collapsed back down.

A scream escaped her lips.

“Your Highness!”

Hearing the sound, the carriage abruptly stopped.

The door flew open.

Squinting against the light, Talia looked up at the figure standing in the entrance.

It was her guard knight.

His usually unruly hair was even more disheveled than normal, and concern filled his eyes.

Climbing into the carriage, he rummaged through a small box in the corner.

“The pain is severe, isn't it? The healing mage prepared a painkiller. If you drink this—”

“Why haven't I received healing magic?”

The abrupt question made him freeze.

Turning his head, he found Talia clutching the bedding and staring at him suspiciously.

“Did my brother order you not to treat me?”

“N-No, that isn't it.”

He hurriedly waved both hands.

“The healing mage set the bones and closed part of the wounds as an emergency measure, but... Your Highness's injuries were far too severe to heal all at once. He believed the best outcome would come from placing you in the care of a specialist healer at the Imperial Palace...”

Talia glared distrustfully at the fumbling explanation.

Then she lowered her eyes to her leg.

Fragments of memory surfaced.

The enormous boulder crushing her knee and thigh.

Yes.

If the wound had been healed improperly, she might have lost the use of the leg forever.

Though she reluctantly acknowledged the logic, her irritation remained.

“So you're telling me I have to stay like this until we reach the palace?”

“I know it is difficult, but please endure it a little longer. We intend to travel to Gillian by the fastest route possible.”

Talia narrowed her eyes at him before turning toward the window.

Across the vast plains bathed in pale sunlight, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» a long procession of knights stretched into the distance.

Without realizing it, her gaze searched for ash-blond hair among them.

The moment she noticed herself doing it, disgust surged through her.

She jerked the curtain shut.

Even that brief movement left her exhausted.

“I'm surprised my brother agreed to return to the palace.”

“The wyvern attack caused a considerable number of deaths. Faced with the argument that we must return immediately to conduct the funerals, I imagine His Highness could hardly oppose it openly.”

The unexpected note of cynicism in his voice made her look back in surprise.

Only then did the knight realize how sarcastic he had sounded.

He quickly changed the subject.

“More importantly, your complexion is poor. Please take the medicine first.”

He extended the vial cap toward her.

Talia stared at it for a moment.

Then she waved a dismissive hand.

“I don't need it. Take it away. I want to rest.”

“...If you cannot trust me, I can summon Sir Siorcan.”

Talia, who had been lowering herself onto the bedding, froze.

It felt as though someone had struck her without warning.

Her heart dropped violently.

Covering that reaction with a cold sneer, she replied,

“Do I look like I trust that man?”

“But Your Highness seems to—”

“I trust no one.”

Her sharp interruption cut him off.

Then, staring directly into his stubborn face, she added with deliberate emphasis,

“Especially him.”

“...”

“So stop speaking out of turn and get out.”

The knight opened his mouth as though he wanted to say something more. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

Instead, he released a small sigh and left.

A short while later, the carriage began moving again.

Talia pulled the thin summer blanket up to her shoulders.

The pain that had briefly subsided returned with renewed ferocity.

Her skin felt as though it were sizzling.

She shifted restlessly and swallowed her groans.

Finally, fleeing from the agony, she squeezed her eyes shut.

Near sunset, a plump mage arrived to cast restorative magic.

Talia silently accepted his treatment.

The touch of others disgusted her.

But she no longer possessed the strength to resist.

“I'll light an incense that dulls sensation. It should ease the pain considerably.”

Apparently he had heard that she had refused the medicine.

The mage placed a small censer near the entrance and lit it.

The stale scent quickly filled the carriage.

Talia was about to tell him not to waste his time.

Then she felt the tension gradually draining from her nerves.

Her shoulders relaxed.

The pain piercing her bones slowly receded.

Her consciousness began to blur.

The herbs clearly carried a sleeping effect as well.

She welcomed the drowsiness that swept over her.

Unfortunately, the sleep did not last.

Before long, the pain began growing fierce once more.

Groaning softly, Talia woke and struggled to open her eyes.

She would have to summon the mage and order him to burn more incense.

Rubbing her throbbing head, she slowly pushed herself upright.

Then suddenly—

Her breath caught.

Talia's pupils widened as she stared into the thick darkness surrounding her.

She did not know what had startled her.

Yet something had.