Leonhard wet the cloth with water from the canteen and proceeded to wipe the man’s face. The man’s feet shook as dirt and sweat were wiped away. His deep blue eyes soon opened, but it was obvious that they were unfocused… Is it the fever or is he still half-asleep? I got my answer not ten seconds after I asked myself.
The man blinked several times and raised himself upright, before suddenly jumping away once he saw Leonhard in front of him. But his body soon wobbled, and his knee hit the floor not long after. The man groaned in frustration of his body not moving the way he wanted it to.
“Who the hell are you lot?”
His voice was low and sounded clogged.
“Marx, I think you should refrain from moving too suddenly for now.”
“How did you know my na-…!!”
His questioning eyes latched onto me and flew open.
“No way, is that Master Johan?!”
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
“Why-…”
‘Why are you here?’ He cut off mid-sentence, covering his mouth with his hand as he violently coughed. Leonhard supported his curled body and handed him a piece of cloth. He then stroked Marx’s back to relieve him from the pain.
“That’s enough… Don’t come any closer, or you’ll get it too.”
Marx gently refused Leonard’s helping hand as I took a sharp breath at his words.
Of course! Some diseases can infect through touch alone. I didn’t know what Marx had, but it’s hard to say that Leonhard, who had made the most contact with him, was still safe.
I was frustrated that I didn’t realise such a simple fact sooner.
“Don’t concern yourself with it.”
Leonhard, however, didn’t pay it any mind.
Instead, a daring smile flashed upon his immaculate face.
“If that’s truly the case, then it’s already too late either way. Here, why not have some more water?”
“Yeah… Sorry.”
Leonhard popped open the canister before feeding Marx the liquid inside. He kept his calm despite the danger that he could have contracted the disease himself. Was he confident he wouldn’t get it, or perhaps was he certain it could be treated later?
“I’m saved.”
Marx exhaled a long sigh after he finished drinking. When it seemed he had calmed down enough, Nacht walked up to him.
Seeing Marx face to face, Nacht whispered:
“Are you one of the border knights?”
“!!… Impossible… You’re-”
Marx was startled by the identity of the boy standing in front of him. At this rate, his contorting face would turn into something only a mother could love.
Marx quietly whimpered out a reply,
“Forgive my unsightly appearance. My name is Marx Gartner, vice-captain of the Western Border Knights Army.”
His face dropped. His calm tone was like that of a criminal awaiting punishment.
“Marx, you said that the disease spreads easily, right? Does that mean the disease has already taken over the village here?”
“It is as you suspected.”
Marx reluctantly answered Nacht, who was now blocking his any means of escape. It would have been an easy task to take a little peek at the village and confirm this with our own eyes, but his answer was plenty clear.
“The disease that ravished Grenze hasn’t disappeared anywhere. It’s still right here in this-“
“The vice-captain is gone!”
A loud shout drowned out Nacht’s words. They must have realised Marx was no longer at his post, causing many to begin gathering around the village entrance.
“Marx! Where are you?!”
The search party gradually approached.
What should we do?! Should we hide? But, even if we could find a place to hide, moving Marx without making a noise would still prove difficult…
As my anxiety kicked in, the distance between us and them continued to decrease.
Leonhard thought about something before exchanging looks with Marx.
“Over here!”
When Leonhard stood up and called out, the knights were in disbelief.
“Who’re you?”
The one in the lead unsheathed his sword. Following his example, the two behind him did the same.
“Cut it out!”
When Marx revealed himself, their eyes became sharp. They must have thought he had been captured by the enemy.
“What the hell did you do to Marx?!”
“Nothing at all. Please calm down.”
“Nothing my ass! How could you lie like that? Haven’t you seen the state our vice-captain is in?!”
It was a young man that chewed out Leonhard. He readied his sword and attacked.
Leonhard, however, showed no rush and calmly let out a soft breath. He continued to stand his ground without drawing his weapon.
The young man swung his sword down with a shout, only for Leonhard to avoid it with a slight bow of his head. Surprised, the young man unleashed a relentless assault, but Leonhard continued to evade his every attack with minimal movements. Leonhard then took hold of the young man’s wrist and twisted the sword out of his hand.
“Peter!!”
Another man charged at Leonhard to save his companion. Leonhard pushed the young man away before dodging the other man’s slash. Grabbing his arm that just came down, Leonhard forcibly pulled it forward, causing the man’s balance to collapse, before kicking his back to the ground.
The final knight then swung at Leonhard, who returned the gesture by pinning him to the ground before twisting his arm into a lock hold.
There was no choice but to be amazed by the events happening before my eyes. I knew he was strong, but to diffuse the situation in mere moments…
“…I thought I’d seen your face somewhere.”
Marx entrusted his back onto a tree trunk and looked up at Leonhard with a face mixed of praise and fear.
“To think I’d get to meet the great ‘Black Lion’ himself all the way out here.”
“Please, stop.”
Leonhard’s face turned bitter when Marx laughed.
“The Black Lion you say?! Ain’t that Nebel’s champion…?”
The young man got up on his feet.
The other man forgot the situation he was in and simply stared in awe. Leonhard, however, looked uncomfortable being at the centre of attention.
It seemed Leonhard, a man well-known in the neighbouring countries and whom knights of young age all yearned to be, didn’t like standing out too much.
“Why… Why is someone like the Black Lion Commander in a place like this?”
“He’s our escort.”
It was Nacht that spoke to the confused young knight.
‘Escort?’ The young knight repeated, confused and oblivious. The other two, however, recognised Nacht and immediately turned pale.
Leonhard wet the cloth with water from the canteen and proceeded to wipe the man’s face. The man’s feet shook as dirt and sweat were wiped away. His deep blue eyes soon opened, but it was obvious that they were unfocused… Is it the fever or is he still half-asleep? I got my answer not ten seconds after I asked myself.
The man blinked several times and raised himself upright, before suddenly jumping away once he saw Leonhard in front of him. But his body soon wobbled, and his knee hit the floor not long after. The man groaned in frustration of his body not moving the way he wanted it to.
“Who the hell are you lot?”
His voice was low and sounded clogged.
“Marx, I think you should refrain from moving too suddenly for now.”
“How did you know my na-…!!”
His questioning eyes latched onto me and flew open.
“No way, is that Master Johan?!”
“Yes, it’s been a while.”
“Why-…”
‘Why are you here?’ He cut off mid-sentence, covering his mouth with his hand as he violently coughed. Leonhard supported his curled body and handed him a piece of cloth. He then stroked Marx’s back to relieve him from the pain.
“That’s enough… Don’t come any closer, or you’ll get it too.”
Marx gently refused Leonard’s helping hand as I took a sharp breath at his words.
Of course! Some diseases can infect through touch alone. I didn’t know what Marx had, but it’s hard to say that Leonhard, who had made the most contact with him, was still safe.
I was frustrated that I didn’t realise such a simple fact sooner.
“Don’t concern yourself with it.”
Leonhard, however, didn’t pay it any mind.
Instead, a daring smile flashed upon his immaculate face.
“If that’s truly the case, then it’s already too late either way. Here, why not have some more water?”
“Yeah… Sorry.”
Leonhard popped open the canister before feeding Marx the liquid inside. He kept his calm despite the danger that he could have contracted the disease himself. Was he confident he wouldn’t get it, or perhaps was he certain it could be treated later?
“I’m saved.”
Marx exhaled a long sigh after he finished drinking. When it seemed he had calmed down enough, Nacht walked up to him.
Seeing Marx face to face, Nacht whispered:
“Are you one of the border knights?”
“!!… Impossible… You’re-”
Marx was startled by the identity of the boy standing in front of him. At this rate, his contorting face would turn into something only a mother could love.
Marx quietly whimpered out a reply,
“Forgive my unsightly appearance. My name is Marx Gartner, vice-captain of the Western Border Knights Army.”
His face dropped. His calm tone was like that of a criminal awaiting punishment.
“Marx, you said that the disease spreads easily, right? Does that mean the disease has already taken over the village here?”
“It is as you suspected.”
Marx reluctantly answered Nacht, who was now blocking his any means of escape. It would have been an easy task to take a little peek at the village and confirm this with our own eyes, but his answer was plenty clear.
“The disease that ravished Grenze hasn’t disappeared anywhere. It’s still right here in this-“
“The vice-captain is gone!”
A loud shout drowned out Nacht’s words. They must have realised Marx was no longer at his post, causing many to begin gathering around the village entrance.
“Marx! Where are you?!”
The search party gradually approached.
What should we do?! Should we hide? But, even if we could find a place to hide, moving Marx without making a noise would still prove difficult…
As my anxiety kicked in, the distance between us and them continued to decrease.
Leonhard thought about something before exchanging looks with Marx.
“Over here!”
When Leonhard stood up and called out, the knights were in disbelief.
“Who’re you?”
The one in the lead unsheathed his sword. Following his example, the two behind him did the same.
“Cut it out!”
When Marx revealed himself, their eyes became sharp. They must have thought he had been captured by the enemy.
“What the hell did you do to Marx?!”
“Nothing at all. Please calm down.”
“Nothing my ass! How could you lie like that? Haven’t you seen the state our vice-captain is in?!”
It was a young man that chewed out Leonhard. He readied his sword and attacked.
Leonhard, however, showed no rush and calmly let out a soft breath. He continued to stand his ground without drawing his weapon.
The young man swung his sword down with a shout, only for Leonhard to avoid it with a slight bow of his head. Surprised, the young man unleashed a relentless assault, but Leonhard continued to evade his every attack with minimal movements. Leonhard then took hold of the young man’s wrist and twisted the sword out of his hand.
“Peter!!”
Another man charged at Leonhard to save his companion. Leonhard pushed the young man away before dodging the other man’s slash. Grabbing his arm that just came down, Leonhard forcibly pulled it forward, causing the man’s balance to collapse, before kicking his back to the ground.
The final knight then swung at Leonhard, who returned the gesture by pinning him to the ground before twisting his arm into a lock hold.
There was no choice but to be amazed by the events happening before my eyes. I knew he was strong, but to diffuse the situation in mere moments…
“…I thought I’d seen your face somewhere.”
Marx entrusted his back onto a tree trunk and looked up at Leonhard with a face mixed of praise and fear.
“To think I’d get to meet the great ‘Black Lion’ himself all the way out here.”
“Please, stop.”
Leonhard’s face turned bitter when Marx laughed.
“The Black Lion you say?! Ain’t that Nebel’s champion…?”
The young man got up on his feet.
The other man forgot the situation he was in and simply stared in awe. Leonhard, however, looked uncomfortable being at the centre of attention.
It seemed Leonhard, a man well-known in the neighbouring countries and whom knights of young age all yearned to be, didn’t like standing out too much.
“Why… Why is someone like the Black Lion Commander in a place like this?”
“He’s our escort.”
It was Nacht that spoke to the confused young knight.
‘Escort?’ The young knight repeated, confused and oblivious. The other two, however, recognised Nacht and immediately turned pale.
