14. Please allow me.
Crack!
With a sound like a stone breaking, blue fluid burst out in all directions.
“Ugh!”
I hurriedly pulled up my cloak to cover myself up, but the fluid ended up getting my hair soaked.
A sour smell followed immediately with the sound of something burning.
“Oh really!”
Rappin shook out his bubbling, melting hair and cried out loud.
Because it was strongly acidic, the monster’s body fluids were poisonous in themselves.
Jillian, who knew this well, was very careful when cutting down monsters, so the monsters rarely exploded.
But today, for some reason, every time he swung his sword, a monster exploded.
It was too frequent to be a coincidence, and the monster’s bodily fluids were not something to be taken lightly or laugh it off as a mistake.
Another head was being ripped open and the monster’s bodily fluids poured down like rainwater again.
“Ack!”
Rappin quickly backed away with a disgusted look on his face.
Splash.
A blue puddle had formed where he had been standing just a moment ago.
“If you keep doing this, my hair will all melt and disappear.”
This is already the fourth time through a short time period.
I can’t stand it anymore!
“Duke…..!”
Rappin, who was about to call the Duke with a distressed expression, suddenly stopped when his eyes fell on the Duke’s hand.
“Uh?”
Jillian was using the sheath, not the sword.
A little while ago, the moment I cut down one, I saw another one running behind Jillian as if it was a timed attack.
But since he dealt with it using one strike, I thought he would have taken out the sword…
Lappin blinked, and then he remembered that Jillian had been using his bare hands all day.
So this wasn’t a frequent mistake.
He just hit them with the sheath of the sword, but was it even possible to cut them with the sheath without them exploding?
“This is crazy.”
Rappin burst into laughter at the absurd sight.
The Duke who was dealing with the monster was literally a monster himself.
A formidable power that surpassed a normal human.
The sight of Jillian overpowering the monsters was so intense that it gave me goosebumps just by looking at it.
He was not even a person.
“It’s not a person. He can not be a person.”
“Omg!”
“What kind of stupidity is this?”
For a moment, Rappin had to cover his mouth as if he had lost his senses and started talking. It was only then that he realized that Creta was next to him due to the familiar scolding.
“Ah, Crete.”
“Why do you look so disgusting?”
Creta looked pitifully at Rappin, shaking off the monster’s bodily fluids that were on the blade of her sword.
“This isn’t about being stupid…”
“Then what’s with that horrible look on your face?”
“That’s….yikes!”
Without further explanation, Rappin skillfully picked up his cloak and dodged the flying bodily fluids.
Rappin’s cloak had long since lost its original color and turned blue.
The cloak was terrible due to the sticky body fluids, but I couldn’t take it off because it was impossible to withstand the monster’s body fluids unless it was a cloak made of the monster’s skin.
“Look at you. You look like a wet blue frog jumping around.”
Unlike Rappin, Creta avoided it by taking a step forward and rolled her eyes as she brushed her flowing hair.
Jillian slaughtering a horde of monsters and Creta scolding Rappin were common occurrences.
Now that I know the reason monsters explode like firecrackers was because they were hit by the sword sheath.
But Rappin had a hard time shaking the feeling that something was strange.
As I was tilting my head, my thoughts were interrupted by another heavy blue rain pouring down.
Splash.
This time, it looked like I would have to wear a cape the whole time.
‘Wouldn’t it be better to just end this quickly?’
Rappin had just adjusted his sword.
“Duke!”
A loud roar echoed throughout the battlefield.
It wasn’t an unfamiliar voice he didn’t know, as it was naturally a knight’s.
“They say the Duchess has woken up.”
Jillian’s sword, which had been moving without a single break since entering the battlefield, stopped.
He slowly turned his head.
“When?”
At that moment and when the knight opened his mouth wide to answer his question.
A heavy figure with flashing yellow eyes flew towards the Duke.
The teeth protruding from the gaping maw were frightening and clearly visible.
Rappin and Creta rushed forward, but the distance was too far.
“Duke!”
Crash.
And everything became quiet.
“I asked when.”
Jillian’s very calm voice rang out, and a heavy thud rang out a beat later.
There was no blue fluids.
Gillian lightly kicked the fallen monster and walked out. The sword in his hand was glowing with a white aura.
“Ha….”
It was only then that Rappin realized the feeling of discomfort that could not be explained in words.
Jillian had never used his Aura skills until the knight that gave the message came.
It wasn’t a problem with the scabbard.
Rappin realized it clearly once again as he looked at Jillian smiling lightly.
During the whole time clearing up the monsters, Jillian never said a single word or made any facial expression.
It wasn’t something that could be explained simply with him being angry.
This…
Rappin got goosebumps and couldn’t even breathe.
“I came running as soon as I heard she woke up.”
“Wow, you had a hard time.”
Jillian, with a bright smile on her face, praised the knight of the castle without hesitation.
Rappin, who had never been scared even when faced with a monster the size of a house in front of him, thought as he broke out in a cold sweat.
It was because of the duchess.
The Duchess was the one who took Gillian Baloch’s expression away then made him smile again.
What if a monster killed the Duchess…
Pop.
Once again, thick beads of sweat dropped on my feet.
Omg.
The knight’s sonorous voice rang through his heavy breathing.
“The head maid has requested the Duke’s quick return.”
“Of course.”
Jillian’s voice was sweeter than honey.
***
“It seems like monsters come across often, right?”
“It wasn’t like this originally. But this winter is a little strange.”
“Would she be scared if I say this?”
After talking as much as she could, she whispers something behind her back as if she’s trying to think about it belatedly.
Should I call her cute or tactless?
Bianca burst into laughter at Julie’s question.
“No.”
“Really?”
“Then.”
It was a mistake to nod my head when I saw Julie looking at me.
The dizziness that had subsided for a moment came back, and my vision became dark, and my senses became distant.
Fortunately, thanks to Julie’s quick support, I didn’t end up falling into the bed, but both Bianca and Julie were very embarrassed.
“You will feel okay after taking the medicine. You should never overdo it.”
Bianca whispered ‘Thank you’ to Julie who held her.
“You opened your eyes after three days. Take it easy.”
Maybe because she was worried about me, she was constantly expressing nagging concerns.
In the meantime, the small hand that supported her was firm and did not waver at all.
I was not that strong at all.
Curiosity arose due to the incredible grip strength, but Bianca did not make the foolish mistake of mentioning it.
‘It’s difficult to survive if you don’t pick up a sword at age 20.’
She pass it off as something to survive in the barren north.
Bianca resumed the story she was talking about after her dizziness subsided.
“If this time is unusual, does that mean it’s not like this in normal years?”
“Of course, lady. Normally, the Duke would only move three times.”
“Thee times…”
Three calloused fingers that were incredibly calloused for a maid stood out.
This time, Bianca looked away, pretending not to see, and asked, ‘Why three times?’
“Well, this is a long story… Where should I start?”
Julie was very active in explaining the North.
Thanks to this, Bianca was able to hear quite a few stories.
In winter, countless monsters come from beyond the ice wall, and they gather in groups and flock to the main castle.
And that huge group of over a hundred monsters is called a ‘Wave’.
Although it was an entirely unfamiliar story, Bianca was immersed in it and listened to Julie’s story.
“So of the seven citadels,….”
Knock knock.
Julie was just about to explain about the Seven Citadels when..
A small knock sounded and a maid’s voice asked across the door, ‘ Do you want to have dinner?’
“Should we stop here for today?”
Julie smiled charmingly as the maid announced dinner time.
“Oh my goodness.”
It was clearly noon when they began talking, with the sun at its peak.
But suddenly it was dark everywhere.
I had no idea that so much time had passed.
This may have been partly because Julie was good at telling stories in a lively manner, but it was also because the endless stories were all so exciting.
She wanted to hear more about other things, but Bianca kept silent when Julie promised to do so tomorrow.
I don’t remember, but I heard that I woke up after being sick for three days.
That must have been why when I opened my eyes, my whole body was shaking uncontrollably like a newborn fawn.
Although she had already drank a watery soup four times, Bianca’s body was still shaking slightly.
Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do because my physical condition was not good.
“I’ll continue again tomorrow, so you need to tell me where we stopped at.”
She is a sweetheart, but tend to forget things.
Julie, as if sensing her disappointment, whispered as she accepted the bowl of red soup handed to her by the maid.
“How about you tell me where we stopped and I will remind you?”
“I heard about the wave, so please tell me about the seven citadels.”
“Oh, the Seven citadels….”
Only then did Bianca remember passing through the seven castle gates with the Duke.
“Ah…”
Come to think of it, one of Duke Baloch’s nicknames was ‘The Master of the Seven Citadels’.
I had just heard about it without thinking much, but when Julie began telling me about it, I became curious about what hidden stories there might be.
“Now, drink it all up. They say they served chicken broth for dinner.”
Bianca finally felt extreme hunger when she caught the delicious smell that passed her nose.
It seemed like she was so caught up in the endless stories that she had completely forgotten about her hunger.
Gurgling.
My stomach even made sounds like a shameful urging.
Bianca who was deeply embarrassed by the unexpected sound, lowered her head.
“I will feed you.”
A soft voice that seemed to wet my eardrums rang out.
“Jillian?”
“I’m home.”
I didn’t even hear him come in, but before I knew it, he had reached the bed and was taking my soup.
Julie left the bedroom without a sound, and Jillian, who was alone with Bianca, very naturally scooped up a spoonful of soup and served it to her.
“Ah, open your mouth.”
“I will eat on my own….”
I reflexively covered my mouth, but Jillian whispered again without even pretending to hear me.
“Oh, please open your mouth.”
“Give it to me.”
I added stubbornly, but it was no use.
Jillian so easily intercepted Bianca’s request with a smile.
“Please.”
“Please allow me.”
