Chapter: 20
As the man whose back had been pierced by the poisoned dagger collapsed forward, Lenia pulled out the hidden throwing weapon she had concealed and hurled it with all her strength toward another assassin.
“You’re not the only ones who know how to use dirty tricks!”
She was not as skilled as Kallius, but she too had survived long enough in the underworld to learn a thing or two.
Forced to block Lenia’s barrage of hidden weapons aimed only at vital points while also dealing with Kallius’s direct and ferocious attacks, the assassin quickly exchanged a glance with his companion.
“At this rate, we can’t win. Retreat!”
“Damn it…!”
The poisoned man threw down a smoke bomb, and thick clouds instantly spread around them.
By the time the sharp, choking smoke faded away, the assassins had already vanished without a trace.
“They got away. We should’ve caught them somehow.”
“They’re experts at this kind of thing. Even if we chased after them, we wouldn’t catch them anyway.”
In truth, pursuing them was not what mattered right now.
At this very moment, the poison was spreading through Kallius’s body.
“Come to the temple with me immediately, Kallius. We have to neutralize the poison as quickly as possible.”
“…Me? Go to the temple?”
“There’s no time to stand around like this. Hurry.”
Lenia grabbed his sleeve and tried to pull him along, but Kallius did not move at all.
As though the idea of himself going to the temple was ridiculous, he merely let out quiet chuckles.
“What’s so funny? If that poison isn’t cured within an hour, something terrible could happen! Are you desperate to die?”
“If something like this could kill me, I would’ve died long ago. But…”
“…Kallius?”
“Right now… I’d like to rest a bit.”
Clang.
With the sound of his sword falling to the ground, Kallius’s massive body tilted toward her.
‘Goodness… He feels like someone burning alive.’
Could a human body really be this hot?
Kallius’s ragged breathing brushed against the back of her neck.
It seemed the poison had truly begun to spread. He was now in such a terrible condition that he could not even support himself properly.
“Never… call a priest. Understood? Lenia.”
“Stay awake, Kallius. Don’t lose consciousness!”
“Bring Valtan. Take me… to the bedroom…”
Those were his last words before Kallius completely lost consciousness.
As if foretelling the misfortune about to fall upon them both, black clouds covered the moonlit sky.
* * *
Kallius’s condition rapidly worsened.
After calling for Valtan, they managed to move him to the bedroom, but they still had no idea how to properly treat him.
‘As expected, the medicine isn’t working. Should I drag a priest here by force?’
Thankfully, Kallius possessed a resistance to poison.
According to Valtan, not only was he unaffected by most toxins, but he could even consume a lethal dose and continue walking around just fine.
However, the poison Kallius had been struck with this time was extremely powerful, and natural recovery seemed impossible.
Even if he somehow managed to recover, there was still a high chance that the severe fever would leave lasting aftereffects.
When Lenia finally declared that she would go to the temple, Valtan hurriedly waved his hands and stopped her.
“That absolutely cannot happen. The captain… no, Lord Kallius reacts terribly to anything related to the temple. If he said something like that even after being poisoned so severely, then there must be a reason.”
“I’m sure he has his reasons. But are they more important than someone’s life? We can think about the rest after treating him first.”
“If my guess is correct… perhaps Lord Kallius is suffering not because of the poison.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
When Lenia asked with a serious expression, Valtan let out a quiet sigh before replying.
“As you know, I stayed by Lord Kallius’s side throughout his mercenary days. Sometimes, for reasons unknown to me, he would suffer violent episodes. What he’s showing now is very similar to those times.”
“Episodes… How long do they usually last?”
“Usually somewhere between half a day and two days before he returns to normal. Though, since he’s the type who never shows when he’s in pain, I can’t say for certain.”
Since these words came from the person who had stayed closest to Kallius for years, Lenia found them trustworthy.
After making that judgment, she searched through her belongings and chose the most effective antidote she had before feeding it to Kallius, hoping it would help even a little.
And shortly after—
“We should take those gloves off too. Why would someone burning up with fever still wear leather gloves?”
“W-wait a moment! Madam, you mustn’t.”
“What do you mean I mustn’t? It’s not like I said I’d strip all his clothes off.”
When Lenia answered as though it were obvious, Valtan looked troubled.
But then his expression suddenly brightened as though he had realized something.
“Ah, I suppose you’ve already seen Lord Kallius’s bare hands! It seems I worried for nothing.”
“Uh, well…”
“You even have a child together, so of course that’s natural. Surely he didn’t keep his gloves on even when you spent the night together.”
No, forget spending the night together—I’ve never even held his bare hand once.
‘This man is pretty oblivious too.’
It seemed Valtan firmly believed that she and Kallius were a real married couple.
Not long ago, he had even looked touched on his own, saying that Kallius worked tirelessly day and night as a mercenary all for the sake of supporting his wife and child.
“Anyway, leave Kallius to me and bring some fresh clothes and wet towels. I think we’ll have to keep giving him fever medicine too, so bring drinking water as well.”
“…I think what I need right now isn’t medicine.”
“Kallius!”
As soon as the now-conscious Kallius staggered upright from the bed, Lenia quickly rushed over to support him.
Kallius let out a faint groan, likely from the pain of the dagger wound, before speaking quietly.
“Leave us alone for a moment. I need to speak with Lenia privately.”
Once Valtan left and the two of them were alone, silence settled heavily over the room.
‘Why is he staring at me like that…?’
Did he have something to say?
Realizing there was something unusual about the way Kallius looked at her, Lenia quietly bit her lip.
“You may think I sound insane… but can I ask just one favor of you, Lenia?”
“I’ll decide after hearing it. Go ahead.”
“I want to touch you. No… I need to. Would it be alright if I held you for a moment?”
Kallius’s sudden request sent a strange numbness through the back of her head.
Remembering the sensation of him brushing against her cheek before, Lenia’s shoulders stiffened slightly.
“Even a brief embrace is enough. I’ll explain everything later. It may sound like an excuse, but right now, I need you. More desperately than ever.”
“…You’ll explain everything? Including those suspicious gloves?”
“Yes. I promise.”
Lenia fell into deep thought for a moment.
Kallius truly looked desperate, and there was almost nothing anyone else could do to ease his suffering.
If it was only a brief embrace… if it was only that much, perhaps she could close her eyes and allow it.
“I’ve never explained my condition to anyone before. That’s also why I avoid temples and priests. It’s something that could put my life in danger.”
“You’re saying you’ll tell only me something that important? What exactly are you thinking?”
“Because you are that important to me.”
