Chapter 302 – Don’t Die
Alphord’s expression turned grim as he looked at Paveluc leaving with his escort of soldiers.
‘Did my attempt fail?’
Alphord had abandoned all expectations of surviving from the beginning. He knew all too well that he couldn’t win, but that didn’t mean he would die in vain. His ultimate goal was to rescue Elena, but he also hoped to deal a severe blow to Paveluc. If Alphord and his knights could take him out, there would be nothing better. Even if the odds were slim…the final goal was to kill the traitor.
It was a massive stroke of luck when Alphord saw Paveluc enter the battlefield, and Alphord quickly arranged a plan with a few of his men. If two of them could restrain Paveluc, Alphord could strike the grand duke with a fatal blow.
Realistically, Alphord did not view the plan with a high chance of success, as Paveluc was not one to be killed by such an attack. In the end, he only ended up with an injury to his hand, but…
‘I suppose…I should be satisfied with just that.’
It was a pity that only one hand was obtained in exchange for Alphord’s and his men’s lives, but it wasn’t too bad if the hand was Paveluc’s.
Alphord knocked down an enemy with his sword, but an attack from the side caught him by surprise.
“Aagh!
Before he could check the wound, another enemy soldier rushed at him.
Kang kang!
Alphord tried to push through the bodies of men and run towards to Paveluc, but the battlefield was packed with enemies. He cast his eyes around to assess the current situation. There were about eighty Ruford knights in the beginning, and now they were down to only ten. And that number continued to decrease.
Eight, seven…now three.
At that moment, a spear struck Alphord’s shoulder. He staggered back, just as another enemy soldier rushed at him. His vision blurred before him, but he gritted his teeth to keep focus. With all his strength, he slashed at his opponent’s neck. At the same time, the enemy’s attack landed on him, and blood spurted from his forearm.
“Haa, haa.”
He barely had enough strength to even lift his sword. Nevertheless, Alphord straightened his back and faced the battlefield. He was the leader of the Fourth Order of Knights of the Ruford Empire. He always lived by the sword, and fought for the palace. Because of that…
‘I’m taking down one more person with me.’
Alphord kept swinging his sword. Even though he felt no sensation in his hands, and he was so exhausted that he couldn’t even see properly, his blade danced and spun in the air.
Suddenly, a sword was lodged in Alphord’s flank. He stumbled at the fatal attack.
Not even a beat later, another long spear shot towards him and stabbed his stomach.
Peoeog!
Alphord’s body fell backwards and hit the ground. He shuddered for a few moments, and then went limp.
“You son of a bitch…”
The enemy soldier was heaving deep breaths and sweating profusely. It had been a terrible fight indeed, and the red color on Alphord’s blond hair was evidence to its ferocity. Another soldier came up to him.
“What happened?”
The soldier who had struck Alphord with a spear nodded at the body.
“He’s dead.”
The other soldier nodded at hearing the report, and he saw Paveluc approaching them.
“How is your hand, My Lord?”
The bleeding had already been stopped, and the wound was covered in bandages. Paveluc replied in a dismissive voice.
“I’m fine, so don’t make a fuss.”
Paveluc looked at the bodies of the fallen Ruford knights strewn on the battlefield, including Alphord’s. The soldier next to him reported the situation immediately.
“I confirmed that they’re all dead.”
“Is that so?”
Paveluc regretted that he wasn’t the one to tear Alphord apart in payment for his injured hand, but that was not the immediate problem.
“I’ve been fooled by their decoy, so the Empress must have crossed the border.”
“Yes…it’s likely she’s not in Lunen anymore.”
Paveluc’s face tightened in anger, and the soldier stiffened next to him. However, Paveluc didn’t have the luxury to vent his rage on something that was already beyond his control. There was other business to attend to.
“We’ll have to change our initial plans. Take all the remaining troops and go to the border. Make it appear that I’m with you. I will go to the Kingdom of Jenar with a small group, so we can move quickly.”
“Kingdom of Jenar?”
“Yes. There’s a private conversation I need to finish with them.”
It would be difficult to reverse the current unfavorable situation, even if Paveluc went into battle himself. He needed to get to Jenar. Carlisle was able to fend him off in a far greater capacity than he expected, and Paveluc’s window to victory was rapidly closing. Above all, the Kelt Kingdom was becoming nervous and almost ready to abandon Lunen. Paveluc could not let this persist.
It was why he had to make another choice—the Jenar kingdom. They had long coveted land from the Ruford Empire, and had secretly contacted Paveluc several times and expressed their willingness to help. Just as with the Kelt Kingdom, however, it was a high price to pay for allies. Paveluc refused them…until now. Such was his desperation.
He turned towards the soldier.
“Remember, no one knows I’m heading for Jenar.”
“Yes, sir!”
But there was something they did not know.
Alphord was thought to be dead on the ground, but his fingers twitched slightly.
***
Elena personally led a group of forty knights and began to trace Alphord’s path. Numerous Lunen soldiers had crawled the landscape in search of Elena not that long ago, but now the way ahead of them was relatively clear. They must have assumed that she crossed the border. It had gone as planned. Because of that, she would be able to reach Alphord’s location easily.
“Ah…”
But the battlefield was already in ruin. The dead bodies of the Ruford knights were scattered everywhere, laying in their pools of blood. Elena’s red eyes, which were always bright, had darkened in despair.
‘…Father.’
Before her eyes flashed the sight of his body hanging on the castle wall in her last life. She had made numerous promises to save him this time…but she failed again.
All of Elena’s efforts seemed to have disappeared like a frail bubble against a strong wind. Hot anger rose in her chest. There was also grief and sadness…but anger most of all.
Martin approached Elena’s side and spoke carefully.
“…Your Majesty.”
“I have to find my father. So that I can retrieve the body…”
“Very well.”
Martin issued an order to find Alphord, and the knights quickly began their search among the hill of corpses.
Elena desperately searched for her father like a madwoman. Tears pricked her eyes. If she didn’t do anything right now, she would simply collapse to the ground.
‘Father, father…papa.’
She hadn’t referred to him as “papa” since she was a small child. He had always been hard on her, and she was resentful of his short letter that told her to “live happily”. He wasn’t quietly reliable like Derek, nor was he lovable like Mirabelle, but she wanted to save him all the same.
‘To be happy…I need Papa. My family has to stay with me.’
She had missed her family so much during her last life. She had spent countless nights soaking her pillow with tears as she remembered her father.
When she returned to the past, however, Alphord was too cold for her to get close to. She couldn’t bring herself to tell the truth to him in fear of being ignored.
A pang of regret stabbed her heart. Would it have been a different if she reached out to Alphord first? Just to say “I love you”, even just once…
She couldn’t stop her tears, and her vision blurred before her. It was then.
“Your Majesty! I found him! Over here!”
Elena’s head jerked up at the loud cry, and she raced towards her father’s location. When she arrived, she found that, miraculously, he was breathing shallow breaths.
“Father!”
At Elena’s cry, Alphord spoke in a faint voice.
“Too dangerous…why did you come back?”
“Don’t speak. Your injuries are too severe.”
Elena pressed hard on his wounded side. She had to stop the bleeding immediately. Or maybe it was already too late. Her eyes were so full of tears that the image of her father was blurred. He struggled to speak, an urgent look on his face.
“Kollog, Your Majesty…listen to me.”
“Father, talk later. Your wound is still open.”
“Paveluc is heading to the Kingdom of Zenar to seek support. Kollog. His procession to the border is false…tell this to His Majesty.”
The Lunen soldiers had quickly moved to another location after they defeated their enemy, and their haste enabled Alphord to slightly hold his breath. He had overheard Paveluc’s plans, and he clung on in hopes of telling someone about it. His tenacity was what kept him alive. He wasn’t pleased that Elena had taken such a risk and come back, but on the other hand, it was a relief to tell her the truth.
Alphord’s expression relaxed in accomplishment of his final mission.
“Don’t be too late…don’t fall into Paveluc’s trap…”
“Yes, Father. You don’t have to keep speaking now.”
“Take care of yourself…”
Alphord’s head dropped in finality.
Elena bit her lip and fought back the tears that threatened to burst out of her. She pressed hard on Alphord’s wound and yelled at the others.
“Quick, we have to stop the bleeding!”
A medicine to stop bleeding was hurriedly passed to her, and she uncorked it and poured the whole bottle onto Alphord’s wound. She tore a strip off the clothes she was wearing, and bound the injury tightly. Under these poor conditions, it was the best she could do.
“Please…please don’t die. There are so many things I haven’t told you yet, Father.”
Elena lowered her head. She had given him all the emergency treatment that she could. Dazed and staring at her father’s seemingly lifeless body, she held a trembling hand to his face.
Ssaeg ssaeg.
Very faintly, she felt him breathing. It was broken and weak, but it was there. Elena burst into tears.
‘God, thank you.’
Alphord was not out of the woods yet, and he was still in danger of dying. It was a miracle that he was still alive now. He had to see a doctor and get proper treatment before it was too late.
“…Haaah.”
Elena dropped her head into her hands, before lifting her head up again and looking at her blood-stained palms. Alphord was not yet dead, and her sworn enemy was still alive. She had to wake up now.
‘Paveluc is trying to get help from the Jenar Kingdom.’
When Elena had been moving towards the border, she had learned that Carlisle’s and Paveluc’s forces had already clashed. Paveluc’s last-minute attempt to gain another ally meant that Carlisle must be winning. If Paveluc’s plan was successful, however, Carlisle’s advantage could quickly evaporate.
‘…I have to stop Paveluc.’
Alphord had told her to relay the information to Carlisle, but Paveluc would already be at Jenar by the time she did so. Then it would be too late.
Elena had to think of something to protect her loved ones. She had to find a way to save her father from the brink of death, and help Carlisle who was fighting for his life on the battlefield.