10 minutes earlier.

“...”

When Maxim revealed his wounds, Christine’s reaction was one of rigid concern. There were more than a dozen deep puncture marks on his back where fangs had pierced his flesh. The skin was bruised and reddened, and the blood that had oozed out was now dried and crusted. Christine soaked a clean cloth in warm water and wrung it out tightly.

“Why are you so tense?”

“Did you fight against dozens of monsters all by yourself? How did you get hurt this badly?”

Christine began to gently clean Maxim’s wounds with the cloth. Even just wiping away the dried blood caused the cloth to turn red and dirty.

“I made a mistake.”

“That doesn’t sound like you at all,” Christine shot back, glaring at him. Maxim could only nod in agreement.

“Wait, did you really take on dozens of them alone?”

“It just happened.”

“What were the other knights doing while you were fighting?”

Christine dipped the cloth back into the bucket, the sound of water splashing as the blood mixed with the water made her grimace.

“That Clint guy, should I go and drag him here?”

“It’s fine, Christine. It’s my fault. How could they know I can’t use aura?”

“Why is it your fault that you can’t use aura? You could use it before,” Christine retorted angrily, though not at Maxim. He let out a bitter laugh.

“No one suddenly loses the ability to use aura. They’ll just think I chose not to.”

“No one would blame you if you said you couldn’t use it. You could just tell them…”

Maxim sighed and shook his head.

“No, Christine.”

“Eventually, they’ll find out. Are you planning to keep this lie going forever?”

Maxim nodded.

“Once someone starts seeing you in a bad light, they tend to interpret everything you do negatively. If I just keep my mouth shut, no one has to know.”

“It sounds to me like you’re purposely trying to make people hate you.”

“As sharp as ever, Christine. You’re right.”

Christine’s expression hardened as she began to apply a poultice of crushed herbs to Maxim’s wounds. She seemed to be applying it a bit roughly, causing Maxim to flinch in pain.

“Do I look like I’m joking right now?”

“...No.”

After ensuring the poultice was properly applied, Christine reached for a bandage.

“Senior…”

“I’m fine.”

“But I’m not.”

Christine grasped Maxim’s hand.

“There’s no reason for you to bear all this hatred and burden alone.”

“This isn’t something that can be shared.”

Christine’s grip tightened around Maxim’s hand. She then let go and began to wrap the bandage around his back. When she finished, she gently placed her hand over the wound, and Maxim felt the warmth of Christine’s mana easing his pain.

“Don’t get hurt.”

“I’ll try.”

Maxim smiled as he stood up. He began to clean up the scattered cloths and medical supplies. Christine gave him a weak smile. Once everything was tidied up, Maxim awkwardly put on the shirt that had been draped over a chair. Christine watched him as he opened the tent flap and stepped outside.

If only she could offer to share his burden without hesitation, how much easier it would be.

Christine gazed out at the night wilderness visible through the flapping tent entrance. It was a dark, very dark night, even for the Wilderness.

The moon was a crescent.

With no real obstacles in the barren wilderness, Maxim decided not to carry a lantern. It had been a day when he felt he had let go of many things. He had accepted the fact that Theodora needed to hate him. He thought he had shouldered some of the weight of that emotion.

His wounds ached.

The hellhound’s fangs were strong enough to pierce his armor, tearing into his flesh and muscle, causing him to bleed. Fortunately, the wound was on his left shoulder blade, not his right, so it hadn’t affected his ability to fight. Christine had scolded him for getting hurt, leaving Maxim feeling quite drained.

“It’s cold.”

The wind blowing through the Wilderness was always dry and chilly. Maxim kicked a few stones out of his way as he walked, using the faint lights of the camp as his guide.

“Hmm?”

Maxim spotted a light in the distance. It was a faint, flickering light that seemed to be getting closer, like someone taking a stroll with a lantern.

So there’s another odd person wandering outside at this hour.

As Maxim moved closer to identify the figure, he felt a jolt of surprise. The person holding the lantern was Theodora, taking a slow walk through the night.

They recognized each other and stood still for a moment, just staring. Theodora was trying to figure out the reason behind Maxim’s slightly altered gait, while Maxim felt a mix of emotions.

“You’re hurt,” Theodora said. Maxim’s eyebrows twitched slightly. She must have noticed his changed posture. Almost instinctively, Maxim’s hand reached for his left shoulder blade.

“Thanks to you,” he replied.

He didn’t want to blame her, but Maxim had already made up his mind. He had accepted Theodora’s hatred and acknowledged it. He would comply with the cursed Benning family’s plan, which had taken his family hostage. Theodora frowned at his response.

“Why didn’t you use your aura?”

“Because I didn’t need it to defeat them.”

Maxim answered calmly.

“If that’s the case, why don’t you just quit being a knight?”

“I have my reasons.”

Theodora’s face twisted in frustration.

“Do you think telling me that will make me consider your reasons, make me care about them?”

“Care about them?”

“That’s not what I’m saying. Why stubbornly get yourself injured when you don’t have to?”

Maxim had expected Theodora to show him a face full of hatred. But instead, she looked pained. Her gaze was fixed on his left shoulder.

Are you worried about me getting hurt? To you, I’m just a scoundrel.

Theodora hesitated before speaking again.

“...I didn’t want you to get hurt like that.”

Why would you say something like that now?

Maxim looked at Theodora’s face, which seemed to be caught in a tangle of emotions. The lantern’s yellowish light cast both light and shadow on her face. Her face, where the light fell, appeared pale. Theodora kept opening and closing her mouth as if struggling with what to say.

“That...”

Theodora tried to say something more, but Maxim turned away. If they kept talking, he felt his resolve might falter.

“It’s going to be difficult.”

Theodora’s voice called out from behind him.

“It’s already difficult enough.”

Are you still worried about me?

“...Right.”

Maxim disappeared into the darkness, leaving Theodora standing there, staring blankly at the spot where he had vanished. It felt as though the conversation they had just had was a dream.

The investigation continued. After a week of exploration, the conclusion reached by the Raven Knight Order and the marquis of the frontier was this:

The number of monsters beyond the cliff had not decreased; it was more like the receding tide before a flood.

The investigation had become more thorough, and there were times when they would set up camp and sleep outdoors. Maxim, rubbing his tired eyes, mounted his horse. By now, he had grown quite familiar with the horse provided by the Wilderness, and the horse, too, seemed to have become accustomed to his touch, snorting softly as he patted its neck. As Maxim dismounted after the day’s investigation, he grimaced as his back throbbed in pain.

For the past week, Maxim had borne the brunt of what could be called unjust combat, disguised as a test. As a result, he had nearly regained his full sense of his sword, but his body was constantly covered in various wounds.

Among all his injuries, the one from the first day seemed the deepest. While the other wounds had healed over the week, the bite mark left by the hellhound continued to throb and cause him pain.

“Maxim Apart.”

The marquis of the frontier called out to him as he was tending to his horse.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Starting with the next investigation, you’ll accompany Group 1.”

Maxim frowned.

After being treated like this all along, did she suddenly feel guilty? He had just started slaughtering monsters without saying a word.

“Why...?”

“It was your commander’s request.”

Maxim’s furrowed brow relaxed.

“Teo— I mean, the commander?”

“She probably thinks ‘enough is enough,’” the marquis said, aware of the unreasonable tasks she had imposed on Maxim and acknowledging that she was the one giving the orders. Maxim asked with a lingering sense of unease.

“Do you think that’s sufficient?”

“Did you want more?”

The marquis scoffed. Maxim looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and exasperation, momentarily forgetting that she was a countess.

“I’m not in a position to say anything, given how disliked I am.”

“At least you know your place,” the marquis replied, shaking her head in mock exasperation. Despite everything, it was somewhat positive that the marquis didn’t seem to hold a particularly bad impression of Maxim.

She valued useful calmness over useless enthusiasm. While she might not have liked Maxim’s attitude, she couldn’t completely dislike someone who had proven to be helpful in both the investigation and the monster hunts. If Maxim had refused to even participate in the hunts, things might have been different.

The horses were led into the stables, and the smell of straw and manure filled the air. Yet, despite this, not a single fly buzzed around the horses in the Wilderness.

“So, why did the investigation end so early today?” Maxim asked.

“We’ve been investigating every day without fail, so it’s time to let people rest. We’re taking a break tomorrow.”

Maxim looked at the marquis with surprise, prompting her to frown deeply. She muttered as she stepped back into her own quarters.

“I’m not completely inflexible, you know. Don’t look at me like that.”

“...I didn’t say anything.”

The marquis locked the stable door with an irritated huff.

“Anyway, tonight we’re going to have a drink and relax. Don’t skip out.”

Drinks?

Maxim scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

“...Understood.”

As the marquis walked away, Maxim found himself thinking that perhaps she had a surprising fondness for social gatherings.