Episode 16

“Nothing happened, right, Dante?”

The boy, called Dante, nodded quietly, though he flinched when he noticed Calyps standing behind Derek. Sensing Dante’s fear, Derek smiled reassuringly.

“Oh, don’t worry. This man is here to help us.”

Dante’s wary gaze didn’t soften, and Derek let out an awkward laugh.

“More importantly, how’s Amy doing?”

Dante’s expression fell as he shook his head silently in response. Derek’s face tightened in a bittersweet smile. He gently patted Dante’s head and walked further into the room. On the bed lay a girl in a dire state, barely clinging to life.

“Amy…”

Calyps surveyed the room and immediately felt the familiar, somber presence of death. The young girl was bandaged from head to toe, blood seeping through the cloth, and the sickening stench of pus filled the air.

“Let’s get you to take some medicine first,” Derek said, trying to keep his voice steady despite the tremor at the end. He retrieved a mortar from the bedside table and carefully ground some medicine into powder, then mixed it with water before loading it into a syringe. Gently lifting Amy’s head, he administered the medicine drop by drop, though much of it spilled from her lips.

After several attempts, Derek managed to get some medicine into her system, then changed her bandages, which were soaked with fresh pus. Calyps checked his watch—over five hours had passed since he’d left Noah alone at the cabin, and he was growing anxious.

Amy’s breathing seemed to stabilize slightly, but her breaths remained faint and irregular. After a long moment, Derek seemed to remember Calyps was still in the room.

“I’m sorry for the delay. I’m Derek Wale,” he said, introducing himself.

“Calyps Ater. Pleased to meet you.”

“Oh, the pleasure is… wait, Calyps Ater? Are you… the war hero, Calyps Ater?” Derek’s eyes widened in astonishment upon hearing Calyps’s name. As he pieced together Calyps’s skillful movements from earlier, understanding dawned on him. Of course, the legendary war hero…

Derek looked at Calyps with newfound respect, while Calyps, accustomed to such admiration, responded stoically.

“What happened to her?” he asked, nodding toward Amy.

Derek’s face twisted with regret. “She saved me… and ended up like this.”

Why did this angelic child have to come to him on that fateful day? Thanks to her, he had survived without serious injury, but Amy now lay on the verge of death. She was only twelve years old, far too young for such a fate. Calyps, hearing this, said nothing further, gazing silently at the bed where Amy lay. Observing Calyps’s somber expression, Derek carefully asked another question.

“But why is someone like you here?”

Though the village was technically within the capital’s reach, it was a remote outskirt, far from the city center. Why was Calyps, the famed war hero, in a place like this?

“I was visiting the Valencia estate for my engagement.”

“Oh, right, the engagement.”

Derek recalled hearing about the engagement—an event that had been widely discussed not only among nobles but also commoners. The chaos had pushed it from his mind, but now he remembered that the Valencia estate was nearby.

Understanding dawned on Derek as he processed Calyps’s reason for being there. Realizing why Calyps was with him, he quickly remembered his own promise.

“I’m sorry, but how is the patient you mentioned? Is their condition severe?”

“They have a deep wound on their thigh, and with the current weather, it’s not healing well.”

“I see… could you wait a little longer? I know it’s selfish to ask, but I’d like to stay with her until the end. I think… it’s almost time…”

Derek’s voice trailed off, as if he couldn’t bring himself to finish the sentence. Even to an untrained eye, Amy’s remaining time was obvious. Calyps was torn with worry over Noah’s condition but couldn’t bring himself to rush a dying child’s final moments. He gave a silent nod.

“Thank you… truly, thank you…” Derek began to express his gratitude, but suddenly, Dante ran over to Amy’s bed, drawing Derek’s attention.

“…Amy!”

Amy, who had lain deathly still, was now convulsing, her small body writhing in pain. Calyps watched the scene with a somber expression. Dante looked up at Derek with tear-filled eyes, pleading.

“No… Amy, Amy! Please!”

Derek administered the last of the sedatives, but the convulsions persisted. Holding Amy’s hand, Derek whispered softly, “I’m sorry… thank you…” over and over like a prayer.

Finally, Amy’s convulsions subsided, and a heavy silence filled the room. Derek gently released her hand and closed her eyes, giving her a moment of peace. Nearby, Dante sobbed quietly, and Derek wrapped an arm around him, offering silent comfort.

For a long time, Derek and Dante clung to each other, mourning Amy’s passing. Calyps, who had been watching the clock, stopped and allowed them to grieve in peace. At dawn, they buried Amy’s body in the yard.

“Thank you for waiting.”

With his emotions steadied, Derek turned to Calyps with a nod of gratitude. Dante remained at Amy’s grave, silently weeping. Derek looked at him with sympathy, then hesitantly spoke.

“I didn’t want to ask, but… would it be alright if this child came with us?”

Calyp’s expression remained unchanged.

“If it’s too much trouble, I understand… he can stay on his own…”

“Let him come.”

Surprised at how easily Calyps agreed, Derek offered heartfelt thanks repeatedly.

* * *

“Haa… haa…”

Each breath felt like it was pulling him further into a fog, but Noah couldn’t bring himself to close his eyes. Left alone in a strange place, he was haunted by fear—not only of his isolation but also by worry for Calyps, who was still outside. The only sound breaking the quiet was the chirping of insects, and though nothing was visible through the window, Noah’s anxiety was mounting. Left in an unfamiliar setting, absent from the original story, his nerves frayed as each second ticked by.

‘When the hell is that bastard coming back?’

Noah cursed Calyps inwardly, clenching his teeth. If he’d left a patient behind, he should at least have come back quickly. But time stretched on, and Calyps didn’t return. Alone in the dimly lit cabin, Noah lost track of time, his unease growing in the silence.

At some point, daylight started streaming through the window, and the blinding light made him squint. His body was worn down to the point of exhaustion, and his eyes wanted to shut on their own, but he forced them open. Just as he tried to push himself up, the sound of the door creaking open echoed through the cabin. Noah held his breath, shrinking into the corner.

‘Is it Calyps?’

At least it wasn’t a zombie—they didn’t have the intelligence to open doors. Still, Noah gripped the gun in his hands, his fingers trembling slightly as he kept his gaze locked on the door. But when he saw Calyps step inside, he closed his eyes in relief.

“Noah!”

Seeing Noah collapse sideways in a faint, Calyps quickly rushed over to check on him. Derek, who had followed behind, entered the cabin and looked over in alarm at the scene. Noah was drenched in sweat, his clothes soaked through. Derek’s gaze soon landed on the wound on his thigh.

“I’ll need to examine the wound first.”

Derek carefully laid Noah flat and slowly unwrapped the cloth around his thigh. A deep, wide gash, likely caused by something sharp, was exposed. Derek’s brow furrowed at the sight.

“How did he get injured like this?”

“He fell off a horse.”

Hearing this, Derek examined the wound closely, his face serious.

“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to have affected the tendons, but since he fell from a height, there might be damage to the bone…”

He realized, yet again, how limited he was without proper equipment, and frustration bubbled up inside him. Regaining his composure, Derek continued.

“For now, I can’t make a precise assessment without equipment.”

At least it wasn’t worse, he noted, and Derek began to prepare some basic supplies from his bag, including sutures and a local anesthetic. Thankful that he had enough tools to manage Noah’s wound, Derek injected the anesthetic and began stitching carefully. Throughout the treatment, and even as they changed him out of his drenched clothes, Noah didn’t stir once.