AME 66

Chapter 66

“Ugh…”

“What the hell are you doing! Are you insane? Your body isn’t even fully recovered yet, and you’re doing this?!”

Kaon rushed over and checked on Alessia, who was groaning in pain. Curled up from the sudden ache, Alessia lifted her barely moving left hand and pointed vaguely toward a spot.

“…From here to over there. It should be somewhere in between, so I’d like your help searching.”

“What are you even talking about all of a sudden?!”

“I did a rough calculation. I couldn’t know the exact speed or angle from when I fell that day, so I just tested it out. Being thrown by a monster would have a very different height and inertia, of course, but since I can’t get a precise value anyway, I aimed for the closest approximation…”

She grit her teeth as she forced the words out. Even though she’d fallen to the right side, her injured left arm throbbed in pain. Her body, weakened from days of lying in bed, ached even more now.

“Calculation? That was a calculation? Even if it was, you did it now? No, more importantly, you threw yourself like that… Should I call you a genius or just a reckless fool?”

Alessia couldn’t get up on her own, but thankfully, Kaon quickly came over and gently helped her to her feet, muttering with a thoroughly disgruntled face.

“If you needed to experiment, you could’ve just asked me. Why did you have to do it yourself?”

“Because we’re different in height and weight. The speed and height at which we’re thrown would differ.”

Depending on mass and elevation, the result would change drastically. When she explained the basic principles of physics, Kaon shook his head with a look of utter defeat.

“…Screw the calculations. Why not just search the general area? If you’re so smart, maybe you could spare your body some suffering. But no—you’re using your brain and still getting hurt. Of course. Only a damn magician would…”

Probably meant to say as expected of a magician.

But Kaon trailed off without finishing the sentence, realizing it wasn’t quite the right thing to say.

Still, he seemed to understand how serious she was. Sighing deeply, as if the ground itself would collapse, he didn’t say anything else and instead began searching the area she had indicated.

Alessia, too, continued to search in silence, dragging her trembling legs. Even if she roughly knew the location, finding something was a whole different matter. Thankfully, the snow in the forest had melted—at least that much was fortunate.

She carefully brushed aside the fallen leaves, advancing within her calculated range. Then, at a slight distance, something glimmered faintly.

“Step back!”

Startled by the sudden shout, Alessia froze in place just as she was about to move toward the shimmering object. In that brief pause, Kaon dashed over like lightning and scooped her up, leaping backward.

Alessia instinctively reached out toward the fading light—then stopped, her mouth hanging open at the sight before her.

“A herd of deer?”

A group of deer had come dashing through the forest in a frenzy, as if being chased by something. When they saw the corpse of a monster, they abruptly changed direction and bolted again, clearly in a panic to escape the forest.

“There’s no reason for deer to be running like that in winter…”

Kaon’s voice, subdued and unsettled, brushed close to her ear. Just as she was about to tell him to put her down, a chill ran down Alessia’s spine. There, in the direction the deer had fled from, stood a creature that shouldn’t be here.

“…That thing.”

A bear-like monster—massive and unmistakably dangerous—loomed before them. It was supposed to be hibernating this time of year.

“Damn it. No wonder the deer were acting crazy.”

Kaon muttered a low curse and, still holding Alessia, leapt back even farther. It seemed he was planning to run all the way to the forest entrance. Whether it was due to lingering memories of war or just the monster’s usual behavior, the creature showed no interest in leaving the forest.

“Wait! I think the ring is over there.”

Alessia called out hastily. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the flicker she’d seen was the ring. It fell within her calculated range, and it was the first unique glint of light since they’d entered the forest.

“What? Where?”

“The place I mentioned earlier. I’m not certain, but I saw it sparkle. If that thing starts moving again, it might trample it or send it flying somewhere else. We have to…”

Alessia trailed off mid-sentence, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood. She realized just how selfish her words sounded.

Kaon was alone. Even if she was with him, she couldn’t fight. So saying that meant she was basically telling him to face that monster alone—something that usually took an entire knight order to defeat.

“…Let’s go back.”

She bit down hard on the inside of her cheek and made her decision. That sparkle might not even be the ring. Risking someone else’s life on an uncertain hunch—wasn’t that what her family, what Ingelos, had done to her?

She tightened her arms around Kaon’s neck in preparation to run again—but then froze. Kaon had gently set her down. He glanced back and forth between the monster and her, as if judging the distance, then nodded to himself.

“Stay close to this tree.”

“What are you going to—”

“I’ll lure that thing deeper inside. You find the ring and go for its core.”

Alessia’s eyes widened in disbelief. It was clear he’d taken her thoughtless words to heart.

“You can’t fight it alone! If it’s because of what I said, then don’t. I might’ve been mistaken, so—”

She shook her head desperately. Though she tried to stay calm, her voice trembled. She didn’t want to throw this foolishly kind man—Kaon Ferdinand—into danger.

Maybe she’d just mistaken a glint of morning light between the leaves. At this point, she was willing to deny what she’d seen to protect him.

“I can handle it alone. The tricky part is cleanup, but you’re here—so that won’t be a problem.”

Kaon spoke calmly, as if doing the impossible was nothing. Then he looked her straight in the eyes.

“You weren’t wrong. You’re observant. You don’t miss things like that—I know.”

And just like that, Kaon charged toward the monster alone, sword drawn, without waiting for a reply. Alessia couldn’t respond. No matter what she said, it wouldn’t be enough to answer that unwavering trust.

Is he really going to be okay…?

Leaning against a tree, Alessia anxiously watched Kaon’s back. The monster, now aware of the human running at it, let out a savage roar.

Alessia knew Kaon was a genius born with incredible talent—one of the top knights even in Ferdinand.

But a bear-type mutated monster was one of the strongest beasts in the forest. And it was supposed to be hibernating this time of year—why now?

Alessia nearly cursed her own rotten luck before shaking the thought away and focusing on Kaon again. She still remembered the location of the sparkle, so as soon as Kaon lured the monster away, she’d rush in and confirm it.

Kaon and the monster clashed, sword and claw flying at the same time. Alessia forced her eyes to stay open.

Is that… sword aura?

Her gaze wavered. A visible aura coated Kaon’s blade.

Sword aura—a manifestation of concentrated mana drawn from nature and held within the sword. Unlike mages, who channel mana using internal magical power, knights produced this aura through sheer physical mastery.

As far as Alessia knew, only a handful of elite knights in Ferdinand could use sword aura. Even then, it was usually faint—just enough to strengthen the blade slightly. Still, it was an incredible feat.

She’d known Kaon was among those few. But—

That aura is too distinct.

His sword shone with a bright, pale light—not merely reflecting sunlight, but glowing from within. If all that was sword aura, then Kaon wasn’t just some elite knight.

No—he didn’t belong in Ferdinand playing the role of the noble young master. He could be commanding an entire royal knight order if he reported to the king.

So that’s how he fought in the mist that day.

She finally understood how he had dispatched the monster so quickly. If he only revealed his power when others weren’t watching, everything made sense.

Why is he hiding it?

Nothing in her mind could make sense of it. To support his sister who would become a duchess? That alone wasn’t enough.

Kaon landed softly after slicing off the monster’s ear. His movement left her speechless. She wasn’t even envious anymore—his skill was beyond jealousy. It was pure awe.

“Alessia!”

The monster, enraged, chased after Kaon and moved farther away from her. Snapped out of her daze by his voice, Alessia bolted.

She still remembered where to go.

When she reached the spot, she frantically searched for the ring. It should have been there—but she couldn’t see it. Likely, the passing deer had scattered the leaves, blowing it slightly off course.

There!

Using even her stiff, bandaged left arm, she clawed through dirt and leaves until she finally saw it—a red gem glinting among the foliage, less than five steps away.

Gripping her aching arm, Alessia forced herself up and started toward the ring—

“Kee-eeeng!”

A fox suddenly leapt out, blocking her path.