Chapter 17
As she tore through one tent after another like a madwoman, the soldiers’ gazes focused on her.
Finally, Yulaina stopped in front of a massive tent pitched at the bottom of the hill. Something was boiling vigorously in a large pot beneath the awning.
“Oh, how did you get here?”
The cook, who had just turned after dumping chopped vegetables into the remaining broth, stared at her in a daze.
“What’s that?”
Following her finger with a bewildered expression, the cook looked up blankly at the goat hides hanging from the awning.
“You mean that…? Uh, for today’s special meal, as personally ordered by His Highness the Grand Duke, that, a baby goat, no, a kid goat……”
Though he didn’t know the full story, sensing the ominous atmosphere from her sobs, the cook broke into a cold sweat and stammered incoherently.
Wiping her tears, Yulaina examined the hides draped over the awning and spotted horns hung near the pot like decorations.
“His Highness said to make ornaments out of them, so they’re drying……”
“Ah, ah……”
Yulaina clamped her hand over her mouth and collapsed to the ground. Her shoulders trembled uncontrollably. The curved shape of the horns made it unmistakable at a glance.
It was definitely Talta. The baby goat that had become her only friend in the lonely village, the one she had personally cared for and raised since its birth.
***
Erich, who had been waiting with his arms crossed, exploded in anger the moment he saw Yulaina return.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Ignoring him, Yulaina bristled and confronted him fiercely.
“Talta was a goat I raised since I was a child. How could you… do something like that?”
“Lady, this wasn’t His Highness’s inten—”
The cook, watching anxiously, tried to interject quickly, but Erich’s furious voice cut him off, forcing him to clamp his mouth shut.
“No friends?”
Erich snarled viciously.
“What do you want me to do about it? Livestock are raised to be eaten. What’s wrong with that?”
“How would you know? You barge into someone else’s village, trample everything, and do whatever you please.”
Erich let out a scoff.
“Please, don’t climb all over me. Shut up and do as you’re told.”
With a sigh, Erich flung his napkin aside and glared at her.
“When you dine with me from now on… I’d prefer no such rudeness.”
His habitual sarcasm slipped out.
“At least for people like you and me, showing only a happy married life would set a good example for the subjects, wouldn’t it?”
In that instant, something Yulaina had been suppressing deep inside burst forth with a pop.
Grabbing the stew bowl in front of Erich, Yulaina unhesitatingly lifted it and poured its contents over his head.
“You crazy bastard. Go to hell.”
***
“You damn……”
Murky broth dripped down his black hair in thick drops. A soldier, pale with shock, rushed over holding a towel but hesitated, fumbling without daring to wipe it off.
While Erich irritably snatched the towel and shook out his own hair, Yulaina clenched her fists and glared at him. The sound of her molars grinding echoed in her mouth.
“Damn it, damn it!”
Erich spewed curses repeatedly. This time, his anger seemed to have truly reached its peak. The mocking, infuriating smile that usually twisted his lips had vanished long ago.
“You really… don’t deserve to be treated……”
“Who asked for your treatment? I have no intention of being treated by human trash.”
As she shot back sharply, Erich growled and hurled the towel away. Murky liquid still dripped from the back of his head. Striding forward, Erich loomed over Yulaina.
“You insolent—”
Rage surged and boiled in his blue eyes. Yulaina refused to back down and sneered.
“You’ve got to know when to stop with the mockery. I won’t just take it lying down.”
“…Stop it.”
Erich closed in even further, like a predator about to pounce. Fury rippled across his gritted teeth.
“Why? Want me to say something worse?”
Yulaina retorted coldly.
“Seeing how fundamentally twisted and warped you are, I can pretty much guess how you’ve lived your life.”
A chilling coldness hung between the two facing each other.
“No one has ever loved you. Not in the past, not now, not in the future.”
Yulaina sensed a subtle shift in his expression. For a moment, it felt as if Erich’s eyes darkened completely, like an inner spark that had barely flickered to life was suddenly snuffed out.
“Everyone out.”
The soldiers, who had been holding their breath for fear of getting caught in the crossfire, hurriedly cleared the room.
***
Shevik was enjoying a pleasant time with Cook Yonas. A modest celebration for safely navigating the meat crisis, one might say.
“Yonas. Goat meat was a pretty good choice, huh?”
“Thanks to that, we survived. His Highness has never once ordered a special meal himself. I was sweating bullets!”
Clink—the glasses collided with a cheerful sound, and the wine slid smoothly down their throats.
“Ahh, that’s good. I wonder if they’re handling His Highness’s meal service well.”
“I picked guys with good sense for it, so it should be fine. Dining alone with a woman— I didn’t know His Highness had that side to him.”
Pouring wine generously for Yonas, Shevik chuckled.
“Well, it depends on how you look at it.”
“Excuse me, but…”
Yonas glanced cautiously before asking.
“Was the special meal request because of that woman? His Highness isn’t one to meddle with food usually.”
The spoon that had been moving busily paused in mid-air. Shevik’s face stiffened slightly as he drew a firm line.
“That’s crossing a boundary.”
“Oh, yes. I’m sorry.”
As the deflated cook flushed with embarrassment at his nape, Shevik smiled warmly.
“You’re my friend, Yonas. I’ll tell you once the gag order lifts.”
“Tch, friend? That’s ridiculous.”
“Why not? We solved today’s incident together. We combined forces and wrapped it up nicely— that makes us friends.”
The two continued their meal cheerfully, chatting about this and that. Then, urgent shouts echoed from outside.
“Lieutenant Colonel Shevik! Lieutenant Colonel Shevik!”
The man bursting in, panting, was one of the soldiers assigned to serve Erich’s meal.
“We’ve got a big problem.”
Seeing the soldier on the verge of tears, the two men jumped to their feet.
“What happened?”
Hearing the clamor of their hurried footsteps, Helmut poked his head out of the tent a beat later. Just then, a soldier was passing right in front of him.
“What’s all this commotion about?”
“Uh, well……”
The soldier glanced anxiously toward the tent and rattled off words like rapid fire.
“Tonight, His Highness the Grand Duke was dining alone with the Luar woman, and the special meal went in, but then, she attacked.”
“What? What attack?”
“She poured stew over his head.”
“What?”
Doubting his ears, Helmut frowned.
“Is the woman okay? Any burns?”
“I’m not sure about burns, but it wasn’t stew poured on the woman— she poured the stew bowl over His Highness.”
“…Huh?”
There was no time to hear more. Releasing the soldier’s arm he had grabbed, Helmut took off running at full speed.
The soldier, who had tumbled backward from the doctor’s force, staggered to his feet and grumbled.
“What’s with that guy now?”
***
Erich slowly drew his pistol. Staring intently at Yulaina, he deliberately set it down and slid it toward her.
“…Are you serious?”
“What I said about killing me wasn’t a joke. Not mockery either. So do it again. Try it.”
His voice was cold but not aggressive—resigned, somehow. Yulaina’s heart sank with a thud.
“With practice, you’ll succeed eventually.”
In a flash, the events in the forest raced through her mind. As if reliving that terror, her fingertips grew cold, and cold sweat trickled down her back.
But Yulaina didn’t retreat; she picked up the gun. She wanted to show him something. That just as much as he hated her, she would bring him down.
“Aim.”
Erich prompted flatly. Gripping the pistol’s handle, Yulaina slowly raised it and pointed it straight at the center of his chest.
Her sweat-slicked finger hooked the trigger, and just as she was about to pull…
“Your Highness!”
With a sharp cry, a large figure launched itself and tackled Yulaina.
“Ahh!”
Her arm twisted, she was shoved violently backward, and as she crumpled to the floor, Yulaina clutched her side. Shevik, his face as red as his hair, bellowed at the top of his lungs.
“Tie this woman up!”
“Don’t touch her!”
Erich’s firm shout shook the tent. Shevik, doubting his ears, slowly turned back with his mouth agape.
“Your Highness, but……”
“Leave her be.”
Erich picked up the gun nonchalantly and wiped the grip.
“Your Highness, no matter what, how can you just let her go?”
His voice laced with reproach, Shevik’s anger boiled over.
“You’re putting yourself in danger right now. This is a mistake. And you, Yulaina!”
Just as Shevik was about to spit out more words, the tent entrance ripped open, and someone stormed in like a tempest.
“Yulaina!”
The gazes of Shevik, Erich, and Yulaina—who was struggling to rise—all converged on one spot.
“Yulaina, what is this now……”
It was Helmut. He acted as if no one else existed but Yulaina. He forgot to salute his superior and offered no apology for bursting in.
“What do you think you’re doing, Major Helmut?”
Erich frowned and reprimanded him, but Helmut didn’t flinch; he carefully supported Yulaina.
“Uh… I can get up myself,”
Yulaina, feeling burdened, tried to push him away, but Helmut insisted on lifting her into his arms.
“How could you leave a patient who needs absolute rest like this? At this rate, repatriation to the homeland might be impossible. I’ll take her and check if there’s any issue with her bones. Please permit it.”
Erich fell silent. His deeply displeased gaze lingered on Helmut and then on Yulaina, who squirmed uncomfortably in his arms. After a long moment of motionless fury-swallowing, he abruptly turned away.
“Take her.”
Dismissing the medic, Helmut was left alone with Yulaina.
It was unbearably awkward, but thinking it was better than being with Erich right now, Yulaina lay still as Helmut instructed.
After pressing her side a few times, meticulously examining her hands and feet, and diligently recording something on the chart, Helmut bowed politely.
“You’re fine physically. Actually, I brought you here under the pretext to show you something as well.”
Soon, a small book was held out before her eyes.
