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“Dear…!”

Melia exclaimed in shock.

Following Balged’s arrival, things began to move quickly.

“Hey! Boys, stop daydreaming! Hurry up and restrain this man!”
“Arghhh!”

Balged twisted Gil’s wrist, causing him to scream in agony. Soon after, a team of guards appeared out of nowhere and encircled the two of them.

All of the guards, clad in light armor, were sweating profusely.

“Lord Balged! Please don’t run away like that!”
“Wait, look! The duchess that stormed off earlier is here as well!”
“Lord Yennis and Lady Seletina are here too!”
“Never mind that! Hurry up and restrain this man!” Balged yelled, spewing saliva all over the place.

“U-Understood!”

The guards replied and swarmed around Gil.

Gil shrieked like a frog being crushed as the burly men rushed him.

“Melia! Are you alright?!”
“Dear! Nevermind me. The children…”
“That’s right!”

Balged took Yennis’s tiny body in his broad arms. Yennis was sound asleep, his eyelids shut behind his delicate eyelashes.

“Yennis… Thank god. He seems alright.”

Balged sighed a deep sigh of relief. Even though he was not adept in medicine, he could sense that his son was fine.

However, that relief of his did not last long.

“Seletina! Seletina!”

Melia’s piercing, mournful cry assaulted his eardrums.

Seletina?!

Without wasting a moment Balged ran towards Melia with Yennis in his arms.

“What in the…”

Balged was left speechless. He could feel his blood boiling, shooting straight up to his head, about to erupt. Seletina was in a terrible state.

Her delicate limbs were covered in scratches and only a dry whistling sound came out of her mouth as her lips were stained red from all the blood she had puked. She did not answer Melia’s cries.

It was painfully clear that the string of her life was about to snap.

“Hurry! Bring the best doctor in town! Don’t care about the money!”

Balged ordered, his voice close to a scream.

His face conveyed sadness and anguish, yet it was rage that eclipsed both of those emotions.

“YOU!”

Balged sprinted over to the restrained Gil with tremendous strides. His eyes burned with the fire of rage.

“How dare you do that to my daughter?! Say your prayers!”

Balged screamed, having completely lost his reason as he swung down his boulder-like firsts.

A dull sound echoed twice or thrice. Despite being struck, the restrained Gil did not try to defend himself.

The guards, in turn, yelled trying to stop Balged. But Balged couldn’t care less. He continued his merciless assault till the guards eventually succeeded in forcibly pulling him away.

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

The hero, Orthus woke up.

The pleasant feel of the mattress against his back filled his senses, as did the perfectly arranged wood ceiling.

Tick tock, tick tock.

In Orthus’ dizzy ears, only the sound of the wall clock lingered.

After some time, he got up, and his gut was suddenly pierced by a sharp pain that he couldn’t explain. He flung away the blanket and looked at his skin, which was as white as snow and covered with bruises from the clotted blood.

What a sorry state I’m in.

Indifferently, Orthus pondered. However, he grimaced as he saw that his arms were bandaged up like a mummy.

What are these wounds? I can’t beat a demon with these!

Orthus pondered, letting out a sorrowful sigh.

What kind of an example would I set for my subordinates if I were to serve the king in this state?

Creak…

As Orthus was complaining to himself, a door suddenly opened.

With her eyes wide open, the attractive woman who had just entered watched Orthus, who was gazing back at her. Large tears could be seen welling up in the woman’s deep blue eyes.

“Seletina!”

The woman yelled as she ran at Orthus.

Seletina? Who’s that?

Orthus was completely taken aback.

The beautiful woman embraced him tightly, causing him to feel her warmth.

“Seletina! Seletina!!! Thank god you’re awake!”

The woman’s body was warm. Somehow, Orthus felt fulfilled and at ease thanks to her warmth. Her warmth was not something Orthus was familiar with. But while Orthus was unfamiliar with it, Seletina was.

Oh yea… I’m not Orthus anymore.

Seletina remembered everything. She recalled how her mother had appeared to her as a war maiden when she was on the verge of death. Orthus remembered who he was —or, more accurately, who she was— as the memories began to flood in.

Feeling Melia’s warmth, Seletina burst into tears.
　
Mother and daughter both cried.

The two individuals —one of whom had been a hero and the other a mercenary— now embraced one another and wept like children.