The Overheated Lady Knight

Horace Loux kept his hands moving, but inwardly gave the turtle a thumbs-up for that skillful change of subject.

As expected of an old fellow who had lived for who knew how long, he was first-rate at playing dumb.

Under Rellana's gaze, so full of shame and anger that she nearly fainted, the magnificent silver-blue Carian knight armor, with its outstanding protection, was unfastened and removed piece by piece, revealing the clothing beneath.

Finally, even the dark undershirt, soaked in sweat and dust and scorched in places by lightning, was carefully cut open or partially slipped off by Horace Loux to expose the wounds.

The lady knight beneath the armor was indeed a beauty.

Her long black hair, somewhat disheveled from sweat and battle, clung to her smooth forehead and the sides of her neck.

Her face had graceful contours, with the refinement and touch of gallantry distinctive to Carian nobility. Her complexion was pale from years without strong sunlight, but now shame, anger, and injury had stained it with an unnatural flush.

Her tightly pressed lips had lost their color, and her eyes, which should have been as cool as moonlight, were now glaring viciously at Horace Loux. If looks could become actual blades, he would already have been cut to pieces.

Of course, Horace Loux had absolutely no mind to appreciate this "lovely sight."

The exposed skin was covered in burns from the flame lightning, great swathes swollen red or charred black. In some places, the flesh had even split open, seeping tissue fluid and wisps of Bayle's residual, violent energy.

Her shoulders, chest, and sides all showed clear bruising and signs of internal injury.

It was a shocking sight. That she was still alive and conscious was already proof of her formidable strength and her armor's effective protection.

"What are you looking at? Hurry up!" Noticing his gaze, Rellana grew even more mortified and furious. She growled through clenched teeth, wishing she could bury her face in the stone.

Horace Loux withdrew his gaze and began concentrating on treating her wounds.

First, he carefully washed the wounds with clean water, then evenly applied the ointment Miriel had provided.

The ointment did indeed seem remarkably effective. Once it touched the wounds, the restless orange-red remnants of energy seemed to be suppressed, and the burning pain noticeably eased.

He then mixed some medicinal powder meant to be taken orally with water and held it to Rellana's lips.

The lady knight turned her head away, refusing to cooperate.

"Drink it." Horace Loux's voice was level, but brooked no argument.

"If you want to recover sooner and 'kill me' yourself."

That seemed to work.

Rellana stiffened and gave him a fierce glare. In the end, with extreme reluctance, she opened her mouth and let Horace Loux feed her the medicine little by little, her gaze all the while seeming intent on burning two holes through his hand.

After treating every wound and applying the medicine, Horace Loux found some clean strips of cloth and gave her deeper wounds a simple bandaging.

Throughout the process, he tried to work quickly and keep his eyes from wandering, yet he could still feel Rellana's gaze, as though she wanted to devour him alive, and the constant, slight trembling of her body from utter shame and anger.

Once it was all done, Horace Loux let out a long breath, feeling a wave of exhaustion himself.

He stood and nodded to Miriel. "That should more or less do it. Lord Miriel, thank you for your medicine. I'll go bring my people here to settle in now. I won't trouble you any longer."

He turned to leave, wanting only to get out of this place with its utterly bizarre atmosphere as quickly as possible.

"Wait, young warrior." Miriel's gentle voice stopped him.

Horace Loux looked back.

The giant turtle's gaze moved between him and Rellana, who, though covered with a thin blanket, was still glaring murderously at him. Slowly, he said, "Your people's predicament may... not be without a solution. Sometimes, an opportunity lies right before your eyes. It only depends on whether you can seize it, and... whether you are willing to pay a small price in patience and wisdom."

Of course, Horace Loux understood what Miriel meant.

Rellana, this important figure in Caria, the Twin Moon Knight, was clearly that potential "opportunity."

Through her, he might be able to establish ties with the Carian family and resolve the problems of their status and a place to settle.

But...

He glanced at Rellana on the stone platform.

After hearing Miriel's words, her gaze had grown even colder. Her still-flushed face plainly said, "No talking," "Keep away," and "I'll kill you once I recover."

"Overheated" could not have described her state more aptly. It felt as though one more provocation would either make her faint from anger or explode from shame and fury.

Discuss cooperation with her now? He probably would not even be able to get a conversation going.

Horace Loux sighed helplessly and said to Miriel, "Thank you for the reminder, Lord Miriel. But... the time doesn't seem right yet."

He pointed at the knight whose brain had clearly overheated and was refusing to process outside information.

Miriel seemed to understand as well and said no more on that subject, merely offering gently, "The night is deep, and the woods hold many dangers. It will also take time for your people to come here. Why not rest for now? Perhaps tomorrow's dawn will bring a new opportunity."

Horace Loux thought it over and agreed that it made sense.

Leading a large group of his people through unfamiliar woodland at night would indeed be riskier.

Besides, he glanced at Rellana. In her current state, she was not thinking clearly. Perhaps... he could coax some useful information out of her? Or at least ease their relationship a little?

He walked beneath a colonnade not far from the stone platform and sat down against the cold stone wall, preparing to rest briefly and observe the situation.

However, he had clearly underestimated both the upper limit of a certain lady knight's shame and anger and the extent of her stubbornness.

He had only just sat down and tried to speak in a relatively calm tone. "Lady knight, about what happened earlier..."

"Shut up!" Rellana cut him off at once, her voice cold as ice, yet trembling slightly from weakness.

"I have nothing to say to you! Once I recover, the first thing I'll do is kill you!"

Horace Loux frowned, a trace of irritation rising within him as well.

I saved you out of kindness and even treated your wounds, and this is your attitude?

"Lady knight, I think we need to set a few things straight." Horace Loux's tone cooled as well.

"First, you were the one who blocked my path, provoked me, and attacked first. Injuries are inevitable in battle. I did not deliberately humiliate you or inflict unnecessary suffering. Second, when you were defeated and injured, I could have simply walked away, or even finished you off to prevent future trouble. But I didn't. I brought you back to a relatively safe church and spent medicine and effort treating you. By any reasonable standard, I don't think I've wronged you in any way. On the contrary, you should be thanking me for 'letting bygones be bygones' and 'saving your life.' How can you repay kindness with hatred and keep insisting on killing me?"

At first, his argument sounded somewhat reasonable, but on closer consideration, it was nothing but a bully's logic.

He called "stopping someone for inspection in the line of duty" "provoking and attacking first," glossed over "the risks inevitably accompanying combat," and then emphasized the "good deed" of "having the option to do worse but choosing not to," completely ignoring the enormous blow he had dealt her dignity during the battle and the treatment afterward.

Sure enough, Rellana trembled all over with anger at his "lofty argument," and even her wounds began to ache faintly.

She jerked her head up, anger bringing color back into her pale face. Her eyes were wide, filled with disbelief and towering rage.

"Yes! You saved me!" She practically forced the words through her teeth.

"Then tell me, my heroic 'benefactor,' just who was it who left me in this state where I needed saving? Well?"

She was close to fainting from anger.

So I faithfully carried out my duties, stopped a suspicious person for questioning, and was injured because I was outmatched in battle, and all those 'consequences' somehow became your 'grounds' for displaying your 'mercy' and demanding 'gratitude'?

Your help was built on my humiliation, and then you demanded that I be eternally grateful for that 'help'? What kind of reasoning was that?

Horace Loux continued his "logic" without a change of expression. "Injuries in battle result from a contest of strength and luck between both sides. You can't simply blame one party. My choice to help you, however, was based on my personal moral judgment, which falls outside the scope of the battle itself. I had no obligation to save you, yet I chose to. That makes me your benefactor. Repaying kindness with hatred isn't knightly conduct, is it?"

"You... you...!" Rellana pointed at him, her finger trembling, her chest heaving violently. The movement tugged at her wounds, making her suck in a breath of pain as her vision darkened.

She had never seen anyone so shameless, who could twist right and wrong while speaking with such a straight face!

How did this man's brain work? Was his sense of morality warped?

She felt as though this bully's logic had completely fried her brain's CPU. Angry, frantic, and helpless, she felt blood rush straight to her head and stars swarm before her eyes, while a breath stuck in her chest, unable to move up or down...

Finally, under Horace Loux's "calm" gaze and Miriel's "benevolent" observation, Rellana's eyes rolled back, her body went limp, and she fainted completely—whether because her injuries had worsened or purely out of anger, no one knew.

Horace Loux blinked, looking at the lady knight who had finally "quieted down," then at the giant turtle Miriel beside her, still gazing up at the bright moon as if nothing had happened.

Well, now even the chance to coax information out of her was gone.

The night was still long.

The lady knight's ordeal was no short one either.

,,,,,,

I've already posted seven updates. I feel awful.