North x Northwest

Chapter 294

Lil glared at the surf rushing over Ed’s shoulder. As soon as she held her breath, the cold water pressure wrapped her whole body. Pain pierced her eardrums as if they were being torn. This fact became even more evident when she saw a thin stream of blood flowing out of Ed’s ears.

Lil quickly overlapped her lips with Ed’s and blew air into his lungs. From this close, seeing his face showing no response made her heart ache.

Unable to stand the cold, she clenched her trembling jaw and kicked her feet. The water temperature in Mondovi was colder than she expected. It robbed her of her senses to the point where she wondered if she had already become a corpse.

Already running out of breath, Lil impatiently moved her head upwards and turned her body over to find their way to the surface. Their drifting bodies were being pushed and pulled by the surging waves. They were shoved before briefly falling flat and then dragged away again. Lil held on to Ed’s body which was getting swept away by the current. If the sun hadn’t risen, they would’ve died from hypothermia before she was even given the chance to determine which way to go.

Lil soared toward the sunlight beyond the water while hoping that it was the direction of the shore where they were being drawn.

With her oxygen severely deteriorating, Lil was fighting the urge to open her mouth and swallow everything in order to breathe. Although the water above her head seemed to steadily get shallower, it could very well be her own illusion.

Lil, who began to become disorientated, suddenly strengthened the knuckles holding Ed.

‘Stay focused. Please, just a little bit. Just a little bit more…’

Lil stretched her other arm upward. It cut its way through the ocean current, till at some point it suddenly caught the air. Her arm flailed wildly as her head rose above the water. Lil reflexively let out the breath she had been holding when a rising wave invaded her mouth.

She gulped for a while. But whereas she began to regain her steady breathing, Ed’s skin remained pale, even bluish.

Swimming with someone unconscious would’ve been straining enough already if she had been physically in perfect condition, but now Lil had to move her legs on instinct after having lost her momentum. Still, they were lucky that the waves brought them to the beach.

When her crawling feet finally touched the sand, she felt nothing. Anything was useless until she saw Ed breathing again. Lil laid him flat on the sandy beach and quickly pressed his chest, unsure where the remaining bit of strength came from.

“Wake up.”

Seeing Ed’s white lips that might never turn red again prompted Lil to press her breath against the coldness. But no matter how many times she repeated it, Ed still looked alarmingly the same.

Lil gradually lost her temper and screamed.

“Wake up!”

‘I can’t take this… This is so unbelievable, it can only be a dream, right? Not being able to face Ed, hear his voice, or hug him? Is this reality? This isn’t a dream, it’s a nightmare! No dream would be this cruel! And none of what happened even makes sense, from the start…’

“…You knew, didn’t you?”

‘I should’ve noticed sooner.’

“You knew!”

‘If the target had indeed been me, Ed would never have sent me back with only Shail as my guard…’

Looking back, she became unbearably angry at the fact that she had been so blind when it was so obvious.

“You madman!”

Lil clasped her hands and pounded his chest with her fists.

“Wake up! You can only die by my hands!”

As she put all her strength into it, her body staggered every time she struck down. She pounded her fists hard, as hard as she could, not controlling her force anymore. Even when Lil reached the point of exhaustion, she didn’t know what kept her going.

At that moment, Ed’s throat moved and water gurgled in his mouth. Lil quickly pushed Ed’s shoulder to lay him on his side, allowing his body to breathe heavily after he coughed for a while.

His arm, which had seemed to hang down indefinitely, touched the white sand. Lil sat down blankly and looked at Ed slowly raising his upper body. Sea water dripped from his hair and the tip of his chin. Ed looked around him as if trying to guess where he was, before turning to face Lil.

Lil was met with Ed’s wet eyelashes and his watery eyes. She was looking at the strangely pale face of a person whose heart stopped.

Lil lifted her hand and cupped Ed’s veiny cheek.

“I…”

Ed, who was staring at Lil with his puzzled eyes, laid his hand on the back of hers.

“…How… did this happen? How are you here?”

Ed looked at the sea over Lil’s shoulder. His eyes eventually climbed further, up the cliff. Perhaps he hadn’t yet fully come to his senses, his eyes appeared more lethargic than ever and it seemed as if they would close again at any moment.

“Where are you looking?”

Lil put some force on her palm and pinned his face to hers. Despite their eye contact, Lil felt it wasn’t enough. The desperate feeling that she had experienced couldn’t be filled with touching his cheeks alone. And because of Ed’s low body temperature, it felt like she was clutching a mere corpse.

Wanting to feel that Ed was alive and breathing, Lil wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. Only when his slow heartbeat weakly vibrated through their overlapping bodies, did relief sink in.

Ed wrapped his uninjured arm around her and buried his face in the crook of her neck. His breath was cold as it spread across her skin…

***

Linhardt looked down at the sea where Lil and Ed had fallen. He witnessed Lil rise to the surface while dragging Ed somewhere. But he couldn’t see any further than that owing to the topography of the sea cliffs. josei

Nonetheless, one thing was certain; Ed was unconscious. And it was impossible for an unconscious person to properly hold their breath underwater.

Linhardt hit the dirt floor with his bare fist.

“Shit!”

Soldiers who came up belatedly were shocked while staring at the bottom of the cliff. Shail tried to calm the soldiers fussing over Ed’s fall.

Linhardt, on the other hand, couldn’t overcome his anger and ground his teeth.

“Where’s that bastard?!”

“We tied him up after he tried to commit suicide, but he might die soon anyway.”

“Why?”

“The bullet that the Lady fired went straight through his upper arm, causing severe bleeding.”

“Take him to Levi. Tell her that he must be kept alive at all costs.”

“Yes.”

“And for the rest of them?”

“The other soldiers are tracking them down. They probably can’t have gotten far.”

Linhardt muttered as he looked at Maxwell, who was lying nearby.

“…He’s a trained soldier. A very skilled one at that…”

“Yes. He didn’t even sway on the horse.”

“Someone who can freely use a crossbow on a running horse… he’s like Lil.”

“Could he be from the Karabinae? The Lady said she was once a member of that unit.”

“The Karabinae is part of the imperial army. Why would the imperial army commit a dishonourable act here?”

That was what he said, but he still felt the need to analyse their suspect’s side.

‘Although Edgar has done some unsavoury things that may have displeased others, he rarely has incurred a grudge that could cost him his life. Edgar is indifferent to most things, and indifference cannot be a justification for revenge. Thinking about it that way, the Emperor is the only person who ever showed overt hostility toward Edgar. If the people who attacked Edgar were truly carabiners, then it’s reasonable to think that the Emperor is indeed behind it. But why would the Emperor go that far? Whether Edgar intended it or not, public opinion about his unique talent and incredible wealth is quite positive. If Edgar’s presence was uncomfortable to the Emperor, it would’ve been better to charge him with treason. Assassination is a cowardly act… But what will happen to the Empire if the Emperor punishes nobles he didn’t like for treason?’

“This was clearly plotted carefully. Perhaps even the bandits’ attack was part of it in order to distract us.”

“As reported, this so-called bandits’ attack was distinctly different from their normal methods. They don’t attack people.”

“When His Majesty’s army arrives, ask them to blockade the village. I will send a dispatch to Roahn, so prepare some horses.”

“Yes. But as for Sir Edgar…”

“Hopefully, Lil will be able to save both of them.”

‘At the very least if they’ve ridden the waves properly, they’ll have washed ashore by now… Safely…’

Linhardt was optimistic since Lil didn’t seem to resist the sea when viewed from above.

“Secure a map of the forest down below. If you have to, search through whatever has been taken from groups of smugglers in the past. And there are sure to be some who settled in the village after working as smugglers, so bring every one of them.”

“Yes.”

***

– – – – –