Weren’t You the One Who Was Dying? – Chapter 87

Author: Asternkm

“Colonel, please have some while you’re at it.”

Dellers, after directing the procession, offered water to his superior during a brief break.

Ehit took it without a word, set it down beside him, and reviewed the strategy documents with a blank expression.

Outside the window, the black night sea spread out before them.

Still, by tomorrow they would almost reach the North.

Just traveling from Bellachen to the North had taken a full three days. There were no stations or railways, so trains weren’t an option, and the fastest route was by sea.

The plan for the subjugation force was to move along the sea, then travel by horse and carriage from the nearest land, and finally transfer again to prepared ships.

Stretching as he left the office, Dellers headed toward the dining area where a lively conversation was going on.

He sat down beside the fleet members who were deep in discussion.

“Ah, Major. Isn’t this a first?”

“A first for what?”

“For the colonel changing his decision.”

Come to think of it, that really hadn’t happened before.

Ehit always made the most rational and reasonable choice, and his judgment was always the best possible one.

But this time, it seemed different.

It wasn’t that he made the wrong decision. It was just that what he considered “the best” had changed.

Because of Dapflen.

Dellers picked up a peanut from the table and popped it into his mouth. Crunch—the peanut shattered loudly.

They were on different ships from Dapflen during the journey. Dellers couldn’t tell whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, but either way, they would reunite tomorrow.

‘Maybe I should get just a little hurt.’

Dellers thought jokingly. He was a bit curious about the nagging and scolding his friend would give him if he did get injured.

Teasing and talking back was always the most fun when the other person was Dapflen.

“We can win this battle, right?”

“Of course, Mendel! What do you think, Major Dellers?”

The fleet members’ chatter didn’t let him stay lost in thought, and Dellers shrugged.

“Mendel, you said you have a fortune-teller you visit often. One of the officers said they went there too. Did you ask about the outcome of this battle? What did they say?”

“We’ll obviously win.”

Ariel answered instead as she walked over.

She set her cup on the table and rested her chin on her hand, looking amused.

“Right, Mendel?”

“Yes, of course. Our ships are better, so what’s there to worry about?”

“You don’t look worry-free at all. Relax a bit.”

“Oh, I’m not nervous at all.”

At that moment, Ehit came out of the office.

“Everyone, move to your positions.”

“Huh? Now?”

The instant Ehit spoke, the ship suddenly shook with a loud boom.

It was an ambush.

The pirates of the Northern strait were notoriously difficult to deal with, and even the naval command struggled with them. One reason was their habit of launching reckless surprise attacks like this.

Leaving the brief rest behind, the fleet members hurried into action.

As Dellers and Ariel moved, their eyes turned toward Ehit.

He had the eyes of a perfectly rational strategist—but even they noticed that his gaze briefly landed on the ship Dapflen was on.

****

“Please go that way!”

They said the battle wouldn’t happen until the day after tomorrow!

‘The pirates of the North are infamous for enjoying ambushes. It’s better to assume that fighting could break out at any time.’

Ehit had said that, but I thought it would at least be after we reached the strait!

Facing a sudden battle right in front of me, my mind went completely blank.

Seeing pirates actually rushing onto the ship with huge club-like swords was overwhelming.

In the middle of it all, I kept running, treating wounds, and running again without stopping. Every time I finished treating one person, another came in—again and again.

Even so, my eyes kept drifting toward the ship Ehit was on.

There must be healers on that ship too, but I still couldn’t help worrying.

“Aileta-nim, over there!”

Another healer who had gone out to assist waved urgently. I hurried over and treated another injured leg.

The fleet members seemed just as shaken by the pirate ambush.

There were scouts, but this was already enemy territory, and blocking a sudden attack wasn’t easy.

“Here, try moving it again. Are you okay?”

The injured soldier slowly moved his arm.

As I finished treating the wound, I looked around. Treatment was still going fairly smoothly, but if this dragged on, there was no telling what would happen.

I usually stayed in the city, so this was my first time seeing battle up close.

“Healer… we can win this, right……?”

“Yes, yes, of course. Try moving this side. How is it?”

“I think… I’m okay…….”

One wounded soldier murmured weakly.

Since we had cannons, we had the advantage in raw firepower, but once enemies were already on deck, what mattered more than weapons was physical strength.

The pirates, hardened by the harsh North, looked twice as big as normal people, and it was unavoidable that injuries piled up where they fought.

‘Move quickly.’

After finishing treatment on one side, I stood up in a hurry.

“……Ah.”

But the moment I lifted my body after treating nonstop, dizziness hit me.

My breath hit an invisible wall inside my body and spilled out. It felt as if my holy power was blocked.

Again. I was sure I still had holy power left, but I couldn’t push any further.

“Dapflen, are you okay?”

Masha, the mage who had come on the expedition with me, rushed over as I slowly exhaled.

“I’m fine, Masha. It’s just orthostatic hypotension…….”

“Fine? Your face is completely pale. Please sit here for a moment.”

I wanted to say I was okay again, but even my hands were shaking.

I moved to a corner and dropped onto the wooden floor. Pressing my tired eyes with my palms, I stayed there for a bit.

After a moment, I could feel my strength—and my holy power—slowly returning.

As I was about to rest a little longer, my gaze turned outside the infirmary.

Over there, I saw a fallen officer with crimson hair.

Normally, we were supposed to treat only those brought into the infirmary. It was to prevent losing medical personnel, but it looked like he hadn’t made it here in time.

“……!”

The wound on his side looked serious. If left like that, he could bleed out.

In the end, I stood up.

Someone—more specifically, Ehit—felt like they were telling me to fix my overly meddlesome personality, but I couldn’t help it.

‘Ah, whatever.’

I burst out of the infirmary.

The moment I stepped outside, the clash of blades and the sharp crack of gunfire rang loudly in my ears.

Startled, I shrank my shoulders. Clenching my fists, I forced myself to move forward.

I thought the infirmary was chaotic, but outside was on another level.

No—this really was a battlefield.

“Are you okay?”

I pushed through and finally reached the officer. After checking that he was conscious, I hurriedly began treatment.

Only then did I realize he was part of Ehit’s fleet.

Mendel Ritterner.

An officer Dellers talked about often.

“Aileta-nim? Hey, it’s a shallow wound!”

“Yes, hold on a moment. Weren’t you on a different ship?”

“Our ship finished emergency repairs and came to support—ah!”

“I’m sorry. Please bear with it for a bit.”

I answered briefly and focused on the treatment. Thankfully, the bleeding stopped quickly—it wasn’t as bad as it had looked.

After checking his wound, Mendel apologized that he couldn’t escort me back to the infirmary and hurried back to the battlefield.

Then… was Ehit somewhere on this ship too?

With the black night sea below, the sound of clashing swords echoed everywhere.

Hiding in the shadow cast by the sails, I stood up again.

For a moment, I thought about looking for Ehit, but I knew that would be five times more foolish than leaving the infirmary in the first place.

I turned to go back—but my intention was quickly blocked.

The battle didn’t care about location, and it had already spread right in front of the infirmary. There was no way through.

‘What do I do?’

I stepped back for now.

As I stood there thinking hard—maybe another entrance, another way around—

“This could be quite useful.”

A chilling, broken voice came from behind me.

The next moment, a thick arm—far too strong for me to shake off—grabbed my head.

“Ugh!”

Something like cloth covered my eyes. I realized for the first time how terrifying it was to lose your sight.

I struggled as hard as I could.

“Let go!”

A sharp scream tore out.

A rough hand clamped over my mouth. Along with the metallic taste of blood, even my breathing was cut off.

“Should’ve covered the mouth, not the eyes. What a foolish woman.”

“Brother, please. Let me—”

For a moment my mind went white, but I had the stubbornness of someone who had already faced death once and pulled myself together.

In that instant, I pulled out a medical needle from my pocket and stabbed it deep into the pirate’s shoulder.

“Aaagh!”

I forced my holy power into it in the most twisted way I could. As the pirate trembled violently from the sudden cramp, I shoved him away with all my strength.

It must have worked—the pirate collapsed like a sheet of paper.

“Get her!”

I tore the cloth from my eyes and ran blindly.

But the other pirate was the problem.

Angry that his companion had been crippled, he chased after me with a murderous look.

‘It’s okay, Dapflen. You can run. Just turn that corner—’

He reached out toward me as if he would break my arm. Seeing that huge, rough hand made chills run through my entire body.

I kept telling myself it would be okay, forcing myself to stay calm—but if he caught me, there was no way he’d leave me unharmed.

Missing his first grab, the pirate raised his sword this time.

I thought I might die. Really—this might actually be where I die.

“……!”

I took a sharp breath in.