Although located not far from the border of the forest, it was quite far from the village of Balesnorth. There are only one or two shabby farmhouses in the vicinity. It was the kind of place they wouldn’t go to unless there was a special reason.

‘Are they alone?’

Herietta, clinging to the back of a tree, watched it cautiously. She was afraid that the fellow knights or soldiers might be nearby. However, when she looked closely, she couldn’t see a single ant, let alone a soldier.

Whether it’s a knight or something, they’re usually a group of people moving together. Herietta rolled her eyes. She wondered if that person had accidentally lost their way while wandering in the woods.

After confirming several times that there was no one here except her and that Kustan knight, Herietta relaxed a little. She pokes her head out of the tree. Then she started looking at the knight again.

The knight was sitting almost sprawled with their back against the rock. They lowered their head weakly, so she couldn’t see the face, but she could tell the knight was awake by the rare groans.

‘They’re hurt.’

Perhaps it had been a difficult battle, the knight’s appearance was beyond words. Dark red bloodstains were smeared here and there on the armor that was supposed to shine with a brilliant silver light. The green cloak that symbolizes Kustan was also ripped. To their right lay a dented helmet, and to their left lay a long sword.

But there was something else that caught Herietta’s attention.

‘Arrow.....’

Her eyes moved to the knight’s leg. A thick arrow was lodged in the right thigh. Judging by the length of the protruding shaft, it seemed to be quite deeply embedded even though the knight was wearing armor.

‘Why didn’t they take it out?’

Herietta was puzzled. The arrowhead could have rusted, or debris could have fallen off, so the longer the wound was left in that state, the more likely it would become infected with germs. Moreover, it was very difficult to stop the bleeding while the arrow was stuck.

Therefore, when struck by an arrow, it was common sense to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

However, unless there is some reason why it cannot be removed.

The arrow feathers at the end of the shaft stood out. It was a dark brown mottled pattern, quite unusual in appearance.

Herietta’s eyes narrowed as she carefully examined the feathers of the arrows. She had seen an arrow very similar to that before.

‘These arrows look a little peculiar.’

The memory of the day she followed Bernard to the training ground located in the castle came to mind.

‘The arrow feather is normal, but the shape of this arrowhead is particularly unique.’

Harrieta murmured as she picked up the arrows piled up in one corner of the training ground. There were three small bumps attached to the pointed central arrowhead. It was so distinctive that even those who didn’t know much about archery could immediately tell the difference.

‘Ah, come to think of it, is this your first time seeing Destrude?’

Bernard, who glanced at the arrow in Herrietta’s hand, spoke indifferently.

‘Destrude?’

As Herietta tilted her head at the unfamiliar word, Bernard nodded once and explained.

‘Yes. It is often referred to as the devil’s hook. The arrowheads are designed to be difficult to remove once they are lodged in the target. Like a fish hook of death.’

‘It’s a little.... creepy. A devil’s hook.’

When Herietta put down the arrow with a displeased expression, Bernard laughed.

‘Don’t worry. Destrude isn’t used very often. In fact, there are only a few people in Velicia who are allowed to use it.’

As you can see, it’s pretty dangerous stuff, he added. Like he was trying to reassure her anxiety.

‘I’m sure it’s that arrow.’

Herrietta frowned as she examined the arrow. It was quite far away so she couldn’t see it closely, but she was sure nonetheless.

‘But why is it stuck in that knight’s leg?’

Bernard had said that there were only a few people in Velicia who could handle it. And most of them were said to be members of the royal family or knights belonging to the royal family. That would mean there is one of them around here.

When her thoughts reached that far, there was a person who came to mind.

Jonathan Coopert. A knight belonging to the royal family of Belicia, and a knight in charge of the second prince, Bernard.

Before long, Harrieta silently convinced. Yes. If Jonathan was recognized as an elite even in the royal knights, he would surely know how to handle that Destrude.

‘But it’s already been four days since Sir Jonathan left the cave.’

Then, suddenly, something unexpected came to mind.

‘Unless things went wrong, he’s still around here.. .. ?’

A feeling of uneasiness. Along with that, the existence of the Kustan knight sitting in front of her collapsed, fueled her anxiety even more. Unless there was a special reason, they deliberately chose this path because there was usually no one other than forest beasts to come and go.

But Herietta worked hard to get the negative thoughts out of her head. What’s the matter? Anyway, she had only one choice now.

‘I’ll have to move carefully so I don’t get caught.’

Judging from the knight’s condition anyway, it didn’t seem like they would be a big threat even if she got caught, but it was something she never knew. Herietta moved slowly and cautiously as she tried to get out of the spot.

“Who is there?”

The knight, who was hanging their head like dead, shouted while straightening their upper body. With that, Herietta froze in place. How did the knight notice? She tried to hide her presence as much as possible and move carefully. But it seemed to have failed spectacularly.

“I know you’re there. So show yourself.”

“.....”

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. I just have something I want to ask of you. If you want, I will compensate you accordingly.”

“.....”

“Really. If there’s anything you want, just say it. I will do my best to accommodate your needs.”

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