TAVBZ 28

Chapter 28

Although I hadn’t spent that much time in the fortress, I had already grown fairly used to life here.

When the sun rose, I would get up, fill the water buckets, and prepare breakfast. Others would do laundry or cleaning. We worked, ate, and then went to bed once the sun set.

I thought that as long as I kept that up, I’d get through my time in the fortress just fine—

—but here we were, running through the back courtyard.

This damned training started not long after we sent our letter to the Emperor.

It was Lillia who had asked Heresthen to train us.

“I want to get stronger. So I won’t be a burden. I want to be helpful, too.”

She had said she wanted to be able to protect herself—and us—if she ever went outside the walls again and ran into zombies.

Truly, a protagonist’s selfless way of thinking.

Even if we were supposed to join the Imperial Army, no one knew what could happen or when.

It made sense to prepare in advance, but why did I have to join in too?!

Uben, Lillia, and Lumi tagged the far marker, turned, and ran back, passing me one by one.

Tap, tap.

I barely managed to touch the turning post when, before long, they sped past me again.

Even though I was moving my arms and legs as fast as I could, the difference between me and the others was huge.

I forced my flailing body to keep going, slamming my feet against the ground.

When I glanced toward Heresthen, he stood with his arms crossed, watching me with an uncomfortably sharp gaze.

This really is my best effort, you know.

There were only two reasons for that sharp look: either he thought I was slacking off, or he couldn’t believe that a human body could actually have such low physical ability.

Could there really be someone this bad at running even when they were trying their best?

I was about to fall, deciding there was no point in trying to prove myself anymore—

Thud!

Lumi, who was staggering from exhaustion just like me, brushed against my shoulder.

“Ah!”

My body tilted sideways in an instant.

I had planned to fake a fall anyway, but not in this direction. Unfortunately, Lumi had pushed me toward the sloped path that led straight into the waterway.

“Milady!”

My vision spun wildly.

Sploosh!

I couldn’t stop myself and fell straight into the water, flailing helplessly. As I spluttered, I caught sight of Lillia rushing down the slope.

“Pff! Pffft!”

“Milady, please wait a moment!”

Her voice rose in panic.

As Lillia hurried down the incline, she lost her balance—but Heresthen caught her by the waist before she could fall.

Uben, looking sulky, just stood above watching instead of helping, while Lumi, who had slipped while running down after me, was now sliding down the slope on her backside.

“Cough—ack—cough!”

Eventually, I managed to crawl back onto the bank and spit out a mouthful of water.

“Lady Lillia, I think you should pat her back,” said Heresthen’s voice behind me. A moment later, I felt someone’s hand gently tapping my back.

“Milady, are you all right?”

“…Y-yes, I mean, no.”

I corrected myself mid-sentence, shaking my head as I coughed and wiped my wet face.

“Oh dear, your hands are all scraped,” Lillia said worriedly, taking one of my hands.

Then a large hand extended toward me.

“Get up.”

Even though I was coughing and obviously miserable, Heresthen showed no mercy and urged me to stand.

I pressed my palm to the ground and pushed myself up.

Heresthen, who had been offering his hand, lowered it again. Apparently, he’d been offering it to me, not to Lillia.

After giving me a quick once-over, he asked, “You’re not hurt anywhere else…?”

“Penelope, I’m sorry! Look—are you badly hurt?”

Lumi, who had finally managed to stumble her way down the slope, cut him off to apologize.

“I’m so sorry, your hand’s scraped. How about your legs? Is your ankle all right?”

She gently inspected my injured hand.

“Can you try moving it? You might have twisted your ankle when you fell.”

I did as she said and tried rotating my ankle in place—then grimaced dramatically.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

“…Yes. It hurts.”

“I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault.”

Feigning pain, I sank to the ground again.

“Which ankle is it?” Heresthen asked, kneeling to meet my gaze.

“…The left one.”

He watched me silently for a moment, then rose to his feet.

“Then you should rest for now.”

“I’ll escort her inside,” said Lumi immediately.

But Heresthen shook his head. “I’ll do it. Come on, Penelope.”

As I began to rise, he gestured for me to follow. Lumi protested, “She’ll need support—she probably can’t walk on her own. Your Grace, let me help.”

But again, Heresthen refused without a moment’s hesitation.

“Training isn’t over for today. You still have distance to cover. Lady Lillia, please make sure everyone completes their quota.”

At that, Lumi’s face stiffened slightly.

“…Understood.”

Lillia nodded reluctantly and looked at me with concern before taking Lumi and stepping back.

“Lady Lillia,” Heresthen called, signaling them to return to their run. The two climbed back up the slope.

“Penelope, can’t you walk by yourself?”

If I wanted to skip training for a while, I needed to make this look convincing, so I nodded.

“Do I need to carry you?”

“…I can walk on my own.”

“Then let’s use the stairs.”

He pointed toward the steps that led up from the wash area.

Right, because I “sprained my ankle.”

I hobbled forward, limping.

I’d place my left foot lightly, then immediately shift my weight to my right. That made my body tilt slightly to the right each time.

“You must’ve hurt it badly,” Heresthen observed.

“Hurts enough that you can’t put weight on it.”

Success!

“Though… when you stood up earlier, it didn’t seem to bother you at all.”

My heart dropped.

Heresthen extended his hand toward me again. I was about to take it when he added,

“Normally, pain is worse when you first stand, since all your weight shifts at once.”

When I lifted my head, our eyes met. His face was unreadable—expressionless—but somehow that made it worse.

Did he notice I was faking?

Had he realized from the start and just decided to watch how far I’d take the act?

“…It didn’t hurt then because I stood on my right foot,” I mumbled weakly.

“That’s not what I saw,” he said flatly.

“Am I mistaken again, pushing you without reason?”

Apparently, Heresthen intended to keep watching and see what I would do next.

So that was why he’d insisted on escorting me himself.

My cheeks burned. If my lie had already been found out, the only way out was to confess quickly.

“I wasn’t trying to—”

I was just about to explain that I only wanted to take it easy for once—

—when Idorian appeared from the kitchen’s back door, frowning deeply.

“Penelope, what happened to you?”

He looked me over, dripping wet, and sighed.

“What on earth happened? You’re soaked and limping.”

Shaking his head in disbelief, Idorian stepped forward and scooped me up without warning.

“Your Grace, shouldn’t you at least help her if she’s hurt?” he scolded sharply.

“No, Your Highness, I told him I could walk,” I said quickly.

Realizing that Idorian was holding me, I tried to push at his shoulder before he found out I wasn’t really hurt and threw me down in disgust.

But he didn’t seem inclined to let go; instead, he adjusted his hold on me.

“It’s not that—”

Heresthen’s calm voice cut in. “She said she could walk, so I respected her wish.”

Then, after a brief pause, he added quietly, “It seems that was my mistake.”

And with that, he didn’t stop Idorian as he carried me away toward the inner halls of the fortress.