Bab 48: [Chapter 48] Beast Tamer
"Tsk."
Nellis clicked her tongue. She was surprised and flustered.
She wasn't completely clueless about treating wounds. However, the wounds she had treated herself were mostly from bullying, not severe injuries like this one.
Kledwin's eyes, which had glared at her earlier, became dull as if he had used up all his energy. Nellis tried to make a calm judgment.
She had hidden the unknown, injured person from the boys because she didn't want to do any favors for Nellrusyon or Abelrus. If they had sent someone to find him, he must be someone they needed to eliminate.
There was no reason for her to risk her life to save him. In fact, if the person in the bushes had been a corpse, she would have just left him there.
But he's alive. And it's Kledwin Maindlandt. He's the only person in this school, aside from Diane, who could potentially help Nellis in the future, especially in protecting her mother.
It didn't take her long to make a decision.
Nellis carefully crawled out of the bushes and checked that there was no one around. Then, she used the moonlight to pick a few leaves from a nearby bush and returned to Kledwin.
"Chew on this. Can you chew? If not, I'll just leave you."
When she observed Kledwin more closely, she saw that the ground around him was wet. He must have lost a lot of blood.
Kledwin looked at the leaves Nellis had put in her mouth for a while, his eyes switching between the leaves and Nellis.
Nellis thought that he might not put the leaves in his mouth because he didn't trust her. And that was understandable, given their lack of trust in each other.
However, Kledwin soon looked Nellis straight in the eye and opened his mouth. Nellis put the leaves inside.
Although it wasn't intentional, she felt that the inside of his mouth was dry and hot.
As Kledwin struggled to chew the leaves, his eyes didn't leave Nellis' face.
Nellis felt her heart pounding. It was good that he still had enough energy to glare at someone. But was that all? Even if the leaves took effect...
"Don't swallow."
A questioning look appeared in Kledwin's eyes, as if to ask what she meant. It was impressive how he could express such abstract emotions with just his eyes. Nellis spoke calmly.
"It's not harmful, but it tastes bad."
A hint of a smile appeared in his eyes for a moment before disappearing. And then, some time passed...
Kledwin Maindlandt tried to lift his body, and Nellis supported him with her shoulder. She struggled to stand him up, grumbling.
"That's just a stimulant, not a cure-all. Let's bandage your wounds first and move."
***
Megara was in a bad mood.
Today was the day of the social etiquette test rehearsal, and Megara had planned to use this opportunity - since they were using a different classroom, and even if something unexpected happened, no one would suspect the first-year students - to play a trick on the annoying Truede.
If she could make a fool of her in front of everyone, even a proud child like Truede would be embarrassed.
But Truede didn't show up.
The knife blade hidden under the table and the ink bottle prepared to spill were all useless. Of course, Megara hadn't directly participated in such petty and childish pranks, but it was still frustrating.
The other students, who had been in on the plan, kept glancing at the classroom entrance, hoping that Truede would arrive late. Diane McKinnon seemed to sense something and became more confident.
Megara was so annoyed that she almost dropped her elegant mask and scowled.
Sheridan's test rehearsal ended with a sense of disappointment for everyone. Since Nellis, who was always perfect, was absent, the praise for this lesson went to Megara, but that didn't bring her any joy.
She wanted a more decisive, more obvious victory. The attention that naturally came her way because of Truede's absence was actually an insult.
On the way back, Megara was quiet. Iydalia didn't know what to say to her. They just walked together, lost in their own thoughts, along with the other students, towards the dormitory area where the children of high-ranking nobles lived.
As they passed by a library where upperclassmen often studied for exams, someone called out to Megara in a friendly tone.
"Magi! Are you on your way to study?"
Megara turned to look at the person who had spoken to her, her expression neutral.
Mahradie Ennim was standing there, looking a bit embarrassed but also excited. He was holding a book, so it seemed he was also on his way back from studying for the exam.
Megara hadn't forgotten the humiliation she suffered during the previous Berlen language class. She didn't like his attitude, acting as if it was natural for him to talk to her just because he was an upperclassman.
However, she couldn't completely ignore him in front of the other students. She decided to respond.
"Yeah. And you?"
Mahradie Ennim, who had been ignored by Megara several times, was overjoyed, thinking that she had finally forgiven him. He was so excited that he blurted out whatever came to mind, hoping that something would catch her interest.
"I'm an upperclassman, you know. I have a lot to study. Today, I was studying with Joseph Carran, but he had something come up and left early. So, I came out early and ran into you..."
If he had been allowed to continue, he might have even started talking about fate.
Megara listened to his nonsense with a bored expression, but Iydalia's eyes widened at the mention of Joseph Carran. Joseph was Nellrusyon's friend and confidant.
If Joseph had suddenly left, something must have happened to Nellrusyon. Iydalia looked at Megara with pleading eyes, hoping she would ask more questions. Megara, though annoyed, asked Mahradie.
"What happened to that senior? You were supposed to study together."
Mahradie felt a surge of anger towards Joseph upon hearing Megara's question. Her question was justified. How could Joseph leave like that after making plans to study together?
"Yeah, it was really frustrating. The flow of our study was disrupted, and we couldn't focus. But it seems like something really did come up. At first, he said he'd be back soon because Nellrusyon Elantria called him, but then he came back, grabbed his things, and left."
The information was irrelevant to Megara, but Iydalia listened intently to every word Mahradie said. Mahradie, encouraged by his audience, continued to talk.
"I heard he met that Truede girl at the Remnant Hall. He asked if anything strange had happened during class. Is she still acting arrogant during lessons? Saying something about a social etiquette test rehearsal..."
The last comment was a clear mistake.
Mahradie realized his mistake and shut his mouth, but it was too late. The other students looked at Megara with sympathy, wondering how long that disgusting upperclassman had been waiting for her. Iydalia also felt a sense of disgust and checked on Megara, but surprisingly, Megara looked even more pleased than before. She even asked for more details.
"Really? He met her at the Remnant Hall? When?"
"I don't know, but he grabbed his things around 8 o'clock, so it must have been sometime before that."
Mahradie smiled foolishly, relieved that Megara didn't seem to be blaming him.
Megara sent Mahradie away with a few flattering words and then fell into thought. After a while, she asked Iydalia.
"Dali, do you know which room Nellis is in? I need to know right now."
***
"What is this place?"
Kledwin's first words, spoken in pain, were met with a response from a boy with a rough face.
"My room."
Kledwin knew the boy's name. Like himself, the boy with pink hair was a well-known figure. Ren Payel, the younger brother of the previous Pope and a student in the theology department.
Although they knew each other's names, they had never spoken before. As Kledwin struggled to understand the situation and deal with the intense pain, another person entered his field of vision.
Nellis Truede, a 12-year-old girl, was approaching with several towels.
Kledwin turned his body, and only then did he notice that Ren was holding a towel stained with blood. Nellis' clothes were also stained with blood.
Nellis handed Ren a clean towel and took the dirty one from him.
"It's all cleaned up. You don't have to do anything else."
Ren spoke to Nellis in a rather affectionate tone, which was a stark contrast to the unpleasant gaze he had given Kledwin.
Kledwin had heard that Ren, who had been acting like a wild child without anyone to rely on, was unusually affectionate towards Nellis. However, seeing it in person was different.
"It's not just affectionate, it's more like... enthusiastic."
Not the gentle rustling of spring breeze, but the enthusiastic wagging of a dog's tail. And it was quite fast.
It was ridiculous that the older of the two, Ren, was acting like a dog, but Kledwin thought the scene was natural.
Nellis Truede, no matter how young, was the master. She seemed capable of handling any beast's leash.
Nellis spoke calmly in response to Ren's words.
"Okay? Then can you step out for a bit so we can discuss something?"
"Alright. I'll be outside the door. If that guy does anything you don't like, just shout."
Ren's eyes, which had been glaring at Kledwin, were fierce, even though he had been ordered to leave the room.
Kledwin felt a bit annoyed. It was like Ren was looking at a new dog that the owner had brought home, and Ren was being disobedient. Didn't he know his place? Kledwin was Nellis' official employer.
Feeling uncomfortable, Kledwin watched Ren leave the room and close the door. Nellis saw his gaze and frowned.
"What's wrong? You're being rude to the person who helped you. If it weren't for Ren's divine power, you would have died. How's your wound?"
Here is the translation of the given text from Korean to English:
"Clearly, the terrible pain and dizziness he had felt before passing out were gone now. Although he still felt some pain, it was to be expected.
Kledwin frowned, just like Nellis, and asked.
"Why am I here?"
"Don't you really remember?"
Nellis pulled up a chair and sat down. Kledwin looked up at her face, trying to recall his memories.
Soon, a listless complaint came out of his mouth.
"...That herb was disgusting."
"So I told you not to swallow it. But thanks to that, you're alive. If not, you wouldn't have even made it to Ren's dormitory."
Nellis responded with a cold tone, as if it was harsh to complain about the taste after being saved.
Kledwin thought that Nellis' words about being able to handle any beast also applied to him.
People feared him, and that fear was either awe or contempt.
But she was different. This small girl spoke to him as if giving orders, and he didn't feel any resentment towards her. He simply followed her words.
Until now, he thought it was because she was having fun. Among his subordinates, who were recruited regardless of their background, there were many with twisted personalities.
So, he thought she was no different from them, and that it was just a matter of exchanging benefits.
But that wasn't it.
...It wasn't like that. His mouth, which had been speaking nonsense due to confusion, closed obediently in front of her. There was an inexplicable power in her.
Kledwin tried to resist. That is, he tried to mutter something about how he had no energy to resist earlier. But in the end, he remained silent.
He quietly looked around the room.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone