If You Leave Without a Word - Chapter 65
‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.
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Every morning and every night, whenever he lay down or got up, his body screamed with pain in every corner. Ignoring these pains and focusing on his duties had become a daily routine.
“Commander.”
Sensing a movement, a knight from outside the tent immediately called out and entered. Cain nodded at him, and the knight placed what he brought beside the bed, beginning to recount the events of the previous night.
Another day began with receiving reports of incidents that occurred overnight.
“Last night, there was a minor accident beyond the hill.”
“An accident?”
“Yes, a box of explosives detonated.”
No wonder there was a lingering smell of gunpowder. Cain’s brow furrowed.
“Who was in charge of the armory last night?”
“Robert, sir.”
“And?”
The knight hesitated at the question of who else was guarding the armory.
“Who was the other one?”
“It was Winslet, commander.”
“Bring both Winslet and Robert here.”
“Yes, commander.”
It was a rule that at least two knights should guard the armory entrance. Cain realized discipline within the knight order had slackened, after lying in bed with an injury for a few days.
Furthermore, with Ethan, who would have commanded the knights in his stead, also away, unexpected issues like this had begun to surface.
“Explosives don’t just detonate on their own.”
If it were an accident during wartime, it would be a serious matter, necessitating immediate combat readiness from all personnel.
However, this place was quite distant from the northern border where battles had occurred, and it had been months since they entered a ceasefire state, helping the Amasril Kingdom’s refugees. Hence, if explosives detonated at night, it would likely be an accident.
“You need to be disinfected, commander.”
Following the knight, a servant entered, opened Cain’s shirt, and began to clean the half-healed wound with a cloth soaked in hot water gently.
The wound had just started to heal slightly.
The knight, stepping back to give space to the servant, showed a hint of anger on his face. It was probably anger towards someone responsible for injuring their respected commander.
Technically, that ‘someone’ didn’t directly harm Cain, but it was because of them that he was injured, so it was perhaps natural for the knight to feel angry.
“It’s that gypsy again. Causing a fuss about their sick child, and as soon as we untie them, this accident happens…”
The voice was barely restrained, struggling to hide the rage but not quite succeeding.
“We shouldn’t have been lenient with that gypsy. We should have detained and interrogated them.”
“Enough.”
The knight, who was speaking vehemently, clammed up under Cain’s sharp gaze.
Cain had been injured about twenty days ago.
At that time, the knights were relocating families with young children from among the refugees to the relatively safe area of Arta. The smooth process was unexpectedly disrupted by a group of wandering gypsies.
The gypsies, who roamed from place to place, selling whatever could make money, were a common sight in the border areas. Some knights even sought out gypsy women to satisfy their desires, but that didn’t mean they respected them as individuals.
Cain’s attention was caught not by a red-haired gypsy woman, but by the young boys under her care, who appeared to be around twelve years old. Cain suggested that the children be placed under the protection of the knight order. Initially wary, the gypsies reluctantly agreed.
However, the situation took a drastic turn when Cain accidentally discovered a gypsy woman attempting to drug the knights’ drinks, steal explosives, and flee. The gypsies, knowing that military supplies and explosives were valuable commodities, pretended to comply with the knights’ request, and audaciously committed the crime just two days after joining them.
The ringleader was the noticeable red-haired gypsy woman.
During the scuffle to subdue them, an explosives box accidentally detonated. Cain, trying to protect the red-haired gypsy woman who was closest to the explosion, sustained a serious injury to his shoulder.
After the incident, the knights insisted on tying up all the gypsies and interrogating them. However, Cain dismissed their concerns, stating it could wait until after the relocation of the refugees was complete.
But it seemed the gypsy woman had somehow managed another theft attempt, leading to the accident. Cain couldn’t fathom how she had untied herself.
“Why are you being soft on that gypsy? If it were the old commander, he would’ve severely punished the gypsies the moment they were caught stealing.”
“We didn’t come to Arta to cause turmoil.”
