The bloodshed that happened during these few weeks made the refugees apathetic to the death of the people around them. With the exception of Maia.
Castiane's actions showed that she had a warrior's spirit despite what she claimed. So she was used to seeing blood and corpses.
But Maia was only a village's girl who was sold to a town's brothel. She didn't seem to know how to cope with the sight of ferocious magical beasts killing people, the smell of blood dying the ground under her feet, and the terrified screams of people who were captured and brought away by the beasts.
She often showed signs of sickness, with almost no appetite during meals.
Oresus seeing this had given her the sweater he was given from their trade in the village, and just in precaution, he had her remove the ring of dissimulation from her finger since even though it was very little, it still consumed her energy to keep the illusion active.
But it was only when they were about to enter the forest that she became seriously ill and fell unconscious.
[Maia!?]
When Castiane saw her friend's body fall on the ground, she became alarmed.
Oresus crouched next to her cold body, he took her pulse with a calm expression.
[She's sick. You've just noticed that something was wrong with her?]
His tone was strange, it was as if Oresus was condemning her.
Castiane was confused, she took hold of one of Maia's hand and stared blankly at her face. These two had become good friends after spending so much time together. Maia would often volunteer to help her, even though she had little strength. Whenever she saw her being taken advantage of by some selfish people, she would stand up for her and protect her.
She slowly stood up, turning her head in a daze, before realisation struck her.
[I'll bring medicine, I know where to get them.]
Looking at Castiane running inside the forest, ahead of everyone, Oresus shook his head with a wry smile, though his expression showed he appreciated her action.
Leopold soon came to check on the situation when he heard about it.
They hadn't entered the forest yet, but they weren't safe either since they were still located in the wilderness and they could be attacked at any time.
[What happened, is she okay?]
Oresus nodded warmly at him. He took a blanket from the large bag Castiane had made out of leaves and vines, to cover Maia's body.
[She's okay, she just needs to rest and she'll wake up on her own.]
[I see. She seemed to be a kind girl, this must not have been easy for her. I'll have someone bring a tonic and some warm water for her, it'll do her body good.]
Leopold said with melancholy in his eyes. Then he gently patted Oresus on the shoulder to show his support.
[Thank you.]
Leopold walked away, then stopped after a few meters.
[I forgot to ask, why did your companion leave suddenly. Did she notice something ahead?]
His tone and expression indicated his worry, which made Oresus chuckle in amusement.
[No, she was worried about Maia's health so she went to pick up herbs to nurse her. Don't worry about it.]
[That's good, she also seems like a good person.]
After Leopold left, Oresus sat on the ground with Maia in his arms. The ground was covered in frost and even with a blanket, it would no have given her much warmth.
Oresus seemed to hesitate on something before using his spirit eye to check which medicines were stored in the treasury chest.
Most of them were high-level elixirs. The only low-level ones were for treating wounds or restore spiritual energy.
He sighed with bitterness written all over his face.
[What's wrong, do you need help?]
Just then, a voice he often recalled in his memories appeared near him.
He opened his eyes in surprise. Standing in front of him was a tall woman with brown hair tied into a ponytail. The trousers and sweater made of wool hid her figure, giving her a stylish charm.
[Sit.]
He spoke in a calm manner, but his eyes were eagerly wandering all around her body like a hungry wolf.
Seeing him act this way, she rolled her eyes.
[Are you sure you want to act like this with a woman in your arms, what if she suddenly woke up and saw you look at another girl with those eyes?]
Hearing her teasing words, he looked down at Maia's pretty face, even with the blanket covering her body, he could see the shape of her breasts from the bulges.
His eyes looked back at Kali, then he lightly shook his head with a wry smile.
[She's just my maid. I don't want to touch her body, she's just a little girl to me.]
[Eh, you say that after staring lustfully at her body. It's okay, I understand, you like fat women. I'm not one to complain about this kind of male.]
She made it sound like she was joking and teasing him, but he didn't seem to like her tone. His eyes peered into her own, trying to read her thoughts.
[I did not touch her. Why did I not see you during the last month, and why did you come now?]
The more he spoke, the angrier he became. His eyes that glared at Kali started to glow with tiny purple stars.
He had already sensed the presence of Harmon wandering in the surrounding and it made him suspicious.
She scratched her head with an uneasy expression under his interrogation.
She didn't look into his eyes anymore.
[Sorry, I am one of the fastest mercenary available, so I was put in charge of scouting...most of the time. I barely had any time to rest. I thought of coming earlier...it's just I didn't have time. I just wanted to check up on you and that girl, but since she's fine I'll just leave.]
Oresus stared at her receding figure as she hurriedly walked away.
However, her actions seemed to only anger him more. He gritted his teeth and strengthened the grip on Maia without realising it.
[...master.]
Maia's weak voice woke up him from his thoughts about Kali.
He relaxed his grip, while gently caressing her hands and face to warm her up.
[Don't worry, you're going to be fine. Castiane went to get medicine, just wait a little bit and you'll be okay.]
She seemed surprised by his action and words. It was the first time he had showed such gentleness to her. No, it was the first time anyone showed such care to her in her life.
Scenes of dead bodies, the smell of blood and the screams passed through her mind. Before giving way to the warmth coming from his hands and his comforting tone.
Then the memory of him hugging her in the brothel, treating her with gentleness and accepting to bring her away resurfaced.
She looked at his face with watery eyes, which quickly turned into tears streaming down her cheeks.
[Thank you master. I...I am so happy.]
A beautiful smile appeared on her face as she tried to wipe her tears, only to stop with shock written all over her face when Oresus dropped a kiss on her forehead.
[Silly girl, don't talk and sleep more. You need to rest and take care of your body.]
Even he, seemed surprised by the warmth of his voice and the affection he showed toward the woman he had always ignored until now.
He continued to stare at the smiling woman in his arms. She had closed her eyes but her smile remained the same as when it appeared, as if frozen in time.
If her chest was not rising every few seconds, people may have thought he was holding a corpse that died with a smile on her face.
However, by the time Castiane came back from foraging in the forest, she had fallen asleep and drool was coming out of the corner of her mouth.
[She looks a bit stupid when she's awake, but when she's asleep she's surprisingly cute.]
Castiane chuckled when she saw the always cold Oresus hold Maia in his arms. She took a pot made of dried mud and started cooking using the water that Harmon had brought earlier.
Of course she wasn't making food, it was used to make medicine.
When she smelled the scent of food, Maia immediately woke up, realising she was still in Oresus's arms and Castiane was looking at her funnily.
She blushed in shame and fought against the blanket to get away from him.
The people nearby laughed at the spectacle. The refugees came to sit near them as soon as Castiane came back, otherwise, they did not dare come close to Oresus. The way he looked at them seemed to make them wary and anxious.
After drinking the medicinal soup, Maia assured them that she was better and could walk on her own feet again.
Shortly after, the mercenaries gave the order to resume the march.
The dark forest would be their last ordeal, that's what they repeated to themselves in order to motivate themselves.
But they all knew that many would die inside, though nobody wanted to believe it would be them.