Come what may, Dantalion wished that the Lady had just kept her silence instead. She lowered her head further, looking as if she would kiss the ground.
"Yes, Your Grace. I appreciate your Benevolence."
From that time forward, not a word was said between the two women. Although the silence was testing her desire to finish her job, Dantalion stuck to being meticulous. A small mishap on tending Ilya's wounds could lead to an infection.
If that ever happened, she would forever blame herself for tainting the body of Ilya. That was a sin that she wasn't ready to commit.
Despite the fact that she was a candidate to take over the Gertrude Dukedom, she had no leverage on the peerage. Ilya, on the other hand, was different.
Ilya von Bismarck Gertrude had proven, time and again, that she deserved to be the matriarch of the Gertrude Dukedom.
To Leahmir Dantalion, there was no better attestation to Ilya's eligibility than her abilities. It didn't matter whether she was the legitimate daughter of Duchess Hevelia and Duke Brahm. If not for her contributions, the Empire wouldn't have survived the series of catastrophes that befell on the land.
Although she had yet to declare her devotion to Ilya, Dantalion was prepared to do anything if it would be of aid to the Lady.
Once she had wrapped-up the treatment, Dantalion immediately reorganized her things. She made sure to pile the boxes in one area to avoid obstructing anyone.
Because of the many wounds that riddled her body, Ilya was covered in bandages from head to toe. She tried moving her limbs, but she felt constricted. Still, she refrained from removing the bandages… yet.
Dantalion, who had completed her task of cleaning up, stood behind Ilya. Since the knights were engrossed in their planning, she chose to stay by Ilya's side for the time being. Her gaze went down to Ilya, frowning at how dirty and tattered her dress was.
"Lady Gertrude, would you mind if I offer you a cleaner set of clothes? I brought some clothes with me, just in case they'll be needed."
Ilya snuck a look at her dress, sighing as she found herself agreeing to Dantalion. She nodded her head almost surreptitiously, but Dantalion noticed it just fine. The woman quickly fetched the clothes and gave it to Ilya. She then searched for a place where Ilya could have her privacy while changing. To no avail, there were none as such.
"Have you forgotten that the barrier can conceal me from the other side?" Ilya said as she rose to her feet, "You can just cover me from the front, Lady Dantalion."
"But--"
Ilya started to walk towards an area far from the knights. Dantalion had no choice but to follow, though she first stopped by the boxes to get a cloth that was bigger than a blanket. She hurried to where Ilya was standing.
"Please hold on to-- Wait,"
Ilya looked at the coat she was holding and tightened her grip on it. She went on and roamed her gaze around the open area.
"Have you seen Marquis Benedict?"
"Oh? The Marquis? Now that I think about it," Dantalion responded, surveying the field to hopefully get a glimpse of the man, "Upon the arrival of the Knights and the Obelisk Sorcerers, he distanced himself from us. I haven't seen him since then."
"Really? Then I'll search for him after I get changed. Please hold on to his coat for a while."
Dantalion took the coat from Ilya's hand and hung it over her shoulders. She proceeded to unveil the cloth, holding it with her two hands to cover Ilya. It wasn't troublesome for her, considering that she was taller than an Ilya by half a foot. Ilya also had a petite figure.
It didn't take Ilya that long to finish changing. Instead of a dress, Dantalion gave her a standard equestrian outfit -- a pair of white breeches, a black button-down shirt, and a black belt for the accessory.
At first, Dantalion pondered if she should give Ilya the equestrian set. The breeches would be tight around her legs, so it might put pressure on her wounds. However, she also knew that Ilya wanted to hide her wounds. That's the very reason why she gave extra attention to securing the bandages and placing thick patches of gauzes under them.
Ilya preferred that kind of outfit to a dress during battles.
"I'm done." Ilya said, prompting Dantalion to lower the cover, "Perhaps, do you have a pair of shoes? Anything is fine."
"Yes, some of the female knights included that in their supplies. They were given permission since they didn't bring any armor. Heavy armory will only slow them down during the battles after all."
"Surely, they might have brought some breastplates with them?"
"They did, Your Grace. But they solely brought one replacement each."
While they were conversing, the two began walking back to where Ilya was staying. Dantalion went past the spot to get the pair of boots and a clean towel from the supplies.
"Here, Your Grace. There are no riding boots in the supplies, only combat boots." Dantalion said as she handed the items over.
"This much is fine."
Ilya sat back on the ground and started wiping her feet. Shortly, she put on the boots, tying the loose laces around her legs. She stood up subsequently and tried to get used to the boots. Satisfied, she mouthed a thank you to Dantalion before approaching the knights.
Seeing Ilya sauntering towards them, Commander Percival stepped forward in order to receive her.
"Lady Gertrude, what seems to be the problem?"
Ilya bowed her head at the Commander prior to responding, "I'm searching for the whereabouts of Marquis Benedict. I haven't seen him since earlier. I just thought that maybe he was hiding himself among the knights."
Commander Percival gave a glance at the ranks, but he saw not a speck of the Marquis' shadow.
"He might have gone along with the Obelisk Sorcerers. Would you like some help in finding him?"
Ilya merely shook her head and bid the Commander farewell.