Marshal Mei fluttered her eyelids. The morning sun pierced the thin skin of her eyes to give her a gentle awakening. She woke up and sat up.

Sitting on the path, she contemplated the hoofprints left there the day before. She also felt pain in her left shoulder and right arm, evidence of her nightly confrontations. She had nothing on her to treat the wounds which were beginning to ooze.

Marshal Mei got up anyway. She followed the horses' tracks and found that they turned toward the forest. She dashed into the forest and continued to track her attackers, watching as the vegetation was abused.

A few minutes later, she came upon a tiny clearing where two horses were tied to trees. Marshal Mei checked to make sure no one was approaching them.

She put her hand on one of the horses, which did not seem to be frightened. It seemed to be well trained. She forced it to lift one of its legs to look at the horseshoe and the small emblem engraved on it.

She immediately recognized the one she saw, for she knew the Klein family crest all too well.

The horse slightly shook. Marshal Mei preferred to stop her investigations and hid a few meters away from the beasts.

She did not have time to recover her senses. A figure had approached the horses. Marshal Mei imperceptibly turned her head.

A young woman with a huge backpack was leaning against a tree and waiting for something. She kept glancing around.

Marshal Mei knew what she was looking for when someone came. Marshal Mei chose not to look at the scene for fear of being exposed, and simply eavesdropped on the conversation.

“It's about time! What were you doing?”

The interlocutor did not answer.

“There you go. That served us well.”

Marshal Mei heard that they were exchanging something. She suppressed her urge to look.

No words were added. The two people parted. The scene ended.

Only silence remained. 

Marshal Mei gathered her thoughts. The woman she had seen was carrying a backpack like the one from that night. The stolen swords were probably inside.

The exchange of the item had helped infiltrate the barracks, which could only mean one thing: someone in the palace had betrayed her.

Marshal Mei ran her hands over her face. She could not hope to discover the identity of the traitor by beating him to the palace because she had no horse.

She could have walked to the palace, but her wounds were causing her incredible pain. In addition, she was completely exhausted and hungry. She needed care and food.

A solution crossed her mind. The Klein family's mansion was nearby, so she could go there and ask for help. Alopex could not refuse an order. On the other hand, she had some questions to ask him.

So, Marshal Mei started walking, wincing with each step. She was used to enduring pain, but the strange fatigue she felt seemed to dissipate her resistance.

She could not even smile when she finally saw the house. She left the forest and crossed the official road before walking a few steps on the main driveway.

She rang the bell at the front door, which soon opened on Alopex Klein. He froze when he discovered her.

“Duna?”

“Alopex, I need your help...”

She collapsed in his arms. He barely had time to catch her. Stupefied, he remained a moment immobile.

Then, gently, he brought the unexpected visitor to his room on the second floor, carrying her in his arms.

He laid her down on the bed and took off her shoes.

Duna reached out to him.

“Alopex,” she moaned.

He took her hand, covered in blood, dirt, and dust.

“Heal me.”

Alopex was overwhelmed by a flood of conflicting feelings. He knew that her wounds came from him and from Stephana and that it would have been better if she had died that night, but he could not help feeling sorry for her. He hated himself for the joy that exploded in his heart when he saw her lying on his bed.

Alopex went to his bathroom to get some proper washing and healing creams and returned with all this material in a basin.

He undressed Duna to clean every corner of her body, which was still as firm as he remembered. He noticed however a greater number of scars. He then took the time to look after her.

When everything was finished, he put a simple tunic on her and covered her with the bed cover. Not knowing what to do, he also got into bed beside her.

Alopex thought she was asleep until he felt an arm slip over his chest. With her eyes closed, Duna snuggled against him. He sighed.

“Thank you," she whispered.

Alopex did not answer. His position was too precarious, he did not want to betray himself by saying unnecessary word. In addition, the incongruity of the situation left him speechless.

“It's warm," Duna continued.

Alopex was stunned.

“Your heart is beating so fast.”

These words brought Alopex back to reason. He gently put her back in her seat.

“I'll bring you something to eat.”

“Thank you.”

As he went to the kitchen to get something to eat, he cursed himself for being so easily manipulated, and on the way back he cursed himself a second time for being so sensitive.

He had promised himself to break her, but the opposite was more likely.

While waiting for him, she sat on the side of the bed and looked at the garden through the nearby window. He placed the tray in her lap and sat down in the chair at his desk opposite the bed. He avoided looking at her and looked out.

“Have you started a new novel?" Marshal Mei asked.

“I beg your pardon?”

“You're free now. I was wondering what you are doing all day now.”

Alopex Klein held back from spilling his biting retorts in the face of these offensive phrases.

“Not really. I must take care of the things my brother left behind.”

Marshal Mei smiled.

“Are you going to take over the business of killing me?”

Alopex Klein chuckled.

“If you get too close to me, I won't rule out that option.”

“Too bad... because I intend to marry you," she replied.

Alopex Klein decided to play along.

“And why?”

“I’m getting old. I want to have a family... and a loving husband.”

‘It's quite possible, especially if you continue to have paramours.”

“If I get married, I'll separate from my paramour.”

“You're mostly going to abandon him. The poor thing.”

“Not true! I always work on their reintegration. For example, I strongly insisted that Lord Agathos become the intendant of the palace.”

Alopex Klein laughed.

“What noble sentiments! He must be very grateful to you.”

“Don't talk about him like that! “

Alopex Klein kept quiet before whispering, “You're really touching.”

Realizing that he was making fun of her, Marshal Mei stood up and grabbed his collar.

“I always respect the man I am with.”

“You have a very personal notion of respect - Alopex Klein sarcastically said - don't make me laugh, when have men been treated with respect since the reign of Louise Five?”

“These are very dangerous words,” Marshal Me replied, shaking her hand.

“Well, throw me in jail or kill me. It doesn't change anything I said.”

Marshal Mei let go of him.

“That's nonsense. I am going back to the palace. Give me a horse to ride back to the palace.”

“It's just that...”

Alopex Klein bit his tongue.

“It seems to me that you have enough horses. I remember your brother strutting around with a poor cart pulled by four horses before he was too poor to maintain it.”

“I... I'll get your horse ready right away.”

He left the room at full speed.

Marshal Mei gathered her things and got dressed. When she finished, she left the manor and waited for her horse.

Alopex Klein arrived and held out the horse's bridle. Marshal Mei took it firmly.

“If you want it back, come to the palace tomorrow. Otherwise, I thank you for the gift.”

Without saying another word, she rode the animal and left.

It took Marshal Mei half an hour to return to the palace. On the way, she had been trying to figure out what would be the best follow-up to this event and a nice thought was born in her mind.

She managed to return to her apartments without being interrupted. She happily found her room and approached the bed.

Kalos was still asleep. He did not know that she had almost died that night and she was curious to see his face when she told him.

She was even more curious to see his face when she gave him his first assignment.

To be continued.