“The key to winning a drawn-out war is to save as many men as possible for an all-out battle without dropping our guards. I’m told that the coalition army will be split into three divisions, which will take turns guarding the front lines. In any case, I think it will be safe for you to relax while the Remdragon Knights are at the front. We’ll deliberate on what to do when they return.”
Maxi nodded. After completing a final round of treatments in the infirmary tent, Ruth returned to his own barracks. Maxi remained at the infirmary throughout the evening, and it was nearly dawn when she finally lay on her cot to sleep.
The next day, the Remdragon Knights departed for the battlefield in the faint light of daybreak. A strange sense of emptiness and relief came over Maxi as she watched them leave. Ruth found her as the gates were being secured after the last of the knights left the castle grounds.
“I must go check on Sir Hebaron. If anything happens, send someone to my tent,” he instructed her. “I’ve instructed the soldiers to inform me immediately if a female cleric calls for me.”
“I-I understand.” Maxi gave him a small, hesitant smile. “Thank you…for doing so much for me.”
He shrugged as if to say it was nothing, then made his way toward the knights’ barracks.
Maxi spent her time tending to the wounded just as she had at Serbin Castle. Since there were men assigned to prepare the meals at Eth Lene, the women’s tasks were limited to looking after the injured.
Despite the decreased workload, however, they found themselves just as exhausted at the end of the day due to the mercenaries’ constant propositions and flirtations. Though the soldiers sent by the basilica did their best to ward them off, the gazes of the sexually frustrated men followed the women wherever they went.
Some were flagrant with their obscene remarks. The men from the north were the worst. According to Ruth, it was because there were no female clerics in Balto, and they did not understand that the women here were consecrated to God.
Their depravity appalled Maxi. They took no heed whatsoever of the church’s doctrines. Was it normal for a man to feel lust for a woman who was not his wife or lover? With her chastity threatened, Maxi felt terrified.
Furthermore, there were practical issues that could not be ignored. With the mercenaries constantly ogling them, the women had been unable to wash properly for days. Though Maxi and the female clerics had washed their hair by the spring at least once every three days at Serbin Castle, bathing had become an impossible dream ever since their arrival at Eth Lene. After a long day of labor under the sweltering summer sun, not being able to bathe was torturous.
Finally at the end of her rope, Idsilla cried out, “I can’t take it anymore! Why don’t we ask the basilica’s soldiers to keep watch while we take turns bathing? I don’t care how brief, I just want to dunk myself in cold water.”
The others looked unsure but, unable to resist the possibility, agreed to seek the male clerics’ help.
Fortunately, the high priest readily agreed to their request. Two soldiers stood guard at a distance while the female clerics took turns bathing in the spring in groups of four. Worried that someone might recognize them without their hoods, Maxi and Idsilla volunteered to go last.
It had been so long since Maxi had bathed. The mere thought of submerging her clammy, dirt-covered body in the icy water made her heart swell. She was waiting her turn with great anticipation when she heard a commotion outside.
Baffled, Maxi peered out of the tent and saw soldiers racing about the campsite.
“H-Has something happened?” she asked.
A female cleric dashed into the tent. “The men on the front have returned,” she exclaimed. “Some of them are injured.”
Maxi jolted to her feet. As if on cue, she saw soldierscarrying the wounded toward the infirmary. She hastened outside and guided the men to empty cots. There were seven injured in total, and although none were in critical condition, all of them complained of excruciating pain.
After assessing their conditions, Maxi turned to one of the soldiers who had brought the men. “A-Are the others…all right?”
“Some of the knights were injured, but they were treated with magic,” the soldier replied. “These men are the last of the wounded.”
“W-Were any lives lost?”
“None.”
With a sigh of relief, Maxi immediately set about preparing herbs and medical tools. The soldiers helped the men out of their armor as she didso.
Maxi crouched beside each of them and inspected their wounds. One appeared to have a broken rib, as his chest was darkly discolored. Another two gushed blood from what looked to be spear wounds on their legs.
Nora, who had been assessing the remaining men, called out to Maxi. “These men only have light contusions,” she reported. “I’ll apply warm compresses to their wounds, so please tend to those who are bleeding first.”
Maxi immediately fetched the coagulants and a basin of boiled water. One of the men’s thighs was covered in stiff, blood-soaked fabric. Maxi cut through it and washed away the blood and dirt, revealing a deep gash. After removing clumps of blood and other contaminants from the lesion, she sprinkled the coagulant over the gash and applied the detoxicant. The soldier thrashed from the pain, and Maxi was drenched in sweat by the time she finished.
“I have done wh-what I can for him,” she stated. “Please have the remedies for pain a-and fever ready.”
“Understood!”
The female clerics moved in perfect coordination. Despite the quickness of their actions, however, it was sunset by the time they finished treating everyone.
