Apparently, I'm the Infamous Earl's Legendary Bride

Book 1: A Girl in Another World - Chapter 30

Slapping his hand on the older man's shoulder, he said, "Connor."

"My lord," Connor said. "Thank the deities you've arrived."

Inside the station, Aldric went into the great hall and scanned the area, noting many of the men lying on the cold, stone floor with wounds haphazardly wrapped with torn, bloodstained cloths. They looked haggard, their eyes glazed, their skin stained with blood and dirt.

"My lord," one man said. "You came."

Aldric knelt on the floor and took the soldier's outreached hand. "Ryan," he said.

"How's Nora?" Ryan asked. "How is she? And our children?"

This, Aldric thought, he could answer without any feelings of discomfort, stress, and burden. As the lord of Norsewood, he had always been the bearer of bad news, a difficult and taxing duty he had to carry out, especially after a battle, raid, or monster invasion, and lives were lost, and there had been much bad news where Norsewood was concerned. This time, however, it was different. This time, he felt this sense of delight at passing on the news.

The last time he had seen Nora, she had been smiling and crying, with tears of joy, that the children were healed from their fateful burns and other wounds from the raids and were now running around and drinking hot cocoa to their heart's content.

"They're fine," he said. "Your children are healed, Ryan."

The man looked confused and asked, "Healed?"

Aldric nodded as he drifted his gaze along the man's severely injured body. "And soon, you will be, too."

Ryan wanted to ask what his lord meant, but Connor pulled him away, saying, "We'll leave that for later, Ryan. Now, his lordship needs details on the reports."

He nodded, and Aldric followed Connor up the stairs. Lying there on the floor, his body in agonizing pain and his wounds bleeding, Ryan chuckled as tears flowed down his dirt-stained cheeks. His children, he thought, had been healed. But how? By whom? Was it even possible?

Up on the second floor where the soldiers' sleeping quarters was located, Aldric was shown more injured warriors, and he knew time was of the essence. He'd need to take care of the monster subjugation as soon as possible and return so these soldiers could be healed. Their very lives were in danger, after all.

Back in the great hall, Aldric stood in front of the fire, his gaze fixed on the glowing flame, his mind racing. According to Connor, fifteen of the seventy soldiers had lost their lives to monsters; ten were severely injured and their lives were hanging in the balance; twenty were moderately injured, while the rest were minor, allowing them the ability to still fight despite the lack of food.

The thought of food caused Aldric to spin around, and he asked Connor, "Have you and the soldiers eaten?"

Connor shook his head. "Not for three days straight, my lord. We have no stock left. We managed to drink, with water melted from the snow. Perhaps you've brought some supplies? But with Norsewood in such dire circumstances, and the people..."

"I've brought food," Aldric said and once again felt the overwhelming appreciation toward Quinn and her thoughtfulness toward the soldiers she had yet to meet.

"You... brought food?" Connor said, his eyes wide with both disbelief and relief. "But the citizens."

He patted the man on the shoulder and then turned his attention to Liam, Elio, and the three soldiers that came with them. They had already brought in the supplies Quinn had prepared for them, and Liam and the soldiers were currently going over them and taking the essentials out of the boxes.