3 The Fall of Laurelei Fiefdom

Meanwhile, in the frontlines...

"Sir! Let's fall back to the last strategic position! We can't hold them here any longer!"

A knight anxiously exclaimed.

The knights' captain determined that they indeed couldn't hold this position any longer and ordered a retreat.

"Fall back to the small valley!" 

This was the impact of losing Helena on the frontlines.

It seems that the knights cannot hold the position for even 2 days without Helena because she is their ace fighter and she is always in the forefront of the formation, using her sword to slay droves of enemies.

The day quickly passed and an unfortunate event happened on the next day.

"Schneid!!!" the knight captain exclaimed.

"It's been an honor fighting alongside you brothers... Leave me and protect the Count."

Schneid, the vice-captain of the knights, the one who saved Helena, has fallen on the battlefield.

The remaining knights together with their captain quickly made their way back to the manor with a heavy heart.

They didn't want to leave Schneid but there was no way to save him.

In addition, they still had to protect the Count's family and ensure that the last refugee caravan would make it out on time so they had no choice but to leave him.

Luckily, Helena has partially recovered after a few days of rest and although she is still weak right now, she can at least walk with the help of Blanc.

A few moments later, a servant entered the infirmary and told them that the Count was summoning them to his study because had something to say to the three of them.

Blanc, Helena, and Adelaine complied and quickly headed to the Count's study.

After arriving, the three of them saw the Count's face and they were heartbroken.

The Count looked so tired and weary due to the ongoing chaos in his territory but he was still trying to keep a straight face as he said

"We did our absolute best to protect the country from the rebellion for as long as possible."

"Unfortunately, our efforts were not enough and we will not be able to last until the loyalist reinforcements arrive."

"Thus, I have prepared an escape route for the three of you along with a few silver coins."

The count said to the three of them as he handed over a bag of silver coins to Blanc.

The Count was only able to give them a limited amount of silver coins because he had already used most of the territory's silver coin reserves to fund the war and the refugee caravans.

After entrusting the bag of silver coins to Blanc, the Count started walking towards the fireplace and then gave it a hard push sideways.

After a few moments, a hidden passage was revealed.

The Count then turned his attention to Blanc and gave him a deep look.

"Blanc, I'm counting on you. Even though you are not my biological son, I have always treated you as such."

"I am proud to see you develop into a great and accomplished young man. Please continue to look after my daughters."

"Your mother is part of the last refugee group that I sent away, their journey is a long and grueling one towards the capital."

"Before she left, she begged me to assure your safety at all costs. I hope that you will both be safe and will be able to reunite soon."

After talking to Blanc, the count then looked at his daughters.

"My beloved daughters, I love you both so much, and as much as I would like to go with you to escape, I have obligations to fulfill as a Count."

"I will never abandon my people and my territory. It pains me to say this but this is where we part ways."

"Helena, please take care of yourself and your younger sister. Make sure to live a nice long life."

"Although it is sad that I will no longer be by your side as you grow older, I am grateful for the times we have spent together. "

"Farewell, my children, it has been a pleasure taking care of you in this life."

After letting out his innermost feelings to the three of them, the Count moved away from his children. He left the study and then rode a horse to the frontlines.

Helena tried to convince his father to stay but they were stopped by the two remaining guards at the entrance of the study.

These two are assigned to close the passageway after the three of them enter.

The sisters cried their hearts out while Blanc clenched his fists so hard.

Tears welled up in his eyes but he tried his best to suppress it because he needs to be strong at times like these.

He is frustrated with himself for being able to do nothing while the sisters suffer such grievances.

This isn't the time to space out though so a few moments later, Blanc forcefully snapped out of his depressing thoughts and led the two sisters to enter the hidden passage.

After the three of them entered, the guards closed the entrance to the hidden passage.

The three of them proceeded to walk towards the end of the tunnel with a heavy heart.

*sniffle* *sniffle*

"Father… I love you so much…" Adelaine muttered while crying.

Meanwhile, Helena had a blank and empty look on her face, she couldn't believe what was happening to them right now.

Blanc did not say anything and just rubbed their backs to console them as the three of them walked through the dark hallway with just a torch in hand.

They continued walking for hours and no matter how much they wanted to rest, they couldn't since there was a potential risk of being chased by pursuers.

A few more hours passed and they finally reached the end of the tunnel.

Blanc pushed the exit door open which was fully covered by grass.

Upon opening the exit door, they were greeted by tall trees and small animals.

They seem to be in the middle of a forest.

"Hmm.. We seem to be in the Woods of Greendale." 

Being the nerd that he is, Blanc was able to immediately identify where they were.

However, his thoughts were quickly disrupted after hearing Adelaine's panicked voice.

"Big Bro Blanc! It's Big sister! Big Sister fell unconscious and is burning hot with fever!" Adelaine urgently said as she tried hard to carry the unconscious Helena.

Blanc quickly turned around to look and rushed to Helena's side to check her temperature.

Upon confirming that she was indeed burning with fever, Blanc immediately carried Helena on his back.

He instructed Adelaine to follow him before he anxiously sprinted towards the nearest road in hopes that a horse cart would pass through.

Luckily for them, a horsecart was passing through as the arrived at the road.

Talk about perfect timing!

"Boss! Please quickly take us to the nearest hospital!"

Blanc quickly asked the driver to bring them to Ironwood Town's hospital.

The horsecart driver agreed and drove the cart to the best of his abilities. 

"Helena, please hold on, we can't lose you too." Blanc muttered to himself

A short while later, they finally arrived at the hospital.

Blanc quickly settled the payment with the driver before carrying Helena inside the hospital.

A nurse saw them and asked about what happened.

"Please help us, she was still recovering from two arrow shots but we were forced by the circumstances to walk continuously."

"As a result, her body couldn't take it. Please admit her to a room and call a doctor to check on her."

Blanc explained their situation to the hospital staff and upon seeing that Helena's condition was indeed dire, they quickly complied with Blanc's requests.