Chapter 115
Perhaps it was natural. Yekaterina was no stranger to survival of this sort, having endured countless situations like this before.
She once spent several days in a tree, keeping a dying person alive with no weapons at her disposal. Compared to that, now she had two perfectly fine knives strapped to her thighs, and the person she was carrying was in relatively decent condition.
This felt almost easy, a nostalgic return to her roots.
‘Let’s find a suitable place to hide.’
Yekaterina started walking along the base of the cliff. As she moved, she left a trail of two long drag marks behind her.
* * *
Finding a hiding spot was relatively easy. Cliffs like this often had caves.
‘The only downside is the distance from the water.’
The nights in Ethiel were harsh. It was fortunate to find shelter so quickly, avoiding the need to endure the cold wind all night.
Yekaterina moved Leonid further into the cave, started a fire, and covered him with both their cloaks. Patients are like cheese in a pot; if you don’t keep them warm in this weather, they can quickly stiffen up.
‘It’s a relief the wound is on his arm.’
If it were on his torso, providing proper warmth would be more challenging, especially since his dirty clothes needed to be removed. After wrapping Leonid snugly in the cloaks, she exposed only his injured arm, tore off the dirty sleeve, and covered the wound with clean snow.
Cooling the wound and stopping the bleeding was crucial. She repeatedly replaced the melted snow with fresh snow until the bleeding stopped.
“Ugh…”
Leonid opened his eyes. He struggled to lift his eyelids and, upon seeing Yekaterina, asked in a cracked voice.
“…Where are we?”
“We’re in a cave at the base of the cliff.”
“I thought I was hallucinating when I saw you…”
“When you feel a bit more clear-headed, you can judge for yourself.”
Yekaterina said, taking a handful of snow she had gathered, forming it into a cube about the size of a sugar cube, and brought it to Leonid.
“Ah.”
Leonid obediently opened his mouth. Yekaterina placed one snow cube into his mouth and then put a handful into her own. As he chewed the snow and regained some clarity, he slowly sat up with a groan.
“It seems I really am alive. I thought I was dead for sure… My whole body feels like it’s been crushed.”
“Can you move? We can’t stay here long. We’ll leave after one night.”
“I think I can move… But why does my leg hurt so much? Did I hit something?”
Yekaterina remained silent for a moment.
His legs were long, so she had to drag him. It was probably best not to mention that.
She quickly buried the inconvenient truth.
“…You must have hit something. Aren’t you curious about anything else?”
“Something else?”
“How we survived, and why I’m here.”
“I can guess the latter, but the former… How am I still alive?”
The cliff was quite high, and when he woke up, apart from the muscle pain, he didn’t feel much different from before the fall.
How was that possible?
The mystery was quickly solved.
“I held you and took the fall myself.”
Yekaterina replied swiftly, much faster than she had when hesitating over his leg.
“…What?”
“I told you, I can’t die from a fall. I wasn’t entirely sure myself, but now I am.”
Leonid’s face twisted with frustration.
“So you threw yourself off a cliff without being certain?”
“Well, you’re alive, aren’t you?”
“We could have both died if things had gone wrong.”
“Why dwell on what didn’t happen? We’re alive.”
“You… had no reason to risk your life for me.”
Leonid looked tormented. Despite his physical pain, it was clear that his suffering stemmed from something deeper.
“Why did you do it? You should have just let me fall. If you had sacrificed yourself and I had survived.”
“I was repaying a debt. I’ve owed you a lot.”
Yekaterina said, puzzled by Leonid’s persistent questioning. After all, they both survived, didn’t they? Most importantly, didn’t he want to live?
If she died while he survived, it would fulfill everyone’s desires perfectly.
But Yekaterina hadn’t jumped for such grand reasons.
“At that moment… I just couldn’t do anything else. Seeing you fall felt like getting seriously hurt myself. So, I acted.”
When she came to her senses, she was already on the cliff, holding onto him. It was only then that she could breathe again.
In that moment, thoughts about her own desire for death or his desire for life didn’t even cross her mind.
It was just something that happened.
What is it about you, really?
Why do I keep reaching out to you?
Is it because you’re the only one who can kill me?
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