Lucian’s eyes darkened the second he saw a weapon pointed at deia. His voice dropped. "Put your weapon down. Now."
No one moved.
Lucian took a step closer, his tone sharper this ti. "I said, put it down."
Before anyone could react, the door beside him swung open—another man stepping out, gun raised, this ti aid straight at Lucian.
Tension crackled in the freezing air.
deia’s gaze flickered between the two ard n, and she clicked her tongue in disbelief. ’Seriously? They were actually pointing a gun at ?’
All she wanted was to help them, and this was how they reacted?
Lucian, on the other hand, remained still and calm. However, deia knew better that he was already calculating the fastest way to take them down if it ca to that.
She sighed. If Lucian decided to fight them, there was a possibility that she would lose all of her precious points.
She leaned in and whispered into Ethan’s ear, "Captain, stop spacing out and say sothing to them."
Ethan, finally shaking off his daze, lifted his hands weakly. "Guys, guys, it’s fine! They saved my life!"
The man in the window didn’t lower his rifle. "How do we know that?" His voice was laced with distrust. "Captain, with all due respect, there’s a possibility that they forced you to say that."
Ethan let out an exasperated sigh. "Are you serious? Look at ! Do I look like soone who’s been tortured? If anything, I’d be dead if it weren’t for them!"
The man with the bandaged head hesitated, his grip on the gun tightening. "You could be brainwashed. We can’t risk it."
deia rolled her eyes. "Oh, for the love of—brainwashed? Do I look like I have the ti to brainwash your captain while dragging his half-frozen ass through the snow?"
Yes, of course, she had the ti to do that. But of course, she wouldn’t say that out loud.
Lucian took the mont to press further. "You have two choices," he said calmly, his tone firm. "Either you let us in so we can help your dying comrades, or you keep wasting ti pointing guns at us while they bleed out and freeze to death."
"But if you keep this up, we’ll leave as long as you don’t shoot."
His voice turned cold, sharp as ice. "But if you do shoot, then I’ll have no choice but to fight back."
The result would not be good and deia knew that.
Ethan swallowed hard, glancing between Lucian and his n. The tension in the air was suffocating, thick enough to cut with a knife.
"Guys, co on," Ethan finally spoke, his voice firm but pleading. "I know how this looks, but they’re not our enemies. If they wanted us dead, they wouldn’t have dragged out of the snow and kept alive."
The man at the window didn’t lower his rifle. "How do we know they didn’t keep you alive for leverage?"
Ethan let out a frustrated breath. "Use your damn head! If they were planning sothing, don’t you think they would’ve barged in by now instead of standing out here, freezing?"
The soldier at the door wavered, his grip on the gun loosening. His gaze darted to Lucian, then to deia, then back to Ethan. "You’re sure?"
"Yes, I’m sure," Ethan stressed. "They saved . And right now, we need their help a hell of a lot more than we need to be pointing guns at them."
The n exchanged hesitant glances. The one in the window exhaled sharply before finally lowering his rifle.
"Damn it, fine," he muttered.
The soldier at the door hesitated a mont longer, then sighed, stepping aside. "You better not make us regret this."
deia smiled. "Oh, don’t worry. You’ll be thanking us soon enough."
The mont deia and Lucian stepped inside, the stench of blood and sweat hit them like a wall.
The pub’s interior was dimly lit, mostly by the weak glow of candles scattered around. Wooden tables had been shoved aside to make space for makeshift beds, old mattresses, piles of coats, anything that could provide warmth.
And on those beds lay the wounded.
So were barely conscious, their faces pale and drenched in sweat.
Others were wrapped in bloodied bandages, their injuries hastily treated but not properly tended to. The air was thick with the sound of ragged breathing, quiet groans of pain, and the occasional muffled cough.
deia scanned the room, her lips pressing into a thin line. Damn, they were worse off than she thought.
"Are you doctors?" The bandaged man narrowed his eyes, gripping his rifle like his life depended on it. He still didn’t trust them.
"Nope." deia dropped herself onto a chair, lazily tapping her fingers against the armrest as if she had no interest in helping them. "But ... my handso husband over there happens to know a lot about treating wounded soldiers with dicinal herbs."
She leaned back, her tone nonchalant. "Well, don’t worry. This is just temporary."
Since she had prioritized carrying firewood, she only brought enough dicine for two people. However, fortunately, she still had plenty of dicinal herbs stored in her herbalist bag.
As soone who had traveled to countless places over the years, Lucian had extensive knowledge of treating wounds with natural redies. On top of that, he had studied basic dical skills back when he was still a soldier.
After that, they’d leave the rest to the doctors at Red Star Alliance.
"What do you an this is just temporary?" the bandaged man asked suspiciously.
"What do you think it ans?" deia stretched her legs, her tone almost bored. "We’re taking you to our base."
The man stiffened. Without hesitation, he lifted his rifle again, aiming it straight at deia’s head. "I knew it! You ’rescuers’ are all the sa. Save us first, then force us to work for you later!"
deia didn’t even flinch. Instead, she casually crossed one leg over the other and sighed dramatically.
"Lucian, I’m so scared."
Rather than fear, her voice dripped with pure mockery.
Lucian took a deep breath. Then he smiled, the kind of sharp, icy smile that sent a chill through the room.
"Soldier," he said, his voice dangerously calm, "I’ll count to three. If that gun is still pointed at her by the ti I’m done, I promise you ... you won’t like what happens next."
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