116 – Then the devil came in through the front door (10)
“Wrong.” Astrid raised her head haughtily. “I wanted to see how well Valkyria fought after leaving her homeland. She looks so bad. “She sucks.”
It was an overt provocation to Cain, but he just laughed. Because it was so obvious.
“If that’s what you’re saying, then that’s probably true.”
* * * * *
Black Forest. Outside the mine.
The mountain bandits who were serfs were bustling about. There is a lot of fuss about lighting a fire and boiling porridge. The children’s condition was as serious as anyone could see, but among the bandits there were midwives who cared for such children.
Those who climbed the mountain to survive, but had no fighting skills and were not ruthless, so they used to resort to clumsy fraud, are now running around with their feet in the air to save dying children.
“Don’t give me bread, you idiots! They can’t digest it! Rather, boil it in water and cool it before giving it to me! I feed him little by little with a spoon. “If you eat too quickly, you’ll die!”
Alvin and his wife glanced at Cain. Although she roughly wiped away the blood, Cain himself was troubled by her repulsive smell. The reason Alvin hesitated was because of Cain’s murderous eyes.
“That… Originally, we were all hiding. Really. “I tried to go down, but the count and those idiots came up and I got stuck.”
Behind the count, there was a group of captured bandits. He was being dragged to the ‘mine’ on the charge of not telling where he hid the goods.
Unfortunately, Alvin was left alone with the group due to urgent business, and ran into a masked member of the White Blood Knights. Instead of revealing his identity, the knight dragged Alvin and brought him to the ‘scary gray-haired lady.’
“He asked where the mine was. I just told you… And. It walked around the trees like a squirrel, and cut down the guards. Thanks to you, my friends survived too… “
The members of the White Blood Knights went down the mine, and Alvin waited, saying, ‘But as a human being, I have to say thank you.’
“Because of that, I ended up not being able to see it, but still… Kids… “
“Alvin!”
Someone shouted.
“The baby is coming out!”
Alvin quickly ran away. Cain, who had been dazed for a moment, stood up. She was there to see Lily.
* * * * *
Medical tent.
Lily moaned. The wound on her back had reopened and she had lost quite a bit of blood, and the spot where she had been hit by the crossbow was also a problem.
Because she twisted her body at the last moment, she avoided a vital spot, but the wound was still quite deep. The knight who finished treating her whispered to Cain.
“Right now, first aid is the best. We need to evacuate. If it gets worse, it’s dangerous.”
From Noble mtl dot com
Cain also nodded her head. The Templars emptied the tent. There are now only Cain and Lily in the treatment tent.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m sorry.”
Cain held Lily still. Even in the midst of her pain, Lily smiled.
“You weren’t hurt…” “
“You got hurt.”
“It’s okay. “You’re alive.” Lily coughed slightly. Cain shook her head to tell her not to speak. But Lily is stubborn. Just like she always did.
“I feel alive for the first time. Cain.”
“Kairos.”
Lily tilted her head. “Yes?”
“Kairos. “That’s my name.” Kairos told me the name. Lily’s face heated up.
“Kairos. Kairos… “Lily grabbed Kairos by the collar with her trembling hands.
“It’s a pretty name. Kairos… My name is Liliana. First… “Nice to meet you.”
Liliana closed her eyes. Kairos kissed her.
“… That’s a pretty name. Liliana. Me too… nice to see you.”
“Kairos. I love you.”
“I love you. “Liliana.”
Liliana sobbed. She cried, making whimpering, whimpering sounds.
“I don’t want to go back. I want to be with you. I could. Really….”
“Who wants to go back?”
Cain smiled. She smiled and ruffled Liliana’s hair.
“Wait for me there.”
“… Are you coming?”
“I’ll go find it. So get some rest now.”
Cain thought of a fairy tale. She is a brave knight who kisses her lover to wake him up. She thought that if she saw him as a child, if she saw him now, she would laugh quite a bit.
A lover kissing a brave knight to put him to sleep.
* * * * *
Even when Lily was carried away in the Count’s luxurious carriage, Astrid still remained upright. Because she values her procedures, there was no such thing as emotional turmoil on her part.
“Thank you.”
That’s why I pretended not to hear Cain’s greeting and ignored it. As she expected, she didn’t pay much attention to Cain.
“I would like you to postpone the tournament.”
The reason people reacted to these words was because ‘a foreigner committed the atrocity of interfering with the white blood procedure.’ A normal Astrid would have drawn her sword first, but she crossed her arms instead.
“Explain why I have to endure your presumptuousness.”
“People like this are happening all over the empire. It’s more insidious and dangerous than this. Enough to hurt Valkyria. It’s not because she’s weak. Something is coming that will destroy even the white blood.”
“Who dares?”
“It might be white blood. That’s what you say. “Until you bleed white blood.”
If rudeness goes too far, it becomes a laughing stock. Astrid ignored Cain’s rudeness with a sneer.
“People cannot bleed white blood.”
“Then it must be immortal. “White blood.”
“White blood refers to the permanent snow at the top of Baekhyeolsan Mountain.”
It was my first time hearing this.
“The White Blood Mountain is full of snow. Eyes that are 10,000 years old. If an avalanche occurs, everything beneath it will be crushed. Even white blood is just a leaf in front of such nature. “That is the power that White Blood seeks to pursue.”
“You guys… ” Cain grumbled. “Sometimes it’s fanatic. “Sometimes it’s reasonable.”
“You too.” Astrid answered quietly. “His eyes rolled back and he caught him and killed him. “Don’t go anywhere and say you’re a warrior.”
“How can Lily be okay if she’s hurt?”
“… To be stupid. It’s a matter of tactical judgment. Swordsmanship is imperial swordsmanship. But the stab and response techniques were Eastern wand techniques. It looks like she learned to hit back fiercely after getting beaten up by Liliana. “It’s a skill she’s good at, and seeing as you’ve been secretly following along.”
“What did you say just now?”
Cain glared at the Grand Executor with eyes filled with suspicion. The Grand Executor sighed deeply. They are wondering if I should even tell them these things.
“Liliana’s fighting skills are not suited to slaughter. The power to destroy an opponent with overwhelming force. That is the strength that that child has honed his entire life. Even if my brother comes in his prime, he can’t reach that kid.
Why is such a child like this… Do you feel like you couldn’t deal with even one of them? It’s because of you. The fighting method that protects is not that child’s skill.
But what about you? It appears that he reluctantly learned the art of assassination. However, wand magic is more about neutralizing the opponent and breaking their will.
‘I will not kill you. But your will is broken.’ That’s your way. Whatever the reason, the premise of saving both yourself and others remains the same. So, the guarded fighting method suits you better. “The positions should have been opposite to each other.”
“I can’t let Lily become a murderer.”
“How do you think a woman with a murder-crazy lover feels?” Astrid twisted her mouth. Cain, who had nothing to say to her, shut her mouth and turned her head.
“Ha.”
You’re laughing. Astrid laughed. Nervously. If that’s a laugh too.
“… To a kid who has spent his entire life learning how to kill and destroy people. She shows off her swordsmanship… “I was wondering why she had something on her eye.”
“What do you mean?”
“No matter how strong a person is, deep down, he wants someone to protect him. That kid had such a strong mind. “Even that child at the peak of white blood had thirst.”
“… Why?”
“A person’s eyes are directed outward, so he does not know what he is holding. He just stretches out her hand in search of something that isn’t there. Tsk… You’re teaching that kid how to win without having to kill him. Where did you learn such bad things… “
Astrid shook her head.
“… Either kill or live, just do one side. You have no talent. They say you can’t cook both. Once you decide on one thing, just hone in on it. Then… “He would be like a white blood captain.”
“Ha. Now?”
“You can’t find it in White Blood, you can only find it in the Holy Grail Knights. “For those who do not have the Holy Grail, are not knights, or are not members of a group.”
“How about an apprentice knight?”
Astrid laughed and said, “Paha.”
“Why? “Do you want to join?”
“No. The person I, Lily, and Maria are looking for is a white-blooded apprentice knight… Or the one who claimed to be an apprentice knight. Ten years ago, when the Demon King was on the rise, he was an apprentice knight who left the White Blood along with the boy and girl crusaders.”
“What are you misunderstanding?” “Astrid stamped his foot on the ground dissatisfied.
“Do you know where Baekhyeol is located in an alley in the neighborhood? There are more than five knight training centers and ten fortresses. “There are three cities and dozens of villages.”
Cain’s heart suddenly relaxed.
“So does that mean there is no data?”
“Yes. White Blood is not a place like the baseless Holy Grail Knights. All apprentice knights must be registered and registered in a register. But only the knight commander can see those records.”
“You have to see that.”
“Would you like to become a knight commander? She made Liliana a knight commander.”
“… Even if it’s the emperor’s order?”
“They say you’re a security agency agent, but you talk about the emperor’s orders well. White blood is not accepted. Because he was granted autonomy. Have you forgotten that the Emperor’s orders to other nobles must be made public? If White Blood accepts the Emperor’s orders even though the Empire is not in danger, do you think the Elector Counts will do well?
One more thing. The reason white blood can be maintained is because of its absolute authority. The authority of rules that everyone must follow them. If it is decided that only the knight commander can view it, then it should be so. If each little thing is resolved, the white blood will collapse. And isn’t it obvious what will happen if they ‘collapse’?”
Ruthless people who kill people by stabbing them while they breathe, and are neither happy nor sad about it. Cain understood.
“… I understand. I’m sorry. “I was presumptuous.”
Cain apologized politely. He bowed his head in greeting. Because of that, Cain did not see Astrid conflicted.
“… But why is that necessary? “Does that have anything to do with this?”
“That’s right. It may be hard to believe… But I can’t say any more than that. “Please understand.”
It felt like I was back again. The spot where Astrid and I were hovering.
Astrid probably asked how grandiose it was that she said that… But her question was unexpected.
“Do you know how to catch a mouse?”
Cain blinked at the unexpected words. What a rat. What kind of rat story is this all of a sudden? Astrid slowly looked around. They are looking to see if anyone is eavesdropping.
“There are a lot of rats in the archive room. These stupid knights can’t even catch a rat… Now that I think about it, I need to do some cleaning. By the way…I wish I could handle paper well too. “It’s a bit humid for a mountain, so the paper dries quickly.”
“I know how to do it.”
“What is the evidence?”
“Because I am an official and civil servant of the empire.”
“Ah. Yes. “For the first time, I trust your words.” Astrid’s face became grim.
“… Even thinking about it again makes me angry. A white-blooded warrior… They made me sit on a chair and tell me to organize my documents… “
“… Greatness. I’m speaking as a senior, but he’s really good. The best among his motivations. It feels good too. Even the superiors liked it.”
Astrid stood up, his face blushing. “How poor are these people…”
Though he said so, Cain saw the so strict Grand Executor secretly smiling.
* * * * *
Mary leaned her body against her rock with her bloodless eyes. When Cain came, she helplessly lifted the empty leather bucket. She smelled faintly of alcohol.
“How about something?”