59 – Broken Wings (4)
At that moment, the three knights shared the same thought.
They had to sever it.
He couldn’t return to the duchy intact.
If he returned alive, an unstoppable wave would come crashing down.
Reluctantly, they had to destroy him properly in this place.
Swish-
Two swords were drawn.
“Don’t hold a grudge. You drew your sword first.”
“It’s your fault. You bastard.”
Clang! Kaang!
Followed by two swords rushing in.
If it were just one Theor, maybe he wouldn’t have known. Carcein, who suddenly found himself facing three opponents, was visibly starting to tire.
Although he had mastered the skills, the instability of his physical body could not be compensated for.
Even if there was a power that happened to manifest, he didn’t know how to control it, and they were in a different league from the start.
Nevertheless, the boy with experience from the slums was clever.
How to bring down those stronger than himself.
How to make use of the results of the training he had diligently undergone.
Sweating profusely every day without fail, he wisely dealt with the two, successfully incapacitating them.
One got sand in his eyes, stumbling around before getting knocked out with a blow to the head, while the other, unable to control his strength, had his sword deeply embedded in a tree and was knocked out with a blow to the neck.
The remaining Theor Ramstair was more than capable of holding his own in a one-on-one battle.
*Cough, cough…!*
However, his body no longer obeyed.
It was somewhat miraculous that he had come this far with a frail body.
Even though Carcein, who needed to get up, couldn’t, he collapsed with a thud.
“Rot in hell, you filthy commoner!”
In the midst of being struck several times, Theor, whose eyes rolled back from the blows, plunged his dagger into Carcein’s throat.
At that moment, it felt like he was going to die.
Splat, and.
A spray of crimson blood splattered over Carcein’s body.
“Doryn… Sir…”
“La, Diel…?”
“Don’t… move. It’ll be alright if you don’t, I will… take care of them… myself…”
Radiel.
She, who took the blow on behalf of Carcein, collapsed while embracing him without finishing her sentence.
***
The feeling of flesh cut by Theor’s sword is vivid.
But whose flesh did he cut?
“Le, Leader…!”
He cut Radiel.
Not Carcein.
He had done it.
Once he had cut Radiel, there was no turning back.
If this fact spread within the Order, the official knight position of the noble family would be lost, and they would be expelled with such disgrace.
However.
“But Radiel… can’t move, can she?”
Carcein was in the same state.
He, too, was unconscious.
Both of them had fainted after the battle with the three opponents, including Radiel who had taken the blow in their place.
Both of them, unconscious?
Theo smirked bitterly.
Just when it seemed like it was all over, wasn’t a better opportunity presenting itself?
“Yeah. You… you’re the one who wounded Leader Radiel here.”
-Splat!
Another stream of blood flowed from that spot.
The commotion in the training grounds grew louder.
As the two separate streams of blood, which had flowed in different directions, began to coagulate firmly.
The question arose: had Radiel and Carcein disappeared?
The search began soon after.
“Ugh, senior knights.”
“Theo? Blood…!”
“What happened? What could have led to this?”
Theo grasped his arm, concealing a bitter smile.
With his testimony, the incident in the forest was revealed, and the scene quickly unfolded.
Extinguished torches.
Traces of a sword fight.
The smell of blood in the woods.
And…
“I’m not sure what happened, but I tried to help her, to stop it… but Lord Karsain, for some reason, struck down Commander Radiel.”
With the false testimony of one man, all pointed to Karsain’s guilt.
The next day.
A trial was held in the training hall.
Karsain pleaded multiple times.
It was a rightful retaliation against those who were trying to expel him at the behest of Marquis Vagrant, he claimed.
It was Theo, not himself, who had committed the act.
As soon as he rose from his fall, he pleaded his innocence, claiming it was a false accusation.
However, Karsain was in an overwhelmingly unfavorable position.
“The blood on Lord’s sword belongs to Radiel and Theo. The type of blood found at the scene perfectly matches. Even then, do you still intend to make the same claim?”
“Even the testimonies of the two apprentice knights match. They were on the verge of being beheaded after being knocked out, but Theo protected them until his arm was cut.”
Karsain’s sword, which had not a drop of blood on it, was soaked with the blood of Radiel and Theo, and the other two also joined in the false testimony.
It seemed as though everything was unfolding as if predetermined, moving towards becoming a criminal without any room to maneuver.
The only way to overcome this situation was for Radiel to wake up…
But she was wandering in a coma due to deep wounds and could not testify at the trial.
“How could I defeat three with my skills alone?! That’s not possible…!”
Karsain’s very valid point.
Even the jury couldn’t comprehend this particular matter.
If things continued like this, even the judge would begin to doubt.
Truly, if things continued like this.
“It’s possible. Lord, you can imbue your sword with mana, can’t you.”
“…What?”
“What is this nonsense, Theo Ramstair.”
“Imbuing a sword with mana is not something anyone can do.”
Theo agreed, saying the right words.
“None of us three apprentice knights, including myself, could imbue mana. We were still in training. However, you were able to do so, giving you an advantage over us.”
“Hmm.”
“If that’s true…”
“It could be possible. Because of the difference in levels.”
Although Karsain stumbled upon it by chance, the investigation revealed that the mana infused in the sword was another piece of evidence.
Thus, public opinion once again leaned towards Theo.
As a final act of defiance, Karsain demanded to know the truth about who had given such orders at the Marquis’s estate.
However.
“Isn’t it time to admit it? Theo Kyeong, are you really someone who lies like this?”
“F-Flora… you…!”
“It’s suspicious enough that such a request came from the Marquis’s estate. But, Theo Kyeong accepting it? Don’t falsely accuse someone so serious! You fool!”
The intervention of one person shattered his final act of defiance.
If the records of the Marquis’s estate had been examined, the trial might have taken a different turn.
Perhaps it could have gone back to square one.
However, with Flora’s testimony stating he was not the kind of person to do such things based on his usual behavior, the investigation was left in disarray.
In the end.
“Karsain. Your access to the training hall is prohibited from today onwards. Indefinitely. And a clause will be added for the knights to not entertain Karsain.”
Ariana, who took charge of the judgment in place of Isabella, hands down the punishment herself.
Unjust. Miserable.
Karsein had to lose everything he held dear.
Thump-
[Memorial has ended.]
With the status message, the scene where the memorial shone came to an end. Before my eyes, Radiel and Mark, frozen in time before the memorial activated, were visible.
“…”
Miserable.
The lad who had nothing, who had finally acquired a goal to escape the hellish estate, had it snatched away from him right there.
Forever unable to grasp it again.
It felt like my old self…
-Thud!
“It’s not the time to reminisce about the past. This is what really happened, this is my reality right now.”
Karsein needed to focus on what he had experienced. He had to bear in mind that his life could be in jeopardy with just one choice.
Yes. What I need now is not petty emotions but a thorough understanding and analysis of information.
The secret deeply hidden in Radiel’s heart and the fact that Mark stumbled upon it.
Karsein’s past and Theo Ramstair’s perjury.
And Emma, and another person.
Although I narrowly escaped what was planned, my task became even clearer.
▶ Memorial effect will disappear in 3 seconds! ◀
▶ Prepare for the resumption of the episode! ◀
3.
2.
1.
As the countdown vanished, Radiel and Mark immediately moved.
I straightforwardly asked the charging Mark, “I’m not asking as a trainee now, but as the master of Vagrand. How much did you hear, Mark?”
Mark, who had been charging forward, stopped abruptly and replied, “Only up to Emma Han’s story.”
“That’s it. You knew enough.”
“Ma-Master!”
Radiel raised her head as if to protest, but sadly, she couldn’t. My blood, already chilling, spoke for itself.
This man also held information that needed to be known.
And I would inevitably choose that method.
Even if this man was to be greatly shocked.
“Radiel. Do not say a word from now on.”
***
Radiel knows the whole story of the incident.
Therefore, she can’t help but feel uneasy about Karsein’s judgment.
“It might be possible to testify… but for the Master…”
There is no substantial evidence.
The sword found that day clearly had Radiel and Theo’s blood on it, and the scene with two types of bloodstains fully proved it.
Is it really possible to overturn the judgment that concluded with clear evidence and a scene that seemed to reveal the truth?
“No. I have to stop this now…!”
If things continued like this, Mark might even try to drive Karsein away in anger.
But.
“Radiel. Do not say a word from now on.”
Karsein firmly excluded any interference from Radiel.
“First of all, I cannot immediately tell you the full story of that day.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s obvious you won’t believe it. At the trial, you didn’t have any doubts about me. We can’t rule out the possibility of you having some prejudice.”
Mark was infuriated at the mention of prejudice.
“If there was any prejudice, we would have been the first to try to drive the lord out, like those articles.”
“You accused Radial of treason solely based on beheading him, didn’t you? That, in itself, is true prejudice.”
“No, I could have driven you away multiple times, but I didn’t directly intervene. I remembered Radial’s plea to trust the lord endlessly!”
In all honesty, he wanted to drive him away.
Just for beheading the lord, he wanted to drive them away like the others.
But Mark didn’t overlook Radial’s plea.
“I believed there must be a reason for bowing your head. That’s why I advised the lord not to flee when I went to find him in the morning. I still haven’t resolved the doubts of that day. Do you think I’ve been prejudiced?”
The trial ended with a ban on Carcine’s access to the armory. There were attempts to rebel under the pretext of injustice, but they were directly suppressed.
And that was done to ensure Carcine wasn’t harmed further.
“Yeah. That’s the kind of person you were.”
As Memorial put it, he followed Radial as faithfully as Carcine.
Therefore, the sense of betrayal must have been profound.
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Yet, he maintained the line.
He succeeded in not crossing the line and suppressing his anger.
It meant he kept his neutrality intact.
Convinced that Mark wasn’t prejudiced, Carcine finally got to the point.
“I heard I’ll be sparring with the knights starting tomorrow. Is that correct?”
“Yes. However, how do you know that…?”
“It’s not important how I know. What matters is that I know who I’ll be facing.”
Mark gave Carcine a suspicious look at his words.
“You seem to have guessed that you’ll face a squire, but that’s arbitrary. The lord couldn’t have known.”
“Right. It’s under the jurisdiction of your deputy. However, what do you think will happen if I predict tomorrow’s opponent?”
“That’s absurd…!”
“Then see for yourself tomorrow. My opponent is.”
Bruce.
It must be him.
“And Radial.”
“Yes. My lord.”
“If you plan to observe, do not intervene no matter what happens tomorrow.”
“What?! B-but…!”
“I said. I will personally crush them.”
With a chilling gaze, Carcine concluded his warning as he passed by Mark, picking up the sword that had fallen on the grass and offering it to him.
“If I’m wrong, then tomorrow, use this sword to strike my back yourself, with the same depth as Radial’s wound.”
“…!”
“M-My lord!”
“You could step back here. Frankly, I am a liar in the armory right now. Shouldn’t I do this much?”
A terrified Radial and a bewildered Mark.
In front of the two, Carcine spoke confidently.
“Why do this? Is it necessary to go this far? Do you think I have such thoughts?”
It was the truth.
Mark, too, Radial, as well.
It had reached the point where they wanted to ask why he was taking such reckless gambles.
“Be confident. Unlike back then.”
Already, a judgment had been made once.
That day, Carcine cried out in injustice, drew his sword, and shouted.
Unable to accept the unjust verdict, she was on the verge of going berserk, intending to wreak havoc with a second wave of violence.
There was nothing more to prove.
No evidence, no witnesses.
All that existed were the recognition of being a troublemaker and even worse, the foul nicknames.
And…
Knowing the truth yet having no one to believe in him except his mentor, whom he had to spend his days with.
But what about the Karceine in front of him?
He was confident. Different from back then.
Asserting he wouldn’t fail.
In this process, he exuded a confidence that seemed impervious to any rebuttals.
It must have seemed reckless.
But that thought vanished completely.
“What do you plan to do if it’s proven that Sir is right with these conditions?”
“Oh, that? Nothing much.”
Karceine chuckled.
“Just using this key to reveal one of the Marquis’s secrets.”
It was the key to the old warehouse he had found some time ago.
***
The complex day passed, and the next day arrived.
Before they knew it, the probation period had crossed the exact halfway mark, reaching the fifth day from the fourth.
The training, which had been exhausting, was now managed appropriately, preventing them from falling too far behind as they did back then.
But complacency was forbidden. Some of the mocking gazes among those who used to ridicule were now different.
Those who simply looked down on him were just prejudiced, but the ones mentioned earlier belonged to a completely different category.
“If they see even a slight opening, they’ll pounce at any moment.”
They will start to feel nervous.
As per Emma’s request, they had to drive Karceine out within seven days.
“But how easy would that be?”
Even a slight turn of the head revealed the pink-haired figure.
Already feeling stifled since Ariana’s visit yesterday, Claire was staring with wide-open eyes, wondering who would dare touch her.
One of the troublemakers who had been planning mischief a while ago had been caught.
And unlike Ariana, he was taken away without a fuss.
They must be frustrated.
Having failed to drive Karceine out of the Marquis’s estate yet, it was time to report to Emma soon.
The pressure would increase.
The anxiety would grow.
They would become more desperate.
And eventually, they would cross a dangerous line.
“You can count on it. I’ll repay you many times over.”
Radial best girl