60 – Broken Wings (5)
Tap.
Radiel, in the bathroom, finishing her morning routine to step outside.
She splashed cold water on her face several times.
By now, it should have felt quite chilling, but she didn’t sense the coldness.
It was because of yesterday’s incident.
And because of the helpless past self it brought to mind.
Nevertheless, she had to remember it vividly.
Even if it tore her heart apart, she had to remember it vividly.
Thud. Thud.
As Radiel looked back on the past with a heavy heart, her tears mixed with the cold water in the basin.
Even now, recalling that time felt like her heart being ripped apart.
But now, it must not be too late.
“This time… I will definitely not be late. Milord.”
Yes. Absolutely no more lateness from now on.
-You must deliver it directly to Mark.
Last night.
That was the one request Radiel received from Karcein.
Rustle.
Radiel washed her tear-covered face with cold water.
It was time to break free from that bitter past.
-Knock, knock.
“Radiel? What’s wrong?”
Currently, Radiel had greatly lost function in one arm and could no longer hold Tsuvaihender as before.
But even though she could use that uncomfortable arm for paperwork, Mark constantly discouraged her.
So now, Mark was handling the work in the office on her behalf.
“I came to talk to you. Mark.”
“…About Milord from yesterday?”
“Yes.”
He seemed to have caught on somewhat.
But there was a point to be cautious about here.
-Make sure he realizes the fact but never let him act on it. He’s the type to act immediately once he knows the truth, isn’t he?
Absolutely, Mark must not be made to act upon hearing the truth of that day.
“Alright. I’ve decided not to dwell on it anymore. Shouldn’t I just take care of Milord as a trainee?”
It might have been impossible in the past, but now it was possible.
Having fully faced her past, Radiel was no longer late.
“That day, it wasn’t Milord who banned me, but Theo Ramstair. Mark.”
“…What?”
“Theo Ramstair received a request to banish Milord Karcein to the slums. The one who requested it was Lady Emmaiah.”
“A request to banish… from Emmaiah? Wait, what in the world…”
To the bewildered Mark, she delivers a painful blow.
“This is the letter Milord sent that day. I couldn’t say anything, and it was a content I couldn’t show you in case you went astray.”
A neatly folded letter.
The letter, read dozens of times more than when Shayden handed it to her, now passed from Radiel’s hand to Mark’s hand.
“This is…”
Mark’s eyes began to tremble.
The letter contained a heavy story that crushed a boy dreaming of emergencies.
He could have soared. If this intervention hadn’t occurred.
With more than enough potential, he would have wielded the sword and conquered the empire.
But those wings…
Were trampled by filthy and vile schemes.
To Mark reading the letter, Radiel begins to reveal the truth of that day.
***
“It’s definitely time for you to come… Why aren’t you here?”
By this time, you should have definitely come.
No. You should have already been here.
Day by day, sweating and training her body, clashing swords with Mark, Milord was gradually improving her skills and starting to enjoy it.
Perhaps today, she might be a bit late.
Thinking so, Radiel waited. Holding Tsuvaihender that she always carried, using it as a makeshift cane.
But after waiting for another hour with no sign of arrival, Radiel took action from that moment onwards.
“I heard that Milord is treated very poorly at the duke’s residence. If that’s the case…”
She might be spending lonely hours.
I had to save her. From that time filled with solitude.
When Radial, who had gone to the mansion as a guest, stopped and asked each passing maid, no one knew anything.
No. More precisely, they seemed unwilling to answer.
What more could I gain by asking here? At that moment, I thought I should just go back.
Two people called out to her.
“Are you the head of Radial? You’ve been asking the maids around.”
“Yes, that’s correct, but…”
One steward and a skilled chief physician.
Those two knew about where Carsein was.
“If it’s Master Carsein, I heard he already set off towards the training grounds.”
“Every time he went to the training grounds, he headed towards the main gate… but this time, he turned towards the back.”
“What?!”
Towards the back. There was nothing but a forest there.
“…You seem clueless as well. This seems dangerous.”
“We’re in trouble. You should go ahead. We’ll inform the lady separately. Take this message with you!”
“Thank you. Sir Heron. Sir Shaden!”
Hurriedly, Shaden lent her a horse to head back to the training grounds, and Radial quickly followed Carsein’s trail.
From the edge of the forest, she couldn’t ride a horse. However, traces were left behind.
“A torch…! It’s the master!”
Through the dense bushes where people rarely passed, Carsein’s traces, following the method she taught him, began to reveal themselves.
However, as Radial followed those tracks, leaping with both legs…
“Search, you filthy commoner!!”
Just before Carsein fell victim to Teo Ramstair’s sword, Radial saw the sight of the young master about to be struck by the crazed Teo.
In that brief moment, Radial’s mind clouded like muddy water.
Approaching from the side.
She could draw her sword to deflect the blow, but she was too late.
A Tsuvaihender couldn’t deliver such a swift sword strike.
Even if she tried to throw her sword to subdue Teo Ramstair, it would be too late.
Before her arm could reach, Teo’s sword would touch the young master first.
Throw the sword?
No. No matter how much mana she poured into the heavy Tsuvaihender…
It was too late no matter what she did.
No matter what tactics she used, she couldn’t reach him.
At that moment, her own sword, which she hadn’t treated so recklessly until now, felt like heavy shackles holding her legs.
“…Right. Faster.”
She had to run faster.
There was only one possibility.
To drop the sword she held and run at full speed.
Without slowing down, she had no choice but to throw herself, wrapping her body around the young master to take the blow of Teo’s sword in his place.
-Crash!
…
…
“So… you took the blow instead of the sword?”
“Yes.”
Mark swayed, holding his head.
He seemed to be in considerable shock, unable to even speak.
But it’s not over yet.
There’s one more story after the event Mark needs to hear.
The time was as solemn as today.
It was the time when she woke up from her thoughts and gazed at the ceiling.
“What nonsense is this? The Master… can no longer come to the Training Hall?”
It wasn’t Carcyn Doyen who couldn’t step foot into the Training Hall; it was Theo Ramsteer. No, he should have been punished more severely, including for noble treason and various serious crimes.
But.
“According to the trial, it was revealed that Doyen tried to cut down the Commander and four others with a sword imbued with his mana.”
“Even though Doyen’s mana was present on the sword, the bloodstains were still irrefutable evidence.”
“Only the blood of the person he killed was found at the scene. Upon analysis, it was confirmed to perfectly match with two individuals.”
“And also—”
One by one, the reporters brought up stories from the trial.
Radiel meticulously explained what trial took place during the time she was asleep after surgery.
And so, it became clear.
Even if Carcyn stated that it was not him who killed the Commander but pointed to Theo Ramsteer as the culprit, overturning the verdict wouldn’t be easy.
They had cunningly manipulated the evidence.
They had tampered with their own evidence after fabricating it, while highlighting things that could easily incriminate Carcyn.
They had thoroughly manipulated the reporters to sway public opinion.
The situation of Carcyn being criticized by a group, not just a few individuals, was not going to change with a few words.
From Noble mtl dot com
Everyone already firmly believed in this verdict.
Carcyn Vagrand was, regrettably, seen as the criminal who mercilessly killed his Master and comrades in the Training Hall.
“…I understand. Everyone, please leave.”
He needed time to think.
He had to plan calmly.
He had to rack his brain, even if it meant struggling, to figure out how to turn this around.
So, he dismissed them all.
But even after saying this, someone opened the door again.
“I told you all to leave!”
“…I apologize. As the Duke’s physician, I cannot refuse to see a patient, nor can I disobey the master’s orders.”
“Shayden…?”
“And raising your voice like that isn’t good for the patient.”
As Shayden casually sat in the chair by the bedside and added, Radiel responded in an uncharacteristically irritated tone.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not in the mood for treatment right now.”
“I understand.”
“If you know that, then please leave from here!”
“Shh. Take this.”
“What?”
“This is a letter that the Doyen asked me to deliver.”
“…!”
As their eyes met again, Shayden nodded slightly.
Radiel immediately opened the letter.
[ Hello, Radiel. I apologize for greeting you in this way. ]
[ I must have caused you a lot of pain by choosing to sacrifice myself… ]
[ I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. ]
Below this were truly heartbreaking contents.
Within the Duke’s estate, Carcyn had become a liar whom no one believed, no matter what he said.
Even if he raised his voice at a maid, he was treated with disdain as if he deserved a beating.
No one believed him.
No one even bothered to listen to his testimony.
Everything was a lie.
Karceine’s words were all blatant lies and ended in sophistry.
Even if there were those willing to help, they would end up being deceived by Karceine.
Just like now, once a bias is formed, it doesn’t disappear, despite lingering doubts.
Though the process of defending oneself unjustly had been detailed up to this point, it was handled the same way as now.
Absolutely, breaking the biased preconception that had already taken hold wouldn’t be possible with just the testimony of the victim.
And…
Reading the final paragraph felt like my heart was being torn apart.
[I want to write more, but Emma might catch on. I’ll write as fast as I can.]
[Even if you try to help me… I think it might be useless.]
“If I correct the past and say it wasn’t my fault, I’d become someone who even deceives my master.”
“So, don’t help. Just in case. Emma might turn against you again.”
“Even a maid was driven out like that before… Radial is a knight, right? You mustn’t be driven out.”
“I’d rather become a reckless fool who gets into swordfights.”
“If I hear that you’ve been driven out, I think that would be even harder for me. Radial.”
“Sorry. It’s all my fault, so if you can’t do that, just forget about me while cursing me.”
“Now… I don’t think I can listen to the black nails anymore. Thanks for caring for me all this time, Radial.”
“Sorry. Truly, sorry.”
“…”
“That’s because I couldn’t help you properly, and I didn’t tell you the truth.”
Radial, who laid out all the truths of that day, concluded.
Mark, who had been stunned, was now turning blue by the time Radial’s voice quieted down.
‘If those were perjuries, and Radial and the master’s words are true…’
Although everything was conveyed from Radial’s perspective, things that had never made sense were now resolved.
But even though they were resolved, it didn’t feel satisfying.
It felt stifling. Heavy.
Breath caught in the throat. Anger rising.
The issue wasn’t the bias.
It was helplessness and ignorance.
That alone meant committing a grave offense.
Suppressed freedom.
False accusations.
Manipulation.
And.
-By this point, can’t you admit it? Isn’t Theo Kyeong just like you, a liar?
-It’s strange just to receive such a request from a duke. But, Theo Kyeong accepts it? Don’t falsely accuse serious people! You fool!
Rights being stripped away.
Due to a young lady’s testimony during the trial, the boy’s wings, about to soar with his last chance, were broken.
-Ring!
▶Mark Redeltine’s doubts have been resolved!◀
▶The intimacy between the two has been equalized!◀
[Mark Redeltine, Radial Gruphine]
[Intimacy: 65%]
***
It was the fourth day since Karceine had stayed at the mansion.
After mother, Arina visited there.
However, she seemed unusually upset.
When Claire asked for the reason.
“…I brought the items Karceine needed, but it seems he disliked them even more.”
Wasn’t that her response?
Arina went to support Karceine’s activities at the mansion, which he was so involved in, but he ended up disliking it even more?
Clare harbored doubts about this once again.
“Karceine is officially a trainee. During his probation period, he is being tested to qualify as an apprentice knight.”
“What? So…!”
“Being a target would make it much easier. Already receiving negative attention due to the trial back then, there are even those who are attempting revenge under the guise of a ceremony.”
Upon Ariana’s immediate response, she could somewhat understand.
Given the suspicion surrounding Karceine for the allegation of injuring Radyel’s commander, the way he was being looked at was already unfavorable. And now, he was entering the probation period not as a disciple of Vagrand, but as a trainee.
Thanks to the items received from Ariana, Karceine was being suspected of misconduct during the probation period.
“Ugh. I knew Karceine had a bad reputation due to outdated customs, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad. I almost got caught up in retaliatory schemes out of anger, making matters worse…”
She was almost ensnared by retaliatory plots.
Karceine himself said it would have been better if they hadn’t helped Ariana at all.
Ariana sighed and lamented.
“I understand what you mean.”
But to Clare, it sounded entirely different.
‘So, in short, are these things picking on Karceine?’
Who dares to pointlessly nitpick at her younger sister?
‘Go ahead, try messing with one. I’ll just hand you over to the gallows.’
It was nothing short of scratching Clare’s nerves.