SOTBW - 132

“Until we hear from the orphanage, keep the child safe at the poorhouse. As for the child’s mother... it’s faster to inquire with the cathedral. If I say I’ll sponsor, I’ll provide her with a temporary place to rest as well. You should write the letter immediately. Go and bring me a pen and paper.”

As soon as Maximón gave the order, the guards quickly sprang into action.

The guards, who had been spending a lazy morning gathered around the stove, were startled when Maximón suddenly appeared. They had heard that the Knights of Romsoa were helping the guard that morning, so they naturally assumed only the knights would be out assisting. It was unimaginable for Maximón Elgort himself to be involved in such matters. But Maximón, mocking the stunned guards, was personally writing the letter to send to the Noctis Cathedral.

It had been a long time since Maximón had arrived at Noctis Fortress, but he had never once acted on behalf of the people living there. After the battle with Serith, he would usually retreat into the knights’ quarters, so there were even some residents who had only heard rumors about what Maximón looked like.

The guards, standing in a tense line against the wall, would occasionally glance at Maximón’s face. Contrary to the rumors of his severely injured eyes, he looked perfectly fine.

Even though he wasn’t injured, he hadn’t fought on the field, which would have led to immediate execution for any other knight without a valid excuse. However, rather than feeling disdain for his audacity, the guards were relieved that he appeared unscathed.

In this place, skill took precedence over character. After all, how many people had lost their families to the Serith that swarmed outside the fortress?

The fact that Maximón was fighting on the field was enough to reassure many. Though he was problematic in terms of personality and actions, the truth was, there was no one else to replace him. So the guards watched Maximón, who was writing a letter for a mother and child they didn’t know, with a mixture of curiosity. When their eyes met, they quickly turned their gaze elsewhere.

Najane stood in a corner, watching Maximón write the letter. Seeing him write with a serious expression for the sake of someone in need, he looked unusually kind, and his ability to save the mother and child with just a letter was admirable.

Every time she looked at Maximón, a smile almost escaped her lips. But Najane, matching the tense atmosphere, kept her lips tightly pressed together and stood upright.

She could feel the eyes of the guards scanning her up and down. When she turned her head, she saw a guard passing by the hallway, glancing at her with a start, quickly quickening his steps.

The building where the guards stayed had no doors or partitions between the corridors and rooms. Some guards, pretending to be busy, would glance at Maximón and Najane, while others watched her intently, some even uncomfortably so.

At first, Najane thought she was being overly sensitive, but as more people passed by, she noticed more eyes that hid their intentions. The stares were uncomfortable and burdensome, but Najane pretended not to notice, keeping her gaze fixed solely on Maximón.

Once Maximón finished the letter, he put down the pen and rose from his chair. Najane, about to follow him as they were about to leave, was startled when Maximón suddenly grabbed the nape of a guard’s neck with rough force as he moved out into the corridor.

The guard screamed as Maximón’s grip tightened around his throat. Maximón, seemingly disgusted by the sound, slammed the guard’s face into the stone wall. With a sickening crunch, the guard’s nose was shattered.

The other guards, who had been passing by, froze at the scene. Najane watched it with indifference. Surprisingly, she didn’t feel pity for the groaning guard. She had grown used to Maximón’s unprovoked violence, and it wasn’t anything shocking anymore.

Maximón looked down coldly at the guard, blood dripping from his nose, and snapped harshly, “How dare these parasites waste tax money and glance at anyone?”

At his words, the guards who had been in the room with him earlier flinched in surprise.

Maximón threw the now broken guard aside like trash. The guard crashed to the ground near his comrades and groaned weakly.

Maximón clicked his tongue irritably as he put on his leather gloves again.

“If you dare look at my knight like that again, it won’t just be a broken nose next time.”

At Maximón’s threatening words, the guards quickly lowered their gazes.

Najane stared at the red blood on the stone wall before turning her attention back to the guards who had been tending to Maximón earlier. They seemed to tremble, as though they were imagining themselves in the guard’s position, their armor now seeming to offer no protection.

Turning her head, Najane couldn’t help but let out a faint smile. She knew she shouldn’t think this way, but there was something satisfying about seeing those who had leered at her with hungry eyes now trembling in fear. Without realizing it, she scoffed.

Looking down at the uneven stone floor, Najane turned back to face the guards with a calm expression.

“Is there anything my Commander and I can do to help? We’ve come here to assist, so please let us know.”

The guards hesitated for a moment, exchanging glances with each other. It was clear they wanted to get the two of them out of there as quickly as possible.

“This guard post seems to be relatively quiet,” Maximón said mockingly, leaning against the entrance.

Najane, seeing the hesitant guards, spoke kindly once again.

“Even if there’s no work to be done, think it over carefully. Today will be the first and last time you’ll have the chance to boss Maximón Elgort around.”

Maximón echoed her sentiment.

“Unconditional good deeds aren’t really to my liking, but I’ll cooperate today, thinking of it as an exception. Is there truly nothing I can help with?”

Despite their repeated questions, the guard post remained silent. Najane glanced around, even surveying the awkwardly standing guards in the corridor. They remained quiet, as if intimidated.

Seeing the guards’ cowardice, Maximón smirked and placed his arm around Najane’s shoulder.

“This is a very peaceful place. I might as well pick up some trash on the way back to the knights’ quarters.”

Maximón, with his sarcastic tone, gently pulled Najane’s arm.

“Let’s go, Najane.”

Maximón, who had been harshly cynical toward the guards, spoke to Najane with remarkable gentleness. The stark contrast in his behavior annoyed the guards, who, like mice before a cat, clasped their hands together and watched the two of them leave the post.

Once outside the guard post, Najane looked up at the watchtower with the flag fluttering and let out a small sigh.

“You don’t think it’ll cause trouble later that you hit those guards, do you?”

“Who hit whom?”

“Commander, you hit a guard...”

“Well, I don’t remember.”

Maximón’s response was shameless.

“They probably won’t remember either. If they want to live peacefully, they’ll pretend they’ve forgotten what happened today.”

“Won’t they seek revenge?”

“On me?”

He asked, genuinely puzzled by the unexpected concern. Najane couldn’t help but recall when Maximón had cut off both of Nathan’s ears, and she quietly acknowledged his audacity once again.

Had this been in the past, she might have been somewhat horrified by Maximón’s attitude, but now she felt nothing of the sort. In fact, she thought that, in this situation, Maximón had done nothing wrong.

She didn’t like resolving situations through violence, but telling the guards not to look at her like that wouldn’t have changed anything. Najane believed that this was the best course of action. Sometimes, situations could only be solved through force.

Maximón and Najane pulled their hoods low and blended into the crowd. They held hands comfortably, and although the expressions of the people passing by were mostly somber, the two of them looked as if they had just received good news, their faces bright.

“Let’s stop by the Noctis Archive for a moment.”

“The Archive?”

“There’s something I need to check there. It won’t take long.”

“Can someone who isn’t a government official even enter the Archive?”

“Normally, no. But if I say I’ve come to review a case record, they’ll let me in for a short while.”

Having been falsely accused of killing Nathan, Maximón had the right to review the records related to that case.

If he asked to see the records, the government employees would likely hesitate for a moment, then reluctantly let him in. Of course, Maximón wasn’t actually interested in Nathan’s case. What he wanted to find out was whether there was anything related to Najane in the records.

Najane had heard of the Noctis Archive. It was the place where all matters related to Noctis Fortress were recorded, and theologians researching Serith were said to often stay there. There were rumors that manuscripts and records that couldn’t be placed in the library were kept there, but only high-ranking officials in the government would know whether this was true or not.

Although Najane had a general understanding of the Archive’s purpose, she didn’t want the conversation to fall silent, so she asked a question.

“It’s the place where everything that happens in Noctis is recorded, right?”

“You know it well.”

“It must cost a lot to maintain.”

“It wasn’t always this large. It was originally just a place to record things related to Serith, but over time, it expanded as they began recording and storing details about the residents. The people of Bastronia are especially obsessed with keeping records. Ever since the library that stored the records of Astrun was burned down, every major city has established an archive to store manuscripts.”

“Even if the original records are burned due to an unexpected disaster, the story of the past will continue on... that’s what you mean.”

“Now that you put it that way, the act of obsessing over records does seem somewhat romantic.”

Najane blushed at Maximón’s words.

“Do you think our story will be recorded as well, Commander?”

“Certainly.”

“I hope you’ll be recorded as a hero. You must be recorded as a hero with noble qualities.”

At Najane’s concern, Maximón suppressed a laugh.

“You...”

“As for me, well, I’d be happy if I were recorded as a knight who stood beside the great Maximón Elgort.”

“How modest.”

“Just being able to leave my name for future generations is enough of an honor.”

“Well, if the archivists record you like that...”

He’d leave only a few fingers holding the pen, and the rest would be cut off. Then, using the blood and tears they shed, he’d rewrite the records. “Najane Schnicks was everything to Maximón Elgort. Maximón preferred her love and attention to the honor of being a hero,” he would write.

If he had his way, he’d add a sentence: “Maximón was everything to Najane too.” However, two obstacles stopped him from doing so: Luna and Amelia.

Amelia, except when she worked at the restaurant, was almost always stationed at the Recheo Order. It was a wise move. If she’d been lurking around like last time, Maximón would’ve broken her neck in front of everyone.

He didn’t care much about Amelia—he could deal with her anytime. The real problem was Luna. Maximón was waiting for a signal from Rockbell. He was counting the days until he could quietly remove Luna from Lucas’ mansion, though he wasn’t sure when that would happen now.

Maximón instinctively thought in his favor. Before he even made a judgment, his body would act. It had been the same last time. Pulling and pushing aside, Maximón always acted selfishly, calculating his own gain before considering the emotions of others.

He didn’t want to make Najane cry, but he still acted that way. Even after reflecting and promising not to do it again, he repeated the same behavior. That was Maximón’s habit. By doing so, he gained Najane’s attention.

It wasn’t just attention. Najane even started to shrink in his presence, watching his every move.

Maximón both liked and disliked it. He knew exactly how foolish he was, but he couldn’t reconcile his thoughts and actions.

Maximón was certain he wouldn’t be able to change. Unfortunately, that was just the kind of person he was. So, it was clear what would be better for him: having Luna around Najane or not.

What he didn’t want was for Najane to be any more unhappy.

If Maximón truly cared about Najane, then Luna...

“Has the Colnux Order chosen a new commander yet?”

As they approached the government building, Najane quietly asked, as if remembering that day’s events.

Maximón glanced down at Najane with his subdued eyes before focusing ahead.

“It seems not yet. Colnux didn’t attend the last commander’s meeting.”

“I thought Colnux had a deputy commander. Was he absent as well?”

“That guy resigned his title, claiming responsibility for Nathan’s death.”

Najane shivered as the memory of the resentful deputy commander’s glare surfaced. Although she pretended not to care, her worry about any bad outcomes from that day’s events grew stronger.

She didn’t want the knight orders to become enemies with each other, especially when cooperation was already scarce, and she worried about Maximón harming others to protect her.

She didn’t mind that Maximón had dealt with rude people in the black market and the guard post. If he hadn’t acted that way, Najane would’ve stepped in herself. What she feared was that her curse might trigger a larger event.

Though she had developed some resilience to both big and small incidents, to be honest, she just wanted peaceful days dealing with Serith. Looking for Luna and fighting monsters were already emotionally draining enough, and trying to care about anything else was starting to wear her out.

She didn’t even wish to catch the person who had marked her with a curse. She simply wanted to get Luna back and protect this place with Maximón. That was enough.

At that moment, Maximón gently tightened his grip on Najane’s hand. He seemed to suspect that she had suddenly fallen silent. Najane awkwardly smiled and quickly asked a question.

“Romsoa doesn’t have a deputy commander, does it?”

“Are you concerned about them?”

Maximón noticed that Najane was trying to change the subject and pierced straight to her core.

“A little.”

Najane didn’t try to hide her worry. She knew it would be obvious if she tried.

“You had some trouble with the Colnux deputy commander, didn’t you?”

“It’s not so much trouble... it’s just that, these days, the fortress is peaceful. I wish it could stay this way.”

“As long as you’re here, this place is the safest land in the world.”

With a soft voice, Najane looked up at Maximón.

Maximón continued walking, still facing ahead, his grip on Najane’s small hand firm.

“No disaster will make these walls fall.”

As long as you’re here, Najane, this place will remain safe forever.

“I can’t guarantee that the safety of Noctis will lead to peace...”

Maximón’s words trailed off as he stopped walking. They stood beneath the walls of the government building, facing each other.

“If you wish for it, I’ll make it happen.”

He removed his gloves and gently cupped Najane’s cheek with his bare hand. The touch was as cold as her frozen cheek, but Najane closed her eyes and leaned her face into his palm. As she tightly grasped his hand holding her cheek, a deep, tender emotion rose from within her heart.

Maximón had said he didn’t love Najane.

That he didn’t cherish her, that it wasn’t love...

But how could this not be love?

Najane tilted her head slightly and looked up at Maximón. He lowered his head, pressing his forehead against hers. Maximón tenderly stroked her bruised cheek as if it were precious, and whispered in a voice so small it could barely be heard.

“You only need to stay by my side from now on.”

“Maximón...”

“If you want to protect people, stay with me.”

That’s the only way you can protect the world, Emaydis.