SOTBW - 15

Black smoke sporadically rose from various spots on the field. Najane let out a weary sigh as she drove her holy sword into the neck of a crawling Serith. The battle only ended when the first light of dawn began to emerge.

There were many dead, both soldiers and Serith. The priests, with the help of others, moved the piles of corpses over the city walls. At first, Najane nearly vomited when she saw the gruesome sight. However, after seeing the mutilated bodies with entrails spilling out like torn ropes, she became numb to it.

It was only the rookies who would gag at the sight of the bodies. One young soldier, with a bewildered expression, vomited after pulling out the bodies from the belly of a Serith. But no one scolded him.

Inside the Serith’s stomach, the dismembered heads and limbs of more than twenty people had melted and mixed together like oatmeal. The priest silently prayed to the great Sylin, to Astrun who saved the world, and to the people who had sacrificed their bodies without hesitation.

Najane watched the fortress residents busily collecting weapons, then slowly began to unravel the bandages around her right hand. Her sweat-soaked hand trembled faintly. She had gripped the holy sword so tightly that bruises had formed on her palm, but the pain didn’t bother her.

The fact that she had survived the battle with the Serith, especially the brief yet terrifying confrontation with the massive Serith, felt like a terrible nightmare, but also strangely real. Now that she thought about it, where was Maximón?

Najane watched the bandages flutter in the wind and gazed blankly at the bleak horizon.

“Over here, knight...”

As Najane looked around, she instinctively turned her head when she heard the word “knight.” Two soldiers, their appearances a mess, hesitated and greeted her. She had never seen them before, but Najane, in a daze, nodded in return.

One soldier had his left eye covered in blood, while the other had his left arm wrapped in broken armor, with blood dripping from his hand. They were clearly injured. When Najane looked at them with a puzzled expression, one soldier bowed deeply.

“Thank you for saving us, knight. We will never forget this favor. Truly, thank you.”

“Thanks to your sword energy, we barely survived. We almost thought we were going to die to the Serith...”

The soldiers, moved by the fact that they had survived, spoke with tears in their eyes, repeatedly expressing their gratitude. Only then did Najane vaguely recognize them. They were soldiers of the Amberon Knights, surrounded by the Serith’s forces after pushing forward to the rear.

Najane, embarrassed by their gratitude, smiled awkwardly. Soon, other soldiers, who had been silently watching, began to approach and speak to her.

“Are you the new knight of Romsoa?”

“Do you use sword energy like Sir Elderkerth? Are you perhaps a Sword Master...?”

“We would like to know your name, knight. Please, tell us.”

Led by the two soldiers from Amberon, a group quickly surrounded Najane. They were excited, thinking they had witnessed the birth of a new hero.

But as more and more attention was focused on her than she had expected, Najane became extremely anxious. She remembered the nobles gossiping about her and Luna when they had been drugged and delirious.

‘Luna’s pretty enough to be sold to the Bastronia nobles, but what about this one?’

‘She has no particularly outstanding features... Should we just get rid of her here?’

‘But we all swore an oath to Nellis and Sylin. What if we’re cursed?’

‘Damn it. Then what should we do?’

‘Maybe we should just sell both of them as slaves...’

As Najane stumbled backward, she bumped into someone. It was an unfamiliar soldier. The soldier looked very tired, but with the thought that he had to impress her, he forced a smile.

“You must be tired, knight. Would you like us to escort you back to the knight’s order?”

The soldier said sweetly, subtly grabbing Najane’s arm. Taken aback, she quickly rejected his touch. As she thought that everyone was watching her, her breath began to quicken. Najane tried to maintain a calm face while looking at the people who approached her.

Perhaps due to her exhaustion, the smiling faces approaching her looked somewhat eerie. She rolled her eyes, struggling to avoid the gazes of so many people. It felt like she was suffocating, buried under the weight of their attention. She desperately wanted to rest. A wave of fatigue swept over her. She had to return to her quarters before she collapsed.

She had to escape from here quickly...

“What’s the matter with my knight?”

A cold, deep voice. At that single remark, the murmurs around her abruptly quieted. The people surrounding Najane stepped back with fearful expressions, creating a narrow path.

Maximón scanned the disheveled soldiers with indifferent eyes.

His gaze was like the frost of midwinter. The people who had surrounded Najane, like lambs hoping to be chosen by the Messiah, quietly and swiftly distanced themselves. Maximón turned his attention away from them, watching each person flee with a sharp eye before finally focusing on Najane.

“You’re quite popular.”

“After receiving so many thanks...”

Najane awkwardly brushed them off.

“You look tired.”

“I’m just a little sleepy.”

In truth, she was so exhausted that she felt like she could collapse and sleep anywhere. It was the first time in her life that she had pushed herself to the point of complete exhaustion. Would she have to endure this level of fatigue every night from now on?

It was then that Najane truly felt awe toward Maximón. Just thinking about fighting the Serith at the front lines made her entire body tremble. As she recalled the battle with the Serith, she absentmindedly wiped her forearm. The memory of the terror made her ankle, bitten by a creature, throb painfully.

“You’re hurt.”

Maximón noticed the injury with remarkable precision. Najane responded awkwardly.

“I just sprained my ankle a little...”

The bite mark from the Serith was clearly visible on her slender ankle. Maximón frowned. There were several relief stations near the city walls, but with injuries like hers, she wouldn’t be treated immediately. The relief stations were already filled with soldiers on the brink of death.

“Can you walk?”

“Of course.”

Najane answered briskly, though her eyes were heavy with exhaustion.

Maximón entrusted the battle report to Jacob and left the field with Najane. Fortunately, their quarters were near the city walls. But as they arrived at the knight’s quarters, they heard voices arguing. Both of them were familiar voices.

Najane peeked down the corridor and spotted Amelia. It seemed Amelia was in a heated argument with the head maid, Didina.

“Amelia?”

At the sound of Najane’s voice, Amelia turned around. Upon seeing Najane, she smiled brightly, but when she saw Maximón, her expression quickly became more composed. Didina, looking flustered, immediately greeted Maximón.

“I’m glad you’ve returned safely, Commander. Would you like to eat first, or should I prepare your bath...?”

“Why is she here? I distinctly ordered her to be sent away.”

Maximón glared at Amelia, his voice laced with irritation. His mood had been tense since the moment he saw the parasites surrounding Najane. It was clear why they had approached her.

They were trying to latch onto a promising knight for their own benefit. Maximón had been on the verge of killing every single one of them right there, but since Najane had seemed exhausted, he restrained himself. However, upon encountering Amelia again, who acted like the worst kind of parasite, the disgust bubbled up again.

Didina quickly sensed the dangerous look in Maximón’s eyes and rushed to block Amelia from approaching. But Amelia, oblivious to Didina’s urgency, boldly walked towards Najane.

Maximón’s hand rested on the sword at his waist. If things got any worse, he was ready to draw it.

Amelia took Najane’s hand and spoke.

“I want to become your personal maid.”

“…Me?”

Najane looked at her in disbelief.

“You saved me that day. Let me repay you. I won’t deceive or betray you like before. I swear on Sylin’s name. This oath is sincere.”

“No, wait. Even if you say that…”

Najane had no room to take on a personal maid, and above all, she wasn’t even particularly close to Amelia. She couldn’t understand why Amelia was offering herself as a personal maid.

Especially since she had already broken an oath to Sylin before.

Just as Najane was about to refuse the offer, she caught sight of Maximón’s sword. He looked ready to draw it at any moment. His senses were heightened from the battle in the field.

Noticing Maximón’s murderous intent, Najane was taken aback. She was about to pull her hand away from Amelia’s, but in a daze, she ended up nodding.

“Uh, ah, okay, fine.”

“Really?”

“Huh?”

“Thank you, Najane. I’ll be really good to you. I swear, I’ll do my best by your side, so much so that the other knights will envy you!”

Amelia shouted like a child and hugged Najane. In that moment, Maximón almost drew his sword. Didina, seeing Maximón’s reaction, fidgeted nervously.

It was the first time she had seen him display such unfiltered emotions. Having watched Maximón for nearly seven years, the person before her now seemed like a completely different person.

Had the battle been too intense today? Or had some other knight caused trouble? Perhaps it was hunger making him this way. Maximón was weak when it came to hunger. After coming back from the field, he always ate at least seven servings of food by himself.

But it seemed unlikely that hunger was the cause, considering they had returned early today...

Could it be that Lucas had caused trouble again? Didina’s thoughts raced, her mind whirling with possibilities. Just then, Maximón grabbed Amelia by the neck like a beast and roughly pulled her away from Najane.

“Ahhh!”

Amelia screamed in shock.

Maximón tossed her at Didina with ruthless command.

“Take her out right now, before I tear that noisy mouth apart.”

With the savage warning, Didina, forgetting her duty as head maid, hurriedly dragged Amelia away from the knights’ quarters as they fled. If it were anyone else, Maximón would have truly done it. He was a man with no generosity. How many maids had tried to approach him without any tact, only to lose their lives?

Didina didn’t think Amelia was a good maid, but she couldn’t just stand by and watch another young girl die.

The sound of their footsteps gradually faded as they left the corridor. Najane, stunned by the sudden turn of events, and especially by Maximón’s violent reaction, froze. If Maximón had applied just a little more force, Amelia’s neck would have been broken.

Amelia’s scream echoed in Najane’s ears. Suddenly tense, Najane cautiously looked up at Maximón.

Their eyes met. Najane quickly looked down. Then, a glove, smelling of blood and leather, slowly lifted her chin.

Reluctantly, Najane met Maximón’s gaze. His dark green eyes looked down at her with a disapproving expression.

“Are you really going to make that woman your personal maid?”

If she said it was just a casual remark, would Maximón kill Amelia? It was possible. He hadn’t cared about Amelia’s life back in the basement.

“There are no female knights in Romsoa, so having a personal maid would make things easier.”

“There are plenty of other maids.”

“I’ve known Amelia for a while now…”

“Lies.”

Maximón sneered.

“You’ve completely lost your mind.”

With that, he withdrew his hand and mocked her with a face that showed no hint of a smile. His words were quite insulting to Najane. She was exhausted and just wanted to get through the situation naturally, but no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t understand Maximón’s attitude.

Maximón was interfering too much in her affairs. This was overstepping. Yes, she was under his command, but who she chose as her personal maid was her own business. Even if it was Amelia, who had tried to take advantage of her.

Looking down, Najane responded in an intentionally emotionless voice.

“Yes, that’s why I accepted your suggestion, Commander. I’m just a completely soft-hearted person.”