SOTBW - 23

Maximón continued to strike Lucas. What would have happened to Najane if they hadn’t passed the training grounds? Just imagining it was horrifying. He punched Lucas’ face until he could no longer feel his fists.

On his way back from the conference hall, he spotted a carriage in front of the knight’s order’s main gate. It was a carriage with the Elgort family crest engraved on it. It was obvious who had come in that carriage.

From that moment, Maximón had been half-mad. But when he saw Lucas wielding a sword, all his remaining reason flew away.

What kind of idiot guard let Lucas into the knights’ order? Maximón was determined to find out who it was and pluck their eyes out so they would never see again.

Maximón’s heart raced. He was already running at full speed. As he neared the training grounds, he became more certain that it was Najane.

When he descended the steep stairs, he faintly smelled blood. Maximón knew whose blood it was.

Najane was covered in blood. Thin, thread-like cuts ran across her face, neck, and hands, and blood flowed from her waist, soaking her clothes. Maximón immediately pulled her into his arms.

He had once imagined it—Najane’s entire body drenched in blood from the attacks of Seriths’ forces, like a knight who had been struck down.

Scenes like that were common on the battlefield, so just imagining it hadn’t been as shocking. But Najane was someone with an affectionate and earnest side, so he thought he might be surprised if such a thing happened to her.

Especially since he had held her in his arms before, he thought that if she was seriously injured, he might react more emotionally than usual.

A cold breath slipped from Maximón’s lips. He made sure to smash Lucas’ face into a pulp with more cold precision than ever. For a brief moment, he almost forgot about Edwin.

If the soldiers who arrived late hadn’t stopped Maximón, he would have kept beating Lucas until his breath was gone. If he had had his sword at his waist, he would have cut through Lucas’ heart.

Maximón pushed away the soldiers clinging to his arms, trying to grab his sword, and looked at the person hanging limply from his forearm. It was Najane, who quietly wrapped her arms around his arm. Her blood-soaked hands trembled.

“...Stop, please, Captain. No killing... Killing someone...”

Only then did Maximón look around. Every person standing nearby was staring at him with fearful eyes.

Lucas, lying face-down in the dirt, chuckled quietly. Lucas seemed mad. Maximón was about to kick him but clenched his teeth and stood up.

“Contact Maurice. Have this bastard taken away immediately.”

He held Najane in his arms and glared at the soldiers. The three soldiers surrounding them were overwhelmed by Maximón’s gaze and slowly stepped back.

Maximón quickly returned to his quarters. It seemed like the maids who were cleaning had witnessed the commotion at the training grounds, as they quickly ran away in fear. Amelia, who had been hanging laundry, screamed when she saw Najane, covered in blood.

“What... What happened? What in the world happened to you, looking like this?!”

Maximón silently sat Najane on the bed. She was still conscious. Najane clutched her side and looked at Maximón.

There was still an unextinguished ember of rage in Maximón’s eyes. If he left her like this, he would surely kill someone. He couldn’t let it be murder. Absolutely no murder.

Najane weakly grabbed his finger. He didn’t pull away.

“What is this! You said you were just exercising! Is this exercise? What happened to your face?!”

Amelia, seeing the numerous cuts on her face, cried out and wiped away the blood with a handkerchief. Maximón reached out and covered Amelia’s mouth with his hand. Amelia struggled like a fish caught on a hook, her jaw nearly cracking under his grip.

“Go to Didina right now. Get disinfectant, clean bandages, holy water, and the cigarettes I use.”

Terrified, Amelia nodded quickly and dashed out of the room. Maximón sat on the edge of the bed, removing his coat.

As he lifted Najane’s torn clothes slightly, the wounds were revealed. Thankfully, the cuts were shallow. It was a long gash, bleeding heavily but not deep.

Maximón folded the handkerchief that Amelia had left behind and pressed it onto the wound. He applied pressure to stop the bleeding, and Najane let out a small moan. As painful sounds escaped her pale, bloodstained lips, Maximón pulled her into his arms, gently stroking the blood-soaked nape of her neck, calming her down. Najane sighed deeply.

“…Who is that person?”

“Lucas Elgort. He’s my brother. Not by blood.”

“…He seemed like a madman.”

“You’re right. That bastard’s insane. He’s lost his sense of reality from using too many drugs, and he can’t feel pain due to the aftereffects of a terminal illness he had as a child. Despite that, he’s a coward, too afraid to fight Seriths. He’s a piece of garbage who’s only strong against the weak.”

“It seems like he dislikes you…”

“I hate him, too.”

Just then, the hallway became noisy. It was Didina and Amelia. When Didina saw Najane, covered in blood, her face turned pale.

It was a shocking sight, but she had already heard the story about Lucas causing trouble after entering the knights’ order. It was likely that Najane had gotten caught up in it.

Didina rolled up her sleeves and began checking Najane’s wounds. Thankfully, because Didina had been in the knights’ order for a long time, she was able to treat these kinds of injuries without needing to call for a priest.

Maximón stood up and handed Najane, who was in his arms, over to Didina. Amelia, crying uncontrollably, quickly moved as Didina instructed, terrified that Najane might worsen.

Najane didn’t cry. Instead, she smiled weakly, trying to appear like she was okay while continuing to look at Maximón. But her smile only deepened the darkness and pain inside him.

Maximón watched quietly as Didina stitched up the wounds, then quietly left the room. The hallway was now filled with knights who had rushed in after hearing the news.

Maximón slammed the door shut and gave Jacob an order.

“Bring the ones who let Lucas into the knights’ order.”

He looked down at the handkerchief soaked in Najane’s blood and spoke calmly, more than ever.

“I’ll personally deal with their torture. Get ready before sunset.”

________________________________________

Maximón washed his blood-stained hands in cold water and glanced at the crucifix fixed to the wall. Two men, once human, hung there, their skin completely peeled away. Several knights had watched Maximón torture the guards, then fled outside in disgust, vomiting.

The only one who had witnessed the entire ordeal sober was Belshua. Jacob and Daniel didn’t even set foot in the torture chamber. They thought Maximón’s methods were barbaric and excessively cruel.

But Maximón felt that it wasn’t enough. The guards had accepted bribes from Lucas, which caused Najane’s suffering.

If they had done their job properly, none of this would have happened. They should have suffered more. It was as if they had betrayed Maximón.

“What should we do with the bodies?”

Belshua asked.

Maximón answered without hesitation.

“Burn them.”

“What about their families…?”

“Tell them they deserted.”

As Maximón left the torture chamber, the golden sunset poured in. He looked at the place where the sunset touched the horizon and, from a distance, noticed Amelia, staring at him nervously.

Amelia, with a tense expression, walked toward him. He was covered in blood, and his gaze was darker than usual. Amelia, hands clasped together, averted her eyes as she spoke.

“The priest came from the church. He said that as long as the wounds aren’t scratched or touched with dirty hands, they’ll heal soon. It looks severe because of the many cuts, but they’re all shallow and thin. Since holy water and sedatives were applied, it should be fine in a few days.”

After Amelia finished speaking, she turned to leave but looked back at Maximón. The memory of the bodies in the basement still haunted her, but she had sworn to live honorably until she repaid her debt to Najane.

Amelia, hesitating at first, gathered her courage and spoke to Maximón.

“I heard that all of Najane’s injuries were because of you, Captain. Don’t make it harder for her. She’s a more righteous person than you, and there will be many more painful things ahead for her.”

After throwing her advice like a stone, Amelia quickly ran off. Maximón, struck by her words, stood still for a moment, bathed in the sunset.

Najane was special.

The moment Maximón saw the sword strike that Najane wielded, he had a premonition. The light that cut through the darkness would also twist his fate.

How beautiful it was. He thought using Najane was the perfect plan. It didn’t matter if she broke.

If she could no longer fight, he could throw her away and find someone new. He had managed the knights of Romsoa in that very way. It wasn’t something new or surprising.

Yet, was his fear of Najane getting hurt because he secretly hoped she might be the one to light his way?

Was it a foolish hope that Maximón Elgort could be shaped into something closer to a human?

At that moment, distant drumbeats echoed. It was nearly time to head out to battle.

Maximón gazed at the path that led to the quarters before turning away. He realized he was growing weak because of Najane. Perhaps if Najane were broken to the point where she could no longer walk on her own, he might be able to understand his own emotions a little better.

It was a horrifying thought, but Maximón laughed bitterly and emptily, feeling sorry for himself. He was amazed that he was capable of such thoughts, and at the same time, it was so very Maximón Elgort of him...

Gray smoke rose from the chimney connected to the torture chamber. It seemed Belshua was burning the bodies.

Maximón watched it for a moment before taking a cigarette. He considered going out to the field to see Najane, but he decided against it. Somehow, he couldn’t bring himself to face her now.