SOTBW - 24

Najane looked at the scabbed face she had after just one day. The priest who had treated her wounds told her that as long as she didn’t scratch the injured spots with her nails, there wouldn’t be any scarring.

That was a relief. She had been worried about carrying such gruesome scars for the rest of her life, thinking she was no better than a reckless person.

The injury on her waist would take some time to heal, but the priest said it wouldn’t affect her ability to fight or exercise.

She still didn’t feel any pain, and it was probably due to the holy water and the soothing medicine.

Najane was surprised when Didina told her that holy water had been used to ease the pain. Holy water was a special healing remedy made only by priests with healing powers. Its effectiveness wasn’t perfect, so the wounds hadn’t healed completely, but it was still something.

Najane quietly left the quarters, making sure to avoid Amelia by learning the schedule of her maids. Because of her side injury, this was the only chance she had to search for Luna, as she wasn’t able to go to the field for a while.

She donned her cloak and stepped onto the street. After passing by rows of tea houses and bookstores, and then crossing a street full of blacksmiths, she came to a narrow alley where laundry lines were tangled in disarray.

Children these days avoid entering that alley. The same goes for small men, the elderly, and women. In that maze-like alley, the chances of encountering undesirable people were high, and at the end of the path lay an illicit market filled with pleasure, indulgence, and danger.

Najane carefully stepped into the alley. The air was filled with the smells of rot and foulness. The alley was so filthy that she doubted whether there was really an illicit market at the end. She continued walking, carefully avoiding stepping on any cat corpses.

After turning enough corners and climbing and descending stairs that she couldn’t memorize the entire path, she heard a commotion from somewhere. Najane quickly climbed the stairs leading to a building.

The wind blew, causing the windmills on the rooftop to spin quickly. She stood by the railing and looked down at the illicit market.

There were far more people searching for dangerous goods and pleasures than Najane had imagined. She covered her nose and mouth with cloth and descended from the building.

Not far away, she heard the flirtatious laughter of women. As she walked a little further, she saw a nearly naked woman playfully flirting with passersby. The woman had a curse engraved on her chest that was similar to Najane’s. Although it looked much sloppier, it was undoubtedly a curse.

With a tense expression, Najane stepped onto the street. Through an open window, she saw people engaging in promiscuous acts. Her face turned bright red, and she quickly looked ahead, avoiding the women who reached out to the passing men. They reeked of strong perfume and alcohol.

Najane’s steps quickened. If Luna was here...

A horrifying scene flashed through her mind. She boldly peeked into a shop, searching for Luna. When she spotted a blonde woman, she ran full speed to confirm her face. If she heard a similar voice, she didn’t hesitate to look over the wall.

However, the illicit market was far larger than she had anticipated. It was practically impossible to look through it all.

Leaning against a wall, she panted heavily. Her side ached slightly. Her feet hurt from all the running, but compared to fighting with Serith all night, this was nothing. Najane pulled the cloth from her face and moved on.

As she lingered near the window of a rather large shop, someone purposely bumped her shoulder. The pain from her waist flared up, and she let out a small groan.

In an instant, people surrounded Najane. She looked up and studied the faces of the men who approached. They were unmistakably thugs. She had expected this when she entered the illicit market, but she hadn’t anticipated them to act in such a group.

Pressed up against the wall, Najane placed a hand on her waist. One of the men grabbed the cloth covering her face and mocked her.

“No wonder you were stumbling; turns out you’re just a girl.”

The man slapped Najane’s cheek playfully, laughing. Najane quickly searched for a way to escape after attacking the men, but someone emerging from a shop with a red roof was strangely familiar.

Her black hair, without a hint of shine, and eyes like a lake covered in aquatic plants. It was Maximón.

As soon as Najane saw him, her face twisted with disappointment. The woman accompanying him was clearly someone who sold more than just smiles.

She had promised herself not to meet another woman until she had dealt with her curse... Yet, even as the woman clung to Maximón, Najane’s expression grew darker.

Thanks to that, she almost forgot the situation she was in. She ran toward Maximón to confront him, but the thugs didn’t let her go.

Her cloak was torn off as they grabbed her hair. Enraged, Najane raised her sword to cut them down, but she froze as blood splattered in front of her.

The thug who had grabbed her hair fell to the filthy stone floor, his arm impaled by Maximón’s sword, which had driven straight into his heart. A scream echoed through the lively illicit market.

Without hesitation, Najane turned her back and sliced through the eyes of the remaining thugs. Hot blood splattered in the wake of her sword’s path.

Maximón and Najane ran as if they had made a silent agreement. If it was known that they were knights, it would only bring trouble. He grabbed Najane’s hand, and together they turned another corner, avoiding the gaze of the onlookers.

After running for a while from the scene of the conflict, Najane arrived at the street where animals were sold. She released Maximón’s hand and bent over, panting heavily. Maximón pulled her cloak up and forcefully made her meet his gaze. His eyes were full of anger.

“Do you come here often?”

“Huh?”

“Did you come here to satisfy your urges?”

Maximón’s voice was cold, but there was a hint of anger.

Najane blushed at the mention of her urges.

“Are you treating me like some cheap woman?”

“Who treated me like a tool for self-pleasure, huh?”

“You said it didn’t matter, didn’t you!”

Najane raised her voice, and once again, attention was drawn to them. Maximón, exhausted by the situation, dragged the barely able-to-walk Najane into an abandoned shop. He slammed the worn door shut, finally leaving just the two of them inside.

With a long sigh, Maximón swept his hands through his hair. He hadn’t expected to meet Najane in such a filthy and ugly place. Especially the shop she had been near was full of men who entertained women.

Maximón, in disbelief, was about to get angry again, but when he saw the battered face of Najane, he kept his mouth shut.

Trying to calm his irritation, Maximón rubbed his forehead.

“...Explain what you were doing here, now.”

His voice was much rougher than usual. Najane looked up at Maximón, her head burning with disappointment that he had broken their promise.

“What were you doing in that shop?”

“That’s none of your business.”

Najane forced a bitter smile at Maximón’s words. If he were truly innocent, he wouldn’t be hiding things like that.

Najane turned away from Maximón with an even colder gaze than before. She didn’t want to deal with him any longer. She had forgotten about the need to find Luna.

The thought that Maximón had satisfied his urges in such a disgusting and horrific place made her blood boil.

“Don’t interfere with my business, Commander.”

Najane said coldly, turning away. Maximón’s eyes twisted in frustration as he roughly blocked her way out of the abandoned shop.

“The shop you were near is a place full of men who sell themselves to women. Go back there and tell me, before I kill all those bastards—why were you there?”

“I didn’t know it was a place like that! I really didn’t know!”

“Are you asking me to believe that?”

“You came out of a place like that, didn’t you! I saw everything, you leaving with some woman, all of it!”

Najane shut her eyes tightly and cried out. Maximón was slightly taken aback. He had been touched on a sensitive point.

She held her head high, glaring at Maximón as though demanding an explanation.

“That shop is not what you think it is.”

“Really? Then tell me what kind of place it is. If you’re innocent, there’s no need to hide it.”

“...”

For the first time, Maximón fell silent.

Najane’s expression broke into helpless sadness.

“You’re avoiding the question.”

“No, really, it’s... “

“You’ve broken your promise to me. I won’t ask you for anything ever again.”

Maximón immediately realized what she meant. Najane, with a cold gaze, looked at Maximón before taking steps to leave.

At least she thought Maximón wasn’t like other men who would break promises easily or treat their bodies recklessly. Since he was the first one, she had hoped he would take the matter seriously and carefully.

In fact, there was no reason to be this disappointed. They weren’t lovers; they were merely people entangled out of necessity. Still, Najane was angry. She was so upset that her head started to spin.

“...You’re going to ask someone else? For your body? For that curse?”

At that moment, a deep voice came from behind her. Ignoring Maximón, Najane opened the door. But as soon as she did, the door slammed shut loudly again.

Dust poured out from the old, nearly broken door. Maximón had forcibly grabbed the doorknob. A low voice echoed from just behind her.

“Was there another man?”

Although she couldn’t see his face, Najane knew Maximón was angry. She stared at the door, through which a faint light from the street entered, and said calmly.

“Just go back to the shop from earlier and look for him.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

“I’m serious. I’m already disappointed in you, Commander.”

Najane said this more decisively than ever before, turning to face Maximón. If Maximón didn’t give a proper explanation, she was ready to just give up on both the curse and everything else.

She had trusted him completely when it came to solving the curse. She hadn’t even considered asking someone else. But if a small lie could hurt Maximón just a little, she thought maybe it wasn’t so bad. Her disappointment in him was that great.

Maximón, looking into her eyes which were trembling with pain, bit his lip and stepped back. He ran his hand through his hair repeatedly and, after a moment of deep thought, glanced at Najane.

“What if I prove it?”

“Prove what?”

“What if I prove that I didn’t do anything in that shop? What will you do?”

“Well, I’ll apologize to you, Commander.”

“Just like that?”

“...Then maybe I’ll kneel.”

“You better. You’ll probably have to beg like a dog with your face on the ground.”

Najane lost words at Maximón’s shamelessness. He rubbed his face with his large hand before kicking the door he had forced shut with his foot. The door fell off with a loud crash.

She flinched at the noise, but still, she stared at Maximón with cold, unyielding eyes. Standing in the sunlight, Maximón flicked his fingers at Najane.

“Follow me.”