SOTBW - 7

Amelia, regaining consciousness, managed to rise from the rotting straw pile. From not far away, she heard the sound of a massive beast growling. It was then that she recalled that she had fallen beneath the bridge and quickly turned her gaze forward.

The Serith, with its yellow glowing eyes, stared directly at Amelia and let out a loud roar. The echoing cry caused Amelia’s body to freeze in place. She knew she had to escape, but her arms and legs wouldn’t move.

Amelia didn’t know how to fight. The only things she had ever learned in her life were cleaning, cooking, and washing clothes. Then, from beneath a high pile of straw, there was a sharp, metallic sound dragging across the solid ground. Surprised, Amelia hurriedly looked down.

“...Najane?”

Najane was holding the practice sword that Maximón had thrown earlier and silently turned to look at Amelia. Their eyes met, and Amelia flinched. She quickly turned her head away, embarrassed. She didn’t know why Najane was here, but she was certain that all of this had happened because of her own greed.

“Najane, I...,” she began.

“Najane, you broke your vow in the name of Sylin,” Najane said in a calm voice. “You must know how miserable the death of someone who breaks such a vow is.”

“...That’s just superstition.”

“It’s not superstition. My mother broke that vow and met a horrible end because of it.”

Though the sound of Serith’s roaring made it hard to hear, Amelia clearly understood Najane’s words. It was an unexpected revelation. Najane never mingled well with the other maids. Even after months of sharing a room with the other servants, she kept her distance and rarely joined in on their chatter. Because of that, no one knew where Najane came from or how she ended up working as a maid in the knights’ order.

“Wait, what are you trying to do? Are you really going to fight that monster?”

Najane didn’t respond. She just straightened the sword that was barely sharp anymore. That was when Amelia remembered the story Najane had told. Someone had defeated a Serith that had crossed the wall, but no one knew who had done it.

“...It was you.”

Amelia muttered to herself in disbelief. She felt an unusually hot, persistent gaze from above. It was Maximón. He was standing where Amelia had fallen, staring only at Najane.

He didn’t glance at the Serith struggling to break its chains, nor at Amelia, who had always prided herself on her beauty, nor at the knights she cared for. His eyes were fixed solely on Najane. It was as if he were in the throes of an obsessive love.

That’s when Amelia realized. The horrifying scene before her was a stage for Maximón to test Najane. Najane was the protagonist everyone had been waiting for.

Najane, gripping what could barely be called a sword, stared down the Serith. The Serith, with its three busy eyes, watched Najane’s every move. No matter which way she moved, she was within its reach.

Amelia couldn’t imagine how Najane would fight. No matter how quickly she swung the sword or how agilely she moved, it seemed inevitable that the Serith’s claws would tear her to pieces.

“I... I’ll just apologize for what I did wrong. Maybe the knights above will come to save us. So please don’t do anything reckless, just...”

“They won’t come to save you.”

Amelia flinched at Najane’s firm response.

“It’s fine.”

Turning around, Najane gave a small smile.

“I won’t leave you behind.”

The joints of the chains that bound the Serith to the wall slowly began to loosen. There was an uneasy sound from the taut chains. The Serith opened its mouth wide to devour Najane. Amelia couldn’t bear to watch and quickly closed her eyes.

With a snap, the chains, stretched to their limit, flew up into the air. The Serith let out a deafening roar and charged at Najane. Until that moment, Najane remained standing still, holding her sword. At this rate, she would surely be consumed. Maximón, seeing this, reached for his sword.

In that moment, a white arc, resembling a crescent moon, flashed through the dimly lit cellar, where only a few candles barely provided light. Jacob was stunned as he saw the brilliant sword strike that severed the Serith’s neck in one swift motion. The soldiers’ earlier reports suddenly came to mind.

Lightning. White lightning. Yes, they had never seen a Sword Master fight before. If they had witnessed the fight of the commander of the Recheo Knights and the last remaining Sword Master, Taylor Elderkerth, they wouldn’t have described that immense power as lightning or white lightning.

“…Commander.”

Jacob called out to Maximón in a trembling voice. Maximón stood precariously, as though about to tumble off the bridge, staring at Najane.

“Heh.”

Maximón tilted his head back, revealing his throat, and let out a dry laugh. The cursed body of a Sword Master. Lowering his head, Maximón, drenched in blue blood, calmly watched as Najane walked forward.

Najane threw the completely broken sword onto the ground and looked up at the bridge. Her crimson eyes were filled with hostility toward Maximón.

Maximón, with a blank expression, slowly smiled.

“Take her and have her bathe first. We can’t talk to her in that state.”

________________________________________

The head maid of the Romsoa Knights, Didina, watched Najane from behind as she bathed. Najane was a maid who quietly did her work without complaints. Her origin or true identity was shrouded in mystery, but the world was so chaotic that Didina didn’t care. As long as she did her job well, Didina had no interest in why or how she ended up at the Noctis Fortress.

It had been twelve years since countless people poured their youth into defending the fortress against the Serith monsters. Didina had originally served as a maid to a noble family in the Los Phelios Kingdom. But when the Serith ravaged the northern countries and moved south, many nobles from Los Phelios fled to Bastronia, bringing their wealth with them.

Bastronia was a sacred kingdom established in accordance with the prophecy of Sylin, who had predicted that the Serith would once again threaten the world. People believed that, no matter how many monsters might invade, it would be safe for a while in that land.

Didina, too, forcibly escaped her homeland, taking her daughter who had been waiting for her fiancé. However, upon hearing that her fiancé had been killed fighting the Serith, the daughter, knowing she would become the monster’s prey, returned to Los Phelios to find his body. Didina begged her not to go, clutching at her daughter’s skirts and crying, but the daughter wanted to die by the side of the one she loved.

Didina tightly bound her daughter’s hands and feet to prevent her from leaving, but by the time the sun rose, she was the only one left by the campfire. Didina cried as she searched for her daughter, but deep down, she knew. Her daughter would die by her fiancé’s side in the end.

Now, with Didina nearing her sixties, all she could do was help the knights of the Noctis Fortress live as comfortably as possible in their quarters. This was the only way to appease the restless spirit of her daughter and console her own heart, which had fled to Bastronia helplessly.

That’s why Didina wanted to know the identity of the woman who had caught the attention of Maximón, the revered commander of the Romsoa Knights. As the head maid in charge of the fortress, she believed she had the right to know at least that much.

There were plenty of people who envied Maximón’s fame and sought to undermine him. For example, knights from other orders, cowardly nobles, or even Lucas, who had become a rival to Maximón. Didina recalled Maximón’s brother, Lucas.

Lucas despised Maximón intensely. He believed that Maximón, who was nothing more than an adopted son, had taken away things that should have been his as the heir to the Elgort family, driven by paranoid delusions.

Could this be someone related to Lucas?

Didina handed a large towel to Najane, who had just come out of the bath. Najane, fearing her curse might be discovered, covered her chest with her palm and went to a corner to dry off. After changing into the clothes prepared by Didina and leaving the bathhouse, she ran into Daniel.

Daniel stared at Najane with curious eyes, then flashed a bright smile and extended his hand.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Daniel, Daniel Luamars. I look forward to working with you.”

After shaking her hand, Daniel led Najane somewhere. Outside, it had already turned dark. Najane was curious about what had happened to Amelia but didn’t ask. She simply followed Daniel quietly.

The destination was the opposite side of the maid quarters—the area where the knights of the Romsoa Knights stayed. The knights’ quarters were much larger and more comfortable than the place Najane had been staying in.

As they walked side by side, Daniel clasped his hands behind his head casually and spoke lightly.

“So, you’re the one who took down the Serith we missed?”

The rumors had already spread.

Resigned, Najane responded with a frown.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Other knights are really interested in you. When you have time, I’ll introduce you to them. You know, they’re all rough from fighting the Serith. If they act rude, just understand. Oh, by the way, this is the room you’ll be staying in from now on.”

Daniel pointed to the door they had just passed, as if he had almost forgotten.

“And right next door is the commander’s bedroom.”

What?

Najane looked back and forth between Maximón’s room and Daniel with a bewildered expression. Daniel, having uncrossed his arms, smiled and without any explanation, knocked on Maximón’s door.

“Commander, I brought her.”

From beyond the thin door, the sound of slow, heavy footsteps could be heard. When the old door opened, Maximón appeared, wearing a towel on his head. He seemed to have just washed up, as there was still moisture on him.

As soon as Najane saw him, she tightly shut her mouth, like a cat whose grudge hadn’t yet been resolved. Thinking about what had happened in the basement, a slap across the face wouldn’t have been enough. Maximón glanced at Najane briefly before signaling to Daniel with a nod to leave.

Daniel patted Najane on the shoulder and gave a thumbs up.

“Have a good night. Be sure to tell me how it went tomorrow!”

A good night? Feedback?

Najane blinked in confusion, then soon showed an expression of disbelief. She realized that Daniel had completely misunderstood something, but she gave up on clarifying it. She simply didn’t have the energy for it. She was exhausted from battling the Serith in the basement and using up her strength unexpectedly.

However, not wanting to show how tired she was, she looked up at Maximón with as neutral an expression as she could muster.

“Come in.”

Maximón swung the door wide open.

Najane made a hesitant expression.

“Do I really have to go in?”

“It would be better if you did. We’re going to talk about your curse from now on.”