SOTBW - 70

“If I had known you were this desperate, I would’ve kneeled in front of them for you.”

“You’re lying, aren’t you?”

“No, I’m serious.”

Before she knew it, Maximón’s voice had grown closer. Najane walked even faster and reached the commander’s office. She didn’t want him to notice her red ears. Her plan was to quickly organize the documents and head straight to the training ground.

If she were alone with Maximón, she couldn’t predict what would happen. Besides, it was daytime, and training was scheduled for later.

She hurriedly tried to open the commander’s office door, but it wouldn’t budge. Maximón, approaching her, pulled a key from his pocket. Startled, Najane quickly moved aside.

After unlocking the door, Maximón stepped aside, gesturing for her to enter first. As Najane hesitated and stepped inside, the door shut behind her. Maximón, as if waiting for this moment, locked it with a click. Startled by the sound, Najane turned around to look at him while scanning the bookshelf.

She backed away slowly, like a cornered rat. But the bookshelf blocked her escape. She kept shifting sideways, moving along the bookshelf until she reached the window.

Maximón smiled softly and approached her. Imagining something inappropriate, Najane dropped the papers she had been holding tightly in her arms. Maximón’s fingers brushed against the velvet scarf that snugly wrapped around her delicate neck.

“I’m glad you understand my actions,” he said.

“It’s more like….”

Najane was about to explain but stopped when his face moved closer. The sound of a fast heartbeat filled the air, though it was unclear whose it was.

Maximón twirled a strand of her hair around his finger and brought it to his lips. A sweet fragrance wafted from it. His expression was like that of a child excited for a picnic. He seemed genuinely happy, so Najane swallowed the words she had been about to say.

Maximón, thinking of how hard Najane had worked to convince the mercenaries, suppressed his smile.

The small hand that had tightly grasped his earlier radiated anxiety, but despite his dislike for weak and fearful people, Maximón found that trembling hand endearing in that moment.

While Najane hoped the contract would be successful, she also didn’t want Maximón to be hurt anymore. This was a good sign. If Najane had truly rejected him, she wouldn’t have acted the way she did after hearing about the mercenaries’ massacre.

Even while mourning the mercenaries killed by him, she had willingly defended him for the event. Maximón was genuinely pleased. The feeling he had now was far greater than the one he experienced when Edwin praised him.

Najane quietly watched Maximón as he looked at her with a satisfied gaze. Sunlight from the window poured in, causing Maximón’s eyes to shine with the clarity of pure emerald. When she first saw him, she thought his strangely gleaming pupils resembled Serith’s, which had made her uneasy, but now there was no such discomfort—just beauty.

For the first time, Najane could read his emotions through his eyes. Maximón was happy, and his joy reflected in his eyes. It felt like seeing clouds move for the first time as a child—fascinating.

He no longer seemed like the terrifying Maximón Elgort who fought Seriths. He just seemed like Maximón. Without realizing it, Najane stared into his emerald eyes, forgetting she was locked in an intense gaze with him.

Maximón, observing her, found it interesting that she was so mesmerized by his eyes. She seemed completely oblivious to the fact that they had been gazing at each other for a long time. He was proud of his eyes.

To think that his murky gaze could captivate her—if she wanted, he might even pluck out his left eye and give it to her as a gift. He smiled slyly.

“What did you say earlier? That I’m fair to everyone?”

Najane snapped back to reality at his words. Embarrassed, she looked away. Maximón teased her mischievously.

“I never knew you thought so highly of me. Really, I didn’t have a clue.”

“…Are you doing this on purpose?”

“Of course. You stood up for me. How could I not be happy about that?”

He was sincere. Najane could tell that Maximón truly felt joy. It was strange but also fascinating that his emotions were so clear to her now. Before, she could never tell if he was being genuine or deceitful.

Ah, maybe she should ask him now. Why did he say that to Gwyneth? How could he say that to me while looking at me with those eyes? Which one is your real truth...?

Just then, Maximón lightly tapped her chin and lips, smiling slyly. Realizing his intentions, Najane quickly bent down to pick up the papers she had dropped and firmly shook her head.

“You shouldn’t be doing this in a sacred office.”

“Sacred? This is my workplace. It’s the farthest thing from sacred. I don’t even keep holy water here.”

Maximón really did hate anything related to the sacred. But Najane, holding her papers to cover her nose and mouth, sternly replied.

“Still, if you behave irreverently in a place related to labor, the gods might be angry.”

“Gods? Which one, Sylin? Since when did Sylin become picky about kisses?”

“No, not that one, the god of labor…”

Maximón blinked and asked, “What?” before he remembered she was from Kalanosia. Countries in the south were particularly resistant to the proselytizing of the Church of the Sacred, mainly due to the diverse array of gods they worshiped. Many southern nations believed in all kinds of gods.

The god of war, the god of the home, the god of learning, the god of swordsmanship, the god of victory, and the god of labor that Najane mentioned.

Najane wasn’t really invoking the god of labor because she believed in it so fervently. She just didn’t want to do anything inappropriate in broad daylight.

“So, what you’re saying is, the god of labor is watching us, so we shouldn’t act recklessly?” Maximón asked, his expression filled with amusement.

Najane, still covering her lips with the papers, nodded earnestly. Maximón looked at her with a mixture of amusement and curiosity, before asking with a sly grin.

“So, if the god allows it, does that mean it’s okay to do whatever we want?”

“Huh?”

“Wait a second.”

“…Commander?”

Najane nervously watched as Maximón walked towards the desk. Maximón closed his eyes reverently and clasped his hands together. He pretended to listen to something in the air before speaking with an incredibly cheeky look on his face.

“I just received a revelation from the god of labor. It seems that a kiss is fine when we’re alone. Oh, and apparently, sex is fine too.”

“That’s ridiculous…!”

Najane’s face turned bright red. At that moment, a bell rang outside. The familiar sound signaled the start of training. Both of them glanced toward the window, then turned to face each other.

Maximón stared intently at her, and Najane, acting as if it was out of the question, covered her lips completely with the papers. Maximón, however, didn’t act rudely. He simply watched her with great amusement.

Taking a step back, Maximón casually said,

“Finish organizing the contract and come out. I’ll be waiting in the training ground.”

Instead of forcing a kiss, he handed her the key and left the commander’s office. Left with a hollow feeling, Najane stared at the contract in her hands.

She had honestly thought they would at least share a kiss. She pinched her cheek in self-reproach and began to carefully organize the contracts that Jacob had cherished. Why had she thought that Maximón would definitely kiss her? Was it because he had already done everything else? Or because, with him, she had expected that much?

Feeling a bit disappointed in herself, Najane left the commander’s office. Just as she locked the door, she heard hurried footsteps approaching.

A messenger, pressing his hat down to keep it from falling off, ran towards the office. He was panting, glancing back and forth between Najane and the office.

“Is Sir Elgort inside?”

“He’s at the training ground, it’s training time. What’s the matter?”

“Excuse me, but…?”

“I’m from the Romsoa military,” the messenger continued, “Ah, I’m sorry for not greeting you properly. I’m Zelter from the Noctis Bureau. The thing is… well…”

Taking a breath, the messenger finally spoke.

“The criminals who were transferred to the bureau have committed suicide. They were the ones responsible for the kidnapping of Najane Schnicks. We had moved them to the prison for their trial today. They were demanding water and causing a scene, so when the guards stepped away for a moment… but they were bound, with muzzles on, and yet somehow managed to die….”

Zelter muttered in disbelief before turning his gaze toward Najane. That’s when he realized something. He had heard that there was only one female knight in Romsoa. And that female knight was none other than Najane Schnicks, the victim of the kidnapping incident.

Zelter’s complexion turned pale as he belatedly recognized Najane.

“Y-You’re Dame Schnicks, aren’t you? I’m really sorry to bring such news. It’s unprecedented for a knight to almost be kidnapped, and we were trying to handle the trial carefully…”

“A trial without criminals would be impossible.”

Najane muttered in a troubled tone. She hadn’t expected the criminals to confess willingly, but she never imagined they would go so far as to protect the mastermind behind it all. Could it really have been Nathan’s orders? Did Nathan commit this act and have them take the fall and die to protect him?

Since she didn’t have any personal vendetta against Nathan, Najane speculated that Venus or Kieron might be the real culprits. She was certain that one of them had manipulated Nathan into action. As her expression darkened, Zelter apologized awkwardly.

“I’m truly sorry. This is the first time we’ve encountered such a situation… We normally take great care when transferring prisoners, but this situation…”

“How are you handling the suicided criminals?”

“Generally, we dispose of them like that, but I heard that the Colnux Knights came to collect the bodies. They’re planning a separate funeral... We couldn’t keep the bodies for long, so we handed them over right away. Was there something unusual with the corpses?”

Zelter’s eyes gleamed with curiosity, but it wasn’t pure curiosity; it felt more like a crude desire to pry into Najane’s thoughts. She got a strange feeling from it and quickly replied.

“I was just curious. There’s no particular reason.”

“I see. By the way, it’s such an honor to meet the new Sword Master of the Noctis Fortress.”

Zelter stepped back and spoke in an excited tone, but neither Najane nor Zelter were in the mood to be excited.

The prisoners who had been transferred had committed suicide, after all. They needed to investigate how they managed to do so, whether the guards had given them an opportunity, but Zelter, seemingly a low-ranking official, didn’t appear to have the will to investigate at all.

It was as if he couldn’t care less whether the criminals who tried to harm Najane were alive or dead.

Najane was about to deny the claim of being a Sword Master, but Zelter, uninterested in her response, kept talking on his own.

“I’ve heard that the sword energy, resembling a crescent moon, is so bright and beautiful that it can be seen at the edge of the field. Does it put any strain on your body when you use it? Ah, I’m just an ordinary person, so I’m a bit curious about such things…”

Zelter’s eyes quickly scanned Najane from head to toe. Hidden behind his gaze was some emotion that she could almost detect. If she had been a little less aware, she might have missed it, but thanks to her experience reading emotions, particularly Maximón’s, she knew how to meet someone’s gaze without hesitation.

Najane stared back at him. Within his plain black pupils, various emotions swirled—rude curiosity, one-sided interest indifferent to her feelings, and perhaps a mix of inferiority and malice.

Yes, it was malice wrapped in curiosity. Najane felt uneasy but concealed her feelings well. She then deliberately answered Zelter’s question sincerely.

“When I use my sword energy, it can be tiring, but mostly it’s manageable. Since everyone is struggling, I don’t want to show that I’m having a hard time. We’re all going through tough times, so I have to endure as well.”

Najane answered in the most proper way possible.

Seemingly unsatisfied with the answer, Zelter gave a lukewarm smile.

“Still, you should live a long life without any pain, right? That way, you’ll see a lot of good things, and if you’ve done anything wrong, you can atone for it later. As an official from the Bureau, I’m concerned.”

“Huh?”

Najane reacted sensitively to the mention of atonement. Zelter quickly waved his hand in denial.

“Oh, no, no. It wasn’t meant like that. I apologize if I offended you. I’ve been dealing with criminals a lot, so… Oh, I didn’t mean to… I’m truly sorry.”

Zelter repeatedly bowed, apologizing. His overly polite behavior made it difficult for Najane to press further. She hoped he would leave soon. Someone like him working for the Noctis Bureau made her understand why the prisoners were able to commit suicide so easily.

“Oh, please, give this to Sir Elgort. It’s the trial date for the case involving Sir Nathan Armunzen.”

Zelter, seemingly having forgotten, took out a document tied with a red ribbon from his bag and handed it to Najane. The ribbon looked like the kind used for gift wrapping.

Najane took the rolled-up document with a look of surprise, thinking to herself that even the Bureau used ribbons like this. The ribbon and the document didn’t seem to match, but there was no need to suspect anything.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure it gets to him.”

Najane said politely one last time. Zelter smiled, looking pleased.

“Thank you. I have a mountain of work to do at the Bureau, so I’ll be going now.”

Zelter fastened his bag’s clasp and turned to leave.

Najane waited until Zelter disappeared around the corner of the hallway.

“Ah, Dame Schnicks.”

As Zelter was about to descend the stairs, he poked his head around the corner and glanced at Najane. Startled, Najane, who had been about to open the commander’s office door, looked toward the hallway. Zelter, with only his head peeking around the corner, grinned.

“Still, try not to use your sword energy too much. You’re still young, but you never know, right?”

“Oh, yes...”

Najane responded with a slightly sour tone, eager to send Zelter off. However, Zelter waved his hand in a friendly manner, as though he had met Najane before.

“Well then, see you later.”