SOTBW - 92

The guards locked Maximón in the prison. This meant that the Noctis office and court truly believed he was the one who murdered Nathan. Maximón swept his disheveled hair back as he stared down the damp, dark corridor, where the groans of tortured prisoners echoed endlessly.

Getting out of this place wouldn’t be difficult. He could leverage the power of the Elgort family or, if necessary, simply resign as the commander of the Romsoa Knights. The one holding the hilt of the sword was Maximón. Even so, the reason he allowed himself to be arrested without resistance was that he didn’t want to stir up any unnecessary chaos.

This submissive behavior was far from Maximón’s usual temperament, but the thought of crossing swords with his master, Taylor, was frustrating enough. More importantly, he didn’t want to show Najane an even worse side of himself. He could easily have overpowered the guards and the captain who came to arrest him, but doing so might disappoint Najane.

Of course, putting that aside, Maximón was furious with the Noctis office for imprisoning him. Those bureaucrats, who couldn’t even protect their fortress without the Romsoa Knights under Maximón Elgort’s command, had the audacity to pull this stunt.

Scoffing to himself, Maximón sat on a stone bench carved into the wall. He had long been aware that the Noctis office disapproved of his activities. They must have wanted to rein him in somehow.

Every time Maximón acted out, the guards of the Noctis office would surely be criticized for their inaction, which must have been a thorn in their side. But this time, they had chosen the wrong moment. Maximón had nothing to do with Nathan’s death.

Crossing his arms and leaning the back of his head against the wall, Maximón closed his eyes.

He had sensed that something was amiss when he arrived at the Recheo Knights’ headquarters. An impromptu meeting place had been set up there, so he and Jacob had headed over, only to find far more knights gathered than he’d anticipated. Initially, he assumed that the knights had convened because of some unexpected situation, but upon closer inspection, they were all guards from the Noctis office.

The atmosphere was tense and hostile, heightened by the furious shouts of the Colnux knights, who were arguing fiercely with the guard captain. It was unusual for the guard captain to visit the knights’ headquarters. Then, someone who spotted Maximón muttered sarcastically, “Well, look who’s finally here.”

Maximón heard the comment clearly. All eyes turned toward him. Their gazes were filled with animosity and disgust.

At that moment, one of the Colnux knights, seething with rage, drew his sword.

“You bastard murderer!”

The knight bellowed as he charged forward. A startled Jacob stepped in front of Maximón and blocked the knight’s sword with his shield. Only then did Maximón realize that the tense atmosphere was directed at him. But it was strange. What could have caused them to glare at him with such hatred and call him a murderer?

Maximón halted and looked toward the guard captain, who stood with the knights’ commanders. Among them was Taylor, who was staring at Maximón with a more shocked expression than anyone else. Staggering forward, Taylor moved as if in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Jacob, bracing himself, shoved the Colnux knight with all his strength. The knight fell to the ground, dropping his sword. From the floor, the fallen knight howled in anguish and shouted:

“Why did you kill him, you bastard? What did he ever do to you?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Maximón replied honestly. He truly didn’t understand the situation. Yet the others were convinced that his response was nothing more than shameless denial after killing Nathan Armunzen.

It didn’t take long for the accusations to escalate. Maximón had always been regarded as dangerous—a man capable of murdering a knight commander. As a result, they had no trouble believing the Colnux knights’ claims that Maximón had killed Nathan.

“Mash,” Taylor began with a weary voice as he stepped in front of the fallen knight. “Nathan Armunzen, commander of the Colnux Knights, was murdered yesterday.”

Maximón wasn’t particularly surprised. Whether Nathan lived or died was of no concern to him.

“I see,” he replied.

“You’re acting like you’re hearing this for the first time,” Taylor said, his voice tinged with reproach. Maximón narrowed his eyes at him.

A bitter, acrid scent lingered in the air, reminiscent of ashes scattering in the wind after everything had burned down. It was the smell of a body on the brink of death. Taylor was dying, and it was evident in the lifelessness of his once-piercing gaze, which had once been as sharp as that of any active soldier.

“Yesterday afternoon, several witnesses saw you leaving Armunzen’s residence covered in blood. Several soldiers were injured trying to subdue you as you attempted to flee.”

“That’s news to me.”

“Maximón.”

“Do you really think I killed Nathan and foolishly tried to run away?”

Taylor didn’t deny it. The presence of so many witnesses made it clear that he doubted Maximón. Observing the blurred judgment of his master, Maximón smirked faintly. He seemed entirely unafraid, even as everyone around him hurled accusations and demanded answers.

“You still don’t understand me, Master,” Maximón said.

“Nathan Armunzen had no enemies other than you,” Taylor replied.

“Are you saying you’re suspecting me, Master? Of all people?” Maximón said, his tone laced with disappointment. Taylor’s eyes trembled slightly.

The situation was odd, to say the least. Nathan had been found decapitated, with his limbs severed. Even stranger, his head had been encased in a massive block of ice, perfectly rectangular in shape. The knights who discovered the body had tried to break the ice, but their efforts failed, leading them to request assistance from the Church.

Ice that wouldn’t melt, even in fire.

Even if Maximón had killed Nathan, how could he have created such ice in an instant? Yet Taylor knew the truth—that Maximón wasn’t human. Since the day he realized his beloved student was something other than human, Taylor had always feared that such a day might come.

But that wasn’t the only strange thing. The ancient symbols carved into Nathan’s body, the servant who died with his heart ruptured and his shoulder half-sliced—all these details were deeply unusual. Did Maximón have any connection to such occult elements? Taylor was well aware of Maximón’s direct and unrestrained nature.

Moreover, as someone who had witnessed Maximón’s inhuman strength countless times, Taylor knew that the half-sliced shoulder of the servant was suspicious. Maximón wouldn’t leave a job half-done like that. He didn’t kill people that way.

He was the type to decapitate even a consecrated priest with a regular sword. If Maximón had aimed to cut the servant’s shoulder, he would have done so flawlessly. The notion that he had fought the guards of the residence and then suddenly fled was equally puzzling.

But even if all that were set aside, there were simply too many witnesses who claimed to have seen Maximón at the scene. Some guards had even been injured trying to apprehend him and had been taken to the infirmary. Under the circumstances, suspecting Maximón was the most reasonable conclusion.

Taylor pressed his palm against his forehead, murmuring in anguish.

“…I don’t know anymore. I can’t tell what’s true.”

Jacob stared at Maximón with a confused expression, utterly lost. He had no idea what was happening. He had come here to attend the knight commander meeting, only to find everyone accusing Maximón of murdering Nathan.

Maximón, kill Nathan?

True, Maximón had cut off Nathan’s ear, but that was the extent of it. Maximón wasn’t foolish enough to kill a knight commander.

The mention of witnesses also weighed heavily on Jacob’s mind. While he didn’t know exactly what Maximón did every day, he knew that Maximón wasn’t the type to wander around other knight orders aimlessly. Occasionally, he would delegate training to Jacob or Belshua and take a break, but those instances were rare. Jacob had no idea how to resolve this situation. He had a bad feeling about it.

As the Colnux knights’ impassioned pleas echoed through the hall, the guard captain, with a stern expression, stepped forward.

“Sir Elgort, there are eight witnesses who saw you fleeing the residence. Confess your crime willingly.”

At the guard captain’s words, the guards with spears surrounded Maximón.

“The murder of Sir Armunzen is a grave crime. While your prior contributions will spare you from execution, you must prepare to be stripped of your position as knight commander and sentenced to hard labor. This is a significant case and will need to be reported to the royal family—”

“I believe I’ve told you several times now,” Maximón interrupted irritably.

“I did not kill Nathan. Whatever happened to him has nothing to do with me.”

At that moment, the image of the fake Zelter flashed through Maximón’s mind. He hadn’t met the fake Zelter himself, but if Najane’s account was accurate, the imposter could perfectly mimic others. Yet Maximón couldn’t understand why he would be the fake Zelter’s target. Then again, perhaps it wasn’t surprising—there were too many places where Maximón might have earned someone’s grudge to narrow it down.

Maximón swept his cold, hardened gaze over the guards approaching him with their spears pointed. They were well aware of who they were dealing with. Like deer driving a wolf to the edge of a cliff, their eyes were filled with fear and nervousness.

“Lower your spears,” Maximón commanded dryly.

The guards flinched. Detecting their unease, the guard captain shouted loudly.

“What are you doing? Arrest the criminal immediately!”

But Maximón ignored the guard captain’s bluster and gripped the sword at his waist tightly.

“I don’t like repeating myself. This is the last time I’ll give an order. Lower your spears.”

Maximón’s warning sent the guards glancing anxiously at the guard captain. They knew they stood no chance of defeating Maximón in a fight. Who here could possibly hold their ground against him and live to tell the tale?

The guard captain, caught in an increasingly awkward situation, glanced at Taylor. There was a time when Taylor could have stood against Maximón without faltering, but now...

“Mash.”

At that moment, perhaps sensing the guard captain’s desperate gaze or feeling the responsibility to resolve the situation as the eldest of all the knight commanders, Taylor drew his sword.

A startled Olkoni covered his mouth in shock. The other knights, too, flinched and turned their astonished gazes toward Taylor.

Maximón’s face twisted when he saw Taylor pointing his sword at him.

“If you truly wish to prove your innocence, you must explain yourself properly,” Taylor said.

“Properly, you say? Against those who’ve already decided I’m the culprit?” Maximón scoffed, half-drawing his own sword.

“So, you too believe I killed Nathan, Master?”

“You’re half right, and half wrong,” Taylor replied in a sorrowful voice as he looked at Maximón.

“Just quietly follow the guard captain, Mash. Please, don’t make this any worse. If you are truly innocent, the truth will come to light during the investigation.”