SOTBW - 159

Because Emaydis had been spending happy days with Sainth, Mahilen was able to live a life that, while hiding his true feelings, wasn’t entirely unhappy.

“Mahilen. Why do you love Emaydis?”

“Do humans need a reason to love?”

“I asked because I was curious. You’ve been searching for the meaning of your life for your entire existence. And you! You hate humans so much. The Emaydis you cherish is human, you know?”

“…As you said, I spent my life searching for the reason I was born, and in the end, I never found it. That’s why I committed murder in the frenzy. After being trapped in a human body, my heart always felt suffocated. My life felt like an unsolvable problem… like being trapped in a maze with no exit, spinning in circles, forced to live what felt like an eternity. Then I met Emaydis. Just as I searched for the meaning of my life, I tried to find the reason I loved that child. And only recently, I realized it. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find a reason to like her, and that’s when I finally understood that I could call that feeling love.”

Rashu, while looking at the cards on the table, smiled without Mahilen noticing.

“Mahilen.”

Rashu lifted his gaze from the cards and looked at Mahilen.

“I’ve been thinking seriously about it. Do we really need to preserve fate that much?”

“...Why are you picking a fight now? What are you trying to say?”

When Mahilen shot a wary look, Rashu grinned in a friendly manner.

“I know from dying that fate isn’t really as absolute as people think. It’s just like an arrow pointing in a direction. If you don’t like it, you can change the direction of the arrow, can’t you? The protagonist of this story is Emaydis, but there’s no guarantee that she will succeed in killing Sainth.”

“…How much do you actually know?”

Having shuffled all his cards, Mahilen asked in a distant voice. His tone carried both irritation and a touch of embarrassment, as if he didn’t want to burden an old comrade who should be resting in peace.

At that moment, Rashu’s body began to fade gradually.

Mahilen was about to reveal his own cards but stopped when he saw Rashu disappearing. Rashu wore an expression of sadness that didn’t suit him.

“This might be the last time. You live an eternal life, so you probably think there will always be a next time. But not anymore.”

The window latch, which had been rattling from the cold wind, came loose. The window was pushed open by the winter breeze, and the curtains floated into the air.

Mahilen quickly held the cards down to keep them from flying away. Despite the sunlight pouring into the room, there was no shadow cast beneath Rashu’s fading form.

Rashu stared out the window, watching the wind blow, and then turned to Mahilen, calmly lifting the corners of his lips.

“Mahilen. Ever since we made that bet, I’ve been wanting to say I’m sorry.”

The moment the wind that had been sweeping through the room stopped, Rashu vanished.

Mahilen, still holding the cards down to prevent them from scattering, quickly masked the mix of emotions on his face and looked at the bed. Rashu’s black Gwyneth was hidden under the bed.

The magic stone embedded in the sword flickered faintly before settling, and Mahilen could feel it gradually falling asleep. Rashu had said that he wasn’t the sword itself but the magic stone inside it, so each time he appeared, he must have used a little of his magic.

Mahilen, who had removed his hands from the table, slumped on the sofa with a look of emptiness. He hadn’t seen Rashu in two thousand years, yet they had talked and played as if they had just met yesterday.

Mahilen swept his hair, tousled by the wind, aside and then flipped over Rashu’s cards one by one. The 1 and 5, 9, Club A and K, and Heart K… It was a pair of Kings.

Mahilen stared blankly at Rashu’s cards, then let out a hollow laugh and carelessly flipped through his own hand. Mahilen had a Jack of Spades.

He placed the cards down lifelessly, then rubbed his eyes with his palm to hide the vacant expression on his face.

“Now, after all this…”

________________________________________

Five knights of Colnux gathered in a small room, looking at each other with serious faces. Among them was the deputy commander who had vowed revenge on Najane.

One knight sighed and spoke up.

“We need to kill Najane before it’s too late. I heard that after the battle yesterday, the rumors that had been circulating about her have died down a bit. The more people go crazy for that girl, the worse it will be for us.”

Another knight nodded in agreement and frowned.

“Killing her on the field would be the safest option, but the problem is that we don’t have the third wall defense duty.”

Listening to the knights, the former deputy commander, Persio, looked down at the floor, lost in thought for a moment, then lifted his head with a serious expression.

“Is Najane still staying in the rear?”

“Yes, from what we’ve heard, that seems to be the case.”

“Seems like the cowardly woman can’t even make it to the frontlines.”

Persio scoffed, and the others chuckled and agreed.

“It’s disgraceful for a knight, but it’s good for us. At least if she’s in the rear, she won’t be running into Maximón Elgort.”

“Which knight order is typically responsible for the third wall defense?”

Persio asked the knights.

The knights quickly answered.

“Recheo and Dellerna.”

“Recheo is almost always on the third wall, and Dellerna alternates between the second and third.”

“...Is there any way we can swap positions with Dellerna?”

One knight cautiously suggested.

Persio shook his head with a serious expression.

“With the commander absent, that would be an impossible request. Plus, we’ve only been responsible for the first and second walls so far.”

“Didn’t someone suggest an assassination last time? I think that’s the best option. How about we select someone from our group and form an assassination team?”

At that suggestion, all the knights, except for Persio, eagerly agreed. They all firmly believed that Maximón had killed Nathan Armunzen, so they had gathered to take revenge together.

Due to the absence of the commander, the atmosphere in the knight order had been tense, and they had spent their time aimlessly, unable to make any progress on their plans. However, the knights gathered in the room were all determined to take revenge by any means necessary, especially since they owed Nathan a great debt.

“Persio, please make a decision. Killing Najane quietly should be... easy enough.”

“That won’t do. I can’t risk making things difficult for the entire order just for revenge. Don’t forget that Maximón is always by her side.”

“If we can’t do this, and we can’t do that, when are we ever going to take our revenge?!”

Frustrated by the slow progress, one of the knights finally raised his voice.

“It’s been ages since our commander was murdered, and nothing has been decided!”

“That’s right. We gathered to avenge Sir Armunzen, but we’re just sitting around talking and doing nothing!”

Persio, overwhelmed by his comrades’ resentful looks, awkwardly lowered his head.

Who wouldn’t want to kill Maximón and Najane? If it were up to him, he’d storm into the Romsoa knight order right now, cut off Maximón’s head, and throw Najane to the soldiers to be turned into a prostitute.

But things don’t always go as one wishes. Killing Maximón was impossible, so the target had been shifted to Najane. The problem was that she was well-protected.

Since Nathan had attempted to abduct Najane, the security around the Romsoa knight order had become much stricter. The guards wouldn’t let anyone in unless they were familiar with their faces, even merchants. Those who were allowed entry could only stay near the main building, and they couldn’t approach the knights’ quarters or private residences.

To kill Najane, they would need to infiltrate the private residence.

The Romsoa knight commander’s residence, located on a hill that connected to the villagers’ fields, wasn’t particularly hard to access, but now, regardless of whether it was snowing or windy, there were always more than twenty guards watching, making it impossible to approach easily.

Persio was considering all these problems as he looked for a way to take revenge, hoping to prepare the operation with the goal of ensuring the survival of the knights gathered in this room. But the knights were looking at him desperately, their eyes full of determination, ready to face any risk.

After closing his eyes for a long moment, Persio opened them again with a deep sigh.

“...Proposing to swap the defense positions is too dangerous. It’s unprecedented, and other knight orders might view it suspiciously.”

“Then...?”

A tense silence filled the room.

Persio lifted his head and looked at the knights.

“Let’s prepare the assassination.”

At the final decision, the knights could barely contain their excitement, their eyes gleaming. The knights gathered in this room were those whom Persio trusted the most.

Persio looked each of them in the eye and spoke in a low voice.

“Whether the assassination succeeds or fails, we must all commit suicide at the scene. Do you remember how those who tried to abduct Najane were tortured?”

The knights, recalling their comrades who had been horrifically killed, clenched their mouths shut.

“We can’t all go. Two of us... I will select two who can prove their loyalty to Sir Armunzen, who died unjustly.”

“The date and time of the operation...?”

One knight asked with a tense voice.

“Early morning, right after we return from the field, would be best. By then, they’ll be tired and asleep. The exact date of the operation will depend on the situation at Romsoa’s residence, and I will tell only the two selected knights in secret. The rest of you, keep a close watch on the movements of the Romsoa knights and the soldiers guarding the residence.”

At Persio’s command, the knights nodded in unison.

With solemn expressions, they exited the room. Persio stood at the end of the hallway, quietly watching them descend the stairs.

Regardless of whether the assassination succeeded or not, Persio had already decided to commit suicide. Maximón would quickly find out who led the assassination. If Persio were caught, the morale of the Colnux knights would plummet, causing trouble for others.

Persio’s expression grew even more determined as he fiddled with the sword at his waist.

Nathan, coming from a commoner’s background, had not only provided funds for weapons for the knights but also ensured that they could send money to their impoverished families back home. He paid them generously to ensure they could support their families.

Whenever anyone was sick, he immediately called for a priest to treat them at his own expense, and he took personal responsibility for the pain of common soldiers, always stepping forward in all matters. He was a noble knight commander.

It didn’t matter why Nathan had been so kind; regardless, thanks to him, the Colnux knights had survived on the field for a long time, and their families back home were well-fed.

Persio’s expression darkened further as he gripped his sword. No matter what others said, this was a righteous revenge for them.

Persio took a moment to absorb the silence in the knights’ quarters before closing the door.

As the great wooden building settled into stillness, a maid entered to collect laundry and peeked curiously down the sunlit hallway.

Baskets of laundry had been placed under the hallway window. The maid, walking quietly, gathered everything inside and hurriedly left the area.

Unlike Romsoa, Colnux didn’t have many maids. The maid had to carry a huge pile of laundry to the laundry room by herself. Her co-workers would arrive soon to help with the washing, but until then, she needed to soak all the clothes in soapy water.

The maid rolled up her sleeves and began pulling out the foul-smelling clothes, checking the names engraved inside each one. Sorting the clothes by name could be done after the washing was finished, but the maid was nervously rummaging through the inside of the clothes, as if she were searching for something.

About halfway through checking the laundry, the maid stopped as she turned over a sweat-soaked shirt. Something rustled in the inside pocket.

The maid looked carefully toward the window in the hallway, then pulled out a note from the pocket. The note contained the names of four out of the five knights who had secretly gathered earlier, along with details about their plan to assassinate Najane.

Swallowing nervously, the maid folded the note carefully and slipped it into her undergarment. She then calmly shoved the laundry into the soapy water, as though she hadn’t seen anything at all.