Chapter 142. One Step
2024.01.20.
While Miela and the knights stood frozen, staring at the empty room, Rus, who had followed a step late, interjected.
"See, didn't I tell you? I said she wasn't here."
"Where did you smuggle the madam off to?"
At the knight's tone, interrogating him like a criminal, Rus laughed coldly in disbelief and shot back.
"Watch your words. Smuggle, my foot. His Excellency told your lord directly yesterday that we would be leaving for Libren soon."
"Don't people usually bid farewell to the lord before leaving?"
"The madam was unwell, so she left for Libren first. His Excellency is still remaining here—must we report every little thing to you?"
"It's not like you have some reason to hide the Duchess, is there?"
Rus, unable to listen any longer, was about to retort when a familiar voice came from behind him.
"Why are you looking for my wife?"
The knights, who were about to interrogate Herdin who had appeared just in time, faltered upon seeing his condition.
"Your Excellency, you're badly hurt—"
Miela, who had discovered the roughly bitten back of his hand and various large and small wounds and was about to approach, also froze, overwhelmed by his ferocity.
His appearance as he approached with a blood-splattered face created a sinister impression. Moreover, the aggressive mana swirling around him was threatening by its very existence.
The knights of Nerha watched Herdin with considerably tense eyes, then gulped and asked him.
"We received a tip that the Duchess seems to be connected to the recent undead attack and the discovery of the black magic circle. For the sake of a friendly relationship with Nerha, we ask for your cooperation."
"Well... Should I really maintain a friendly relationship with people who suspect first thing without knowing where or what they heard?"
Herdin tilted his head sideways as he looked at the knights and asked. His words were a question, but his murderous, sinister eyes were not eyes seeking an answer.
He drove the final nail into the knights who could neither answer nor rebut his question that wasn't a question.
"That friendly relationship just ended."
Herdin ordered Rus beside him.
"Rus. Take all the servants and leave."
Rus, who had been tense along with the atmosphere as thin as ice, turned around at his lord's command.
Seeing that, the knights stepped forward to grab Rus.
"You're fleeing right now—!"
But before the knights could grab Rus as he exited the room, flying magic attacked their feet.
The knights looked in the direction the magic came from and met eyes with Herdin, who was dangerously suppressing his mana.
"One step."
His calm eyes, containing not a single trace of emotion, were looking precisely at them.
At their next target.
Cold sweat ran down the backs of the knights who realized that the previous attack hadn't missed, but was intentionally made to miss.
"If you take even one more step from here, I will consider you enemies."
The intimidation emanating from him heavily crushed the atmosphere in the room.
The opponent was the empire's only magic swordsman, a man praised as a war hero. He was an opponent that even if everyone in this room attacked together, they would have to be prepared to die.
The knights reached their trembling hands toward their scabbards.
It was the prelude to war.
* * *
Blair looked at the scenery passing by the window and swallowed a sigh. The carriage she was currently riding in was headed to Libren.
As soon as Blair opened her eyes this morning, Herdin had her prepare to leave.
'That woman saw your black magic circle, so I don't know what false accusations she might make using that as a pretext. So please leave first.'
'Aren't you coming with me?'
'I have things to finish up.'
Sensing an ominous premonition from his answer that avoided details, Blair asked persistently.
'What things?'
Herdin, who was trying to brush off the answer, seemed to recall something from her eyes as she quietly watched him, and finally confessed.
'...I found the mastermind who killed you.'
'Is that... true? Who is it?'
'The Pope.'
Blair's eyes wavered, considerably shocked by the identity of the mastermind whom she hadn't suspected at all, not even a little.
Far from suspecting him, he was the person she had believed to be her benefactor for half her life.
'He targeted you because of his grudge against Delmark.'
'...'
'I intend to end that cursed connection here.'
As he said that and put on his gloves, his gaze was cold like a quiet winter lake.
But at the same time, it looked precarious, as if it could shatter at any moment. At least in her eyes.
Blair's heart sank as she looked at him like that.
She resented him. And she still hated him.
But that didn't mean she wanted him to get hurt or be in danger.
Even putting aside her affection for him or her sense of responsibility as the father of her child, it was a feeling she had as one human being toward another.
As if reading her worry, Herdin stroked her hair and spoke.
'I'll finish things quickly and follow you, so please go first.'
'...Herdin.'
'Asiel.'
At the child's name that flowed from his lips for the first time in this life, Blair paused.
He looked at her belly and said.
'We have to protect that child, don't we.'
As if he knew why she had chosen him again in this life.
Herdin alternated looking at Blair, who watched with worried eyes, and her belly, then carefully placed his hand on her belly.
Blair, who had been staring at his large hand covering her belly, covered his hand with hers and pleaded.
'Come back without getting hurt.'
'...'
'I haven't forgiven you yet.'
So don't think about seeking forgiveness in such a cowardly way.
Herdin, who read Blair's true meaning, readily nodded.
'Yes.'
With that answer, his hand moved away. That was the last sight of him that Blair saw.
She knew that leaving first, as he said, was the best choice for the child and for him.
But apart from her rational judgment, she felt a sense of defeat at her situation where that was the best she could do even in such an anxious situation.
While Blair was fidgeting with her hands anxiously, the carriage suddenly stopped.
'Have we already reached the border?'
It was earlier than the expected time to have reached the border yet.
When Blair, harboring doubts about it, opened the window and looked outside, the knights shouted in urgent voices.
"Madam, it's dangerous, please stay inside!"
Behind them, magical beasts whose origin was unknown were attacking the knights.
At that, Blair's heart started pounding fast with anxiety. Blair instinctively wrapped her belly and raised a question.
'Why did the magical beasts appear here?'
Basically, magical beasts rarely appear near human settlements. Except when there's truly no prey in the forest.
Especially since now it was autumn, when prey was most abundant.
Moreover, it was strange that not just one acting individually, but various types of magical beasts had appeared here.
Blair harbored doubts about it and observed the situation.
The knights of Delmark, as expected of northern knights skilled in subjugating magical beasts, quickly grasped the beasts' weaknesses and swiftly disposed of them.
'But at this rate...'
There were too many magical beasts.
Right now the knights had the upper hand, but soon their stamina would drop and they would be pushed back, and casualties would occur.
'Is there no way to resolve this?'
While looking at the knights and magical beasts and worrying, Blair suddenly noticed something strange in the beasts' movements.
They were heading in one direction as if their destination was Nerha. They did attack the knights blocking their path, but their eyes never left the direction where Nerha was.
Noticing that, Blair shouted to the coachman and the knights.
"Turn the carriage toward that forest over there. And you knights, follow along!"
At first, the knights who were flustered by Blair's command and hesitated, naturally followed when she urged the coachman to turn the carriage.
Then the magical beasts passed by without attacking Blair's party and headed toward Nerha.
Only then did the knights realize that the magical beasts' purpose was not them, but Nerha. They had been too preoccupied with the thought of protecting Blair to notice.
The knights breathed a sigh of relief and approached Blair.
"Thanks to you, we survived, Madam. Are you alright?"
"I'm also safe thanks to you knights. However..."
The relief of being safe was brief, and Blair's face quickly darkened again.
In Nerha, where the magical beasts flocked, Herdin was there.
Something unusual was definitely happening there.
'What on earth is happening...'
It was when Blair was filled with worry.
"Madam!"
Simultaneously with the knights' urgent voices, the carriage ceiling was pierced and a sharp stinger came through. It was a scorpion-type magical beast.
As the magical beast swung its tail, the impact tilted the carriage to one side. In the shaking carriage, Blair hugged herself as if protecting her belly.
'My baby...!'
Just as the knights were about to urgently launch an attack, holy magic flew from somewhere and attacked the magical beast.
Holy magic had a healing effect on humans, but against dark mages or magical beasts that possessed powers contrary to it, it functioned as an attack.
"Kyaak!"
The magical beast, whose eye was attacked by the holy magic, released the carriage it had pierced with its tail's stinger. In that opening, a swiftly approaching black shadow attacked the beast's head.
Precisely, the core embedded in the beast's head.
"Kieeeek!"
As the sword pierced into the core, the magical beast, which had been thrashing about screaming in pain, soon went limp and fell silent.
Everyone was bewildered by the sudden appearance of an ally, but only Blair recognized who it was and opened her eyes wide.
"...Mikhail?"
Mikhail, wiping off the magical beast's bodily fluids splattered on his face, was approaching.