Chapter 77
Stella—being the daughter of a Marquis—had learned a variety of disciplines.
Even now, her demeanor was extraordinary. Every march of her shoes crushing the ground was filled with confidence.
“You said there were small castles on both sides of a narrow path, right, Madam? It’s definitely the Twin Memorial Hall. The two castles built as memorial halls were erected symmetrically.”
She clenched her fist.
“I have a good idea!”
Stella was not an idiot. She didn’t mean to lead Laritte directly to the place where Redra was fighting. Instead, she went to the castle in the alley where Redra and Bartolt were fighting.
“Since the first imperial era, each castle has had three side doors. During fires that often occur in winters due to the fireplaces, it’s a big problem if you can’t find an escape path.”
She went around the Twin Memorial Hall and found a side door. Then she turned to go to a small castle. It’d been a while since the people abandoned the rooms because of the dragon. A strange air was flowing inside the deserted castle.
A large window was open on one of the walls. Stella and Laritte crouched down and passed under it. Then, both of them peered their heads out a little through the window.
“There’s Lady Redra.”
The scene of the battle was as small as the palm of a hand.
“The Empress is not there as Madam mentioned. Perhaps she left.”
Redra was enduring an injury and a disastrous look on her face. On the other hand, Bartolt had a wound, but he was quite fine.
Without turning away from reconnaissance over the window, Stella said. Her plan was simple.
“Madam, shall we gather some hard and small items?”
She was planning to throw them out at Bartolt. Even though he’d trained for decades, his skill couldn’t be strong enough to hold multiple blows.
If we aim properly, we’ll be able to hit Bartolt!
***
Both Redra and Bartolt were Swordmaster candidates. As they noticed something cutting the wind from above and falling towards them, they turned their eyes upward.
“……What’s that?”
Bartolt saw something hurled at him. He easily avoided it with the tilt of his head.
He laughed as his eyes spotted Laritte above the building.
“There’s no need to rush after the Duchess now. Since she decided to wash her neck and wait upstairs.”
“Madam?”
Redra, who was worn out, supported herself with a sword.
“No way!”
“If you have eyes, see it for yourself.”
With that, she looked up at the place where Laritte was, her eyes widening.
Everyone cries when it’s their time to die. But, she did not.
Her vision had been blurred and her lungs had been hurting since earlier.
When Laritte—who had left—returned, she was overwhelmed with emotions and shed tears.
Why have you come back?
She was both sad and happy.
She could never find a master like Laritte to serve again.
Who returns to a place where she might die?
Redra’s condition of triggering her sword was her own mind.
In the moment of desperation, you become a Swordmaster for a while when you desperately wish to protect your master.
‘So it was originally something I’ve done a few times in battles with the Captain.’
Earlier, he was worried about Redra.
If you don’t escape with Laritte and you don’t trigger your sword, you both die.
Ian believed that Redra would be able to do it for Laritte as well.
But Redra didn’t want to put Laritte in danger for a chance.
I got it now.
Laritte had been Redra’s master she should protect since she was sent with her.
Redra picked up her two-handed sword.
With her heart pounding against her chest, the mana in the air followed her from the sword handle and surrounded the blade.
Bartolt was busy avoiding the items falling from above. Stella and Laritte were almost out of candlesticks and what they collected to throw.
Are we all out?
At that moment, Laritte threw off one of her shoes.
With a thud, the shoe hit Bartolt’s careless head and blood flowed out of his forehead.
Stella raised her thumb at Laritte.
“Great shot, Madam!”
Anger rose inside him as he tried to regain his senses, opening his eyes wide to focus.
“You two….! I won’t kill you gracefully!”
I should hurry up and finish Redra.
After that, he planned to laugh while fully appropriating her image begging for help before finally ending her.
However, she was not any woman who would face her end so easily.
“Bartolt, you’re the only one to die here.”
“What?”
His eyes turned to Redra.
Her sword was covered in flames spreading to all directions in the air.
It was when she felt alive.
Her form turned black everywhere, filled with the dark energy summoned from her sword.
In an instant, the predator and the prey had changed.
“Y-You…. You!”
Bartolt was completely mistaken about her.
There was no way that Redra—who was all high-and-mighty—would serve an illegitimate girl as her master.
Redra—who was unable to summon her sword before—used to be equal to his….. prey.
“Bartolt, you dolt traitor.”
“Wait. Wait a minute. Listen to me.”
Bartolt forced himself to laugh, slowly raising his hands.
“W-Will you kill me? Think about it again. It’s going to be a lot more beneficial if you save me.”
He dropped the sword he was holding. Dust rose as he knelt in front of the dark sword that he had witnessed cutting people before.
“I will testify in front of the court that the Empress ordered the Duchess to be killed. Then you can depose the Empress by the power of Cap– no, the Duke.”
“…..”
Redra’s eyes were strange.
Bartolt felt the touch of a dagger on his wrist inside his clothes. He planned to stab Redra’s neck with it if she approached to capture him alive.
He continued lying, “I betrayed the Duke in the past because I was threatened by a butler. We don’t have to fight amongst ourselves.”
Redra approached her opponent, still aiming her burning sword at him.
She asked with a sharp look.
“……Is that true?”
Bartolt’s smile spread from ear to ear.
“I-Indeed! It’s true! Aren’t we comrades who lived together for a while?”
She fell for it!
Pretending to hold his hands together, he picked up the dagger he had hidden. The tip of the handle touched the tip of his nail.
Just two more steps.
“Bartolt.”
The moment Bartolt took out the dagger, he found himself cut in half.
“You have a knack for making funny dog noises, or what.”
Redra wiped her blood-stained sword on the hem of his clothes and put it back in its sheath.
I won.
Relaxed, she lost strength in her body and sat down on the ground.
Laritte came running from afar.
“Are you okay, Lady Redra?”
“……I told you to run, why is Madam here?”
The words didn’t come out nicely for no reason.
Laritte brushed her red bangs behind her ears. It revealed her face full of blood and dust.
Laritte was honest.
“I thought I would be sad to see you dead cold.”
Redra blushed. Meanwhile, Laritte continued.
“I thought I would cry and regret it. It would be more heartbreaking if it rains because of me if we held Redra’s memorial service. But I’d put the flowers you picked yourself.”
She thought about Redra’s death so much in detail, she came back because she was worried.
“What kind of flower do you like, Redra?”
Laritte looked genuinely curious.
Stella, who arrived after her, also swallowed her saliva.
“I was joking. Why don’t people react when I joke around?”
Chapter 77
Stella—being the daughter of a Marquis—had learned a variety of disciplines.
Even now, her demeanor was extraordinary. Every march of her shoes crushing the ground was filled with confidence.
“You said there were small castles on both sides of a narrow path, right, Madam? It’s definitely the Twin Memorial Hall. The two castles built as memorial halls were erected symmetrically.”
She clenched her fist.
“I have a good idea!”
Stella was not an idiot. She didn’t mean to lead Laritte directly to the place where Redra was fighting. Instead, she went to the castle in the alley where Redra and Bartolt were fighting.
“Since the first imperial era, each castle has had three side doors. During fires that often occur in winters due to the fireplaces, it’s a big problem if you can’t find an escape path.”
She went around the Twin Memorial Hall and found a side door. Then she turned to go to a small castle. It’d been a while since the people abandoned the rooms because of the dragon. A strange air was flowing inside the deserted castle.
A large window was open on one of the walls. Stella and Laritte crouched down and passed under it. Then, both of them peered their heads out a little through the window.
“There’s Lady Redra.”
The scene of the battle was as small as the palm of a hand.
“The Empress is not there as Madam mentioned. Perhaps she left.”
Redra was enduring an injury and a disastrous look on her face. On the other hand, Bartolt had a wound, but he was quite fine.
Without turning away from reconnaissance over the window, Stella said. Her plan was simple.
“Madam, shall we gather some hard and small items?”
She was planning to throw them out at Bartolt. Even though he’d trained for decades, his skill couldn’t be strong enough to hold multiple blows.
If we aim properly, we’ll be able to hit Bartolt!
***
Both Redra and Bartolt were Swordmaster candidates. As they noticed something cutting the wind from above and falling towards them, they turned their eyes upward.
“……What’s that?”
Bartolt saw something hurled at him. He easily avoided it with the tilt of his head.
He laughed as his eyes spotted Laritte above the building.
“There’s no need to rush after the Duchess now. Since she decided to wash her neck and wait upstairs.”
“Madam?”
Redra, who was worn out, supported herself with a sword.
“No way!”
“If you have eyes, see it for yourself.”
With that, she looked up at the place where Laritte was, her eyes widening.
Everyone cries when it’s their time to die. But, she did not.
Her vision had been blurred and her lungs had been hurting since earlier.
When Laritte—who had left—returned, she was overwhelmed with emotions and shed tears.
Why have you come back?
She was both sad and happy.
She could never find a master like Laritte to serve again.
Who returns to a place where she might die?
Redra’s condition of triggering her sword was her own mind.
In the moment of desperation, you become a Swordmaster for a while when you desperately wish to protect your master.
‘So it was originally something I’ve done a few times in battles with the Captain.’
Earlier, he was worried about Redra.
If you don’t escape with Laritte and you don’t trigger your sword, you both die.
Ian believed that Redra would be able to do it for Laritte as well.
But Redra didn’t want to put Laritte in danger for a chance.
I got it now.
Laritte had been Redra’s master she should protect since she was sent with her.
Redra picked up her two-handed sword.
With her heart pounding against her chest, the mana in the air followed her from the sword handle and surrounded the blade.
Bartolt was busy avoiding the items falling from above. Stella and Laritte were almost out of candlesticks and what they collected to throw.
Are we all out?
At that moment, Laritte threw off one of her shoes.
With a thud, the shoe hit Bartolt’s careless head and blood flowed out of his forehead.
Stella raised her thumb at Laritte.
“Great shot, Madam!”
Anger rose inside him as he tried to regain his senses, opening his eyes wide to focus.
“You two….! I won’t kill you gracefully!”
I should hurry up and finish Redra.
After that, he planned to laugh while fully appropriating her image begging for help before finally ending her.
However, she was not any woman who would face her end so easily.
“Bartolt, you’re the only one to die here.”
“What?”
His eyes turned to Redra.
Her sword was covered in flames spreading to all directions in the air.
It was when she felt alive.
Her form turned black everywhere, filled with the dark energy summoned from her sword.
In an instant, the predator and the prey had changed.
“Y-You…. You!”
Bartolt was completely mistaken about her.
There was no way that Redra—who was all high-and-mighty—would serve an illegitimate girl as her master.
Redra—who was unable to summon her sword before—used to be equal to his….. prey.
“Bartolt, you dolt traitor.”
“Wait. Wait a minute. Listen to me.”
Bartolt forced himself to laugh, slowly raising his hands.
“W-Will you kill me? Think about it again. It’s going to be a lot more beneficial if you save me.”
He dropped the sword he was holding. Dust rose as he knelt in front of the dark sword that he had witnessed cutting people before.
“I will testify in front of the court that the Empress ordered the Duchess to be killed. Then you can depose the Empress by the power of Cap– no, the Duke.”
“…..”
Redra’s eyes were strange.
Bartolt felt the touch of a dagger on his wrist inside his clothes. He planned to stab Redra’s neck with it if she approached to capture him alive.
He continued lying, “I betrayed the Duke in the past because I was threatened by a butler. We don’t have to fight amongst ourselves.”
Redra approached her opponent, still aiming her burning sword at him.
She asked with a sharp look.
“……Is that true?”
Bartolt’s smile spread from ear to ear.
“I-Indeed! It’s true! Aren’t we comrades who lived together for a while?”
She fell for it!
Pretending to hold his hands together, he picked up the dagger he had hidden. The tip of the handle touched the tip of his nail.
Just two more steps.
“Bartolt.”
The moment Bartolt took out the dagger, he found himself cut in half.
“You have a knack for making funny dog noises, or what.”
Redra wiped her blood-stained sword on the hem of his clothes and put it back in its sheath.
I won.
Relaxed, she lost strength in her body and sat down on the ground.
Laritte came running from afar.
“Are you okay, Lady Redra?”
“……I told you to run, why is Madam here?”
The words didn’t come out nicely for no reason.
Laritte brushed her red bangs behind her ears. It revealed her face full of blood and dust.
Laritte was honest.
“I thought I would be sad to see you dead cold.”
Redra blushed. Meanwhile, Laritte continued.
“I thought I would cry and regret it. It would be more heartbreaking if it rains because of me if we held Redra’s memorial service. But I’d put the flowers you picked yourself.”
She thought about Redra’s death so much in detail, she came back because she was worried.
“What kind of flower do you like, Redra?”
Laritte looked genuinely curious.
Stella, who arrived after her, also swallowed her saliva.
“I was joking. Why don’t people react when I joke around?”
