Volume 7, Chapter 154: The Destination of that Hand
Volume 7, Chapter 154: The Destination of that Hand
When my eyes caught the silver hair divided into two ponytails, the first words that appeared in my mind were: “why she was here?”. After all, she shouldn’t even know that I was in Belfein. But, for some reason, she wielded her silver longsword to lead the Lord’s soldiers.
However, there was no mistake that she had some kind of discrepancy in her. I made the sound of my throat squeak high when I saw her blade directed toward Bruder.
「…Hey, hey. You’re acting like a tragic villain, huh? 」
The moment when my words reached her ears.
I felt as if cold wax licked my spine. My fingertips held the handle of the treasure sword firmly without thinking of unnecessary emotions. Slowly, Caria’s gaze changed directions from Bruder and Vestaline, and slowly looked at me. I could see her silver eyes filled with a glittering flame burning inside her.
「That’s a very late arrival, Lugis. You’ve become a great figure since you kept me waiting.」
I noticed her hardened cheeks moving in a very distorting way. She seemed to be livid and exultant at the same time. If I continued to touch on the subject, even a little, she would hurt me with her own hands. I felt a dangerous vibe.
Caria the Knight was a sight that I’ve not seen for a while. However, her twisted mood was still very Caria. Anyhow, what I wanted to know was why she delved herself in a place like this.
「How did you get here…No, wrong. I would like to hear the reason for the knight’s appearance. I thought you were going to get rid of that thing permanently. 」
Why and how would she be here? However, I had some suspicions. I didn’t want to believe on them, though. Still, a part of me believed that my suspicions were true.
After she changed directions to face me, I looked into Caria’s silver eyes.
「How, you say? A fool didn’t think of me as his comrade. I came here to strangle that neck a little while doing some work.」
With that said, a graceful smile appeared on Caria’s face. However, that smile was not a smile full of kindness and compassion, but something that showed her underlying nature.
Ah, I see. Apparently, she was angry with me. Very much, it seemed. I couldn’t help but distort my cheeks. I felt strange emotions penetrating my whole body. My knees even seemed to break.
With a quivering voice, I jokingly murmured why her deadly eyes looked that way against me. Then, I turned my eyes to both Bruder and Vestaline without turning my face away from hers.
Vestaline was seriously injured on her shoulder. It seemed that she lost a great amount of blood by the look of the bloodstains on her clothes. Bruder tried to stop her bleeding, but how long would that last? Besides, the mercenaries have lost their commander Vestaline, and they were overtly upset and distressed.
How terrible. Things were going in the wrong direction. If there was a god of fate, I would like to cut off its writs if it had them.
Bruder was staring at me with his eyes wide open.
「Employer…Why? No. What is the meaning of this? I can’t believe that you came to this sort of place! How foolish of you!」
Bruder whispered in a bewildered manner, while holding Vestaline. He confusedly spit out those words, swaying his eyes in a strange manner. He called myself a fool, but he was half-right and half-wrong. Because at this point, we were too similar with each other to point out names. Yes, we were both fools, weren’t we?
Besides, the reason why a person like me took action was something that had no proper connotation. It was not something to about talk right now. I showed him my thumb while looking attentively at Caria.
「…Let’s eat venison after all of this is over, Bruder. I won’t let go of what I’ve got. Don’t you know that?」
I dismissed him straightaway.
Bruder worried about his sister but also worried about my wellbeing. However, at the same time, he was aware that it was an unacceptable choice for me to step away now. I was sure that Bruder felt many kinds of emotions in his heart after he heard my unwavering words.
Therefore, I pointed to the back road while standing still with a strong posture. I just wanted him to blow away all those emotions and accept my advice. Go, Bruder. I wanted him to go to the path that I advised him to go.
Yeah, just get out of here. Even if your absence caused the war situation to collapse and the mercenaries died, it was not your responsibility. That was what I decided. That was what I ordered you to do. I did not do this just because I was a good friend.
A different kind of words bowdlerized off the space between Bruder and me.
「Lugis. Hey, don’t be stupid. She, Vestaline, is a hero. I am going to chop her head off. That’s my respect for her.」
Caria’s silver eyes moved from me to Vestaline while changing the tone of her voice. She sounded irritated, but her wording sounded as if her action was natural. For her, it was impossible to choose otherwise. She had to decapitate the hero. Her momentum was not something to underestimate. Caria was about to wield the silver longsword to cut off Vestaline alongside Bruder.
Indeed, certainly not a mistake. If I looked at Belfein as an enemy, Vestaline must be the enemy. Nevertheless, that was a thing of the past. The wheel that controlled Belfein had already begun to rotate in the opposite direction.
I moved my lips while standing between Bruder and Caria. I tried to explain everything to her. In order to reach Caria’s ears, I had approach her with any sense of hostility.
「Caria. I leave the details for later, but Bruder and Vestaline are now my…Well, my comrades. You don’t have to cut their heads off.」
I wanted them to leave this place as soon as possible, and tried to reason with Caria.
“…Lugis, I’m gonna do it anyway. Step away.”
With those words, the silver light burst.
—
*metallic sound*
In the hollow, the silver and purple electricity hue intersected, increasing the sound of clash. Lugis forcibly received the silver longsword, which Caria swung down from the upper juncture, with the treasure sword.
Staring at Lugis with frustration in her eyes, Caria felt the waves of emotions boiling in her chest rushing in one after another.
“Did Lugis say that they were his comrades now? Why did he say it so easily? He spoke about them being comrades as if it was natural. He never treated me as such, even though I’ve been his comrade since we began our journey.”
“Ah, let me understand this. How could he? How shameful.” The emotions that emerged from the depths of Caria’s viscera became like fire under the skin. This raging fire was unquestionably jealousy. One of the emotions that Caria despised the most. How could she now suppress this unwanted emotion? Could this excruciating feeling around her chest be crushed with her own teeth and be swallowed? Caria’s lips swayed as she tried to spit out some words.
「I see, Lugis. Comrades, huh. That may be true for you. But what about me?」
“What a terrible way of saying it. I feel like hating myself. It’s ugly and disgraceful. I know that. I clearly understand such a thing. However, even so, I can no longer stop my throat from moving.”
Caria’s chest spit out words as if it had exceeded its capacity. It was no longer just unbalanced emotions swirling inside her. Her speech did not include reason or thoughts. Caria’s throat became the spokesperson of wild emotions.
「Let me ask you this. Whose hand are you going to take in the end, Lugis? Mine or someone else? Yeah, it’s okay, you can do whatever you want. But, even so. If, by any chance…you betray me.」
“…I will definitely drive you to ruin.”
The words sounded as if they were their own person. Caria reflexively blinked her silver eyes, and she instinctively felt the depths of her chest burning in shame.
“Ah, it’s not good. I am such a weak woman if I spit out words like this. How could I say such words? Did it seem like I am clinging unto him? Did it seem as if I didn’t want him to throw me away? How shameful. Was there any more shame?”
Contrary to Caria’s will, words came out of her throat along with the emotions burning wildly in her chest.
「Let me ask this again…Lugis. You’re on my side, aren’t you? 」
Caria’s lips repeated the old words and vows, as if they were seeking salvation.