1092. The Lady of Delusion and Madness
It wasn’t exactly a strategy meeting room, but there weren’t many people capable of kicking down the door like this in the Mad Knights’ quarters.
For that reason, there was no one guarding the door, and everyone inside, except for a few including Kreis, had anticipated that someone would burst in. They
knew the footsteps were hurried and there was no hesitation. After all
, the intruder hadn’t exactly come stealthily.
Everyone possessed senses that keen. Consequently, no one was startled. Kreis didn’t even flinch. He, too, had sensed a presence just before kicking the door, and felt everyone turning toward the door after having been focused on their own conversations.
“Did you hear the story?”
The person who entered was a woman. To be precise, it was Aurelia Everhold, a member of the Order of the Red Cloak and the granddaughter of Cyprus. Her brown hair, which seemed to be infused with light, had grown a little longer than before and swayed.
Through the gaps in her hair, a zigzag scar on her forehead was revealed and then concealed.
“If you are talking about the news that an army of monsters has appeared at the border of the Southern Demon Realm, yes, I know.”
It was what Krys had just said. It was an answer that seemed to have been expected, and Aurelia’s pupils wavered at the reply that came back as if it had been waiting.
“Aren’t you going to sortie?”
“Not now.”
Abnaier, who was present at the meeting, responded to her remark.
Aurelia looked into his eyes. They were cold. The green eyes seemed like stones rather than human eyes. That was the impression she received.
Abnaier believed that strategy meetings should be conducted with the head, not the heart.
This was not because he was cold-hearted, but for the sake of efficiency. It was inevitable that it might sound a bit cold to the listener.
Aurelia’s gaze turned away. Her clear eyes turned toward the person with the heaviest voice in the room. She looked at Enkrid. Had he forgotten her, having not been by his side for a while? It was
impossible to tell just by looking at his eyes.
His blue pupils simply gazed at her indifferently.
Aurelia.
He acted as if he knew her. He called her name and nodded. There was no sign of urgency in it. Aurelia’s extraordinary mind grasped the situation and weighed the sequence of events. That was the conclusion she reached.
The South.
Are they making me a scapegoat?
Before I came in, I heard they planned to fight in the spring. What about the hordes of monsters and beasts already marching with determination before then?
Aurelia wavered. Her resolve was the same now as it was when she first arrived here.
Spring in the South, too.
“Let me bring a warm breeze to where my knights are.
I had endured here because I had resolved to do so, but if they now turn their backs on the South, on where my grandfather and I belong, there is no reason to remain here.
Moreover, even if I were to stubbornly insist that they listen to me, it would be meaningless.” Aurelia was cold.
I need to go back to where I was.
She spoke and turned away. A part of the time that had passed flashed through her mind.
She had started as a squire
of the Mad Knights, but before she knew it, she was blending in with the soldiers. It was because she realized that there was no place for her to step forward in their fight, on the battlefield, and that her only duty was to accumulate days of training.
From the bottom.
That is why I joined the soldiers and participated in the training. I also believed that a change in mindset was more important than any physical training learned within the Order. As
for what I realized after joining the unit—though it goes without saying—just because it is the Border Guard doesn’t mean everyone there is a good person. There were
guys who picked fights for no reason, guys who were obsessed with useless things, and guys who went into battle just to collect a few gold coins; everyone had different motives.
When Aurelia first saw them, she judged them by their appearance and ignored or turned away from them, but the problem was that they were in the same squad.
So, were they really such terrible people?
There is nothing in the world more precious than Crona.
Although it was described as a few gold coins, the krona that friend earned was for his sick mother and younger sibling.
The soldier hesitated even to spend a few copper coins for himself. To her, gold coins were family, love, and the best she could do.
“What’s wrong with risking your life fighting for Crona?”
Aurelia now understands why the soldier standing beside her is acting that way.
“I heard you’re the granddaughter of that famous Knights? Then why do you have to come here?”
The troublemaker who picked a fight for no reason was also a woman, and it seemed she didn’t like my appearance. Later, I realized she was vicious toward everyone.
“Ever since I was little, all sorts of bastards looked down on me, making comments about my face and whatnot. I just don’t want those dog-faced creatures to swarm around me. That’s why my tone tends to be a bit prickly. My way of speaking? I know. But this is my sincere feeling. If you were born into a good family with good blood, go live there. Why bother doing this here?”
The roughness of her tone does not represent everything in her heart. Her rigid gaze only allowed her to see the surface of the world.
Yes, her attitude could be a problem, but her heart was not. What she showed was concern, not picking a fight. It was
just that her method was different.
Because I needed to.
After that, she answered calmly. That is how Aurelia gained a friend.
Finally, the friend who was engrossed in useless things would often come up with unique weapons.
“If you press the handle like this, the blade shoots out. The opponent won’t expect it and will be caught off guard.”
For instance , he would become obsessed with devices where a blade would shoot out when a button was pressed on the handle, or create strange tools by drawing out thin metal to use as a substitute for thread. He was skilled with his hands. However
, it was simply frustrating to see him acting this way at a time when he should have been focusing on training. Still, it wasn’t really my concern, but having resolved to change, I looked into his heart and spoke with him.
While at the Border Guard, Aurelia had, before I knew it, shed some of his hardened shell, and this attitude stemmed from that.
“People die easily. All my siblings perished in the war, and my older brother was killed by a bandit’s blade. He put up a decent fight, but he lost by a narrow margin. I wonder what would have happened if I had possessed some small device that the opponent hadn’t anticipated? That thought just wouldn’t leave my mind.”
Every act of him creating something is a tribute to his deceased acquaintances and siblings.
The soldier, who was called an eccentric, protected himself in this way.
Thud.
As I stepped outside, a few raindrops fell. It was rain signaling the beginning of autumn.
It had been drizzling all week, but today the rain was particularly heavy.
Aurelia knows reality. She also knows what is best given the current situation.
A scapegoat is set up to prevent the invasion of the Demon Realm.
If a horde of monsters is determined to bypass the walls built by Lichstein and enter, they must be stopped solely by the walls of the Red Cloak Knights’ city.
That is, in the very place where the Red Cloak Knights have fought their entire lives.
Will that work?
There were dozens of things lacking for that.
The size of the walls, military power, environment, terrain, timing, numbers, supplies, and so on.
Aurelia was certainly clever. Even before this battle began, she knew that a scapegoat was necessary to gain even a slight advantage and to secure at least some semblance of benefit. She
also knew that the Order of the Red Cloak was the most suitable choice, and that her grandfather was the one who had sworn to defend that land.
‘iced coffee.’
War is ruthless. Battle is cold-hearted.
In the midst of this, the value of a human being in strategy and tactics is merely a number.
Whether they are knights or whatever.
Because her thoughts reached this point in an instant, she could not urge them to save her grandfather but lose the war against the Demon Realm. Should she tell them to start a fight they were bound to lose? She could not.
And for the same reason, Aurelia herself could not remain here.
This is bullshit.
Her monologue burst out like a dialect.
She had picked up the rough way of speaking from mingling with the soldiers. But this was also proof that she had become more flexible. She
was no longer the stiff Aurelia of the past, but someone who now revealed her true feelings.
“Hey, Orel.”
I was on my way out. Vera, the woman who picked fights at the slightest provocation, was following behind. With her full body armor and a heavy backpack on her shoulder, she looked as if she were going on a long journey.
“Where are you going?”
Aurelia asked.
“Yeah.”
“Where are you going?”
“Where you’re going right now.”
When I asked back, the answer came from someone else—Theodore, a soldier obsessed with crafting strange tools.
He wore a leather coif that covered his ears, held a short spear in his hand, and carried as many as three short swords at his waist. He
appeared to be carrying a mix of basic equipment issued by his superiors, as well as items he had crafted using his own Crona.
Naturally, this fellow was also dressed as if he were setting off on a long journey somewhere.
“Are you not going on a horse?”
Joining them were Rita and a friend for whom gold coins were everything. Aside from Theodore, there were three women.
It was a tangled thread of deep bonds formed while rubbing shoulders with the troops.
Rita had brought four horses from one side. Warhorses are expensive, and permission is required to take them along. Therefore, they were not warhorses. However, just because they were pack horses meant they were by no means cheap.
The horses she brought were not of particularly distinguished pedigree, but considering her usual values, she was not the type of person to empty her own pockets to buy four horses.
I didn’t buy it. Well, they paid because I said I was coming.
Rita spoke, blushing slightly. In reality, she had intended to spend her remaining savings to acquire a horse, but her superior had simply given it to her.
She felt a bit embarrassed, as it seemed she had brought it back without spending a single penny of Crona once again. She had set out for a friend and, after much deliberation, had gathered her entire fortune, only for it to end up like this.
“They told me to take it.”
Rita said it again.
“who?”
Vera turned her head and asked.
What would you do with knowing?
Rita answered, but in reality, even she didn’t know the details.
That was the conversation that went back and forth, but to put it simply, there were four horses right in front of them.
Aurelia thought that thanks to Rita, who was holding the reins in front of her, she now had a horse to ride.
What should she say here? Thank you? Or tell them to go back?
She didn’t know. Aurelia said nonchalantly.
Desertion is a serious crime.
The three of them laughed at her words.
“If my friend is about to die and I’m told to just watch, fine, I will become a grave sinner.”
Vera’s tone was still cynical. Though the content wasn’t.
“I’ve made a lot of things that I think would work against evil spirits. I’ll take this opportunity to test them out.”
Theodore’s way of speaking sounds innocent at first glance, but he is the craziest person here.
Would anyone be normal for going to the battlefield to test the weapons they made?
“If I don’t test what I made, who will use it?”
This is the argument he usually expresses.
“If you perform well in the South, I’ll raise your salary. Granddaughter of the Knight Commander.”
Rita is the most skilled swordsman among them. Although Aurelia had become a knight, she believed that Rita, nicknamed the “Gold Coin Collector,” would one day catch up to her.
Just as she had broken through her own hard shell, Rita would likely do so if she let go of some of her obsession with gold coins.
Though not now.
Yeah, if I survive.
Rita finished speaking like that, handed over the reins, and whispered.
Orel, thank you for the medicine.
Aurelia was wealthier than Rita. Her grandfather would give her gold coins just by asking, and even before that, she could obtain a few gold coins just by speaking to Kreis. But did Rita want such pity?
No. She simply made gold her top priority and carved out her own life based on that principle.
So, Aurelia did not obtain it by asking anyone, but spent half of the salary she received from military service. To put it strictly as a fact, she bought expensive, high-quality medicine and sent it.
That was all. However, this was not pity. She had seen the good medicine, possessed the discernment to spot it, and her pockets were jingling with gold and silver coins. It
was merely a heart full of concern for a friend.
“Stop the tickling, Rita.”
The medicine wasn’t really given with the expectation of a reward, nor was it done with any particular expectation, but still, such a greeting is a matter of courtesy between people.
It was Aurelia’s personality to respond to it without making her feel embarrassed.
Aurelia and Rita viewed each other as rivals. Perhaps that is why they understood each other’s feelings the best.
“Anyway, his personality is abrasive.”
Rita replied.
Just as Aurelia had viewed the three with peculiar eyes, the three viewed Aurelia in the same way. A lady from a noble family with a difficult personality.
Her nickname in the unit was the Lady of Madness.
It wasn’t like that at first, but after adapting to the unit, Aurelia unhesitatingly hurled insults at those who mentioned her nickname.
So, what is Ingis like?
Vera’s dream is to meet a capable and good-looking man and start a family. Right, it doesn’t suit her way of speaking or her actions at all.
I told you not to pay attention to Sir Ingis.
Aurelia heard about the devotion Ingis had shown her. It was only after coming here that she truly realized she felt the same way.
“Hey, this is just interest you’re showing because I’m your guy. Do you think I’m some crazy person who runs after every handsome guy she sees?”
“Wasn’t it?”
Theodore interrupted and got hit on the shoulder for no reason.
He laughed. The fact that the three of them, including himself, were joining the Southern Knights wouldn’t change the tide of the battle.
Yet, his heart burned with emotion. These three were comrades who had followed him knowing they would die.
Aurelia hadn’t told them to stop doing something foolish, nor had she told them to stay behind.
He respected their decision. He was also grateful for the loyalty they had shown.
And he had learned something from watching Encred.
I never give up, no matter the moment.
To show that she can hold out, rather than becoming a scapegoat. That is Aurelia’s resolve.
* * *
“Do you really have to go out of your way to make me misunderstand before sending it?”
Krais asked in the conference room after Aurelia had left.
“Ah, it looked like he was about to shatter the shell he had put on himself. With his resolve so high, there’s nothing to get in his way.”
Encreed looked at Krys with a gaze that said, “Answer and continue.” The meeting was still in progress.
