Chapter 33
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: The Identity of the Helper
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The next morning.
The Eisen guard manor, swept by the acrid smoke of burning blood and liquor, lay in eerie silence.
Even the trail of blood left by Head Maid Marsha as she clutched the hole in her abdomen and ran to report Alina's kidnapping had not been fully wiped away.
Regrettably, the bloodstains in front of Alina's bedroom were the most vivid.
Morning sunlight filtered through the window cracks, illuminating the white bedsheets.
The sun bestowed its first warmth of the day upon the bedsheets that cradled Alina's bandaged eyes and body heat.
At the bedside sat the Eisen Baron, his eyes hollow from a sleepless night.
The baron's hand gripped his sleeping daughter's small one—gentle, as if it might shatter, yet firm, as if he would never let go.
Clink.
The attending physician, finishing his examination, packed away his tools and stood.
The Eisen Baron looked at him with desperate eyes.
"...How is she?"
"Fortunate amid misfortune, my lord."
The doctor adjusted his glasses and spoke calmly.
"Her optic nerves are intact. No permanent damage."
"Ah...."
A sigh of relief escaped the Eisen Baron's lips.
His legs nearly buckled beneath him.
"She's suffering temporary vision loss from extreme light exposure. Similar to flash blindness, but prolonged due to the overwhelming stress on such a young child."
The doctor gazed pityingly at Alina lying in bed.
"She can still make out light and shapes, hazily."
"So... she'll see again?"
"Yes. With rest and time, her sight will return. However...."
The doctor hesitated.
"She's endured trauma unfit for her age—kidnapping, fire, threats of murder. Emotional recovery matters more than physical treatment now. Her heart must heal for her eyes to open fully."
"Understood. I'll keep that in mind. Thank you... truly, thank you."
The Eisen Baron clasped the doctor's hands, bowing repeatedly.
Pride as lord of Eisen guard, noble decorum—none mattered.
His daughter was not blind. For that alone, the father thanked the sun god and the physician over and over.
"Still, even at night, flash blindness from firelight alone... especially without covering her eyes..."
The doctor, wrapping up, tried to voice his suspicions from the exam.
"Alina.... Thank goodness...."
But he couldn't turn the father's back away from sharing warmth with his daughter.
After the doctor left.
A cautious knock sounded, and the door opened.
It was me and Kara.
We nodded to the Eisen Baron and approached the bedside.
Sensing our presence, Alina, propped against the bed, turned her head.
Her unfocused eyes wandered the air before turning toward the sound.
"...Brother Barg?"
"Huh? How'd you know?"
Even with blurred vision, she'd recognized me by presence alone.
"Brother Barg walks on his heels. And your body's so big."
"You can tell that...?"
I knelt to meet her eye level, struck again by her perceptiveness amid the heartache.
I gently took her small hand waving in the air.
"Yeah, Alina. Brother's here. How's your body? Any pain?"
"Yeah... I'm okay...."
Alina beamed.
That innocent smile hurt all the more.
"Thank you for saving me...."
Her polite gratitude, forsaking a child's lisping familiarity, tugged at my heart.
"No. Sorry I was late."
"No. It was so scary... but when you smashed through the door, I wasn't afraid at all."
Alina squeezed my hand as she spoke.
"And... I could still see until you carried me running. So I remember your face."
"......"
"You looked so cool. Like a real hero."
The child chirped like a bird.
She wrapped the horrific inferno's memory in heroic tales to reassure the adults.
The Eisen Baron and I exchanged glances.
The baron's eyes rimmed red.
Proud yet heartbroken—this ordeal had forced maturity on a mere seven-year-old too soon.
Then Kara stepped forward from behind me.
"Alina."
"Sister?"
Kara sat by the bed and took Alina's hand from mine.
She placed the child's palm gently on her lower belly—flat still, but cradling new life.
Warmth transferred.
"Alina, you know what? Our little Yeppi says...."
Kara whispered softly.
"Yesterday, big sis Alina was the bravest and coolest in the world."
"......!"
Alina's eyes widened round.
But focus eluded her.
Her pupils drifted.
Kara cleared her throat, pitching her voice high in childlike mimicry.
"Yeah! I saw it all! Big sis Alina didn't cry, she held on tight! I wanna grow up quick and be brave like her too!"
Pfft.
Laughter nearly burst from me.
Kara's awful acting.
Even in this heavy air, it drew smiles.
Her sincerity worked—color bloomed on Alina's face.
"Really...? Yeppi said that?"
"Of course. Yeppi doesn't lie. She knows you worried for Marsha and held out till the end."
"Hehe...."
A true child's bright smile finally spread across Alina's face.
Terror and tension melted from her heart like snow before her sibling's praise.
"Then... I gotta get better quick."
Alina clenched her fist.
"Get better fast, learn swordsmanship like you, Kara sis, get strong. So when Yeppi's born... I'll protect her."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah! Protect Marsha, Daddy, Yeppi too. No one gets hurt!"
Her vow, so pure, landed heavier for it.
Kara hugged Alina tight.
"Yeah. Our Alina will be the greatest knight. I guarantee it."
The exchange ended; Alina yawned.
Tension gone, fatigue rushed in.
Sleepy?"
The Eisen Baron tucked her in.
Alina nodded, her hazy gaze turning to her father.
Her father, who'd stood vigil sleeplessly.
Even blurred, she sensed his sunken eyes, roughened skin.
His exhaustion shone through.
"Daddy."
"Yes, sweetie?"
"Go sleep now. Thanks for holding my hand all night."
"No. Daddy's not sleepy. Until you sleep...."
"No."
Alina shook her head, snorting.
"I'm gonna nap deep this time. But if you're here snoring, it'll be too noisy."
"......!"
The baron panicked.
Just like meeting our father Gorgon.
"D-Do I snore?"
"Yeah. Super loud. So go sleep. I'm gonna wake up."
Alina pulled the covers over her head.
But her small hand peeked out, shooing him away.
"......"
The Eisen Baron's eyes welled again.
He knew.
He didn't snore.
"For a second, I thought Gorgon had rubbed off on you."
"Father's snoring is pretty bad, yeah."
The child made a cute excuse so her father could rest guilt-free, unburdened.
"You've grown up, Alina."
The Eisen Baron swallowed surging emotion, hugging the blanket-clad girl tight.
"...Right. Sorry for the snoring."
"Hehe."
"Thanks, Alina. Sleep well."
The Eisen Baron stroked her head and stood.
We patted the blanketed Alina too.
"Sleep tight, little hero. Yeppi says night-night too, sis."
"See you later, Alina."
We waited till her breathing steadied, then quietly left.
Click.
Closing Alina's door, we stepped into the hall—and met an approaching figure opposite.
Ronas, back from overnight interrogation.
"......"
I flinched at the sight.
Gone was the frail young master weeping over paperwork.
A harrowing, desolate shell, soul gnawed from torturing kidnappers in the dungeon.
His eyes blazed fierce; disheveled hair bore dark crusted blood between strands.
Whose blood—his or theirs?—needed no asking.
"Ronas."
The Eisen Baron called his son.
Ronas stared at Alina's closed door, then smiled bitterly.
"Alina's... asleep. Good. If she were awake, I couldn't bear to leave for rest."
He craved to embrace his alert sister but couldn't, reeking of blood.
Ronas sighed, pulling a thick stack of papers from his coat and handing them to the Eisen Baron.
The interrogation report.
Its edges bloodstained.
"Squeezed everything they had. Left just enough blood to keep hearts beating—no immediate deaths."
Ronas's voice was utterly dry.
"Residuals already under investigation. I'll... catch some sleep now."
Ronas staggered, then paused.
"By the way... Father rests first, or I can't relax."
Joking, but his lips didn't twitch.
Exhaustion and rage defined him.
The Eisen Baron pitied his son.
The boy he'd deemed immature and soft had bloodied his hands for family.
In one sunset-to-sunrise, daughter and son had ripened early.
The Eisen Baron long bore guilt for thrusting duties on Ronas young.
Academy graduation took too long.
Ronas wanted to lavish love on his sister unreservedly till then.
He'd graduate; Father wouldn't retire till then.
With Mother gone, hard to give Alina enough love—Father must hold her.
For that, he quit academy early.
This year, fully took Father's work; tonight, Father held Alina's hand.
That alone washed away Ronas's fatigue from the night's blood and reports.
And Father knew his son's heart.
Sons were half oneself.
"Ronas."
"Yes."
"Even if bothersome, bathe first. Wash off the blood scent."
"......"
Ronas blanked, then chuckled faintly.
"...Then assign someone to fish me out if I sleep in the tub. Don't fancy drowning."
Ronas turned from bedroom toward bath, trudging.
His slumped back bore the heir's heavy duty.
After Ronas vanished.
The Eisen Baron opened the bloodied report with trembling hands.
Kara and I peered over.
Client: Unidentified broker. Presumed Western kingdom based on details below.
Payment: High-denomination bonds circulating in Western regions.
Target: Woman with fiery golden eyes. (Capture alive mandatory)
"......"
The contents were sparse.
The kidnappers were mere hired thugs for cash.
Tails moved by money, ignorant of the puppetmaster.
"Client unknown... trail cut. But bonds narrow the search scope."
The Eisen Baron furrowed his brow.
But one line hooked my gaze.
Payment: High-denomination bonds circulating in Western regions.
'Western bonds... as expected.'
Plugging in original story memories, the answer was clear.
This kidnapping: work of Slokina Kingdom's Second Prince faction.
They'd planned to abduct Princess Elicia, breed their bloodline into hers.
For when imperial direct line waned—claim Croa blood to devour the empire or wield politically.
A long-brewed plot for their kingdom's future, not immediate gain.
And the Second Prince's filthy scheme to flip succession with her as card.
'Should I spill it?'
Knowing this invites suspicion.
As I pondered explanation, the Eisen Baron spoke first.
"Report lacks clear mastermind. But... suspicions linger."
"Pardon?"
"Recall... yesterday in the plaza, someone tipped us the kidnappers' location?"
Kara chimed, dredging memory.
"Right. Masked man. He said outright: 'Kidnap client is a Western vassal kingdom, Slokina.'"
"Indeed. And his intel was spot-on."
The Eisen Baron's eyes sharpened.
I feigned ignorance.
"Someone tipped you off? Kara, there was such a guy?"
"Yeah. Mask hid his face... shorter than you, taller than me. Odd vibe. Killer intent thick, but he didn't attack."
Kara tilted her head.
"And... his eyes were unique."
"Eyes?"
"Yeah. Golden irises... I think."
The Eisen Baron nodded.
"Yes. Those golden eyes peeking through the mask... unforgettable."
Slokina Kingdom.
Mask.
Golden eyes.
'Ah, him.'
I was certain inwardly.
The helper's identity.
In the original, abducted Elicia escaped a carriage jar via Detonation, near-suicidal.
Burned and lost in woods, she got aid from...
Her half-brother.
Fourth Imperial Prince, Radiance von Croa.