Cracks in the Lovers' Sanctuary
The next morning after those two isolated themselves, a subtle tension hung over the campsite. Perhaps because of the commotion from the night before, the knights were packing up while stealing glances around. Lucian paced awkwardly near the carriage.
"Captain, aren't we heading out?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
Lucian sighed and glanced toward the carriage. "The Saintess... doesn't seem ready yet."
"Oh dear, she must be feeling really unwell," I said, clicking my tongue. Unwell? More like she just didn't want to come out. After witnessing her authority crumble last night, facing the knights must be awkward. And with her man-hating tendencies on top, she probably had no desire to squeeze in among sweaty guys.
Clunk! At that moment, the carriage door opened, and Lumina appeared. Her face was pale, but her posture remained dignified. Before stepping down, she scanned the surroundings, spotted Lucian, and broke into a radiant smile.
"Lucian."
Honey dripped from her voice. The venom she'd spat at the knights last night was nowhere to be seen.
"Saintess, are you alright?" Lucian rushed over and took her hand. A natural touch. As Lumina descended the carriage steps, she wobbled as if dizzy.
"Ah..."
"Careful!" Lucian firmly supported her waist, embracing her. It was straight out of a melodrama.
"Sorry. I'm just causing you trouble, Sir Lucian."
"Not at all. I'm here with you, so rest easy."
The two gazed deeply into each other's eyes, oblivious to the stares around them. Even as the knights grunted while hauling gear, the commander and the Saintess were filming a romance movie first thing in the morning.
Hoo... I crossed my arms and watched the scene. The more her disgust grew toward me and the knights, the stronger her obsession and dependence on Lucian seemed to become.
'Only you're pure. Only you understand me.' That was the look in her eyes. Their own little world. A sturdy, beautiful sanctuary.
"Must be nice. You two get along so well," I tossed out casually. One of the knights loading gear spat on the ground.
"Tch, some of us are busting our asses..." A quiet grumble. But the spark was definitely catching.
The march continued. Bumpy mountain paths, scorching sun, sticky humidity. Even well-trained knights found it grueling.
"Let's take a break." Lumina's voice came from inside the carriage. We'd only been marching for an hour. This was already the third rest stop.
"Again?"
"No way, we gotta cross the mountain before sunset..." Grumbles erupted from the knights. But Lucian was firm.
"The Saintess is tired. Everyone, halt!"
The procession stopped. Lumina stepped out of the carriage. Not a drop of sweat on her, but Lucian fussed over her, escorting her to the shade.
"Sit here. I'll get some water."
"Thank you, Lucian. You're the only one I can count on."
Lumina wiped his sweat with his own handkerchief. Her touch was delicate and tender. Fingers caressing his cheek. Eyes dripping with honey as she gazed at him. Anyone could see she was a woman in love.
Disgustingly beautiful. I leaned against a tree, observing them. Lumina fed him water and straightened his disheveled hair. There was no room to wedge between them. The perfect pair. A noble couple.
But that perfection was the problem. They were so flawless they couldn't see the "outside."
"Have some water." I tossed canteens to the exhausted knights.
"Whoa, thanks, Sir Sigurd."
"Only Sir Sigurd looks out for us."
The knights swarmed me. Their gazes toward the Lucian couple weren't kind.
"Captain's... busy attending the Saintess."
"Are we invisible? We're the ones fighting monsters, but only she gets the care."
Deprivation. Disappointment that their leader prioritized personal feelings over duty. It was eroding the knights' unity.
Good, the rift is opening. I slipped right into it.
"What can you do? They're so in love. We just have to understand."
"Love? Hah, playing lovers in the middle of a battlefield..."
"Honestly... yeah."
My fanning the flames ignited the discontent. I smirked inwardly and approached Lumina, playing the good guy.
"Saintess, you must be tired. Have some of this at least."
I pulled a cool ion drink and wet towel from my Inventory. An excuse to get close.
"Ah..." Lumina looked at me. The corners of her eyes, smiling at Lucian moments ago, turned icy the instant they met mine.
"No thanks. I don't need it."
"Still, dehydration would be bad..."
"Get that away."
She eyed the water bottle in my hand like a bug. "Lucian's water is enough. And... you stink. Stay away."
She openly hid behind Lucian's back, pinching her nose as if repulsed by my masculine scent.
"Saintess, Sir Sigurd meant well..." Lucian tried awkwardly to intervene, but Lumina clutched his clothes and whispered.
"I don't like it. I only want your scent. Other men... make me nauseous."
Lucian's face flushed. A mix of joy and embarrassment. He eventually bowed to me.
"Sorry, Sir Sigurd. We'll just take your kind thoughts."
He rejected me and refocused on Lumina. Their world sealed shut again.
"......"
I trudged back to the knights like a kicked puppy. Their faces darkened.
"Wow... that's too much."
"Treating her lifesaver like that?"
"Even Captain just lets Sir Sigurd get embarrassed like that!"
Sympathy for me formed. And the arrows pointed straight at the cuddling pair.
Right on plan. I hid my smile. Lumina, the more you obsess over Lucian, the more isolated you become. And Lucian, the more you indulge her, the more you lose your leadership.
Love? Yeah, go ahead and indulge. That love will be your ruin.
Night fell again. I gathered the knights for a barbecue party. The sizzle of grilling meat and booze filled the air.
"Eat up, everyone! I'll take watch tonight!"
"Woo! Long live Sir Sigurd!"
The knights cheered me, tearing into the meat. I was now the de facto leader of this camp, not Lucian.
Then Lucian emerged from the woods, looking drained. Exhausted from tending to his finicky Saintess all day.
"Captain, you're here!" I greeted warmly and handed him a drink.
He glanced at the carriage, sighed, and sat beside me.
"You've had a rough day."
"No, it's fine. Glad to see the men enjoying themselves."
He gave a bitter smile and downed his drink. Laughter he couldn't join. He seemed alienated.
"And the Saintess?"
"She's asleep. Tossing and turning from the uncomfortable bed... I just got her settled."
Settled her? Like a kid? I snorted inwardly but comforted him outwardly.
"You two really get along. Must be nice."
"Ah, no. I'm just her guard knight..." He blushed and denied it, but the smile tugging his lips betrayed him.
"Honestly, everyone knows. You two are... special to each other."
I broached it subtly, and the nearby knights nodded.
"Yeah. Frankly, we feel a bit left out."
"Captain only cares for the Saintess... like we're invisible."
Truth spilling from drink-loosened tongues. Lucian's face stiffened. He hadn't realized. That his love had blinded him to his men.
"N-no, that's not it. I care about you all too..."
"We know, Captain."
I cut him off and draped an arm around his shoulder.
"Love's like that. Love goggles make you blind to everything else. I get it."
My words weren't comfort. They were the final nail. 'You're an incompetent leader who can't separate duty from desire because of love.'
"......"
Lucian said nothing, just drank. Then—
"Lucian...?"
The carriage door opened. Lumina in nightclothes stepped out, rubbing her eyes. She scanned around, spotted Lucian next to me, and hardened her expression.
"What are you doing there?"
She strode over. Booze, meat, men's sweat—reeking. She pinched her nose in disgust.
"Saintess, you're up? I was just with the knights briefly..."
"Come back. Now."
She yanked his arm. Like a mom scolding her son for bad friends.
"I told you no drinking. You stink."
"But Saintess, the men..."
"The men or me—which is more important?"
Lumina snapped. Her eyes held only Lucian. Blind to the knights' stares, the chilled atmosphere.
"That guy... Sigurd? Don't hang with him. His eyes are filthy. I'm scared you'll get tainted."
She pointed at me accusingly. Insult right to my face. But I didn't snap. Instead, I feigned hurt.
"Saintess... I was just trying to comfort the Captain."
"Comfort? No need. I comfort Lucian. No room for a stranger like you."
Possessiveness. She saw Lucian as her property. Pathological obsession rejecting even comrades.
"Come on, Lucian. I'll wash you."
She dragged him to the carriage. Lucian glanced awkwardly at me and the knights.
"S-sorry. Talk later."
He followed her. Bang!
The door slammed shut.
"Ha..." Deep sighs rippled through the knights.
"That's too much."
"Captain's whipped bad."
"Saintess acts like that every day. It's exhausting."
The knights' hearts had fully turned. No more respect in their eyes for Lucian. Just a pathetic leader ditching his men for a woman.
"Drink up! Forget it!" I hyped the mood and poured more booze. But inside, I was ice cold.
'The stage is set.' Lumina's blind love and the isolation it bred. That would be the noose around her neck.
Tomorrow, we enter deeper woods. And there, I'll create the "crack" to shatter their sturdy wall of love.