Good News (1)

As she cut down the remaining Kelots, Sien found those words Adel had spoken only moments ago replaying in her mind. His certainty that they would come for her—that they would take her from behind. And his insistence that he would deal with the ambushers alone.

She had wanted to stop him at first. Going off by himself was far too dangerous. If anything went wrong, there would be no one to come to his aid.

But then she remembered what he had done not long ago. Third-grade demonic beasts—monsters even the family's knights had to fight with everything they had. He had slaughtered those terrifying creatures. Alone.

The thought closed her mouth. For the weak to try to hold back the strong was absurd.

She didn't want to keep leaning on him. She wanted to give him a quiet, peaceful life—nothing more. And yet, in the end, she kept driving him back into battle.

"…I'm sorry, Adel. Then I'll leave it to you."

After sending him off, Sien bit her lip.

He'll be fine. He has to be. This is someone who takes down third-grade demonic beasts by himself.

He would be all right. He had no choice but to be all right. If anything, her own side was the one that needed worrying over. Holding onto that thought, she threw herself into the swing of her blade.

But once the fighting here was more or less under control, the worry crept back in.

Kelots hunt in packs. They're built to bring down a single target. Adel is strong—that's true. But what if something goes wrong? Unlike here, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠there's no one at his side to help him.

Even the strongest knights could lose their lives in a single instant. Bad luck. A moment of carelessness. Something no one saw coming. For any number of reasons, things could go terribly wrong.

The thought sent her anxiety spiking. She should have assigned a few knights to support him. She regretted sending him off alone, trusting nothing but his strength. If—just if—something really did go wrong, wouldn't that mean she had stood by and let her own person walk into a death trap? Would she lose him because she had chosen to rely on him? Her heart hammered in her chest.

"My lady! We're finished on this side!"

"Not a single one escaped alive. A clean sweep!"

"Then we should hurry to the other—"

Sien was already swinging into the saddle, ready to ride hard for wherever Adel had gone. Then she saw someone coming toward them.

"Adel!"

She rushed to him and looked him over at once. Was she loading too much onto his shoulders? This was a man who had only just crawled out of a long, brutal stretch of years, hoping at last for a little time to gather himself. First the duel with Fiore, and now a battle against demonic beasts. He was someone who should have been sick to death of fighting by now—someone she ought to have felt sorry for. And yet ever since coming to Lichtenauer, Adel had done nothing but spill blood. She had told him it might make for a pleasant journey. She hadn't given him anything of the sort. Guilt, shame, and a deep, aching apology welled up in her. She was almost tempted to tell him to leave Lichtenauer, even now.

"Sien."

But there was nothing in his voice of the exhaustion she had feared. No reluctance. None of the things she had been bracing herself to find. Only that same even, unhurried tone, and a single short sentence.

In the council chamber of Lichtenauer's main keep, laughter was blooming for the first time in a long while.

"This is truly excellent news, isn't it? The merchant guild offering its help would have been good enough on its own—but to think we also landed a blow on the Fiore family."

"My thoughts exactly. Fiore's arrogance has been climbing by the day; it's been thoroughly grating. I hear they've been going around calling themselves the greatest swordsmanship house in the Empire."

"When they learn it was an attendant who routed their knight, they'll foam at the mouth."

"Hahaha! Ah, I wish I could have seen it with my own eyes. What a shame I missed it!"

The most urgent problem had been the financial crisis, and that had been solved. And yet the retainers seemed even more delighted by the fact that they had put Fiore in their place. Watching them, Sien realized she and the people of this house were not so different. They all harbored no small amount of ill will toward Fiore, with whom they clashed at every turn. That, she thought, was one more reason she needed to grow stronger.

"My lady. You have truly worked hard."

"If the dealings with the Regram Merchant Guild proceed smoothly, the financial trouble will be behind us before long."

Worried the retainers might feel the weight of it, she had called it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a "transaction" for now. If she said "investment," they would only worry—or grow suspicious. She would tell them the truth in due time.

"Then we can put out the most immediate fires. I had been deeply concerned about the warhorses and the arms—so many of them damaged. Expanding the facilities was urgent as well."

"We should see to that first. And the compensation for the bereaved families—that was handled properly, I trust?"

"Without question. The funerals were conducted with full honors, and fitting compensation was paid. They should be able to live without great hardship. You may set your mind at ease, my lady."

Sien nodded. She could have gone and confirmed it herself, as family head—but she did not. These were all people whose roots in Lichtenauer ran deep. They knew that stirring up the people's hearts with greedy hands was a sure way to tighten a noose around their own necks. In a world still this chaotic, no one survived alone. For those reasons, she believed they would not have done anything underhanded—that they had handled it well. She chose to trust those who still remained at Lichtenauer.

"And those wounded in today's battle—they're being properly treated?"

"Yes. There were no critically injured. Everyone should be back on their feet within a few days."

"I heard the beasts that appeared were Kelots. I was surprised the damage was so light."

"Hardly surprising. You went yourself, my lady. The knights and the soldiers alike had their spirits soaring—they could have shoved monsters like that aside on morale alone."

The retainers' trust in Sien was absolute. It had been built up over years of the excellence shown by the lords before her. They did not care that the current head was of half-demon blood, or that she was a woman. Just as every lord before her had done, she would prove herself. They believed in their new family head without a shadow of a doubt.

"Come now, that will do for today. Her ladyship ought to rest, don't you think?"

Rascal, who had been listening in silence all this time, finally spoke. She had been away from Lichtenauer for a month and had only just returned—and the moment she did, she had gone straight into battle against demonic beasts. The fatigue had to be considerable. His point was a fair one.

"Ah—yes, of course. Forgive us, my lady."

"We shall see you tomorrow. Please rest well."

The retainers rose, offered their respects, and withdrew. One by one they filed out, until the last person remaining was Rascal, the Guard Captain.

"Your expression is not a good one. Have you been injured somewhere, or—"

"No. No, I'm fine. Don't worry."

"You say that, but there is a shadow on your face."

Rascal had stood at the side of the previous lord—Sien's father—for years. He had known Sien since she was young, and so he caught the shift in her heart at once.

"…I feel guilty."

"Guilty, my lady?"

"About Adel. He isn't a knight sworn to Lichtenauer. He isn't someone who lived here. He was only passing through, and I caught hold of him and wouldn't let go. I keep wondering if I'm putting too much on him. If I'm relying on him too much."

Rascal said nothing.

"That's all. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠just had me a little tangled up. Don't worry about it."

Sien rose from her seat, and Rascal rose with her. She was just about to leave the chamber when he spoke, carefully.

"If it truly sits so poorly with you."

"Go and ask him yourself."

"Ask him myself?"

"That young man likely had a fair idea of what this would entail. To become an attendant is, in time, to become a knight of Lichtenauer. Did he truly imagine there would not be a single fight along the way? From where I stand, he knew—and he accepted your request all the same. Rather than fret yourself to pieces alone, would it not be better to go to him, show him what is eating at you, and ask whether he will be all right going forward?"

Sien stood motionless, her hand on the door handle. He was right. Stewing over it by herself accomplished nothing. If she was sorry, she could go and apologize. If something weighed on her, she could speak it. She knew well enough by now that hesitation never got anyone anywhere.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"The previous lord used to say this. The regret of having acted cuts less deep than the regret of having done nothing. If it is not a wrongful thing—it is better to try."

Sien turned slowly at that. She looked at the knight she had known since childhood—a man who was an old man now.

"Thank you, Guard Captain. That's excellent advice."

She opened the door and left the council chamber. Rascal knew perfectly well where she was going, and whom she meant to see. He only smiled.

Huff. Huff.

The other knights had all gone in to rest. Adel was still alone in the training yard. One hand rested against the small of his back; the other held his entire weight on nothing but a thumb and forefinger. It was the kind of one-handed push-up that made you ache just watching it. Adel performed the brutal exercise as if it were nothing at all.

Tap. Taptap—!

Footsteps, approaching from a distance. Adel rose and pulled on his shirt. From the gait and the presence, it was a woman—and there was only one woman in this place who would come to see him.

"Adel."

"Sien."

She had run here; her face was flushed. He was about to ask if something was wrong when she spoke first.

"Are you really all right?"

"…I beg your pardon?"

"I mean it. Are you all right?"

He had no idea what the question was supposed to mean. He held his silence, and she went on.

"You've been fighting this whole time. You were trying to stop, and now you're fighting again. The journey I talked to you about wasn't supposed to be this. It was supposed to be a quiet, peaceful life. So I want to ask. Are you all right?"

Worry for no one else—only for him. It was a little unfamiliar. It was not, he found, a bad feeling. Adel was quiet for a moment. Then he opened his mouth.

"I am fine."

"…You're fine?"

"Yes."

"Why? It was hard. And still you—"

"I want to watch."

He looked her straight in the eye as he said it.