The Witch Hunt and the Unspoken Tension
The time spent sitting across from Kalia inside the carriage was silent. We had chosen a route that bypassed the direct path to the academy, a detour I had personally mapped out. There was something I had to take care of before we arrived at the academy. The machinations of the romance fantasy novel.
Suddenly, the image of Soleia’s face, half-hidden by a mask in the garden, flickered in my mind. Setting aside the fact that Soleia was a tiresome presence, the problem she carried was one of the many tasks that had to be resolved within the narrative of this webtoon. And, tucked away in a corner of my heart, there was a shallow calculation at play. If I subtly point her toward the solution, wouldn't Soleia look upon me more favorably? If she considered me a "decent ally" or a "benefactor," it would be much easier to maintain the relationship while simultaneously breaking off our engagement. It was because of such schemes that we had departed from the estate a bit earlier than usual. It’s also an insurance policy for my own ability.
Feeling the vibrations of the rattling carriage, I set the gift Mary had given me on the seat beside me. The faint, lingering scent of flowers seemed to soften the taut tension inside the carriage, if only slightly. Opposite me, Kalia remained motionless, staring straight ahead. It wasn't quite a gaze fixed on me, nor was she looking out the window; it was a peculiar expression. Was she spacing out? But considering Kalia’s sharp, blade-like personality, the image of her zoning out was impossible to imagine. Or maybe not? She does have a clumsy side...
Playfulness took hold of me, and I reached out to wave my hand lightly in front of Kalia’s face. "Is there something you need me to do?"
My playful gesture was met with a response that was strictly stiff and dry. Her reaction time was, as always, impeccable. "No, it was just a joke."
At my reply, Kalia tilted her head slightly. The act of "joking" seemed to be something her logical circuits simply couldn't comprehend. I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the unexpected, vacant look from such a flawless knight. Kalia still seemed lost. She almost looks cute.
Perhaps it was because Kalia was so exceptionally beautiful, but even that simple gesture of tilting her head blankly stirred a strange sentiment in me. Isn't there something called gap moe? She was a northern knight who usually radiated a chilling, lethal sword aura, yet she looked completely baffled by a trivial prank, as if her logic circuits had tangled. She was the most ruthless blade on the battlefield, yet here in the carriage, she was flustered by my childish hand gesture—the contrast was quite endearing.
I wanted to see her flustered expression again, and driven by that mischievous thought, I muttered under my breath before I could stop myself. "Cute."
Ah. As soon as it left my lips, I realized my mistake. The air inside the carriage seemed to freeze and come to a standstill. Kalia’s eyes widened to twice their usual size as they locked onto me. Even in the bitter cold of the north, she wouldn't have blinked, but now I could practically see her internal circuits spinning frantically to process that unfamiliar word I had just uttered.
"……What did you just say?" Kalia’s voice trembled slightly. I couldn't tell if it was because she was flustered or if she was trying to confirm if she had truly heard me correctly. The usual sharp, piercing aura was nowhere to be found, and I could see the tips of her ears turning a faint shade of red. Damn it. Was that joke too much?
My lighthearted prank, intended merely to enjoy some gap moe, had been far more potent than I expected. I had to scramble to fix the situation. There was no other way. I had to brush it off.
"Um... there was a bird flying outside, and it looked cute."
"Ah, ah. I see..." Kalia clearly didn't believe me. That was to be expected; Kalia was a quasi-knight with senses far sharper than any ordinary person. There was no way she could have missed the sound, no matter how quietly I had muttered it. I had tried to tease her just to see her flustered, but I had only succeeded in ruining the atmosphere.
"……."
Instead of the warm, floral scent from before, a suffocating silence filled the carriage. Kalia turned her head and stared intently out the window, her profile looking even more rigid than usual. I couldn't tell if she was angry or if she was truly too embarrassed to meet my gaze. I fiddled with Mary’s gift and kept my mouth shut. Anything I said now would surely sound like an excuse. My mouth is my own worst enemy, seriously.
In that awkward space, we traveled toward our destination for a long while without a word. Only the rattling sound of the carriage filled the silence between us.
After traveling for a long time through the awkward silence, the carriage finally stopped at a place suitable for camping. Somewhere between the land where the 'savages' live and the Valenvalt territory.
Our destination was a deep forest inhabited by those known as "savages." It was such a dangerous and desolate area that even choosing a campsite was a chore. However, with the escort of four proven quasi-knights, including Kalia, now was the perfect time to break through this region. The reason I had gone out of my way to detour from the path to the academy was clear. It was to root out one of the members of the "Order of Order" in advance.
Even if I only skimmed the original work, I have some of their strongholds burned into my memory. They were strange people, but strangely enough, they held many key positions. That must be why these lunatics can play at being the masterminds.
Among them, the region inhabited by the notorious "witch" was right near this savage settlement. The witch who cursed Soleia. Even the Imperial Palace only guessed that someone had placed a curse; they had no clue who the caster was. It was only natural. How could the Imperial Palace, for all its greatness, figure out the methods of a witch who left no clues behind? Their best effort was to summon high priests to receive periodic healing. It was merely a temporary measure, pouring holy power into a bottomless pit without excising the root cause.
The reason I had sought out this dangerous forest was clear. There was a shallow calculation to earn points with Soleia by eliminating the witch and fundamentally solving her curse, but there was a bigger reason. According to the original story, Soleia would later be swayed by the witch, become hostile toward the protagonist, and eventually meet a miserable end. ...She was just a child.
I remembered the sight of Soleia in the garden of the grand banquet hall. Those small, fragile shoulders hidden behind the mask. To me, she was too small to be dismissed as just a villain in a webtoon. Yes, it’s all for the best.
Cutting off the buds that would interfere with my peaceful retirement plan, and twisting the tragic future of a child. There was no better time than now to solve both. Although it wasn't described in detail in the original work, it seemed they were using the savages as test subjects. That must be why a knight-level powerhouse had emerged. The timing was so coincidental that I had been suspicious of it. There were even speculative comments about it online.
The witch would flee whenever things got dangerous, using brainwashed savages as meat shields, which was the decisive reason the protagonist's party had such a hard time catching her. After all, the savages included quasi-knight-level powerhouses.
Now is the optimal time. Before a knight-level powerhouse is created. Whether it was due to the witch's cruel experiments or just a forced setting to make the protagonist look better, a savage knight-level powerhouse with a weakness to the protagonist's unique ability would be born later. But that was a story for the future. If I wiped this place out now, I could erase that tiresome future itself.
I stepped out of the carriage and inhaled the cold forest air. The awkwardness from before had already transformed into sharp tension. The soldiers looked fearful, but the quasi-knights maintained their composure while preparing the camp. They must be that confident in their skills.
It was true that Kalia was exceptional among the quasi-knights, but the others were by no means weak. I had planned this operation because I trusted the quasi-knights who were members of the Valenvalt family. I could never have solved this on my own. No, I wouldn't even have thought of entering the savages' habitat. But I had Kalia and three other quasi-knights. That was enough. The victory was mine.
We hid our bodies in a place where the undergrowth was perfectly dense so as not to be seen by the savages. It was uncomfortable to camp, with thorny vines and damp dirt everywhere, but it was only for a few days until we achieved our goal. According to my calculations, it wouldn't take that long.
"Lord Cassian, we are ready."
Kalia’s low voice echoed in my ears. Kalia now called me by my name with an honorific instead of calling me "Young Master." It wasn't because her feelings had changed, but purely because of my request. In fact, it might be my own personal bias, but the title "Young Master" sounded like something you'd call a child who needed looking after. For some reason, I didn't want to hear that from anyone, especially not Kalia. So, I had carefully asked her to change the title, and Kalia had replied that she would gladly do so if that was what I wanted. And that became our current relationship.
I nodded and stood up. While I was thinking, the soldiers and quasi-knights had quickly finished the camp preparations with skilled hands. I entered the somewhat flimsy tent. I should rest when I can. No matter how urgent the witch hunt was, you had to rest properly when you could. Maintaining one's condition had a significant impact on battle. So, the witch hunt would begin after we recovered from the fatigue of the long journey.