Chapter 28
Taylor stared at me with wide eyes. The servants buzzed like mad around us. The knights looked utterly confused, unsure whether to draw their swords on me or not. Their gazes brimmed with turmoil, but I had no spare attention for any of it.
"I won't say it a third time. Take me to my father."
I commanded them in a cold, unwavering voice, channeling explosive aura into the sword I gripped tightly. The Sword Master's aura, capable of cleaving mountains in a single stroke, surged wildly around the blade. The people staggered back again.
"Anyone who stands in my way..."
My vision flushed red. Probably the same blood-red hue as Kaiser and Kal's.
"...will die."
Taylor's eyes locked onto mine—eyes polluted with murderous intent—and seized up in terror.
"Step back, Taylor."
And then a low, honeyed voice tickled my ear. I whipped my head toward the sound.
'Ah.'
The moment my rippling blood-red eyes met his, my entire body froze solid.
Thud. Thud.
In the now-silent hall, only the sound of shoes echoed loudly. A man descended the stairs leisurely, dressed in disheveled sleepwear as if he'd just rolled out of bed. His jet-black shoes stopped right in front of me.
'The slayer who wields the sword of ruin, black hair whipping like contained darkness, surveying the battlefield with chilling, emotionless blood-red eyes.'
Just facing him made my legs tremble. An impression cold enough to overwhelm the world. Aura so refined it dominated everything around.
Kaiser Crisis.
My father.
"Hmph."
Kaiser exhaled a bored breath and unleashed a burst of killing intent. Amid the thick black malice already choking the hall, red smoke billowed forth. It spread thickly, marking his territory like a beast claiming its domain. I held my breath at the encroaching blood-red menace.
'As expected of Duke Crisis, rivaling the continent's strongest.'
If my killing intent felt like a ravenous beast devouring everything in frenzy, Kaiser's was far more restrained and mature.
'Dangerous.'
My instincts screamed, and without thinking, I poured out even more of my own killing intent.
"Eek...!"
The people surrounding us clutched their mouths against the onslaught from two Sword Masters unleashing at full force. Some collapsed, eyes rolling back. I flinched.
I couldn't leave bodies here. I gritted my teeth, reined in my killing intent, and released the sword in my hand—a gesture to show I hadn't come to fight.
"Interesting."
A thick smile bloomed on his lips as he gazed intently at me and Aria.
"Mercenary Mir."
Even from this close distance, he strode forward until his face was inches from mine, lifting my chin with his index finger.
"You're my daughter?"
His blood-red eyes brimmed with intrigue. My breath caught at the question. I closed my eyes briefly, steadying my fragile body and mind. I couldn't break here.
"Yes."
When I opened them again, there was no tremor. Only conviction. I met his gaze squarely and affirmed it without flinching.
Kaiser blinked slowly. His blood-red eyes scanned me leisurely but sharply. It felt like being dissected alive. I wanted to pull away, but I clenched my jaw and endured.
"You resemble me... and that woman."
Finished observing, he lowered his hand from my chin. I exhaled the breath I'd been holding, slowly.
The subtle emotion in "that woman" made me furrow my brow for a moment, but what feelings could a duke possibly have for a courtesan? I brushed the thought aside.
"You came to the ducal residence a few days ago too. As a mercenary."
His voice was calibrated to exactly 0 degrees—no warmth to be found, but not freezing cold either. Utterly emotionless, like he was addressing an inorganic object.
Kaiser's blood-red eyes gazed down at me steadily.
"You said nothing then. So what's the reason you're back now, saying this?"
My heart plummeted at his indifferent tone. I adjusted my hold on Aria to steady my shaking resolve. For Aria, I could do anything.
"I am the duke's daughter. An illegitimate child, but I definitely carry your blood."
"I know that. I've been looking for you, after all."
'...He was looking for me?'
I snapped my head up to look at him. The original story never explained the circumstances of how Kaiser became my father. Staring into those blood-red eyes swirling with unknown emotions, I bit my lip hard. This wasn't the time to get lost in sentiment.
"But the fact that I'm your blood doesn't matter."
"...What?"
Kaiser narrowed his eyes, his expression screaming confusion at the "but."
His eyes rolled slowly, probing my intentions with a chilling gaze.
Thud.
I simply cast aside all my pride and knelt before him.
"...What do you mean by that?"
Kaiser scowled deeply, demanding clarification. Swallowing a trembling breath, I looked up at him.
"I beg you. Save my sister."
I'd wanted to say it casually, but my voice came out in a desperate quiver. Kaiser glanced between me and Aria, tilting his head slowly. His bored demeanor sent chills down my neck.
"That child on your knee—is she your sister?"
"Yes."
"But she's not my daughter."
"...Yes. She's my full-blooded sister."
"Then."
Kaiser blinked slowly again.
"Why should I save someone who's not my blood?"
His voice held not a shred of pity—it wasn't even cold; it was utterly devoid of temperature. The way his gaze fell on Aria was as emotionless as inspecting an object.
'Why should he save Aria?'
I'd thought about his question, over and over. But there was no answer. Kaiser had no reason or responsibility to save Aria.
'This man who seems disinterested even in me, his own blood—would he show mercy to Aria?'
My conclusion was a resounding no. The duke called a blood-mad demon wouldn't save her.
'But.'
Even knowing that full well, the reason I'd come here staking my life as Kashmir and my identity as Mir was...
"Because your daughter... loves her too much."
I love Aria too much.
A heavy silence hung in the air. Lacking the courage to face Kaiser's expression, I held my breath and bowed my head. Teardrops fell from beneath my eyelids, wetting the marble floor.
'I never meant to love her this much.'
A life foredoomed to hardship from birth. Back when she was just learning to walk, peeking at the newborn through the crack of a narrow room door.
I hadn't known then that I'd come to love her this deeply.
'Hey, come with me!'
In my childhood, long after I'd abandoned innocence and longing, Aria's birth felt like a burden to me—a tiny body forced to clash with a vast, cruel world. Just one more mouth to feed when life was already so hard.
'You did so well. Have some water first!'
'Sis! Look, flowers bloomed!'
'Yeah, I like Sis the best.'
'I'm always sorry. And always grateful.'
If asked why that Aria became so precious, I'd say she was the only color in my colorless world. She alone praised my weary returns from alleyways. She alone told me of the seasons' changes in my endless busyness, said she liked this gutter rat of mine, and looked at me with sad eyes murmuring apologies and thanks.
'I never wanted to love her this much.'
That tiny child had grown to become my entire world. Overwhelmed by rising wretchedness, I hung my head. My broken reflection stared back from the pristine marble floor—like a filthy gutter rat, a powerless human unable to protect the one she loved. Unable to stomach the disgust, I wiped away my image with my flowing tears.
"But I know this won't be reason enough for you, Your Grace."
Being his daughter was just a fancy lure. He had no obligation to save someone I loved. To him, Aria and I were nothing but unwelcome intruders.
"I have no intention of begging mercy as your blood."
I clenched my teeth, swallowing tears, and looked up at Kaiser. My vision blurred; I could barely make out his face. Forcing steady breaths, I slowly opened my mouth.
"Instead, if you'll allow it, I propose a deal."
"...A deal?"
I nodded faintly at his baffled expression. He only furrowed his brow, not dismissing it as nonsense outright—I took that as a small relief and picked up the sword I'd dropped moments ago.
What I did best. The one skill this worthless, repulsive human had. The sole worth of my life.
Ching—
The darkness I'd faced at my limits. The abyss from my struggles in the mire. The despair I'd burned away to shine. My dark aura, infused with the depths I'd peered into, enveloped the blade.
Bang!
The sword vibrated madly under the maximum aura I could output. Crack—an ominous split formed along the edge.
"Save only my sister, and I will become the Crisis family's loyal sword."
I thrust the tip into the floor and bowed my head like a mortal before a god.
A heavy silence blanketed the hall. I couldn't easily guess what emotions lay in Kaiser's gaze looking down at me.
"Ack, cough!"
Aria writhed in my arms and vomited blood again.
'Please.'
I bit my lip until it bled. Her body, somewhat calmed, began trembling anew. I turned her head away from facing forward so the blood wouldn't choke her.
"Cough! Gah, cough!"
"Your Grace, please...!"
Aria spewed blood in violent spasms. Pale as death, I crawled forward on my knees before Kaiser, clinging desperately to him. This was all I could do now.
"I'm a Sword Master! I've wielded the sword my whole life! Take me—you can use me however you want!"
"Use you... how?"
His incredulous echo came back. The servants' murmurs followed in waves.
'It worked!'
Thinking he'd taken the bait, I nodded frantically.
"Yes! I learned the sword under the feet of magic beasts! I'm battle-hardened and confident in beast subjugation! If you command it, I can charge into battle as a meat shield!"
"A meat shield..."
Kaiser's voice hardened coldly, but in my frenzy, I didn't notice. Give me a single sword, and even if thrown into battle alone as a meat shield, I was confident I could survive. I might return half-dead, but for Aria, I could endure that much.
Even at my desperate pleas, Kaiser gave no clear answer. Cornered on the precipice, I grabbed his shoe and clung.
"Your Grace, please... I can truly be useful. Save only Aria—just Aria—and I will be the Crisis family's loyal sword forever. I won't dare dream of bearing the Crisis name! Make me your dog—if you say bark, I'll bark; if you say die, I'll die...!"
Tears welled up again. Through my hazy vision, I saw the duke's and servants' shoes. My kneeling form reflected on the clean marble amid the crowd.
'I want to die.'
It was pathetic, wretched. But for Aria, I could kneel a thousand, ten thousand times with my cheap, worthless knees.
I lifted my tear-glistened eyes and gazed at Kaiser imploringly.
The unreadable expression of Duke Kaiser Crisis.
My father.
"Please... save Aria..."
My voice cracked raw and desperate. Yet still, Kaiser gave no answer.